#i saw the term 'fictional enemy' once and that fits this feeling best

[reliccipher]

It is sooo much easier to explain to people that you love a character for no reason than it is to explain that you hate a character for no reason, worse if that character is a villain

Yeah I know he's a terrible person in canon but that's not why I hate him, yeah it adds on to the hatred and it makes him a terrible person and no, I don't hate how he's written/designed or his role/importance to the plot, I hate him for Some Other Third Reason that can't be explained. Hope this helps <33

[jadedxrealityw]

-Rivals- Hermione Granger x Female Reader

    ☼-☪-☼

    Kody: I’m using the owls grading system for the story so if that’s not right, sue me i guess idk. 

    Movie/Show: Harry Potter, ignoring the storyline

    House/Year: Ravenclaw / 7th year

    Request:  Can I request a bold ravenclaw reader (her attitude almost could pass as a slytherin ngl) she's been Hermione's rival when it comes to grades and they DON'T get along very well. Reader is the opposite of mione's reserved personality. But rivals don't kiss and make out with each other secretly in the lavatory 😭 pls enemies to lovers (with some tension;) ykyk and then one day, they walk the great hall hand in hand and everyone is like don't they find each other insufferable?

    Possible Triggers/Warnings: if you don’t like lesbians get the hell off my page, sexual tension, enemies to lovers trope, cursing

    ☼-☪-☼

    love came unexpectedly at times, you learned that at young age from fairy tales and such. Well all kids did, but kids eventually grew up and came to the realization that fairy tales were exactly what they were, fairy tales. Fiction. Not real. 

    people could call you cold hearted or rude, but you would describe yourself as blunt or brutally honest. Never afraid to speak your mind or point out injustice when you saw fit. To put it simpler terms, professors at Hogwarts preferred you didn’t speak at times. 

    “Your too outspoken Ms. L/n” 

    “Stick to your academics Ms. L/n”

    “You wouldn’t be in detention so much so if kept your mouth shut Ms. L/n”

    merlin, you were exhausted of hearing your own last name. You guessed the only reason you weren’t reprimanded as worse as the Weasley Twins was because you were one of Hogwarts brightest witches, always excelled in academics, in every subject. 

    you couldn’t explain it to others even if you tried other then it just came naturally. Your parents, when they were attended Hogwarts were both just as naturally skilled in there studies as you were. So you must have inherited there ‘big brain’ as your mother said many times before.

    you were never one to gloat though, it was never your style. You were more humble about what you could accomplish. That was until she got involved. That egoistical, hypocritical, Gryffindor girl. Hermione Granger became the bane of your existence early into your fifth year. 

   until then Ms. Granger had been the top of all her classes, no one even came close to her intelligence, naming her ‘The Brightest Witch At Hogwarts’ and Hermione wore that title with pride. Being a Muggle born put a target on her head as well as stereotypes.

    most students and some staff almost immediately came to the conclusion she wasn’t capable of achieving goals that regular half or pure bloods could. It was a terrible way to think, but it was unfortunately the reality of being involved with the wizarding world. 

   Hermione was lucky to have friends like she did that cared about her no matter who she was or what she became, but it didn’t stop her need to feel validated in her academics. It was the one thing no one could giver her shit for, because she was the best at it and no one else was. 

   until that fateful fifth year that was mentioned earlier. It was the time when you finally got your mind and heart into your studie. You blew past most of the student body rather quickly, earning the title of the fastest turn around at Hogwarts.

    it was nice

    then it wasn’t, for Hermione of course 

    ☼-☪-☼

    fifth year / past

    “It seems we have two students with an Outstanding this time around” Professor Flitwick spoke as the exams from the previous week had landed neatly onto the wooden desk in front of you. “congratulations Ms. Granger and Ms. L/n”

    Hermione’s head perked up like a cat who had heard a bag of hard food shake from the nest room over, eager. She had never heard that name before, it didn’t come as much as an surprise though considering how big Hogwarts was. She leant to the left where Harry Potter sat. 

    “Who’s L/n? Do you know her?” she asked, casually though Harry knew her better then most. He gave her a half hearted shrug “No clue, try Ron” he suggests. Hermione nods once before leaning over to the right, where the Weasley sat, scowling at his exam. 

    “Mum’s going to kill me” he muttered, bringing no reaction to Granger’s face. He never studied. “Ron, do you know who this L/n is?” she repeated the question she gave to Harry. Ron turns his head away from the parchment and to Hermione. 

   his brows furrowed as he searches the corners of his mind for where he had heard the name from, until the visible light bulb popped over his head- well not so visible actually. “Oh um- Y/n L/n. she’s a Ravenclaw, her parents are certified geniuses. They work at the ministry. Department of magical education”

   his words did not soothe the wracking thought in the young Granger’s mind. “Certified geniuses?” Hermione echos. “If that’s so how come she’s only getting Outstandings now? she must have cheated somehow” she thought aloud. 

    “I surely didn’t cheat”

   like an owl Hermione’s head turned over her shoulder, her two Gryffindor pals doing the same. In her sight was a girl, her age, in a Ravenclaw robe. She had S/C skin with H/L H/C hair and E/C eyes that were staring back at her. Hermione was almost stunned into silence- keyword being almost. 

    “the explain the good grade all of the sudden, L/n?”

   you looked rather confused. You had never met the girl and she was accusing you of cheating because you had never gotten an Outstanding before? Was this a prank of some sort or fever dream? “I studied for once. You have no right accusing me, i don’t even know you that well”

    Harry placed a hand upon Hermione’s shoulder, signaling for her to stop before she caused a scene. Looking back, she should have listened “No right? I have a right to point out people who are just trying to cheat their way through school while people like us actually care about our grades”

    what the Gryffindor girl wasn’t expecting was for you to start laughing. Her friend, Cho Chang joining in, finding it just as equally hilarious. Hermione’s face turned just as bright as Ron’s hair. “What is so funny?” you and Cho slowly come to a stop, breathing in and out. 

    “what’s funny is that your ego is so incredibly large, so much so that it can’t comprehend that someone, not a Gryffindor either was able to match your intelligence. Now shove off ” you said it all with a grin on your face, because you certainly knew you were right. 

    and from that day, you both despised each other

    ☼-☪-☼

    seventh year / present

    and with every exam, every questioned called on by a teacher, you fastly became Hermione’s rival. It was a term Cho used, but you didn’t really see it that way since you weren’t competing with her. You never studied harder to make sure you got the same grade, never tried to sabotage her in any way. 

    you didn’t care much about it actually

    but you did quite enjoy her face, the way her nostrils flared up an her cheeks turned a bright red in anger. It was cute seeing her so mad. Sending er a wink or sly grin when she glared at you became a daily routine as well. When at first you ignored her you now loved annoying her.

    never having to say a word was probably your favorite part. 

    that’s probably when feelings began to mix into it, but you either didn’t notice or refuse to acknowledge them at all. You genuinely thought you hated this girl, so why in the world would you ever think you liked her? Makes sense, right? Were not even going to mention the questioning your sexuality.

    “Sit still while i pass out your exams from yesterday. Once you recieve your paper you may get up and leave” 

    “You think if Snape got laid he wouldn’t be such a prick?” the Slytherin boy spoke, leaning towards you. turning your head ever so slightly, you lock eyes with Draco “Why are you even sitting here?” you whisper back, giving him a mock astonished look.

   he rolls his grey eyes, shrugging his shoulders “You never talk to me outside of class anymore” he grumbles. Is he- Is this- What is happening? “That’s because your a little shit and pushed Neville in the hallway yesterday” yeh, you caught his dumbass. 

    Draco’s eyes widen a bit, not knowing you had been in the hallway during the crime. “You saw that?- what are you his protector?” he says, clearly as an insult, but oh little did he know that you were indeed exactly what he just said and would say it with pride.

    “Yes-”

    “Ms. L/n, Outstanding as usual as well Mr. Malfoy. Good work, the both of you” Snape places the exams in front of each of you, but you were both to busy staring in shock. This bitter, old, mean, crude man just compliment you. Merlin, you had finally gotten fathers approval

    (what in the fuck am i writing)

    “Is this heaven?” Draco questioned, staring bug eyed forward. 

    “No”

    “How do you know?”

    “Cormac is here”

    “Yeah your right, feelings over” both you and Draco sighed, turning to look at each other before laughing quietly. He was a pretty chill dude sometimes. “What!?” the loud screech filled your ears. All heads turned behind you, so you followed that and saw the one and only Hermione Granger. 

    she was huffing and puffing. You feared for the stick and straw houses in the world for a moment. Harry quickly stood up and pushed her shoulders down, forcing her back into her seat “I've never gotten an Exceeds Expectations before” Hermione sputters out. 

    she

    got

    what

    now?

    oh this was rich, absolutely hilarious, so much so that Draco had already began to laugh. “Poor Granger, guess you really aren’t the brightest witch” he taunted. Hermione looked up, glaring daggers at the Slytherin. Merlin, he had such a big mouth.

    then her brown eyes strayed to you, but you only pursed your lips together, providing her no emotion to work off of. In a haste, she collected her things, leaving the cursed exam on the table nd rushing out the door, both Ron and Harry calling out for her. 

    fuck

    standing up, you grab your bag and look down at Draco. His laughter comes to an end and he looks up at you “What?” he asked. You copied his dementor singers from third year, making him look at your hands. You took that time to reach down and flick his forehead. 

    he pulls away, his palm rubbing his head in circles “Bloody hell, what was that for?!” he exclaimed. What an idiot. “This is why we don’t hang out” you deadpan before finally going to exit the classroom, leaving a grumbling, mumbling Draco. Something about you being  ‘mean friend’

    ☼-☪-☼

    only having ten minutes until Charms class you began to search the halls. Merlin where had she run off too? The school wasn’t THAT big- okay maybe it was. You had almost called quits, making a mental note to check up on her during lunch when you passed the restroom.

    sniffling and crys were heard. You’ll admit, it kind off hurt to hear. Taking a few steps backwards, you use the palm off your hand to slowly push the door open so it wouldn’t creak like the old shit it was. When it was open just enough for you to fit through, you slip in. 

    gazing around, you see Hermione bent over the sink, sobbing. You could hear her voice becoming rougher by the second as she destroyed her vocal cords. “Granger?” you say, staying a few feet behind her. Hermione looks up in the mirror, spotting you behind her. 

    her distraught expression quickly shifted to anger “You” she seethed. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion “Me?” you say back, crossing your arms. “Leave me the hell alone L/n!” she shouts, angry tears flooding down her cheeks. Raising your hands, you offer your surrender.

    “Shit, sorry. I was just trying to see if you were okay” you admit. Hermione turns on her heels, facing you directly this time before speaking “Oh so now your my friend, your a bully! All you do is step on my toes and try to make me look like a fool!”

    “Are you on fucking drugs Granger? Not once have i ever gone out my way to harm you of any sort. Your the one who is obsessed with trying to be better then me and i never gave a shit. I never wanted to be your rival for three years and i certainly never bullied you!”

    the words you spoke went out one of Hermione’s ears and out the other. For someone as smart as her, she could be quite dense when angry “You don’t get to play the saint, L/n! I have spent those three years studying as hard as i can and you don’t even have to try!” 

   throwing your hands up in the air a crazy person because she was honestly starting to make your brain hurt quite a bit, you laugh loudly “Oh my- no one asked you too! What is so wrong with us being the same?! ” you shouted, finally raising your voice as much as she had.

    “Because your not a Muggle! You don’t know what it’s like to have everyone you meet already assume your not worth their time just because your parents aren’t witches or wizards!” she crept towards you and which each step she took you took a step right the fuck back.

    this chick wasn’t going to hit you, right?

    “I have never judged you for your blood status Granger, i frankly could care less. What i do judge you for is you know, the giant ego thing” you spat back only causing her to gasp in offense “I do not have an ego!” she yells, stepping into your boundaries basically.

   you had tried to back up like before, but you were pressed up against a wall at this point. “Yes you do and it’s as big as Hagrid!” you reply. Hermione grabs the collar of your white uniform shirt, pulling you down a bit so her face was inches from yours, trying to intimidate you.

    “Take it back!” she threatens. In that moment your eyes scanned her face, noting her almost perfect skin, her brown eyes that looked more hazel up close then far away, and her lips. They looked so soft and inviting. You couldn’t quite understand why you were thinking like this all of the sudden.

    but it felt right, so right

    in a swift motion you place your lips on Hermione’s. You had thought she’d pull away, but only half a second later her arms were wrapped around your neck, pulling you as close as possible to her. You tangled one of your hands into her light brown wavy mess and the other pushed on the small of her back. 

    the kiss was messy and sloppy, not amount of anything really could make it appropriate. How did you two go from fighting to almost ripping each others uniforms off? A question no one could really answer but yourself as well Hermione. 

    it was over as soon as it began with Hermione pulling away, leaning her forehead against yours. You could make out the small smile on her face, it made you smile as well. “That was-” she started to speak, but was stopped by her own laughter. 

    “Yeah” you breathed out. What had just happened?

        ☼-☪-☼

    four months later

    ever since that day you and Hermione would casually meet up in the lavatory to kiss and feel up on each other after, btween, during classes. Anything really. You both had also not interacted at all outside of these visits. Just stayed away from each other as much as possible.

    most people thought you two had either made up after three years of rivalry or had decided to no longer interact with each other at all. Little did they know right? Speaking of that, you pull away from Hermione, panting for air “We have divination in three minutes” you spoke. 

   her face turned to worry instantly making you grin to yourself “Godric, i have to get out of here. Wait a couple minutes” she gathered her belongings and rushed out the restroom not even leaving you with an goodbye kiss. How rude. After about five minutes or so you leave as well

    once you get to class you look around the room and spot Hermione already sat with Harry and Ron on one side of the arch like sitting area for the students. “Y/n!” oh not again. Turning your head to the right, you spt the Slytherin boy with his mates.

   this guy just doesn’t quit. You plop yourself next to Draco Malfoy “I thought you were going to ignore me again” he admits. Ignoring his statement, you gaze around the people at your table “Where’s Parkinson? If i’m going to be stuck with you gits and Theo i rather it be with her” 

   Theo cracks a smile while Draco rolls his eyes “She’s sick, stuck in her dorms” he explains. You nod mindlessly and look over at Hermione. She was brushing through her hair with her fingers, trying to make it look like you weren’t tugging on it just minutes ago. 

    “What’s that on your neck?” Harry asks, moving the top part of Hermione’s robe with his finger, causing her to swat his hand away “It’s just a bug bite” she says with haste. quick thinking, that’s kinda cute. For some odd reason you liked seeing her explain her way out of a hickey that you gave her. 

    class soon started, but you kept your inventive gaze on her. It was adorable how she would catch you staring and turn a nice shade of red. It brought a smug smile to your face each time. Professor Trelawney had called upon Hermione to ask a question, but she seemed to be too busy avoiding your gaze. 

    “My dear, Ms. Granger” Trelawney said for maybe the third time until Hermione finally fell back down to reality. She looked at the Professor who gave her a kind smile “Oh um-” the Gryffindor put on a nervous smile, her eyes looking to you. You sent her a wink.

    merlin you were such an asshole

    Hermione looked at her lap, trying to muster up the words, any words actually. Her savior wore glasses “Hermione isn’t feeling to well. Can Ron and i take her to the hospital wing?” Harry asked. What a buzzkill. Trelawney nods, waving her hand to the direction of the door. 

    Harry tapped Hermione’s shoulder while Ron grabbed her things and off they went. 

        ☼-☪-☼

    a week later

    “I have to head to dinner, you should too. I saw that you didn’t eat during lunch” Hermione spoke, buttoning her uniform shirt. You smile, looking into the mirror so you could fix your hair “Watching me Granger?” you ask, turning away from your reflection.

    “You know i worry about your health” she said, which only made your smile wider “What is that stupid smile for?’ Hermione questions, an amused laugh in her tone. Shrugging, you lean against the sink counter “Stupid? I thought you liked my quote on quote ‘Goofy smile’” 

    Hermione shakes her head, grabbing her bag from the floor “I better see you at dinner or i’ll drag you there myself” she said playfully. An idea popped into your mind. “Then drag me” you smirk, tilting your head to the left. Hermione looks at you, shaking her head again. “You know i can’t”

    “Why not? It’s been four months. I would like to be your-” you stopped mid sentence. You both had never really gave each other labels before. It was always just the casual make out and flirting, but now you were much more. Fuck it “I would like to be your girlfriend in public”

    Hermione’s brow eyes went wide as she heard those words. It becoming a little too real. You saw her conflicted face and immediately felt some sort of shame. Averting your gaze to the ground, you take a deep breath. “Forget i said anything” 

    “No!- i mean. I’m ready. Plus i’m tired of being distracted by you during class” Hermione lightened the mood just a tad. You look back up at her, cracking a half smile “I’m most likely still going to distract you” you point out, making her chuckle. Cute.

    she inhales sharply “Let’s do this” she states confidently, letting out the breath. She reached out, opening her hand for you to grab. In that small gesture, you knew you would be with this woman for as long as you lived. Grabbing her hand, you intertwined your fingers with hers. 

    ☼-☪-☼

    hand in hand, you walk into the great hall. Heads turned and pupils dialated at the sight of you and Hermione walking in together. You honestly felt a little self conscious until you saw the bright smile of Cho and Luna as well as Draco who gave you a hidden thumbs up.

    both you and Hermione took  seat at the Gryffindor table. “So Hermione, how long as this been going on?” Harry asked. Hermione glances at you before her best friend “Four months, one week.” she said, gleaming with pride at her memory. 

    Harry looked taken aback at the time, but gave you both a smile “Well at least you both are getting along finally” he says, Ron nodding beside “Yeah- getting along” the Weasley jokes. You laugh a bit before leaning over to kiss the temple of Hermione's head. 

    rivals am i right?

        ☼-☪-☼

    Click here to join my Taglist so you never miss a new story from me!

    @the--queen-of-hell @sonbelleame @dracosathenaeum @queeriacs @marrymetheonott

    ☼-☪-☼

    Kody- Aye look its 10 am and i haven’t slept. Good night, my requests are open blah blah. Anyways, peace. 

[streets-in-paradise]

I want to talk about some of the main family relationships in Troy

As I already told once in one of my posts, I adore to overanalyze family relationships in the media I consume. I’m still in the process of writing another one as a second part to my sibling relationships post talking of more family relationships from various of my fandoms but, since that one is taking me too much time to finish, I'm writing now this shorter one for my Troy appreciation series. 

I already started this ramble in the same post I referenced. There I talked about my favourite family bond in the entire film, the sibling relationship of Hector and Paris. Still, there is a lot to discuss about family dynamics in the story this movie tells. Even since I was writing that post I kept thinking on how many family related story arcs this movie has and how, if you pay close attention to those, you can capture the essence of the characters. Because of this, I decided to dedicate a separate post to the main family relationships portrayed there and the important role they play in the development of the story. I will try to skip the ones i already talked about before. This are, for most part, the relationships inside the trojan royal family. Since i already discussed those, most of this will be about family bonds of the greek characters. 

As i stated in previous posts, this is a talk about the characters and actions in the movie. I’m not talking from an adaptation” movie vs book” point of view. I can occasionally mention some of the differences but there would be more references than comparisons. 

As always, i apologise for any possible mistakes in my writing. I’m still in the process of getting used to writing long texts in english. Also, I give proper credits for the images to the original sites hosting them. 

Agamemnon and Menelaus 

The movie establishes them clearly as the main antagonists. Precisely, one of the many scenes I love in this movie is the one in which they show up to the gates of Troy commanding the greek army and they argue with the trojan princes over the terms of the combat between Paris and Menelaus. The first thing I always notice in that one is how alike Hector and Paris look when they get down from their horses, it reminds me of the actual part of the Iliad in which it is said that Paris gets confused for a brave man because of his looks. Going back to my point, in that scene I get the vibe of opponents these characters have just by the display of the dynamics between siblings. 

Agamemnon is using his brother’s problem as an excuse for a war highly profitable for him. Menelaus is aware of this and he doesn’t care because he is too consumed by his wish for revenge and, it seems that this mutualistic beneficial goal is what sticks them together. Their first scene together, when Menelaus goes to Mycenae asking his brother for help, summarizes their relationship in a great way. Menelaus seems to have a rather servile attitude towards his brother and Agamemnon clearly takes advantage of that, having in that particular time a perfect excuse to attack an enemy he had wished to conquer for a long time. If you think about it, this is the exact opposite relationship of Hector and Paris. I love how well this scene fits as a contrast to the argument in the ship scene of Hector and Paris . In both, Menelaus and Paris are basically asking for the help of their older bros, one doing it on purpose and the other one half aware. Their family relationships are established so well by those two scenes. 

Going back to the one scene I mentioned first, the exchanges between characters are awesome. Not only because you can appreciate directly how this differences play a role in the conflict, but also because you can totally appreciate how every character involved is the exact opposite of the one who challenges. The exchange between Hector and Agamemnon is fantastic. I love how Hector cuts the crap on Agamemnon’s cocky bullshit, their short interaction is priceless.Also, i almost feel bad for Paris because “ the sun was shining when your wife left you” is his best line in the entire movie and he gets his ass kicked by Menelaus immediately afterwards. I like how, despite being a coward, Paris is a sassy little shit. 

Something i need to add about these brothers is that the Director’s Cut adds a better perspective on Agamemnon’s care for Menelaus. There are many short hints, especially after Menelaus’s death, that show how he actually cared for him. I think that this small glimpse should have stayed in the final version. Even when Agamemnon is a piece of shit of the worst kind and his brother was not very different, it is nice to see him caring for something else than his own imperialist desires from time to time and to get a real family vibe from those two.

Achilles and Patroclus 

Before starting with this two i want to clarify that i am fully aware of the very different interpretation their relationship got in this movie. I heard that the romantic approach was explored in Troy: fall of a city. I haven’t watched it yet, it is on my to watch list and at some point i will do it. Now, speaking of what we have seen in the context of the movie, i have to say that i love the adorable family bond they have since the first scene they share. This is by far my second favourite family bond in the film. 

As i said before i have a weakness for family relationships and tragedies regarding them are the biggest pain i can imagine. I don’t have anything against romantic Achilles x Patroclus, i just enjoy a lot the family approach it took here. First, i think it happens because i saw the movie far before reading any piece of trojan war related fiction and second because I happen to enjoy seeing family bonds more than romantical ones. My basic example for explaining this is the complaint I had over Kili x Tauriel and how it kinda shifted the focus of the previously established family story of the Line of Durin. If i have to choose between  a family or a romance story of any kind, I will always end up more interested in the first option because i relate to and enjoy those better. 

In this version, they are cousins with a very brother like relationship. I feel like here Patroclus acts like a little bro that hero worships Achilles. We know that his parents died and Achilles took care of him but we don’t know when that happened. What we do know is that his protection is the only aspect Achilles feels responsible for in his life. His bond with him reflects the best and the worst of him. It displays his softer and his most terrible side. Without paying close attention it looks like the romantic subplot with Briseis is the part of the plot that is supposed to show his soft side and, partially, it does but i think that job is already done earlier with the introduction of Patroclus. The story with Briseis serves mainly as support of what was already established there. The kindest, more human side of Achilles is clearly there when you look at his interactions with Patroclus. 

One of the main reasons why i enjoy this relationship so much is because, plotwise, it serves as a perfect point of encounter for the two main heros’ characterizations. Despite all the effort the storytelling makes in pointing out the many differences between Hector and Achilles, these two apparently opposite men share the same limitation. Hector’s goal is to protect his country, Achilles’s goal is immortality through fame, but both find themselves lost when their reckless younger relatives endanger themselves and both react the same way. When Paris was at instants of dying by the hands of Menelaus Hector had to choose between saving him or letting him get killed for the good of Troy. The man who serves as paradigm of honesty and sacrifice, the most noble hero of the story, broke the agreement and killed Menelaus. He broke a pact and gave his enemies an even better excuse for war that will doom Troy because his brother’s life was at risk. Achilles’s madness over grief for Patroclus fits so well family related in this particular narrative because it originated in the same feelings. Paris and Patroclus may be opposites, one being a coward and the other the embodiment of reckless courage, but both become the limit of tolerance for Hector and Achilles. At the end, both heros are driven by love for their families. In this version where Hector and Paris have this strong bond that works perfectly as a mirror for Achilles and Patroclus, it fits so well for them to be family. The chain of deaths unleashed with Patroclus’s death becomes a natural response to the bonds previously mentioned between the four characters involved. Everything becomes a big family tragedy and that is devastating. 

One more comment i will make about them is that i also love how some of Achilles’s friends add some more sweet or happy hints to some scenes. Eudorus, despite the formal servant-like way in which he speaks to Achilles, gives me a long time friend who is almost family vibe. Of course, i have to mention Odysseus here as well. Patroclus and Achilles sparring scene has an amazing chill domestic fun tone and he adds even more fun to the moment once he arrives. They are the most likeable greeks of the movie and you get such a friendly feeling of them. I live for these guys. The main scene they shared is the happiest of the film. 

Bonus mentions 

The Director’s Cut has a lot of scenes that help you understand some of the characters' motivations and lots of them are family related. One small scene I wish really hard the should had kept is the one in which Priam explains the reasons for his deep religious devotion. He listens to the high priest’s terrible advice and ignores his son’s wiser words not because he is a nice but dumb and inept king. He believes Apollo saved Hector from a disease when he was a baby boy. There is a reason for his blind, sometimes naive, faith in Apollo’s protection.Other cut out moment with a similar meaning is the one in which Andromache tells Hector she lost seven brothers in a previous war. She is tired of losing people, her husband is all she has. Having this in consideration her story turns even more tragic. 

I could mention a few more characters and moments but this is getting too long so i will end it here. I think it is enough for the topic i wanted to write about and the only main character i feel i skipped a bit here is Priam but i had talked enough about the trojans and how much i love them so i think it is enough. 

I enjoyed writing this, as fast as i can i will upload the general post for family relationships i’m working on and i’m thinking of making a special one like this for lotr.  @hrisity12​  I tag you as i always do in all my Troy content. 

Thanks for reading this ramble i intended to keep short but, as always, ended up longer than i expected. 

[byebecca]

(KELSEY MERRITT, CIS-WOMAN) - Have you seen REBECCA STEVENS? BECCA is in her JUNIOR year. The POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR is 21 years old & is a GEMINI. People say SHE is AMBITIOUS, SOPHISTICATED, RECLUSE and MANIPULATIVE. Rumors say they’re a member of the CALLOWAY SOCIETY. I heard from the gossip blog that SHE’S COVERING UP HER FATHER’S AFFAIR FROM HER MOTHER AND THE REST OF THE WORLD. 

statistics

general

full name: rebecca diana stevens

nicknames: becca, bec, b, stevens

age: twenty-one

date of birth: may 25th, 1999

hometown: hartford, connecticut

sexuality: bisexual

current residence: preaker, vermont

languages spoken: english, filipino, italian

personality

zodiac: gemini sun, aquarius moon, virgo rising

alignment: neutral evil

mbti: istj-a

appearance

hair color: brown

eye color: dark-brown

height: 5'8"

biography

rebecca diana stevens wasn’t born out of love or sincerity, she was born to fulfill a a status quo. althea and joseph stevens had but one child before becca, one conceived out of wedlock and to a different woman. joseph stevens hailed from a political dynasty, his past ancestors holding powerful positions in government, and a son born from a college relationship with a woman of much lower status would only tarnish the political standing of the future governor of connecticut, mr. joseph stevens himself. so the family did what they knew best, and threw the entire possibility of a scandal under the rug, paying off joseph’s girlfriend to grant sole custody to him. it was only within a few short months that joseph’s mother set him up with the daughter of a fortune 500 ceo, althea santos. the two were attending yates university at the time, both in their senior year of school. the manufactured relationship quickly became a marriage within the next few years, althea claiming her stepson as one of her own, at least in front of the public eye. and within a years, rebecca diana stevens was brought into the world, her middle name inspired by the late princess diana, who althea had been fond of.

in the public eye, the stevens were a loving, wholesome family, deplete of any controversy. it was what led joseph to his government title. but underneath it, the stevens mirrored any family with exorbitant wealth and a powerful status.

growing up, becca had often felt like a robot. she simply smiled and waved to the cameras whenever asked, which was perhaps the slightest bit of emotion anyone saw out of her from a young age. but beyond that, she felt completely, and utterly empty, even as a child. she didn’t have a naturally friendly or kind bone in her body, unless told to have one. she destroyed things, threw tantrums erratically, and refused to speak unless it was necessary. because once the cameras and watching eyes were gone, becca’s parents didn’t treat her like how they did in front of a camera. it wasn’t that she was abused, it was that her parents didn’t care about her. she could scream bloody murder in the middle of the night, and they’d only send a nanny to her in hopes of shutting her up. it was clearly possible that young becca had used anger as a tool to get the attention of her careless parents, but after a while, a part of her had realized that there was nothing that could be done to get there attention. and as more time past, the less she wanted any.

as becca grew into her teens, the easiest term used to describe her would’ve been ‘loner.’ she hated any attention, almost as much as she began to hate people. she’d continued to listen to her parents, smile for the cameras, wear something that wasn’t black when dinner party season began, but underneath it all, she despised her parents. she dreamt that she was a witch, able to cast a hex on them and for the world to see how awful they really were. the only emotion becca seemed to ever feel was anger, and even that faded away with the use of antidepressants.

to those who met her, she was cold, and blunt, and if there wasn’t a camera to her face or a public official to wow, she had absolutely no filter. in high school, more often than not, you’d find her in the library with a black hoodie on reading a book, not because she cared an awful lot at school (despite ironically excelling at it), but because she knew it was a place no one would bother her. she was rich, and beautiful, and had every chance of being the queen bee of her boarding school. but she didn’t care to, she didn’t care about anything. after graduating, she chose to go to yates, her parent’s alma mater, instead of yale university, in the town she’d grown up in.

she’d joined calloway, even if a part of her felt that she’d fit into any society at yates. and by fit in, she meant ignore everyone’s presence. but being in yates was different. at least in high school, everyone had already known to leave her alone. there wasn’t an opportunity for her to be liked, because she’d already spent years cultivating an awful reputation. somehow, somewhere along the way, becca found herself caring about a few select people, as awful and wrong as it felt at the time. she still hated the majority of her peers, but some had managed to crack her dead heart. and she definitely hated that.

despite never admitting it, becca had come to yates as a virgin. she hadn’t ever been in a relationship, or even a casual hookup before. she hadn’t done much in her freshman year, but just as her 2nd year started, the relationship that gave her everything, only to take it all away begun. he was easy on the eyes, and she remembered him saying all the right words. he hadn’t cared that she was a bit meaner than most, and that she mostly had the emotional capacity of a rock. he’d tried, and tried, and eventually, becca let him in. she let herself believe that someone was capable of caring about her. everything was perfect in the beginning. she smiled, and laughed, and acted like one of the lovesick people she’d silently judged at one point. she was truly, and hopelessly, in love. until he cheated on her, that is. and then it was as if everything came crashing down. maybe if she hadn’t caught him sitting a little too close to a girl, running from the door instead of asking questions, they’d still be together. she didn’t have proof, but at the same time, she didn’t need any for her heart to feel completely shattered.

after crying for an hour and a half in the parking lot of a taco bell, becca was reminded of what she went through as a child, regressing into an old mentality, that showing emotion was pointless, that she wasn’t capable of being loved. she ignored him, and everyone after that. people checked in on her, and she acted as if it never even happened, still caring about those few select people, but always keeping her guard up.

headcanons

comes off as mean, and standoffish. can’t stand majority of people but will fake it until she makes it just to get through the day. if she does care about you, she’s still kinda guarded and never lets people know what shes really thinking, but she does care (deep down)

always wears black, and for some odd reason, always has an ominous black book at her side that’s contents are unknown.

is a polysci major because it just makes sense though it isnt really what she wants to do with her life (tuition ain’t free), she’d love to be an author and write fiction novels

can be very odd and dark at times like you’d think shes a vampire

has major insomnia and will usually be found at 7/11 or roaming the streets at 2am

plays obnoxiously loud music in her wired earphones because she doesn’t care

wanted connections

okay obviously i really want becca’s ex connection. she’s only had one boyfriend and he’s the only man who could break her heart. i’d love to plot this out because maybe he wasn’t even cheating??? lets give men a few rights okay, but this is definitely my biggest one

a best friend!! someone who gets her, probably understands how she’s feeling without her saying anything. she’s not really like the girl gang kinda girl but whatever

her half-brother is one of my wcs on the main but yes <3 i’d love to see their dynamic and what he’d be like

honestly anything!! friends, enemies, acquaintances, hookups, fwb !!!

[ivy-miranda-2390]

In Defense of Anakin Skywalker (and Hayden Christensen)

I grew up with Star Wars, my whole family loves Star Wars. I was 8 when I saw Episode I and afterwards, I was completely immersed in the Star Wars universe. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi was probably my first fictional boyfriend and I'm unashamedly still in love with him too.

Episode II: The Attack of the Clones came out when I was 11 and so naturally I was excited to see the continuation of the Star Wars prequel universe. However, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute utter gorgeousness of Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen who was cast to play the adolescent Anakin Skywalker.

My memories of first seeing Episode II are fond because I got to see the movies with my older siblings while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was probably my first experience of being accepted among my older adult brothers and sisters or the feeling of 'grownupness' as I like to call it.

So Attack of the Clones has always been an special film to me because I saw it at a time when I was no longer being viewed as a child, but as a growing teenager.

It's also why I've always been rather defensive of the film too. While the film was titled Attack of the Clones, it may as well have been re-titled, "Attack of Anakin Skywalker (and subsequently, Hayden Christensen)". For over 20 years, there has been an absolute and indescribable hatred of Anakin Skywalker and many people blamed both Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen's supposed poor acting as the result of a badly done Anakin.

And to be honest even though I had a massive crush on Hayden Christensen and was hardly a movie critic at the time, I felt that at times that Anakin could have been better acted. However, I was young and didn't care about the script or the acting. Yet, for years I constantly defended, Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen. Partly due to nostalgia, partly to being a teenage girl and most of all partly to do with understanding the character of Anakin as being misunderstood, misinterpreted and not being treated as an adult by the elders in his life.

Did Anakin have problems? Yes.

Were most of these problems his fault? No.

Did Anakin ever try to fix these problems and better himself? Everyday of his life.

He had nothing, but he gave everything

 The prequels were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. Anakin's life is a story arch of sacrifice and redemption. Life has not always been good to Anakin. He was born a slave with no father. He was raised in the strong love of wonderful mother Shmi Skywalker. While Shmi may have been scared and confused as to how she conceived a child without a man, she raised her son in love and simple contentment.

Chances are Anakin and his mother probably faced terrible abuse in their time as slaves and more than once, Anakin may have been separated from Shmi as leverage for greedy slave owners. Although a slave, Anakin was never a victim. He may have been physically owned, but his heart and mind were free. He was his own person, always thinking outside of the box, building, creating, questioning everything and everyone. Not to mention a little wild and rather reckless.

Even as a child Anakin was a little strange to people. For a slave to have such a hopeful and positive attitude may have seemed bizarre to outsiders, but that was just the norm for him. Shmi once remarked that her son knew nothing of greed. For a boy raised with nothing, all he had were his talents as an inventor and growing pilot. And he used his talents for other people. He built C-3PO to help his mom, he entered the podrace to help Qui-Gon Jinn, he always gave without any expectation of being thanked.

A spirit that refused to surrender

After Anakin is freed and sent to train as a Jedi, that wild spirit was still intact. Much to his by-the-book master's dismay. Anakin didn't have the opportunity to grow up in the strict Jedi Temple that was built on order, rules and tradition. As a child, Anakin was use to being himself and not fitting into anyone's mold. His original dream was to be a pilot, not a Jedi. No one asked him if he wanted to be a Jedi, no one asked him if he wanted to be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While Anakin may have been grateful for both opportunities presented to him, overtime he may have seen this new life as not to different from the one he left. A life run by others. Telling him what to do, where to go, how to dress, how to behave. He survived as a slave because he dared to dream and imagine and refused to be defined by others.

Now he's thrown into a culture where individuality is looked down upon. He lived through the stifling Jedi order because he still held onto those qualities. He was going to be himself on his terms. He would nod his head and say yes when he needed to, but off the clock he would live by his own rules. Something that Obi-Wan and the Jedi order could not understand. And Anakin is getting frustrated by this.

So now we get to Attack of the Clones (and the Attack of Hayden Christensen). Critics came down hard on both Anakin and Hayden. Constantly complaining about Anakin's constant complaining, his tantrums, broodiness and being a crybaby about everything. Critics blamed the disaster of Anakin Skywalker on the terrible miscasting of Hayden Christensen. The only redeeming quality Hayden Christensen had that saved him was the fact he was so easy to look at.

For years, fans were desperate to know who Anakin Skywalker was. And so the pressure to deliver a good character that could measure up to the icon of Darth Vader may have seemed insurmountable. And so when people got this confused, overemotional 19 year old, who has no experience in love or sex, but is madly in love with a beautiful young women; and who wants to be respected in a highly established culture, without losing himself or conforming, well people were just disappointed. The disappointment can be explained in one of Anakin's most famous lines.

"HE'S HOLDING ME BACK!"

He, being George Lucas who was holding back Hayden's actual talent to create a good three dimensional character. Plus his bad script writing. Poor Hayden was just made to read lines on a page and somehow make this sad character somebody that people can root for. Unfortunately fans and critics ate him alive. It's only in recent years that people have begun to realize that they were blaming the wrong person. And by blaming Hayden, they were completely misunderstanding Anakin as a character.

His most beautiful gift, his most fatal flaw

Of all of Anakin's gifts, his ability to love deeply was probably his most profound and his most dangerous. The Jedi Temple forbade romantic attachments to others and for good reason. When you become attached to or love someone beyond the boundaries of platonic friendship you become afraid of losing them. The end of my review for the Star Wars prequels sums it up the best:

In The Phantom Menace, Yoda warns Anakin about the dangers of being afraid. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Anakin's most beautiful attribute is also his most fatal flaw. His ability to love deeply. Yet, if you love someone you will always live in fear of losing them. Anakin was created by darkness, but raised in the light of his mother's love. His own love was made manifest by Padme and then by their unborn child/children. However, Love no matter how strong can be weakened and even be destroyed by the evil of fear. If the prequels taught anything about life, it taught how fear (even in its smallest form) can be be our most detrimental enemy. Living alone in fear and not seeking help is a signing of our own death warrants. What might have happened if Anakin had gone to Obi-Wan and seek his help? Would things have been different? The prequels were not meant to tell a happy story. They were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. No, they don't have the silliness or humor of the Originals, because there is nothing humorous about someone's self-destruction. Yet, the story of Anakin Skywalker's transformation had to be told in a way that was real and heartbreaking. To take Darth Vader and make him a human who could feel and understand and love could be an insurmountable task. Yet, you only need to watch his death scene at the end of Return of The Jedi to see that the humane part of Anakin Skywalker had always been there. The prequels were made to be built on that final scene of redemption and human love. A husband's love to save his wife became a father's love that could overcome darkness and hate. An extreme love that defied fear and held on to hope. That was the love of Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin could be a bratty and immature young adult. However, to only base a character by his few annoying flaws is overlooking the bigger and better picture. Anakin was an outsider his whole life and yet that never seemed to bother him. He never cared about fitting in. He was content being himself and he refused to let Obi-Wan or the Jedi Order or even Padme change him. He held onto who he was for as long as he was able to. Then the tragedy of losing his wife changed that. The indomitable spirit wasn't broken, it was destroyed. Anakin re-entered a life of slavery for over 20 years.

And he was ultimately freed by one person. An orphan who once had nothing but a talent as an inventor and dreams of being a pilot. A young Jedi with an unbreakable spirit that refused to surrender to evil or fear or pain or loss. A son who loved his father so deeply that he would fight to the death to free Anakin Skywalker forever.

[semi-imaginary-place]

fe3h blogging 2 because the post got too long

Edelgard Claude foiling. Both see that the world is wrong and that motivates them to make it better. Claude listens to people, Edelgard listens to herself. Claude reflects and introspects, Edelgard doesn’t.

I was going to write more but I realized I was just bashing Edelgard so I stopped. Anyways, the Gatekeeper has a backstory??? a younger twin brother and they’re from the empire?? Also wow Edelgard is REALLY into you (the light in the darkness pft)

I also want to comment how the Church of Seiros unlike some other fantasy religions really is like real life historical (and current) religious organizations. There’s a mix of people from the non believers but there to help, to those that believe this is the best way to help people, to those looking for power, to the people who are there because its a way to make a living. I want to make clear though that Sothis/The Goddess is dead and she can only act a little bit through Byleth. Before the game The Goddess has NO influence on Fodlan. Anyone praying is doing nothing in terms of reaching The Goddess.

Hilda: Tell me what I’m thinking about right now.

Ferdinand: Hmm... You want a snack.

Hilda: I DO want a snacc ;) ;) ;)

supports: Ashe Dedue, Sylvain Felix, Ingrid Dimitri, Hubert Ferdinand, Petra Claude, Marianne Ignatz

3h totally fooled me with the hair colors. I’m too use to JRPGs have rainbow haircolors so I think nothing of it but in this game the white/green hair are plot significant.

Somehow related to dragon shenanigans(white/green): Sothis, Lysithea, Flayn, Edelgard, Byleth, Rhea, Seteth

Plausibly a normal color with weird undertones: Ignatz, Shamir, Petra, Felix, Lindhardt,

That inexplicably JRPG colored hair: Bernadetta, Hilda, Caspar, Marianne, Ashe, Lorenz

Ch14 of Crimson Flowers has made me unfathomably sad. Claude hold himself so tightly, closed off with high walls. He always has a face on, doesn’t break composure. But in ch 14 in the face of losing his dream you can see the cracks in walls. And Claude may be closed off but he is in no way cold hearted or uncaring, he cares so much and you see that as the Empire gains ground. That battle is one of the few glimpses of Claude. Whether he is killed or spared, both are sad. The cut scene after Claude is spared is seemingly lighthearted and a tonal contrast to the serious battle right before it. Without knowing Claude better it seems like a breather before more plot happens, but knowing Claude that scene really breaks my heart. In contrast with the moments of honesty during the battle, Claude’s social mask has snapped right back into place, hiding all of his pain. Claude’s dream meant all to him, being able to walk side by side with his friends in a new world, and that dream just took a devastating blow. Claude is by no means dishonest during that scene, but knowing how devastated he is on the inside yet forcing himself to hold it all together... He’s sad and now I’m sad.

The Insurrection of the Seven is fascinating to me. Just because people keep saying different things about it. Was the Emperor seeking to consolidate power for the throne and the nobles stopped him or where the nobles always seeking to turn the Emperor into a puppet ruler? To my limited knowledge I think for a while Emperors had been losing power. Enough so that the experiments on Edelgard and her siblings could not be stopped. He then tried to expand his power and was crushed.

Crimson Flower is quite interesting. Edelgard and Hubert are walking a fine line balancing the church and the Agarthans. The Empire appears unified but its a shell for the Agarthans and Edelgard is betting on the appearance of that shell.

Wow Dimitri is surprisingly sane and not feral in CF. Does the purple clouds in Dimitri’s death CG remind anyone else of the S support CGs?

Lysithea and Edelgard can bond over shared childhood experiences and being short

Can you imagine Claude, Hilda, and Sylvain as a squad. They would radiate such chaotic energies just standing next to each other that Nemesis would leap out of his cyberpunk containment pod and start dancing to leek spin

How is Dimitri clean shaven post timeskip?? Most people in the grips find it hard to be functional and do basic tasks and your telling me he meticulously shaves everyday? I'm calling it. Dimitri is trans and can't grow a whisker

So the brits (and w europe really) went mad for tea and got it through colonization of india. Where does fodlan get its tea?? Its mostly too cold unless you want to convince me theres an extensive breeding program for hardy cultivars somewhere. Dagda?? We know coffee is imported. hot take: the empire started a war to get more tea

I dont talk about dorothea enough. I almost chose BE just for her. She hates nobles and its great. The voice acting is top notch too. Dorothea-Ferdinand c support is memorable to me because of the voice acting. The line delivery was so good. Especially the  " I hate you " from Dorothea. She's so savage. She was the only one I considered S supporting after intsys robbed me of claude. Didn't go through with it though. It always feels wierd romancing fictional characters.I remember how P3 forced me on the harem route and wow that was uncomfortable. Dorothea is kind. I like kind people. She's so full of love (Manuela is the other character overflowing with love), and her compassion extends to everyone. She understands the grief of war. Contrast that to local manlet Caspar. Once he's decided someone is an "enemy" he stops caring. Oh Caspar... All of Dorothea's supports are so good too... Dorothea's backstory can get a little disturbing. She's 18 at the beginning of the game. She began singing with the company at 10 and gained fame at 13. What troubles me his how she talks about how after every show she was innundated with marriage proposals and such. The way she talks about it, it went on for a while, and while sure the letters and stuff could have been from other teenagers, that she was getting all this as a teenager is creepy. In addition, then she talks about the nobles fawning over her and it made my skin crawl. But the worst was  that a noble possibly her father was coming on to her . Like Dorothea, I'm with you. Let's burn down the world.  Despite the justifiable anger though, dorothea is so full of love. Until the last her heart never turns cold.

Thinking about claude and edelgard. On one hand their personalities, ideals, and ambitions complement each other. On the other hand Edelgard doesn't understand how people work and Claude is a manipulator, guarded, he never lets any one in(edited)Claude can totally read her, but Edelgard reacts poorly to criticism and dissent.... Claude has no faith. Not in his dreams and not in himself. With out a push, he's not proactive. Edelgard charges straight ahead while Claude takes the circuitous path. "Defensive" thats the word for edelgard, she so easily thinks people are out for her. Whereas claude deflects. Both are fuelled by a sense of justice.  Edelgard thinks in terms of eliminating enemies, claude thinks in terms of recruiting allies.  The point is the the tragedy that they would make great friends! But thats not happening in this universe! Because edelgard's bull headed and claude wont open up!

Watching s supports and anyone notice theres 3 variations on the ring.  There 2 silver and green ones. At first I thought small green stone was from people with common origins and big stone from noble. But I just saw saw one with a gold ring.It could be that the character is just that extra. And yeah it is gold is from Ferdinand and Lorenz.

Ferdinand  was so obnoxious at first. But hes such a good boy. He does his best. He's trying very hard. Also, existential angst is my jam.

I just remembered theres only 5 saints in the Church of Seiros and does that mean the tome of comely saints has erotica of... like... cihol??? And cethaleann????? Uuuuuuhhhhhh...I dont like my brain sometimes.

so that whole fuss that byleth's mom was rhea's daughter was because tons of "gamers" chose BE first and misinterpreted Edelgard's speculation. When in reality Jeralt was the one who Rhea gifted her crest (seiros) to, extending his lifespan. Rhea then cut out baby Byleth's heart and then replaced it with Sothis's crest stone hoping that Sothis would posses byleth. All we know of the mom is that she was a nun and died young. Flames crest stone joined to Byleth's heart (CF ending cutscene). Rhea placed Sothis' heart in baby Byleth to revive Sothis (VW ch 22 opener). She has done human experimentation on people to revive Sothis before (implication). Seiros/Rhea did so so that Sothis would posses the body (Rhea dialog consistently referring to Byleth as "Mother" or hoping that Sothis will poke through).

The only time Claude’s anger breaks through his composure is with Rhea. This is significant as Claude almost never loses his composure, and this highlights how Rhea in the only person Claude hates. Claude doesn’t hate Edelgard or Dimitri or any of the other people that may kill him, just Rhea.

question about the Black Eagles/Crimson Flower ending:  why does Byleth collapse and then Sothis' crest stone break? I mean I will give it a break since its symbolic and thematically significant and all and it was a excellent touch that Sothis' heart and Byleth's heart have literally weaved together. Is reviving Byleth Sothis' last act?? Why did Byleth have to die to begin with though? ... well maybe Byleth didn't die since they didn't have a heartbeat to begin with. So far the writing in 3H has been pretty good though there have been weak spots. I think that CF final scene was put in more because it "felt right" than because it was logical. it fits with edelgard's goals and what the route's been about. its just if you really think about it. It doesn't make sense based on what is already known. I mean crest stones could have other powers but I haven't seen that anywhere else in the game. As for the story as a whole, the main acting forces in the game are Edelgard+Empire, those who slither in the dark, and Rhea+Church. Claude also has his own ambitions, but those 3 are more deeply entwined. Each faction has its own goals and past and a good chunk of the game is figuring out what those are. Its also ironic that GD despite how Claude is not enmeshed in ... that other mess, sheds so much light on the other factions. 

The main theme is probably about Rhea since it plays a lot during Rhea scenes and the church is a central focus of the story.

the "M-metal gear?!?!?!" moment will always be hilarious for me. On par with dollar store Hitler

Why is it Jeralt's voice on the map even after he dies?

God Shattering Star:  How Many Times Do We Have to Teach You This Lesson, Old Man?  

Dawn is a recurring motif in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. “the dawn of a new age” is or such is

Claude, a child loved and lonely

i think blue lions was written first. 1 the two monthly missions that have to do with students’ families are both in BL (Ashe and Sylvain). 2 two fairly important side characters at the monastery are related to BL students (Annette and Mercedes). Chapter 3 actually provides a intro for all the lords in their respective routes. Edelgard’s scene is serious but not especially sad, instead you can feel te fire burning within Edlegard and the scene shows how she’s willing to sacrifice the lives of those under her if she believes she is doing the right thing. Claude’s is actually quite light hearted in tone after the first few lines and it highlights the mystery surrounding him and makes him seem very sketchy. Chapter 3 in Blue Lions though is really sad. Ashe my baby boy. Here there is a sense of tragedy in the post battle scene

oh there is another Claude loses his temper. Its when a bunch of thieves (badly) impersonate Almyrans and Claude is so offended they didn’t put enough effort into the act and that they’re weak.

Major Player Goals

Rhea: revive Mother

Edelgard: take down the Church and crest system

Agartha: vengeance on the Nabateans

Claude: usher in a new age of tolerance and prosperity for humanity

Dimirti: keep afloat???

CHURCH SKETCH AF. Rhea always raised the hair on the back on my neck.  I mean even in ch3 the first real mission. We're being used as a personal assassination squad because Lonato threatens Rhea's power.  and then she's like. This is a public execution to give an example of what happens when you defy the church.  and I was like !!!!!!! let's mentally/emotionally scar a bunch of teenagers into fearing the wrath of the church.  Rhea: prosecutor, defense, jury, judge

I remember ranting about revolution and society in fire emblem games before having played this one, and wow intsys made a game for me

Ignatz and Raphael. I must protect both of them. sweet sweet boys. Raphael has the biggest heart and Ignatz just wants to help. Team Protect Raphael's Heart. Raphs is pretty emotionally mature too. he gives warm fuzzy vibes. Ignatz takes on so many burdens and clams up about his own pain. He doesn't place any importance on himself. Let my boy be an artist! Raphael certainly has pain, but he doesn't want a life where that pain rules over all else. Raphael is a force of GOOD I would have love to meet Lorenz's dad. I don't have high expectations of him, but I'm curious.  we've heard so many different things about him. And he's one of the major actors of the story. But we also know so little about him.

o both Mercedes and Emile have the Lamine crest. If that came from their shared mother, why did House Martritz fall since she was heir? Possible answer sexism or finances. The other option is that both Bartels and Martritz have the Lamine bloodline. Also, Jeritza is younger than I thought he was Modern Advances in Missile System Engineering Wade and Kruger 7e 2XXX

Schöner, Alexa, and ZaiCheng Jun.  "Applications of Dymanic Systems Theory in Autonomous Bipedal Assault Units". Journal of Robotics 18.4 (2XXX): 157-170.

I think I'm hilarious. heh. Imagine though, While digging around Shambhala Claude finds these and everyone is just confused because it looks like their language???? and yet the words! they dont make sense!

I didn’t really care when hubert died in VW, but edelgard's death hit me you know. Because both claude and edelgards ambitions are to tear down the old system. and seeing edelgard in that armor. Its like the timeskip all over again. Part 2 begins and you relize how much all the characters have grown. And while you werent looking edelgard has been going through her own journey. When you fight her shes wearing armor with elements from both the flame emperor and her part 2 outfit  yeah edelgard is yikes. i agree with her goals but her disregard for yhe lives under her concerns me. And between her tendency to brute force solutions, those who slither in the dark, and the empires situation, I think she was doomed to fail from the start

When Claude ... half jokes??? that Hilda can grasp his throat, is that connected to how Fodlan's Locket (in Fodlan's Throat) is under house Goneril control?

[the-apocryphal-one]

Novel Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

I’m sorry, but when you open up your book with that paragraph, intentionally invoking and subverting typical fairy tale tropes with a fun tongue-in-cheek narration...you’ve got me hooked. And if you get me hooked like that, you’d better follow through. And this book did. Hot damn it was good. I binged it in a day.

Apparently the author used to write fanfiction; it shows, because she took away all the good lessons you learn from it and left behind the bad parts. Uprooted is a stand-alone medieval fantasy with a refreshingly original tale and lovely use of fairy tale tropes and you should definitely check it out.

Summary: Once a decade, the Dragon comes and Chooses a single girl from the valley he protects as payment. Agnieszka (Nieshka for short) doesn’t worry about being taken; she worries about her beautiful, talented, perfect best friend Kasia, who everyone knows will be Chosen. But for a reason Nieshka can’t fathom, the Dragon picks her instead, and she gets sucked into a world that is dark and horrifying...but not in the ways you’d expect it to be.

Spoiler-free cliffnotes review:

- After a while, YA female protagonists start to get cookie-cutter. Nieshka is not at all cookie-cutter; she’s unique, sweet, and genuinely flawed. I never found myself irritated with her, and I kept getting prouder and prouder of her as she grew into her own.

- Likewise, YA romances tend to be cookie-cutter and feel shallow or lust-based. And don’t get me started on the love triangles. But thankfully, there are no love triangles here, and the romance is background, slow-burn emotional goodness. Bonus points for neither lead being hot; they’re actually kind of plain. Poor Nieshka especially gets called horse-faced and nothing special to look at.

- The other characters are all developed well; Kasia, the wizards at court, the royals, the antagonists, they all have their own distinct personalities and motivations. And boooooooy I love Nieshka’s friendship with Kasia, it is Good and Strong and we need more platonic relationships like that in literature.

- Worldbuilding was enticing, I was genuinely interested in the different legends and histories and songs. Downside is the world itself felt a little confusing in terms of layout; nothing that created a plot hole, but I could have used a map.

- Novik’s prose is beautiful, and especially shines when she’s creating atmosphere, but can be a bit too long at times. It definitely slowed me down while I was reading.

- She’s great at pacing and tension. The stakes start small but important, and then they grow a little larger, and then they just spiral up and up and more and more is at risk and I kept holding my breath waiting to see how the heroes would get through it this time.

...And have the spoiler version below the cut:

The Gushing:

- honestly I love Nieshka because she is just so unlike your typical YA protagonist. A lot of them are cold, brave, loner-types who don’t need help. Nieshka’s a self-admitted coward, genuinely clumsy (she’s always dirty from spilling stuff on herself and tripping), and anxious...but also a big sweetheart, idealistic, and kinda spacey. Like the Dragon took her to teach her magic, and she keeps thinking about how restrictive it is. Then she starts thinking about it in terms of wandering through the woods not knowing what she’s looking for, but she’ll know when she finds it, and she’s picking berries in her head, and suddenly: boom, magic. And the Dragon is furious because that’s too unorganized, what do you mean woods there aren’t any woods here, how are you doing it????

- it is essentially Wizard vs Sorcerer, to put it in DnD terms, only she is the only Sorceress in a world of Wizards and they can’t. get. it. it’s hilarious. (but she also can’t do their stuff, she has all the power without the precise control. They’re all stronger working together, so it’s not “super specialness”, it’s a fair trade)

- Delicious slow-burn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, yum. It’s written subtly and beautifully; I love the detail when she stops thinking of the Dragon by his title and starts thinking of him by his name. You just see the relationship changing without being told it is. 

- speaking of, I love the Dragon. He’s laid out as nuanced and “not a bad lord” from the start--protective of his vassals, enough to personally step in to help them, but also extremely distant. He thinks of the needs of the many vs the few, he’s grumpy, he never socializes, and he demands a sacrifice of a girl every decade--just to clean his tower, but everyone thinks the worst because he doesn’t do anything to make them think otherwise. So no one likes him except in that local proud “he’s our lord” way. And he keeps getting taken off-guard by Nieshka (again: “HOW ARE YOU CASTING LIKE THAT?!”) in a way that’s kind of adorable.

- Nieshka's profession at the end is becoming a druid-type healer. I LOVE THAT. there’s like some stigma against women doing feminine things in YA literature, and Nieshka just goes for it. She has the power to be a war-witch, and she’s used her magic that way, but she hated seeing battle and death. She goes “nope, I’m gonna peace out and heal the damage caused by this war.”

- I love how Nieshka knows the Dragon is gonna run from their relationship and decides she’s not gonna beg him to stay bc he needs to figure that out for himself. If he doesn’t come back, she’ll be sad, but she’ll move on. Her life doesn’t revolve around him, that’s refreshing, and it makes the moment he does come back (bc of course he does) that much better.

- Nieshka and Kasia’s friendship is the Good Shit, they’re just completely devoted to each other and it’s not at all framed in a romantic way. ACTUALLY their platonic love is the central relationship of the story instead of the romance, and I LOVE THAT, because romance shouldn’t be The Only And The Biggest bond in our life. But they also have their secret envies and hurts, but their friendship just grows stronger for it??? it’s just so good???

- Okay, for some non-Nieshka things (but seriously I love her), how about the side characters? They’re never reduced to “stop mattering when the hero leaves the screen”, they get motivations explained and other facets of their character explored. Alosha the witch-blacksmith, the Dragon’s rival the Falcon, KASIA, Prince Marek. Marek is like the perfect shadow archetype of Nieshka, they both really want to save someone they love from the Wood, they both refuse to quit, and it’s just plain bad luck that his quest was doomed from the start. So even though she hates what he does, she understands why he’s doing it, and admits she might well have done the same in his shoes.

- The Wood is terrifying. Novik uses a lot of pretty descriptive words in her narration that borders on flowery at points, but when it comes to the Wood, it underlines how horrific that place is. At one point, the Wood corrupts Kasia, and she describes sap seeping out of her eyes and mouth and I gagged reading it. Or here, take this paragraph:

“I could see light shining through my own skin, making a blazing lantern of my body, and when I held up my hands, I saw to my horror faint shadows moving there beneath the surface. Forgetting the feverish pain, I caught at my dress and dragged it off over my head. He knelt down on the floor with me. I was shining like a sun, the thin shadows moving through me like fish swimming beneath the ice in winter.”

- yes thank you I really needed the imagery of living evil fish swimming under someone’s skin in my life (translation: beautiful prose but ahhhh!)

- plus the Wood is alive and incredibly smart. It spends the whole book playing speed chess and keeping you double-guessing every apparent victory the heroes have. Combined with the supernatural/horror aspects, it really feels like an eldritch and dreadful force of nature. 

- there are like three books’ worth of plot in this one, but they all get developed and paced well. there’s just so much content, and it’s varied and exciting and gripping--training with the Dragon, rescues in the Wood, courtly intrigue, a siege on a tower, kickass magic battles, and The Big Final Mission which ends in a way I don’t want to spoil, even in the spoiler section.

Critiques:

- I really wish Novik included a map of the land, because I just kept getting confused where everything was. At first I was under the impression the Dragon’s tower was to the west, closest to the Wood; then it and the Wood turned out to be in the east? And the capital is...north, northwest of that? But then why are Nieskha and Kasia crossing mountains to get to the Dragon’s tower in the south, the mountains are in the east too, dividing them from Rosya, right??? where even is everything??????? it’s possible I was a dumbell and just misread/misremembered stuff, but that’s why a map would have been helpful.

- Novik’s writing style is beautiful, it’s fairy tale-esque and fits the setting...but once in a while it’s too much, you know? She really, really wants you immersed in the physical sensations of the world she created, and in cases like the Woods, it works well to convey the sheer monstrosity of the place. In other cases, it feels kinda like a slog; there’s one point where she writes at length about the pattern of a carpet. How interesting.

- Usually in YA fiction, the heroine doesn’t care about her parents or vice versa. Thankfully that’s averted here, but Nieshka mentions she has three brothers...who she doesn’t really think or care about. There’s a nice scene when she first arrives at the tower and starts crying about how she’s lost her parents, but her brothers? Nada. They don’t even get names or show up, with no explanation; at the very least a line about how they’re so much older than her that they’re not close would have satisfied me, but there’s nothing like that. It’s not huge, but it’s jarring.

- while I love the Dragon and Nieshka’s emotional relationship, I do admit the physical aspects felt sudden. Novik basically has it so that magically working together creates a charged intimacy between them, and the first time it happened I loved it because it seemed like it was gonna be ‘the gateway’ to more. Instead, it kind of ends up a crutch for their physical relationship. It’s like “slow burn, slow burn, magic, KISSAGE, slow burn, slow burn, magic, SEX”.

[artycreative-blog]

Top Films, TV and Games 2018

Films

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (10) My one word review for this film was 'Perfection'. I've never in my life see such a perfectly crafted animation film or... film in general, really. Every single shot looked stunning. This, combined with the excellent story and characters, the incredible voice acting, the way they managed to fit seven (SEVEN!) Spider hero characters into it without it feeling crowded, and the amazing Miles Morales origin story means that it has to be my choice for number one film this year.

Mission Impossible Fallout (10) My second only 10/10 rated film this year, the sixth installment of the series was the best yet, an intense rollercoaster ride that left me barely able to breathe. Of course, the set pieces are the most important factor here; the suspense created by them has never been more thrilling. However, I loved the character moments too, particularly the slow but meaningful development between Ethan and Ilsa. I can't imagine how they're going to top this film next time.

Bohemian Rhapsody (9) Biopics are some of my favourite films and rank highly on my top films list on a regular basis (think The Theory of Everything, my top film of 2014). Bohemian Rhapsody was a powerful window into Freddie Mercury's public and private life. The Live Aid scene in particular had me in tears the whole way through, I couldn't have stopped them if I wanted to. It was the perfect culmination to the film. The cast was also amazing, but particularly Rami Malek at Freddie. The way he embodied every aspect of Freddie's personality was amazing to watch and I hope that he gets recognition past the great reviews about his performance.

A Simple Favor (9) This film was wickedly entertaining and all engrossing. I've never seen a mystery quite like it. The advertising leading up to its release was particularly important, enough to entice you without giving anything away. I wasn't surprised about the ending, hence the nine rather than a ten, but I was satisfied. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in particular gave stand out performances, although I fully endorse the use of Henry Golding as the handsome husband/boyfriend at every opportunity -- he's great.

Crazy Rich Asians (8) Considering I don't have much time to get to the cinema these days, the fact that I saw Crazy Rich Asians three times has to say something! It is without a doubt the most fun film I saw this year. I loved the decadence of it all, from the settings to the grand romance. Of course I appreciated that it was a full Asian cast, as it showed Hollywood that making films based solely around a different culture works, even if it has a Westernized skew to it. But what I really adored was the women in this film, they took center stage, each which different personalities, stories and motives. I'd really love to see more of that in the future.

TV

Altered Carbon (9) I've watched Altered Carbon three times. In a year where I've been short on time and have struggled to watch/play things, this alone should explain why it has taken my number one spot. Science fiction is one of my favourite genres, it has been since I was a kid. I've watched a lot of different sci-fi over the years, but when something really commits to it, even if it makes it complicated, I really love that, particularly if it is based on believable science (like in the Star Trek review). Altered Carbon was an amazing blend of intelligent writing, fantastic acting and a compelling story. A must watch for anyone who enjoys this genre like I do.

Star Trek Discovery (9) Star Trek has taken many forms over the years, but this has to be one of my favourites so far. The way it embraces science makes me giddy with excitement, much like the Martian did back in 2015. They then take this science and weave it into an compelling, sometimes heart-rending story which has proven to be a stellar series of the franchise for me. I particularly love the crew and how different they all are, that diversity in terms of personality is what I strive for in my own writing and I'm so happy to see it here.

Final Space (9) Whew. I did not understand what I was getting myself into when I pressed play on this show on Netflix earlier this year. I watched pretty much the whole season in one day. It was the effed up hilarity of it all that drew me in, but it was the characters and the legitimately emotional journey behind it all that made me stay. I was really impressed with this, I can't wait for more. CHOOKITY!

One Day at a Time (9) If a show can make you cry every episode, it automatically gets high marks. The great thing about One Day at a Time is that it also backs up the powerful, emotional issues it deals with each time with some of the most hilarious jokes week in, week out. The family dynamic is brilliant, Schneider included, and the way they handle the aforementioned issues in a balanced, sensitive way is wonderful. It makes it feel like their family is real, despite the sitcom style, which is so hard to do. I really love it and I'm so looking forward to season three!

GLOW S2 (9) I've never been very good at articulating why I love this show. I mow through every episode I'm given with very little thought as to why. It's incredibly watchable; I think a large part of that is down to the characters and cast, but also the quirkiness of it all. I also find the relationship between Ruth and Sam really compelling, whatever form it takes. I'm still very much looking forward to a third season.

Games

Batman: The Enemy Within (10) I originally gave this game a nine, if memory serves, right after my first play through. However, once I played the other storyline to the game, I saw how damn freakin' good it truly is. For the first time in a Telltale game, I witnessed the devastating effects that my choices could have on the characters, particularly John. Some of the end scenes in both versions are utterly heart wrenching and it shows perfectly the twisted dynamic a hero can have with his villains. I can heartily recommend playing both this game and the first series; if you love Batman, it's so worth your time.

Detroit: Become Human (8) This game is exactly what I needed this year, totally story driven and no more than 12 hours long for a play through. It kept making me want to go back and play more whenever I had time, which a lot of games haven't been able to do the last 12 months. The graphics are incredible and the plot itself can be really engrossing, particularly when you get behind the characters. I really loved Connor, I totally understand why Bryan Dechart has such a huge following now. He had the most compelling story line for me (helped by his interaction with Hank, who was also amazing) and acted the role so well. I have played through the game a second time and was able to follow as many different paths as possible, sometimes even forsaking my own conscience, which is hard for me to do! But I have no motivation to complete all the different paths, which is where I think it falls down for me. If you like games like Telltale games, then I would say this is a good choice for you.

Spider-man (8) The thing I loved most about Spider-man was its story. If you can write something that will make grown men cry on stream, without shame, then I think you're onto something. The great thing about games is that they a) have the time to let you delve into the lives of the characters, which is something that movies struggle to do because they simply can't cover everything they want to, and b) really immerse you into the world so you feel like you're actually Peter Parker, soaring through the streets of Manhattan as you thwip your way from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge. The web slinging is particularly good and the fighting is fun too, so long as you remember to dodge. There were some things that niggled at me, made the game not as enjoyable to play as it was to watch, but all in all it was a brilliant game and really did Spider-man justice.

Forza Horizon 4 (8) I remember the showcase for this game at E3 and boy, did it look good. Driving games were something I loved as a kid, albeit they were the likes of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing. So far as 'adult' racing games go, this one is pretty great. It looks spectacular on a 4K screen using the XBox One X and the racing itself is exhilarating and challenging enough to make you want to work for those wins. I wish that it covered more of Britain, being limited to the countryside and Edinburgh was a bit of a let down, but I understand why they did. This is definitely a game that has more longevity if you play it with friends, although a quick jaunt down the motorway at 200mph every now and again never hurt anyone.

Destiny 2: Forsaken (7.5) Ah, Destiny. I've been playing the game since Vanilla and I can't explain how good it felt back in the beginning. I could grind for hours by myself without a care in the world. Forsaken hasn't quite recaptured this for me, as I still find it hard to play the game by myself. With friends, though, it's a great experience now. We love picking up all the bounties and working towards long-term quests in the evenings and on the weekends, there's plenty of content now like the players wanted. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the story, but that's a personal thing as revenge has never been a thrilling plot line for me, so I lacked the drive to get behind hunting down Uldren. However, the game is still by far the best shooter I own from the point of view of the way it handles and the characters you encounter. I'm very glad I've been able to get back into it with this expansion.

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 1 Review: Aftermath

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Star Wars: The Bad Batch review contains spoilers.

The Bad Batch Episode 1

During the opening scene of The Bad Batch, the new animated series set during the rise of the Empire, the The Clone Wars logo burns away. At once blatant marketing and a promise of something new, the logo neatly explains what The Bad Batch is.

As Jennifer Corbett (producer and head writer) and Brad Rau (producer) said during a press junket ahead of the May 4 premiere, this show is a spiritual successor and also a direct sequel to The Clone Wars. The beginning of the new show draws from the epic scale of The Clone Wars‘ series finale (and the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy which it parallels). But while the action and heart are all there on paper, stock characters and a too-straightforward plot drag down the 70-minute premiere.

The five characters of the Bad Batch, lead by elite clone Hunter, never quite fit in. Like many other aspects of technology in Star Wars, cloning isn’t an exact science, and Clone Force 99 are “deviant” or “defective” depending on who’s talking, but they’re very good at their jobs of fighting on behalf of the Republic. But when the Republic transitions to the Empire, they’re immediately asked to start doing messier jobs, such as hunting down human rebels, whereas they’d usually fight droids. As you’d expect, the clones swap sides and, of course, end up having to fight their way out of their home base. A young girl clone named Omega helps them out, and the stage is set for the rest of the season, which will have at least 14 episodes.

Star Wars guru Dave Filoni is joined by Star Wars Resistance writer Jennifer Corbett on the creative side. Her pedigree in delivering stories for the Sequel-era animated show, and her experience in the U.S. Navy, make her an ideal guide for this war story. As military science fiction, The Bad Batch is serviceable, with the creative action and silly one-liners typical of The Clone Wars. The franchise’s approach to animation is always improving, which in this first long episode manifests mostly in impressive snow and a fun depth of field effect. The sharp corners of armor contrast nicely against soft, blurred lights in the out-of-focus backgrounds.

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

As far as plot goes, it’s pretty simple, leaving me to want to dig into some of the more weighty sections but not sure whether they’re actually statements. The Bad Batch see the other clones turn on the Jedi during Order 66, but for the same reason their other “defects” make them stronger, the inhibitor chips that should brainwash them according to the Emperor’s wishes don’t work. They choose to let the Jedi in their vicinity live. Future-Grand Moff Tarkin sees their rebelliousness as a good chance to prove the Clone Army is no longer effective. After all, conscripts would apparently be cheaper. But after the Batch uncover Tarkin’s true colors, they defect for good.

It’s cool to see this transition happening. What do clones become after the war? It’s a question hardcore Star Wars fans might leap to answer (they don’t all become stormtroopers, and not all stormtroopers are clones) but we haven’t seen it so directly on screen before. It’ll be nice if The Bad Batch addresses some of the practical questions around that.

Meanwhile, Tarkin’s clearly willing to shed civilian blood in a way the Jedi generals weren’t, replacing the clones bred for war with human volunteers. Like many other Star Wars stories set during the Prequel era, the Batch’s choice presents a moral decision with no right answers. The “good” choice here would be to maintain a status quo in which tens of thousands of people are born solely to fight wars with droids, which, while technically enemy soldiers, are also sapient. And while I can generally get lost in the military camaraderie fantasy here, the fact that other clones don’t like them makes what exactly the Bad Batch is fighting for even more muddled. Maybe this is about giving this squad a new cause they believe in outside of the definitely-bad Empire.

Or maybe the fact that it’s hard to tell the Republic’s policies from the Empire’s is the point. This is how the Republic fell after all: gradually.

The strongest character beats involve the characters learning to trust each other in new ways. Team leader Hunter’s superpowers are “enhanced senses,” although that isn’t really on display much. He begins to distrust team sniper Crosshair when Crosshair becomes over-eager to follow their grim mission by the book. Their arguments were most compelling before the inhibitor chip was introduced: while I know it fits with the lore, it defangs the story a little to have the main antagonist’s motivation be “he was brainwashed,” and I was a little unsure of how much the show was willing to either pin blame on him or absolve him of it. Either way, we haven’t seen the last of Crosshair.

The Bad Batch can’t even trust the Kaminoans, their creators and stewards of their beloved home. The one who shows this the best is team heavy Wrecker. His tendency to scream about blowing stuff up I generally find more annoying than funny, but toward the middle of the extended episode he adds pathos without getting away from this broad characterization. Wrecker isn’t programmed, he insists. He likes what he likes. His determination to hold on to a sense of himself as a person with free will feels like the real stakes of the show. It’s a section of the episode that quickly jumps back into goofy, fun action, but for a moment gets at something more serious and scary. Wrecker’s determination to hold on to his individuality shows exactly what Tarkin hates most about the clones. Ironically, in Tarkin’s estimation, he needs stormtroopers that can be even more tractable.

Unfortunately, the moments most important to this theme are undercut by repeating information the audience already knows. If you’ve watched The Clone Wars, you probably know about Fives’ discovery of the inhibitor chips and how Ahsoka helped Rex remove his. But moments like the one above sell the fact that the clones would be shocked to learn the truth about their new Empire.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The brand new member of the group is Omega, a young teenage clone introduced as both audience surrogate and mystery. (She’s also a particularly noticeable example of how the Empire is whitewashing the clones — those further from the Jango Fett template have lighter skin.) She’s a big fan of the Bad Batch because, like them, she’s an altered clone. It’s implied that she’s never really been able to make friends with other humans before, so it makes sense she’d latch on to the other unique clones in her orbit. Her fondness for them sometimes reads like a script for how much the audience is supposed to be fawning over the headliners, but the show never quite really shows the world from her perspective. Nevertheless, I think it’s overall a less jarring introduction than Ahsoka’s, who became a great character as she got more involved with the rest of the saga. It’s a “wait and see” with Omega as well.

I am a bit wary the series might be hurrying to repeat the sleight-of-hand pulled with Rey, presenting a character as both a point of view and a mystery at the same time. The first two episodes provided for review hint something bigger is going on with Omega, and how grounded that thing might be might determine whether it works. It’s become a bit tiring to use “who is this character?” as a jumping-off point rather than providing an answer in the first place and building from there.

As far as connecting to other Star Wars characters we do have answers for, The Bad Batch instantly announces that this will be a cameo-heavy episode, and…that’s okay? Now that they’re not being as coy about it as Rebels was, it’s a lot of fun to see Saw Gerrera and a young Kanan Jarrus. (Even if the latter cameo does instantly contradict the Kanan backstory comic released by Marvel a few years ago.)

When the Bad Batch were introduced in The Clone Wars I found them boring, their action figure-ready powers not any more compelling than the clones and Jedi we already had. They still seem a strange choice for headliners when characters like Ahsoka are operating at the same time. More so than The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch feels like a deep cut, a completionist tale that may struggle to hold fans. While comparisons between the avuncular Batch and Omega’s relationships with Din Djarin and Grogu are inevitable, this is no The Mandalorian in terms of either content or accessibility.

The post Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 1 Review: Aftermath appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3h0ihwc

[kingofthewilderwest]

What do you think of Viggo´s supposed death? The noise he made when falling and the complete lack of dramatic element regarding it make me think he is as dead ad Dagur. It would not surprise me to watch Hiccup attending that Maces and Talons match only to find Viggo has already won and greets him with open arms and something in the line of "My dear Hiccup, it is such a pity you couldn´t arrive earlier. I truly was hoping to compete against you"against you"

Hello, hello! Thank you so much - I’m doing well! I’m moving into a new apartment and it’s slowly coming together. :)

[Quick note on the damselstrid (continued from this post) before I chat about Viggo: The way I usually see Damselstrid dialogue occur within the Hiccstrid community is that either the individual doesn’t mind or they are very frustrated with the portrayal (I see much more of the latter on my dashboard). So I understand what you mean, yeah! It’s frustrating for all of us. As you saw in my previous post, I agree that it’s something that should be addressed and corrected in later seasons. I also guess I’m glad I helped illuminate the sexism within RTTE? The sad thing is I could continue elaborating with many more points… but I hope that, at least with pointing out some of the things, people can be aware it’s there. As much as I love the show, and as much as I will continue to love the show, it’s always good to be aware of the areas in which the show could use improvement, especially in areas of representation.]

As far as Viggo is concerned, I personally actually really hope he’s dead. As much as I love the mind games that Viggo has, and as much as I think he is a unique villain within the HTTYD realm, I don’t think that bringing him “back from the dead” would be the best choice of narrative. Even though there is a point to be made that his death feels, in many ways, anticlimactic and lacking in drama, I also feel as though it would be a poor choice in other writing respects to bring him back. Here are my main reasons why:

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast.2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast

Fake deaths are a common narrative device in fiction used to build tension and create audience surprise. When done correctly, it can evoke shock, excitement, or a host of other suddenly-jarred emotions. Correctly done faked deaths can really get the audiences excited. When done incorrectly, though, it can feel like a very worn-out plot device… especially since it is a common trope. 

It’s to note that repeating tropes within a single story - especially tropes with these sorts of high-drama elements - tend to wear out and annoy audiences. It’s not a good plot element to recycle and keep redoing; if ever done, it should be done once for optimal effect. Otherwise, you cheapen both the first faked death and the second, make the plot of the story predictable and repetitive, and rely too heavily on tropish plot devices to carry the narrative “forward.”

RTTE writers have already implemented the back-from-the-dead trope once. It’s what happened with Dagur in S3 to S4. We never saw Dagur’s body at the end of his “death scene” in S3′s Family on the Edge, and indeed, he comes back in the fourth season alive and well. Now, if Viggo came back from the dead, not only would we recycle the same overdramatic plot device… but we’d be pulling the same stunt with two characters in back-to-back seasons. At this point, it would feel much like a worn-out, recycled plot device… rather than giving us some new, more novel twists and turns.

I would MUCH more prefer that Viggo - and Ryker - stay dead for that narrative reason alone.

2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.

I’ve always found it interesting how long a character stays an antagonist in the DreamWorks Dragons shows. The writers tend to have a set time frame in which the villain interacts with Hiccup before we move onto some new enemy. To recapitulate how long villains stayed in conflict with Hiccup:

Mildew: 1 season (ROB; 2 seasons, counting brief appearances in DOB)

Alvin: 2 seasons (ROB and DOB)

Dagur: 3 seasons (DOB, RTTE S1, RTTE S2).

Ryker: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Viggo: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Now, it is to note that RTTE seasons are half the length of ROB and DOB seasons, and that he only appears visually on screen at the end of RTTE S2… but we still get about the same amount of screen time per villain. At the moment, we have a pretty decent pattern in which the villains come, wreak havoc, but end their plot arcs before their presence gets worn out. We don’t drag out the villain plot arcs in the DreamWorks Dragons franchise.

Now, if we have Viggo return in Seasons 5 and 6, then he would disproportionately dominate much of the narrative throughout the HTTYD franchise. It might feel a little odd that this villain, whose presence has been keenly felt since RTTE S2, would be so prevalent, while the other antagonists would have a disproportionately lesser time being the bad guy.

So purely from a sake of balance, it’d be better for Viggo to be dead, too.

3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.

Race to the Edge is hardly accurate in how it portrays volcanoes. Oh goodness, it is very inaccurate in how it portrays volcanoes. That said, having a character seem to fall down into a volcano still seems like a sure way to perish. We could suggest Viggo grabs onto the side of the cliff or something like that, but regardless, chances of survival are extraordinarily, extraordinarily slim for him. It’s extremely likely he dies here.

Now, people could point out, “We don’t SEE him dead.” Yes, that is true. Nevertheless, would this show actually show a dead character on screen? Would they actually show the character getting impaled or hitting the lava or something else horrendous and graphic like that? Probably not. They’re going to show a character falling down into what should be a sure death without showing their actual death. Sort of like what just happened with Viggo.

Especially given as we see Hiccup watch Viggo fall, and Hiccup’s right there with his eyes glued on the volcano… it makes it a little hard to say that Viggo made it out alive. Look at Hiccup’s horrified expression. It seems he witnessed something directly.

Of course, this doesn’t have to mean that Viggo is dead, but the most they will ever show on screen I believe - for a children’s show like this - is an implied death with the camera focused on the individual (Hiccup) watching it.

4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.

One of the things I have always been curious about was how Hiccup and Viggo’s intelligence match would progress. I suspected that, over time, Hiccup would learn how to outmanipulate the manipulator and beat Viggo at his own game - though in a way that demonstrated kindness and mercy rather than a drive for one’s own profit. I suspected that Hiccup would grow from being extremely frustrated about Viggo, feeling as though there’s no way he can beat the villain, to the person making Viggo unsettled and worried. There would be a turn of tides, with Hiccup eventually gaining the upper hand. That was my prediction.

Nevertheless, the fact that this is not what occurred still doesn’t mean it wasn’t an interesting and fitting way to end Viggo’s role as a villain. In fact, Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws in multiple respects - both in terms of Hiccup’s interactions, and in terms of Viggo’s character itself.

First, the fact that Viggo never becomes overwhelmingly bested by Hiccup means that Viggo will forever remain as the character who could outsmart Hiccup. Viggo retains his legacy forever, this way, which is actually sort of fitting. We don’t have an all-powerful protagonist who can magically outdo people at their own strengths. We have a villain who still gets defeated, but retains his legacy of his strengths. Viggo’s identity never unravels.

Hiccup still manages to outdo Viggo by throwing away the Dragon Eye, but it’s not an “outhinking”, so much. It shows Hiccup doesn’t have to become Viggo to best Viggo. Furthermore, it shows Hiccup’s growth from being obsessed about the Dragon Eye to the point he endangers his friends (Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part 2)… to being willing to sacrifice it because of the people he cares about - it’s not Hiccup becoming better than Viggo, but Hiccup becoming better at being Hiccup. Then, this event could help Hiccup grow into who he is by HTTYD 2, someone who doesn’t believe he can do everything (since he never got to outdo Viggo at his own game, in full).

Last, what happens is that Viggo’s core identity - that of a manipulator - is what leads to his own downfall. Viggo leads to Viggo’s own fall. It’s Shakespearian. It’s nice. It’s fitting to have him end in the way where his own strengths becomes his undermining weaknesses.

Viggo’s greatest strengths are his control over the dragon hunters, his manipulative abilities, and his desires for profits (which in turn fuels him to hunt dragons, seek the Dragon Eye, and thus clash with Hiccup so adamantly). These are what make him a villain to be contended with against Hiccup. All these things lead to his downfall in RTTE S4.

Viggo’s gripping control is what makes him a leader. But Viggo’s gripping control is what sours his relationship with his brother and turns Ryker against him (debatably - we’ll never know how much of that incident was staged trickery and how much was genuine rebellion). But more obviously, Viggo’s desire for profit and ability to manipulate is what led to his direct end. Viggo tried to manipulate Hiccup with Astrid. That backfired. It led to a situation where Hiccup had to throw away the Dragon Eye. Viggo wanted to get hold of the Dragon Eye - it was his pursuit from start to end of his role as villain - it’s how he could extend his profits as a dragon hunter. But his own drive for the Dragon Eye, the very reason that he was such a contender and dangerous enemy for Hiccup… is what led to him trying to grab the Dragon Eye… and thus falling to his death. 

Had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, he wouldn’t have been an enemy to contend with. But had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, then he wouldn’t have fallen as he did.

So Viggo’s ending is superbly fitting to his character. The reasons why he butted heads with villain and became a dangerous villain are what became his downfall. Viggo brought about Viggo’s own end there at the end of S4. And that’s very fitting.

Now, it’s true that it might have felt anticlimactic in its execution, and I agree, but the concept is really something I can get behind. REALLY something I can get behind.

5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

Viggo’s antagonist story doesn’t need to be continued. It is, in many ways, self-contained between seasons two through four. The main plot of Viggo bothering the youths through the dragon hunters and battling over the Dragon Eye is now done. The Dragon Eye is gone, after all. And even the problem of Hiccup needing to best Viggo to save the dragons is finished. Assuming Viggo and Ryker never come back, the dragon hunters won’t harm the dragons any more. The dragon riders have victory in all the areas that they need for the plot arc. They’re not going to be bothered by those dragon hunters again. Story closed.

So there’s no need to extend the plot arc with Viggo. We’ve gotten a full narrative arc with an ending that concludes just about everything that needs to be concluded.

Rather, I would prefer if we spent the next two seasons exploring the new plot device they’ve opened up with Krogan. If he becomes the main antagonist in the next two seasons, then that would make a lot of sense, have room for development, and make for a good lead-in to HTTYD 2 by the end of S6.

Now, the last thing I want to say is that, just because *I* think that it is better plot-wise on many fronts for Viggo to be dead… doesn’t mean he has to be dead. It doesn’t mean that this is the route the writers will take. My comments are not predictive, they’re just what I think would be best for the story were I writing it myself. It’s totally possible for Viggo to make a reappearance. I wouldn’t be all that astonished if it happened. But for me, personally, I want this to be the wraps on the Viggo story arc, for the reasons I outlined above! XD

[ogiga99]

Guess who’s back in the world of BlazBlue!!!

So I just finished playing Central Fiction’s story mode and HOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAP was that a ride. It was so good I was in tears at certain points. However it was not perfect. After playing it I just have to get out my thoughts about the game out. So here are my ramblings about everything in no particular order.

1. Obviously I miss the dub. While I did get used to the Japanese voices and they were certainly capable of handling all the drama well, the story will forever feel weaker than it could have been in dubbed form. I think the comedy suffered the most because unlike the previous games I never broke out into a full blown laughing fit, even for the Gag Reels.

2. I loved the sub-scenario system. BlazBlue has always struggled with how to present its story in a complete package. CT and CS had individual character stories followed by a True Ending which did give every character a lot of focus but at the cost of us having no single timeline of events, forcing us to try and piece together what is ultimately canon. CP ditched individual scenarios and instead had three routes to spread the focus around but this led to a lot of conflicting or repeated events that had the same problem as the previous games. CF’s system is the ultimate compromise. It has one single path that leaves no room for conflicting material but with diverging points that focus on the various subplots mostly separate from Ragna. If they ever make a new BlazBlue game I hope they keep this system.

3. The events equivalent to Act I of arcade mode went on a bit too long. Ultimately we don’t learn that much from it and all the characters have regressed in their development so we don’t gain anything from them. It was an interesting plot point but it wasn’t necessary.

4. Conversely, Acts II and III went by way too quickly, being pretty much just Ragna’s arcade runs. While later events do treat things as if all the arcade events of other characters happened offscreen (several characters mention meeting Izanami and know to search for Noel) it seems strange to have them all glossed over. Act III in particular suffers because the “Noel witch hunt” that drives it was basically a non-issue. Kagura and Kokonoe find and hide her immediately and she never has a breakdown from everyone trying to kill her. Seemingly important events like Amane reviving Takamagahara (which just gets a token mention during his final conversation with Ragna), Hibiki being willing to turn against Kagura for his desire and Tsubaki learning Hakumen is Jin are ignored. What we got after that was great but I don’t see why we couldn’t have had a few more sub-scenarios about that stuff.

5. I’m impressed with how well they managed to handle the defeats of so many villains (with the exception of Relius who just leaves without consequence and Nu who gets easily memory wiped). Nine, Arakune, Azrael, Izanami, Hazama and finally Terumi all have dramatic and satisfying defeats that don’t feel forced. Before release I was expecting Hazama to simply end up in the background and be held as reserve for a sequel villain once he separated from Terumi but what we got was so much better (granted he’s not dead since he’s almost certainly going to be in Bloodedge Experience sequels). In particular Terumi’s was really satisfying after everything that he’s done.

6. I’m really glad with how the Litchi/Arakune and Bullet/Tager subplots turned out. Despite the game’s focus on Ragna they were both given ample time to play out to their fullest. Litchi finally can move on from her self-destructive mission and Bang was the one to defeat Arakune (like I always envisioned it) to spare Litchi from such hardship (further proof why he is the best character). While Tager doesn’t regain his memories, Bullet can find closure and move on, proving she’s truly grown since she was a rookie. Both endings are bittersweet but they are done really well.

7. I’m not sure how to feel about how well Naoto’s inclusion was handled. On the one hand his role in the climax was perfect, having just one job that doesn’t overstep his importance. On the other hand, I’m disappointed with how little we actually learn about him. Apparently he has been hopping between parallel worlds multiple times to find Raquel but we don’t know how he ended up doing that. We also don’t get any answers to the major questions about him (why is he so similar to Ragna and why does he overwrite Ragna’s existence, what is the relationship between Rachel and Raquel, why does Naoto have that symbol on his chest etc.). I can only hope BE gets some kind of sequel because as is I am unsatisfied.

8. Es was utterly wasted in this game. She probably has less than 30 minutes of screen time in total and doesn’t actually accomplish anything with it. Before release I went on and on about how there are so many questions regarding how she can be here (namely she couldn’t have the Murakumo and the Azure Eyes at the same time and she can’t be outside the Phantom Field while she is the Embryo Storage) and the game answers none of them. Apparently this Es was “created by the Azure” but what does that mean? Is this a different Es that was made with the XBlaze one as a template and if so why was Es specifically chosen? Es mentions her loved ones several times (although she never specifies names outside of victory quotes) so clearly she has the XBlaze memories in some way but how does that work with her very different origin? Why does she perfectly remember her past in story mode but seems unaware of it in her victory quotes with her being confused about search terms in her memories? If it is an Es from post-XBlaze then what happened to the XBlaze world? Was it a “possibility” like the Bloodedge Experience world that disappeared? Was it from the same timeline as the Prime Field War? Should the fact that Es remains the Guardian of the Azure at the end be a good thing or is she being separated from Touya and the others for the sake of her duty. But the worst part of all is that not once in story or her arcade mode does she meet Nine and Celica. The majority of XBlaze: Lost Memories is about Watashi (Nine) and Imouto (Celica) become friends with Nobody (Es) and the ending clearly hints that they will meet again. At the very least there should have been a sub-scenario where Nine ends up in front of the Azure Gate for some reason (like Mu and Naoto did early on) and the two meet again but as enemies. It wouldn’t need to go anywhere, just have Nine doubt herself a little because she would have to fight against another one of her loved ones (which was the focus of her fight with Ragna and her death) or something like that. Heck even seeing Es’s silhouette when Nine mentions her loved ones would be something. It honestly seems like Mori had no idea what to do with Es so he just threw her in with no regard for continuity and it is easily the weakest part of the story.

9. Aside from the Es stuff I did enjoy that there were a lot of references to the side materials since I’m a lore nut. I love how Makoto reminds Es and Naoto of their respective Yuki’s. Hearing more details about Tomonori and seeing Kajun in the ending were great. I was absolutely ecstatic when Nine sees Celica as Imouto during her fight with Ragna, FINALLY being the 100% undeniable truth that the Mercury sisters are the characters in LM. That said, I could have done with just a few more, particularly on the XBlaze side. We should have gotten some reference to Nine using the Phantom Field or had her use the XBlaze in her left eye. Nine’s Overdrive being Burning Red highly suggested that we would see her using the Crimson Grimoire from Remix Heart, which last we saw was with Hazama. Ragna or Naoto should have triggered some memories of Touya in Es (at the very least he needed one namedrop) but most of this is just nitpicking.

10. ALL THE RAGNAXRACHEL SHIPPING!!! After CP had almost no new support since it focused so much on Ragna’s relationship with Celica, this game was the jackpot for the best ship in the series. With the disappearance of Celica and Noel fully accepting her position as Ragna’s sister, the path was clear for Rachel alone. We got great things like Rachel pushing herself to the point where she is close to disappearing just to help Ragna, Ragna being the maddest he has ever been after seeing Hazama torturing Rachel (as in so made he nearly became the Black Beast) and that FREAKING ANIMATED HUG, which was one of the most heart wrenching moments in the game. And of course there is the ending, with Rachel going off to find Ragna again no matter what hell she has to go through despite not even remembering who he is and even leaving her hair ribbons tied around his sword. Just DDDDAAAAWWWW!!!!

11. Speaking of the ending, even aside from the Rachel stuff it was pretty much perfect. It completed Ragna, Noel and especially Jin’s development masterfully and was just the right amount of bittersweet. Every characters epilogue was so fitting. Lambda living as a Sister with Noel is just too cute and I’m glad Naoto got the closure of finding Raquel. Pretty much everything that needed to be resolved was resolved.

12. The ending also had great cliffhangers that felt natural. Relius is still out there trying to complete Ignis, Hazama is unaccounted for (again probably will be the one we saw in the end of BE2), Carl hasn’t saved Ada yet but has taken a major step towards being a new villain as Relius Jr,, Azrael is still alive, merely sealed, Tsubaki has apparently become some kind of new Hakumen (although I doubt she has the Susano’o Unit since Hakumen and Trinity sealed it in the depths of the Boundary), the aforementioned Rachel journey and of course the post-credits scene with Ragna’s sword missing from the grave (implying he might still be alive) and the text hinting at Alpha-1.

And that’s pretty much it for my thoughts at the moment. Despite some complaints I am overall really happy with this game and glad I can finally get back into the discussion.

[recentanimenews]

Ranking All 50 One Piece Anime Arcs Up to Wano (Yes, Even The Filler)

  The Wano arc is in full swing, with the latest episode finally bringing us an amazing first clash between Luffy and Kaido. However, with Wano, the number of One Piece arcs (including filler) has been brought up to fifty, and that seems like a great time to rank them all. 

  50. Buggy's Crew Adventures

    This isn't really an arc so much as a sigh of relief after the runaway train of emotion of the last few episodes of Arlong Park. You can laugh at Buggy for a bit after watching Nami's soul get ripped apart (and then put back together again).

49. Post Alabasta

    You know video game sidequests that are basically around to level up your specific partner characters so that they don't get immediately wiped out in boss fights? This is the anime filler arc version of that. It's fun, though.

48. Foxy's Return

    I loooooove Foxy and I looooove the Davy Back Fight arc. But Foxy's Return doesn't quite hit home. It might be because we last saw Foxy six episodes ago, but it truly speaks to Foxy's character that he'd try to make a grand, dramatic return after he got the crap kicked out of him so recently.  

47. Spa Island

    Foxy returns again in Spa Island, though this filler arc is mostly notable for the fact that Luffy uses Gear Third to split an artificial island in half. That alone wins this arc points.

46. Warship Island

    Warship Island isn't a bad filler arc, just a victim of poor placement. It comes right after Loguetown and right after the Straw Hats have each declared their dreams. So it becomes a pit stop arc, like the Straw Hat crew getting gas and snacks before they head out on the Grand Line.

45. Little East Blue

    I like to think of Little East Blue as a celebration of pre time skip One Piece, where the Straw Hats get (deservedly) celebrated for a bit. It's cute and it's a nice prologue to the Strong World movie. 

44. Z's Ambition

    The filler arcs that precede the movies are an odd bunch, as they tend to end with the main villain of the movie showing up in the last five minutes and declaring their plans. So it's hard to enjoy them on their own. That said, Z's Ambition has enough action that even if you don't watch Film Z (but you should, as it's great), you won't really mind the cliffhanger finale.

43. Straw Hat Separation

    After Kuma wiped out the crew, this batch of episodes shows where they all ended up. And it's mainly a montage of Straw Hats being confused. And don't get me wrong—the Straw Hats do confusion like nobody's business. But you get more out of their separation in the Post War arc when they finally get around to business. 

42. Diary of Koby-Meppo

    Koby is a character that has always deserved more time, so getting a few episodes devoted to him and Helmeppo training to be Marines is welcome. Also, my dude Garp shows up for the first time, which means that I've rewatched these two episodes FAR more than I should. 

41. Goat Island

    Goat Island doesn't feel as "classic" as G-8, nor is it as entertaining as Ocean's Dream. In fact, it's about as fluffy as the goats that appear in it. But a three episode arc where Chopper talks to goats and Luffy doesn't beat up a villain but rather causes him to get shipwrecked? I'm FOR it. 

  40. Chopper Man Special

    Chopper Man has Chopper in a cape. It's worth it for that. Please @ me. Chopper Man, you're my hero, and I hope you one day get a Chopper Man & Sogeking Save The Grand Line special.

  39. Romance Dawn

    Romance Dawn establishes a lot of things that will become classic tropes in One Piece: Going to a new island, meeting new crew members, helping out little kids, taking out a power hungry warlord, etc. It's a blueprint arc, and it works well as that. Sadly, the anime would not continue the "introduce a Straw Hat character with rad guitar" idea like they do with Zoro here. 

38. Orange Town

    The East Blue saga only gets better as it goes along, and Orange Town provides a nice counter to Romance Dawn. For example, if Axe-Hand Morgan represented the seriousness of the Marine threat in the last arc, then Buggy represents the other side of the villains that the Straw Hat Crew will encounter: cartoonish, loud, and beaten in a really fun way. 

37. Ruluka Island

    Ruluka Island feels like condensed One Piece, like you'd just add some water to turn this four episode arc into a twenty episode one. It's a nice arc to stretch your legs in before you go to the big themes of Jaya.

36. Ice Hunter

    Ice Hunter is neat because it gives every member of the Straw Hat crew a little time to shine in a story that is action-packed and intriguing. If you miss pre timeskip One Piece and haven't watched the Ice Hunter arc, give it a shot.

35. Marine Rookie

    I know that we're all eager to see the Straw Hats reunite in Wano, but if you want to see more of Whole Cake's Sanji Retrieval Team, the Marine Rookie arc makes for a solid bonus round. Also, the only reason it starts is because Luffy eats all of the Straw Hats' supplies, which, logically, should be the beginning of waaaaay more One Piece arcs.

34. Silver Mine

    If you didn't get enough Bartolomeo in Dressrosa, then surprise! They made a filler arc just for you. 

  33. Boss Luffy Specials

    You know when you fall asleep watching a show, and then you wake back up and, in your grogginess, suddenly whatever is on TV looks insane? That's what happened to me with Boss Luffy. I had just finished watching Ace's fight with Blackbeard and then, boom. I was out. Then I wake up and see the Straw Hats in 19th century Japan. The Boss Luffy stuff is fun, but I think it's best viewed when you're in a delirious half sleep. That's just my personal preference, though.

32. Caesar Retrieval

    Caesar made for a fine antagonist on Punk Hazard, but he's even better as shreiking deadweight that the Straw Hat Crew and Company have to keep alive. 

31. Little Garden

    Little Garden isn't as cool as Whisky Peak, nor does it provide the emotional gut punch of Drum Island. Instead, it's mainly here to further the theme of what it means to be a true warrior and introduce giants (and dinosaurs!) in the One Piece universe. It gives Usopp some of the character development that he needs and Zoro almost cuts off his own feet in an effort to keep fighting. Any arc that illustrates how hard Zoro goes gets at least one thumb up from me.

30. Loguetown

      Loguetown is a fun arc when you consider just how much it expands the scope of the world. Smoker and Tashigi truly begin the Navy's quest to stop the Straw Hats, Dragon gets introduced in a big, mysterious way, and Luffy takes a massive step in establishing himself in the realm of pirating. However, the Straw Hat side stories in the middle (aside from Zoro's awesome bit in the sword shop) slow it down a little. 

29. Zou

    Zou might be one of the most visually rich arcs in the series. From the massive elephant to the Mink tribe to the terror of Jack to more lessons about the poneglyphs, there's a lot shoved into this short span. And between the intense epics of Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island, it's fits nicely as 10 cc's of wonder and fantasy injected into the New World.  

28. Fishman Island

    Fishman Island occupies a weird spot. It's thematically heavy, but also serves as the action-packed Straw Hat Crew comeback tour. It needs to stand on its own, but it also caps off with a declaration of war against Big Mom, a villain that won't be encountered for years. In all, I feel that the importance of the Fishman Island arc is yet to be truly realized. 

27. Ocean's Dream

    One of the final two filler arcs on this list, Ocean's Dream seems like One Piece fan fiction in the best way. If you were dissatisfied with Luffy's fight with Zoro on Whisky Peak, you get another round of it here while Zoro is being mind controlled. 

26. Syrup Village

    If Romance Dawn and Orange Town were warm up laps, Syrup Village is when One Piece begins to break out in a sprint. The introduction of Usopp and the Going Merry make for some great moments and it's this arc that got me hooked on One Piece when I first started watching it. 

25. Dressrosa

    Dressrosa, for better (and sometimes for worse) is massive. Doflamingo is a threat that had been popping up since the Jaya arc, but because of Dressrosa's scope, his defeat can feel a little lackluster, especially when you consider that he's a pitstop on the road to Kaido. But Dressrosa introduces the endlessly cool Fujitora and the Straw Hats' big pirate alliance, and also gives us the dual backstories to Law and Doflamingo, neither of which disappoint. Also, Doflamingo's abilities lead to some of the coolest action scenes in the series. 

24. Return to Sabaody

    The post-timeskip starts with a bang, as the Return to Sabaody arc is both hilarious and thrilling. The Straw Hats get to show off their newfound strength as they do what they definitely couldn't do in the first Sabaody arc (easily knock out a Pacifista). And we also get to meet the Fake Straw Hat crew, which does a nice job of illuminating just how much the legend of the Straw Hats has grown since they were last together. 

23. Reverse Mountain

    One of the major strengths of One Piece is that it can accomplish three kinds of storytelling at once—giving us a narrative that is immediately satisying, giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the near future, and giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the long term. In the Reverse Mountain arc, we not only get a nice story about Laboon, but we also get introduced to Baroque Works (who will be the main antagonists of the saga), and also, we get hints that will only pay off when Brook is introduced years later. Reverse Mountain is short, but it also displays Eiichiro Oda's wonderful talent as a writer. 

22. Long Ring Long Land

    I've seen people on the internet say stuff like "WHEN I REACHED THE DAVY BACK FIGHT ARC, I NEARLY STOPPED READING!" and man, why? Quitting a series that you love because it slightly diverts from the hero fighting god-like enemies in order to participate in some fun games? Everyone has their own opinions, but your opinion of what fiction should be is wrong. That said, this arc is hilarious and great. 

21. Whisky Peak

    Whisky Peak is so cool. It's an anime arc with swagger, the kind that steps into a bar and buys everyone a round. I want to be friends with Whisky Peak but I know, deep down, that Whisky Peak is far too rad to be friends with me.

  20. Reverie

    The best thing about the Reverie arc is that it makes the world of One Piece a little more conveniently manageable (Oh neat. All of the major side characters get to hang out for a while), while also opening a can of worms (What's with the giant straw hat? WHAT'S WITH THE GIANT STRAW HAT?). Because this is the most recent arc, I don't know if we've seen the ripples that it will create across the One Piece world, but I sure am excited to.

  19. Post Enies Lobby

    This isn't the first time the Straw Hats have been forced to flee a place. However, this is the first time that it's felt like they'd be wiped out if they didn't. The return of Garp (and the spectre of the Yonko) throw the Straw Hats into all new territory, one where maybe being the plucky underdog team isn't enough to save them from the threats that come. Also, goofy Franky joins the team, which provides a nice counter-balance to the hints of oblivion. 

18. Punk Hazard

    Punk Hazard is home to one of my top 10 One Piece fights (Vergo vs Law & Smoker), features one of my favorite locations (an island that is half fire/magma and half ice/snow and home to an evil science base), and introduces a character that has only grown on me with time (Here's a hint on who he is: He laughs like "SHERURURURURURU SHERURURURURURU). It's kind of a prequel to Dressrosa, but in that spot, does a great job at furthering the menace of Doflamingo. 

17. Post War

      The introduction of Sabo aka Steampunk Ace aka I'm Just Kidding Sabo Is Kinda Cool and Luffy realizing that he has his crew to keep him going make the Post-War arc into a short but powerful cap to the pre-timeskip era. 

16. Amazon Lily

    Boa Hancock is a supremely underrated One Piece character, with a terribly sad backstory, amazing powers, and a hilarious crush on Luffy. And Amazon Lily helps further the major trend that will reach fever pitch in Dressrosa of Luffy amassing supporters because he's just such a dang ol' nice guy. Hopefully Hancock will one day meet Bartolomeo and together they will start a Luffy fan club and then argue over who gets to be President. 

15. Jaya

    If you were in the dark as to what the themes of One Piece are, here comes Jaya with a flashlight. This is basically a montage of the things that are important to the Straw Hat crew, and it introduces Blackbeard, a guy that will go from "Oh he seems interesting" to "OH I HATE HIM" over the next few hundred chapters. Luffy saying "Do I know how to throw a punch, you ask?" before absolutely walloping Bellamy still gives me goose bumps.

14. Thriller Bark

      There's so much good to Thriller Bark—the spooky atmosphere, the introduction of Brook, the underrated Gekko Moriah, the Binks' Sake song, the Straw Hats teaming up to face a giant zombie, etc. And just when you think it can't get any better, Kuma shows up and rocks the One Piece world. 

13. Impel Down

    Hey! It's Buggy! And Mr. 3! And Mr. 2! And Crocodile! And our new best boy Jinbe! And Ivankov! As both a launching point for new protagonists and a comeback for old foes (along with introducing Magellan, one of the best villains in the series, and Shiryu, one of the scariest villains in the series), Impel Down succeeds. I love it more and more with time.

  12. Wano

A revamped art style and a fresh sense of direction has turned the burgeoning Wano arc into a great experience for long time One Piece fans, along with providing a solid place for new fans to jump into the series. This ranking my change once we get further into it, but for now, the Straw Hats reuniting and quickly learning of the awe-inspiring power of Kaido has earned Wano a choice place on this list. Also, "Over The Top" is one of the best opening themes ever, One Piece or otherwise. 

11. Drum Island

    I've written an entire article about why the arc where we first meet Tony Tony Chopper makes me weep, so I'll try to be brief here. Drum Island is beautiful. It's the story of a little deer guy that couldn't find a place in the world and the loud rubber bro that gave him one. It's an arc about the price of dreams and the power of having someone stand up for you when you need it most. It's about love and respect and kindess. And now I'm about to cry again. THANKS A LOT, ONE PIECE. 

10. Baratie

    The Baratie arc is the first hint that we'll get about how hectic the One Piece world is. We meet Sanji, we meet Don Krieg, and we meet Mihawk (and is stronger than the whole cast of the show combined at this point). Syrup Village is about leaving your comfort zones and Baratie is about finding a home in the chaos that follows. 

9. G-8

    The best One Piece filler arc and the One Piece arc that I most revisit (it's only 11 episodes, can you blame me?), G-8 is a One Piece Greatest Hits collection and possibly the first thing you should show someone if they want to get into One Piece but don't have long to do so. 

8. Alabasta

    Are the Straw Hats ready for the Grand Line? Are they ready to topple evil villains and protect those that need help? That's what Alabasta asks and the answer is "Oh yeah." Luffy punching Crocodile up through the center of the city is an iconic moment, showing us that the Straw Hats, whether they mean to be or not, are forces of good in the world. 

7. Marineford

    Marineford is loud and chaotic and powerful, forcing Luffy into a situation where he is simply an especially energetic pawn on the chessboard of battle. It's just as much of a rescue mission as it is a quest for survival for him, but in the midst of Whitebeard and the three admirals and the Shichibukai, Luffy makes his mark. However, he doesn't do it through displays of awe-inspiring force, but through his willpower. Aokiji is right when he says that Luffy isn't "ready for this stage yet," but the thing that scares the Navy most is that one day, he will be. 

6. Sabaody Archipelago

    This is not a happy arc. It's a satisfying one (Luffy punching the Celestial Dragon will never get old), and it's an illuminating one (Silver Rayleigh, y'all!), but it's not one that will end with cheering. Kizaru shows up to put an entire generation of pirates in their place and Kuma wipes out the Straw Hats. That said, even if it concludes with the most uncertain moment in the series, it's still a fun ride. 

5. Arlong Park

      Nami is the soul of the Straw Hat Crew, and learning what she's been through at the hands of the despicable Arlong is heart-breaking. But Luffy doesn't need to know every detail to know that he needs to help and the Straw Hats walking to Arlong Park is another one of those "One Piece is literally the best thing ever" moments. And by the end, every Straw Hat bro gets a victory, Luffy gets a bounty, and Nami gets her freedom. And what does she do with this freedom? She joins a ship full of dummies as their navigator. And I'm so happy about that. 

4. Enies Lobby

    For many, Enies Lobby is THE arc and I'm not disagreeing with them. It's such a display of raw emotion and exciting battles, a nonstop rollercoaster of everything that makes One Piece great. And it ends with a Viking funeral for the Going Merry, a scene that reveals Oda's true power as a writer: He makes you sob about a ship. 

3. Whole Cake Island

    If Enies Lobby is about being a hero, then Whole Cake Island is about letting that idea go. The Straw Hats can't beat Big Mom or her crew and will have to settle with getting Sanji and getting out. And Katakuri, the protective brother of the Charlotte family, learns that he doesn't have to be perfect all the time. It's a beautiful arc that shows that Oda is willing to play around with some of the pre-established ideas of One Piece.

2. Water 7

    Robin leaves. Usopp defects, Luffy is forced to do things that no captain wants to, and a villainous team shows up that seems unstoppable. Water 7 may be the first half of a story that continues with Enies Lobby, but I find it to be the better one (though not by much). It's an arc that constantly leaves you saying "Well, what else could go wrong?" and then something else does. And it's just so good.

1. Skypiea

    This is it. Everything good about One Piece, from the powerful villain (with a great weakness), to the touching themes, to enchanting locations, to the gripping adventures, is wrapped up in Skypiea. And while I have no problems with arcs being connected, there's just something about the standalone nature of Skypiea that leads me to regularly revisit it. It's an arc that makes me glad that I started this nearly 900 episode adventure in the first place. And that's the highest compliment that I can give.

  Want to make your own ranking? Then watch One Piece on Crunchyroll! It's literally the only way.

  What is your favorite One Piece arc? How do you feel about this ranking? Let us know in the comments!

    ------------------------

  Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter, where you can disagree with him. 

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com