#if the writers really wanted a royalty arc to him

[stupidsexpotflanders]

Ask meme for unpopular opinions

Naveen > Flynn rider

send me your opinions (unpopular or not) and ill rate it as follows:

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

Naveen was a good character and a hottie,but Flynn's relationship with Rapunzel was very heartwarming to me.

[hellaverse-critical-confessions]

I’m gonna throw something out that bothers the writer side of my brain a bit-

it’s really starting to bug me how basically all of the hell royalty we’ve seen so far is in a relationship with someone of a lower class.

with Stolas and Blitz that’s supposed to be one of the hurdles they have to overcome in their relationship; Stolas is royalty and Blitz is an imp and their relationship of looked down upon. Blitz feels like Stolas is just using him to get his rocks off, and Stolas was arranged to marry someone of his class yada yada

but Ozzie is in a relationship with Fizz. and then you have Beelzebub who is in a relationship with Vortex- and hellhounds are supposed to be lower on the social ladder than imps! Hell even in Hazbin we have Charlie, the princess of hell, dating Vaggie, a sinner.

idk I guess it just bugs me that one of the things that is toted in Stolas and Blitz’s relationship arc as something we should care about them overcoming is just thrown around, ignored, and never really brought up for discussion. Part of the appeal of their relationship dynamic is that forbidden love between a prince and a peasant

if royalty dating those of a lower class in seen as bad, why do we keep seeing these relationships again and again? Why is the commentary around it so minor, relegated mostly to “blink and you’ll miss it” comments or a newspaper clipping or just ignored all together? It just makes Blitz and Stolas’ arc seem so trivial and nonsensical

I mean if Viv really wanted to I think she could have made this work and used these relationships to help Blitz and Stolas get some perspective and have other characters to relate to- but instead we get some Schrödinger’s classism where the forbidden dynamic is only brought up when it matters and to create drama

"Schrödinger's classism" is a good term for it. Something that either exists or doesn't depending on if it's possible to milk for more Stolitz angst points in that very moment.

[grimowled]

now onto some of grimm's personal reflections

while I write a more pilot and headcanon based portrayal, I am loving the direction they are taking with stolas (and stolitz) post the circus, and his personal growth arc. however i find the transition from the first eps (not including the pilot) to the latest to be a bit ... awkward, as if the writers abruptly course corrected and change their minds over who they wanted stolas to be.

let me explain: despite having had a eureka moment of realisation in the way his transactional relationship was affecting them, the way stolas acts with and talks to blitz (in the latest two episodes at least), as if he's never given him any idea (even unintentionally!) of acting superior and using him as a sexual pastime does not seem to be written into the show as an intentional critique in his character development and their communication issues, but rather put the burden on blitz for misunderstanding him and carrying striker-like prejudice towards royalty in general and his status. this is my personal impression, and perhaps I am wrong, and the writers are placing equal responsibility on stolas for his misleading actions towards blitz; in all fairness, blitz has intentionally ignored any signs and put on blinders when it comes to stolas' many ways to show interest (including being very public about them despite the threat to his royal reputation).

but the way it is currently being written seems to invalidate blitz's genuine gripe about first being treated as a disposable sex toy and thinking it's all stolas wants from him, and then being suddenly slapped with the genuine feelings stolas had all along.

another thing that I have noted, is that blitz did not really do much to lead stolas or his feelings on - other than the transactional sex, he didn't show him any interest in pursuing something more between them. though we as an audience know he cares for him deep down, because we see what goes through his mind, on the surface and as stolas should see it, it looks like he slept with him initially only to get his grimoire, and continuously acts cold, distant, does not respond to texts and if he does, they are short and dismissive, etc. so I take this particular detail as one of the reasons why I portray stolas as being obsessive and borderline stalker-y with blitz.

it also explains why stolas is quick to take blitz's initial shock response at face value and dismiss him. it confirms his fear that he may only be in it for personal gain and as part of a power imbalance dynamic.

anyway as per my interpretation, they both have valid gripes and it all comes down to communication issues, mental health and personal trauma response and insecurity.

i love them and I am rooting for them, your honour.

[lemonaera]

As someone who played sl from launch to end: as a concept it wasn’t bad, it was VERY poorly executed. Blizz threw new characters at us and told us to care about them, But why? Why should i care about this bear who’s world was destroyed? When they could have put Fandral at their place? They should have made every npc someone who the fans already knew (i would have cared about Bastion if the character leading us was Taretha who struggles to let go) and not retcon everything from Warcraft 3 to Legion in order to make the Jailer ”make se se” (cool raid fight but made absolutely 0 sense) the final nail in the coffin was the zererh mortis (that didn’t make sense even as a concept) apprently all beigns are just weirdly shaped robots that get thrown into realms and develop personality? And Since Elune is related to the eternal ones, she is also some sort of robot! Just… what was that?

I agree, Shadowlands AS a concept is absolutely interesting and if they had competent writers, could have been really neat. You're better than me though LOL I could not finish it.

All of the horrifically bad plot writing aside -- My biggest beef was the treatment of primarily the female leads and how blizz likes to depict 'female rage' and 'female power' as literally just evil and insane.

Sylvanas had no actual logical reason to do anything she did. To take one of Arthas' primary victims and then literally YEARS LATER play her out to "become him" is so gross and erases her entire character arc to that point. It was just another 'we gave her a position of power so GUESS SHE'S EVIL NOW' crap move from blizz. And how they handled that in the end was even more disgusting. Oh its okay now guys she's nice again, was used by another "arthas" (even tho she denies it!!!) and hates her "old self" and is going to go on a journy of 'self loathing and repentance'. The fact that they really had her pick up a mournblade (WITH ARTHAS IN IT!!!) and take away Anduin's free will was just. Nauseating.

They didn't treat Tyrande much better either. She got a power up, uh oh, guess she's crazy now. ????? Ya'll massacred her people but you want us to believe that its just 'women irrational' to be upset by that?????????? Sure, blizz.

Calia's whole existence is just ??????????? ?????????????????????????????????????? Insult to injury to take out Sylvanas and half replace her with Arthas' SISTER, but then act like she can totally relate to the forsaken when their entire existence has been about suffering horrifically, being mind controlled, being DAMNED, and having everyone hate them for something out of their control, and Calia doesnt have a single one of those issues ....... ??????????

Jaina gets her kick ass harbinger song and then ...... nothing. Just more of the usual for Jaina.

And finally my last beef, the "foreshadowing" of Anduin and Arthas parallels WHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY. These two characters are NOTHING alike they don't share any kind of similar anything, not back stories, not personalities, NOTHING. They were both blonde. Both blonde royalty. ???? JUST ?????

[andypantsx3]

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to write Shouto? There’s so much to his character, I’d want to do him justice!

Ahhhh hello my angel!! I'm happy you'd trust me to answer this lol, since I think I'm still kind of figuring that out myself.

I think it mostly depends on what you want to achieve with him, plot-wise, or which aspects of his canon characterization matter to you the most. You'll want to play up some things vs others depending on your personal preferences. But I can tell you what I focus on when I'm writing, and maybe that will help!!

Technique-wise, I use a very standard bit of description to move Shouto around on the page.

For me, writing Shouto is mostly about super tiny hints of emotion. In canon he's got that deadpan expression when he's saying like the most insane stuff, and--except for in the heat of battle/at majorly emotional plot points (you know the ones)--he doesn't show all too much outwardly. So I'll often write just a hint of what he's feeling on his face. You're probably sick of all the "tiny smiles pulling at the corner of his mouth" and the "smallest hint of a furrow at his brow" at this point lol, but that's how I do it--I choose a microexpression and let it deliver the vaguest hint of what he's feeling.

Plot-wise, I try to have the storyline tie into the aspects of his personality I want to play up the most.

Personally, one of my favorite things about Shouto is what a brat we've seen him be--like in the WHM prequel + all the times he's ghosted or shaded his dad. So I like to make him a little bit of a shit in my own fics too. I usually show that via him doggedly insisting on the things he wants--like a date with Reader, and using underhanded methods to get it if he has to--or getting slightly jealous when he absolutely does not need to.

The other aspect of his canon personality that I love is how genuinely kind he is. His whole character arc really shows how he actively thinks of and prioritizes others--whether that's giving Midoriya a little bit of his soba when Midoriya's upset, or giving his father the chance to redeem himself when he owes him absolutely nothing like that. So I also try to lean into that in my fics, having him take care of the people around him (usually Reader) by feeding them, actively listening to them, etc.

Dialogue is probably where I deviate the most from canon Shouto. In the manga, he's shown to be a little bit rude, often not using the appropriate honorifics, speaking very directly--so you might want to keep his language a little bit more abrupt. I do tend to give him shorter lines for this reason.

For some other reason, though, I have it in my head that he's old-fashioned, having grown up moneyed in an established hero family--Camie Utsushimi called him "hero royalty" basically. So I give him more formal dialogue, usually, with very few contractions--I'll make him say, "I would like," instead of "I'd like," and kind of old-fashioned phrasings like "are you well?" instead of "are you okay?" or "did you not?" instead of "didn't you?"

Uhhh and that's it, I think. Like I said, it's really just using your plot to underscore the personality traits you want to play up, and applying some different techniques like the micro-expressions/shorter lines to cement it!! I hope this was at least a little bit helpful!!

I'm mostly still figuring out what works for me though, so if other Shouto writers have tips, I'd love to hear them!!

[the-force-awakens]

newbie anon is right. to me, you’re the royalty of the poe dameron fan club/defense squad. your word is the law.

lyra

I mean, wouldn't necessarily say that of myself? Fndjdkd I mean, I don't even consider my word law, I'm constantly teasing apart his canon and reconsidering my own perspectives on elements of it and my stances on certain headcanons or how I want to extrapolate from canon — y'all got a pretty good look at my thought process with the bloodburn thing. I went from a hard "oh no" to a "hm wait if I think about this-" in the span of about ten minutes after going to research things. That's just how I operate, I'm constantly just fiddling with my own fictional sandbox.

Honestly, the only thing I really do is just focus on stuff that is reiterated a bunch? Like if it's in the movies, that's canon, and if something goes against it...well it's probably not canon, but with expanded material it gets trickier.

Like, personally, I do not consider anything in the visual dictionaries "canon" besides the little character details like Poe breaking his arm as a kid, just simply because a) the writer for those dictionaries really doesn't seem to like Poe at all, b) the tlj dictionary completely rewrites Poe's storyline to make it seem like fanon's interpretation of his actions in tlj were correct (they're not), and c) despite freefall almost definitely being in development at the time, the tros dictionary cites Poe being with Zorii for way longer than he was.

What I do count as canon is the stuff that gets backed up frequently by other bits of material. I consider the novelizations - even if I don't personally vibe with the tlj or tros ones - to be far more canon than, say, the last two arcs of the Poe comics just because they're more closely tied to the movies + you have the sequence of events in the tfa novel reiterated in the flight log, and the book that shall not be named is closely tied to those last two arcs of the comics, and the rise of skywalker + star wars.com has retconned it. twice.

There's still plenty of things I don't get about him! Sometimes my friends will just point out an angle I had never considered before (such as @/dameronalone who is a Poe expert - poexpert? - in her own right and gets him on a level that is simply just 😘🤌 amazing and showstopping, just to give one example) and it makes me reconsider things!

Mostly, I just like gathering facts abt him because I like tucking away information on things (or people) I love, and I like making sure I stay on top of things + read all his stuff because back in 2018-2020 sections of the fandom had a nasty habit of taking scenes of his out of context to make it seem like they were ruining his character, and after believing that for about a year just to find out it wasn't true fhdjdkddk left me determined to make sure I knew absolutely everything abt him so I wasn't duped again lmfao.

[kavrillia]

A stupid [and quite spoilery] conversation/skit between myself, my muse, and two of my characters.  I wrote this almost two years ago and it’s been gathering dust in my drafts since then, so I figured I might as well post it for my own amusement.

This kind of cringe is straight out of 2001 Fanfiction.net, but A.) this basically is what happened in my head, and B.) realistically, nobody else is going to read this, anyway.

[Bold = me]

-----------------------------------------------

I need a Vincaran character who is neither an antagonist nor a cute little kid.

*waves writerly wand and makes a new character does a total overhaul of an old character from a sequel that isn’t canon anymore*

Hello, Sicara!  You’re a priestess of the fire goddess.  You rose above childhood grief and loss to become a compassionate young woman who is driven to help others.  Your faith is very important to you and it irks you greatly that a new sect is twisting your goddess’ message to one of blazing destruction instead of rebirth and renewal.  You’re bi, but single and not in any hurry to get into a relationship as you concentrate on your career as a priestess.  You went to school with Xorax, Zola, and Lynzari.

Okay, you’re all set.

Now, speaking of Xorax, it also occurs to me that I could bring him back into the story again instead of just sending him off to prison at the end of the first plot arc.  He’s the closest thing I have to a genuinely evil character.  I mean, he’s got his reasons, having been raised in dire poverty by a toxic grandmother who brainwashed him into carrying on her vendetta, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s bloodthirsty, violent, and callous.

Wait, he should get a new outfit along with his new plot.  Here!

He could fall in with the sect that’s fracturing the fire goddess’ followers!  That would put him at odds with Sicara, tying together those plot threads.  Perfect!

*puts them together on a shelf*

All right, you two.  Interact!

X:  Hey, Sicara.  Long time no see.  I’ve been rethinking my life since I got away from my crazy grandmother.  I feel kind of lost.

S:  Well, I’m pretty wary since the last thing I heard of you was your attempted assassination of royalty, but my goddess is all about helping people burn away the past and start fresh, so out of religious obligation I suppose I can counsel you a bit.

X:  Thanks.  I’ve had a pretty shitty life, you know.  Cards stacked against me from the beginning.  I never really had the chance to find my own path.

S:  Oh, you poor thing.  Let me guide you toward healing.

Good, good, now earn her trust so you can betray her later by revealing yourself to be involved with the dangerous cult she hates, further highlighting how you’re a bad guy and she’s a good guy.

X:  Do I have to?

...  I’m the writer.  You’re the character I made up.  So yes, you do.

X:  You know, Sicara, I had a crush on you when we were teenagers.

S:  I know.  You were a scrawny, malnourished boy then.  But you’ve, uh, grown up since then.  Prison food and exercise agreed with you.  *waggles eyebrows*

No.  Cut it out, you two.  This is not where the story is supposed to go.

X:  Thank you, Sicara, for helping me face my dark past.  This is the first time anyone really listened and cared about me as a person.

No, stop it!  You are evil!  You used to fantasize about ripping your enemy’s heart out with your bare hands!

X:  I had been brainwashed from birth.  I’m slowly unlearning all that and thinking about what I actually want to do with my life.  Having a little cottage someplace warm would be nice.  With Sicara and our three kids.

Three...what?!  No!  You are a villain!  The one truly evil character in my universe!  All the other antagonists are just scheming assholes, but you’re the one who actually tries to kill people!

S:  He’s just misunderstood.

No!  He’s evil!  And he has to die in the climax of the book.

X:  Can I get her pregnant first so some of my family legacy is carried on?

NO!

S:  But that’s what happened with the original version of me in the no-longer-canon sequel.

The original version of you was also a spy, a terrorist, and an explosives expert who was in the same prison as he was.  You’re supposed to be unequivocally good in this version.  You’re basically not even the same character except for a similar name and haircut, and the fact that you find Xorax attractive.

S:  But--

Ssh!  Your story is supposed to be about how you stand up for your sincere religious beliefs while others loudly try to twist them for their own political purposes which is totally not a thing going on in my own country these days that I would like to explore in fiction.  You are NOT supposed to get mixed up in some melodramatic romance plot with a would-be assassin.

S:  *looks at me, then at Xorax*

X:  *looks at me, then at Sicara*

Both:  *start making out*

*sprays them with a water bottle*  Stop that!

Both:  *continue making out while directing rude gestures in my direction*

My muse:  Bwahahaha!  You realize you totally deserve this for all the times you wrote fanfic to woobify other people’s villains.

*headdesk*

[kalinara]

I feel like Reva’s redemption in Obi-Wan Kenobi, already great in its own right, really shone a light on why Kylo Ren’s redemption in the Sequel Trilogy didn’t work for me.

Now granted, it was always going to be an uphill battle for me to find a Kylo Redemption narratively satisfying.  I’ve made no secret about the fact that I didn’t really think a redemption was feasible after the events of the first and second movie.  

But I’m not an immovable object.  I’ve seen good writers pull off plot twists that on paper I’d never have liked.  And sometimes, even a redemption arc can work for me.  

But let’s be honest here.  Kylo Ren did not have a redemption arc in Rise of Skywalker.  He was perfectly happy to keep terrorizing Rey with the force up to and until his super-magical mommy died for him.  And...no.  Sorry.  That really doesn’t work.

Redemption, narratively speaking, doesn’t need to be complicated.  Especially in Star Wars.  It generally happens in one moment of choice: Darth Vader saving his son, Din Djarin going back for Grogu, and especially, Reva deciding not to kill Luke Skywalker.

Reva isn’t more redeemable than Kylo Ren because her backstory is more sympathetic (even though it is),  She’s more redeemable because she made a choice.

Kylo Ren had many many opportunities for choices, and for the most part, he chose the most evil option each time.  He didn’t have to murder Lor San Tekka, but he did.  He didn’t have to kill Han Solo, but he did.  He didn’t have to torture Poe or Rey, maim Finn, defend the Starkiller, order the massacre on Jakku and so forth, but he did.  He didn’t have to hunt the Resistance to Crayt and try to massacre them to a man.  But he did.  And so on and so forth.

I think there was one time he chose not to shoot at his mom while she was floating in space.  Which, okay, maybe a fraction of a point for that.  But he doubled down afterward, so no.

The thing was though, no one made the choice FOR Reva.  Obi-Wan didn’t do some magical mumbo jumbo.  Luke didn’t talk her down.  Owen and Beru didn’t have her at gunpoint.  She just stopped.  It was a decision anyone could make at that moment, and she made it.  She stopped.

Kylo’s redemption didn’t work for me because it’s built into the privilege he’s had all along.  There was a constant assumption both within the movie (From Lor San Tekka, from Han Solo, from Rey - trying to repeat Luke’s triumph) and from fans that Kylo would follow in his grandfather’s footsteps.  Of COURSE, Kylo will redeem himself, it’s Star Wars.

It’s a guarantee because Kylo Ren is space royalty, because of Anakin.  Redemption is treated like an inheritance.  And in the end, Kylo gets his inheritance, not through his own choice, but through Leia’s actions.  And well, not every villain has a super powered mommy magically push them into being a better person.  

Reva’s not space royalty.  She’s just a woman who had been a traumatized child, who survived through holding onto her fear, rage, and hatred.  And then, as she stares down at an innocent person, having finally found the one way she could make her enemy suffer...she stops.  She looks at who she’s become and she decides to become someone else instead.  It’s much more satisfying.

There are folks who say the best kind of redemption arcs are the ones where you can follow the person afterward and watch them become a better person.  I think that’s true...sometimes.  I have no interest in Prince Kylo magnanimously sharing the bounty of his mother’s sacrifice.  (And thankfully, I don’t have to.  His redemption, and grateful reward, are much more palatable since he dies.)

Reva though?  I’d happily watch Reva do whatever she wants to do next.  Maybe she and Haja can team up and smuggle people out of Imperial hands.  Maybe she’ll pull a Mara Jade, and go out on her own...learn about who she is outside of Imperial control.  (I still think that’d be the best way to bring Mara into the Disney franchise.)  The possibilities are endless.

[terrainofheartfelt]

Blair seems to run away from Dan. From watching the show I always felt she was scared to go there with him. When she liked Chuck she was in denial at first if you remember. When she isn’t nervous and puts on a charismatic act like she did with Louis, it’s easy to see she doesn’t actually have strong feelings for the Prince. Guys Blair like freak her the fuck out at first Imo.

Denial is Blair's default setting when anything comes up in her life that deviates from The Plan. The Plan meaning: yale degree, marriage to nate, 2.5 children, life as a pillar of society matron, ues royalty, etc. etc. And then, when that The Plan falls through, she's floundering for a while, and chip was of course no help, and with Louis, there was an opportunity for another The Plan. But, as you say, she leaves him in Paris because her feelings weren't that strong, and when they reconnect, it's after she and Dan kiss and freak out over said kiss. He offered an out and she took it.

but it's more than The Plan. Blair, our rich imagination, dreams in classic Hollywood girl, lives like a heroine, like her story is already predetermined. She rewatches Audrey's filmography over and over because she "likes to know how things end" she knows how her story is going to end. And then she meets the Writer Dan, and really gets to know him. and he transcribes her story and shows her that she can change her ending and that scares the shit out of her, because if you live your whole life believing one thing to be true, it's pretty damn terrifying when you learn that it isn't, that it doesn't have to be this way.

and combine all of the above with the emotional place Blair is at in season 4, after chip, after putting her entire soul and body into loving another person and having that gift thrown back in her face. setting herself up to get hurt again, it's too much.

another element of unknown is that Dan himself is an unknown quantity to Blair. he doesn't play games, he doesn't hurt people just to hurt them, he wasn't brought up in ues and doesn't feel the same gravitational pull to it that she and everyone else she's ever loved does. it's the Inherent Sincerity of Dan Humphrey. and that gives him 1: the capacity to really and wholly love her, and 2: the ability to deeply and wholly wreck her, but because he doesn't hurt people as part of a game, when he does (because that's really how she thinks, when, not if), it'll be for a real reason. and, given how blair views herself through the lens of her past loves, she'll deserve it.

WHOA okay got carried away there, but blair has fears that are real to her, and her warped logic makes it very easy for her to justify keeping dan at arm's length, but that's what makes the mutual pining so delicious, and so gratifying when they finally get together.

been going on for a while but I've been thinking about a Thing and you've given me an opening to talk about it here so: By 5x16, when Blair finally admits to having feelings, she immediately says post-admission "whatever this is, it'll have to wait." Waiting is her default setting, you could blame her back and forth with chip for that, because s4 was all about this bullshit of "we have to wait and build our lives before we can get back together" bc he couldn't handle a girlboss winning or whatever, but it goes even further back than that.

in s3 she has to wait to settle in at nyu until she's "powerful" and she has to wait on that plan to help chip with his real estate crisis of the week, and before that, nate says they have to wait to be together until he breaks up with his girlfriend (which is objectively respectable, but to blair, it's just more waiting), and then when they were together the first time blair's waiting to have sex for the first time defined her entire s1 arc.

waiting defined her relationship with nate, and the theme continued all the way until she's standing in a hospital lobby in front of dan humphrey. and she cares for him and she wants him, but waiting is her default setting, and there are so many reasons to keep holding off, but then he says something not one of her exes even thought to ask: "but what if I don't want to?" and it's not pushy, or manipulative, or -- I can't think of a better word than assholery at this juncture. it's soft, and a little pleading, like "haven't we waited long enough for something good? haven't you? you've been lonely too long. you do deserve flowers for once in your life. don't you see? you don't have to wait anymore."

and that's what I call Romance(tm)

[batteryrose]

Kenshin, Leon and Vlad for the ask thing :)

Hewwo :) glad you're somehow curious about what i think of these boys. OH and for anyone else reading potential spoilers ahead!!!!

Kenshin

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

I haven't played ikesen in ages and the only route I finished are Nobunaga's and Masamune's... soo i don't have any opinion on him. I do think his penchant for fighting/killing people is hilarious. Very good potential shonen anime antagonist i'd say.

also heard he locks you up? not usually into that behavior. HOWEVER.................... Trans King

now for the spoilers zone:

Leon

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated underrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite | should've been a based character

His route doesn't do him justice in my opinion. I think he's perfect for some sort of a proper critique on feudalism...or something.............. but I'm asking too much from an otome game.

Could've been an amazing character, but I think the writers held back on the lore + relationship development with his other brothers because he's a starting character or something?? it sucks really. Like, you know how Clavis' route got a lot to do with Chev, Licht with Nokto, and Luke with Jin... etc. I feel like there's no connection with anyone else in Leon's route. Nokto shows up a lot but Leon doesn't really build anything with him. And his faction plays a role in the plot but it's not really a solid arc? He feels kinda disconnected with his brothers!

now THAT could've been interesting to explore given his backstory, but they didn't do that enough either. That's another thing. his backstory. I'm kinda tired of talking about it at this point but... bottom line, didn't really like how slavery is introduced and then never spoken about again. I never heard any other character's route explores it except Leon's. Makes it unnecessary (or implies that the other characters ignores it), because man, am I going to have to enjoy this romance game with slavery in the back of my mind? Especially since I like to write fics that explores the world/lore. I know there's a lot of other dark stuff going on in the game, but this is different for me

And like I said before, lore-wise his route didn't really add anything, except the slavery, that... doesn't even really matter in proceeding routes anyway.

Character-wise, he doesn't really make sense. He loves his brothers and the kingdom but as was shown in his flashback, he does not think that initially. There should've been a development shown where he goes from despising the royalty into... uh, let's say using his status to do what he thinks is right. I don't know. A lot is missing from him. He's got so much potential but imo they did him dirty

Anyway, bottom line bottom line, I want him to abolish the monarchy.

Vlad

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | underrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite |

I haven't read his route properly either, but I've heard enough. He KILLED wellington he's DEAD to me

I'm joking but, I think he's a underutilized villain. A lot of the routes before him hype him up a lot so I was expecting more evil. more schemin' and deceivin'. Perhaps more chaos? more.......irredeemable acts?

Also his motivation is what now? fixing the world by reviving old dead white men? alright, sus, but go on....

I'm Joking again but, yeah, from what i heard i jus expected more. but know what. I like the timey wimey stuff. and i love love his design tbh. if his route comes out in eng i may just read it. At the very least for the wellington KILLING scene. more wellesley deaths for character development PLEASE

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

" I think it's the struggle with identity, who you are, who you want to be. I'm really drawn to characters who are fighting for control. Certainly you see that with Loki over the first 10 years of movies, he's out of control at pivotal parts of his life, he was adopted and everything and that manifest itself through anger and spite towards his family." - Michael Waldron

Way to miss the forest for the fucking trees, Walnuts. I honestly don't think he's any of the movies not even Ragnarok. Loki tried so hard to impress his father and be equal and he's essentially rejected, that's why he's angry. Honestly I don't think Loki's problem were ever really about struggling with his identity. It always about wanting to be accepted. And again Loki was only the antagonist for two movies does he not know by ragnarok Loki made a turn to good by the end?

Michael Waldron: "He was adopted and everything and that manifest itself through anger and spite towards his family."

Zack Stentz (writer of Thor 1): "What we always said we were doing is we’re telling a story about two boys who both want their father to love them. Loki’s plan along is all about impressing dad”.

Those two quotes are like night and day, aren't they?

One of the things that prove that Waldron doesn't understand his character at all is that he says Loki is out of control many times throughout his life but he fails to understand why.

If Loki hadn't been indoctrinated against his race he would have never had a problem with his heritage. If Thor hadn't been favoured over him by their father he wouldn't have felt as lesser than his brother. If Frigga had done something about it and she had confronted her husband then Loki's upbringing would have been entirely different. And if they all had encouraged the rest of Asgard to treat him as royalty instead of allowing the guard and servants raise their voices at him, laugh and mock him perhaps he would have spent his life thinking he's worth something.

And the writers from the first movie understand this but Waldron doesn't, Waldron blames Loki for the failures of other characters and he does that not only in stuff that pertains to Loki's past but even during the series! It's Sylvie who kills HWR, it's her the selfish one who doesn't even take a second to think about the consequences of her actions... and yet what does Loki say to Mobius at the end of ep6? "WE made a mistake". We? You did nothing! Or better yet, you tried to stop her! And in interviews they all (director, writers, actors) are saying that Loki made a mistake fucking up the multiverse... WTF?!

Loki is a character who has been mistreated his whole life and instead of addressing what others have done to him they're blaming him for having identity issues. How vile.

The rest of that article is hilarious though:

Loki's struggle for his identity has been a key component in his overall arc throughout the Infinity Saga, so it's an intriguing decision for this theme to be explored with an alternate version of the character.

And how was that explored exactly? Oh right, by telling him the other variant was superior to him, that is such a great way to explore a character with an identity crisis, isn't it folks? You think you're worthless? You're right! You are! This other version of you is so much better than you at everything! Aren't you cured already?

[neutronstarchild]

Inuyasha Bad Boyfriend Guide

Writing Inuyasha fanfic has been absolutely a joy to do! And recently, I realized that I wanted to stop falling into bad habits of using nearly the same one or two baddies to spice up my OTP getting together. It turns out there are so many great options for bad boyfriends in Inuyasha that I had to put together a list for you all! So without further ado, here are 22 Inuyasha characters (ranked by me for amazing bad boyfriend material!) that budding fanfic writers should consider using as their bad boyfriends.

Thank you from friends for help sparking the idea and contributing! (@fawn-eyed-girl, @ruddcatha, @witchygirl99, and @cannibalsforbreakfast!)

Bankotsu: he’s bad and he knows it. He’s also gorgeous. So we sort of understand the appeal, and why our heroine went for it. Everyone likes an unrepentant bad-boy after all. Bankotsu is really good if you need someone who will cheat on Kagome for your fic. This guy absolutely would.

Suikotsu: How can you look away from someone who has a split personality? He’s angelic and wonderful on the outside but has dark secrets at home. This can mean menacing first dates, this can mean giving your heroine a secret horror she needs to escape from too! Let that Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde type out!

Hiten: Another extraordinarily handsome and also massively cruel one. And this one is a full demon! Do you need Inuyasha to feel like he doesn’t measure up? How could you go wrong? He’s also totally weird about his brother, and doesn’t feel the need to hide his insults. Chef’s kiss.

Manten: Speaking of creepy demon brothers! Manten is going prematurely bald and trying to use beautiful women to compensate for how ugly and envious he is of his older brother. Need a creeper or a stalker, and need him to be a demon? Look no further!

Hōjō: Aw the poor overly cheerful almost to an absurd extent clueless high school boy. He never quite understands Kagome’s “no”, or at least he doesn’t seem to. If you need a boy who would absolutely get drawn into a cult or would mansplain everything, Hōjō is your guy. Add that the cheery exterior also feels a bit vacant, and you got yourself a secret baddie if your heroine needs some angst! (Oh yes, best part? His refusal to give up on a lost cause makes Hōjō an excellent candidate for being in the closet and being in denial!)

Akitoki Hōjō: Another in the Hōjō line. Akitoki can be both a good guy if you need him to be (he had a lot of nice little moments in his anime arc), but… this is the dude that forced a girl to change her name to Kagome, so… you got yourself some serious stalker potential there.

Renkotsu: ugh, such a slimy bastard. You get the sense that this one would prey on much younger and naïve women. He’d leech them for what he can but would absolutely run for the hills the second he is confronted. Good weasel type for all your awful boyfriend writing needs!

Kagewaki: Gorgeous and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He doesn’t want for anything. Royalty AU where you need someone to force your heroine to be his mistress? Kagewaki is an excellent candidate to pull this off, because he certainly could do that.

Naraku: Need we say more? The man deceived two people into nearly killing each other because he was so full of coveting. He’s the abusive Voldemort-level supervillain you could ever need. He is definitely a bring the big guns of bad boyfriends.

Onigumo: The man so obsessed with a single woman he could not have that he sold his defiled soul. There is so much stalker energy in him that… just by mentioning his name you know you got yourself a maxed out creep!

Jakotsu: He’s a misogynist in canon, so this can easily be co-opted into a woman-hater who keeps attempting to go out with women when he really really should just accept who he is: a pain queen who should really only be dating men.

Gamajirō (Tsukuno no Gama): Remember at the beginning, when things were getting started, there was this “lord” who was actually secretly a frog and was stealing young women? We didn’t! This one has the benefit of disguising who he is, trying to pretend to be kind and gallant and really being a horrific soul-stealing villain underneath!

Goryōmaru: Need someone who is suffering from a debilitating illness that makes your heroine believe she needs to stay with him because he’s suffering? Oh the angst potential you have with Goryōmaru! Often overlooked because he was from so late in the series, but don’t shy away from this broken monk!

Izumo: Ah, the beauty of the hanyō who hates himself. He’s part bull demon who hides from this part of himself, and is on a quest to reject the other half of himself. Nice surprise factor for people, and if a hanyō is your hero, a good introspection opportunity!

Hoshiyomi: This widower has been trying so so hard to get over his first love, but… it hasn’t been working out so well. So even as he’s dating someone new, his heart will never completely be in it. Add to the fact that his ex’s death was tragic enough he carries the trauma with him. Good anguish to the breakup for this one: “you’re not Tsukiyomi.”

Mukotsu: Ugh this guy. It’s hard even considering him because he is a stalker-y rape-y asswipe who doesn’t deserve to even share the same universe as our heroine. But… that also makes him so wonderfully sinister. Plus, everyone loves a good gets-his-comeuppance murder, and with Mukotsu? It feels so so sweet.

Kyōkotsu: He wasn’t around for long, but what an impeccable meathead/bodybuilder type. It’s no wonder our heroine is bored. All this guy can do is talk about carbo-loading and protein.

Byakuya: This man was the master of the mindfuck. From his ambiguous (and fabulous) style to his penchant for paper cranes. If you need someone who likes messing with the hero and heroine, he is here for it. And his bi energy means again, you could have him be in cahoots with Naraku for nefarious purposes. He’s a henchman with style.

Ungai: Need a human who is absolutely racist and unwilling to see anything beyond his very restricted worldview? Want a little religion thrown in? Look no further! Ungai is here to be a religious zealot who is an unbending asshole for what he believes in, even when it’s wrong.

Muso: A dude with severe memory loss who is so into body mod he steals someone else’s face. What a grand-champion stalker! He won’t relent until he gets what he wants, and what he wants is the heroine. You can have one epic fight between the hero and Muso if you need it!

Ginkotsu: He’d be a niche horrible boyfriend, but… he’d be one of those that goes too far for body mods and trying to make himself invincible. He’s another probable meathead option, maybe even into doing illegal things to get his body into the form he wants it in!

Miroku: Okay hear me out. Friend-zone bad boyfriend. Like… they started dating and ignored the fact that they made better friends than partners! It’s easy angst, because they’d break up and still get to be best friends.

Kōga/Inuyasha: There’s a reason Kōga/Inuyasha is so far down this list (written like this for both KogKag and InuKag shippers). Not because he can’t make a horrible boyfriend if someone puts their mind to it, but because he makes a better sad ex-boyfriend. Let him have a good heart, be faithful and that it just doesn’t work out between him and the heroine. It could make for some heart-wrenching angst, where we see that Kōga/Inuyasha really is hurting as your OTP takes over.

You have so many other excellent options! It means that we can write so many amazing things. And be on the lookout: a bad girlfriend guide will be on the way too!

[risingsouls]

[Alright I'm about to jump on my bullshit, so strap in. This might get long.

So I've said it before but I really hate how simplified Vegeta's character ends up when he ABSOLUTELY was set up to be an extremely interesting and nuanced character (and this is honestly A LOT of characters in the franchise but the post I saw got me cheesed off about Vegeta so you get to listen to my shit), but instead we get the basic, he bad > still kinda bad but fighting with the heroes > gets married and becomes a family man > "redeemed." And like...maybe MAYBE they're moving in an interesting direction with his arc in more recent stuff, but I'm so over the Super manga at this point that I'm not holding my breath they'll do anything actually interesting with him. And I absolutely fault fans as much as the writers for this because, again. Zero accountability and they eat it up, Vegeta Stans constantly tout Vegeta as the best written character in anime. Which is absolutely cap because, as I said, while he absolutely has the makings of being a fascinating character with almost the same set up as a character that is SUPER WELL WRITTEN like Prince Zuko in ATLA (which i know people argue isnt anime but just besr with me ok), Vegeta's arc is incredibly basic and boring, poorly written, and, because of that last one, a lot of times doesn't even feel like it fits his character. A lot of it is making him a plot device to furtherthe narrative which does not equal development, Vegeta Stans.

That said, the post in question that got me back on this bullshit was about how each Saiyan achieved Super Saiyan. Vegeta's was, "So he wouldn't get left behind." And while that may be true to a small degree, I HATE how simplified of an explanation it is. It is only one tiny part of it I feel, and a very surface level reading of that moment and time period for Vegeta. His position at that time is very complex, both in the physical sense of being displaced from the life he lived and only one he really knew working under Frieza so long to having no allegiance to anyone but himself and really having no solid direction (until he settles on revenge and surpassing Goku) and, more importantly, in the emotional/mental sense of his understanding of himself, where he stands, and his cultural identity being absolutely shattered and/or greatly challenged.

Why is that important? What does that have to do with him transforming the first time? For Saiyans, and especially Vegeta, much of their identity is wrapped up in their fighting ability. Their power and their status as warriors. It is what ends up defining them their entire life for better or worse. Tack on Vegeta being royalty, born with an incredibly high power level (the highest barring Broly), being a fighting prodigy from a young age, and all the promises of greatness and praise that came from his father and other Saiyans and you have a recipe for not only someone who thinks a lot of himself (and, arguably, for a LONG WHILE could back that up), but also for someone, who is absolutely going to cling to that, especially in the wake of the life he was MEANT to have being forcibly stripped from him. In some ways, especially after Frieza's defeat, those last shreds of his Saiyan identity and pride were all he had left. And, after all the defeats he faced, especially with someone he sees as beneath him defeating and surpassing him, I think that highly jeopardized his understanding of himself. His identity and pretty much quite literally all he had left post Namek.

Thus, Vegeta's ascension was far more than a temper tantrum or not wanting to be left behind. In my opinion, it was, to some (dramaticish, mostly metaphorical) degree life or death for him. It was transform or lose the last sense of his self and identity (which we kind of see happen after Cell is defeated and is FASCINATING but they do NOTHING with it). What had made up the biggest part of his personal and cultural identity was hanging in the balance, the last thing he had left to cling to along with defeating Goku. It was transform and make that a reality or suffer the emotional and mental consequences that, potentially, could become very physical ones in the most drastic of senses.

And yeah that's sounds super dramatic, but when you consider what he's gone through and who he is, what he's built himself up to be, along with the glimpse we get of this mental shattering ACTUALLY HAPPENING after Cell's defeat, his transformation to Super Saiyan for the first time is DEFINITELY a lot more complex than he didn't want to be left behind. Just as Goku tells Gohan: for Vegeta, too, ascending to Super Saiyan was actually when it became a NEED not a WANT.]

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Be Very Afraid

This is the best story arc episode in season three and arguably the best written episode since The Great Tree, but it’s still season three so there are still issues with it. 

Summary: When Zhan Tiri tells Cassandra she must destroy Rapunzel in order to wield the Moonstone's true power, Cassandra discovers that she can create, with fear, red rock spikes that cause fear and freeze their victims. Varian discovers the red rocks and teams up with Rapunzel to use his amber solution on them. Meanwhile, Eugene and Lance decide to throw a talent show to distract everyone from their fears. 

Why Can’t Cassandra Control The Rocks?

The series never gives an actual explanation for this. She could control them just fine in Rapunzel’s Return, so what’s changed? 

There is No Destiny!

There’s no prophecy, no oracle, no grand design nor master of fate to fight back against; the characters literally have no reason to do what they do. If you want destiny to be a goal then you have to establish what that destiny is first. 

What does Cassandra want? How does this connect back to Gothel, Rapunzel, and the Moonstone? Why she just failing about like an idiot here? Did she not have a plan when she threw her life away for this stupid rock? 

And of course Zhan Tiri is lying here, but why should Cassandra believe her? What does she gain by listening to a creepy ghost girl? This ‘destiny’ has not been established, so therefore there’s no hook nor bait for Zhan Tiri to trap her with. 

Leading directly into “you should kill your bestie’ should logically put Cassandra off of Zhan Tiri’s advice for good because Zhan Tiri isn’t actually offering anything. Temptation requires the person to be, you know, tempted by what they want, but Cassandra doesn’t know what she wants so none of this makes sense. 

The writing is desperately trying to make Cass sympathetic here, but all it winds up doing is making her look like a moron instead. 

This Isn’t Consistent

Not only does this fail to explain why Cass could control the rocks previously but no longer can, but it’s also contradicted just a couple of episodes later with the incantation bullshit. 

You need an established magic system in place in order for the character’s actions to make sense show!

This Ultimately Goes Nowhere

Ignoring how Varian should have been in season two and how translating the scroll should have led to freeing his father, which we’ve talked about previously; this subplot should have had more impact on the narrative than it actually did. Yes, Varian’s translation winds up driving the plot of Cassandra’s Revenge, but 90% of that episode winds up being utterly pointless, including the incantations themselves, so.... 

I Like This Sequence; Shame It Winds Up Being Undermined Later  

Unlike the majority of dream sequences in this show, this nightmare has an actual point. It more firmly establishes Varian’s fears and gives the audience some insight into what happened to him back in season one. Something we were sorely lacking. It also becomes the core conflict and drive of Varian’s character development through out the episode. 

Only for the episode to ignore Varian’s real issues and fail to adequately address anything. By series end this plot point will be completely forgotten. The show acts like bringing it up once and then never acknowledging it ever again just magically revolves Varian’s character arc. It doesn’t.  

So How Come Quirin Isn’t Affected By the Rocks? 

He’s right there next to them and he shows no reaction to them at all. You’re telling me the man who lost his home twice to these things, almost died to them, and nearly lost his only child because of them, is just not going to respond to new creepy red ones popping up? 

Quirin would have a treasure trove of trauma to explore in his own right, that undoubtedly would connect back to Varian’s own issues, but we’re just going to ignore it and have Quirin off screen for the majority of the episode?

Are These New Character Models?

Are you shitting me!? 

They built five new models just for a short two minute scene, one where none of the new characters are named nor given lines, only to never appear ever again!

What the fuck? Why did you waste time and money on this? What happened to all of the other background characters you already built? Did a bunch of season one models just get lost or deleted or something? 

Also why are they all wearing green? Is it St. Paddy’s Day? 

This Plot Point Wasn’t Established Enough Beforehand

Look, I’ll buy that there are people in Corona who still blame Varian for what happened in season one and for the Sapoiran take over. I mean they’re only getting half the story and were directly effected by his actions whether or not he intended harm to them. But we needed to see more of it beyond just this one scene.

No one was bullying him in Lost Treasure or The King and Queen of Hearts, so for all purposes he appeared to be integrated back into society, and now you’re telling me he’s not and that Rapunzel risked his well being by forcing him to interact with people who were hostile to him back in Lost Treasure? 

And yeah you can’t really move Lost Treasure back any further than it already is cause that’d leave a giant hole in the wall of the throne room for over a year. Which also makes no sense either. 

Or hey, maybe it’s just Feldspar being an asshole. In which case why should Varian or the audience care? 

Eugene is Wasted

Look I understand that there’s only twenty five minutes to tell this story and that Eugene isn’t the focus of the episode. I also understand that the B-plot is meant to be comedic in order to relive tension from the A plot, but this wasn’t the best way to go about it. 

The B plot swings too far wide in the other direction that it dilutes the tension too much. The A plot now has to work over time to keep the urgency going. I could understand it, if the show wanted start off with small fears first, but it needed to ramp up the drama as it got closer to the climax, not under cut it. 

We never see Eugene freak out over anything other this this cowlick. In fact we never see him scared of anything else beyond this one scene, which undermines Rapunzel’s arc this episode as she’s suppose to be the only one bottling things in. What makes Eugene so special that he can keep a lid on it with out consequences, or are you telling me that a dumb cowlick is his only fear? 

Either answer is stupid. 

I Hope You Have Copies of the Map

You went through all that trouble to steal the journal for this very reason and now here you are prancing around without it like it’s not that big of deal. Way to undermined past story arcs. 

It’s like the writers know that season one was their most successful season, and therefore try to make callbacks to it whenever they can, to make up for ignoring it in season two completely, but they still don’t want to actually acknowledge anything that happened during that season so they just refer to it in the laziest way possible, rendering the previous events pointless. 

So Close and Yet So Far

I’m mainly posting this whole conversation so that you dear readers will have context for what I talk about next. 

For you see, this scene starts out okay and it looks like we’re finally going to address the elephant in the room regarding Rapunzel’s involvement in Varian’s past trauma, only for the scene to immediately side step the issue all together and not resolve the conflict at all. 

No! Don’t Interrupt; Listen! 

Or at least go all the way and accept some of the blame yourself. 

It may look like Rapunzel is comforting Varian here on a superficial level, but without her verballing acknowledging what she did wrong, this action just winds up taking the focus off of Varian and what he needs and places it upon Rapunzel, both narratively and physically.

So what happens is that, in universe, it comes across like she’s just consoling Varian for her own personal comfort rather than genuinely trying to help. 

Why Would Varian Ever Think This? 

Okay, first off this has nothing to do with what Varian was talking about previously. Why would he jump from discussing his trauma to praising Rapunzel? You know the woman who is responsible for said trauma? 

Secondly, this switches the focus of the conflict off of Varian’s specific trauma and makes it about a generic “over coming fear” lesson mixed with an out of place validation issue. Which is not what’s actually needed for his character development; nor for Rapunzel’s for that matter. 

Third, being the sundrop has nothing to do with Rapunzel as a person. Her being born with magical powers was an accident of fate, same as her being royalty. She’s not innately better than anybody else because of this and nobody has any narrative reason to assume otherwise. Especially since her powers are utterly disconnected from her actual personality, choices, and actions. All three of which have become unbearably unpleasant by the last season. 

Finally, Varian, of all people should be the last person on earth to ever think so highly of Rapunzel. Them being friends again is already pushing believability. Him suddenly kissing her ass the same as everyone else this season is just flat out bad writing.  

Varian knows better than anybody what an awful person Rapunzel is. He’s seen her at her worse. He’s seen her not live up to her hypocritical ideals. He knows the larger problems that steam from placing people in power on pedestals. As her former victim, Varian by all accounts should be the one person who can bring Rapunzel down to earth and poke holes into her ego, even while still being her friend. Especially while still being her friend. She needs that! Writing Varian as another blind Rapunzel stan is not only writing him out of character, but it also damages Rapunzel’s own development. 

Also Varian hates magic. Why would he now worship someone just for having magic? 

THIS AIN’T ABOUT YOU BITCH!!!

I literally yelled that at my tv screen when I first saw this scene. Those were my exact words upon the episode’s first airing. And believe it or not, I’m not one to usually scream obscenities at inanimate objects. 

I understand what the writers were trying to accomplish here. They wanted Rapunzel to ease the tension by saying something funny and to make Varian laugh to distract him from his woes; thereby defusing the situation. But it doesn’t work because of season three’s tendency to make Rapunzel the most egotistical, smug, self-centered, abusive, self-righteous twat in the show. 

It really boggles the mind just how unaware the writing is. Like, surely no one makes their protagonist this unlikable on accident. Clearly they meant for Rapunzel to be an ass on purpose right?  They wanted Cass to have a reason to hate her so they decided to make her insufferable to the viewer in a misguided attempt to make Cass more sympathetic? Right? 

Then where is the bloody comeuppance? 

I genuinely thought this was all going to lead somewhere. That Rapunzel was going to learn to be a better person and I would have been fine by that. I would have applauded the show if they had turned her into an asshole intentionally so that they could teach a mature and nuanced lesson about morality. 

But they didn’t, and here I am; still shaking my head in confusion over a year later. 

Seriously what the fuck happened behind the scenes to cause this? How can processionals paid by the largest animation company in the world be so incompetent? 

Having Trauma is Not the Same Thing as Having a Phobia  

This is where Varian’s arc falls apart. Not only does the episode fail to have Rapunzel acknowledge her past wrongs for a second time, but it also completely mishandles Varian’s trauma because it equates it to being an irrational fear. One that can be overcome through pure force of will at that, same as Lance and everyone else’s fears in the episode. 

Ok first off Varian’s fear isn’t irrational. He even just said so at the start of the conversation. Varian’s trauma is very real, it’s not a hypothetical unlike clown-spiders and cowlicks. Also has been given very little reassurance that it won't happen again. Varian has no reason to trust Rapunzel or anybody else in the show. They never owned up to abandoning him previously, and both he and the audience have little reason to believe that Rapunzel wouldn’t just neglect him again if it was convenient for her.   

Secondly one does not simply ‘overcome’ trauma. Oh you can deal with trauma, you can manage it and learn to live with it. But it never goes away. It doesn’t magically disappear just because you ‘faced it’. 

In fact confronting it head on is actually the opposite of what your suppose to do when going through something traumatic. Studies have shown that distracting your mind after a car crash or what have you actually helps with PTSD later on. And ‘dealing with it” doesn’t mean ignoring the problem out right, but rather learning how to function despite the pain. 

But as the show acts like Varian’s trauma never even existed after this episode. 

This Doesn’t Resolve Anything!

What does “being special” have to with fear? How does this help Varian with his trauma? Empty validation has nothing to with what we were just discussing. 

Everyone gets afraid. Everyone has trauma of some sort. Are you telling me that my need for therapy some 20 years after being physically assaulted is just because I’m not special enough? Fuck you show! 

Moreover, this doesn’t resolve the story arc from season one. Varian and Rapunzel’s conflict with each other has nothing to do with self esteem. It was about personal responsibility, conflicting needs, and abuse. Yes, self image and acceptance was a small factor in their motivations, but it was never the driving goal behind their decisions. 

This is yet another broken narrative promise to the audience. There’s no closure to be had from this and leaves the viewer wanting, if not outright frustrated. 

In order to justify this exchange fans have to ‘read between the lines’ and make shit up in order for any of this to make any sense. People who still defend season three do by doing all the heavy lifting that writers themselves should be doing. 

If it’s not on screen, it doesn’t count. 

If Rapunzel never apologizes on screen, then she never apologized. If Rapunzel never checked up on Varian on screen, then she neglected him outright. If Rapunzel never acknowledges her wrong doings on screen, then she’s never learned anything. The characters pretending like she has doesn’t make it so. 

Why Does Cassandra Even Want a Destiny? 

Yes, Zhan Tiri is lying, there is no destiny, but Zhan Tiri being a liar doesn’t absolve Cassandra of her own actions. 

Cassandra herself believes in destiny and is looking for her’s, but why? 

Why does she want a destiny? What is this destiny she’s after? Why does she believe such a thing exists? What does she believe it’ll gain her? Why is she willing to risk so much for such a vague goal? What does any of this have to do with the moonstone or her mother? How does this destiny connect back with her personal feud with Rapunzel? 

It’s all disjointed and confused. Nothing lines up. It’s like the writers just had this dart board full of ideas for Cassandra’s villain arc, but couldn’t decide on which one to go with, so they just threw darts randomly each episode and went with whatever stuck for any given scene.

“Oh she want’s revenge for her mother during this scene, or wait no, she’s actually looking for destiny this episode?” “What destiny?” “Who knows. Now for this scene we need her to be sad because reasons...” “What reason?” “I don't care, make something up... Uuuuh, she’s sad cause she’s not a royal guard still” “But she became a guard during season one.” “Ignore that. Kids won’t remember. Now she needs to be angry and threating here” “Why?” “Because it’ll look cool.” “But why is she angry?” “Cause it looks cool Bob! Geez! Oh but she still needs to be sympathetic so give her a frowny face afterwards. Just have Zhan Tiri remind her how much she hates Rapunzel later, so as to egg her on and keep her doing stupid shit?”  “But why does she hate Rapunzel?”  “Do I have to think of everything BOB!!!???”  

There, there’s my non-so-accurate behind the scene’s glimpse into the Tangled writer’s room when discussing Cassandra’s arc. I could be wrong. There could have been some intricate and complex plan thought out that just didn’t make it onto the screen for whatever reason, or maybe everyone involved was so far up their own ass that they just forgot to give their main villain an actual reason for being the villain. But regardless the over all effect is that Cassandra is handed the idiot ball for a whole freaken season in order to even have a conflict and that is never good writing; or rather she’s hit in the head with it repeatedly. 

This Actually Goes Against Zhan Tiri’s Plan

Zhan Tiri’s short term goal is to be released from her dimensional prison and apparently she needs Cass and Raps to fight into order to do this. This was never established before hand and goes against her disciples pervious plans, but whatever. One could argue that this is just a lie in order to get them to fight later... 

However, this lie jeopardizes her long term goal. She eventually wants to wield both the moonstone and the sundrop herself in order to destroy Corona, but Rapunzel is the sundrop and you can only take her power during an ellipse, supposedly, which means if Cass actually succeeds in killing Rapunzel before then, then Zhan Tiri is up a creek without a paddle. Also if Cassandra did manage to steal Raps’ power with or without an ellipse then Zhan Tiri would still be out of luck. 

This was wholly unnecessary; you didn’t have to go from zero to sixty in one fell swoop. Have Zhan Tiri claim that fighting Rapunzel will award the power to the winner or something. There’s no need to bring up the ‘kill her’ option. That should logically just drive Cassandra away and puts Zhan Tiri’s plan at risk. 

The series wants to act like Zhan Tiri is this master manipulator, a chess master like Zantos or Palpatine, but she couldn’t even tie their shoes. Her plans make no sense and often contradict one another. They only work because the rest of the cast are reduced to imbeciles in order for them to work. 

This Plot Point Contradicts Season Two

His fear of spiders was establish early on, and I’ll accept the clown thing as there’s nothing to contradict it, but Lance has preformed numerous times before now and has never show stage fright. He’s a huge ham and back in Return of Quaid he mentioned how much loved acting and preforming and apparently been on stage before, so where does this fear of singing in public come from? Heck he sung in public just a few episodes ago in Rapunzel’s Return. 

If you have to sacrifice established character into order to make your plot work then you need a new plot. 

This Song is Nice; It Just Needed to Be in a Different Episode 

I’m glad Lance got a solo. He deserved one and the song is good. However it breaks the tension of the climax and gives the episode tonal whiplash. 

More than a song, Lance needed an actual focus episode in season three. One that was fully his. If anyone else shared it with him it needed to be Red and Angry, not Varian and Cass. 

Just imagine if this song came during an episode where he had to watch the girls. Imagine if he was singing it just for them. How much more impactful would that have been? 

Now imagine that we had a Rapunzel and Varian duet in it’s place here. That would have tied the episode together better and helped to further their own stories. Glenn Slater can write lyrics far better than Chris can write dialogue. I bet you a thousand to one Tangled the Series would have solved like half of it’s problems had Menken and Slater been allowed write and actual apology duet between Raps and Varian. 

Such a duet was proposed during Rapunzel’s Return but it could have worked here too, and you could have placed Lance’s solo in Day of the Animals or something, just leave Rapunzel out of that episode all together. 

Nothing honestly needed to be cut music wise, yet for some reason season three has less songs than the other seasons, even when counting the reprises, and they’re mostly shorter too. 

That’s mismanagement right there. Plain and simple. Someone at the top didn’t know how to balance the budget or resources and didn’t know where to the throw the money at. 

You Have a 70 Foot Shield Made of Magic Hair, Rapunzel

You couldn’t think to just block those rocks instead?

Giving your protagonist a big hero moment doesn’t work if they placed the person the have to save in jeopardy to begin with show. 

I Do Not Care About Rapunzel Right Now, Show

Yes, she’s the main character. Yes, her feud with Cass is the main conflict of the season and kicked off the episode. That does not mean that I automatically care about her personal feelings at this moment in time. 

Rapunzel has kept such a tight lid on her real feelings for the whole episode that this just comes out of nowhere. I was never waiting with baited breath for her to confess her deep dark secrets or whatever. 

It’s not even an interesting reveal. It’s just “Oh, see Rapunzel’s human too. She’s gets scared just like everybody else.”. I already fucking knew that, thanks. And what she’s afraid of isn’t even that compelling either; it’s a just a rip off of the prophecy dreams she had back in season one. The same ones that had no explanation and never furthered the story, so why should I care about this one?  

You have to earn the audience’s investment in your conflict. The character’s likability, as little as that may be currently, will only carry you so far, you have to establish shit first.  

Varian’s conflict has been the focus of the entire episode so far, and it’s a conflict that was set all the way back in season one, so of course that is what I’m invested in seeing get resolved. Rapunzel is once again just butting in and making it all about her when it’s not actually her story. 

And if you wanted it to be her story then you should have made her the actual focus to begin with and had her learn something by the end of it. 

This is Poor Choice of Words, Writers 

I could be generous here and pass this off as Rapunzel not fully believing in this prophecy. After all Corona’s destruction is still a hypothetical at this point and Cassandra really has left already. Since the episode is about fear, Rapunzel is of course more afraid of losing Cassandra’s friendship as it’s real tangible possibility. 

More than a possibility even, Rapunzel’s been dumped. Season three is a classic break up story, right down to the poor plotting and tunnel vision, hence why it’s so gay baity. 

However, this reading only carries so far. For starters this is Rapunzel’s what, fourth prophecy dream so far? Haven’t the past three already came true, so why would she think this one wouldn’t? 

Secondly, all that good grace goes right out the window once it becomes clear that, yes, Cassandra is indeed a threat; a threat that Rapunzel refuses to take seriously because she cares more about her own personal validation than her kingdom. 

Even as Cassandra does succeed in destroying Corona, and no doubt harms other people while at it, Rapunzel still is obsessed with ‘winning Cassandra back’. Oh and make no mistake, this is not because she actually cares about Cassandra as a person and her needs or feelings. Nope. Rapunzel just doesn’t like being dumped. 

Why Does Varian Need to Shove His Feelings Aside for Rapunzel’s Bullshit?

Rapunzel’s ‘confession’ has fuck all to do with Varian’s current issues. They do not connect in any way.  

Varian is dealing with real trauma, trauma that she helped cause, while Rapunzel is only dealing with a hypothetical prophecy and one very shallow, self-centered fear. There’s nothing to relate to here. Neither for Varian himself nor the audience. 

Yet for some undefined reason this is what gets Varian to ignore his PTSD flashbacks? What? 

This is once again break the narrative promise. I was promised closure for Varian’s story arc and instead of that the writers just brush it up under the rug. 

From the outside looking in this doesn’t come across as Varian ‘overcoming’ his ‘fear’. It looks like an abuse victim using learned helplessness to placate his abusers.

And yes, for the last time Rapunzel is Varian’s abuser. 

NEGLECT IS ABUSE!!! 

And and even though he is no longer her ‘responsibility’, she is still neglecting him emotionally as his supposed friend. 

Varian’s and Cassandra’s Stories Undermined Each Other’s 

Varian stopped the rocks. Rapunzel had nothing to do with it. Zhan Tiri blaming Rapunzel for it steals agency away from both her and Cassandra. 

However, if Rapunzel had used the hurt incantation to stop the rocks and Cassandra had felt it rom the other side, then you’d have something to back up Zhan Tiri’s claim and an actual point of real conflict to carry the rest of the season. Not to mention an actual tangible goal for Cassandra to work towards, survival. 

Cassandra’s conflict with Rapunzel not only prevents the resolution to Varian’s arc from being satisfying, but Varian fulfilling his arc in turn winds up cutting off Cass’s story at the knees. 

It didn’t have to be this way. Varian’s and Cassandra’s arcs should have complimented each other, but instead the creator decided to make them complete for screen time and relevance. 

It is such an gratingly stupid and petty decision that winds up being a disservice for all the characters involved.   

Cassandra’s motivation and goal should have been revealed back in season two. Varian should have been the sole focus of Rapunzel’s Return and gotten his big hero moment there along; with an actual ending to his conflict with Rapunzel that didn’t feel so lopsided and half assed. Then Rapunzel and Cassandra could have both been held accountable for their conflict in season three, instead of pretending like their shit smelled of roses the whole damn time. 

Lance Got a Whole Crowd Cheering Him On For Singing a Song, Varian Just Gets One Asshole Giving Him a Single Line of Congratulations

Did I mention this show has an odd anti-Varian bias? Cause it does. For whatever reasons his own creators hate him and that’s just utterly baffling to me. Like why create a main character that you don’t like? 

I look down on professional writers who treat characters they didn’t create poorly within their works, like with James Gunn and Scrappy Doo in the Scooby Doo Movie, Adric in the Doctor Who spin offs, or even the treatment of Doofus in Ducktales 2017. I don't care how much a character is liked or disliked by fandom, that shit is just tasteless and often unfunny. But at least I understand where they are coming from when they do it. 

But I’ll never understand what compels a writer to sabotage their own work; one that they are getting paid to write no less. Especially when said character is super popular with their fans. And Chris knows this. He knows the ratings plummeted without Varian in season two. He knows the merch didn’t sell because there wasn’t enough Varian products. That’s why he hyped up Varian’s return a whole week before Season Three’s airing with a massive online campaign, but he wasn’t smart enough to treat the character decently afterwards? 

I mean congrats, you convinced a just enough viewers to come back to season three to keep the show on the air I guess, but you left them all pissed off and have nothing to show for it to the higher ups a Disney. 

And Chris wonders why he wasn’t asked back to work on new Disney princesses shows that are currently in the works. 

That is Not Quirin. That is a Plank of Wood Pretending to be Quirin.

*Beep* *Boop*...*Dad Bot Is Proud. exe* 

Quirin is such a pale shadow of his season one self that he might as well not exist. I genuinely don't know why the writers released from the amber so early if they weren’t actually going to use him until the season finale. 

For the longest time I honestly thought that Rapunzel sucked out his soul with that decay incantation; what with that lyric about “setting the spirit free”. I genuinely thought that would be a later plot point, but nope, it’s just bad writing

Him just saying hi to son once and smiling blankly isn’t compelling and it’s isn’t fulfilling. It doesn’t actually resolve his arc. I mean he’s at least shown spending time with his son, but that’s not enough. We need to see him acknowledge past, we need to see him acknowledge his own flaws, and we need to see him being more attentive when Varian is in need. .  

Season one Quirin would be trying to stop Varian from going near the red rocks, a post season one Quirin should logically go after his son to make sure he’s alright, even if he’s know longer trying to actively stop Varian like he once did. 

There’s also that damn note and it’s secrets! 

You know what? That’s it. That’s the problem. The focus is all wrong in season three. Episodes get pulled into to many directions trying to juggle too many characters rather than dedicating the needed time to each individual arc. 

Season two’s finale should have been a three parter with Cass’s full motivation and goal laid bare before leaving.

Rapunzel’s Return should have been solely about Rapunzel and Varian’s conflict and resolving that arc fully 

Either Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf or Day of the Animals should have been a Lance episode about him and the girl’s, no Rapunzel. 

And this episode should have been about Quirin and Varian resolving their issues, with the Rapunzel and Cass stuff as the B plot not the stupid talent show 

There, all fixed. You don't even have to cut much, just rework the focus and leave Rapunzel and Cassandra out of conflicts they have no business being in. 

This Does Not Excuse Rapunzel’s Later Negligence Regarding Cassandra

Just because the red rocks was an accident doesn’t mean Cassandra should get a free pass for all the awful things she does later. Rapunzel uses this one interaction to excuse everything else Cassandra does in season three, as if she was just some poor lost baby and not a grown ass woman out to kill them. 

In fact Cass showing hesitancy here actually makes her later actions even worse. This means that she fully acknowledges that what she’s about to do is wrong, but goes ahead and does anyway, even gleefully so at times. Then she has to gall to act baffled when people see her as a threat? 0.o 

When fans say Cass isn’t redeemable or shouldn’t be redeemed, it’s not because he actions are so much worse than everybody else’s (even though they are), It’s because she doesn’t act like she wants to be redeemed half the time. The show doesn’t properly set up her ‘redemption’, instead it just lazily has Rapunzel yell at us how she’s ‘not lost’. 

Like below for instance. 

What Does Cass Need Saving From?

Cassandra is not in danger. She is the danger. 

She made the conscious decision to leave taking a world endangering artifact with her, and she later makes the conscious decision to come back and be an asshole for no adequately defined reason. 

She’s never shown to be in any physical danger from the rocks, the moonstone, or even Zhan Tiri herself. She apparently can take care of herself in the wild for over a year. She also has the capability of getting a job else where and just living out her life if she wanted to. Nothing is forcing her to listen to Zhan Tiri. 

Heck, even her hurt arm, the one thing Rapunzel is responsible for and could potentially be a continued threat to Cass’s well being, is just completely forgotten about.

And no, mental illness and past trauma are not excuses as well. In fact it’s rather insulting to both people with mental heath problems and abusive survivors to suggest otherwise. We don't need ‘saving from ourselves’ and we aren’t automatically dangers to anybody. Nor do we get free passes if we hurt someone. A jerk who happens to have a mental illness is just a jerk who so happens to have a mental illness; coloration is not causation. 

Conclusion 

It’s better than Rapunzel’s Return, but this episode was still a disappointment. A small part of me whishes this was a two parter because it has so much untapped potential, but I know it’s just be wasted in Chris’s hands. 

Anyways, I consider this to be the true mid-season finale of S3. Not only did the hiatus kick in after this episode, but it also clearly divides the season between the first half filler and the later Cass conflict. As such the next entry will be the mid-season recap. See ya, then. 

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[catgirlxox]

A Deconstruction of The Flame Keeper’s Circle & The Audience’s Common Complaints | Catgirl

As the title states, I’ve been reminded of a couple complaints made about this episode that stem from a large portion of the audience’s general disliking of the way both Ben and Julie were handled during the run of Ultimate Alien. In fact, I recently read a "review" of “The Flame Keeper's Circle,” or, more of a parody, actually, since a review would actually have some kind of substance to it and not just...a slew of insults thrown at a show you claim to like. It's almost like you're looking for something to be mad at, but anyway.

One of those was the OP actually asking someone to (probably joking, but anyway) explain "how Ben's mind works" to them.

And I was like, gladly!

According to the comments under the review, it seems like the general audience didn't really like this episode all that much when it first aired. Which, I bring up because, I on the other hand, actually did. And for a reason: because it proves my previous defence points right.

There's a lot of talk about Ben coming off as a “jerk” or a “douchebag”...but, in a situation such as the one presented within “The Flame Keeper’s Circle,” I would argue he did exactly what he should have done. So that's where I beg to differ.

This episode puts Ben in a position where he, once again, needs to deal with the overlap of a romantic relationship and his priorities as a superhero. The only reason there is conflict here is because they are both important to him.

A bad boyfriend would only care about himself, but Ben clearly cares about not only the safety of his (clearly, quite naive) girlfriend, but also the safety of the rest of the earth. Which, as I’m going to be stating several times, should be something expected of him considering everything else within the series that establishes who he is as a character.

So, on the topic of things that are important, ask yourselves, why would Ben prioritize going along with Julie's idea of joining a cult more than keeping her, and the rest of the world, safe when he realizes the trouble she could potentially be getting herself into?

Throughout the episode, and the fandom’s discussions from what I’ve seen, there is so much focus on "oh, he laughed at her idea so he's a douchebag and therefore a bad boyfriend" and not enough focus on the fact that he's not blindly following an alleged “good cause” because he isn't naive and that's in character based on everything we know about him as a character.

Context matters. And this kind of thing only further makes me question the people who want to cry "inconsistent" writing or characterization because he's acting the way he's been conditioned to.

Arguably from the age of ten, Ben's been dealing with situations where he needed to fight to survive and decide who to trust. Sometimes he trusted the wrong person, which wasn't done out of any other reason besides wanting to help and do the "right thing."

For example, Michael Morningstar in the episode “All That Glitters,” who fooled Ben and his team into thinking he was innocent all while abusing school girls for their life energy and almost killing Ben's cousin.

Or, Simian in “Birds of a Feather," who fooled Ben into thinking he was royalty and into helping him steal something that would aid the Highbreed in their mass murder plot.

In that way, Ben and Julie could have related in this situation because they were both trusting people in the interest of doing something “good.” Both Michael and Simian made Ben believe that they had something in common, or a common goal they could work together to reach. But, he trusted them blinded by his ambition and drive to save the world. Much like Julie is blinded by the promise of being a part of a group trying to make the world a better place.

As such, Ben has made the mistake before, so he's extra weary of how things could go very wrong. He's not against his girlfriend just to be a “jerk” - he's been through things like this before, and we’ve seen him go through those things.

Furthermore, the situation in which Julie is trusting The Flame Keeper’s Circle involves her indirectly agreeing to work with Vilgax. Who, as anyone familiar with Ben should know, is one of if not Ben’s biggest, and more importantly, most dangerous enemy.

Again, she, at the beginning didn’t know that he was involved, or what Ben had gone through already to make him act the way he does in this situation, but she does know what his job entails at this point in the series. She should probably infer that he’s suspicious for a good reason, as should the audience.

Not trusting people blindly is something he learned from being the leader of his team, while trying to protect the earth, namely from the Highbreed invasion back in Alien Force when he was putting together a stronger team. It would only make sense for him to then apply that to a situation in which his significant other gets roped into that which he fights against.

Speaking of fighting against, that brings me to another odd criticism of the writing of this episode. It’s no surprise that the flawed belief of Ben coming off as an alleged “sociopath” is brought up again, considering this episode takes place after The Ultimate Kevin arc. And yes, I realize the problematic connotations of using that term as a borderline insult as part of the issue here. But that aside, in this episode, the fact that he begins to fight Vilgax in his apparent “weakened” state is what is being attributed to that description.

Besides the fact that defending Vilgax is questionable in itself, he’s never needed water to survive for the many times he actually tried to kill Ben. I can’t find a solid answer from a writer that knows for certain if his need for water is genuine except for one who is only assuming that is the case when he’s in this state.

But regardless, (since he clearly survived long enough to morph with Dagon and become a bigger threat to the earth later on) we are still defending Vilgax the LITERAL INTERGALACTIC WARLORD.

Y’know, the guy who’s only in this position because of his own immoral actions? Who absolutely would not hesitate to take advantage of his opponent's weakened state in order to further get away with his immoral actions? Such as he is in this very episode, taking advantage of the people wrongfully worshiping him?

If we are trying to imply that Ben is “just as bad as Vilgax,” then I would assume you’d easily find the flaw in that being Ben’s motivation for incapacitating a dangerous offender who is, at the moment, manipulating naive humans to work for him and help him continue get away with his immoral actions. Which is, needless to say, not the same as Vilgax, at all.

Again, you’d think that’d be obvious.

The Flame Keeper’s Circle’s mission is to end human suffering and find a solution to certain issues happening across the globe with the help of alien technology that is much more advanced than what everyday people are used to. And, while the end goal seems like a good cause, even something Ben as a superhero would be all for, the means through which they attempt to get there aren’t a good idea, at all.

A lot of people find it hard to navigate the use of technology considered advanced by human standards in the real world, so you can only imagine the various things that could go wrong if those kinds of people were suddenly exposed to something much more powerful. In short, a lot could go wrong.

Again, Ben has been in that exact position as soon as he was armed with the Omnitrix. Which is exactly why he’d see the flaw in what these people are trying to do, and therefore not be convinced that it’s such a good idea to allow them to continue, much less endorse it.

This is why I love when the writers actually allow Ben to speak for himself instead of cutting him off for drama or plot. Once he actually gets a word in, or more accurately, has his moment of heroic monologue, he makes himself very clear and, I think, only further proves what I’m trying to say about him.

Here he is, explaining exactly what I’ve been trying to highlight throughout this body of work:

Ben: “Even if Dagon was real, using alien technology to accelerate a planet’s natural development won’t bring utopia, it’ll bring disaster. It’s happened before. Why do you think the Plumbers have those laws? But even that’s not the point, because that isn’t Dagon! His name is Vilgax. He’s not a hero, he’s a selfish, evil warlord who’s using you. And if you let him get in his ship, he’s going to fly off and start an interstellar civil war.”

It’s not that only he can use alien technology to save the world, it’s that his status as a hero proves that he knows what he’s doing, unlike these businessmen in fancy robes leading a cult for profit.

That is not what I would have assumed reasonable people would consider “douchebag behaviour.” That’s actually smart, and going back to my first point, exactly what he should be doing in a situation like this.

The actual episode does end off on a positive note for both Ben and Julie, which is omitted from the review and most of the comments I have read from others on the topic. And, I bring it up because it’s actually vital to wrap up everything brought up within this episode that I have just expanded on. Not only because they make up and seem to understand each other’s perspective after all is said and done, but because they both agree to be open to further discussion on the topic, as Ben offers to go out for dinner.

Which, needless to point out I hope, but once again, is not “douchebag behaviour.”

[kingwuko]

Wuko in the Comics: Ruins of the Empire: Book 1, Part 1

Welcome to my second post on Wuko in the comics. In this post I’ll be discussing the first half of Ruins of the Empire: Book 1. Wu is a prominent character in this comic trilogy, and there is lots of character development and exploration for him. There are also a lot of scenes with Wu and Mako together, and what’s more, there are a handful of visual parallels to Korrasami!

Ruins of the Empire

Book 1 of RotE was released in May 2019. The art style is different from Turf Wars- the colors are very vibrant and it almost looks like stills of the animated series. It takes place 3 months after the conclusion of the animated series, and there is lots of continuity following the events of Turf wars. Some major plot points that carry from Turf Wars include: Wu has been governing the Earth Kingdom, Korra and Asami are in a firmly established relationship, and Zhu Li is President of the United Nations.

Plot Summary

The first half of Book 1 of RotE highlights the transition of the Earth Kingdom into a democracy by focusing on the first state to hold its elections, Gaoling. Gaoling’s election is at risk of being disrupted by Earth Empire general, Guan, who didn’t surrender when the rest of the empire did. The Krew decides to accompany King Wu to Gaoling to ensure the election proceeds without interference.

Major plot points in the first half of Book 1

We start out with a flashback that sets the timeline for the rest of the comic. In Gaoling, Commander Guan is running an earth empire “reeducation camp” and has just gotten word that Kuvira surrendered, but isn’t planning to give up so easily. He insists that his “experiments” and the Earth Empire will go on, with or without Kuvira as the Earth Emperor…. Then we jump ahead 3 months to Republic City, City Hall. We start out with an excellent frame, the first of many Wuko Korrasami parallels! Get excited, there are SO many!

Bolin is working for President Zhu Li Moon now, because, why not? He just quit his job working with Mako on the police force, and now he’s Zhu Li’s administrative assistant or something. Zhu Li is going to be introducing King Wu for a “big speech” to the citizens of Republic City. Korra gives Wu a friendly elbow nudge and asks if he’s ready. (the first of many wholesome friendship moments between the two of them)

Wu is not ready, he’s nervous. He asks Mako to read his speech for him, and Mako says no way- but then he reassures Wu that he’ll do great. “Just be yourself” Wu is immediately comforted and says that Mako always knows the right thing to say and that must be why he keeps Mako around! (I can think of a couple other reasons...) Mako’s expressions are very stoic and closed off. He’s got his arms crossed and looks grumpy (I feel like I’m always saying Mako looks grumpy. But that’s the best adjective I can come up with).

Wu begins his speech where he announces that it’s almost time for the Earth Kingdom states to begin holding elections, starting in the state of Gaoling. Grandma Yin and cousin Tu are in the audience and Yin is booing Wu, and also yelling “Long live the monarchy” while holding framed portraits of Wu and Hou-Ting.

Asami, Korra, Mako and Varric are standing behind Wu, applauding along with the crowd (well, the crowd minus Yin). Korra and Mako casually compliment Wu, saying that he's doing great and almost looks like a real leader! Wu says that within a year there will be a peaceful transition to democracy. He gets bombarded by questions and panics and starts singing. He tosses his stylish hat into the crowd, which Yin catches and says “you’ll always be my king!” Mako covers his face with his hands, Korra says ”well you did tell him to be himself” and Mako says “this is NOT what I meant”. Sorry Mako. You know Wu better than anyone so you should have known a song was coming. Zhu Li takes the podium and Wu dramatically faints/collapses into Mako’s arms. I presume on purpose.

We cut to a scene of Kuvira’s trial. Kuvira, after being read the charges against her, pleads not guilty (because every thing she did was for the “greater good”), Suyin confronts her and Kuvira apologizes but Suyin isn’t having it and forcefully tells her that apologies aren’t enough, she has to take responsibility.

We move on to President Moon’s office, where Wu is sitting on a sofa and Bolin welcomes Asami, Mako and Korra in. Mako lampshades Bolin’s many career changes. Bolin makes a comment to Mako that just because Mako has “found” himself it doesn’t mean the rest of them have. I, for the life of me, can’t figure out exactly what Bolin is trying to say here. Is he referring to the fact that Mako has “found” his career as a detective? Or something else, like his true feelings for Wu? Probably the first thing but us Wuko shippers will happily apply it to the other thing.

Once everyone is settled in, Wu asks them to come with him to Gaoling for the upcoming elections! Mako is actually not thrilled, and tells Wu that they aren’t going to be there for him to show off as his entourage. Wu is like No, that’s not it! Well, yes, kinda. He wants their help dealing with the Earth Empire loyalists being led by Guan. The Earth Kingdom army is understaffed and Wu is worried the Guan will try to prevent the elections from happening. The Krew agrees that it could be a problem, especially since it could cause other states to back out of holding elections and allow the earth empire to rise again.

So the Krew plans to come to Gaoling to show support for the elections, hopefully deter Guan from interfering, and Mako says they will keep Wu safe. Zhu Li encourages Bolin to go as well. Wu is very excited to team up with Mako again! After they leave the President's office, Korra suggests going to go speak to Kuvira to try to gather intel on Guan- Asami is not thrilled and doesn’t want to go with her because Kuvira was responsible for her father’s death. Korra is understanding and supportive and they share a lovely little kiss before Korra heads off.

Korra arrives at Kuvira’s prison with Naga. We catch a quick glimpse into Kuvira’s mind as she remembers a moment from her childhood when she ran away from her parents-after her parents accused her of breaking a vase, the take away her toys and lock her in her room “for her own good”, and she uses her earth bending to break the wall and escape. This and other flashbacks attempt to make us more sympathetic to Kuvira so we can accept her redemption arc in the remainder of the comics. After her little flashback, Korra and Kuvira discuss Guan. Kuvira says she didn’t know Guan hadn’t surrendered, and that Korra should consider him a major threat because he is cunning and strategic. Then Kuvira tells Korra if she wants to stop Guan, she should bring Kuvira along to reason with him and convince him to stand down and surrender. Korra is not convinced, but Kuvira tells her to take time to think about it, and she’ll be there to help when Korra asks.

Meanwhile, Guan is rallying his troops. He’s got a sizable regiment of soldiers along with tanks, and is giving them a big speech about taking back the empire and rising from the ruins of defeat. He and his troops head out of their fortress, presumably to do exactly what everyone is worried about and stop Gaoling’s election.

Mako and Wu Scenes

Mako and Wu are featured in many scenes of these comics, together more often than not!

The very first scene with Wu, he is standing right next to Mako, in the same frame as Korra and Asami. I realize “standing next to each other” might not actually be ground breaking evidence for Wuko, but it feels like a parallel to Korrasami, and most importantly creates kind of an establishing shot, planting Wu at the center along with Korra. This is kind of amazing considering he was in only one season of the show and he was largely a comic relief character that I don’t think the writers meant for us to take seriously. There is a pattern of parallels in RotE with Korrasami and Wuko, and we don’t really need to reach for them. They are right there, visually.

We also get to see some lovely moments of Korra’s and Wu’s friendship. She elbows him good-naturedly. She’s kind and supportive. She compliments him. He does seem a little awkward but overall it seems he really fits in with the Krew now, and I find it really sweet. His characterization feels very different from the show. He isn’t obnoxiously flirting with every 'dame' he lays eyes on. He isn’t bratty, or materialistic. He’s still goofy and lands some comic relief joke moments, but overall he is treated like an actual character with substantial development and plot-advancing roles.

During Wu’s speech, Mako is staring like, way too intently at him while casually complementing how he almost looks like a real leader. (Well, up until Wu starts singing, and then his second-hand embarrassment seems more intense than the others, who mostly just seem a little stunned, while Mako has his face buried in his hands). Also, the running gag of Grandma Yin being obsessed with royalty has it’s funny moments during his speech, but I really like it because the fact that Mako’s grandma is reverent, affectionate, AND outspoken with Wu would probably create an interesting in-law dynamic, right? Also, during his song, the tosses his hat out to the crowd which Yin catches like a single lady catching the bridal bouquet, and says “You’ll always be my King!” I like to imagine that she now wears his hat everywhere, along with Mako’s scarf. I know I’m reaching but Yin wearing both their accessories is another Wuko moment in my mind.

Let’s also talk about Wu fainting. After his panic-singing, Zhu Li quickly takes over and Wu steps back and dramatically faints, saying “Wu down”- right into Mako’s arms. Why into Mako’s arms? Did he step back and strategically aim himself at Mako? Technically the closest person to him was Varrick. So he had to stagger back diagonally and fall back toward Mako on purpose. Did Mako catch him with lightning-fast reflexes? Korra was also right there and she’s the Avatar, you’d think she’d react quicker than Mako. Nope. The best explanation is that Wu for sure was intentionally falling into Mako’s arms, and Mako’s ‘protect Wu’ instincts kicked in faster than anyone else's because.. Well. You ship Wuko. You know what I'm saying. <3

During the conversation in Zhu Li’s office, once again, visually Mako and Wu are parallel to Korra and Asami. They are sitting next to each other on a couch opposite Korra and Asami. However, there is this one moment where Mako is NOT HAVING IT with Wu. When Wu asks the Krew to join him, Mako is like, why? For show? No way. He says “We’re not your entourage, Wu.” Honestly that was kinda mean of him to say. I’m not sure what to make of it other than Mako is suddenly grumpy because his brother (who was visibly offended by Mako lamp-shading his career-hopping) snatched away a tray of cupcakes a moment before. Still, Wu is quick to reassure him that it’s not like that at all, and delivers the news of Guan and quickly makes a case that it’s the practical thing to do considering the political climate. Mako immediately agrees after that, and quickly flips his script to “we’ll keep you safe”. And Wu’s triple “yes” response with an excited fist in the air is enough of a Wuko moment for me.

When they leave Zhu Li’s office, yet another visual Korrasami/Wuko parallel. Korra and Asami are in the back holding hands, and Mako and Wu are in the front with Wu’s arm draped around Mako’s shoulders. Wu is very happy that Mako is coming along. Says they should get a smoothie to celebrate, and it’ll be just like old times! I’m sure Wu missed Mako. Mako doesn’t seem quite as thrilled but at this point it's really just Mako’s face. He just always looks like that. Who knows what he’s thinking inside.

What this means for Wuko

So if you are writing some fanfic or just coming up with headcanons with the comics in mind, there is a lot of material to work with right away. They are in close proximity for most of their scenes. Wu is accepted by the Krew, and he is buddy-buddy enough with Korra to presume he’s probably been talking to her outside of the scenes depicted in the comics. So there’s some potential for wingman or matchmaker Korra, or at the very least she will be happy and supportive of them getting together since she has warmed up to Wu a lot. Both Mako and Wu have matured enough that a healthy relationship is within reach. Wu clearly has affection toward Mako, and Mako still has that protective instinct toward Wu, even if he looks like he’s not having a great time (But like I said, he looks like that all the time, so I'm pretty sure he just has resting bitch face).

So that is about the halfway point of book 1. The next post I will talk about the second half of book 1. Some things to look forward to: a sauna scene, Mako, Bolin and Wu giving Kuvira the Bitchiest collective look ever, and Wu casually telling Mako that he loves him.

Wuko in Turf War

Wuko in RotE part 2