#my favorite ship archetype is ‘divorced.’

[polarisbear]

i know i have a favorite character archetype and it’s pathetic + “aw a little guy! oh there’s something wrong with them”

[itookyoudown]

For the character ask game will you do the whole Lexington team?

i accept this challenge 😈

let's do this speedrun style.

LEXINGTON LAWMEN LET'S GO

Art

How I feel about this character: he's ... all right! i think he's perfect for his role in the show and he's got some nice little details (the hearing aids, his relationship with leslie & family, etc) and he has some great lines. S2's Blaze of Glory is FASCINATING for him and is my favorite Art episode ... that ending with Frank!! dksjfks both sad and funny and wow what an entirely human true neutral way to approach the outlaw VS lawman cat and mouse dynamic 10/10 no notes. we also get some interesting glimpses at his inner darkness + capacity for violence in him that's ... hm now that's very interesting (that time he smacked Boyd with the bible, the interrogation with the phonebook, him decking Raylan, etc) but i think overall he falls too much in line with the "Police Chief" character archetype. since Justified is a western masquerading as a police show, Art should have felt more like a sheriff but he didn't. Raylan was the sheriff of the show. though as Justified always does with their characters they gave Art a lot more personality and layers than LEO shows usually give their big boss characters. i also LOVE that Art's hope and trust in Raylan is FOREVER dashed and is never repaired during the show, such a great twist on what usually happens with the chief and their cowboy subordinate.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: ...well...i wouldn't call it "romantic" but i think we deserve at least one fucked up gross Art/Tim dead dove daddy issues smut fic, as a treat (for me) 🤡

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Art & Raylan. his odd almost-surrogate father/son dynamic where he literally disowns Raylan during the show is goddamn great and i never tire of it on rewatches of the show. i really wish we'd see it explored more in fic.

My unpopular opinion about this character: i don't think there's enough opinions on Art for anything said about his character to be unpopular, but ... i think Art had one gay experience when he was younger like @praycambrian's Art and stanley tucci fic is just canon to me.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: more Art & Tim interaction!! remember when Tim gets mouthy and bratty and Art verbally lays into him with a DON'T BE A SMART ASS??!! yeah i needed to have more of Tim toe-ing the chain of command and Art putting him back behind the line, please.

Rachel

How I feel about this character: she's cool! i like Rachel, but i don't love Rachel. she's just too prim and professional and filling the role of The Lawful Good Lawman to spark any fandom brainworms in me. she has my respect though. i still adored her place within the show, however. badass lady black marshal that's good at her fucking job and doesn't backdown in the face of assholes!! get it. the ways she was able to clap back on racist bullshit without the writers falling down a preachy rabbit hole for her was also chef's kiss.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Rachel/OMC and Rachel/Raylan as a treat (for her). sorry lesbian or bi Rachel truthers, that's a straight woman. in my head, after Rachel becomes the Seattle marshal she begins seeing a black man who works some sort of legal practice job with a divorce under his belt as well. they eventually married and live as Dog Parents Ever After 😌

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Rachel & Nick. loved her relationship with her nephew, she's done right by him and stepped up for her family i think Nick is going to be okay, i really think he's going to end up happy and Rachel structure & support is a big part of that.

My unpopular opinion about this character: the best Rachel fic(s) in existence is connect the dots by larkingstock. i don't care that it's Rachel/Tim fic btw once upon a time i read all the Tim fics that existed on the internet and that's how i discovered this brilliant Rachel-centric fic. never read a fic that shines such a spotlight on her sexuality, her emotions, and her wishes before while givng her a real narrative voice. also, the writing quality and style is romance novel level. 10/10 no notes.

not a fan of the Rachel & Tim bestie agenda. respectfully, they are work colleagues at best but i prefer Rachel filling a former mentor & then a boss role to Tim. he calls her ma'am with a little too much respect for them to be true pals.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: what the fuck happened with her divorce!! hello?? we only had a QUICK PEEK into Rachel's tragic & chaotic family life (dad dead from cancer, troubled sister dead, co-raising her nephew with her mother??!!) and i desperately wish we'd gotten a follow-up on what was going on there. our gal had hidden depths and i wanted to see more. they dropped the ball with the lawmen side of the plots in season 5/6 so we were also denied a deeper look at Rachel being the acting chief RIP :(

Tim

How I feel about this character: i'm not normal about this dude :) he's my blorbo my fan favorite my ascended supported character my baby boy my lil man timmy guts slutterson my gay ranger sniper deputy marshal lawman heart of my heart apple of my eye!! i just think he's neat. everything we see about him in canon spurs a hundred and zillion headcanons in my head, can never stop thinking about him. he's a character i project hard on and i love working out my various personal issues by tormenting him with them. ty for your service 'lil mister.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: everything he's my little black dress of the fandom. givenson, mostly. but also boyd/raylan/tim, boyd/tim, colt/tim, boyd/colt/tim, quarles/tim. i even ship him in things that has no tag yet. where is the wynn duffy/tim fic?! i need dan/raylan/tim in miami fic!!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Tim & Mark. i liked the canon portrayal for them and don't find it romantic or sexual at all. i really do think they were just war buddy pals.

My unpopular opinion about this character: he would not have been out as a gay man circa 2010. i sometimes ... feel ... his service history & career as a LEO isn't factored into fic characterizations and how that's gonna fuck up his ability to accept himself as a gay man and how that might even give him a hostile relationship with the LGBT community at large. i will never i cannot personally vibe with smoothing down the sharp points of Tim's characterization and history to make him more palatable to a younger audience. i don't care for queernorm-ing and the soft boy aesthetics.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: that they spent SO MUCH time setting up his powder-keg arc and then did a whole bunch of nothing with it. we should have seen him BLOW sky high (and should have seen him blowing other men who said that).

Raylan

How I feel about this character: i'm normal about him (lying through my teeth). i love raylan, okay?? he makes me bonkers in a variety of different ways. he's my comfort character!! thinking about him comforts me.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: givenson, mainly. i also ship him with boyd in a very very VERY selective way AKA it has to be toxic and weird and dom4dom. also love putting him with both Boyd and Tim at once ala Crowgivenson. i also wrote the only Dan/Raylan fic but also took it down a while back, still ship them hardcore though only way to explain why Dan is so fucking fond of Raylan.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Raylan & Loretta. no she is NOT his daughter and those are not a parent/child dynamic. Raylan sees HIMSELF in Loretta, he is being the protective supportive adult to her that HE needed as a child. helping her heals his inner wounded child. Loretta is a mirror to a younger Raylan with a twist of female trauma. it's a funhouse mirror into his past.

My unpopular opinion about this character: he's a daddy dom sorry to the haters but that's what he is in my heart. me and the other justies into that are gonna keep being happy about it in our corner of the fictional sandbox 🖤

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: don't like the becoming a dad plotline, sorry. his romance with winona was eye-roll more to me and when they had winona get pregnant i put my face in my palms and groaned. wish it hadn't happened and they had given him a juicy career focus instead. the only saving grace to the whole dad thing is how both Justified and JCP stayed true to Raylan's character and portrayed him as being a crappy father.

(give me a character ask meme)

[countessofravenclaw]

I was tagged by both @weirdthoughtsandideas and @assim-eu-sou . Thank you guys!

10 Fandoms ~ 10 Characters ~ 10 Tags

Do I have 10 fandoms? We'll see.

Nina Simonetti ~ Soy Luna

I mean, I feel like many think that my favorite character is Gastón since I talk about him so much and have so many headcanons, but it is actually Nina. I see myself lot in her, as the shy nerd who thinks that no one would ever like her.

Nina is probably the best representation of the stereotypical "nerd" I have seen in the media. Even if she is into books and doesn't talk much and is portrayed as not conventionally attractive (even when she is absolutely gorgeous. If the aim was not to have her like that, casting did not get the memo), she can still want romance and someone who is conventionally attractive is attracted to her and absolutely falls head over heels for her.

She is also quite fleshed out and we know some background for why she is pretty closed off at the start of the series, primarily due to the trauma of her parents' divorce and how it still is handled. No one ever blames her for being shy, but the right people (mostly her best friend and boyfriend) who love her are able to bring her out of her shell.

Since she is a nerd in a sense, she is into stuff like math, but really the thing she is into which we don't see many nerds to be is writing, which is something many of us can relate to.

The sad thing about this is how she was handled in S3. She was always the main character's best friend, but that season she really was reduced to that archetype and not allowed to do anything for herself outside of being heartbroken and suddenly being a journalistic writer. Oh and being assaulted, by a guy she only wanted to be friends with.

2. Francesca Caviglia ~ Violetta

Who doesn't love the original DCLA resident Italian? Truthfully she is tied with Naty for my favorite, but I went with her here. Who doesn't love Fran? She's pretty, fun, has common sense (something that is rare in DCLA) most of the time, and she is a soprano just like me.

You can just identify with her when Vilu comes up with new dump plan

3. Olivia Rooney ~ Liv and Maddie

First of all, I need her whole wardrobe and the shoes.

Secondly, I love her with my whole heart. She's a teenage celebrity who may seem bit ditzy and shallow, but in actuality, she is kind, loving, and intelligent person who will fight anyone who tries to hurt the people she loves.

Even if Liv was famous and probably had money, she never was spoiled or thought she was better than anyone else. And she used her resources to do good.

And you absolutely would be surprised that she only really had one boyfriend throughout the 4 season run of the show. Nad they did her one ship so dirty for no reason. S3 is the death of ships in shows, always.

4. Elton John Cashwell ~ HSMTMTS

Everyone knows that I am a loyal member of Ej Caswell defense squad. He deserves so much better.

I always had a soft spot for him in S1 and felt like there was more to him... now we know why.

EJ is just a person who tries his best but anything is never enough for anyone. He is legit the best and most complex character in this show.

5. Anakin Skywalker ~ Star Wars

It has been a while since I have talked about Star Wars. I seem to be into broken guys. I mean have you seen the Clone Wars? NAaking is the best!

6. Ronald Weasley ~ Harry Potter

I am talking about the book-Ron. Movies... we don't know them at this blog.

Ron is the best friend you would ever want. Harry and Ron is my favorite literature Bromance.

7. Adrian Agreste ~ Miraculous

I already had EJ here, so why not Adrian too. I seem really be into broken, emotionally abused teens. I am really finding it hard to put into words why I love these characters so much

8. Samuel Costa ~ Alex & Co

I don't think I have ever talked about Alex & Co and my love for the hot mess that it is.

Anyways, with Nina, Sam is one of the best portrays of a nerd on screen. International Disney just knows how to do it.

Sam is loved by his friends, never treated as annoying and a "popular" girl falls in love with him. He and Rebecca are the best ship and they even have Diecescaesc hiding plot. There also is potential for tradic backstory that we never got since we do not know about his parents.

Okay, I made it to 8. Good enough...

Tagging: @putonmyfavoriteshow @silver-inked @bchemiqn @sapphire374 @bookishjules @hide-in-imagination @simbar-tvshowgirl and everyone else who wants to do it

[pleckthaniel]

ask meme. dovewing

Disclaimer I haven't sat down and actually read an OOTS book since they first came out Nearly Ten Years Ago and forgot basically everything that happened in AVOS as soon as it I finished reading it, so a lot of this is going off of very hazy memories and Vibes

What I love about them: *points* gifted kid. same girl. i still haven’t read dovewing’s silence just cause, idk, im not super into the novella’s, but that’s one that’s actually on my list of ‘maybe someday’ just because former-gifted-kid-hashtag-Struggling-to-move-on!dovewing is my absolute favorite of all potential versions of her. it’s an archetype i really like, a super kindhearted character who takes on the duties of a hero and then struggles with the psychological consequences of it, and it’s an archetype that’s usually restricted to male characters, and it’s also honestly not super common anymore for a number of reasons. so

What I hate about them: not even really about Her so much as how she’s written but i just hate hatE how much of her arc revolves around romantic drama... like i truly don’t care... it’s not even that i don’t care about romantic drama because i definitely do, and it’s not that i don’t care about romantic drama in warrior cats because while characters whose lives center around romantic drama in warrior cats often suck it can be done quite well at times imo (graystripe, crowfeather, bristlefrost). it’s just that the way it was written with dovewing in particular that really rubbed me the wrong fucking way. part of that though could be residual annoyance from 11-year-old-me that in OOTS the erins seemed to be fairly transparently trying to tap into the then-mega-popular YA love triangle trope complete with fairly paint-by-numbers competing love interests

Favorite Moment/Quote: uh like i said i don’t recall oots super clearly but i do still love that dovewing heard there was a fourth cat and even though her and ivypool had been sort of on and off feuding for months she still instantly went well Clearly it’s my sister. and was even willing to argue with jayfeather and lionblaze about it. very sweet

What I would like to see more focus on: PLEASE ERINS GIVE US ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANYONE IN SHADOWCLAN OTHER THAN TIGERSTAR AND HER CHILDREN it’s NOT HEALTHY for him and his mom and their children to be THE ONLY PEOPLE SHE’S FRIENDS WITH JUST GIVE ME LIKE ONE FRIENDLY LAUGH WITH CLOVERFOOT OR SOMETHING PLEASE it makes me so uneasy that she’s just /living there/ and appears to have no real connection to anyone except as THEIR SORT OF SYMBOLIC SURROGATE MOTHER AS THE FIRST LADY OF THEIR CLAN

What I would like to see less focus on: again. romantic drama. which is kind of over now, since tigerstar and her had kids and post-childbirth divorce doesn’t exist in warrior cats for anyone except crowfeather and nightcloud. but like, retrospectively - if i could rewrite her character - i would boot the romance drama.

Favorite pairing with: probably briarlight? again because of the romance drama and the way it’s handled so clumsily with her and all of that dovewing is kind of one of those characters i don’t ship so much. there are a lot of ships with her i can theoretically get behind but im not really actively interested in any of them

Favorite friendship: i don’t know if they’re even actually friends in any sense but i find her potentially extant relationship with jayfeather to be. fascinating. theyre such an odd couple and youd think hed be less intimidating to her than lionblaze but on some level also no he might actually be harder for her to connect with but she still manages to it’s just. interesting 2 me

NOTP: bumbledove. it probably could’ve been like theoretically recoverable until he propositioned her in the middle of a funeral lol

Favorite headcanon: blue eyes dovewing. sorry not sorry it’s what i first pictured her like as a kid reading OOTS and now it’s never going to leave me <3

[whimsicalfay]

The Letter - I really love this game!

So, I just finished playing The Letter for the first time and I have to say I really loved it. I think it might be becoming my new hyperfixation because I can't stop thinking about it.

I'm a huge fan of the horror genre and the supernatural aspects of the game alone made it me like it, it's a well put together horror story, not the most scariest I've read if I'm being honest, but it does keep you on edge. It makes you want to keep reading nonstop because you need to know what happens next. At least that was my case, I just couldn't put my phone down.

The story keeps you on edge because it makes you care about the characters. Even if you don't particularly like this or that one, you still care about their destiny (either because you like them and want to see them getting a happy ending or because you dislike them and want to see them suffer), you still want to know how their journey ends. You care, for good or bad.

I love that your decisions as a player actually hold weight and affect the story. How many visual novels have I played where my choices don't actually change anything? Well, in The Letter every little choice you make counts. It'll affect the story, the relationship between characters, the ending, everything. I usually play visual novels only once, even the ones with multiple endings, because most of them don't change much at the end. It's just the same ending with minor changes. The idea of playing it again just to get one different word in the epilogue it's not attractive, but with The Letter the suspense you felt the first time you played it remains for the second, third and all the times you play it.

I love that is a multi-POV story because I think that adds a different perspective not only to the story itself, but to the characters as well. A character that from one POV is perceived as frivolous and cold, in other is seen as kind and warm, for example. It adds depth.

SPOILERS AHEAD, I GUESS?

Now I'll talk about my personal opinion on the characters and ships (because yes, it has romance too, despite being a horror game).

My least favorite is probably Rebecca, and not because she's bad written, quite the opposite actually. All the characters have flaws, some even bigger than Rebecca's, the difference is that she lacks self-awareness. Her little obsession with Ash and the jealousy she felt every time he interacted with Isabella was a big indicator of her lack of self-awareness. She doesn't own up to her shitty behavior (I mean, she does, but it takes for her friends to die or for her to be in the brink of death to realize she wasn't precisely in the right) and I'm not really into characters with this type of characterization. It doesn't mean she isn't well written, because she is, it just means she, as a character, isn't my cup of tea.

Luke, for example, is the most flawed character, yet I still like him better than Rebecca because he's self-aware (and because I love villainous characters). He knows he's a shitty person and doesn't lie to himself about it. He accepts it. He embraces it, even. I like that in character. So, my problem with Rebecca is not that she's an obsessive creepy girl that wants to monopolize Ash because she firmly believes she's entitled to his attention and romantic love just because they've known each other since kids. I actually love the yandere archetype, I love obsessive creepy characters. My problem with her is that she doesn't realize she's that obsessive creepy girl. She doesn't realize she's toxic and a shitty friend to both Ash and Isabella in more than one occasion.

And this too is the reason why I don't like the Ash x Rebecca pairing. Not because I find it problematic (I actually love problematic ships, I mean, c'mon, I love yanderes) but because the ship it's not my kind of problematic. Just a matter of personal taste. So if any shipper sees this please don't get your panties in a twist, thank you.

My favorite character is probably Ashton. I have seen people say that he's the least interesting of them all and that he doesn't have a backstory tragic enough to be the way he is. I literally saw someone ask "what even is his pain?" But I don't believe Ash is supposed to be some Greek tragic character? It's not the way I interpreted it, at leat (yeah, in the true ending he, well, ends tragically, but I still don't think he's supposed to be a tragic character). All the characters are well written and their personalities make sense with their upbringing. His parents divorced when he was very young, way before he was old enough to understand that it wasn't his fault. And after the divorce each parent went to live on their own leaving him alone. He was a child and he was alone. Abandoned, at least that's how his kid's mind perceived it, by his own parents. So, to me, it makes sense for him to build up walls between him and his friends. It makes sense that he doesn't completely trust them. It makes sense that he believes that he knows better. He felt betrayed and abandoned by his own parents, and if his own parents abandoned him then why would people that aren't even related to him by blood not abandon him? He protects himself from that rejection, from that future abandonment, by building up walls. It'll hurt less to be left behind if he doesn't allow himself to get too close to anyone in the first place. I've seen some people say that Ash tries too hard to be a hero, but I don't believe he's trying to be a hero, I believe he's trying to feel worthy. Worthy of friendship, worthy of love, worthy of the people around him, damn, even worthy of being alive. Imagine the blow on a kid's self-esteem after they get "abandoned" by their own parents? If your own parents can't love you enough to stay with you, then who can? Probably no one, right? So he overcompensates. Because yes, he's afraid of abandonment but he also yearns for true long-lasting bonds. So he tries to solve everything by himself not because he believes he's some hero, but because he's trying to show to the people he cares about that he can be reliable, that they can depend on him, so maybe, maybe, they'll want to stay by his side. So maybe they won't abandon him. And each time he fails to prove that he can be reliable, that he can solve things on his own, it's to him a confirmation of his lack of worth. "He thinks he knows everything", yeah, because knowing everything is one of the few ways he knows to prove to himself and to others that he's useful, that he's worthy. I'm not saying you can't find those character traits annoying, that you can't dislike him, I'm just saying that you can't pretend that his characterization doesn't make sense. And when did this post become a dissertation on Ash's characterization? Lol.

The rest of the characters I love too. I just wanted to give my insight in my least and most favorite ones, because if I write something for the seven of them this post would be too long since I have a lot to say about them, in a good way of course.

TL;DR The Letter is an amazing game and if you haven't already played it yet then you have to play it right now, I promise you won't regret it!

[rangerdew]

hmmm the like fandomization of rvb definitely is weird considering the Kind of media it is... well i guess a lot of media is incompatible with fandom. all of it actually. well okay thats not true but like the modern formula for fandom where its like get into thing --> water it down into like easy consumable bits (idk if im explaining this right) is like bad for media analysis and communication. so its like you shouldnt do that? but some stuff is better made for it in my opinion for example homestuck or stuff that sucks and is purposefully made for that kinda thing. but for red versus blue its like the guys making it probably did not have this kind of base in mind lol so its just kind of nuts that for me people who are like tumblr fans of rvb are more readily accessible to me than like bros who watchede it in their bedroom in 2008 or something. idk. honestly i thinik this all just leads back to the fact that i need to know why my friends bfs favorite character is caboose even if the reason is just’ hes funny’ which will actually be really underwhelming but i kind of still want to know. caboose is pretty funny so hes right. 

wait i have more to say about this. warning for totally incomprehensible text and also potentially wrong opinions. basically its like how i feel about portal like i dont get the deal about wheatly. he lived he served the narrative he died like i think hes a very good character for what they were trying to say. but its like people make archetypes and people do tropes and they do ships and all that transformative fanwork stuff and while thats great at some point it stops feeling like portal. its like what happened with undertale. wait i should’ve definitely started this off with undertale. but its like hits you with a bat... maybe i want fanworks that engage w the source material without divorcing itself from its themes and most interesting portions!! you know!!

and thats why i really hate put your guns in the ground.  

[williamsockner]

Mythic Quest Quarantine Episode Watch Notes (SPOILERS)

Of course Brittlesby is a Gloria Estefan stan.

David Hornsby is really the unsung hero of this show, he’s crushing it.

I mean honestly this whole ensemble is fantastic, Danny Pudi and Charlotte Nicdao both need way more mainstream attention.

Nice tie-in with Blood Ocean!

How did Rob McElhenney make such a fit butt that unattractive in such a short span of time? Is Ian Grimm just radioactively unsexy? Is it because I snorted Red Bull up my nose at that shot and it just ruined the tight ass vibe?

Dana and Rachel are my least favorites of the main ensemble (except Jo) but that chip thing was super cute. They’re actually always super cute together, it’s more that I wish their characterization extended beyond being an adorable wholesome ship.

Sue’s back! Sue!!!! MY GIRL i am so happy I thought she wouldn’t be here for this ep.

Carol!!!! Carol’s back!!!!

Ian immediately cracking an obscene sex joke in front of the HR head is so on-brand.

THE MUSIC VIDEO

oh my god Charlotte Nicdao broke my heart with how excellent and uncertain and quietly despairing her face was during the vaccine programming section, I wasn’t expecting to actually tear up at Mythic Quest of all things

poppy baby I’m a workholic too I feel you so hard right now

THE DIAL UP NOISES holy shit

“It’s less sad if I can see you when I’m drinking alone.” Ouch, that rang true.

CALL HIM A NARCISSIST, POPPY, CALL HIM OUT. DRAG HIMMMM

“David, hey David, David, are we at your divorce trial right now? Because I just watched a hot Asian chick rip your heart out.”

Brad’s bare-bones extremely utilitarian apartment is so in-character.

So is Brittlesby’s home that looks like a college dorm room with art of...chairs?

How is Ian such a ridiculous garbage manipulative monster of a person and yet somehow lovable? Even when I know he’s playing Poppy, he sucks me in.

“You okay? ...can I see you, then?” ;A;

I LOVE THIS FRENEMYLATIONSHIP.

HOLY SHIT

I just cried ugly tears, Poppy’s meltdown just hit me right on that raw nerve where it hurts.

I loved that, I needed that.

Charlotte Nicdao and Rob McElhenney both do a really great job with dramatic scenes. I’d love to see both of them do them more often, even if on other projects.

Also mad props to Rob McElhenney for still inhabiting that image-obsessed bonehead archetype that Ian and Mac share but having the characterization, body language, tone of voice and emotional telegraphing be so different between the two characters.

I guess we aren’t getting Michelle this episode.

Props to Hornsby for commitment y’all

“You look like a baby turrrtle :3c” I love Sue so much guys

Oh my god that ending bit was SO CUTE, I was gleefully cheering along with them.

[theliterarywolf]

Lol, what happened with Disenchantment? (I'm not really into the show so I don't care about spoilers).

Tagging @dualcoindeity since they asked too.

So, in order for me to explain why S2 went so 'what's the point?!', I have to go into the end of S1 as well.

At the end of Disenchantment's first season, Bean (the main character) sacrifices her friend Elfo in order to bring her mother back to life from a poison that turns people to stone.

Queen Dagmar is resurrected and the kingdom is overjoyed, including King Zog who not only got his beloved back but now has two wives since, when Dagmar died, he remarried.

After some shenanigans, including Queen Oona basically saying 'fuck this, I'm not going to be second fiddle just because your first wife is back', it's revealed that Dagmar actually ended up accidentally poisoning herself because she was trying to poison the king but Bean as a toddler ended up playing around and switching the glasses.

Now back to life, Dagmar brews up enough of the poison to infect the entire kingdom, tricks Bean into coming with her by lying that Oona poisoned the kingdom as revenge, and the two of them flee to Dagmar's home kingdom: leaving Zog to rule over a dead kingdom and Dagmar able to groom Bean into a pawn for her own devices.

Now, opening to S2, we see Dagmar still frisking Bean to her home kingdom but one night while Bean is sleeping, Oona swims to the ship and tries to warn her, just to end up tossed back overboard to drown after a fight with Dagmar.

When they make it to the kingdom, Bean gets weirded out by how off everything is but goes along with it because, hey, I'm finally back with my long-dead mom!

Then she finds out that Dagmar only married her dad and gave birth to her because she's trying to complete a dark prophecy that will only be finished if she basically lobotomizes her daughter and puts her on a throne.

So Bean escapes thanks to Luci telling her 'hey, yeah, you fucked up but we need to get away from your batshit mama, convince Elfo to piss God off so he can get booted from Heaven to Hell, go to Hell, and get him!'

So, after a fight with Dagmar, they do go down into Hell, find Elfo, Luci sacrifices his powers, prestige, and immortality to get them out, and they end up going back to Dreamland (the home kingdom) to save everyone.

Everyone is saved thanks to Elfo (admittedly bitter because of being forced to watch Bean sacrifice him for her mom on repeat in Hell for his punishment) helping with a treaty between humans and elves, and the rest of the season focuses on character growth.

We have King Zog realizing that happily ever after doesn't happen for everyone and that he can't lay the border of making him happy onto other people (via Oona asking for a divorce and his short-lived relationship with the bear-selkie Ursa). We have Oona finally being able to spread her wings and go off to become a pirate. Elfo slowly becomes more independent rather than the lovesick tagalong to Bean he was in S1. Luci starts his own business. Bean grows to understand that she needs to grow up and that, despite her parents, she can be her own person and serve her kingdom in her own ways (she becomes a playwright and a spoken-word poet, she helps the elves during a disease outbreak, she rescues her brother from a ferocious, jealous monster). Hell, she even becomes a scientist (or a 'stientist' as she keeps calling it during the episode where an assassin from a foreign kingdom called 'Steamland' (which is, personally, my favorite setting in the show) comes to attempt to kill her father.

... And that brings us to episode 10 where ALL OF THAT CHARACTER-DEVELOPMENT is hurled RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW!

When Bean comes back from her exploration of Steamland, she's trying to explain that there was an assassination attempt on her father. Her father's advisors who, in the past, have been stuck up have gone full 'women don't speak in the king's presence!'

Despite, you know, us having numerous times that prove otherwise.

Still, Bean tries to state what happened, producing the assassin's pistol as proof. The advisors insist that it's a 'dragon-summoning whistle/hammer' and try to steal it from Bean, insisting that she's the assassin.

Because... Everyone has been infected with dumb-bitch disease apparently.

Zog, seeing this, does nothing except say 'hey, come on, Bean's my daughter; everyone just calm down'. Despite, you know, there being times when Zog has used his authority to say 'hey, everyone, shut the fuck up'.

So the struggle continues until... A shot rings out. In the unnecessary struggle, Bean accidentally shoots her father.

Episode 10 centers around everyone reverting back to their S1 personalities. Elfo and Luci are back to being one-line sidekicks, Bean is back to having no agency outside of 'rebel princess who is still just a damsel in distress - archetype #6', and ends up being sent to burn at the stake.

Because... Everyone has been infected with dumb-bitch disease apparently.

And, yes, I know that most of the idiocy is due to the king's advisors as well as the head of the church having a secret conspiracy for their secret society to have control of the throne through Bean's brother.

... Then why the HELL did we go through all that effort to have Bean escape from one secret prophecy plot just to be subjected to a secret conspiracy plot?

Oh, but just when it looks like Bean, Elfo, and Luci are about to go the way of Lisa from Castlevania, a flash of a certain someone's face appears in the flames and the trio is pulled down into a secret cavern full of creepy-eyed creatures.

And just who is the one who saved them?

Walking in from the shadows, smirking like the cat who ate the canary, Dagmar steps up to the daughter she gaslit, abused, and tried to turn into a vegetable to say "What? No hug?"

S2 of Disenchantment did a full circle of a plot that seemingly punishes anyone who was hoping for the show to succeed.

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

So I had this thought that the Eighth Doctor and Grace have more character development in their 90-minute movie than River Song does in her five seasons (or six, depending on how you place “The Husbands of River Song”)

And I thought, well, that’s uncharitable. She does seem to stagnate as a character, at least what we see of her, and most of what we know about her is stuff we’re told as opposed to seeing, but I decided to make a list of all the character traits and general skills River exhibits because I want to like her. 

So. River is:

adventurous

reckless

intelligent

a good shot

ruthless

selfish

tech savvy

violent

good at keeping secrets

good at lying

has tunnel vision

adaptable

resilient

River has a lot of interesting character traits that female characters don’t always get to be (like ruthless and reckless). The problem is, as always, that River had a lot of great potential, but all of this potential wasn’t tapped. Her character and how we were shown her character revolved around how we saw her in relation to the Doctor. We saw River was smart enough to get an advanced degree in archaeology--to find the Doctor. Most of the times we she she’s reckless it’s because the Doctor’s there to save her from whatever building or ship she’s falling from. She has tunnel vision and is selfish--about the Doctor. She’s good at lying--because the Doctor can't know who she is. She’s good at keeping secrets--from the Doctor. 

Her ruthlessness and fighting abilities are sexualized instead of just respected. There’s nothing wrong with River (as a character) using violence as first option, or her being a skilled fighter. It makes sense, she‘s a trained assassin. There’s so many ways her “negative” traits could have been used to make her so much more interesting, instead of making her “sassy” and “sexy”. If her selfishness about her personal relationships was framed as a defense mechanism--that she learned early on that nobody else was going to care about her feelings, so she’d have to defend them. She has tunnel vision because she was trained to focus on the mission. 

I just feel like, five seasons, and we don’t really know who River is, on her own. What’s her favorite food? Historical figure? Drink? Color? What’s her relationship with her parents like? Does she have any close friends? has she ever had close friends? The first and only time we really get to see who River is and how she operates when the Doctor’s not around is in her holiday special, and it was amazing. She’s a con artist, swindling black market dealers and marrying dictators to steal from them, using her sonic trowel to make digging easier, or at least more exciting.

I know River wasn’t ever a companion, but she was a big part of the show for five seasons. No other character in New Who has had a physical presence on the show for that long, at least not while also being an active part of the narrative, and the fact that we know less about her than we do about any other companion just seems...odd, particularly since she’s supposed to be The Doctor’s One Great Love. You'd think it would have been a priority to establish why that was, not just show sexual attraction and hinting at off-screen dates.

Honestly, if you take away her romance with the Doctor, River is an even more compelling character. And maybe that’s my problem? It’s not just that I don’t believe that romantic subplot, it’s that I think it’s an active detriment to her autonomy. if we divorce the romance from her character arc, we’re still left with a fascinating woman. You can even take out the “kidnapped and trained as an assassin” part of her character and she’s still amazing! She’s still an archaeologist, from the future, in space. She still likes to con people (like the entire Roman army for example), and marry people to rescue artifacts, still likes to fling herself off of tall buildings in silk evening gowns. She can still be the Doctor’s friend, or Amy and Rory’s daughter, but if you take away the romance--or hell, even the assassin training--her life no longer revolves around the Doctor literally from her birth until her death, and removing her trauma doesn’t make her less compelling.

I know that River has her own Big Finish dramas and she appeared on some of the minisodes during the Pond era, and that she appears in a few books, but I don’t feel like the viewers should have to look outside the show to get all meaningful character development. Those things should add to what we know, not build it wholesale, with the exception of the Eighth Doctor, since the audio dramas are the only way we get him (and, as mentioned above, his character was established on screen; even if you never listen to an audio play you can get a feel for who he is)

It looks like the majority of River’s stories revolve around the Doctor (though at least one pits her alone against the Master?) but here’s the thing. If we’re going with the conceit that she’s not a companion and we weren’t ever supposed to learn about her like we do companions, then I think, with what we do no about her--slightly swashbuckling space adventurer conartist--that archetype puts her in company with one specific character: Jack Harkness. Jack, who has and entire television show and audio series build around his life apart from the Doctor. Not that the Doctor wasn’t important to his character, but his stories and his life didn’t revolve around the Doctor. Ah, I love the smell of sexism in the afternoon.

(and we learn all that about Jack after about three episodes in one season, whereas we don’t get all of those pieces to River until all of her episodes, over five/six seasons, have aired.)

That’s the thing. I look at all these Extra River Stories and think “you should read or listen! maybe then you’ll fall in love with River!” but I don’t want to have to purchase her character development.

It’s like River’s character was put behind a paywall.

[worldofthebatala]

//Some notes regarding interacting with this blog:

1.) All interactions are self-contained canon because the actual canon is still WIP.

-I've had past RPs where my RP partner tried to take over the Ba'tala world, whereas others (they're even Star Fox RPs!) became the actual heroes that saved the broken world rather than the Songs themselves. Hence, the Ba'tala world is presented to you, my interaction partners, as your playground, as ultimately, whatever you do or don't do, won't affect that actual canon. Actual canon MAY be influenced by our interactions (such as the fleshing out of minor characters or explorations of an element of worldbuilding), but in the end, your story is that--yours.

1a.) Romance ships that result from our interactions are also self-contained, and thus, by Tumblr RP definition, multiship. They are also not actual canon in the main Tales of the Ba'tala story.

-Usually when I establish that a character is NOT romanceable (or I discourage romance with them on principle), it's mostly because I either feel my partner will not get anything out of it, positive or negative, or that character has a lover(s) I already wrote for them and I genuinely don't want another party to move in where there is no room for them. In other words, I won't divorce my couples just so you can shag them. Go for the ones who are available instead. I have plenty all over the sexuality spectrum--straights, gays, lesbians, bis, pans, even aces. Usually the ones who are strictly unromanceable besides the 'you-really-won't-get-anywhere' characters and officially paired with someone else are aros, and they, like every other orientation, only take up a fraction of the whole cast.

2.) Just because I established some kind of IC rule regarding interacting with Creation (such as political isolationist agreements between worlds) doesn't mean your muse must abide by it IC (and you the mun OOC).

-So Corneria/Citadel Council/Galactic Federation/Empire/whatever says you are not allowed to get involved with the Ba'tala world's affairs, but your muse is a rebel and wants to do what's right? SCREW THE GUBMENT. As already stated in #1, all threads are their own self-contained canons, so by all means, feel free to explore political consequences for your actions. I the writer won't try to kill your character, even if political leaders will. Do what you feel is natural to your character to explore the setting. Trust me, you will be rewarded more than punished for it.

3.)  You are interacting with the setting first and the inhabitants second. Hence, you are given a bigger choice on who you want to be a part of your core 'party' of friends/rivals/enemies.

-There is a reason why I ask my RP partners which -race- they want to interact with more than which -characters- they do. Want to interact with foxes? There are plenty among the Hitoh. T-Rexes are your favorite dinosaur? The Jan-Taj are also there to interact with. Love the Zora people from the Zelda series? The Havvia are there to be your pals. And this extends even past civilizations--character archetypes, story genres, and plot conventions are all open for you to pick and choose to your liking. Want a standard 5-Man party to go on an adventure to save the world? Join the Song and their Champions. Want to explore a dark world where a cruel god twists the arms of good people in order to enact evil? Dive into the world of the Unsung. Want to explore a political conspiracy? Peek into the Grand Head Council of Siquotia. Or you want a coliseum tournament where all you do is FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT? Dare to piss off the Queen of Ca-Ri Ha-Taj. It's all here, it's all available. Really, the only thing I don't have is futuristic sci-fi, and even then, I make this available with other worlds (usually canon fandoms) in order for it to happen.

4.) Heroes will only be heroes if you let them. The same goes for villains.

-As stated in #3, this blog and the story is more about the setting than the characters. While the narrative is still character-driven, if the character has a name and a backstory, they will have fully fleshed out personalities that keep them from being a piece of cardboard meant to serve only one scene or purpose. As such, each character is written as a -person- first and an archetype/story role second. Even absolutely loathesome villains will have something written for them to be seen as people rather than just monsters, even if they are intended to actually be so. However, heroism and villainy will only be displayed as long as you allow it to happen. This is so I will give you greater freedom on how you wish to form the narrative around your muses rather than me forcing it on you.

4a.) Anyone can live or die according to your actions (or lack thereof).

-This one, of course, I understand if this is pressuring and overwhelming; hence, I will only apply this rule if you, my partner, are okay with making such storytelling decisions. But just so you'd know, it doesn't have to be overwhelming. If you prefer the most vile of villains just be imprisoned but not killed off, that can be arranged. If you grew fond of this random NPC becuase they were a cinnamon roll and deserve to be happy, then I can grant them a plot shield and they won't die even in the bloodiest of conflicts. Otherwise, I usually default to "anyone and everyone can die in the story". And again, if that actually happens depends on the partner.

5.) Lastly, remember that Creation and the Ba'tala themselves are in a world where the metaphysical and the physical intertwine often. It is possible for the universe to reset, and your muse to be able to either enact it or at least observe it.

-Just because you met a Ba'tala doesn't mean your muse will remember it. Just because you conquered a nation doesn't mean you'll keep it. Just because you attained a lover doesn't mean they'll always be with you, forever and ever. The world is subjected to universal resets, but that is granted, of course, if you would allow it.

And that's that. While it sounds overwhelming to give you this much freedom over our interactions with the Ba'tala verse, at the same time, it's mostly to give me an idea on how to make our RPs as enjoyable as possible. I love giving people choices on how to take a certain direction in the narrative. Don't be afraid to live, love, and die in the Ba'tala world. In the end, the choice is yours.