#not that I blame writers for finding it appealing

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

I hate you, slash fics whose entire premise is blatantly disrespecting replacing a female character with the male character you want for your other male fave scene by scene super non-creatively.

[olderthannetfic]

A common anti talking point is that "problematic" content is fine as long as it's portrayed in a bad light, and I know this is mostly a way for them to say "porn bad", but, like... if we exclude stupidity, is this even a common issue at all?

I try to think of what they could otherwise mean, because I read a lot of things they'd hate, but even the cutesy stuff has dark undertones, or is clearly done with the reader meant to understand that at least one character involved is a freak. Even with porn, I'm not sure I've seen many that didn't lean into how taboo it is. The closest trend I can think of is age gap romances where the protagonist is 16 and going for someone in their 30s, but even those make sure you're extremely aware of the age difference the entire time since that's the appeal. Or an anime where the siblings are REALLY close and no one comments, but as a viewer I can still clearly pick up that these are codependent freaks.

Is this a me thing? Do I just not see these swarms of insidious positive portrayals and they're actually everywhere? I don't doubt there are bad writers that fumble their stories, and I'm less likely to read those long enough to find out, so is that what they're referring to? Or is it really always just porn is evil?

--

No, people being dumb as a box of rocks and not grasping that weird internet porn is not a how-to manual is not that common a problem.

However, being traumatized and having zero useful mental health support is.

A lot of anti talking points are coming from a place of toxic coping. mechanisms where someone thinks that if they can just control everything around them The Bad Thing can't happen again, to them or to anyone else.

Blaming the influence of bad fiction is a very common step for people who haven't had enough time or safety to accept that, no, actually, the person they trusted hurt them on purpose because they felt like it, not because Media Made Them Do It.

Or that maybe their dumb teen self handled some situations badly, but it's because teens often do that and/or because no decent adult was around to ask them why they seemed upset, not because it was fiction's job to teach them boundaries. It's a lot easier to blame the concrete experience of reading something that modeled bad behavior than the highly amorphous negative space where good offline role models who paid attention and gave a fuck should have been.

--

Some people are self-medicating with a rage high. A few are nasty ringleaders trying to power trip. Lots are just scared dumbasses who haven't grasped that it's okay to have dark fantasies.

A lot of it is just people with the hubris to say "Well, I have decent reading comprehension and can spot subtext, but what if all these other people can't?"

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Do you think that the gaang atla movie might make casual fans realize bryke are not the best writers? Like Everywhere they get praised but honestly if the writing in the movie is at the levels of the comics I could maybe see ppl turn on them a bit ( it also sucks bc I doubt katara and zuko will even interact in the movie)

Hi anon! I think people will almost certainly be disappointed in the new Avatar Studios movie, because nothing has even come close to the quality of ATLA after the original show ended. However, from what I’ve observed in the fandom, there’s always someone other than Bryke to blame. For example, when people rag on Korra, they blame Nickelodeon. When they rag on the comics, they blame Gene Yang (and incidentally I’ve actually seen a K/ataang shipper say that the reason the comics are so bad is because Gene Yang is a Zutara shipper — as if a grown ass professional would compromise his contract / reputation for a ship war). And when they rag on the first live action movie, they rag on M. Night. I’m not saying that Bryke are completely at fault for the shortcomings for these projects — collaborative creative pursuits are wonderful, magical things and it’s hard to know where credit and blame go when the whole point is that collaboration is beyond the sum of its parts — but the bottom line is that when certain fans are hellbent on not blaming Bryke, there are always other scapegoats.

I’m friends with many casual fans, and they were the ones who got me into the show. Honestly, I don’t think they even gave a second thought to Bryke until they left the Netflix production, which is convenient because now people can credit Bryke for the ingenuity of ATLA and blame Netflix for driving them away. I’m not sure casual fans will turn on Bryke for making a mediocre movie…BUT: if Zuko undergoes a character regression similar to his comics arc, people will probably get mad. Zuko’s redemption arc is widely considered one of the best on TV. You cannot find a Reddit thread about “best redemption arcs of all time” without Zuko being one of the top answers. From Bryke’s interviews, it kind of feels like they don’t really understand his appeal, and if they butcher his character in the absence of writers who got him more…well, I think people will be real mad about that. I mean, people got so mad about NATLA Katara, and she’s nowhere near as beloved as Zuko b/c misogyny and racism and many people found her annoying but that’s a whole other thing

And on a related note, I agree that Katara and Zuko will probably barely interact in the new movie, and it will seem kind of stilted and awkward. I remember an interview with Aaron Ehasz where he said that he’s not really a shipper and he doesn’t write stories with shipping in mind: what matters more is letting the narrative drive itself. That POV, undoubtedly shared by others in the writers’ room (including MVP Elizabeth Welch), is what was responsible for the development of the Katara - Zuko friendship in the original show in the first place. It’s very, very stifling to prioritize a ship war over the actual story. Antis claim Zutara shippers create convoluted fanfic plots where other characters and relationships are downplayed in favour of their ship, but that’s exactly what happens in the canon comics wrt K/ataang. I don’t know if it’ll seem so transparent to the casual viewer, but even if the motivations aren’t obvious, the decline in quality sure will be. For the sake of my love for all Gaang-related shenanigans I hope Bryke won’t go down that road for the new movie, but…well, they’ve done pettier things.

Thanks for your question anon, and please share any of your further thoughts!

[pretending-ican-write]

Cowboy Up - Pt.1 - Ryan x Dutton!reader

Um so I watched all of Yellowstone last week and as a result, my multi-year writer's block was broken by a need to see more of Ryan because I am obsessed with Ian Bohen. Idk how many parts this will have or how often it will get updated as I'm in the last few months of uni but I hope y'all enjoy!

Pairing: Ryan (Yellowstone) x Dutton!Reader (Kayce's twin sister)

WC: 1053

Next part

Disclaimer: Beyond watching Yellowstone I have zero/little knowledge of Western riding and the ranching lifestyle but I do know horses so that has certainly influenced this! I'm also English so writing dialogue correctly for them is not my strong point! If you find any issues please let me know!

---

The sun was just beginning to dip below the mountains and the cold was starting to set in when she joined him on the fence.  Neither of them spoke for a while, just looking out at the vastness in front of them, all that was theirs but came with so many conditions.  

Eventually she broke the silence, “so you told him?  How’d he take that one?”

Wordlessly he opened his shirt where the ‘Y’ was just starting to scab over, still red and angry.

“Motherfucker,” she swore, “this ain’t fair Kayce.  He doesn’t just get to do this.”

He shook his head, “dad does whatever he wants and there ain’t no consequences for him.  That’s why I gotta do this.”

“Shit man.  What’s Monica gonna do?  Besides worrying about you getting your ass shot in the desert miles from civilisation?”

Kayce chuckled, “beats getting my ass shot in the middle of Montana miles from civilisation.  She’ll be okay, her family will help and she’ll be a teacher.  Just like she planned.  It’s you I’m worried about here with dad and no one else to speak sense to.  ‘Cept Lee”

“Well I’m leaving, dad be damned.  I’m not gonna be a pawn in his power trip.  Gonna go see this godforsaken country and win it all so that when I come back he can’t question whether it’s where I wanna be,” she declared.

Her brother rolled his eyes, “you ain’t talking about the same him now.”

“I don’t know what your talking about,” she denied, staring out at the darkened mountains.

Kayce shoved her shoulder, “you can’t bullshit to me y/n.  That’s the one problem with being twins, ain’t no way to lie to me.”

“I’m just a kid to him, he ain’t ever gonna see me any other way if I stay here,” she admitted, “hell if I stay here no one will ever see me as anything more than his kid.  ‘S why we both gotta do this Kayce.”

He nodded, “no way to stand in the sun in this state, always gonna be a shadow.”

“When I come back I’ll be able to stand in sunlight so bright I’ll have a fucking halo.”

-/-/-

2 years later…

 Montana has its charms all year round, but fall has a particular appeal.  The leaves had started to turn, there was a chill in the air that only seemed to get  stronger and there was still a frost on the grass that the sun hadn’t hit.  

With the sun keeping the cold from their bones, the Yellowstone ranch hands were occupying themselves keeping their roping skills fresh.  Rip observed from the sidelines as the new hand struggled to keep up with Ryan who turned to lecture the kid about keeping his eye on the steer.  

Lloyd rolled his eyes when he missed the horns again, “you gotta try harder than that if you wanna be a wrangler!”

“He keeps pulling the damn steer too early,” the hand argued back.

Ryan glared at him, “don’t fuckin’ blame me for your bad skills.”

Before they could descend into an all out brawl, the group were distracted by the sound and sight of truck coming down the road.  They watched it pull up in front of the barn, trailer in tow.  A rare silence occupied them as they watched a young woman step out, adjust her hat then stare out across the ranch in front of her.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Lloyd muttered, “she’s back.  You fuckin’ know about this?”

Rip said nothing, but his face gave the answer.  The other hands who recognised her muttered between themselves about what she was doing back after so long.

The new hand leaned over towards Ryan, “who the fuck is that and why does everybody care?”

“That is y/n Dutton,” he answered without taking his eyes off of her.

“I didn’t know John had another daughter,” he responded.

Ryan shook his head, “hell kid you gotta lot to learn about this place.”

“She’s fuckin’ hot mind,” the hand murmered.

The older hand spat out his words, “you keep words like that off your tongue if you want to keep it.”

Lee stepped out of the barn and stepped around the truck to greet her, “the prodigal daughter returns.”

“I don’t see Beth anywhere,” she laughed bitterly, “but it’s good to see you Lee.”

He hugged her, “I’m glad you’re back.  Been a long time coming.”

“I came back for me, not for him remember that,” she turned towards the corral, “think I’ve given them enough of a show to explain it so they can pick their jaws up off the floor?”

He gestured for her to follow him towards where the ranch hands were all still quietly watching.  She strode over to the group, smiling at Rip who nodded back at her.

“Where’s that mare of yours?” He asked.

Y/n shrugged, “a champion barrel horse would be wasted on this ranch.  Sold her for more money than I’m ever gonna earn in the rest of my lifetime.”

“You ain’t rodeoing anymore?” Lloyd questioned.

“I did what I set out to do when I went on the circuit.  Saw this godforsaken country and won it all.  It’d get boring to win it over again,” she moved her gaze towards where Ryan was watching her, “ain’t no one gonna question where I wanna be now.”

Rip nodded, “afraid we ain’t got a horse to spare for you y/n.”

“I got that covered Rip.  Got one coming up tomorrow from a ranch in Wyoming.  Some fuckin’ old school boys who don’t know how to be nice to a horse they didn’t ruin,” she explained, “man’s wife broke it and now she’s dead ain’t no one gonna ride him gentle.  Figured he might stand a chance with me.”

Lloyd chuckled, “always were a soft hand.  Figured that’s how you won it all.”

“Guess that question that remains is, do you have a place for me?  Not in the house but here,” she clarified.

Lee looked at Rip then back at his sister, “I reckon so.  You gonna stay in the bunkhouse?”

“Oh fuck no,” y/n laughed, “I didn’t drag that thing all the way from Texas to sleep with these fuckheads.  It’s looked after me in worse places.  Think it’ll do just fine here.”

[writingjourney]

I’m in need of some advice and kind words. As a fellow writer I’m really struggling to believe people will and want to read my stuff. There’s no real engagement anymore and I’m worried that if I post my long-form fic that no one will give it a chance. It’s really bringing me down because I love it so much but it feels like no matter what I try to do my stuff just doesn’t get seen or liked? I’ve even thought about changing my entire way of how I do things since I don’t think the way I write is working for the masses. How do you keep up the motivation as a popular writer and do you have an advice?

Hello anon!! I feel like this is something many of us currently deal with. And first of all I seriously hope that you do share your story!! ♡

To be completely honest with you the lack of engagement in the fandom has for sure impacted my own motivation which is why I haven't been putting as much time into longer fics (nor the Friday Nights series or IKNBS, I do write but I refuse to force myself). I don't feel any urgency because uploading fics hasn't made me as happy as it used to. It feels like only other active writers are reading fic atm and it creates a lot of pressure on creatives to stay super active.

I'm aware that I'm insanely privileged to have the engagement that I do have, that the type of stories I want to write are also the type of stories that generally seem to appeal. However, engagement tells you NOTHING about the quality of your work, only how many people are active in a fandom or like a specific pairing/character/trope. Your own unique voice matters more than numbers.

I also notice that a lot of people who used to read my works have disappeared which I completely understand. The fixation can ebb away during times of inactivity or when a certain hype dies down. People just don't get that dopamine hit anymore and move on. It's also entirely possible they get tired of a certain style of writing and prefer other writers at times, what do I know. I definitely don't blame anyone for that. First and foremost people should read for their own enjoyment and engage with fandom in a way that makes them happy. It makes no sense to pressure people into engaging. A huge issue right now is people overthinking these things which makes support transactional instead of genuine.

I don't care much about notes but I REALLY miss the feeling of sharing a fic with people who are excited for it, that sense of an active community. BUT the activity will come back – the movie will come out, new music and videos, heck even a whole new Papa!!! That's the natural flow of things. We can't be excited and super active all the time, we need phases of calmness as well (which is an act of rebellion in the capitalist hellscape of overproduction and churned out content. I am honestly glad Ghost is taking it easy).

Now, I recommend you write your story exactly how you want to!!! do NOT change it for the sake of popularity because it will lose its very soul and you will struggle to be happy with it by the end. You know how you want to tell your story and nothing else matters. It will find its readers or you can wait and share it at a later point. I recommend that you approach other writers and readers and intensify that contact, make friends and talk to them about your stories, hype each other up, share snippets. It's even more meaningful to know people you like enjoy what you do. I am currently working on super niche fics for non-Ghost characters and I'm honestly having a great time chasing that dopamine by just writing what I'm really into and sharing it with friends. Fandom is community, fandom is fun and we can work to make it better for everyone.

A few general tips when it comes to making stories accessible: Format them to be readable (paragraphs!!), add a "read more" break, add proper content information and a nice summary to draw people in, add some visual appeal like a banners or stock image edits (like i do for IKNBS) and then tag the fics with relevant tags (and only those). Also make sure to tag the OG post, tags on reblogs do nothing for reach. Engage with the community when you feel like it and it's likely that the community will engage back. Being supportive is worth it, being kind is always worth it even if it amounts to nothing.

[peaterookie]

Most of us know by this point that the Lupin III manga series doesn't particularly have the best reputation, but why is that?

Is it simply because of the content itself, or is there more behind it?

It is August 10th, the 56th anniversary of the og manga, and I will be exploring the causes of the manga's poor reputation in the Lupin community with as most detail as I can try to be.

Bluntly put, I will not hide the fact that the manga series as a whole contains extremely problematic elements. All three series, OG manga, New Adventures, and Shin Lupin III all contain instance of Lupin and other characters raping and sexually assaulting women.

It certainly gets better as the series goes on. At the last three major arcs of Shin Lupin III, Lupin becomes almost entirely sexless, with some instances of plain pervertedness. However, it is not an issue that cannot be glossed over and it is the by far biggest burden that this series has to carry over its 56 years of existence.

OG manga is the biggest culprit of this, barely two chapter goes by without an instance of Lupin pulling his sexual advances onto random women and succeeding. Those moments of the manga are extremely gross and uncomfortable- and it really makes our protagonist extremely unlikeable, which brings me to my next point:

The fact that the OG manga is the first of the three manga series contribute heavily to its poor reputation.

"Aiee!! No way that the biggest manga preacher in tumblr is slandering the manga! Isn't that out of character!?"

It quite is, luckily I can think. As someone who has spent about 5 months reviewing almost all of the chapters, I can say that I know quite a bit about what it does right and what it does wrong... and it sadly does many things wrong.

Of course, the main thing is the sexual violence, but it is also the series with the least interaction between each member of the Lupin gang, who are characters people already come to really like. Lacking that element takes away what many people regard to be the best part about the series.

The beginning chapters of the og manga are also poorly paced. A bunch of things are going on, and the panelling certainly makes it hard to follow as well.

And to even add to the original issue, the english translation provided by Tokyopop also fucked everything up too!! Many of the extreme dialogues that you come across, including ones that make jokes at Monkey Punch's expense, are done by Tokyopop. Tabbiewolf explains this much better than I can:

"Just remember: a LOT of the…more offensive stuff in the manga is from the TokyoPop translations. I’m not excusing ALL of it, mind you — it was the 1960s and this was an adventure/spy manga marketed at cisdudes, after all — but the script writer for the English version was extremely, uh, artistic, with his localization of the translation."

"it was the early 2000s, manga was trying to appeal specifically to people who didn’t read it: teenaged cisboys who watched South Park, basically ;) So a fair amount of the stuff was very much the new English script, NOT the creator ‘s original work! Some plots got changed entirely just because the Japanese slang from the time didn’t translate."

First impressions matter, and the OG manga makes a very bad impression for people attempting to get into the manga series. Many readers are most likely taken back by how different it is from what they are used to, and they are definitely not going to like the problematic elements.

Those who still try to give it second chances are going to be met with disappointment when they find out these glaring issues are only partially fixed further into the series. Believing that it won't get better, they end up dropping the manga altogether and generalizing the rest of the manga series as depraved nonsense.

And I can't simply blame Monkey Punch for all these issues!! It was the first of what's to come, and he was not aware at the time just how big Lupin III would become in Japan and eventually worldwide. The og manga is very experimental, and you can tell he was only trying to figure out what works. I also cannot blame the people that dislike the manga. People naturally dislike something that is problematic and different.

Heck, most manga fans feel indifferent about the og manga as well, with the majority of them liking Shin Lupin III much better.

I have the statistic right here!!! It's not a lot of people, but there's an obvious majority choice here.

(By the way, if you're enjoying reading this so far, you should totally join my Lupin III server ahem cough cough nudge nudge)

So not even the manga fans love the OG manga. In my opinion, I would definitely not recommend people to read that as their first Lupin manga either. It is the type of media that if you really love the source material in general, then it'd be ok to read.

It is quite a shame to say that the series that does a better job at getting people in the manga, is the third one of the bunch. Most people aren't going to know that however, and they end up reading something that is going to likely give a bad image of the manga.

Ok so I dont have a good segway to the second part of this post so have a panel.

Now I'm gonna talk about how the fandom itself screw up it's reputation!!

(Before you get further I have to say that I have nothing against anime fans, if I do sound like I don't like them it's just sort of poor wording on my end)

Many fans of Lupin III start with the anime, if not probably all of them at this point. This causes a huge skew in public opinion, where those who are pre-exposed to the anime are probably going to view the manga as something lesser than its animated counterpart.

This can be seen particularly in CloudConnection's video of his manga analysis, which is concerningly just a portion of this 18 minute video, but I'll look over that. The portions of the video where he analyzes the manga contain a large amount of negative opinions about it.

A lot of his points are very good, and a lot of them I agree with, like his issues with the rape and sexual assault and how its a good time capsule but definitely not something that people should start off with. But a rest of the points seem a bit unreasonable to make and rather biased, like how the characters feel inconsistent, the bad pacing, and really emphasizing how dark and grim the manga is (it is very goofy and nobody ever talks about that)

And I have to state- It's totally valid for someone to prefer one thing over the other, but my point is that when this opinion is overwhelmingly the majority, it is going to cause the general public's opinion to unfairly be against something, ignoring what it does good and pinning the focus on what it does bad.

That video example was very popular, and I know someone personally that got the wrong memo from it and hated the manga without reading it for a long time, so you can see how it can probably effect the rest of the people that viewed that video.

So what can we learn from this?

We now understand that two of major reasons responsible for the manga's bad reputation is one: the unfortunate circumstance of the OG manga being the first series, and the overwhelming public opinion being unfairly skewed against it.

To wrap this up, I ask you to please give the manga a chance!! Read Shin Lupin first, and be aware of its flaws while also appreciating what it has contributed for the franchise and anime as a whole. I hope you enjoyed this little essay I wrote, and happy birthday Lupin III!

[hsr-texts]

I have faith that Hanabi's insult has a deeper meaning in the plot, they have been building it up too well to remain in nothing!

There have certainly been racist things and off-topic comments in Hoyoverse games, but never like this, there has to be something!

The thing is, I really feel that it is too early to say whether the insult was unnecessary or not, because racism is a real issue and there is no problem in representing it, there is no problem in representing minorities... The thing is, I really want to believe, that it is missing, because there is still a lack of story, and they haven't finished with Aventurine to say that it was a bad representation, more people may even appear!

I really have a lot of faith in Hoyoverse, because for me they are MiHoyo, that company that makes beautiful games and gives the opportunity to dozens of people to be artists, writers, musicians and also bring joy. MiHoyo gave me and gives me beautiful moments, but it can also be crude when dealing with its topics

k The story of Aventurine is missing, the story of all the people like Aventurine is missing, so much is missing, as marketing is doubtful, but I am not going to rush to criticize something that is NOTHING finished

If in the end everything was for nothing and they wasted that opportunity to address a serious issue, then I have to cry, no way, you don't defend the indefensible, but I don't want to unfairly cross out something

There is still about 3 weeks left to find out about Aventurine and if everything was really "unnecessary", and until then it seems fool to me to criticize something unresolved and so obvious, which is for the plot

¿Do you want to make your villain racist because your story lends itself to that? You can do it, but it will take time to develop, and we don't give it the time, there are still 1 or 2 updates left

I won't deny that Hoyoverse has provided tons of comfort and joy to billions of people all over the world. I won't deny that there's a beauty in their games. There's absolutely no shame in taking comfort in these games and consuming it. I can't blame anyone for being attached to genshin or hsr or hi3 or tears of themis, you get the idea.

But I can't lie to you guys and say that there's still a possibility that this would turn out well. I've witnessed how Hoyoverse handled the entirety of Sumeru. Are there some aspects of Sumeru that were good? Undoubtedly. It's one of the regions I had the most fun exploring.

However it's extremely telling to me that they haven't learned at all from that situation considering they keep insisting on adding racism plotlines to their story.

My faith in them to handle this properly and with care is in the absolute negatives since the Sumeru situation. I fear for what will happen when Natlan finally drops and to no one's surprise, the archon is gonna be white again and this whole song and dance will repeat just like a samsara.

At the end of the day, Hoyoverse is just another money hungry gacha company who wants to drain your wallets.

It's evident from the dogshit anniversary rewards in genshin,

it's evident from how they always design their characters to be these appealing anime waifu or husbando without ever straying from the standard formula of "thin white/slightly tan character with clothes that make fans bark like a dog",

it's evident in how they seem to drop more money on advertising than they drop on actually improving the game,

and it's evident with how little they actually listen to players' feedback.

Selling these characters and turning up a profit comes first, the story comes second. I'd rather trust a racism plotline in the hands of an indie creator who actually cares about the storytelling medium and does research than a corporation who HAS the resources to do the research but chooses not to.

Hoyoverse is special to many people, but it's time to wake up. Clinging onto a multi-billion company like this isn't healthy.

[yuikomorii]

You just take the words out of my mouth, girl! I was thinking too how this franchise is just dying little by little.

A lot of creators I followed left their blogs 'cause they, of course, didn't find this franchise interesting or worth to work on anymore. And I don't blame them given that the only thing we get nowadays is merch. And merch can be cool, yes! But can we compare it with a games, CD's or even the manga. If this fandom is still alive is thanks to people like you, the fan artist, the fan writers, the oc's blogs still outside there that keep on with their incredible creativity, even better sometimes than Rejet story writers!

I feel a bit sad that all of this is happening. I mean, of course it would happenin someday. But as I discover this fandom really late I feel like I had lost the best moment of life of this!

As you said, DL has still a lot of possibilities to still be alive. And I hope that would be the case! I really hope so.

To end this infinite papyrus, thank you for the hard work on this blog! I enjoy every line you write (your analysis more than everything) 💗

// I felt this so much! I can’t deny that I’m sad seeing people leave or take a break from the fandom but I totally understand the reasons behind their choices. At first, getting merch was exciting, and I loved seeing fresh official art, but now it seems like they're just recycling and releasing too much, which takes away from its appeal and originality. I pre-ordered the Yui acrylic stand that was launched a few days ago, but in all honesty, it looks like something that anyone could make in under two minutes using Picsart, lol. In addition, even with the VAs scandals, I think there are more effective ways to promote the franchise than simply impulsively producing more and more merch, especially if it’s overpriced or kuji (lottery).

Although I feel like I don't feed the fandom as much as I once did, I'm glad to see that there are still few active blogs that are making a difference. I should also acknowledge my gratitude for the ongoing support; comments like this truly encourage me to keep posting. 🥹🫶🏻

[currantlee]

Get Your Tissues ready! We're Analyzing the German Dub of Zelda's Awakening (BotW)

Translation: Enough... It is useless. English Localization: Link, save yourself! Go!

As a Zelink shipper, I actually really love the English version of this line, where Zelda tells Link to not die for her. However, as a writer, I prefer the German version. See, in the English version of the game, Zelda strikes me as almost blind to the reality of the situation. Meanwhile, in German, she is desperate because the situation is, quite frankly, hopeless - note how she even states that it's useless (to fight) here. I'm going to come back to this later, so keep it in mind. For now, let's move on.

Translation: I beg you... You mustn't die too... English Localization: I'll be fine! Don't worry about me!

Zelda uses the expression auch noch here, which technically means too. However, it implies something happening on top of everything else, in this case, after everyone else has already died. This also serves as a transition from the previous memory, in which Zelda states (in German) that everyone is dead because of her.

Again, my Zelink heart loves the English version, but I think the German version has its own appeal. Considering that Zelda blames herself for the deaths of the four Champions, and that she doesn't want Link to die too might not sound Zelink-y at first, but consider for a second. The Champions were Zelda's friends, and one of them was her mother figure. Her father is also dead. She pretty much has only Link left at this point - and we can guess from the other memories (as this is the final once you find in the game) that even though they had a rough start, he is extremely important to her. Even though it's not as explicit as in English, I think it's still a really nice moment that shows how important he has become to her, as more than just a bodyguard.

Translation: Run away! English Localization: Run!

I really like the contrast between the scene in which Link protects Zelda from the Yiga, and this scene. There are some obvious parallels, only that in this scene, Link is too severely injured to save Zelda anymore (and in the end, she saves him instead). He tries his best though. I very much appreciate the effort that was put into his expression in this entire scene!

Translation: No!!! English Localization: No!

... Three exclaimation marks, guys. Three. Exclaimation. Marks.

Okay, but seriously, I kind of love his moment where Zelda throws herself inbetween Link and the Guardian. It contrasts nicely with how Link protects her from the Yiga earlier in the game's backstory, and also with how he tries to defend her (even though he's gravely injured) in this scene.

Translation: Was... Was that me...? English Localization: Was... Was that...

I really love that Zelda's Lullaby is sung by a choir after she purifies the Guardians. Also, the fact that she is shot from bottom view here, which makes her look greater, and also reminds me personally of the Goddess Statues a bit. All of this invokes awe, and really conveys that something very powerful and important has just happened.

On the localization note, I like that Zelda specificalls asks if she herself just did that in German. After blaming herself for pretty much everything that went wrong throughout the entire backstory and feeling useless, this is a very important moment for her, and the German localization makes it about her, both as the wielder of the sacred power to seal the darkness, and Zelda as a person.

Translation: What...?! English Localization: The power...

I like that we get a shot of the back of Zelda's hand too, showing that the triforce that appeared earlier has disappeared again.

I like that Zelda is more stunned and confused as to what just happens in the German version. In English, she seems to know what's up right away, but I actually like that she seemingly needs some time to process (which she won't get unfortunately - someone give this girl a break!) what just happened. Really helps reinforce the gravity of this event!

Translation: Oh no... Oh no, oh no! English Localization: No, no...

Despite the fact that she would need time to process what just happens, Zelda immediately looks after Link when he collapses 🥺 If that doesn't show you how much she cares about him at this point, I don't know what does.

Translation: You can't die! English Localization: Link! Get up!

Zelda uses the same phrasing (darfst nicht) as before, but this time, it's much much desperate. While before, she was trying to get Link to run, she is scared for his life now. Before, she used the phrase more in a sense of "if you keep going, you're going to die like everyone else, and you must not do that" in an attempt to get Link to run. Here she is using it more like "this can't be happening", desperate and unwilling to accept Link's impending death.

Julia Casper's (Zelda's German VA) voice acting is also phenomenal here. You can hear a little sob when she says this line, and it really conveys her despair.

Translation: Please, don't die... English localization: You're going to be just fine...

Again, same phrasing as before, only that this time Zelda is explicitly begging Link not to die in the German line. I think it's both impressive and authentic that they used the same line three times, but each time with a different connotation. Zelda is completely exhausted and stressed in this scene, so she wouldn't have time or energy to think about how she expresses everything she wants to, so she just repeats the same core thought over and over: she doesn't want Link to die.

In the English version, she seemingly tries to calm Link instead. While on its own, I do like this line (especially as a Zelink shipper!), I do not like it in the context of this scene.

Remember how I said I was going to come back to Zelda seemingly not understanding the severety of the situation or being in denial about it earlier? Yeah, this is where the scene becomes... Weird to me in English. See, we never see her realize that actually, things do not look well, and no matter if you're going with the not understanding interpretation or the denial one, this causes a break in the narrative for me. Her view on their situation seems to change in-between lines, without an actual indicator of the change. It very much comes off as unnatural to me, especially with what happens next.

No text here, just sobbing. I wanted to note this because Julia Casper's voice acting in this particular bit of the scene sounds like she is actually crying. You can hear her sob and whimper (the really quiet one she does right after Link falls unconscious always gets me the most), and it's absolutely heartbreaking. It actually had me cry too every time I saw this scene in my playthroughs of Breath of the Wild.

Translation: There... Is still hope?! English Localization: The sword...

Julia Casper makes this line (and the next one) sound like Zelda is still processing things once more, and I think it is very fitting.

Translation: Link can... Be saved? English Translation: So he can... He can still be saved?

I do like how this line and the previous one feel completely different in German and in English contentwise.

While the implication in English seems to be - at least in my opinion - that Zelda sees that the sword is still glowing, and comes to the conclusion that Link can still be saved by herself.

Meanwhile, in German the implication seems to be more that the sword tells her that Link can be saved, and she somewhat confirms this in her conversation with the Great Deku Tree later.

Translation: Princess! English Localization: Princess!

... I do not like this line. It sounds like they're playing hide and seek, not like they just found the princess who has probably gone missing in all the chaos and who probably a lot of people were worried for. In both German and English (it actually does sound a little bit better in English IMO). Kinda disturbs the scene a bit.

I do like that they actually have Zelda gasp in response to this though.

Translation: Princess! Are you alright? English Localization: Princess! Are you all right?

Yeah, that line is better.

Also, look, Zelda still has her hand on Link's chest 🥺

Translation: I have an important mission for you! English Localization: Take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection!

Zelda sounds suddenly really confident and serious with this line in both languages. My guess is that it's because she knows that if she doesn't act, then Link will die, but also because she has trouble opening up. We learn this from her diary, and we know from both that and from other memories that she feels comfortable to show her true feelings and worries around Link (who is unconscious).

Translation: Take this man to the Shrine of Life as fast as possible! English Localization: If you don't get him there immediately, we are going to lose him forever!

The Shrine of Ressurrection is called the Shrine of Life in German, possibly because the localizers thought that Schrein der Wiederbelebung or Schrein der Auferstehung sounds too complicated or too much like Link is a zombie now.

Also, Zelda calls Link a man in the German dub at this point, which actually caught me by surprise when I first played the game since Link just looks so young. I guess it's a reminder that they are already around 17 in this game, and that Link is a full-fledged knight. I also think it shows respect for Link on Zelda's part.

I actually prefer the German version of this line, simply because I think it works better in tandem with the shot we're shown. The delivery of the English line is great too though (and I say this as someone who usually doesn't like Zelda's English voiceacting that much).

Also, look how Zelda is supporting Link's head 🥺

Translation: Hurry! English Localization: Is that clear?

Two different lines here, but I think both work. I also like that we get to see the reaction of the two Sheikah guys.

Translation: Before his light of life... English Localization: So make haste and go!

Lebenslicht (Light of Life) is a more poetic way to say someone's life in German. It's not the same as light of someone's life.

Translation: ... goes out for all times! English Localization: His life is now in your hands!

Using the plural of the word time like this is actually quite common (even though using the singular wouldn't be incorrect), and I will admit that I have never really thought about why we do this before. I think in this particular case, it might be to emphasize the gravity of the situation, but this might be interesting to look into in general.

That being said, I actually prefer the English line over the German one here. I think it just provides the better ending to an overall very grave, very serious scene, that's pretty much the direct leadup to Link waking up at the beginning of the game.

In general, I think this is definitely one of the most impactful scenes in Breath of the Wild, and both the English and the German version do a great job at conveying this. The camera also works with the localizations (more or less) to improve its impact. Overall, analyzing it was very interesting.

What are your thoughts on this scene? Tell me in the comments, reblogs or tags if you want to 🙂 Thank you for reading!

[bluesturngold]

i have sympathy for taylor swift specifically when it comes to starting out as a child celebrity given the nature of celebrity is never good for a kid's social and emotional development, especially considering she started out in country music so there are tons of conservatives who want her to be a tradwife role model for their daughters (and white supremacists who want her to be their aryan princess poster child) when she's made it clear that's not who she is. but, having listened to most of her output... when she sings about that stuff it's never particularly good or interesting or clever... like it's almost always lyrics that offer the lowest common denominator appeal of a liberal feminist t-shirt slogan, or are just totally inane. a culture writer and critic i follow whose insights i tend to find especially well considered joked that she blamed taylor swift for the illiteracy crisis in the US and obviously there are other causes, she was joking, but it does make me profoundly sad when i see fans hail her as the pinnacle of singer songwriting because there are so many other artists singing about overcoming conservative expectations, dealing with heartbreak, being in the public eye, struggling to connect with others, and feeling maligned or outcast in ways that manage to tell a story or profess strongly held feelings and beliefs without sounding like a song from the jump start 5th grade deluxe pc cd-rom

[venbetta]

I took some time and actually watched Hazbin Hotel... I watched the pilot 6(?) years ago, and seeing the hellfire commentary from Twitter made me reluctant (rightfully so I guess).

But I say it was pretty alright. I feel like I have some complaints. I'm not a diehard fan at all, nor do I see myself in the fan base, but I feel like I can add my own input, I guess. These are my opinions and personal reasons, please be nice.

Spoilers/commentary beneath the cut (16+)

For starters, I think the concept is good, I like some of the designs for the characters, especially since they improved from the pilot.

I think I have at least 3-4 favorite characters, ranking them from my most fave:

Lucifer, Alastor, Vox, and Nifty.

... I didn't like anyone else. I'll probably explain that.

The only reason why I liked these four was mostly cuz they had some funny bits to them. I told my friend that Lucifer reminds me of Hunter from TOH??? And I said "Maybe it's cuz their both blonde and depressed." Lucifer just has that appeal for me. Vox didn't have much screentime, but I like his niche design and voice. Alastor is also cool. Nifty is just a cute gremlin that I fuck with honestly. Good for her. Everyone else I either didn't care much for or straight up didn't like...

Charlie annoyed me a lot, I know she's the MC, but I didn't like her. I get that she's supposed to be good, but her behavior in some scenes bothered me. Like in Ep4, I understand she was coming from a good place, but I couldn't help but feel agitated. I can't explain it. She has a savior complex which is her flaw, and maybe I just don't exactly understand it.

Of course, she's not the worst character (looks at Valentino and Adam), but she could improve. There were a few characters that I feel should've been written better, but the pacing made it hard.

I feel like the pacing was something I didn't like, but I can't blame it since it only has 8 episodes. The writer in me deflated seeing how fast things moved along, but I get why they sped it up towards the end. I wanna ramble about how the show could have gone if it had 24 episodes- but that feels like another post. Also, another thing that irked me were characters word vomiting.

Again if this show had more time to explore each individual character, it wouldn't have happened. I thought ep 4 with Angel Dust pouring his heart had good intentions to tell the audience that he's fucked up, it could've been built up more (if there were more episodes) until he finally blew up, similar with Husk. It's different because it's an animation, but you can still show and not tell visually about someone struggling. That's just me.

The excessive swearing isn't funny, I didn't find myself laughing that much except for Ep 8: Adam telling Lute to chill the fuck out, Alastor's mic breaking, and Lucifer saying "I'm gonna fuck you!" are the only bits I found funny. I've laughed at dumber things (my sense of humor is garbage, I'll laugh at a waffle falling over), but I didn't find most of the jokes funny.

I knew it was a musical, and I love musicals, but there weren't many songs I vibed with. Maybe a few, but not a lot. I'm a music person, and the songs just didn't feel right? Like the lyrics either felt awkward or general direction of the song didn't feel cohesive. I think I only like 4 songs in total.

The VAs were great, I recognized a lot of them, and I enjoyed their performances. They all fit their characters.

The animation was good for what was originally an indie project, and I hope the animators/artists were properly compensated. I know there was a lot of shit going on about Vivi allegedly not paying them but regardless, they did amazing.

I'm gonna be serious and say I feel like I didn't want to give HH a chance because I just didn't exactly care about it. My friends watched it. I saw Twitter's scolding opinions and hottakes on it, and I didn't want to hate watch it. But I was still curious. While I wasn't laughing through most of it, I think it's good. There's a lot that I'm trying not to say or get into because that would derail my commentary and make it about other discussions I'm not fully knowledgeable about...

I sailed the seven seas to watch this show, and I say it was sort of worth it. Again, I'm not a crazy fan, but anyone that likes it, good for you.

[randomtvpollsjp]

There are a lot of people who say that the problem with modern media—specifically tentpole franchises like the MCU and “Star Wars”—is that there’s too much “pandering” to “wokeism” as opposed to “just telling good stories.”

And I want you to walk with me as I tell you about how “Wokeism” has always been a part of these franchises and that the stories are STILL GOOD actually. But how YOU’RE engaging with these stories is the problem.

Comics have literally always been woke. Superman was created by Jewish men with a specific goal in mind—he represented Jews. He was a response to the rise in Nazism.

The X-Men are, well, we know who they are—they represent persecuted minorities, be they race or sexual/gender minorities.

Star Wars was heavily influenced by the Vietnam War—and was on the side of the Vietnamese!

And don’t get me started on “Star Trek”. Cuz in that universe, people don’t even use money anymore. It’s a socialist utopia.

“Wokeism” has been baked into all these stories from the jump. It’s just that when we were children, we didn’t have the worldview that we do now (as adults) to see what it was.

A lot of people say that these “woke” writers are “reimagining great comic characters” and making them worse. Yet, the Tony Stark everybody loves in the MCU? Not comics accurate. The Superman Snyder made? Not comics accurate.

It’s ok to not like versions of characters that people choose to make. That’s why they’re adaptations. They’re not meant to be analogous. I accept Snyder’s version even though that was not Siegel and Shuster’s original vision. It’s Snyder’s take. And I engage with that as its own piece of media.

Has this era of these franchises been more inclusive? 100%. And will that appeal to everyone? Absolutely not. But there’s a reason for that.

I believe the problem is that, due to the interconnectedness of the MCU/Star Wars etc., fans feel forced to watch programs that don’t appeal to THEM. And then blame the show for that. When, perhaps, you were not the target audience.

“She-Hulk” was not made for everybody. It was made for people who would like to follow a female character with special abilities who just kind of wants to be normal and deal with everyday, normal stuff. But can’t. Because she’s a Hulk. But also a woman in the modern world. I found it funny and charming because it appealed to ME. And I often watch shows about women dealing with their careers and love lives.

It’s “Ally McBeal” if she got Hulk powers. And if you were unlikely to watch “Ally McBeal” why do you think you would like “She-Hulk”?

“Andor” is in many ways a good show. But I did not like it because I did not find it entertaining. I understood every political message it had. And share the politics of the show. I just didn’t find it to be a show that I enjoyed. So I didn’t watch it past the first couple episodes.

The problem is FOMO—fear of missing out. Not diversity. Not inclusion. But fans don’t realize that it’s ok to not consume everything from a franchise. That doesn’t make it bad. It just makes it not FOR YOU.

And saying that the work is bad because of “Wokeism” and “bad storytelling” (which is subjective), sounds like a YOU problem. If you can come to me with an objective take, I will engage with it. I’m not saying these new things are above criticism. But the problem isn’t that it’s “woke”.

[leather-blr]

i really wish i understood the appeal of milo murphys law but i just can't get into it :-( I've tried watching it but it's just so painfully mid

(i’m very critical about mml here but i end it positively don’t worry. essay under the cut)

i watched milo murphy’s law with my best friend and roommate ( @herbi-cide ) which gave me a more positive experience with the show as a whole but there were so many times were it just felt like a slog. i hesitate to call it “filler” because it’s a pretty episodic show (though theres much more of a plot than pnf) but i don’t particularly find the laid back contained story episodes very engaging or funny most of the time. i’ve seen people (KEYAN *shakes fist*) say this roots from a lack luster premise, but i think that a premise is always as good as it’s execution. and a lot of mml executes like ass. it is straight up disastrous. like milo murphy himself walked through the writers room one day leaving the writers to salvage whatever scraps were left among the wreckage

im really not confident in dwampy’s ability to write a plot-driven show, i think it’s obvious that they’re comfort zone lies in episodic comedies. which is awesome, we all have our skills and comfort zones, phineas and ferb is so great at what it does for a reason. but i think this is very much to mml’s detriment. there is so much set up for great storylines and likable characters, and so many good ideas, but like, either they didn’t have time to do anything with them or just straight up didn’t know how. it is genuinely impressive how boring mml can get given its cast and world

i think people blame pnf too much for the decline of mml in season 2, doofenshmirtz is insufferable throughout most of it and all, but i think the pnf shoehoring hints to a larger problem that mml always had. it feels as if it’s uncomfortable with its own characters and world, like it’s afraid to commit, and i think that is very much dwampy’s sitcom-oriented writing style shining through in an ugly way

i see people praise mml for its story, but because of dwampy’s aversion to writing linear storytelling, it definitely ranges on the plot-light side of television. it’s not quite a sitcom, but there’s really not much story progression happening aside from a few world building episodes and big arcs like the aliens or the pistachions (which phineas and ferb also does better in the meap saga let’s be real, at least for the alien arc)

i don’t like comparing mml to phineas and ferb, but one fails so hard at the things the other achieves in spades that it’s kind of impossible not to compare them. i wouldn’t mind mml’s shitty storytelling as much if the plot-light episodes (which is most of them) were compelling. phineas and ferb has just as good as a premise as murphy’s law, if not less interesting, and does the character-driven sitcom filler infinitely better in every single way. it is rare i’ll ever be bored watching phineas and ferb, and ik comedy is subjective, but i think a lot of us can agree that phineas and ferb is overall just wittier and funnier in general than mml. mml is kind of forgettable! i’ll be real! i love it but it’s forgettable

i want mml to be its own unique thing sooo bad but especially in the second half it feels like there’s no reason i shouldn’t just turn it off and go watch phineas and ferb. it’s also frustrating because i know mml has the capability to be good, because the pistachion arc is gripping and well structured and generally super entertaining (one of the best experiences i’ve had watching a show with a friend), and there’s a lot of fantastic episodes and moments in there. which is why i’m so harsh on it, it’s disappointing!!

there’s dozens and dozens of ultra talented people who worked on milo murphy’s law (i’ve gone through so many storyboards and portfolios to look for more details about the artists who worked on it so can confirm these people are awesome) so i can only wonder if studio conditions / time crunches / other factors (disney bullshitery) had anything to do with how spectacularly mml fails in a lot of regards, but there’s an upside, and this is the biggest appeal of murphy’s law for me:

the milo murphy’s law fandom and by extent the dakavendish fandom is one of the best fandoms i’ve ever seen hands down, some of the most dedicated and passionate writers, artists and general fans continue to be active in the community and create awesome shit that is leagues better than anything in the source material. because mml presents so many good concepts but doesn’t deliver, it leaves a lot of room for fans to expand on them and make their own amazing stuff. and because they’re such a small community, and milo murphy’s law is widely remembered as “that show that came after phineas and ferb” or “that show keyan carlile didn’t like” they are very close knit and very very friendly. nicest ppl you’ll ever meet

if it weren’t for the fandom i would not give a single shit about milo murphy’s law, but the fans make the show and it’s characters so much more than they are in the source material. so no wonder i had such a good time watching it when i had my roommate to talk about it with! community adds context to art in a way that can change it entirely, especially in the age of the internet

so i will always recommend murphy’s law with that in mind. also, think of it this way: at least it’s not hamster and gretel. i’ll stand by my opinion that show sucks LMAO

[randomfandomdom]

Loki season 2 review (without spoilers) (I'm on episode 4)

Lack of Lokius is a sin.

New characters but I don't remember anything about them because lack of background story.

The writing kind of predictable. Lots of pauses to add some kind "suspense" to a very mediocre line.

The comedic relief is kind of forced and awkward and not running as smooth as season 1.

Creating a hype over what Mobius's past in every single episode and I will be disappointed if he would get a wife and a kid.

Silvie is way more annoying than season 1, yes, apparently that's possible. Her girl boss trope is failing so much that I'm rooting for the "villain" girl boss more.

Hyping that man as a skilled soldier but I don't even remember him in season 1 and he barely do anything in this one to show that he actually is strong.

(KIND OF SPOILERS???????????????) Ms minute acting all serious and mysterious only to be the biggest, cringiest plot hole of the time.

Too many "I hate you too but we have to do this together" dialogue, I count like two in every episode.

This one is a personal problem I have with sci-fi genre: too much scientific bullshit of made up device names.

Silvie, blames everyone but her, as always.

Loki was strong and got to showcase his skills but by he still freezes a lot, no development of his strength whatsoever. And yes, I'm aware he can't use his power in TVA. I'm talking about when he's out there. Like seeing your MC being dumb down to make the plot make sense.

Silvie's haircut. Again, girl boss trope where the girl is getting an ugly haircut just because she doesn't want to appeal to the male gaze. My wlw part of bisexuality was dried. The hetero part wasn't really that excited either.

The nerd was too stereotypical it hurts. Still got me though, I love him, but it seems like the writer kind of want him to be shipped with EVERYONE.

Overall Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson carries. Jonathan's acting was too theatrical and cringe. I don't even want to find the name of Silvie's actress, she's in the same level as Gal Gadot.

[laughterbynight]

Shower thoughts: Power, Sexuality, and Dick Grayson

Okay so to start this probably isn't exclusive to DC but that's where my experience is so that's where I'm focusing. Batfam mostly because that's my history.

*Reminder that this is a shower thought so it's not going to be essay worthy and I might miss some things.

I was thinking in the shower, as you do, and it struck me not for the first time how absurd it is that in comics it seems like power when it comes to women is equated with sex, as in looking more appealing to men. It made me wonder if, beyond blatant sexism, maybe there's a disconnect here where part of power fantasies for men is to be desired by women. If so, that could be part of why so many men assume that a woman's power fantasy means being more fuckable to men.

Now, I would be preaching to the choir here on tumblr to explain how backassward this is and that power fantasies mean POWER regardless of sex or gender and that how men portraying themselves as attractive is different than how they portray women as attractive. I mean there's a good chance you've already seen this discourse ages ago and we're on roughly the same page. That's some solid 2014-2016 discourse.

Instead I want to talk about how this manifests for Dick Grayson, because he's one of the few (maybe only?) male characters in DC that gets sexualized in the same way women do. He's also one of the few to have been raped because of it, which felt deliberate when I was standing in the shower contemplating this whole thing. I doubt the writer would fess up to that and I know a lot of us just completely delete that moment from his history, but if I'm pulling that incident out of the canon and just looking at it on it's own I think it very much speaks to how men perceive attraction in men and how they see it in women (and yes I know a woman wrote that scene but you can still subscribe to sexism as a woman).

To be a powerful woman in the eyes of a man is also to be fuckable, but that also means you're prime real estate for sexual trauma and being dominated, because you can't be sexual and safe and liberated. You have to be punished for it and degraded and traumatized. I think that's what happened to Dick. I think he fell too close to how women are sexualized and the instinct on the part of a writer in a field that pretty much promotes sexism was to hurt Dick for being liberated and sexual and a positive character (because how dare he be sexual and a positive role model!). And maybe even that is giving too much credit but the alternative is that he's just so sexy it's okay to rape him and that's...yeah. Anyway-

Kori (Starfire) is another character who is wildly sexually liberated by the standards of comics and we know her story. She was introduced with the backstory of assault because sexy, which is just so fucked. It really paints a picture. Even beloved manly Batman has been subject to this (Damian's origin before other writers started trying to smooth that over). Again, sexually liberated character = must be violated. The difference here is it's not even acknowledged with Bruce. Actually not really with Dick either. So we have another layer to that whole thing with how men should react to assault, as well.

Frankly it makes me terrified for Tim as a freshly out character (and therefore not traditionally masculine in the eyes of a lot of men). If you're unfamiliar with Midnighter and Apollo you can find out why I'm concerned by googling that. I'd rather not dive into it. I sure as fuck hope the backlash to that will dissuade anyone from putting a target on Tim but it's been a close call already.

I don't have some big conclusion here, it's just one of those things I felt like I needed to put into words. Maybe because I see so much pushback against fans for preferring to engage with fanon at this point, and while I acknowledge that it can be annoying when very basic facts are mucked up, I also can't blame anyone for wanting to avoid DC comics proper right now. Sometimes I see progress and I hope it sticks-but I think comics are still an emotionally hostile space for a lot of us and when I step back and look at characters like Dick and even the recent violation of Jason, I just sometimes wonder if the industry at large has lost the thread of superheroes in general. At the very least it's clear they're often only writing heroes for themselves because to me the DC universe would be a nightmare hellscape and it shouldn't be. Heroes are for everyone.

[argentumcor]

It's funny to me to see people shipping the Ghoul with Lucy, though understandable; Maximus has zero charisma (writing, not actor; in interviews he seems quite charming!) and while I'm sure there's some people who it works for because there always are, the Ghoul oozes gunslinger charisma on top of being played by the ever-charming and awesome Walter Goggins.

I'm pretty sure the show is going for a father-daughter relationship with them, because he had/has(?) a daughter and she was daddy's girl, though it turned out the father she thought she had didn't exist. Her reminding him of the hero he once was and him teaching her the skills she needs to survive is the thing I look forward to the most in next season (what are we thinking, two years? Three? I miss when you'd get a new season of a show every year.)

The thing about Lucy is she is what female relatable characters are when they're at their best. She's what a lot of women aspire to be in these adventures when they're being played out as stories and not mere power fantasies. Smart but not all-knowing, capable but with a lot to learn, making mistakes and paying the price for them, and in the end, through the pain, holding true to real core principles- awakening the capacity for heroism in others, too. So a lot of women see themselves in Lucy more than they do in, say, Captain Marvel or some of the other recent MCU and Disney heroines. We look at her and say "yah, that'd be me" or "the best I could hope to do in this situation is being like this" and this, not being a power fantasy of instant competence and strength, this makes us root for her, connect to her. I wonder if it's similar to the shonen appeal for men, where they see themselves in a guy and his struggles and enjoy watching him grow to be the hero like they want to be.

So a lot of women really connect to Lucy, and a lot of women find the Ghoul very hot, so there's going to be shipping of Lucy and the Ghoul. Blame the writers for making Maximus not do it for most of us. Myself, I think I like the father-daughter version of the relationship, but I do get the ship.

Hah, so now there's been two female characters of this type named Lucy: Lucy Maclean of Fallout and Lucy Carlyle of Lockwood & Co. Something about the name, something about having clear sight when it comes down to it? They're very different young women, but very alike too in a lot of ways, I think.