#possibly her one character trait that actually makes sense and is consistent

[gh-0-stcup]

Guarantee you Mary tried out all of the recipes on those "weirdest 70s dishes" lists.

[3c1air]

[(Jeff the Killer: Info Sheet)]

Start: 07/09 — Finish: 07/09

Links: Overall Masterlist & Rules

DISCLAIMER!! Information from multiple sources to give an understanding profile on him - so some things may not be 100% accurate, however, I’m really trying to find “fact”.

|| NOTE: I’m making an Info Sheet on each character I write for so the reader knows what they need to know about the character.

——————————————————————————-

Title: Jeff the Killer

Real Name: Jeffery Woods

Aliases: Jeff, Jeffery the Killer, Joker Reject/Rip-off

Relatives:

Margaret (Deceased Mother)

Peter (Deceased Father)

Liu (Presumed Deceased Brother).

Occupation: Serial Killer.

Powers/Skills:

Hand-To-Hand Combat Prowess

Enhanced Senses

Athleticism

Inhuman Durability

Inhuman Stamina

Great Stealth

Status: Alive

Species: Human

Sex & Gender: Male & He/him

Hobbies:

Murdering people to satisfy his bloodlust

Stalking his victims

Goals:

End as many lives as possible (On-going)

Kill his parents (Succeeded) and his brother (on-going)

Kill Randy, Troy, and Keith (Succeeded)

Type of Pasta: Psychotic Serial Killer

Origin:

Jeff was a 13-year-old who moved to a new neighborhood with his brother, Liu, and their parents. On their first day of school, they were accosted by 3 bullies named Randy, Keith, & Troy, whom Jeff brutally beat up after they threatened them with knives. Liu took the blame for it and was arrested, sending Jeff into a deep depression. The bullies later attacked Jeff again at a party, and Jeff killed one of them, but not before getting covered in bleach and lit on fire by Keith. During this fight, Jeff's mind permanently snapped.

When Jeff woke up, he was at the hospital and his head was wrapped in bandages. When the bandages were taken off, it was revealed that his face had become disfigured and ghastly pale from the burns, with bright red lips and a leathery texture. Jeff said that he liked his face this way and laughed hysterically, but the doctor foolishly thought that this insanity was merely a side effect of the painkillers and let Jeff go home.

Later that night, Jeff's mother found him carving his face into a permanent smile so that he would no longer have to exert energy to smile, as he put it, and burning off his eyelids so he could always see his face. Jeff's mother went to her husband to tell him that their son had gone completely mad and needed to be killed, but Jeff caught them and stabbed them to death. This woke up Liu (who was recently released), with Jeff telling him as he was about to plunge the knife into his body, "Go to sleep".

Jeff then went on a serial killing rampage, killing those who refused to sleep at night, and as the story continued, Jeff renamed himself "Jeff the Killer".

Appearance:

Jeff has extremely pale skin and burnt off eyelids, giving him an even more ghostly appearance. Jeff later got his most distinctive trait, the Glasgow smile that he had carved into his face. His build is commonly described as thin, but with some lean muscle tone at the same time, and reaching a height of around 5'10" to 6'0". In various fan depictions, he's typically portrayed in his late teens or early twenties. His clothing normally consists of a pair of black dress pants with a white hoodie, like described in the story, which is sometimes stained with fresh and old blood from his victims.

Personality:

Before being burnt alive, he was a quiet and fairly antisocial teenager, not that people actually knew him very well. But shortly after the incident, he became torturous, aggressive, bloodthirsty, and violent, making him one of the most dangerous serial killers in his hometown. Jeff is widely known for luring his victims to an eternal slumber, using a kitchen knife and eerie but soft tone of voice. Even though he prefers to murder his victims with knives, he is more than willing to use any weapon when placed in a desperate situation. He is an extremely stealthy and mischievous individual, able to break into victims' houses almost always without getting himself caught in the act.

[(§¥§)]

[tamelee]

I think a lot of sakura hate is undeserved. Like ik she's said and done some things that were out of pocket, but then again so did almost everyone else and no one else gets scrutinized as much as her. I don't even like her and her fans are incredibly annoying, but I feel this much is true. I think she'd still be one of the most hated characters in all of anime if her undeserved hate went away, so it doesn't really make much of a difference. I feel like her hate is kinda like sasuke's, sometimes it feels like he gets hated on just for being sasuke bc ik some things he's done would've been swept under the rug if another, more popular character did it (eg when he killed some samurai) for sakura, there are lots of incel fanart memes dudebros made to make fun of her, so it seems like they hate her for just being a woman who rejected a loser man and likes a better man. It's no wonder her fans are so annoying, that's what happens when your fave character gets undeserved constant hate. My fave is sasuke and sometimes even I wanna do some petty annoying shit just to piss his haters off too lol. Also since she's a woman, there's definitely some misogyny at play when her character is being analyzed by men. Or even women with internalized misogyny. It's stupid to deny that, misogyny is the most normalized oppression everywhere. So many ppl don't even realize they're being misogynistic, that's how normal it is. Sure it's not always the case but ignoring it is just being dumb. Her fans using the misogyny card to actual genuine criticism is definitely stupid though. Like it's possible to not like a woman and not be misogynistic ofc. Also when they use that when sns fans ship sasuke with naruto instead of sakura, that's even dumber 😂 how is not shipping a woman with a man and instead shipping him with another man misogynistic in any way lol. But yeah, I'm definitely not on her fans side, or even a fan of her myself, but I can still acknowledge this

+ 2 Asks - long post:

When talking about critiquing characters and analyzing stories, it doesn't really matter who's doing the talking – whether they're fans, critics, or just people who love or don't love a particular show or character. We can't always figure out why (especially anonymous) people feel the way they do and how do we even discern the motivation or background of those who do so? —whether they're misogynistic, incels, dudebros, fans, or critics of whatever other stories, among other factors. In fact, in this case it’s pretty irrelevant? Or only relevant here because you brought it up.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away the fact that a significant portion of the 'Naruto' audience finds Sakura's character unlikable. She consistently is found at the center of conversations about the most disliked Anime characters. This is ultimately a reflection of storytelling, rather than solely an audience reaction. And that leads to a broader discussion about Kishimoto’s writing where many blame his lack of skill in writing when it comes to the portrayal of female characters. (Opinions may vary, so does mine.) Dismissing criticism by categorizing critics as incels or misogynists is oversimplifying it tbh because of course they harbor specific biases against a character like Sakura which in itself isn’t fair and would definitely make it ‘undeserved’. (I really wouldn’t use that term for a fictional character unless we talk about the story itself tbh.) You yourself say “not always the case...” So that doesn't mean Kishimoto's portrayal of Sakura or any other character, and the genuine criticism she receives for universally disliked traits, is any less valid. Many perceive her as selfish, and Kishimoto himself has used that specific term (and even worse) to describe her. So, you can’t deny that this foundation of her character exists. Her decisions and behavior make sense even if people preferred to see it differently. 

Though, when analyzing, it is important to keep the Shinobi world in mind, and only our own as reference. And that’s exactly why the hatred Sasuke gets is not the same.... :

The amount of hate/criticism has nothing to do with a comparison though. Sakura's actions are often deliberately misunderstood, twisted to fit certain narratives that are in her favor and even exaggerated to counteract the hate like the first ask said. On the other hand, Sasuke is generally misunderstood and is hated for it. Often not getting even a tiny bit of compassion because some people struggle to see beyond his exterior and just ride the Naruto-verse’s moral/value waves from the narrative. Where the entire point was that those ideals needed change. 

SAVE HIM!? Why is it always so actively ignored that Sakura tried to kill Sasuke twice but him defending himself or fighting back is ‘so incredibly evil’? This ‘resolve’ of hers becomes even more significant to Kishimoto’s message when we consider that she intentionally represents the same ideals that led to the genocide and with that- agreed to eliminate him without attempting to understand him even once. Repeating history in the meantime where, again, that change is necessary. And you start with trying to understand the other, something Naruto had to learn too and actively had to find that answer by himself. Never once did she actually listen to Sasuke when he tried to open up and instead twisted the few words he got out to make it about herself. Not only disregarding his (and Naruto’s) trauma but shitting on it, thinking he, of ALL people, would feel happy with her abandoning her family and friends for him and comparing her feeling lonely without Sasuke to his entire clan being murdered what forced him to grow up alone. I mean, hello? Kishimoto was saying something very loudly there and it’s nothing positive about Sakura and that certainly has nothing to do with a lack of writing skills, the opposite actually. Even if she was briefly a teammate, she rightfully became irrelevant to him, and her decision to get rid of the (in her and the world's eyes) “criminal” was entirely for her own sake because she couldn't bear to see her crush behave like one and deal with her irrelevance.  

She rejected everything Sasuke wanted, needed, and desired, including his central 'why' in the story. She reduced him to a moody handsome boiii with no goals of his own, one she neither could nor wanted to understand. She tried to insert herself into his goals without him giving her any reason to, and when unsuccessful, she wanted to discard them altogether thinking he was ‘too far gone’. Like Sasuke as a person as a whole was her ‘burden’ to bear simply because she wanted to be somewhat relevant. Even Kakashi said it :/ although he thought she did it all out of the kindness of her heart. (Ffs, Kakashi I like you, but no.) Now, please consider EVERYTHING and then think again why Sakura thought of Sasuke as a burden or why she felt burdened by him while lying about her trust in him to Sai? 👀

The importance of Sasuke having a goal is immense because he grapples with survivor's guilt. A goal provides a reason to keep going, a way to carry the pain and blame he places on himself. It allows him to be strategic and have a plan, which is the only source of hope that things may eventually improve. He rejected what Naruto stood for because he found it distracting and hard to trust at that point. OF COURSE he fought so fucking hard against it. No matter his feelings for Naruto, relying solely on effort like Naruto wasn't something he could do. Especially considering how his beloved brother had betrayed him in the worst possible way.

Now, here's a question for you: why would Sakura need to receive compassion or 'deserve' it when, as a character, she rarely demonstrated it herself, especially when it comes to the person she claims to like so much? And if anyone thinks that was out of love in any way, which it wasn't, then what does it all mean for Naruto????

If you genuinely believe there was any point in the story Sakura tried to save Sasuke for Sasuke’s sake then I hope you’re able to read the story again and question this very rigorously for yourself. Not just her actions, but what Kishimoto tried to actually show/tell and use them to measure how it stands against the bigger Themes also.  

Lastly: the whole point of needing to kill Naruto was BECAUSE he cared for him lol, read Sasuke's monologue again if it helps. That his bond with Naruto had too much of an impact on Sasuke. His one and only, his most important person/friend, only bond left that kept him from truly being alone, Naruto’s life in itself too much of a threat to his heart even when separated, blabla- should I go on? 🤔      

[twoheartsoneclara]

my main boy five.  oh my boy.

i’ll admit, i think they dropped the ball with his writing this season.  aidan’s still turning out an incredible performance, and added a lot of nuance to his characterization despite quite frankly working with pretty much nothing.  go off, king.

i don’t know what to make of him being the founder of the commission.  granted, the commission is literally so fucking nonsense at this point, but it feels like it erases a.  LOT.  of the tragedy of five’s character.  it could possibly be tragic in a different way, but with the writers not doing fucking anything with it this season, it’s difficult to tell.  

a big part of his conflicts over the past two seasons have had to do with the fact that he fucking despises the handler, that the handler is just the one who was next in line after reginald, who saw him as a tool and used him to carry out her dirty work.  the whole “i don’t belong anywhere thanks to you.  you made me a killer.”  “you were always a killer.  i just pointed you in a direction.” and “i saved you from a lifetime of being alone.  you owe me.”  and his “i do owe a debt.  but it’s not to you.” is a key scene.  if the handler is right, that he was always a killer, then a huge part of his moral complexity is wiped away.

a huge part of what makes five compelling as a character is the conflict that he has with not enjoying being a killer and being made into one and being good at it anyways.  one of his biggest themes as a character and his driving force that’s been consistent behind his motives is what would you do, how far would you go, to save the people that you love.  and another key part of that is that he is a weapon and a killer, yes, but he was made that way.  that’s a theme across the whole series and the whole hargreeves family.  the same thing with viktor - their stories clearly parallel each others’, especially in season 1 with leonard and reginald.

the downright horror that we felt at the commission having left him in the apocalypse specifically so they could use his desperation against him and so that they could manipulate him into doing what they wanted becomes so moot when we learn that.  what?  he’s the one who created the commission actually?

and logically, it doesn’t make any sense from what we know about five as a character for him to just lie down and give up, not five as he is now or old old five.  they had to nerf him to make the plot work.  if there had been a bigger timeskip, it might have made sense but he’s still fresh off of the end of season 2.  this is the same man who literally while actively dying managed to turn back time to save his family from dying.  the same one who murdered a boardroom of people to try and get his family home.  the whole storyline about him accepting destiny makes no fucking sense.  the commission said “the apocalypse has to happen” and he said “fuck this fuck you” and utterly refuses to accept the idea of destiny.

they definitely attempted to somewhat justify it with the whole “no life spent going mad” and being just tired by the whole thing which like justified my man.  it’s definitely kind of the fallout of trying to run himself ragged for the past month.  and you can tell that aidan was trying so hard to make it work with the acting choices that he brought to the table, so again, go off, king.  

but at the same time again it’s been a month.  sure, it’s the month from hell, and he so deserves to go apeshit about it, but that’s fucking nothing compared to the 45 years stuck in the apocalypse.  like yeah he’d probably have a breakdown about it (as is his right) but it’s another core trait of five’s is that he doesn’t give up.  literally all of the plot of the entire show hinges on the fact that he doesn’t give up.  stopping the 2019 apocalypse?  five’s the only one who has knowledge about it from the beginning and shows up to stop it, and that’s only possible because he spent 45 years surviving the apocalypse and taking the deal with the commission so he could return home to stop it and save his family.  ending up in the 60s?  only possible because five took him and his siblings back so that they could escape the currently impending apocalypse.  them not fucking dying in that barn and making it possible for them to get back to 2019?  only possible because he rewound time while dying himself and managed to save them.

i understand them making allison the large driving plot force this season and tbh i’m glad they did!!  homegirl completely deserved her chance to shine and emmy fucking gave it her all.  (caveat: they definitely also fucked up that deeply on some points but by and large yes, allison did deserve to go apeshit).  and i also understand somewhat understand making the conflict between her and viktor - their dynamic has been pretty important for viktor’s story (as the second-most important character to the plot overall), and they managed to do something...half-interesting with that.  but they completely had to nerf five’s character to make all of that possible, which is just lazy writing.

on a petty note, give five mr. pennycrumb for fucking real, you cowards.  

[cburambles]

Lazard's motivation or "Unattainable dreams are the best kind"

Brainstorming & theorizing on the Shinra scions is my favorite hobby.

Something I've noticed is that the Lazard's friend NPC doesn't even seem to know whether that "friend who used to say he was the of president Shinra" is still alive or not. Which makes me wonder if he changed identity. Lazard Deusericus may be not be his real name because he couldn't have his father finds out immediately who he was until the right moment.

We know Lazard was mostly out for personnal revenge as it is hinted by NPCs that his mother not only was rumored being Shinra sr's lover, it also seems that it was pretty much something out of a fairy tale story as one female NPCs suggest it seemed something out of a dream, making you wonder if there was more than sex but an actual romance going on between the two when you compare with the way he treated his other lovers like Evan's mother, as he attempted to keep those relationships more discreet & gave hush money to them.

It makes me wonder if Shinra sr may have broken off their relationship to marry Rufus's mother, who may have likely been a strong political match, which could have been devastating for Lazard's mother, enough that he needed to seek revenge for her.

( Another thing that needs to be noted is that Shinra sr has a consistent taste in women as it is explained in TKAA & Lazard is really likely to be his eldest illegitimate child, which makes me wonder if he could have been selecting his secretaries via their physical attributes, looking to have sex with people who may have actually looked like Lazard's mother.

I think it's also narratively interesting how Rufus among his brother, is the one who actually looks more like his mother while Lazard & Evan seems to share more traits with their father. Something about Shinra sr's genes being more apparent with the sons of women he may have actually desired at one point+ his narcisstic side & all of that)

This mail intrigue me.

One thing I've noticed is that Kunsel is often on point when assessing certain situation, characters, motivations and in his speculations in his other mails & it's likely the case here as well.

I have this theory that like this NPC says, that Lazard joined Shinra out of revenge. Shinra sr saw that he was competent & slowed him down by giving him an high position & power, which gave Lazard some hope that he might potentially become his successor as he actually had more executive power & more official achievements than his legitimate son Rufus, whom was also building a rep for being rebellious & callous while Lazard is the amiable one who plan succesful strategies in Wutaï & get to order around the great Sephiroth.

Feeling some parental recognition (not in warm affection but more in " you're doing a good job which show that you are not only a good tool but possibly what I always wanted for a son & oh I kinda miss your mother too" ) could have also felt good to him as well & he was maybe hoping he could support financially the children of slums ( while ironically being complicit in destroying families by helping out with the war in Wutaï)

Then it got confirmed that Rufus was still on the track to become VP & it enrages Lazard, who goes back on his revenge quest as Shinra scions are egocentric like that (hence the "ill blood" mail which was as much abt him as for Rufus, Genesis, Sephiroth & Angeal) & find out about the whole Hollander & project G when Genesis infection happens & start degrading. So he decide to use them as pawns in his own war until he get stabbed in the back by them ( which echoes Rufus getting betrayed by Avalanche in BC while he is on his own quest to get rid of his father)

What gives more credence to this theory is that CCR is filled with characters whose motivation are tied to feel a sense of recognition by getting on the same level, wanting the attention or surpass a figure.

Genesis wanted to surpass Sephiroth which caused his admiration & friendship for him to turn into a rivalry as he always hogged Shinra & Midgar's attention, Zack's admiration for Sephiroth, the hero get soured as he would steal his thunder in the media for the operations that they participated together. And Cloud wanted to be on the same level of Sephiroth because he was hoping it would make him look strong & give him some recognition, in particular Tifa's.

Need for recognition & abandonment issues is also something shared by two of his known brothers: In CoS, Rufus start to understand he wanted his father's recognition & feared the fact that he might attempt to " replace" him as a child if he didn't prove himself worthy of the Shinra throne. Evan has abandonment issues due to his mother's suddendly disappearing & it lead him to be reckless out of fear Kyrie & her friends may reject him for not looking like he would belong in their group, to the point he get insecure upon seeing Rufus.

Those are things that drive them so it wouldn't be surprising if it also ended up being a motivating factor to Lazard as he was working his way up in to Shinra, making his revenge quest a bit more difficult to execute as he is getting the approval of Shinra sr.

Lazard getting the attention of his father he may have craved deep down, after getting some achievement that would prove that he had it in him to be the VP then have his father turn-around & still pick Rufus, which causes him to go back in track in his revenge quest isn't far-fetched.

Untainnable dreams may have become a strong motivator to him at one point & I think his famous quote was also a warning to Zack, that the highest power in society choose its represents, whether you work hard for it or not.

It makes the last Banora scene even more charged, as yes Lazard, may have not gained the recognition of his father or the VP seat or succeed in his revenge but he learned to let go of his hate due to Angeal's influence but got to help & save people who will then contribute into saving the world, becoming one of the brief, silent heroes of this world, which isn't unlike his two half-brothers who also have the similar traits & roles to play.

tl; dr: Lazard may have started working Shinra out of revenge against his father abandonning his mother, got derailed as he discovered he liked getting some paternal recognition & the possibility that he could become VP then went back on track when Rufus got the VP chair, which gives more significance to the "untainable dreams are the best kind" quote.

[linkspooky]

Hi, love your metas, glad you picked up Choujin. What do you think about Azuma's darker side? He seems to really enjoy violence, but he also has some Jesus symbolism, like being on born Christmas and reborn as choujin under Mary statue. What can it mean, considering nietzschean influences you mentioned in your last meta?

The use of Christian symbolism in association with Azama is probably building up to a subversion. Nietzsche attacked the Christian religion, as represented by churches and institutions, for what he called its "transvaluation" of healthy instinctive values. Transvaluation consists of the process by which one can view the meaning of a concept or ideology from a "higher" concept. The idea that god gives life meaning or morality is against the idea that its humans who create those things.

In a narrative that's challenging its characters to grow in a Nietzschean way and reject institutions or ideals given from other people, aligning a character with Christianity has a negative connotation.

Azama's dark and violent side comes from the fact that he is so righteous. The narration when Azama is awakening as a Choujin says as much. His worldview is associated with violence, knives, guns, a knight in armor. He remarks that warplanes flying by are "cool". The next panel is tanks climbing over desert hills. Azama's ideas of nobility and heroism are tied up in violence because that's what appears in is imagination. The narration even says he had a knack for fighting, but lacked something important.

Nietzsche also states that unlike the Ubermensch, who embraces life, Jesus denied reality in favor of his "kingdom of God." Jesus refusal to defend himself and subsequent death ended up with his separation from life. If the Choujin is the ultimate self-realized being, then the christ figure has completely smothered himself and all reasons for living and lost his connection to life.

Azama's violent side also results from the fact he has completely smothered himself and his own desires. He has repressed himself for years to appear more ideal in front of Tokio and play his hero. He believes repressing that violent side of his is a virtue in itself. The result of Azama's repression and sense of self sacrifice is also always death. Azama makes the decision to try to rescue Tokio alone, he dies, comes back from the dead just like christ's martyrdom but he doesn't come back right. The narration says he lacks something monumentally important. His response to the possibility he might lose control of his powers again is to ask Tokio to kill him.

If Nietzsche's philosophy and ideology is becoming self-actualized and connected to lie, then Azama being so close to death and so willing to die for a cause is a negative trait. His martyrdom is not being praised her but condemned. His desire to suppress or even kill himself for some righteous virtue just ends up with Azama as a person being unstable and unhealthy.

To further connect this to Nietzschian sybolism, in the previous post I discussed at great length the way the Lion appears in the metamorphoses and the meaning as a wild animal capable of finding the strength to create its own meaning. Azama at the beginning of the story is associated with the lion several times, the king of predators while Tokio is the vulture who picks up the scraps.

However, a hyena shows up to Azuma several times before he awakens his power. A talking hyena that only he seems to be able to see. This seems to be a weird and off-color piece of symbolism.

However, when he encounters the hyena again after his power awakens the meaning becomes clear. When he finds the hyena again it is lying dead on the beach, being picked apart by scavenger birds.

He beats them away and cries over the dead animal. A bit of an overreaction. Maybe, Azuma is just that much of an animal lover (JK). Azuma overreacts to the hyena being picked apart by scavenging birds because he is the hyena. He has just been defeated by the vulture, Tokio for the first time and it's crushed his self esteem. When Azuma's choujin abilities activate he no longer is able to swim. The hyena dies at the beach.

Azuma begins the story associated with the Lion, the king of the predators while Tokio is the buzzard who steals from his prey. However, the animal that appears in front of Azuma is a hyena, another animal that's famous for being a scavenger.

Azuma appears as a lion, but he's really the hyena, he's just as dependent on Tokio as Tokio is of him. The hyena just goes to show Azuma is a character of dualism. He appears to already be the self-made man at the beginning of the story, but he's in his own way a scavenger depending on someone else in order to live. At this point neither Azuma nor Tokio are able to live up to the Nietzschean ideal.

[tea-earl-grey]

the set up for season 2 is SO STRONG and theres a lot of potential and then the season just kind of. fizzles out.#i think the character problems are most evident with Seven imo but it follows with everyone else#that everyone is given like. one or two character traits in the last few episodes#i feel like if the season went for more of a direct time travel plot without the soong side plot and childhood flashbacks we could yknow#actually write the characters well#there are good moments it just. irks me.

See. This is why having two showrunners with different plans for the season and anthology style series DOESN’T work.

Terry Matalas worked on the first 4 episodes of Picard season 2, before he was told to split off and start working on season 3 and then Akiva Goldsman, who has different sensibilities than Terry took over, and quite frankly, I’m not really a fan of Akiva’s storytelling style.

Time travel is Terry’s thing — its how he built 12 Monkeys, going back to move forward is one of the important themes from his previous show.

Also, 10 episodes is not enough for the kind of plot they wanted to do, with the number of characters.

Plus, I’m disappointed after episode 3, Seven barely interacted with the Borg Queen.

The Borg Queen who is particularly possessive of Seven, in any reality. Just… doesn’t do anything with Seven until the penultimate episode.

Imagine if they at least had 13-14 episodes what they have time to do and explore with the characters!

continuing from this post

oh that's interesting! i didn't know Matalas worked as showrunner on the first few episodes of s2 but in retrospect it makes a lot of sense. i do still enjoy season two but yikes it really feels like it was four stories Frankensteined into one season and it makes sense that there wasn't a single showrunner. and yeah i've said it before too but i also just really hope that future Trek shows fade out the anthology season model because it just does not work to create a consistent audience when the characters and tone keep changing (and judging by snw they're thankfully taking the more episodic path). serialization can work well you just have to be confident about where you're going because usually the endings just get convoluted (Discovery also has a big problem with this imo). i also now have a suspicion that since the two seasons were being written at the same time that the reason why Agnes, Soji, Rios, and Agnes/Borgurati weren't in s3 (which is my main criticism of the season) is that none of the writers knew exactly where those characters would end s2. which. hm. i get that the pandemic work was rough but sometimes forward planning is important.

i would have loved a s2 of Picard that:

cemented where the characters were a little bit more in the beginning and deal with the fallout of s1 and implications for the world at large especially following up with Soji a bit since that was her only (and possibly last) episode.

spent another episode in the Confederation universe! evil universes are so much fun and i think can unravel a lot of characters' fears and insecurities by having them see the worst versions of themselves and we really only saw pieces of that with Seven & Picard, not Raffi, Rios, Agnes, & Elnor

have Elnor stay alive for the 2024 episodes! i get that Raffi's guilt around Elnor dying was her big s2 character arc but exploring the way she manipulated him into Starfleet and kept being overprotective of him could have been equally well explored if he was alive. he also could have added a bit of needed lightness to the season and we would have another classic 'Vulcan/Romulan has to disguise themself in present day by wearing a silly hat' moment

cut the whole Soong plot. sorry. i was just not a fan and it took so much time away from the actual main characters.

also without the Soong plot, the Renee plot would have been simplified a bit and left room for slower character scenes instead of just action-action-action

i did like Rios's story (and the way the season grappled with modern politics) but him staying in the past... eh sorry i just don't really see it and i think 'staying behind and leaving my friends for true love!' is a pretty tired trope even if Teresa is very cool.

the Agnes/Borg Queen story is VERY tasty and the concept of there being an ethical(ish) Borg Collective out there is really good but as you said... it really felt like Seven should have been a more active participant in that. her and Agnes could have made great foils of Agnes slowly being drawn in to the Queen's influence while Seven for the first time in her life is free of her. maybe just spending more time building up the Borg Queen as a threat (and without Soong, the main threat) of the season would have been better.

i mean also the complaint that started this conversation with the idea of Seven's arc being really good but then just not being executed all that well specifically wrt how her implants were written out and then written back in and her just never using her science skills.

i do like the vibes of having Picard confront his childhood trauma and explore the reasons why he has difficulty connecting with people but i'm just not convinced by the execution and i still don't exactly understand why Tallinn had to be there (and why she had to look like Laris? thinking about it i'm imagining that she might have been the Confederation universe's version of Laris who joined the Time Lords Travelers but it still doesn't really make sense and it's not really discussed in the text)

we might very well get something exploring this but i would like to know why the Q are dying. it didn't bother me as much as it bothered others but it would have been nice to get something more.

oh no i didn't realize how long this got. sorry you did not ask for my fix-it of s2 but once i got thinking... alas Picard has a great combination of good ideas, great characters, and less than great execution that makes my brain tick.

[strunmah-mah]

Y'all ever noticed that in every single continuity Nubia get associated with a different Pantheon/God? It's really weird.

Pre-Crisis:

Nubia is Diana's twin who is kidnapped by Ares/Mars and raised to fight the Amazons. Kay first off: Diana's evil Black twin? Really? Glad that pretty much immediately revealed she was only evil cause mind control and once that was broken she was one of the god guys, but why'd you do it the first place DC? Pantheon: Greco-Roman, The tendency to treat the Greek and Roman names of Gods as interchangeable is something that annoys me, since there is over lap between the two but there's more nuance than that. But that's a personal annoyance that probably isn't going to go away anytime soon, so whatever. I am curious though, why is Ares/Mars always villain? Like obviously the answer is War Bad. But mythologically Ares is Hyppolyta's father. Wouldn't that be an interesting thing for DC to canonize.

Post-Crisis:

Many centuries ago Nu'bia won a contest like Diana did and became the guardian of Doom's Doorway. She crossed over to the other side and was never seen again leaving many Amazons with the assumption she was dead. In truth she lived in Hell for centuries and even became the lover of the god, Ahura Mazda Sidenote: Why did they add an apostrophe to the middle of her name like that? Trying to make it sound more foreign or something? Religion: Zoroastrianism, is actually still an active religion. Impressive considering it's almost as old as Buddhism though the number of practitioners is significantly smaller. Honestly, points for not doing a big name mythology. Seeing as I had never even heard of this religion before I don't dare speak to the accuracy of Ahura Mazda in this comic. But still interesting someone chose this out of all the possible options

Rebirth/Infinite Frontier:

Nubia came out of the Well of Souls around the same time Diana was born. And the two were especially close because of that. Nubia was selected to to become the guardian of Doom's Doorway like her pre-crisis counterpart, but she never goes missing. Instead she eventually becomes the queen of all Amazons. After this she starts having memories of her past life before she came through the well of souls. Which is how it's revealed she used to be a Madagascar princess named, Zahavah, training to become the avatar of Skehmet. Honestly, wtf is this? Madagascar is is it's own country with it's own gods. There is absolutely no reason she would be worshiping a goddess from over 3000 miles to the north of her. This is just treating the entire continent of Africa like a monolith. And it's also annoying because there is an entire tribe of Egyptian Amazons who almost never get stories about the pantheon they are supposedly bound to.

Anyway, I know asking for consistency from DC is tall order especially with how minor of a character Nubia was until recently. I just think the constant pantheon shift is an odd detail to keep changing. Overall, it's a shame how underutilized Nubia is as a character. Especially since according to Wikipedia she's DC's first black female superhero. But how come in every major continuity they manage to make a decision that is not great? Evil Black twin is bad, but makes an unfortunate kind of sense, since it was the 70's. At least she showed some heroic traits while still mind controlled? Nu'bia is an odd little detail, but probably not that big of a deal? But damn if the Egypt/Madagascar thing does not annoy the hell out of me.

Seriously DC, why are you like this?

[petorahs]

pq2 thoughts after finishing it!:

i think. it is a g. game. it is a persona game i will admit!

no but srs i think its good if youve never played a persona game which i assume is why its on 3ds only. it really does feel like discount persona with all of the last three cast thrown in? and some of the gameplay improvements (this game's gameplay aged better than fes and p2's LMAOO) i guess its a compromise to reach fans who've never actually played the main games cause they dont own a playstation console or something.

at the same time it makes no sense for "new fans" to play because you need at least some background knowledge of the prev characters and plot to care.

in my case i knew everything abt p3 and p5, only osmosis knowledge of the plot of p4 so i ended up using the p4 cast the least in my playthrough :( so theres that. not worth playing if u dont care abt the other casts imo

...so we agree the characters are the selling point here, its advertised as a mega crossover and whatever but. people complaining that theyre "watered down" to base traits or even traits they didnt have in the first place are Right LOL except for a scant few characters who get a lot of expansion. but for the most part none of them are themselves (like yusuke... 😔.... akihiko.... aki not as bad as yusuke but they have the same writing problem)

no one expects the characters to rly individually shine when theres so many ofc, the game even pokes fun at the "limited screen time" joke but like. what else is there to this? 🤔 well

character interactions! those were good. everyone expected detective princes meetup to be really great but i loved the other pairs like haru and mitsuru (heirs with distant dads...), and the PQ OC girl with futaba :] (introvert friends!!)(theyre like sucrose and collei in this year's windblume if you go there)

speaking of akechi though. yea he's part of the list of characters that surprisingly did not get butchered and in fact expanded upon in this game. aside from akechi it's P3 FeMC.

others i liked were P5 MC (his dialogue choices are SO out there), shinjiro aragaki, ken amada, yukiko amagi maybe yosuke hanamura and P4MC but their personalities just stayed the same instead of getting possible new insight?

i liked velvet room guys too theyre goated frfr! yes including marie. even i was surprised (probably cause akechi gets to poke fun at her and the twins hdjdhdhd)(cute)

i cant put P3 male MC anywhere cause i will always be biased towards him 😔🫰 (he was great btw)

but the crow character expansion in particular intrigued me and leads me to accept this game as canon like some ATLUS USA reps intended. akechi: stripped away of his obligations is a cunning, introspective and overall respectable young man and the game showcased all of his core traits well. he purposefully isolates himself from the main group and gets called out on it, consistently is the one that makes the most sense in discussions, gets various little moe moments... he honestly seems like he doesnt know what to make of all this forced bonding with strangers but he cant help to indulge anyway. 😭 he's vocal in discussions about their plans but a passive :) face in the background during fun moments until he's addressed or curious. the way he furthers the narrative along like they wouldnt get as far as they did without him i feel. but between all of that he was the main character to me.

the end scene where he seems regretful that he has to leave and go back to his revenge plot.... hurts. because for all intents and purposes we just saw akechi if he didnt have all that baggage and was just allowed to exist as himself. a smart guy with a whole life ahead of him. but he didnt choose that.

😔

oh god that emoji is huge but anyway. FeMC!! ^_^ the problems of toxic positivity being addressed in her arc was great. they really tried to give her as much love as possible without being too happy (persona games tend to make their characters suffer anyway to even things out) and it was great! her writing reminds me of kasumire's mental illness but with less romance tease pandering.

ah yes and the obligatory Persona side game OC... hikari and nagi. honestly wished they didnt exist as much as i liked hikari's thing 😔 it got old and outright cringe man im sorry like surely the devs could come up with something better than this?? way to not explain enlil and mess with the in-universe power scaling too LMAO. 2/10 is being generous!

anyway its a fairly short game in persona standards so i cant really say it's time wasted when i got so many character interaction crumbs..... i guess i lucked out by liking the characters that i do instead of ones that kinda got shafted in this. (except for aki but 😔 i just kinda accepted his blown out of proportions awkwardness outside of P3)

it's..... a 6/10 from me overall! music and velvet room attendants + nanako cameo DLC carried

[flowerflamestars]

I was wondering what you think will happen in Elain’s book? I do not think she and Azriel will be a couple by the end of the novel. The bonus chapter from Azriel’s point of view in ACOSF hinted at a budding romance between Gwyn and Azriel, so I think that Elain and Lucien will end up together (I am not trying to promote certain relationships, I am simply guessing what will happen based on the evidence within the text). Lucien and Elain are going to be an interesting couple, as she has no desire to be with him. The only way I can see her relationship will him progressing is if he notices that she feels over protected and stifled by her family (mostly Nesta and Elain). He defends her without coddling him then he will help her stand up for herself and be independent. To SJM however, being a warrior and defending oneself means that they have to brash to other people. I want Elain to learn to stand up for herself on her own, without turning her into a warrior. I do not think being one matches what we know about her character at all. As for the plot, I am very unsure of what I think will happen. I think it will pertain to freeing Vassa then finishing off Koschei. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

In no particular order, I have very, very many thoughts on this!

The realest answer is that I don't even think I'll read the next book. SJM stay the fuck away from Lucien Vanserra, actually. I've talked about it before, but I don't think SJM has fully done a functioning ensemble cast/romance since like...Queen of Shadows, and from that point on we've gotten an increasingly formulaic kind of pairing. All stories are the same story, and that story is Feysand, but I digress.

The problem with Elain, much like the problem with Azriel, which I've discussed before is that...she doesn't make any sense. We're given extremely scant insights, which book to book contradict each other. Is she a paragon of human respectability? Is she secretly pleased by the lassitude her new life gives her? Is Nesta her best friend, or her foil? (ACTUALLY, does Elain HAVE friends?) Is her complexity buried beneath her more feminine traits (you tell those Queens to burn in hell, baby) or is she, genuinely, fully bought into a subservient trap? Does she even like men, or did she want to be safe? Does she even like baking or was it a thing forbidden her as highborn child? Does she like gardening, or was it the only way to incorporate beauty into total impoverishment?

We don't know.

So much of the Elain fondness or dislike is fanon.

It's kind of a classic writing problem of the books now, actually.

Which is- minus love triangle Bullshit, which we’ll get to in a sec- why presumably the Azriel book and the Elain book are the same book. They’re both window dressing, fluffed up in the worst possible way in the Nessian book.

In contrast, we actually have a very good handle on who Lucien is. Loyal, kind, a survivor, and a handsome competent man. A diplomat before a warrior, but not incapable. Genuinely magical. Someone who tries to do the right thing, even at great personal cost. He's one of the very few consistent characters, by dint of being sort of...sidelined, by the narrative? (honestly, thank god)

Lucien, as he is, is a ready-made protagonist. 

He has a canon backstory that is iffy in that every single SJM man has a token Dead Woman to be Sad About informing his character, who is allowed zero characterization or value beyond ANGST (see Rhysand’s dead mother. and sister. And Cassian’s dead mother. and Azriel’s tortured mother- none of whom are given NAMES), but there’s things to work with there. He’s intensely tied to a the Court system we know .02% actual info about, but he’s not actively a member of any court. He’s doing his own thing. He is, apparently, the only faerie INCLUDING FAERIES WHO WERE HUMAN RECENTLY who is willing to be around human beings.

That gives us room for a metric ton of plot. He could actually speak to Helion! He could help Jurian form a confederation of human kingdoms because hey, all the Queens are dead? missing?? He could return to Spring, a Court he was the second highest ranking faery in for...at least a century, I think? (which seems IMPORTANT in a place where the lands magic chooses leaders, but god knows if follow-through exists in Prythian) 

He could be revealed to be the actual heir of Autumn.

Let’s pause here, because let’s be real: SJM is not going to write a plot heavy acotar novel. I still do not remember the name of the last villain, but I remember the horrifically male-gaze blow job scenes like a reoccurring nightmare. This is a Romance holding a fuck the patriarchy keychain. 

Which brings us to Azriel. 

The funny thing about Azriel is that, actually, his character makes the most sense and was the least of a nightmare in the original love triangle the books set up and then discarded: Az, Mor, and Cassian.

The longing! the angst! the whole three-headed monster of it all.

Azriel in this love triangle is...a problem.

Most obviously because his POV whips out that he’s decided to maybe murder Lucien? Not even because he and Elain are together (they’re not yet), but because they could be, and Azriel feels like it’s fate...or destiny... or, ya know, horrific entitlement, that he and Elain be together. Three (not) brothers (who used to all fuck in the same room together but never touched) and three sisters. 

With the kind of...disintegration of the original Mor plot, we’re also left with this weird repetition going on? Here’s another beautiful blond lady with mysterious powerful magic who, for Reasons, is not held up to the standard all other ladies are and doesn’t need to be a warrior. Look, her fair golden hair is snagged on his sharp scary armor! Look, he tracks her through the crowd! 

He’s literally able to save Elain before she’s horrifically tortured, in a replay of all his centuries of Morrigan guilt with a better outcome.

It was kind of working, until we got his POV

(And then, again GROSS fact that only Feyre and Nesta have, uh, magical Illyrian internal structures now for baby wings. And apparently, all love is Love and Babies.)

It’s not really clear if Elain actually likes Azriel or if, you know, because of that sky-high pedestal, he’s just like... nice to her. In place where she knows no one, populated by assholes. 

We know Az IS into it- and we know it’s not going to happen for reason number 2: Rhysie says no. 

Az and Elain had more groundwork, but Azriel is a literal roadblock to that ever happening. Elain and Lucien are mystical soulmates, but Elain is literally (and honestly, after watching what her sisters have gone through, this IS the only thing that makes sense) leery of even being near him. 

We need a shake-up. 

(Gwyn is an obvious lead-up. I can’t even with the whole ‘light-singer’ nonsense, but, clearly this is where we’re headed. It’s been Gwyn/Az endgame since the ribbon moment, making Gwyn the only object of his attraction to....ever choose him.)

Assuming the Vassa/ human queens/ koschei / the lake?? plot isn’t flat-out dropped, I have to assume Elain is going to, somehow (probably because she wants to turn back into a human), leave Velaris and be in the mess of that. 

Lucien will be drawn in from the other direction- Jurian and Vassa- and Az will either be there with Extreme Prejudice, or there will be a Feysand Plot Reason why he and Gwyn are like, on a different continent. Elain will Save Herself from the Evil Sorcerer with Vassa’s help, in a presumed eastern european folktale smash up. 

The coolest take of this that lives in my heart actually would be Elain being the Baba Yaga figure here, the opposition of the Deathless, who helps the girls for her own reasons and with her own demands.

 It’s interesting to note that Vasilissa is usually aided in various stories by three knights: the red, the white, and the black. The Sun (or Dawn), The Day, and the Night. Lucien, Jurian, Azriel? some mix?

As for Koschei, there is a story with three magical princesses. And their three, magical, winged husbands. 

(And their brother, who must be revived after Koschei who I can frankly see as Jurian or Lucien if I squint)

What is most likely, really, is probably direct bits but not a direct lift of either story. Elements have to mix. Koschei stories tend to be about love and rivalry and we’ve definitely got that in spades. Maybe Gwyn AND Elain get kidnapped. Maybe Koschei is a sexy bad man with purple eyes round 2. Maybe Elain ends up with him. 

The second possibility is that the human stuff gets dropped. 

(Koschei lingers as a Future Big Bad for future...Feysand novels, probably)

And this is the AUTUMN COURT NOVEL

We have the lingering, two-way blackmail, deus ex Eris. It’s time for that promised coup, maybe? Maybe red-headed Gywn comes from the Land of Magical Redheads! Maybe Az is going to be his worst murder boy self! Maybe the magic will choose Lucien! 

Maybe we end the Tim Tam drama with the border changing, because that man does not want to be High Lord.

And then we can pay off changed, but semi-relevant The Flowers on the Drawer.  Lucien can go home! Azriel can murder...some Vanserra’s? Because he hella, hella wants to? 

The only thing I think won’t happen is endgame Elain and Azriel, but god knows anything else is on the table. 

[gigantomachy1916]

Hey! I read your post about Lawmane and why it's a more valid ship than people give it credit for, specifically when it comes to L's behaviors. It's this post in case you've forgotten, since it's been a while. In my opinion, there's a big difference between the author's intent and the feeling that actually gets conveyed. The authors intended for L to be asexual, immune to both Light and Misa. However, the fans sense sexual tension between both pairs. L to me reads as someone who doesn't understand love/lust, but is capable of it. You can argue that L is simply acting, but there are a lot of sexualized scenes between him and Misa, even when he has no reason to do so. This I put down to the authors. The authors wanted L to be asexual, but they are very clearly not asexual themselves. They draw/portray Misa in a sexualized way, often using other characters to convey this since Light is not attracted to her. The thing that makes me confused is that L often acts this way even when there is nothing he can gain from it. You'd expect that an act would have no purpose if no one is around to see it, but there he is. Overall, L is a very confusing character to try and understand. I feel like there is often some dissonance between how the authors viewed him, and what actually got put onto the manga/anime. Does that make sense? I mean this in regards to several aspects of L's character, not just shipping.

I found this ask really interesting! Here's a link to the post for those who might know what we're talking about.

I think one reason L is a confusing character to understand, and this applies to a lot of fictional characters, is that the authors have other motivations than making him an internally consistent portrayal of a specific person. The way L is portrayed makes a lot more sense if you stop thinking of him as a real person and start thinking of him as a tool the authors use to achieve whatever goals they have in telling their story.

You'd expect that an act would have no purpose if no one is around to see it, but there he is.

This gets to the heart of it. Showing L expressing some sort of sexuality that goes against his intended character when he's alone does have a purpose, because someone is around to see it: the audience. The purpose of most art is less to portray something documentary-style and more so to entertain, and sometimes authors decide that making someone act out of character is more entertaining. I've noticed this a lot in anime (like in non-canonical themed episodes) but it happens in other art as well.

For instance, if the authors think of him as uninterested in sex, why would they portray him showing sexual interest in Misa? To sexualize Misa, and also, possibly, because they think it's funny. To them, I think, L is meant to be this absurd, cerebral, awkward person, so they find inherent comic relief in putting him in sexualized situations. The audience is meant to laugh at his lack of social skills, especially when contrasted with someone like Misa, who is portrayed as being out of his league looks-wise.

Of course, I'm not saying that no one should try to put together a coherent picture of L as a character. That's basically what I was doing in the post you're talking about. Honestly, I think it's more fun this way, to take the random things the authors threw in because they thought it was funny or because they forgot what they'd previously said about a character, and to take it seriously and go, "If this were a real person, how would these contradictory traits come together to form a coherent whole?" As you said, we look at what the authors convey regardless of what they intended.

But you just have to remember that that image of L as a whole, coherent person is something that we create as an audience. L is not some fixed, real entity that is fully known by the DN authors and revealed to us as a fact. There is no one true L that can be uncovered by studying the text and the author's comments in excruciating detail.

L (or any fictional character) is a basic idea that we've taken from a piece of media and added to and transformed in our collective consciousness, and neither L (the one the authors intended or the one (more accurately, thousands of different ones) that we as the audience create) is any more real than the other.

[llycaons]

genuinely how is katara homophobic when thats just fandom interpretation? it’s a little weird that katara is seen as that when she’s the only main brown girl character on the show.. and to see you as someone who criticizes fandom interpretation for the wx fandom fall into that is kinda disappointing. i hope you reassess your bias genuinely esp since youre white

hi anon. first of all, thanks for the ask. I do love to criticize fandom interpretation, and to share my critiques as well

so, that tag was referencing several semi-joke posts talking about it, that I assumed were common knowledge in my circles. I'm actually a little confused that this is even in question, because I thought that katara's canon sexism and contempt for gender-noncomformity (which ties in with homophobia) was fairly well known. I spend very little time in the atla fandom, because I don't like it very much, and while katara clearly IS unfairly hated and treated poorly by both fanon and canon, it's fairly easy to extrapolate from her behavior and attitudes in the show itself that she is (mildly) homophobic. it's not just fan misinterpretation, it's following a set of attitudes to a possible logical conclusion. she's not explicitly homophobic in canon, but it's very easy to read her as such, and not an unfair interpretation. it's not just her, either - she's like this because other characters around her are as well. as is a lot of the humor, because it was written in 2005. I mean, uncle iroh sexually harassed a woman onscreen and it was treated like a joke. toph mocks aang for being feminine, she's definitely got a lot of those same attitudes. a lot of characters had bad traits that were played for comedy or just accepted as normal and fine. iirc suki managed to avoid this and encourage sokka to connect with femininity in ways that didn't make him feel humiliated, so that's why I voted for her. she may be mistreated, but possibly marginally less mischaracterized? maybe a weak reason, but I thought katara was going to win anyway and I didn't give it much thought

to be clear, I do not dislike katara at all. she's one of my favorites from the show and her work in ecoterrorism was inspiring. I think she's a wonderful, complex, well-meaning character whose heart is in the right place and who probably deserves to win that poll because I get the sense she is much more hated than suki, but her behavior towards other women and towards characters deviating from gender norms isn't...great. it's ironic, because she herself advocated against all those sexist old men for her right to be taught in the northern water tribe, but she mocks sokka for carrying a purse, she attacks toph for being unfeminine, and she tells sokka his behavior would improve if he kissed a girl. I mean, when I read the reasons for her being included, I thought she was definitely treated poorly and exaggerated, but it's not like her homophobia is coming out of nowhere. my memory is poor, so I'm linking gifs from the show itself. the post is half a joke, but the throughline is pretty consistent imo. and I don't think this makes her a horrible person, she's a 14 year old girl who grew up in a certain social setting and she reacts to it. as an adult she seems like the kind of person to do her best, but slip up once in a while and say something off-color.

it's also important to remember that katara is a fictional character written by two white men in the year 2005 for a certain audience. jokes mocking 'unmasculine' behavior in ways that lended themselves very easily to homophobia were much more popular then, and it doesn't surprise me that the show includes them. I like to think katara grew out of it too, but that's a headcanon, and something I don't take into account when critiquing the actual show. I'd love to see justice done for them in terms of their indigenous identity, sexuality, and gender expressions, but when it comes to analyzing the actual show, that's just not what i'm working off of

as I said, I'm not involved in the fandom. I don't like any ships from it. It sounds like the sexist fans make katara out to be much worse than she actually is, and I don't support or agree with them at all. but I'm also not interested in ignoring her flaws, because they're part of the story that's being told (and part of the out-of-universe historical context) and they inform her as a well-rounded, complicated person in a certan social setting, who has room to grow. I hope I've made myself understood and answered your question, as I genuinely didn't mean to imply I agreed with the misogynistic and racist fans who villainize her to support their m/m ships.

an important note: I haven't read any of the comics or any supplementary material. so if there's canon content relating to her that I'm missing, please understand I'm speaking only about the tv show

all this being said, I really do not want to speak any more about this series. if you follow me you probably know how I feel about it. love and light.

[house-vestra]

fe17 thoughts (part 1)

first round of engage thoughts... i just beat chapter 17 but this is mostly about the firene gang so probably only spoilers for the early game

probably the worst FE in terms of line writing; ppl rag on fates for bad writing but mainly for plot holes/concept but i didn’t mind fe14 on a line level. there have certainly been more times during engage where the actual lines characters were given felt very amateurish.

in terms of characterization, i feel this game is probably the weakest as well. the character gimmicks are fine to me (none feel very egregious at this point) but i think the characters are hurt by how short the supports are. i think these are the shortest supports in an FE game? generally i feel like in FE, supports generally each contain a full story beat so a support chain will consist of 3 separate encounters, usually with at 1 or 2 reversals in there, but fe17 supports sometimes take all 3 levels to cover just one story beat (i.e. the b support picks up directly where the c support conversation left off, rather than being a new conversation resulting from the characters getting to know each other better). that gives the impression the characterization is much shallower than in other FE games. but i’m not convinced it... needed to be this way? there are moments where i feel like some characters DO have other things going on for them other than the 1 gimmick/character trait from their c-support.. i’ll revisit this when i’ve unlocked more a-supports i guess

like many people, i was taken aback by Alear’s design but I’ve mostly come around to it. I played M!Alear because he has less hair to look at. ppl have criticized the divine dragon thing being an excuse for protagonist worship but I don’t mind it; the game plays with how being worshipped is actually something uncomfortable for Alear and there’s a minor recurring theme about the nature of worship in Elyos which is a little juicy

mixed feelings on framme/clanne (i always want to write framme/cramme lol). probably least fav christmas cavs, which is a feat when alan/lance exist. i actually do think the Divine Dragon Fan Club is very funny... but i don’t like either of their designs and i feel like.... they’re annoying??

alfred is a wannabe himbo and i love that for him. it’s an interesting choice to give him that personality but make him look like That. i liked most of his supports; he is very funny.

reserving judgment of celine until i’ve gotten her later supports. she does talk about tea a lot but i sense she does have more going on; i like that she’s more canny and mature than a lot of kind younger sister types. i feel like a lot of the character supports are padded by polite pleasantries but celine sometimes cuts through the niceties in a way that suggests there’s more going on with her?? i will return to this point after i get more supports. i do like her design; she is cute and her big poofy dress is funny.

chloe is pretty. i think her thing with eating weird foods is funny as well, but the writers (possibly localizers, could be in the original jp context as well) missed the mark with calling the food “folk food.” it would be one thing if what she was eating was actually established in lore to be what commoners or regional peasants eat as a fact of the world. we do have a lot of noble characters who could be aghast by that. but we also have characters from poorer backgrounds and nobody eats what chloe is shown to be eating, so it doesn’t feel like honest world building when chloe lectures other characters about the authenticity of weird regional delicacies

(but it could have been funny if chloe could only cook weird things that no one else likes in the cafe)

louis’s thing with watching ppl is a little uncomfy for me but i could change my mind at some point. i do like his green eyes when he opens them, and i like that they do have him open them at times; that endears the character to me. i like that he’s a pushy big brother to zelkov

limited thoughts on boucheron; i do like his reactions to alfred and etie harassing him and he makes a good straight man to them. “those are my abs” from the etie support was great. his model does make it abundantly clear that the shoulders on the adult male model are too broad, so that’s distracting.

i actually like most of the firene gang on their own... but as a group they are too nice lol and it makes most of the conversations/supports in the early game feel kind of bland and samey.

ESPECIALLY QUEEN EVE; i feel like her design is very regal, proud, and borderline-could-be-a-bitch but then she just is a normal nice lady, so i was disappointed.

as a side note, to all the people (on reddit) who keep saying they wrote etie to be a buff bodybuilder but didn’t draw her as one... they didn’t write her to be a buff bodybuilder. they wrote her to aspire to be a buff bodybuilder, but she struggles to put on muscle like alfred does, read the words on the screen, i beg of you.

thought jean would be a stronger unit but he’s... not that good for me; i feel like... qi adepts aren’t good???? i don’t mind that he and anna are children but i have seen some criticism of their ages.

anna is cute. i have the same criticism of her as i do with all post-fe12 anna’s, which is that fe12 anna is best anna. the money thing is more toned down in engage, which i appreciate. she is so little. i think she has good growths but i haven’t noticed her being that good because mine is flimsy as paper.

gameplay-wise, the emblems are really fun. this is a new level of unit customization for Fire Emblem. class changing/skills were serviceable before but they required grinding and some level of commitment to them, whereas i’ve been swapping emblems on and off characters very liberally so the way i play each unit changes between battles. that is very neat.

edelgard/dimi/claude is my favorite emblem; fallen star is very good, atrocity is strong but less useful, raging storm is mostly not useful due to the cost but i’ve used it once. tiki is good as well as she’s strong; i’ve not noticed her increased growths having that much effect but could be because i swap her on and off people.

for base game emblems, i think probably... micaiah  > lyn > sigurd > byleth > celica > eirika > corrin > ike > lucina > leif > marth > roy

i haven’t used leif and roy that much so they could be better than i recall.

unit-wise, i don’t think i’ve noticed many stand outs for me? everyone is roughly usable, and i’ve trained everyone but clanne and vander (i’m in desperate need of more master seals)

everyone is saying you need to promote at level 10. THERE’S NOT ENOUGH MASTER SEALS TO DO THAT. i promoted everyone at level 20 and i still have people sitting there waiting for master seals.

speaking of not having enough of a resource, i’m also very poor. i upgraded all countries to level 2 to get their regional clothes but the level 3 is TOO EXPENSIVE. i have a lot of gold skirmishes but they’re rough to do bc they’re pretty high level and if i use my high level guys, those guys will level up, and then the skirmish level will INCREASE MORE. this is... like a punishment for sisyphus

they buffed armors so much that mages are really indispensable. hammers and armorslayers... do not work lol

i appreciate that they gave us lots of shiny staves to use, and pretty early too. i have not used them.

i guess alear is my strongest unit??? they’re pretty dodgy but didnt stop marni from ONE SHOTTING ME.

i’ll do brodia gang next; i have lots of thoughts on them. i’m recording these for future me’s reference, but i’m happy to hear other people’s thoughts too!

[xilamoc]

So i just listened to "Come Back To You" and it hits differently if you look at it as a reflection of Bella's feelings, analysing the lines closely i noticed they actually foreshadow situations the characters are going to be in.

"Everyday is something different

But I try to work it out"

Even though you try to tell me

Yeah I'm still filled with doubt"

Given the context of the episode this was featured in i would assume this refers to bella trying to "work out" of her doubts regarding approaching Will everytime she sees him and maybe even refering to the idea of Bella being insecure about not fitting in with Cleo and Rikki, or even perhaps her "working out" being a mermaid, after all, the lyrics do say "everyday is something different" and it could be refering to all of these three, just one, just two, or neither.

"Although you think you know me

But I don't even know myself"

This is one of the more interest lines of the song as it implies that Bella actually doesn't have a sense of self and is lost in life, possibly as a result of moving around the world constantly and her being a mermaid, thus giving stronger basis for the line "everyday is something different but i try to work it out" to actually be (at the very least) referring to her mermaid-ism, this would make "even though you try to tell me, i'm still filled with doubt" about Rikki and Cleo telling her how being a Mermaid is cool but her not fully believing them, at the same time it can also be referring to Will thinking he knows all there is to know about her, while she doesn't even know all there is to know about herself.

"I'm gonna take you

I'm gonna show you

The way to figure it out"

Most likely referencing Bella being determined to find out who she is as a person, even though the "you" is directed at Will, we have to remember that Bella doesn't know who she is, thus, the lines are talking about her taking Will alongside her journey of self-discovery and showing him as well how to find himself, a foreshadowing to Will's arc this season

"Whatever you say now

It's gonna come back to you

Whatever you broke down

It's gonna come back to you"

This is Bella warning Will that all of the stuff he is saying now (or rather, the stuff he is NOT saying now) about training and pursuing competitive diving to Sophie will eventually come back in the form of commitment and pressure from Sophie's part.

"You'll never win this, you'll never beat this

You are gonna be shut down

It's gonna come back to you"

Possibly referring to Sophie not being able to push Will's boundaries at the end, and that all her actions throughout the season eventually catch up to her and as result Will distances himself from her.

"Every time you try to call me

Tell me what it's all about

Cause I don't believe you baby

Why are you gonna make me shout?"

This one refers to either the VARIOUS missundarstandings Bella and Will go through, or the fact that Bella at one point though Will didn't like her outside of her mermaid form, i'm inclined to believe the latter as her mermaid-ism is connected to Bella's identity crisis, which seems to be a consistent theme throughout the song

"You drive me wild and crazy

But I ain't giving nothing at all"

Heavily Hints at the idea of Bella having low-self worth .

The rest part of the song essentially can ve summed up in "Gonna come back to you" x60 so is not really worth analyzing.

It's interesting to note thag this song is probably the deepest dive we as an audience got into Bella's character, by the looks of it, Bella was a girl who wasn't actually that fond of being a mermaid, by the looks of it, she saw it as a burden more than anything, it also seems she didn't really knew who she was, but at the same time, was determined to find out the answer to that, her mermaid-ism was perhaps the only trait she ever perceived within herself, i say this based on the story cue of Will only seeing Bella as "Cool Mermaid Girl i can swim with" that with this brand new information, may explain why she tried to distance from him when thar happened, she was just discovering herself, and thought that Will saw more to her than a mermaid, but that wasn't the case, and it reinforced back again the idea that being a mermaid is all she ever was and all she'll ever be on her mind.

If this is true, it would make sense why Bella, is the one who says she has to go and destroy comet eva, with better writing, this could've come off as a powerful moment for Bella's character, with Bella embracing her mermaid self alongside her other traits throughout the course of the season, thus making Rikki's line "Let's do it together, as mermaids" hit even harder as it would've encapsulated her arc perfectly.

(Or maybe i am just reading too much into the song idtxktzkgzglst)

[wiremotherenergy]

i think kevin and veronica have a lot in common in terms of being addicted to relationships - in this way they are both pathologically searching for ways to feel opressed: in veronicas case the role of kevins (mostly imagined - except when enacted by other gay people) homophobic societal constraints is filled by Hiram. i could easily imagine a scene of veronica in fox forest yelling at betty that she doesnt understand her strife - Your dad never tried to recruit manipulate or murder any of YOUR boyfriends! The difference is though that while veronica suffers from chronic venus in cancer disease and can only feel self actualised and fulfilled by caring for and devoting herself to a boy (thats why her cognitive dissonance girlbossing is so fascinating. ask me about veggie), kevin is a coward and instead of searching for ways to fiercely defy the patriarchy through embracing the patriarchy he is searching for ways to become a young adult dystopian romance protagonist through manufacturing narrative conflict and tension to make sense of and give purpose to his otherwise boring existence (see also: cult member proclivities). his presumed but untouched on mommy issues may or may not play a role in this - there is no other possible justification for these levels of attention seeking behavior but momma keller is mentioned circa 3 times in the whole series so i kind of doubt this. he seems to have no conflict with his cop #ally dad and i bet that pisses him off SO MUCH. in contrast to poor veronica who is constantly given zero credit for her own craziness # noteverythingishiramsfault! how do i know veronicas existence is NOT defined and made absolute by her father? because thats why we have her amazing sexy sister hermosa - SHES here to show us what that actually looks like. (and still she is not the preferred child - aks me about hermosa). veronicas issue is that she wants to have it both ways (her character a never ending conundrum of feminism as the unstoppable force and being a daddys girl as the immovable object) while kevins issue is the same one i had when choosing a major - nobody actually wants or expects anything from me and i am free to do whatever i want and i hate it so i create my own mental saw traps in my head. i love his arc in s6 and his relationship with percival and the whole lord of the flies thing. not necessarily a 100% true observation but definitely the most narrative structure kevin has ever been allowed to have. him and betty work great as besties bc they are both victims of intense internalised homophobia and hate each other btw. why is kevin always in some random bland unimportant boring relationship with a nothing guy whos only personality trait is being gay (only half pertains to fangs - he does have other stuff going on but only ever one at a time and during his kangs era it is being kevins gay bf*). because kevin is choosing gayness to be his own only personality trait to trap himself and give his life meaning. only it consistently fails to provide the drama he thinks it should have (again - excluding that thing with mooses homophobic gay dad. i love that the only homophobic characters in riverdale are all - at least semi canonically - gay). veronica also consistently has near nothing in common with her boyfriends** but at least she is getting the returns that kevin is denied. maybe because she is a better businesswoman. ultimately she is the loser though because while someone in the writers room for s6 has probably said she should be freed from the boyfriend vs daddy dichotomy on account of that being kinda misoginystic and therefore hasnt had anything to do at all in the plot since - kevin will always have either an unremarkable boyfriend or a stupidity induced allegiance with a villain or both ( THANK YOU for this percival. please come back.)

[a2kphotographynz]

Searching for the best wedding photographers in Auckland?

A wedding is one of the most big-ticket occasions in one’s life and this makes true sense to make it as special as you can. From planning a theme-based wedding to having five-star catering, there are lots of ways available to make your wedding a grand one. But, when it comes to preserving those precious moments, hiring a wedding photographer seems the best choice. If you are looking for the best wedding photographers in Auckland, here are some traits of a good wedding photographer.

A photographer who goes the extra mile to capture the perfect image. I don't mean in the sense that they push people out of the way or disrupt the action to get their pictures, but rather that they don't stop five seconds short of getting the best picture, looking for the easiest or most practical solution instead, or hanging it up with a "that's good enough" attitude. That image will endure for at least the next 125 years. A few more seconds of work are worth getting it right the first time.

An ego with proper boundaries. Since artists have egos, many photographers are also artists. Actually, everyone has an ego, but artists tend to be particularly well known for having one. Ego has two sharp edges. On one side, it encourages the desire to succeed. It could encourage the photographer to surpass their previous best. That's fantastic. On the other side, when it is hurt, it might act out and turn into a spoilt prima donna. That's not very good. It may also exaggerate one's sense of importance. And that's not so wonderful at a wedding either.

A wedding is a live event, and even when things start on time, they never seem to finish on time. Thus, you need the best wedding photographers in Auckland who doesn't have a short fuse or lacks maturity. A mature character quality is a patience. Many of the qualities that define what we may call "professionalism" are also characteristics of a fully formed, mature character.

Recognises the significance of having you as a client. You are the photographer's client and are in his or her custody and protection. They are there to look after you during your time shooting photographs with them. They are there to offer knowledgeable advice on your photography choices. They are not there to try to sell you something. As if you were their younger sibling or brother, whatever they provide you must be in your best interests.

Relates to everyone and fits in. Nothing could be worse than hiring someone who is inconsiderate to your family, friends, or even the other wedding professionals you have on staff. Another character feature that also shows up as a desired professional trait is this one. The photographer should treat everyone they encounter during your wedding as important, regardless of who they are, and should be professional, respectful, and cordial to all.

The capacity to withstand blows, roll through punches, stand up, and carry on. It takes place live. Even the ritual, which may have been practised somewhat, isn't choreographed and practised frequently enough. There are so many potential events that could cause problems, delays, and barriers all day long. But since the objective at hand is to provide consistent outcomes under all circumstances, and the day doesn't stop for anyone, the day-to-day challenges that may arise must be overcome as soon as possible.