#progress made saying it was a waste of time (not talking about the storyline i'm actually referring to the mental aspect of the characters)

[once-in-a-blood-moon]

Something about the way people talk about Solomon's dismissal of his vulnerability rubs me the wrong way. (I don't have any specific examples, I'm just gonna hope you know what I'm talking about lol.)

I've never seen anything inherently mean, but I have seen comments that seemingly take offense to his "just kiddings" when he expresses his feelings, whether it's romantically or talking about past hardships... And I couldn't pinpoint what it was that confused me about the fandom's responses to that until now.

What Solomon is going through in moments like those is a trauma response. And yes, while trauma responses aren't always beneficial and can sometimes be hurtful to others or the person responding that way themselves, reacting with "negativity" to said responses just makes it worse.

Solomon has an avoidant attachment style, which means he struggles with opening up and being genuine in his feelings even if he wants to. I, myself, am the same way. More often than not, I also follow up a heavier topic with "I'm sorries" or "just kiddings." The thing about this, is it's not meant to be malicious. So, when I see people taking Solomon's comments as if it's a slight to them, I just...??

I can almost guarantee that if those comments where said to him right after he'd attempted to open up, even if it had good intentions, it'd probably make him want to close back up completely. Because there's no patience to his avoidance, no acceptance to why he behaves that way. There's just this perception of not being understood or that his feelings/thoughts aren't safe. It just feels like he's not allowed any grace.

[glisten-inthedark]

I don't know if I'm more chill about Byler endgame because I have the intel that people didn't have during volume 2 or what, but to any other ending that doesn't involve Byler becoming canon would just make the Duffer brothers the worst writers in the history of ever.

Because what do you mean you have a gay character that doesn't believe he'll get a happy ending only to prove that you know, he's right? How would that make any sense?!

I've said it before and I'll say how many times I have to: They could've made Will in love with literally anyone else. I don't know, some boy from Lenora, some other guy from Hawkings, hell, even Dustin was an option. But noooo, they instead chose to make him in love with his best friend.

They could've presented another male character with Argyle, instead they spent God knows how much money of their budget getting every Byler scene just right. Who would give this much dedication to a sinking ship? Like, they literally talked about how they had to wait during the day just so the lightning was just right during the van scene.

And also, the lighting during the cabin scene as well? Because that must have taken them ages to get it right. For the line to poor down only on Will, and that's not an artificial light, is literally the sun. So you're telling the Duffers were going to waste precious time getting these scenes just right but you know what? They don't mean anything at all, forget about it.

And to further drive the point home, the storyline makes no actual sense from a logical standpoint. Remove Byler. Let's all pretend we don't ship for one second.

Why in the world would they make Will in love with Mike of all people? He could've been gay without having to be that in love with someone. I know I'm repeating myself but I have to because I don't think you guys understand how senseless this plot is if they're not going to do anything about it.

And I mean senseless in the sense that it literally has no use to the plot (that we know of which is why I made that post about how Will's love will be fundamental to the story).

And not only that, not having Mike go with El to the Nina project thingy literally stalled their progression which is a huge deal. I know some people don't like that Byler was removed from the supernatural plot, but I for one think it was a necessary evil to allow Will to explore his feelings and for Mike to miss him.

And to honest, even if the writers are the most douchebags to ever douchebag, it still wouldn't explain the amount of care they took in every Byler scene. It wouldn't explain how whenever we are in Mike's POV, is like he literally sees Will like this shinning beacon of light.

Because if they wanted a quick cash grab on the expense of the queer community, I can assure you there are easier ways of doing it. I remember when I was at the Sterek fandom and J*ff Davis was an ass about the ship during interviews. I remember how Tyl*r P*sey made terrible comments all the while they were clearly using the shippers in the series. And yeah, while I do agree Teen Wolf wasn't necessarily queerbait because there were actual queer couples, it still left a bitter taste on my mouth.

The way they built this, they didn't give themselves an easy way out. It would be one thing if Will was gay but not in love with Mike, it's a completely different thing for him to love Mike so deeply that he's willing to sacrifice his own happiness for him.

The writers made him to me irrevocably in love with Mike. (You don't make her (him) feel like a mistake at all), El (Will) needs you and she (him) always Will. These aren't the words of someone that has a crush or whose feelings are fleeting, these are the words of someone who would rip his heart out just so that the man he loves can be happy.

These aren't the words of someone that can be just be: yeah, I moving on from this. Mike is Will's heart.

So sure, Will needs to discover self acceptance and self love. He needs to recognize that he can be happy and deserves to have happiness, but if that was the entire point all along, he literally could have figured that without having to be in love with his best friend whom he believes will never love him back.

If the sole point of his arc was: Needs to learn how to accept himself for who he is, there are other - less cruel - ways of going about.

Because at the end of the day, making Will to be this deeply in love with Mike only to be rejected is just that: pointless and cruel.

And again. Pointless.

The GA already believes that to be the case, the Mil*evns too, Will also believes that. So why would it be a conflict at all if it was actually the case?

Why would they make a slowburn reaction? Will already thinks he was rejected, that's the thing. He already thinks it's hopeless.

So why would they use the painting? Why would they frame everything as a love triangle? Why not get this shit over already?

Why pair them together with the already canon couples?

At this point I'm just rambling and repeating myself. I'm gonna sleep, but I hope I was coherent enough.

You guys are welcomed to chime in, I love to hear your thoughts on that because I feel like I wrote all of this before but I'll say however many times I have to.

[sahaias]

Soy Luna Season 2 Episodes 31-52 Thoughts

Okay, it took me forever to progress through these episodes because I am a workaholic who was playing Mass Effect or talking to friends during my only free hours lol. Most of these thoughts are about the last few episodes because those are the ones I watched recently

Juliana annoys me, but it seems after the competition, they are going back on her character to make her less overtly rude and demeaning and more just strict and wanting the best for people. She kinda reminds me of my boss who made me cry on his second day on our team by yelling at me, but now I'm the most competent person he has and the most trusted one. I miss Tamara (and I kind of had a crush on her lol, Pedro was so valid for that lmao)

Thank god the stupid twins storyline is over, it was such a waste of time and ruined Pedro and Nico's friendship.

Luna x Matteo is giving me the ick, and it's because Matteo looks like someone who's old enough to have graduated college while Luna looks like an actual high schooler. Despite being around the same age as Karol, Tini didn't look that young while playing Violetta. It probably has to do with her being taller, having a less high-pitched voice, and a more angular face. That and Jorge doesn't give me weird vibes like Ruggero does

I still stand by Ramiro's overconfident attitude trying to compensate for his insecurity being a more interesting and better quality for the "cocky leading man" role than the way Matteo is written. He's pathetic you could say, but in a charming and likable way, which makes you root for him. I cannot say I find Matteo likable at all

Gaston and Nina not communicating and having their relationship suffer because of that is realistic but hard to see

Yam and especially Jim give out so many positive vibes these season, it makes me happy whenever they have lines lol

It's funny that the show wants us to root for Matteo in general when Simon is the one encouraging Luna to support Matteo more while he's jealous. He also has way more people supporting him during the competition with the only ones supporting Matteo outside of Luna being Gaston and Ramiro.

The biggest example of Matteo sucking though is he's salty both Simon and him won and is visibly annoyed by this news, while Simon is just ecstatic that he gets the opportunity at all

The Simbar sparks are forming, and I can already see why people love them

Xavi is not someone I really care about or like, but I do appreciate the end of his story being that he understands Nina isn't into him and not getting remotely mad. It's a positive example, and something I think more shows could stand to depict.

Luna being concerned about Simon getting hurt when getting close to Ambar gives more romantic energy than anything between Matteo and Luna lmao

[mischas]

i think you’ve talked abt this on the blog before but the js decision that sethmer was the “light/fun” couple and ryissa was the “dark/angsty” couple genuinely aided in the destruction of the show. the balance was so much better in s1 - there’s a sweetness to ryissa that’s never replicated again (for obvious bts reasons ofc, but the writing didn’t help either) and the push and pull of sethmer feels rlly natural instead of how contrived it becomes in late s2 and with the college arc. having the comic book storyline happen alongside the trey storyline is laughable and is probably when the show starting jumping the shark when it comes to relationships. there was so much depth to sethmer that got wasted and of course josh & stephanie’s only storyline ideas for marissa were just ways to punish mischa.

It absolutely did. It's ridiculous and shoots them all in the foot early. The shifts in s2 were massively impacted by irl stuff though so bts dynamics and writing were going hand in hand. I reckon they were going hand in hand all the way back in s1 too and we just didn't totally know about that until recently. At least I didn't. Not as much, at least. The bts stuff also comes from JS' preference for Rachel and SS as his self-insert relationship that only grows as s1 progresses. It just does, and that we've known for a long time. I think there was some old late s1 press saying the writers were partial to SS and were never gonna make them unlikeable. And it's just like... ok then. First off, being likeable has nothing to do with emotional resonance and grounded storytelling. There's a reason Adam says their stuff should've been stretched for entire seasons to really make things impactful and tell a worthwhile story. And I think he says it in the nicest way possible, but he's basically saying they never made it meaningful enough. Or at least beyond s1 they didn't.

Seth's 127 departure is so impactful on 201 and that iconic scene at the end of 202 but then it's mentioned like... one more time in 214? Summer spends s2 mad at him but flirting with him in the same breath. And that's fun but like... give us something meatier. We later learn in 310 that Summer's mother abandoned her. Let's dig into that!! And how Seth leaving and coming back expecting a reunion was incredibly fucked up! But they just do not go there ever in a real way and it's too bad. Seth has done fuck all to deserve Summer's forgiveness/love in 214 but he gets it anyway. And his obsessing over her sex life is not cute!!!!

I'm sure I've written entire books worth of content about RM needing more lightness. Their s1 balance being what it is just makes me more sus of bts influence. Marissa's dealing with SA/death/violence/depression/substance abuse this whole time and they can never spread that wealth around to ensure everyone's got some good drama going on. It's essentially that Squidward window meme from s2 on, lol.

[welcometogrouchland]

sorry if I'm bothering you but I FINALLY FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO PREFERS FTF BUT PURELY BECAUSE OF OUR LOVE FOR WILLOW (we're the only ones right about her) like yeah, it's DEFINITELY not a perfect episode but IT'S ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. and I LOVE TTT TOO BECAUSE OF LUZ but tbh I didn't like being in the fandom when TTT came out because THERE WAS SO MUCH STUFF ABOUT HUNTER, TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE THOUGHT HE SHOULD BE THE MC AND NOT LUZ??? I love my boy but I felt overwhelmed at all of this so him not getting too much in FTF was fine for me :)

Firstly, I'd like to say YES!! FOR THE FUTURE SOLOS!!! LITERALLY SOME OF THE BEST CHARACTER WORK, ART DIRECTION, SOUNDTRACK, BOARDING, HUMOUR AND HORROR IN THE WHOLE SHOW!!!

Secondly I'd like to say that this is SUCH a can of worms that I've held back on talking about for A While™. Tbh it kinda feels like u read my mind I was literally thinking about this this morning.

(BIG ASS RAMBLE UNDER THE CUT. I AM NOT JOKING THIS POST IS SO LONG IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY)

Both episodes are really fucking good, both on their own merit and when you take into account the circumstances under which they were made. I do not want to labour this point. I hate pitting two bad bitches against each other.

I AM however interested in investigating why, when two episodes are of similar quality, but with different priorities and focuses and (for lack of a better word) Vibe™ does the fandom demonstrably prefer one over the other?

Thanks to Them is BIG on plot. It's big on "establish what the kids have been doing, introduce Lore and Mystery, do the possession, fight the bad guy, get back to the demon realm, bada bing bada boom!!". I don't think it's nearly as relentlessly paced as some people think, and I think there are definitely emotional moments to be gleaned out of characters who AREN'T Luz, Hunter or Camilla- but overall it's similar to the most plot focused episodes of season 2. Your knock knock knocking on hootys doors and your hollow minds.

But for the future is a lot more concerned with character. Everyone gets some small moment to shine, though you're correct in saying that the focus is mostly on Luz, Willow and then probably the collector. But Camilla, Gus, Amity, Hunter, King, Eda and Lilith all get more emotional depth in a few lines than like. Willow did in half of thanks to them. even Belos gets more screentime this ep than he did in thanks to them, screentime that's much more illuminating (do love the moments he had in thanks to them but they weren't huge character moments really, just him villain-ing it up).

Less plot stuff happens, if you count the main goal as "get into the titans skull" then that's only introduced about a quarter of the way through the episode, whereas "get back to the human realm" is established as the goal of thanks to them in like. Negative screentime lmao. You basically know it's the goal coming in because you've watched king's tide already. For the future isn't like this!

And I GET IT MAN! checking in on the YouTube progress bar at the 3/4 of the way through elicited pure fear in me! But I feel like the fandoms fear of plots going unresolved and questions going unanswered has created this. Like. Attitude that the episodes need to be completely spartan or they're wasting time.

Like, with bringing back Boscha and Kikimora. Some people consider that a waste of time because they weren't Big Bads in seasons prior, meaning they should be low priority and don't belong here. And ppl are entitled to feel that way!

But I don't think you can call them wasted! Or irrelevant! I think the writers put a lot of work into making their storyline fit with the themes of the show! I have an essay I may never finish in drafts about this but- one of the most popular aspects of seasons 1 and 2 was the whole corrupt government storyline, which reached it's climax in king's tide but still had no resolution, same way hexside had no resolution from what happened after labyrinth runners. The writers combined these storylines by showing how hexside wasn't going to become a mini dictatorship like the isles old system (hence the title of the episode, changing things for the better "for the future"). That's efficient storytelling! Combining two plots into one in order to resolve both at the same time!

But people don't take this as an example of efficiency because it's not Lore or Plot based. And I think that's a real shame.

Both episodes have pacing and balance issues but I don't think one is especially egregious compared to the other? Nor do they have more pacing and balance issues than say, Clouds on the Horizon, which I'd say is one of MY least favouritely paced episodes of the show. Maybe thanks to them just had more novelty factor because of the setting (not to mention it probably benefitted from having one less subplot to juggle, but eh)

And about the fandom response after each episode....yeah. yeah.

I love Hunter. He's my baby. My scrimblo bimblo. He is like my twin brother. Literally. For reasons I cannot begin to explain here, hunter the owl house is like my twin brother.

And in all fairness to the fandom, plenty of people are normal about him. I know this because I've curated my experience to entirely be the people who are normal about him.

But the people who are not normal about him...my god.

Tbh I think this issue of focus actually lands on why I prefer for the future to thanks to them (THOUGH AGAIN. THEY BOTH SLAY)

The ending of thanks to them was so abrupt and emotionally charged that it felt like a betrayal, almost. The show went so hard and so fast that afterwards there was no breathing room and I didn't fully trust the show to be able to pull back afterwards. I thought either Hunter is going to eat up more and more screentime next episode by having to deal with the implications of every that happened five minutes from the episodes end, or they are literally never going to touch on him again. The ending of thanks to them was SO MUCH in so little time that I literally could not fathom a middle road.

Whereas the ending of for the future was a lot more. Aha, eureka! Moment to me. Like "OHH so that's what we're dealing with next episode!!! Nice". There was excitement and yeah, fear that things wouldn't land, but overall there was more trust in me. And of course, they did find a lovely medium between it being the Hunter show and addressing his trauma adequately. His arc was very emotional and satisfying this ep, without the borderline hard-to-enjoy turmoil that the ending of thanks to them put me through lol.

But I think, to some people, the sheer angst of thanks to thems ending was more emotionally rewarding than the well paced stability and slight ominousness of for the future. They felt that episodes end was too "mid". Too soft. The end of the show needs to go all out all the time, so this episode that focused more on emotional arcs and early season callbacks and payoffs is weak.

And to be honest, maybe my analysis here isn't as in-depth or as in-touch with fandom complaints as it could be! I've generally avoided the people harshly criticizing for the future because I like it when fandom is fun. I don't like watching one of my favorite episodes to date get dunked on. But that in and of itself (combined with the leak situation) has led to an inability to really Go All Out with fandom engagement rn. It's a struggle!

I've seen people describe for the future as en episode where Everything happened, and yet nothing happened. I get why! I personally prefer it to thanks to them because I feel like too much happened during that episodes climax to the point where it didn't even feel like the episode had true resolution.

But also, I get that for a lot of people, it's not even about construction. It's just about expectation and preference. People weren't expecting hexside, and when they got it, they got upset. People weren't expecting Willow, and when they got it, they didn't like it. And I get that. Really I do.

But this show is so fuckin wild. It does so much and throws so many curve balls at you. Never the big twists either, always the shit u don't expect. And it's great. I've honestly grown really fond of the way this show pokes me in the ass with something I didn't really expect or consider.

Not everybody is though and like. That's fine. But I do wish sometimes people would just. Kinda. Let it go when something goes in a direction they didn't expect. Because I didn't expect the direction FTF went in at all and I loved it once I stopped to think about it. But that's just me.

I think this is only like. 25% a direct response to things you said in the ask, so to conclude by answering/engaging with your ask point by point:

Willow stans and For the Future stans unite. This is our nation. Also shout-out to the fellow willow understanders I am mutuals with/follow you guys were really keeping us going in the pre for the future times

It's not a perfect episode but circumstances considering, it never could've been, and I'm okay with most of the ways it falls short. I'm also fully willing to hold out and see whether or not watching and dreaming rectifies any of my complaints, considering several of the issues I took with thanks to them were solved this ep, lol

Luz and Camilla literally stole the show in thanks to them and while I understand that the ending of that ep was very hunter centric, hence the hunter centric fandom atmosphere afterwards, I do prefer the environment in fandom rn that's appreciating this mother daughter duo rn

Hunter is not a main character imo. Not because he couldn't be but because his story is rendered infinitely more interesting when he is a supporting character. It's one thing to tell us that Hunter lives for other people and is made to forever be a second- best underling. It's another thing to show us this with his narrative role as the ultimate foil. He Is Better Off This Way. Also this point is dumb but I fully believe Hunter would be miserable as a main character. He does not want this

Also Luz is genuinely one of my favorite main characters in television. Maybe ever. If I start talking about her we'll be here all day. Just look at literally anything sepublic has written about her it's all on point

For the future had the perfect amount of Hunter content tbh. No episode should have more or less. I'm banging my gavel like a judge decreeing this to be so

[muffinmonstah-art]

Lately I’ve gotten back on the Jaybabs ship thanks to things like the 3 Jokers comic storyline as well as Gotham Knights and man am I itching for some Gotham Knights-verse Jaybabs content. I’m most likely in the minority when I say that I like Jason’s design in this game because it makes him more distinguished when put next to the other Robin characters, and stuff like the character cutscenes where they interact are just so wholesome to me along with the voice lines and emails where they discuss stuff like therapy. In fact, the first times (In a row) I had a random player join my game was when I was playing as Red Hood and the player came in as Batgirl (coincidence, I think not). So now I’m wondering if you’re going to do some Jaybabs art or fanfics based in Gotham Knights?

Yes, I think you're really in the minority when it comes to liking Gotham Knights lmao

That game is a mess, bro. There's fanservice for us the Batfam fandom to like, sure, but the game is terrible. The characterizations for the characters are weak as fuck. Jason is the worst of them all.

To be fair I think Jason's design is the least of the problems regarding the elements in the game. It kinda growed on me too. The main problem is that the combat in the game is trash and they really did Jason dirty in that regard. He is the slowest and his mystical powers are not properly justified nor explored in the narrative. He also doesn't have an arc.

These devs talked too much on interviews about how their Jason went to therapy and shit before the events of the game, but his actions and dialogues in-game are contradictory with that exposition info. He behaves like the loner agressive Robin that resents working on a team and there is a tension with Dick at the beginning of the game that doesn't go anywhere after that. He also talks like his death was recent?? If he died so recently then when in the hell he had time to go to therapy?? Also if he went to therapy before the game then his friendly behaviour in the later cinematics doesn't feel earned nor like a natural progression, because his mind was already "fixed" off-screen.

I don't know, there's too much exposition refering off-screen previous history to set up these characters and that's a major flaw in my opinion. Their relationships with each other are not properly fleshed out. They rely too much on exposition and there is not enough progression in the few cutscenes each of they have, not even to learn more about who each of these characters are. Jason and Barbara don't even have too much interaction to begin with. They don't even talk about what both of them went through with the Joker. I don't understand how can you write interactions between these characters and miss THAT.

The only dynamic that feels like there was some actual effort put in to flesh it out is Jason & Dick. It's not much but at least they have the most number of interactions in cutscenes and there is some variation between the emotion they show to each other. They could have made the game about only Jason and Dick by that regard.

And I'm not even talking about the 30 fps issue, the lame RPG elements, the dumb Knighthood system where you have to unlock each hero's unique traversal by completing boring dumb challenges, the generic and boring open world, the lack of a conter-system to flesh out the basic combat, the bland use of the side villains, the waste of the Court of Owls as a main threat, the conflicting tones while trying to mix the horror and mystery with the goofy moments like the livin' la vida loca cover during the infiltration on the Blackgate prison, etc.

Gotham Knights as a whole is a very dissapointing game for me. This isn't the game I wanted, to begin with. I wanted a game made by Rocksteady and set in the Arkhamverse, after the events of Arkham Knight starring the Batfam of THAT universe. Instead we got this mediocre reboot of Arkham made by the support B Studio.

I think Warner Bross shouldn't allow any other studio than Rocksteady to carry on the Batman mythos and the making of Batman games. The Arkham franchise is fantastic. They nailed the characterizations, the dialogues, the designs, the voice acting, the humor perfectly mixed with the dark and gritty themes, the graphics that to this day look amazing, the combat!

Have you ever heard the audio logs from Arkham Knight's Jason? The exchange between that Jason and Barbara have more emotional impact than all GK's cutscenes in my opinion.

[despair-to-future-arcs]

I had a feeling we were close to the ending of episde 11, but damn, things really went by fast here!

I think this has got to be one of my favorite episodes so far, a good chunk of it was setup for what's coming next; The DR2's cast new identities, the reveal of their teacher is, the first steps of the SDRA2 storyline, which has gotten me really excited for the upcoming episodes on top if what i was already looking for which were the briefcase missions.

I do believe the main element of this episode is the conclusion of the shelter plotline which i think was done pretty well and even took me by surprise in some of the ways the story progressed, i previously mentioned how much i love seeing Hitaru's role in this, so allow me to focus on talking about some other characters that caught my eye in that place. While Jataro confronting his father was definitely a highlight and marks another step towards his redemption, as he has fully realized his mother was also a victim in the situation and regrets killing her, i have to say i enjoyed Kotoko's part in the climax a bit more than his as seeing Kota talk about her was a wake-up call to the fact that she's, unfortunately, also abused people in a similar manner that he did. It makes me think about the cycle of abuse and how people who were abused but never recived any proper help to deal with the trauma or escape the situation can end up becoming abusers just like those who hurt them, and getting that reality check is what makes Kotoko realize she was essentially trying to steal Jatato moment here when she really didn't had the right to do that.

While it was minor to me in the liking scale, i enjoyed seeing Mio and how she's starting to warm up to the WOH and even the Remnants of despair a little, I'm also intrigued by what's going on with Sanae's family's as i have a hunch that Minoru may have been the one to set off the fire that killed the rest of the Suzuki's, but so far I can't accuse him of that when he's mainly just been an asshole. Another thing i really enjoyed this episode, and one that caught me by surprise, was the inclusion of the Temnants of despair in its resolution as i really didn't expect them to have a part in this but it served to show Juzo and Munakata first hand how they have been changing and that Nagi's plan isn't just a complete waste of time. It's like when you're forced to do something for a school project that you don't like and wouldn't have done it otherwise but end up finding out you're pretty good at it, it's the kind of sudden action that they needed to actually give her plan a shot, now the Remnants will finally get some more care around the Jabberwock facility and Makoto will finally be out of house arrest! A win for everyone!

On the fangame side of things, I'm really enjoying seeing your take on the events leading up to SDRA2 and how you've been characterizing its many mastermind. Syobai acts just as you'd expect him to but the fact that he invaded the foundation and injured one of its members makes me really curious as to why Tsurugi would go and hire his services later down the line. The idea that Kokoro was going to extract Mikako's brain for further research and that's what made her husband finally take action and leave with the child is absolutely heart wrenching and so absurdly in character for her, she is the one canonically said to have done that to Yuki and she really doesn't care for her daughter so really, what was stopping her from seeing that as the next most logical step in an already unethical experiment? Still on her I've been really enjoying her interactions with Ai Mikado as they show us how those two really aren't that different from one another and i hope to see more of that, i also hope we'll get one last look at the NGH before shit hits the fan.

Unfortunately, the setup for the Utsuroshima killing game is also where my main criticism for the arc comes from, as i think you made a mistake by having the remainder of the voids meet Kokoro before the killing game begins. That may have seen like the logical thing that happened, but we are never told that every pawn in Mikado's plan knew of each other and i feel like them knowing Kokoro beforehand opens up a pretty significant plothole in the first chapter of the game because wouldn't the voids question or at least find it incredibly suspicious that Mikado deleted her memories and transformed her back into a teen during the killing game? From their perspective, this is all just an act and none of them would actually die by the executions, so there isn't a logical reason for Mikado to do that to her, in fact, from the void's perspective this may even appear as a counterproductive move of his part because now that Kokoro doesn't remember that she's on their side she will likely use her intelligence agaisnt them, which brings the question on how someone like Nikei didn't start suspecting that Mikado would betray them from that point alone and not just after the first trial.

I also found it the decision to turn Yuki into a severed head and not just a brain strange, but take that with a grain of salt because i have a feeling this is one piece of a bigger thing, one of which if i am right about i shall keep my mouth shut to not spoil the surprise for the rest of the audience

But overall, great episode that's made me really excited for what will come next

-Critic anon

//Well thank you very much for reading this and again, thank you for the comments I got as it's a joy to read!

//Honestly, writing the shelter storyline was so fun and brings attention to one of the WoH member that I feel does get ignore a bit but also shows the damage the WoH had done since I think the idea of the shelter was; 'So what would happen if they discover the people are residents of Towa City that survive/were able to get away but they weren't masked by the WoH or killed by Haiji's group but the person saving them is pretty shitty themselves?'

//It's a situation that no one wants to be in but it's not like the other choices are better and I feel Kota is the type of character that was this reality check for Kotoko and given that her story is coming up next and indeed; I think Kotoko's case is the cycle of abuse and how it's really hard to break out of while also not getting help with your trauma but also I think it is proof that Junko never care about them except Monaca because if she did, I imagine things would be different with Jataro's mom and Kota would of been killed instead. Funny thing was that the RoD was like a bit of a last minute decision there but I think it was a good one since I think the idea here was to prove that they can change to Future Foundation, after all - actions speak louder then words and despite what happen with Nagito, everything work out and hey, at least Makoto can finally get out of his room and help with the investigation.

//Ah Kokoro, a shame how she turn out and how I feel her younger self would of been disgusted by her but again, I do think she's rather interesting and a very depressing case of being a product of her time as I got quite a bit more to do with her but I think what I got plan for her is going to be quite the ride. In regards to all of Void meeting Kokoro, well... there is going to be a reason why they met Kokoro before the killing game and things will come together, just give it a bit of time as things are only starting up so wait and see.

//As for Yuki, there is some plans for why he's just a head in a jar, but again things are gonna come to fruition.

[doomedship]

Episode 6

***Full disclaimer, I haven't watched it yet and don't know if I'll bother tbh.***

I have read what happened and... yeah. If you've been reading my thoughts lately I guess it follows that last night was basically in line with what I've been bitching about. This is exactly what I mean.

The last five episodes have not contained Chenford progress. It's really just been low quality, time-wasting messing around that I can't see the point of. These aren't sophisticated plot obstacles keeping a Chenford storyline from happening. They're literally just pointless manufactured devices that the writers keep on ramming in over and over as reset points because for whatever reason, they don't want to play their Chenford hand.

I mean at this point it's not a slow burn, it's a game of snakes and ladders where there are no ladders and all the snakes lead back to square one.

I'd even include episode 1 in that now, because they have demonstrated so completely that it had no impact whatsoever. It was a pure moment of fan service which didn't matter. And so this entire season has ultimately been backwards momentum.

I don't think they could have made it any clearer that Chenford are about as close to having a romantic interest in one another as they were two seasons ago when they also made a bet and Tim also started dating someone else.

Yes dating other people is often part of slow burn ships. No it doesn't mean this is a well written one. This is just insulting to the audience, because who is out there saying what they really want to see on a Sunday night is Tim with yet another random, bland side character who'll probably disappear without trace whilst sharing 20 seconds on-screen with Lucy?

This season, Chenford barely talk and never see one another outside work, and the show doesn't seem to have any meaningful plot to fall back on.

We are stuck in season 2 but way worse. Now we don't even have deep work moments like we used to. Now they are artificially distant with unnecessary obstacles and a constant physical separation on-screen.

And yeah, okay, they could flip it around in a couple of episodes and suddenly produce a Chenford romance out of nowhere. It's possible. But that is a poor man's alternative to the story we deserved and it doesn't make this current weak storytelling suddenly acceptable.

This is not progress. This is a deterioration of the ship to the point where I'm wondering if it's worth it, because actually, it's just boring, unimaginative TV.

[tundrainafrica]

So, it took months for me to finally let go of my anger & disappointment towards Yams for writing ch132. But then recently I found this tweet https://twitter.com/helmn9R/status/1315427848467947520?s=19 and suddenly it all came back to me. Nevermind the backstory, her character development is alr strong enough w/o it. But she had so MANY unresolved story with Eren, Flegel, most importantly, herself (read the tweet for more explanation). What a waste of character for her death being so pointless that it didn't give any improvement to the plot at all, neither to any other characters development. We all know, Armin would still be Armin in recent chapter with or without her death. So WHAT'S THE POINT ACTUALLY? ;-; I'm sorry for ranting:(

Okay, I really agree with you here. There are times I find myself realizing that I will never be completely satisfied with Hange’s death. Yams can pull off the most mind blowing ending to AOT and I will still have this hole in my heart left by her  death. And I’ll be writing Levihan fanfiction and metas for an incredibly long time because Hange is really an underappreciated character in this fandom and Yams just gave her the most beautiful yet most unsatisfying and unnecessary death. 

That is… if you look at it in the grand scheme of things. 

I feel like if we meta Hange’s personality a bit and follow the story from Hange’s POV and put her character as a focus we could actually paint the story as a good tragedy for her character and somehow we could put meaning into her death. 

Although Hange had started off a little wide eyed and naive, we can all agree that Erwin, Moblit and the death of the whole survey corps did a number on her psyche. Even before she could completely process their death, Hange was placed in one of the highest and most important positions in the government and suddenly she has to deal with the opening up of Paradis, diplomacy issues and the rapid progression of technology. 

As the commander of the survey corps which brought all these hopes and possibilities in, which also brought the threat of a war from an external force in, Hange had responsibilities much larger than Erwin ever had. I think given the fact that she started her position in such an inopportune time, and she got placed into a position so unfamiliar even for her, she would be incredibly uncertain. I mean who could have been prepared for what lay outside the walls really? Hange may have been a genius but her experiences were limited to the simple life that lay within the walls. I think her being dropped into that type of position from a medieval setting to a 1940s world war 2 setting would be a lot even for a genius like her to handle. 

And that uncertainty and the stress of just everything changing and having to take the reins would have eventually lead to some self esteem issues on her end. And mind you, even before they opened up paradis, Hange had self esteem issues with becoming the commander. One hint of this is in the scene in season 3 where Levi and Hange had a meeting with the reporters and Hange was still reeling from her sudden rise to power and suddenly, Levi (who usually never talks) had to be the one to face the reporters because Hange, (for the first time) had nothing much to say. 

And what if she never really completely recovered from that?

Imagine what happened after with everyone just coming in, technology rapidly progressing and Hange having to quickly adjust her plans and her way of thinking with the endless developments she has to address. And here’s another thing which can completely trample Hange’s self esteem. She is the leader of the country stuck in the medieval ages. She is literally the least up to speed among all the other diplomats and representatives of other countries and a war is brewing and she had to deal with that too. 

And things just take a turn for a worse when they attack Liberio and when Eren, the person who she believed to be the hope of humanity, the young boy she had somehow raised herself decides to betray them.  I mean they will have their scenes in season 4 when she references their conversations and how he used to listen to her until dawn years ago. Dam that scene where Eren grabs her by the collar of her shirt is just so dam heartbreaking.

Then all the soldiers under Hange, who she was tasked to lead suddenly turn against her. And before she knows it the rumbling starts and the world is about to be completely destroyed. 

Of course Hange would manage to twist it to her own fault. If we look at everything at face value and think ‘who the hell was in charge? How the hell did this happen to the survey corps? Who was supposed to look out for Eren?’ Anyone would blame the person with direct responsibility over that. The one who was supposed to be leading the survey corps and the development of Paradis, Hange. 

So it is not too outrageous to think Hange would have blamed herself for everything there and her shitty self esteem is obviously feeding into that too.

 I mean she never had the confidence to begin with. She never had the time to adjust to her new position and she could easily rationalize every loss to her own ‘lack of capability’ as a commander. 

And what does Hange decide to do with the weight of all those mistakes on her back. She decides to scramble for a way to atone for them in whatever way she can. She wanted to sacrifice herself. She wanted to give her life for them. 

In the grand scheme of things, yes her death was pointless but when I watched the build up of her psyche and the battering of her character, I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t a horrible way to go out. 

It was unnecessary. It was pointless and it was unsatisfying. 

But god, the build up and just the analysis of her storyline all the way to that point made it so depressing. Made it so heart wrenching to analyze the desperation which had pushed her to the point of thinking…

“I’m useless. I’m stupid. I’m careless. It’s every bad decision I made that pushed Eren to betray us. For two separate factions of the survey corps to be created. Erwin would have done a better job.” 

And the cumulation of those thoughts and the trampling of every bit of her self esteem probably led her to think. I may be commander but I’d probably be the most useless one on the field. I’ll try to be as useful as I can, even if I die in the end. 

And that’s why when they were desperately looking for a way out, Hange obviously volunteers herself. After all she’s been through, after seeing her psyche and self esteem break one by one, I don’t think Hange would have been the type to volunteer anyone else. Her guilt and her self loathing wouldn’t have allowed her too. She probably genuinely believed Armin and Jean would have done a better job leading than she could, I mean she’s probably still reeling from the fact that she couldn’t keep the survey corps in one piece as their commander and she was probably thinking “Erwin would have kept it in one piece” 

So I think somehow there was build up to her death character wise and the build up was beautifully tragic. 

I wouldn’t say it was a masterpiece though because honestly Yams, could have just have avoided a situation with Hange dying. But I can’t help but think, Yams has been giving pretty sad ends to a lot of his characters and AOT has been pretty dark and a lot of deaths turned out to have been pointless anyway. 

I mean how many people have died for Eren only for him to turn into the asshole of the century? 

Hange died selflessly, she died for what she believed was right and at her last moment, she couldn’t send anyone else to die in her stead and I think this very much aligns with her character. 

Really, I probably would have lost a lot of respect for Hange if she left Connie behind instead or something. The only other person I think I would have found reasonable seeing there sacrificing their life would have been Levi. Hange and Levi would not have let anyone else go. It’s just not in their character. The 140 cadets are all their babies after all.

Thanks for asking this though. Really interesting question.

I actually wrote a fic recently analyzing Hange’s psyche towards the end of the story which I’m linking here for anyone who’s interested. 

[fillingthescrapbook]

Jupiter's Legacy: To Err is Human, to Bore is a Superpower

Spoiler Alert: I will be getting into a very detailed rant on why I think this is a well-written but ultimately bad show, so if you plan on watching it and don't want to be spoiled, scroll away now. Thanks!

Having seen the entirety of Jupiter's Legacy, I would say this series consists of three different shows fighting for time: the good (the story set in the past, where the first superheroes get their powers), the bad (anything that happens in the present, especially the finale), and the boring (all the stuff that's in between). And that battle for focus spoils the great moments that the show does have.

The biggest problem I have with the show, to be perfectly honest, was that it likes to repeat itself. Scenes from one episode pops up in another through flashback, or through a different perspective, or through echoes. And while it's sometimes a great narrative device, it isn't utilized well in Jupiter's Legacy because of one thing: there's no clear main character in the show to anchor that narrative device to.

Josh Duhamel's "The Utopian" might be front and center in the promos and publicity photos, but his character is more a nuisance and a plot device than anything else. Sure, he's central to the moral conflict of the show--but he's not the one at the crossroads. He's an immovable object that causes the dilemma; he's neither the solution, nor the character who needs to make a choice.

Of all the other characters, the only two that has actual progression are Lady Liberty (Leslie Bibb) and Brainwave (Ben Daniels). Lady Liberty, in the past, is a woman who chases after the truth. In the present, she becomes subservient to the Utopian. And during the show, she (very) slowly regains her agency to think for herself.

Brainwave is presented as a sympathetic character you're supposed to root for. But certain acting and directing choices made throughout the series clearly paints him as a budding antagonist. A much bigger antagonist, it turns out, by the finale episode. But at least his character had a trajectory.

Brandon (Andrew Horton) had more potential in that he was the most affected by the show's thesis of how can good ultimately be effective when it lets evil survive; his character is the one who starts the conflict that propels the show forward. Unfortunately, the show completely forgets about him by Episode 3. By the time the show deigns him important again, in Episode 7, he's had an off-screen epiphany that he needs to follow his father's example. Only for the finale to take that development back again.

Which leads me to another problem I have with Jupiter's Legacy; the story-telling choices it made are... not great. While I stand by my initial statement that the show is well-written (except for the seventh episode), it feels like the episodes are written with no thought of what came before or what comes after.

Like, going back to Brandon's character; the first episode forced him to make a choice: kill the bad guy or let his family die. He chose to kill the bad guy. It's a decision that puts his father, the Utopian, in a bad light because he was the one who made the rule that heroes aren't supposed to kill. Episode 2 is supposed to deal with this fallout, but instead Brandon is sent to a farm while the main story focuses on the Utopian trying to reconnect with his other child: Chloe. A storyline that doesn't even get picked up again in the remaining episodes.

Episode 2 ends with funerals. The parallelism between how the funeral in the past ignites the story forward, while the funeral in the present signals the beginning of an ending is great. The moment Brandon has trying to reach out to the surviving family of one of the dead heroes is spot on. But neither timelines have any impact to the viewers because the characters are seemingly pushed by plot instead of by their traits, leaving the episode like a computer-generated piece of art: beautiful but emotionless.

And instead of continuing Brandon's journey and his relationship with his family, Episode 3 focuses instead on a new character: a petty thief with a super-powered crew. Hutch (Ian Quinlan) is a charismatic enough antihero, but he has no card to play in the game yet. The episode writer weaves in Hutch's story well with flashbacks of who George (Matt Lanter) was; so well that when it's revealed that Hutch is George's son, it doesn't feel out of the blue. Unfortunately, neither Hutch's story nor George's moves the story of the first two episodes forward. Instead, the episode feels unnecessary. Like the two episodes that follow it.

Things only get moving again in Episode 6, the episode that follows Lady Liberty in the past and present. She gets a great scene with new hero Ghost Beam (Kara Royster) who needlessly dies because she upholds the Utopian's code--but the whole episode only feels necessary because we've wasted so much time on non-essential character-building that the show needed to remind the viewers of what the show's main premise was. And by this time, the show has already lost all its momentum, and outside of Lady Liberty and Brainwave, no other characters has developed enough to make us want to root for the good guys to win.

This is Episode 6. The season only has eight episodes. Why did the show waste so much time?

Meanwhile the story being told in the flashbacks are being allowed room to breathe. Too much room, to be perfectly honest. While I get that they allow for great parallels in the individual episode, the actual decision to make them play out throughout the season instead of grounding them to just one episode feels like it was made for style rather than substance.

I mean, I know that Matt Lanter is a charming actor who needs to be in all the episodes--but how about writing him a better character that appears both in the past and present? Instead of just prolonging his screen time by stretching the flashbacks so much they felt like they had their own show?

And don't even get me started on the way they treated their characters of color. What was the point of diversifying your cast if you were just going to shortchange them anyway? Fitz (Mike Wade) had a great characterization in the flashbacks, but he just existed in the present timeline. His daughter Petra (Tenika Davis) would've been a great foil--and maybe love interest--for Brandon, but she too was underutilized. Anna Akana's Raikou was wasted, and the end they gave for her character was bordering on criminal. And I could go on and on, but I wouldn't. Because I'm tired and I already spent way too much energy on this show.

Steven Deknight did such a great job when he was the showrunner for Daredevil's first season on Netflix. I don't understand how he went from that to this: a show that talks a lot but says nothing. Beautiful but emotionless.

[once-upon-a-ouat]

I'm super curious, OQ & Rumbelle?

Did you absolutely have to ask about Outlaw Queen? Okay, I will try not to bitch and just lay out my thoughts when it comes to just the writing.

OQ started out really cute and adorable and I was honestly rooting for them in 3B, although, in hindsight, it was all very rushed. They had to have them in a relationship in exactly 6 episodes (9 if you count the flashbacks) and I get it that they were pressed by time constraints if they wanted to do the whole Marian thing, but that’s the thing - they didn’t have to! The moment they brought her back, I knew the ship was absolutely fucked. Further proven in 4x03 with Robin’s behavior (that scene where he kisses Marian just annoys me so much but I promised not to bitch). Both Regina and Robin were in the wrong in 4x08 and I may give Regina a pass for that, considering everything she’s been through, but not Robin. Not to mention that he wasn’t even a little happy when Marian was woken up (nobody bring up Zelena into this because back at the time that episode was written even the writers hadn’t known it was Zelena (and that is very apparent but I need to stop)). The whole Zelena and her pregnancy thing was absolutely outrageous, it wasn’t handled at all and it basically didn’t go anywhere for Robin’s character or for his relationship with Regina (since we didn’t even see them discuss how to deal with it) and what was the fucking point of it, really? Don’t get me wrong, Robin Jr is a real delight, I love her so much and Zelena made a lot of progress since she became a mother, but just... what were they thinking when they wrote that? They clearly weren’t thinking at all.

Season 5 was supposed to have Robin as a major character, yet, he was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t do absolutely anything except for almost get killed and then get killed, so why did they even bring him back from New York? Should’ve left him there with real Marian and brought Zelena back some other way tbh. There was zero character development for him, he barely had any time, his relationships with ANYONE else weren’t further developed and then they just fucking murdered him to move along Regina’s storyline and because he was fucking useless. His character potential was absolutely and painfully wasted as he was used as a prop for Regina and Zelena and their relationship, and I am getting really angry over here. For what it’s worth, I did enjoy OQ in 3B, they were really cute and I had my hopes up, but their relationship was completely ruined by some of the worst writing I’ve seen on the show. This is probably in my top 3 major pet peeves with OUAT’s writing as a whole. They just wasted so much screen time and potential there and that left me kind of repulsed with the canon reality of OQ. I can only enjoy this ship in fics nowadays tbh. Fanfic writers seem to have a better grasp on what is the proper way to develop that particular relationship and how to handle the trials Robin and Regina had to face. (I tried to contain the angry but I don’t think I really succeeded there so sorry for that. I did my best but this just gets me every time.)

I already talked about Rumbelle a bit here, but I will throw in some more thoughts.

I feel like I need to finish my rewatch of the series in order to reach a final conclusion as to how I feel about Rumbelle. I did like them a lot as well as I had some major issues with them. Aside from the writing in seasons 5 and 6 which I was really not a fan of, I am still not sure how I feel about the relationship itself and what its very existence entails.

To elaborate on that, Belle has claimed many times that she accepts Rumple’s darkness but would like him to be a better man which is understandable. However, I am not completely convinced of this since she didn’t just want him to not be evil and murder people or ruin their lives. She pretty much wanted him to be a hero which was in Rumple’s abilities but at the same time it wasn’t really... See, this is what I mean when I say I need to rewatch all of the relationship development because little moments that represented the nuances I am looking at are most certainly escaping me and I can’t really make up my mind. What I’m getting at is that I don’t think Belle should’ve accepted the fact that he kills people and be okay with it. I’m very far from that thought. But she wanted him to change his ways completely which Rumple had the potential for but not really the desire and motivation tbh. Also, how much can you change before you’re a completely different person? And isn’t love falling for the person as they are? So basically what I want to say here is that Belle always saw the man behind the beast and she loved him, but what about the beast? She said in 5B that she accepted that part of Rumple as well but did she really? I am not completely convinced about that. And again, I don’t think she should’ve been okay with all the evil deeds he’d done and kept doing. And I’m not even sure what balance they could’ve reached there (not ruin everyone’s lives but still make deals that might be unfavorable to the other person? Only make deals that benefit both parties without strings attached? I don’t really know, that’s the thing!).

Not to mention Rumple’s million fuck ups, all about the same thing. You’d think that after centuries of making the same mistakes, he would’ve learned but nope, nope, he didn’t. Honestly, turning him back into a Dark One in the end of 5A was such a stupid ass decision on the writers’ part. They were finally past that, why did they have to bring it back? After all the hard work and heartbreak we went back to ground zero because the writers couldn’t figure out another conflict for the Rumbelle ship. They were just reusing the same problems that Rumbelle had faced a zillion times in the past and, honestly? I really wish I hadn’t been here for it. It was just painfully stupid and stupidly painful to watch when they had other options for conflict (Rumple was abandoned by both parents and ended up abandoning his son. With a new child on the way, why not make that the central conflict of his arc? And have Belle struggling with the fact that they are trapped in Storybrooke while she’s always wanted to see the world? And Rumple being unable to do anything about that since he’s not the Dark One anymore and them having to work through those thoughts? Just a few suggestions, you know?)

Anyway, this got more negative than I wanted it to be. I don’t hate Rumbelle, I actually like it a lot, but I would’ve cheered for different writing choices tbh. Let’s just leave this off here before I can add more negativity to this.

[oetravia]

When do you see the Drake criticizm? I read a few tumblr blogs and some posts on facebook groups and I don't think I have seen any. I'm suprised, he is so in love and such a good man, why there a criticizm? Also, what do you think about their plot as a couple this season? And about how much there is about her son?

Hello!

You are spending your time in all the right places, Anon! Stick to those! (but to answer your question; mainly twitter, and some parts of tumblr, too). 

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, of course, so no offense meant to those who dislike Drake. None at all, it’s just a bit tiresome. Especially those who big up characters like Lady Whitworth and George and their treatment of Drake; which in turn supports a lot of their treatment of Morwenna (given almost all the animosity towards Drake in the show comes from his attachment to Morwenna, and his kinship with Ross rather than towards Drake as an actual person).

I think most of the criticism comes from how prolonged the Drake & Morwenna storyline became in late S3/4. It seemed like the showrunners had no idea what to do with Drake but have him pining away for Morwenna/the loss of their relationship. Which as a viewer can get very tiring. Even as someone who considers Drake & Morwenna amongst my all time favourite fictional couples, I can see the criticism. Especially since they didn’t use any additional Drake content from the books - where, yes, he pines, but he does actually have a life outside of pining! 

However, in S5 I think the way people still refer to him is harsh and unfair. For me S5!Drake is a good man, genuinely in love with his wife, trying to make the best out of a difficult situation, and figure out how to support and love a wife who cannot tolerate even the slightest touch from her husband. He doesn’t always do the right thing, and how can we expect him to (given we’re talking about a time when things like PTSD weren’t known about)? 

I’ve also seen people accuse him of trying to pressure Morwenna into having a child. I personally never saw it as pressure. He immediately backed away from the suggestion when he saw it made Morwenna uncomfortable, and ensured she knew that he was more than happy with the way their life was. Surely it’s better for him to communicate how he is feeling than to bottle it away? That’s not healthy for him or for their relationship. 

I also strongly believe, and please don’t think that I am trying to diminish Morwenna’s trauma in any way, that’s absolutely not that case, that she does sometimes need a gentle reminder from Drake that she’s not broken beyond repair. That what Osborne did to her was utterly horrific, but he is dead, and Morwenna survived. She sees herself as irrevocably broken, and I think without Drake around to remind her that she is damaged, yes, but not broken, she would have just allowed herself to waste away, genuinely believing herself to be sick, and tainted by Osborne’s treatment of her. She needs that reminder of the person she was before Osborne, and that part of that person is still there inside her.

How do I feel about their story lines in S5? For the most part I have been enjoying them. I love that Drake’s been allowed to make mistakes, and that they have continued to openly and honestly discuss their problems and feelings. It’s been lovely seeing them progress and develop as a married partnership (my only wish is that we’d get to see them back at the holy well at least once before the show ends). 

I haven’t hated the John Conan plot as much as I thought I might. I didn’t like that they acted as though Morwenna’s main block to being able to be physically intimate with Drake was connected to having to leave her son behind rather than Osborne’s abuse, but aside from that, I think it’s been well handled. I do think some mentions of John Conan were made necessary by the fundamental changes made to Morwenna’s attitude to him generally. Perhaps not the whole kidnapping thing (stop making Drake out to be a total idiot; having a good heart, and kind nature isn’t the same as not being able to understand that actions have consequences - he has a heart of gold not a brain of cotton). But Morwenna actually loving/caring for John Conan rather than the general apathy her book counterpart felt for Osborne’s son would’ve made her simply forgetting him incredibly unrealistic.

I also have some issues with the fact that simply saying goodbye to John Conan appears to have broken through whatever mental block Morwenna had when it came to physical intimacy, and that it meant that her and Drake have gone straight from hugs and hand holding being a major accomplishment for them, to sex without even a kiss between. I feel like tonight’s arc could’ve ended with a kiss building up to full intimacy in 5x06 instead. 

Sorry for a very long winded, messy answer!

[characterpromptgenerator]

I'm trying to revise my first book for the first time and I have no idea what I'm doing. Do you know if you can help me on this?

Of course! Revision is a big task, and it can be really hard to know where to even start. So here is a basic outline/order for revision, advice that was given to me by a very talented editor.

Step One: Take a step back

This may sound strange, but after finishing a complete draft, the best thing you can do is put the manuscript on the shelf for a while so you can look at it with fresh eyes. A few weeks is usually sufficient.

Step Two: Do a structural/narrative revision

At this stage, you’ll read the whole thing through and do a general, structural revision. At this point, don’t worry about making it sound good. Ignore all spelling mistakes, bad grammar, awkward sentences, and poorly written dialogue. What you should pay attention to is the overall structure and effectiveness of the novel. Here are some examples of things to look out for:

Are there characters who just take up space? Who are extra baggage and get in the way? Is there a character role that isn’t being filled?

What subplots are there? Are there any subplots you started and then abandoned halfway through that never got any closure? Is there potential for another subplot that you didn't think of your first time through?

Can you identify the major arcs/storylines throughout the book? Do they progress naturally and resolve in a satisfying way? Can you spice up any arcs?

Do the relationships progress naturally? Does the romance?

Are your characters consistent from beginning to end? Does it make sense for them to have made the decisions they made?

Does the plot make sense? Is the sequence good? How is the overall pacing? Are there action-heavy sections that are followed by long, empty sections during which not much happens?

Is your setting and culture coming through?

There are many other types of structural things to look for - these are just a few examples. However, it’s important to solidify the structure BEFORE spending time editing and perfecting scenes, because you may end up having to completely rewrite certain aspects, depending on what you have and what’s missing. Try to refrain from making small line edits, as it is important to have a large-scale mindset. If you keep changing the wording of sentences because you just can't help it, you'll be pulling your focus to the detail level and won't be able to focus as well on the larger scope of things.

Step Three: Scene level

This level is also all about structure but on a smaller scale: scenes. Again, don’t worry too much about writing style, poorly constructed sentences, or voice. Go scene by scene and think about each one as its own individual entity. These are the types of things to look for in this level:

Does the scene flow naturally? Is there a different structure or sequence you could use to make it stronger?

Are the characters consistent throughout the scene? Do they do anything out of character or weird?

Does the scene have adequate sense of place? What sort of details can you add in and where? Don’t worry about trying to craft a beautiful paragraph of description. Even an insert that says [describe street dancers here] is sufficient at this stage.

What important characters WOULD be there, and ARE they there? Are you keeping track of all the characters? Do any characters who are present in the scene get forgotten and disappear for a while?

What background characters/random passersby should be present and have you mentioned them (e.g., other commuters in a busy train station)?

How else can you fill it in? Does the scene get straight to the point or does it get there through a progression of natural actions and conversation?

Step Four: Writing level

This is the level where you actually worry about fixing up the writing itself. Pick out awkward sentences, weak descriptions, decide which adverbs to keep and which to kill, think about colorful language and imagery, make sure the characters’ dialogue is consistent, see if the voice you’re going for is coming through, and find ways to make your writing sparkle.

In my experience, this is the level that people usually think about when they talk about revising - editing typos and making the writing stronger. However, this is best saved as the last step, because by this point, you should have a solid draft with a strong, properly developed plot, and you won’t be moving, deleting, or adding any more scenes. If you do this step earlier, you may waste time perfecting a scene that you end up cutting.

Beta readers

Beta readers are also an important part of revising. However, it’s good to have different beta readers at the different steps who all have unique purposes. Make sure to tell them beforehand what you would like them to look for so that they have a specific purpose while reading. For example, if you have a friend or colleague who is exceptionally good at developmental edits, you would want them to read the novel around step two so that they can help you with the broad, large-scale edits. If you know someone who’s good at line editing, it would be good for them to read after you’ve finished the writing level stage. Even non-writers, such as friends or family, can be great at giving you general reactions. What parts made you cry? laugh? angry? bored? Have them mark their reactions directly in the draft they read.

Choosing who you want to be your beta readers and at which stages is an important decision, as feedback from others is priceless. Beta readers offer new perspectives on things that we often wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Writing Groups

If possible, I highly recommend writing groups. Like beta readers, these open your eyes to the perspectives of others and also give you a chance to read and critique others’ work. As you do that, your skills in reading critically and revising will get stronger, and you’ll be able to apply these skills into your own work.

I hope this is helpful to you in your revision! Good luck!

[ragnarssons]

You watch a show where a literal 12-year-old is raped by a much, much older man (Daenyries is 13 in the book, but you get the idea) and it's romanticised as a healthy relationship, but you're gonna object to a 12-year-old (Madi) shooting/killing someone? Grow up, it's badass. I'm guessing you had a fairly easy childhood based off of the both of those facts.

LMFAO. Okay, again a very brave “anon” sending assumptions about people they know nothing about. Yeah you can talk about bravery or badassery.First, it’s Daenerys* like, it’s not that hard to spell.Anyway. I watch GoT and I watch The 100, so idk why you’re arguing about “you watch that one sooo!” because I watch both. But just because I watch these show, doesn’t mean I condone every storyline happening on said shows. Guess what *shrugs* I also watched Shireen getting burnt alive by her own father! Again, doesn’t mean I like the storyline, just because I watch the show. The differences are:- GoT happens in a medieval settings, and I know people don’t like this argument, but there are some realistic elements to these storylines were very young girls are treated as women - expected to grow up fast - and are mistreated - raped and all. I knew what I was going into when I started watching GoT. - all these storylines are presented as BAD: Shireen is Stannis’ ultimate crime, Daenerys is on the verge of suicide because of Khal Drogo, and just because she’s learnt to adapt to survive, doesn’t mean it makes all the aspects of the relationship good or acceptable, nor does it wash over the fact that she was raped on their wedding night (on the show at least). - Emilia Clarke, despite playing a 15 yo on the show, was much older and tbh it helps making it easier to stomach. Lola is like 15 years old. The thing is, on The 100, it’s EXPECTED of the audience to cheer on that kid killing people. It’d be like GoT expecting us to cheer on Shireen getting murdered or Daenerys getting raped: it doesn’t! Seeing a child’s innocence getting butchered by life isn’t something I want to cheer to: whether it’s because that child is forced to become a killer, or is raped, or whatever else. I don’t need to “grow up” to find that badass: actually, anon, YOU should grow up and learn to cherrish the times of innocence in your life. I bet you’re some kind of “edgy teenager” thinking you know everything about life because you think a 12 yo holding a gun and shooting adults to survive is “badass”. Again, you’re bringing GoT into this: WEIRD, I had actually argued against GoT doing the same thing! As I said, I also don’t like Arya’s s4 storyline, BECAUSE the show is like “look at how badass she iiiis!!! Slowly killing a maaaan, BADASS!!!!” when NO I don’t think it is. On the show’s canon, at that point, Arya is like… 12 years old? Again, watching a 12 yo coldly murdering people and having no regard for human life is a NO to me. And guess what anon? You don’t get to tell people to “grow up” over anything they feel. You don’t get to make assumptions about people you know nothing about, just over tv shows and because you want to defend some shit writing that wants you to blindly be like “BLUUUUUUGH BADAAAAAAAS!!!” over kids killing people. Thing is, we literally have The 100 itself portraying the “duty” of killing other people, as a horrible thing happening to children: Lxa being forced into the “love is weakness” mentality and Luna having to FLEE her conclave in order to stay sane. So the show trying to make it all “badass” now because it’s Madi, NO THANK YOU. Madi was still forced into that position while there were 100 other possibilities of avoiding war WITHOUT putting a child on the front line, and forcing a piece of metal brainwashing her, into her skull! There are ACTUAL ADULTS who SHOULD take the responsability of leadership and not put it on children’s shoulders. That’s something that has made me progressively hate all the adult characters on this show: fuck Kane, Abby and Jaha, all cowards, letting kids to the dirty work for them. And fuck the Grounders for building their “culture” on the massacre of children and the idea of childhood. We know there are other options, from Madi’s family itself! Madi’s parents who hid her and protected her against this stupid culture! All for what? For the show to be like “?? what? It’s BADASS!” Uh, no.The show wanting us to be like “wow how crazy Clarke is for wanting to protect her child from a duty that got her ex-girlfriend MURDERED and that could ruin her entire childhood- not to mention, put her life in danger??” is just stupid. I’ll NEVER be okay with a bunch of adults, dropping responsability on a 12 years old, rather than DOING THINGS themselves. Like, actually being adults, and doing the hard choices themselves- something Clarke did last season- for her child’s sake, and if anything, I can at least admire her for that. The best stories are the ones where human emotions aren’t thrown into a void of inhumanity for the sake of “badass storytelling”. To me, THE BEST tv show and hero, by far, are ATLA and Aang. So many people call him selfish for wanting to hold on to “his values” while there’s a war. But it’s actually the bravest thing to do. Not being eaten and destroyed by war or conflict or people trying to destroy you. Aang’s journey (and I’d say, probably the Elric’s brothers journey, from FMAB) is top-notch because they show you how it’s possible to do good, badass, world-changing things WITHOUT getting corrupted by the world, or war. Everything hard in life shapes you, but it doesn’t have to destroy you or change you. It’s also what is so strong about Harry Potter, and what makes The Hunger Games so tragic. I can’t believe we live in a world today, where people would rather see children butchering other human beings, rather than children learning the value of life, or the value of everything that is good about their childhood. I can’t believe we live in a world where people can watch Aang’s journey and call it boring, or call him selfish, for wanting to remain what he feels like is himself with values that make him a human being, able to live with himself, despite war and everything horrible that’s happened to him. I can’t believe we live in a world so disensitized to violence and destruction (whether it’s in fiction or irl), to the point of being okay when it reaches children. I can’t believe we live in a world where fiction puts guns/swords in kids’ hands, has them murdering people, and viewers/readers are just like “!!!! this badass 9 years old butchering people!!!” (in Arya’s case) or “!!!!!! badass 12 years old madi who was once thinking about berries for her hair but loves to kill people now!!! bad-ass!!!!”. You’re allowed to be critical of the works of fiction you consume, you know that, right? You’re allowed to think “hey… that’s not right!” when an author or a director portrays something on screen, you know that, right? I know actual REAL nine years old. Would I ever want them to become like Arya, like Carl? I know 12 years old, would I ever want them to see become like Madi? NO. And even if it’s “just fiction” portraying these children doing these things, I’ll still say it’s WRONG to do so. I mean, yeah it’s easier to just want some badass fighting sequences, it’s easier to want to go the easy way where it’s bing bang boom!, everyone dies and there are badass explosions! It’s not what I want/like when I consume fiction. It’s not the characters I want to cheer for when I watch something. And guess what, shit-anon? I know that precisely because I had a tough childhood. A childhood where I wasn’t allowed to be a child because I had to “grow up” - as you say it so nicely - faster than any other of my friends because I had to deal with stuff. But HEYYY you know everything, right, anon?? Because you are out there, shaming people for not cheering for a child taking people’s lives on a tv show. Good for you, you’ve managed to make me waste like 10 minutes of my time answering to you, now go back crawling to your “anonymous” corner and go harrass someone else- or maybe, idk, if you think children being enrolled in wars is “badass”, go in some foreign countries and go cheer for these kids who are constantly thrown in the middle of conflicts they have nothing to do with? I mean? It’s “badass”, right, childhood being butchered by war and death? Yeh. So badass.