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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 296: Ngl, This One Pissed Me Off

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all, “p.s. I actually activated yet another quirk several chapters ago when Kacchan got stabbed.” Compress was all, “[gets captured and passes out].” Spinner was all “[rifles through Tomura’s pockets and slaps a random Charbroiled Hand onto his friend’s unconscious face].” Tomura was all, “SOMEHOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKED” and woke up again, except it wasn’t really him, it was everyone’s favorite Final Villain, AFO. AFO was all, “time to escape finally” and summoned a bunch of Noumu and Absconded with Spinner and the DabiMarble in tow. Skeptic was all, “Horikoshi forgot I existed, but I’m actually Absconding in marble-form as well.” Deku was all, “ATTENTION WORLD, I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT I OFFICIALLY WANT TO SAVE SHIGARAKI TOMURA.” And then the arc just sort of ended lol.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all, “but when you think about it, do we really need literally any female teachers at U.A. at all?” and for whatever reason doesn’t stop to wait for an answer. Midnight, who absolutely did not need to die, Dies, and I’m pissed about it. Ochako wanders the ruins of Jakku for what feels like hours, rescuing small children while her adult hero compatriots fall to pieces around her, because apparently the U.A. kids really are the only people who have their shit together. The citizens of Japan are all “damn that’s wild, wonder how fucked we are now,” but are actually super casual and chill about it which is oddly realistic. The chapter ends with AFO in Tartarus being all “lol time for the prison break arc,” without giving us so much as a chance to catch our breath, like holy shit. Are we on the clock or something now, goddamn.

lmao it’s like 7pm on a Sunday night and this is out already. this is like the worst possible timing lol. there goes my nice, relaxed evening. unless of course this turns out to be a nice, restful, soothing chapter, as chapters coming on the heels of traumatic, earth-shattering battles so often are. yeah, break out the Pina Colada song and the little drink umbrellas, I got a good feeling about this one

(ETA: I mean, I was obviously being sarcastic here but damn, Horikoshi.)

-- fff why did I laugh

it’s the crumbling city ruins in the background that really does it, I think. JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS THAT YOU HAVE MADE, EVERYONE. FOR SHAME

also, the title is dramatic af and I am so fucking excited you guys, like holy shit. BnHA’s In-Between arcs have always been my favorite part of the series, because it’s when all the character development and angst and/or catharsis happens. just, those little breathing spaces in between the action when everyone gathers to recuperate and compartmentalize their fresh new traumas lmao. bring on that angst!! but also, let’s please have some Comfort to offset all of this Hurt too, please and thanks

blah blah blah so the survivors were evacuated, good good, can you actually show us though?

AHHHHHHH

PIXIE BOB SURVIVED!!!! WASH IS STILL ALIVE LMAO HOW. THIRTEEN’S FACE, OMG SHOULD I LOOK AWAY. IS IT LIKE MANDALORIAN RULES. IDK HOW IT WORKS

HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY ALIVE. LOLS ANYWAY I’M HERE FOR IT. FEEL FREE NOT TO KILL ANYONE ELSE HERE HORIKOSHI, I THINK WE’RE GOOD

(ETA: it’s like talking to a brick wall.)

oh my god do we really need exposition about how the heroes tried to stop TomurAFO from escaping and OF COURSE failed completely because they suck lmao. oh my god I am shocked, that is such shocking news

wow they only managed to defeat three of the Noumus. holy shit. again, all of the Not-Kid Heroes are only slightly more useful than cardboard cutouts of heroes at this point, MORE AT ELEVEN

so Tomura may have lost the PLF, but he still more or less has an army then, huh. I really don’t know how anyone could expect a timeskip with that threat looming over everyone’s heads

oh nvm lol there are only seven Noumus left. wait so you’re telling me there were only ten Nearly High Ends in that last chapter?? felt more like fifty but whatever lol I’ll take your word for it

COMPRESS YAY YOU’RE ALIVE TOO

MAYBE THEY CAN EVEN REATTACH HIS ASS. I’M SERIOUS LOL, BECAUSE HE STILL HAS IT, DOESN’T HE? OR IF NOT, THEY CAN REBUILD HIM WITH A PROSTHETIC ASS. he’ll be more powerful than ever

WHAAAAAAT YEAH BOIIIII

WOOO, EDGESHOT, WOOOOO. THAT’S HIS WAY OF THE NINJA

YEAHHHHH SUCK IT, PLF

(ETA: for the record I don’t think Cementoss is dead here, just badly wounded. if he had died he would have been included in the forthcoming In Memoriam page along with the others.)

GET BENT LOL. TRUMPET I FOR REAL FORGOT YOU EVEN EXISTED. I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU LOSERS AGAIN PLEASE. ONLY INTERESTING CHARACTERS MAY PROCEED PAST THIS POINT

dsflksaldkh;l

that’s... holy shit. that’s a bigass mansion, that’s what that is. also so does this mean there are still eighty thousand PLF members still at large, because that’s a plot line I very much do not care about in any way whatsoever lol. can’t we just retcon to say that Re-Destro was exaggerating? I mean hell, a CEO criminal pulling some Enron-type bullshit is pretty believable, isn’t it? those poor bamboozled shareholders

“makeste, here’s an idea, what if you scrolled down to read the rest of the page” lol gtfo of here with your logic and your sense

well those 132 people have made it onto my enemies list, but at least it sounds like they more or less took care of the rest. good riddance

and Toga escaped, as we knew already, and is now on the lam. hopefully she reunites with the League again at some point. although her doing her own thing could also be very interesting. idk what I want lol

anyway so there’s another big panel showing how fucked up the city is, just in case it hadn’t already been hammered into our skulls yet. there’s a car dangling off a roof somehow. how does that even happen. did Machia pick it up and put it there or

NOOO OMG RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN IN PERIL WHAT IS THIS

OCHAKO PLEASE SAVE THEM OMG

“if it falls on me, I want you to have my Endeavor pouch” OH MY STARS. HIS MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION. NO MY CHILD YOU CAN’T GIVE UP HOPE YET

LMAO

“FOR THE LAST TIME NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR DUSTY-ASS POUCH, KYLE” fffff these children are dying and I am cracking up so hard my eyes are tearing up what is wrong with me

YAY THEY SAVED THEM

but listen. not that I don’t love seeing the girls kick ass, because you know I do. but I also really, REALLY need to know what’s going down with the Musketeers, and I’m not looking forward to waiting three whole weeks for that so please Horikoshi. please hurry this along so we can get to them

goddamn it Tsuyu is saying she’ll take the boy to the shelter to get first aid, and I was all “okay great because that’s probably where Kacchan and the others are too”, but now someone else is shouting for help and Ochako’s all “I’ll go” and it’s like OKAY BUT PLEASE? this chapter is already more than half over omfg. ‘bout to start wringing some hands here

oh my god

is this Toga again??? WHAT THE HELL, THIS CREEPYASS HALF-DEAD DUDE BETTER BE LEADING UP TO SOMETHING INTERESTING, I AM REALLY GETTING IMPATIENT

OR, I GUESS, WE COULD DO THIS INSTEAD

“SO AS IT TURNS OUT, NOT EVERY CHARACTER WHO NEEDS HELP SAVING THEIR SPOUSE FROM FALLEN RUBBLE IS ACTUALLY TOGA IN DISGUISE” HUH, OKAY. DULY NOTED. FILED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

but fucking... okay, look. I love Ochako, I do. but I like her a whole lot more when she’s interacting with other characters I actually care about, as opposed to running around in the rubble rescuing random people while the fate of my other children is still up in the air. like okay, I get it, shit’s bad, now if you don’t mind we really don’t have to spend all day here though

...anyways but nope, we’re still staying with her. she’s bouncing around rescuing all of these other people. omg. I literally have no patience here at all and it’s terrible, I know, but oh my god

omg finally something interesting is happening!!

look at that, an adult hero standing around being useless while the kids are busy getting shit done. why is this becoming a recurring theme

MY DUDE, THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE TIME THOUGH

I GET THAT IT’S OVERWHELMING AND THAT YOU’RE TRAUMATIZED AND SHIT, BUT GUESS WHAT, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE. THAT’S WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR. JUST LOOK AT OCHAKO! SHE’S SO EXHAUSTED HER HAIR HAS EVEN LOST ITS FLOOF, AND YET SHE’S STILL OUT HERE DOING HER BEST. ONE SAVE AT A TIME MY MAN. GET IT DONE. LITERALLY A SMALL CHILD IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CALLING FOR THEIR MOMMY AND YOU’RE JUST STANDING THERE ALL “WAHH IT’S TOO MUCH” LIKE COULD YOU PLEASE POSTPONE YOUR CRISIS UNTIL AFTER YOU SAVE THEM PLEASE

OH MY GOD

MAYBE YOU SHOULD!! oh my god I really cannot, like wow. oh no I actually have to save people and do my job, god forbid. jesus christ, at least the other heroes tried. but Moping Hero: Bellyache here is just throwing in the towel and fuck everyone who still needs his help I guess. you are like the anti-Deku my dude

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD NO OH FUCK

THAT’S MIDNIGHT’S HAND OH FU -- SHE BETTER NOT -- HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD --

I’M GONNA LOSE IT I REALLY AM!!!!

HOLY SHIT HOW INTENSE OF A RAGE DO I NEED TO BRACE MYSELF TO BE FEELING HERE. THIS CHAPTER WAS ALREADY TRENDING TOWARDS DISAPPOINTMENT, DO WE REALLY NEED TO GO AND COMPOUND THAT

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

you’re telling me Tomura wasn’t brought back by that electric shock, but by his “fuck you” attitude? why are you explaining this to us now, again??

......

HEY, SO UM, FUCK ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS, THOUGH. (: OH MAN. OHHHHHH MAN. I HAVE... I HAVE GOT A LOT OF WORDS FOR THIS AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM

FUCK

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO “SOME BULLSHIT”: THIS

FUCK

GET FUCKED HORIKOSHI

AND ALSO PLEASE FUCK RIGHT OFF!!

AND SERIOUSLY THOUGH FUCK YOU

NO BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THOUGH!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED OFF ANYONE. LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER. YOU HAD TWELVE FEMALE PROS. TWELVE. YOU COULD HAVE MADE MORE OF THEM. PROBABLY, IF THERE ACTUALLY WERE SUPERHEROES IN REAL LIFE, THERE WOULD BE MORE THAN TWELVE OF THEM IN AN ENTIRE NATION. BUT NO, YOU WERE ALL “TWELVE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.” AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TIME TO KILL PEOPLE OFF, YOU WERE ALL “WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, LET’S SEE, I PICK... THESE 18 RANDOM SIDE CHARACTERS WITH LITTLE TO NO DIALOGUE, PLUS THE ONE SINGLE FEMALE U.A. STAFF MEMBER WE ACTUALLY HAD. YEAH THAT OUGHTA DO IT”

AND BY THE WAY, HORIKOSHI, I PICKED SOMETHING UP FOR YOU ON MY WAY HOME, HERE IT IS, ┌П┐(・＿・) do you like it it was on sale. I saw it and was like, “Horikoshi would really like that.” so there you go. sorry it wasn’t gift-wrapped

p.s. I hope y’all can tell that that’s supposed to be a middle finger and not... something else lmao. er. anyway

(ETA: so I got a few asks from people who were really put off by this part of the reaction post, and so I’m just adding an extra note here to make it clear that I do not actually wish harm on Horikoshi in any way or even particularly dislike him. I wasn’t happy about Midnight’s death and I wanted to convey that, and so I went with my usual LOUD CAPSLOCK REACTION tone, but looking back on it I can see that it’s kind of a lot, lol.

so just to be clear, the “fuck you” stuff is almost entirely tongue-in-cheek. that’s on me, I forget sometimes that there are people who share these sentiments unironically and so I didn’t think to make sure my intended meaning here was clear. anyways, killing Midnight was still a really problematic decision for numerous reasons but it is what it is. Horikoshi is not perfect, the story isn’t perfect, and I’m not gonna pretend like it is, but again just to be clear, I don’t harbor any actual ill will toward Horikoshi here.)

shit. and wow this man really went and killed off fucking Mystic too on top of that. have you ever seen a character fail so spectacularly at living up to their hype. r.i.p. Mystic you were like the Star Wars sequel of characters

(ETA: I have no fucking idea why I keep thinking Majestic’s name is Mystic lol. rest in peace you old scarecrowy bastard.)

and poor Momo, though. fuck. lost two mentors in a single day. and do not even get me started on Aizawa holy shit

so now we’re cutting to some random townspeople who are gossiping about the Todoroki drama. this is actually interesting in spite of my newfound determination to hate this chapter lol

ngl I am kind of heartened to see that not everyone fell for Dabi’s bs hook line and sinker though. Jeanist returning from the dead literally two seconds after Dabi was all “I SWEAR ON MY HONOR AS A VILLAIN THAT HAWKS MURDERED HIM” probably helped with that a bit! but there will doubtless be many other people who do believe him, or are at least still inclined to side-eye the heroes in general either way given how much they sucked in this arc. very, very interesting

so it seems though that even more than the whole Endeavor reveal, at the end of the day it’s going to be the heroes failing to live up to their end of the “put your faith in us and let us use our quirks and in return we’ll protect everyone and keep them safe” implied social contract that’s going to have the biggest impact on people’s opinions moving forward. basically this was always going to be a disaster no matter what

OH MY GOD FINALLY AHHHHH

Horikoshi really tapped into some of the real-life political energy of the past few years huh. Fuck Him Still for killing off Midnight, but I will admit that so far this is hella intriguing and I am really, really curious to see where things go from here

OH MY GOD THE LITTLE KIDS FROM THE BABYSITTING ARC

“FIVE PEEPEE MAN WOULDN’T LIE TO US” YES CHILDREN YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. at least the little ones still have faith

( •̀ へ •́ )

that’s great. that’s really keen. all we need right now, amirite

GOOD FOR YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT

let’s just wait for him to explain what he feels. you know he likes to drag it out

is that Dabi crouched down there next to Spinner? looks like they got him out of the marble after all. but why has his hair changed colors again lol what

anyways. your turn to what??

:’) excuse me what

hahahaha are you fucking kidding me. and that’s where we’re going to end the chapter then. lol okay

so let’s recap. Midnight died. we spent ten hours watching Ochako dig people out of rubble for no apparent reason and were then introduced to my new least favorite character, and because Ochako is so nice she didn’t even punch him in the face even though she really should have. we did not get any Kacchan or Shouto. we got one panel of Deku, who is Finally Asleep. and the chapter ended with AFO ordering his Noumus to go set free, AND I QUOTE, HIS “MAIN BODY.” and now I gotta wait an entire week for Caleb’s translation to confirm that last part. omg

but it sounds like a prison break is imminent, which is very, very interesting. ...and actually, is it weird that I’m actually rooting for it to be a success? I have no idea what this guy is planning, but I do know that as long as the main part of his soul is still residing in Tomura’s body, Tomura’s chance of surviving the series is close to zero. and villain though he may be, I’m still rooting for his redemption (nice to have Deku on my side now too), and so yeah. so like if AFO feels like using some latent Exorcism Quirk or something that he’s been saving for just such an occasion, be my guest lol

meanwhile this doesn’t bode well for All Might though. or anyone else aside from Tomura, really. shiiiit

anyway. [slaps roof of chapter] this baby can fit so much bullshit in it

#bnha 296 #midnight (bnha)#uraraka ochako #all for one #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #sorry this took so long to post lol #I really need to learn to add an extra 2-3 hours to any time-sensitive estimates I make #anyways

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davidmann95 · 4 years

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now that it's over, thoughts on Bendis' Superman as a whole?

pretenderoftheeast said: So, thoughts on Bendis' Superman and Action Comics' tenure altogether and separately now that it's over?

Anonymous said: Best and Worst things about Bendis' Superman run

Anonymous said: Now that it is over, what are your thoughts on Bendis' runs on Superman and Action Comics as a whole?

Anonymous said: Retrospective thoughts on Bendis' Superman as a whole now that it's, I guess, done?

Anonymous said: Hey so since Bendis’ Superman stuff seems to be done, what did you think of the run as a whole?

I decided to hold off a bit on writing on this one, if only so that I could reread the Action Comics side of it since Superman stood out in my memory a lot more. But now I have, and as we’re heading into a bold new era of Superman (and it’s coming in fast - just since I made my Superman in 2021 predictions we’ve gotten Ed Pinsent finally reprinting his legendary bootleg Silver Age Superman, Steve Orlando announcing his Superman analogue book Project Patron, an official shonen Superman redesign for RWBY/Justice League, PKJ’s Super-debut turning out far better than I ever expected, Superman & Lois’s first proper trailer largely taking people pleasantly by surprise, and my learning that there’s a Sylvester Stallone Old Man Superman analogue movie titled Samaritan coming out this summer) we’re ready to take a look back with at least a touch of perspective. I’ll lead with complaints, so everybody who’s been waiting for me to say that Bendis on Superman was Bad, Actually, savor this because it’s as close as you’ll get.

The Bad

* I hate to say it, but rereading that side of the run there’s no two ways about it: the structure of Action Comics as a whole is a mess. It baffled me from day one that it was the more acclaimed of the two books for so long - I guess people are hardwired at this point to think of ‘street’ stuff as where Bendis is supposed to be - because it was immediately clear that Superman had a well-defined story he wanted to tell, while Action was the usual Bendis off-the-cuff improvisation. It’s barely even a story in the same way, and it’s certainly not the ‘Metropolis crime book’ people took it as: it’s 28 issues of Superman and his supporting cast stuffed a pinball machine with the Red Cloud pinging off of each other as we wait to see who falls in the hole at the bottom, and partway through Leviathan and the Legion of Doom and 90s Superboy are tossed into the mix to keep it going a little longer. On an issue-to-issue basis it’s frequently really good, but the core plot of the book is *maybe* six issues stretched out over two and a half years.

* I’ve gone into this some before, but structure-wise Unity Saga also has problems: Phantom Planet rules but either it needed to be cut or the back half needed to be a year all its own in order to accommodate the scale of what it’s attempting. It’s got an interstellar civil war leading into the formation of the United Planets, family drama, Rogol Zaar’s whole deal, and Jon’s coming of age, and I’d say only that last one is really properly served. Even Jon forming the United Planets, while contextually somewhat justified in terms of 1. The situation being so far gone he’s the only one who’d even think in those terms, 2. Things being bad enough that these assorted galactic powers would be willing to try it, and 3. Him having the S on his chest to sell it, isn’t at all built up to within the run itself.

* Rogol Zaar sucks. He’s made up of nothing but interesting ideas - he’s an ersatz warrior ‘superman’ of a bygone age of empires up against the new model, he’s the sins of Krypton as a conservative superpower come home to roost, he’s while not outright said to be definitely Superman’s tragic half-brother and the culmination of everything this run does with Jor-El - but none of them manifest on the page, he’s just a big punchy dude with a dumb design who screams about how you should take him seriously because he’s totally the one who blew up Krypton. Even a killer redesign by Ryan Sook for Legion of Superheroes can’t fix that. There are lots of bad villains with good ideas who are redeemed with time and further effort, but I can’t imagine Zaar getting that TLC to become a fraction of whatever Bendis envisioned him as.

* The second year of Action Comics, after establishing itself in its first as one of the most consistently gorgeous books on the stands, leads with Szymon Kudranski’s weak output and then concludes with John Romita Jr. turning in some career-worst work. The latter is particularly egregious because for that first year Bendis writes a really collected, gentle Superman so him getting pushed into being more aggressive should have an impact, but Romita draws such a craggy rough-looking Superman in the first place that it mutes any sort of shock value.

* WE NEVER LEARN WHAT’S UP WITH LEONE’S CAR, WHAT THE HELL. You don’t just DROP THAT IN THERE and then NEVER FOLLOW UP.

The Good

* Superman got his real clothes back after 7 truly ridiculous years.

* Bendis fundamentally gets Clark’s voice in a way unlike almost any other writer - even all-around better writers of the character almost never approach how spot-on he is with having Superman speak and act exactly how Superman should.

* Supporting cast front and center! He writes a dynamite Lois, Perry, and Jimmy (even if many of Lois’s more out-there decisions in the run don’t end up retroactively justified the way you’d hope), Ma and Pa are more fun than they’ve been in decades in their brief appearances, he manages to turn having Jor-El in the mix into a positive, and the Daily Planet as a whole has an incredibly distinctive vibe to it like never before that I hope is taken as a baseline going forward.

* The non-Rogol Zaar baddies? All ruled. Invisible Mafia and Red Cloud are both brilliant ideas executed solidly if overextended. Zod as Kryptonian Vegeta, Mongul as a generational perpetual bastard engine primed to be incapable of self-reflection, and Ultraman as “what if Irredeemable but he’d never been a good guy and also he was a Jersey mobster” are the best versions of those characters by numberless light-eons. Lex is on-point in his sparse appearances. Xanadoth as a mystical cosmic monster older than time who still talks like a Bendis character is however unintentionally a hoot. The alt-universe Parasite is a more intimidating Doomsday than Doomsday ever was. And Synmar as an alien culture’s attempt at creating their own Superman and messing up the formula when they make him a soldier can and should be a legitimate major ongoing villain coming out of this run.

* Pretty much all the art other than what I mentioned already. Fabok does a good job bookending The Man of Steel and Ivan Reis does the work of his career anchoring Superman (special props to Reis as well for drawing the first ever non-Steve Rude interesting-looking take on Metropolis), and meanwhile you’ve got Jim Lee, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, Ryan Sook, Brandon Peterson, and David Lafuente doing their own parts.

* Closely related to the art, all the little flourishes with the powers. Super-speed having a consistent visual with the background coloring changing, Clark internally putting numbers to the degrees of force behind his punches and what situations which numbers are appropriate for, ‘skidding to a halt’ mid-flight before crashing through a window, the shonen-ass major throwdowns as portrayed by Reis, how his super-hearing is handled as a prevalent element. Lots of clever bits that added flavor to what he does.

* While Unity Saga has problems, the whole of what Bendis does in Superman as a means of forward momentum for Clark and his world is excellent. The sort of three-act structure of:

** Clark is led to question his place in things over the course of a few adventures

** Involvement in the larger cosmos and the impact it has had through and on his family makes him realize the answer to his questions is that he needs to step up in a bigger way because there’s no benevolent larger universe to welcome Earth with open arms, nor a cosmic precedent for everything turning out for the best without some help

** As a consequence of the lessons learned by this change in the status quo Clark is inspired to make his own personal change in revealing his identity (with Mythological basically being an epilogue showcasing a ‘standard’ standalone Superman adventure while simultaneously highlighting his new status quo and how it fits in as a summing-up of Bendis’s take)

…does a great job of shepherding through ideas that lend a lot of forward momentum to Superman of the kind he hasn’t seen in a long time. Not perfect, but far lesser stories with far lesser ambitions have made huge impacts, so I’d certainly hope at least some of this sticks around even if, say, regardless of any retcons to the main line there are always going to be stories with Clark as a disguise and Jon as a kid. Oh, speaking of whom,

* KISS MY ASS, EVERYTHING WITH JON KENT RULED

Ahem. Probably a less confrontational way of putting that.

Do I think there was more gas in the tank for Jon as a kid? Totally, making him likeable and viable was the one really good thing the Rebirth era accomplished for Superman and I expect we’ll continue seeing more of it in the future one way or another. But whether or not him being aged up was Bendis’s decision, or working with marching orders to set up the eventually-(kinda-)discarded 5G, the coming of age narrative here is fire. He keeps the essential Clark Kent kindness and bit of Lois Lane cheekiness that reminds you he’s still their kid, which is a combination Bendis is basically precision-crafted to write, but his trials by fire give him a background entirely unlike the by-the-numbers “and here’s how Superman’s great kid grew up to be a great superhero too” narrative you’d expect while still arriving at that endpoint. If superheroes live and die by metaphors then Jon in here is what it means to grow up written as large as possible: leaving home for the first time (and seeming to shoot up overnight!), getting into the muck of how the real world works, being beaten down by authority wearing faces you’ve been taught to trust, scrambling to get through with the whole world against you, and in the end getting through by learning to rely on your own strength while keeping your soul intact and your head held high, and even managing to speak some truth to power. It gives him a well-defined life story with room to go back to and explore the intricacies of each leg of for decades to come in a way Superman hasn’t had since the original Crisis - someone someday is going to write a The Life & Times Of The Son Of Superman miniseries and it’s going to be one of the greats - and negates any question that he’s earned his stature as the heir apparent.

* Coming out of this, Superman’s world is fascinating. He’s out but rather than giving up his day-to-day life he’s openly spending part of his life as CLARK KENT: SUPER-REPORTER and part of his job on the cape-and-tights side of things is now KAL-EL: SUPER-SPACE-DIPLOMAT, Lois Lane coruns a foundation helping people whose personal continuities have been fucked over by Crisis shenanigans, Jimmy Olsen owns the Daily Planet but is still doing Jimmy Olsen stuff because that’s how he gets his kicks, and Jon Kent is going to college in the future. I’m not anywhere near naïve enough to think that’s how things are going to be forever, or shortsighted enough to think there’s no value left in the traditional setups, but god I hope these developments stick around for a long, long time to come and potentially become the new ‘normal’ as far as the ongoing shared universe stuff goes, because it all feels like the right and promising next steps to take for the lives of these characters. However it got here, for all the pluses and minuses along the way even if I maintain the former very much outweighed the latter as a reading experience, Bendis has a lot to be proud of if that’s the legacy he leaves on these titles.

* The recap pages at the desks!

#Superman #Brian Bendis #Jon Kent #Opinion

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whetstonefires · 4 years

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Hi Whetstonefire. I have a question about the comic where Nightwing cheats on Starfire with Barbara: What happens directly after that? Does Starfire find out that Nightwing cheated on her? And, if so, how does she react? I've read online that (according to Marv Wolfman) Starfire is the opposite of everything Batman taught Nightwing to be and that Batman taught Nightwing to be repressed and cold. What did Nightwing contribute (emotionally) to the relationship between him and Starfire? (Cont.)

(Cont.) From what I can tell, from online, Nightwing was adamant about standards of mercy and monogamy - how do you think, if Starfire were to be written as her own character and not written around Nightwing and his emotional needs, she would handle and react to that? (This bit is an FYI for other readers: this is just speculation, not hate. Sorry about that.) Sorry about the questions! Have a nice day!

Okay there are so many separate questions packed in here! I may miss some of them lol and I do not want to put in the hours it would take to produce an orderly response to all this, so this post is going to be a mess.

Initial query and important point: the cheating story was out of continuity. Like, literally, not just by ‘being rejected by the fanbase,’ it was just this weird retcon oneshot that seems to have been some sort of fuck-you to Nightwing or his fans or something. So no, it had no in-setting fallout lol. It, in more ways than most comics, didn't exactly happen.

It was just this weird thing where Dick hooks up with Babs before giving her a wedding invitation, which is both out of character for him in general and out of step with where he was leading up to the wedding--he was desperate to get married so they could have some Normal Stable Adulthood Happiness; the choice to recharacterize him as a fuckboy who regards it as a loss of freedom isn’t congruent, on much more than the level of principle.

As far as how Kori would feel about it, if she had learned...that is very hard to say. Apart from how it would require her to reinterpret everything about where their relationship stood at that point, the data is very unclear, and I don’t even have all of it. Gonna back up to cover some of the rest of the ask, get some context here.

So this actually brings up two of my biggest gripes with Wolfman’s NTT--weird Kori characterization and the weirdly negative interpretation of Batman as parent that backwashed heavily into other titles and influenced the character for the worse, in ways we're very much still dealing with today. 😩

The latter is pretty self-explanatory, though Wolfman’s take that the main thing Bruce taught Dick was repression does shed light on some writing choices and make others funnier. But Kori. Oh my lands.

So, item one, I wouldn't say that Kori is overall opposite Bruce, or even of his philosophy? There are just some very major points of opposition. She isn’t emotionally buttoned-down like at all, especially about positive feelings, although considered realistically with all the bullshit they’ve piled into her backstory she absolutely leans on repression to cope and stay positive, which makes her a lot like Dick actually.

To an extent, she was clearly written around foiling Dick’s Batman-derived traits in the same way that Robin was written to foil Batman, bright and glad and aerial. A Flamebird to his Nightwing in theme if not in name.

You could do some interesting stuff with that, and the bildungsroman aspects of this period of Dick’s life, like he has two roads forward in terms of how he’s going to define ‘adulthood’--does it necessarily require becoming more like his mentor-father, for good and ill, or can he make Kori in part a destination, as it were, and create an adult self that is derived from who he has always been as well as the man he’s modeled himself after?

To an extent I think this even was one of the things going on in ntt but like. Only a little bit.

(Given how much like Bruce Babs is in most of the ways Kori isn’t, especially once she’s Oracle, you could make a case for her as love interest being like. Symbolic of his not being in a rebellious phase? That gets weird and oedipal really fast tho lol.)

Okay stepping down one meta level lol, the thing about answering the 'what would kori' question here is that her character is deeply bound up in her culture, about which we are told and shown a great many contradictory things. Any attempt to read her as an independent character has to tackle not only the gender stuff you allude to and these inconsistencies, but how much of the sheer mess of her is rooted in racism.

'Fantastic' racism, technically, because Tamaraneans aren't real, but the 'taming the savage' narrative that kept surfacing between them and the language used in reference to it is just. The existing racism of presumably the writers, placed in Dick's mouth, and it's super gross. I hate it so much.

(I had a faint hope when they cast her for live action it was with a deliberate intent to directly tackle and better that history, but lollllllll nah. At least they didn’t double down in it tho! Can you imagine, with a black actress, in this day and age....)

So to predict and comprehend Kori, you have to make a lot of calls about Tamaran as a civilization. I like to slightly privilege stuff established earlier if there's no good reason not to, so while much is made over time of her inappropriate rage and the violence she was raised to normalize, I think what she says in her first appearance is good to keep in mind: in her culture, kindness is for friends and cruelty is for enemies. She doesn't understand why the Titans seem to have this backwards.

Kori is not a merciless person. She’s very empathetic, as a rule. With people she loves, she is self-destructively forgiving. That's not a trait only Dick benefits from--her family keeps betraying her in new exciting ways, and she keeps letting them.

Her arc of growing away from that habit is however greatly crippled by centering Dick in the narrative and by the awful 'civilizing' overtones that keep coming into it. When she comes back after the 1986 breakup, still married to Karras, she brings with her a commitment to doing things the Earth way--to eschew lethal force as more than a compromise with her friends’ values, but as a deliberate choice.

This deserved a lot more space and time than it got, and the fact that it didn’t get it is only somewhat due to her being subordinated to Dick and to general writing fail; a lot of it’s just the team book problems of everything happening to everybody all at once.

I mean, Dick’s journey later on to deciding he loves her enough to date her even though she’s married and it’s technically against his principles was packed into this absolutely heinous issue where he was inspired by a woman refusing to separate from her husband who’d just threatened to kill her and their kid with a knife, until being stopped by Nightwing. Because he’s apologizing for what he did.

This is his inspiration for accepting Kori’s marital status! It’s supposed to be heartwarming, as far as I can tell! Not heavyhanded messaging that this is a self-destructive terrible choice in which Kori will inevitably harm him somehow! This issue is pro ‘consensual open relationships under certain circumstances’ and also ‘giving abusers another chance’ as expressions of love. Welcome to the 80s ig.

(Notable is that the wife in this issue was black and the husband and son both looked very white, so it’s probably her stepkid and she probably wouldn’t get to keep him if they separated; this is not even vaguely treated as a factor.)

Point is, everyone was getting too little space to actually go through the amount of development they were getting, and it was clumsily handled; it’s not just her.

In an overlapping period Gar processed his issues with his adoptive father with whom he constantly fought and their shared trauma over the rest of their family (the Doom Patrol) having died violently not long ago via a batshit several-issue storyline where Mento went crazy, created supermutants, and abusively mind-controlled them to attack the Titans. It is literally all like this.

Back to the infidelity thing, now. So much to unpack. So like I mentioned above, their first big breakup, while partially driven by Dick’s existing conflicted feelings about their different ideas about things like ‘killing in battle’ and ‘her identity and loyalties being tied up with her home planet,’ is explicitly over different takes on monogamy.

When Dick is breaking up with her, Kori makes it clear she thinks it’s totally reasonable to have both a husband and a love, since Karras also has someone he loves and they’re both fine with it, but the story doesn't really explain how nonmonogamy works on Tamaran, or even if it's practiced outside the context of political marriage. They do do a sort of...soulbond fusion dance...thing, as part of the ceremony, so marriage is definitely serious business. There are so many levels of cultural difference that get poor to no development.

But to return to the weird ooc retcon cheating story: because of this context, no matter what her personal norms are, Dick specifically casually sleeping with someone else would be something for Kori to be mad about, because of the hypocrisy.

Then there’s the Mirage Incident, which I haven’t read through properly and which was very poorly handled by the writers. Kori is upset about Dick having slept with someone impersonating her and there’s a general vibe of this being treated by Dick’s social circle as unfaithfulness even though he was in fact sexually violated by deceit; it famously sucks.

We still don’t learn a lot here about Kori’s ideas about monogamy, from what I have seen, because her focus is mostly on feeling like Dick doesn’t care about her enough or in the right way since he couldn’t tell the difference. Which is an understandable feeling, even if it’s not an appropriate reaction to have at him at this time.

What Nightwing contributed emotionally........hm. This is a mess, honestly; he was all over the map, and not just because of having Brother Blood in his head. I cannot speak definitively on this, it’s too inconsistent.

For most of their relationship, Kori was the more intensely invested one, the one to initiate and the one who was shown at length to be excited to come home at the end of the day to their shared apartment because her boyfriend was there to see and talk to. If we set aside his more egregious white male bullshit, Dick was pretty emotionally available most of the time, though? They were cute.

Since they split up a lot of ink has been spilled making him less into her in retrospect, but he was pretty invested--leaving her coincided with mental breakdowns both times, and it wasn’t even mostly because she was doing his emotional processing for him, because she wasn’t, although it’s fair to say he often fell into using the relationship as an emotional crutch. Kori was definitely doing the same thing though so...it wasn’t the most balanced relationship in fiction history, but apart from slight codependency and the racism, it was decent enough.

She gets more evenhanded development than most superhero love interests, honestly, because she was costarring in a team book. She had her own storylines. She had other friends.

Mostly both of them just needed some space to finish growing up and stop being retraumatized long enough to process some of the existing trauma better, and I think they could have gone on being good for each other for a long time.

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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It really says something that when Hazel said that the longest Salem stays dead is a few hours, my first thought was “Oh, the writers are trying to fix a mistake”. They realized that they made her too strong and are trying to quickly nerf her. Because it makes no sense that being punched to death by Hazel takes longer to come back from than vaporization. Watch, that timeframe is going to be how they beat her this Volume.

To my mind, there’s three basic writing routes here:

1. Decide early on how long it takes Salem to reform and keep that consistent. RWBY obviously hasn’t done this given that her instant resurrection with Ozpin seems to contradict Hazel’s comment that the longest it took was a few hours.

2. Don’t think about that question going in, pick something only when you need it (Ozpin and Salem are fighting! Having her reform and stalk over to him will look awesome!), and then stick to that rule going forward, even if it’s not what you would have chosen had you actually thought about it ahead of time. As a writer, you’ve created a challenge for yourself that you must now adhere to for the sake of the story: how do I come up with a solution to the Salem problem when Salem reforms so damn fast? RWBY obviously hasn’t done this either because, again, Hazel.

3. Which leaves introducing a new condition that explains the discrepancy (and also clarifies what situation the heroes currently face). Maybe it takes Salem longer to reform if someone kills her over and over again, as Hazel was doing. This wouldn’t help the heroes now because Salem isn’t going to let them kill her as she let Hazel, making killing her even once a challenge, essentially removing the benefit of, “If we kill her enough we’ll buy ourselves time.” Or maybe we get a callback to Volume 5 wherein we learn that just like Ozpin’s power is dwindling, so is Salem’s. At the height of her power she could reform instantaneously, but now, generations later, it takes her longer. This would indeed be a huge benefit to our heroes, though perhaps balanced out by the fact that their wizard equivalent, Ozpin, is also weaker. Or hell, maybe you introduce a convoluted new mind game wherein it’s revealed that Salem could have reformed instantaneously, but chose not to in order to make Hazel believe she was weaker than she actually was... idk why any of that would happen, but the point is that there’s the potential for a variety of conditions.

If the show does use Salem’s slow reform time as the advantage the heroes need, I hope we get some sort of explanation about why this (suddenly very important detail) differs so much from what we saw before. However, I doubt we’ll get it, just because I’ve been waiting on a lot of details just like this one. What happened during Oscar’s shopping excursion? Did Ironwood kill the councilman, wound him, or shoot past him? Why didn’t Ozpin try to stop the Hound? There’s already a lot of missing pieces in this story, so at this point I expect more to continue piling up.

My bigger worry though is what the group is possibly going to achieve with that borrowed time. An inconsistency like that can be frustrating, yeah, but it’s not something that really does much damage to the story as a whole. As you say, it’s them trying to “fix a mistake,” which a part of me does want to let slide in good faith. As I mentioned in a recent post, I’m rooting for RWBY to pull itself together, even though that requires changing or ignoring a lot of stuff from past volumes. It’s not great, but I’ll take it if it means RT knows what they’re working with moving forward. So rather than another inconsistency, what I’m more concerned with is how that mistake will fit into this new, supposedly better RWBY. Meaning, let’s say they “kill” Salem and buy themselves a few hours... now what? Do they run? Great, the heroes are doing precisely what Ironwood wanted to do in the first place (and though I hope for improvements, I really don’t trust RWBY to write a compelling arc where the group realizes they were wrong). Does help arrive? Great, we’ve now got a much bigger plot point that contradicts RWBY’s supplementary material. Do they find a way to beat her? Great, we’ve skipped over entire volumes of development by having the group freaking out about Salem, giving one (1) comment about how maybe someone other than Ozpin can defeat her, and then hitting on the solution to her destruction the second they meet. Basically, Salem (obviously) needs a weakness, but I can’t easily see a path where this weakness results in anything other than more problems for the story as a whole. Unless RWBY is going to go full dystopian and have Salem successfully take over Atlas while the group flees with their borrowed time, the only way I can see them “winning” this battle is by driving her back. Resetting things, to put it simply. Ruby comes face-to-face with her enemy, her silver eyes go off, Salem (encountering them in person for the first time) is severely injured, she scurries back to her castle, and that gives everyone breathing room a lot longer than a few hours.

Obviously we won’t know what RT plans until we see the rest of the volume, and they might indeed have a fantastic solution up their sleeve that I never would have thought of, but honestly I’m still scratching my head over the choice to have Salem arrive right now at all. She’s so insanely powerful that there’s little to do (again, that I can see) except have her win, or have her lose for good... and this isn’t the end of the show yet. Or essentially admit that Salem shouldn’t have been brought in this early by sending her back to where she was pre-Volume 7. It’s impossible to say right now what sort of story Volume 9 will be just because there’s no indication yet of how in the world the heroes will deal with Salem. I’ve seen a lot of fan hypothesize that Volume 9 will be the Vacuo arc, but that’s following the pre-Salem logic wherein our group was just Relic hopping around Remnant. The Big Bad is here now! She’s taking over kingdoms! Our group can’t just fly away to Vacuo and ignore that. Salem needs to be driven back, voluntarily stop her attack for some reason, or the story needs to drastically change and become a version of RWBY that’s just the group actively fighting against her in various ways until the series’ conclusion. But whether RWBY will get us to any of these options persuasively is the question.

Tl;dr Salem’s reforming time is a decent weakness provided RT can smooth over the retcon, but I wonder what good giving the group a few extra hours will do in the regards to the massive (writing) problem that is Salem.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #Anonymous

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thatkindofgurl · 4 years

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Star Wars shows

So I've been doing a lot of thinking about the new shows for Star Wars, mainly the Mandalorian spin-offs, and what plots we could potentially see, so this is just me speculating for the fun of it, and I wanted to see what you guys think.

Also, I don't know how true this is, but I've seen rumors about a crossover event for the shows, and I'm gonna talk about that too

The book of Boba Fett.

I'm starting with this one because I truly don't know what could happen here. I mean, it's probably Boba seeking comeuppance for whatever happened to him after he was left for dead in Tatooine, or maybe he just wants to rule the criminal underworld, and Jabba's palace was the first step for that. Anyhow, I have this weird feeling that this might be an special or movie, rather than a fully fleshed out series, and since it most likely will air before The Mandalorian s3 premier, it might just tell us more about how things are going on with the galaxy

The Mandalorian s3.

So I believe that this next season is going to be focused on two different plotlines, that at one point, probably the middle or end of season, are going to connect somehow.

Mandalore and the Darksaber

As we know, Din Djarin accidentally ended up with the Darksaber, and therefore the right to claim the throne of Mandalore, which we know he doesn't want. But I don't think they just put this seed for a very interesting plot in the finale, just for Din to give it up in the first episode of the 3rd season, so that means we are going to have Bo-Katan as an antagonist, at least at the beginning of the season.

Of course I have nothing to back it up, but maybe the first chapters are going to be Din being chased by Bo-Katan and simultaneously being like "for god's sake, just take it and leave me alone", until something most likely related to Grogu more on that later will make him change his mind and actively go after Mandalore's throne, which would turn Bo fully into the antagonist for the season.

Either that, or Din and Bo feign a battle in front of other mandalorians so Bo would be left as the only contender to the throne, and the rest of the season is political games and scoring wins against the remains of the Empire, which would also be amazing to see.

Jedi Shenanigans

I don't think this is the last we will see of Grogu. Either early on the season something will make Luke leave Grogu back with Din again, or we are actually going to see some of the Jedi training.

(If we are going to see Luke again, it would be easier to just call Sebastian Stan, instead of the cgi thing. He more or less already has Mark Hamill's blessing anyway)

Again, this is just speculating, but what I would like to see in this plot of mine, is to see Luke or whatever Jedi community he has formed somehow getting involved in some conflict that would put Grogu in potential danger, and so, Din would realize that the only way to influence the conflict to end and help keep Grogu safe would be to take Mandalore's throne, or maybe Bo-Katan is pouring gasoline to the fire of this conflict, and so, Din must remove her from the throne.

My point is, the only way to keep Grogu safe will be by taking Mandalore's throne, and we know there's nothing Din wouldn't do for his son.

Ahsoka

In "The Jedi" episode of the Mandalorian, we learned that Ahsoka is looking for Admiral Thrawn, and therefore remainers of the empire, which is most likely what this show is going to be about. It is a great opportunity to bring more characters from the animated shows to live action, now that we know it can work, like Ezra, or maybe even Cal Kestis from the video game if they want to go there. The plot also has potential for Luke to show up here too.

Regardless of what other characters might appear here. I believe this show is going to follow up, one way or another, the clone with high M-count plot that was introduced in season 2, that we know ties in with the sequel trilogy. It would make sense, since the return of Palpatine would be less that desirable for Ahsoka, and I imagine Thrawn would be involved with this specific order.

Of course, assigning this plot to Ahsoka is her getting the short end of the stick, because we know the Empire/First Order will win this one and bring Palpatine back eventually. But then again, Ahsoka has to die before Episode IX, since we hear her voice alongside other force ghosts.

Rangers of the New Republic

This one is probably going to feature Cara Dune a lot, if she's not one of the protagonists to begin with.

It is here that I believe we are going to see what other things Moff Gideon has up on his sleeve. I can see Cara turning this guy in with the Republic, and them being like "cool!!! Do you want to maybe join this group of rangers to keep messing around with the Empire?" And Cara would be like "I guess?".

This one might cover the plans the Empire have in general, explain the orders the Emperor left in case of his death, ala whatever that was happening in the Aftermath books, since that was never brought up in the sequels, and tie in with Ahsoka.

Crossover event

Again, I just saw the rumor and I thought it was dope, I don't know if this is true, and even if it is, it would most likely happen after a couple of seasons for each of the new shows.

Of course, I'm basing this on just the potential general plots I just described to you, but if there was something that could tie in this plots and characters, it would be something like the Battle of Jakku.

I'm not saying it would be The battle of Jakku specifically, because it supposedly happened a couple of years before The Mandalorian's first season but I mean something of the style. Or it can be Jakku, just do a little retcon, it's not like it was mentioned at all on the sequels, just on the visual guides.

But, like, the only thing that the protagonists of these shows (Din, Ahsoka, Cara/Rangers) have in common is their desire to put an end to the Empire, even if it's for different reasons.

Kuiil said in the first season that things would not change until the old ways die, but sadly we know that lowkey never happens, since the First Order eventually rises, which puts these characters in a tight position and probably in the losing team.

However, I believe at this point all of them have proved to be great fighters, and they would put one hell of a last stand against the Empire. And to be honest, this story line that started in The Mandalorian is building up, and it only will continue to do so with two, maybe three other shows, regardless of what plots they decide to follow. It will get to a point where the only outcome possible is a big, all-out battle, which brings me to the last point I've been thinking about.

If a battle is to come, and I believe it will, it's going to be big. Like, define the future of the galaxy big. Of course, there is not much room for creativity with the sequels ahead, but this battle, if the good guys win, can push the Empire/First Order to hide even more, and be the reason why they don't come out publicly until the climax of The Force Awakens.

Listen, season 2 finale showed that they are not afraid to bring big players to these shows, and with a battle like that so important, it would make sense that they would bring Luke again, and if Luke keeps popping up, I don't see why Leia and Han can't.

I mean, they already have the guy from the Solo movie, just age him up a little and he's good to go. For Leia, they could go on talent hunting and find someone who is reminiscent of Leia, the way Sebastian and Alden do respectively to these characters. Also, a Lando show is on the making as well, and while we don't know who will portray the character, if it's Donald Glover, you can add him to the mix as well.

*-*-*

Okay, before you say it, I know this is not like things are going to go, it's just the things and plots I would love to see. I know Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau already have the way this is going to go, and I completely trust them with it. It's just so easy to get lost in these stories, both seasons of The Mandalorian gave me such a good thing to look forward at times I really needed to and to see this storyline expanded to more shows really excited me. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us c:

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wickedsrest-rp-archive · 4 years

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Hey all, welcome to a balance/lore housekeeping post. This is a long one, so please bear with us!

We’ve noticed a few things have gotten a little off kilter, which is impacting character and player interactions. We want to gently steer the ship back on course. We’re making a few clarifications to our lore and wanted to post some general reminders, as we’ve noticed a clash between the reality of characters on the dash, and the established background setting/lore that may be less visible, but that we all have to keep in mind. It’s the nature of RP that the balance of characters played and the established setting/lore don’t always align (for example, White Crest’s population is 90% regular humans), but when that setting isn’t taken into account, it has a negative impact on players and characters alike. This can (and has) ultimately created unnecessary difficulties in playing certain types of characters, reducing moral complexity and plot potential for everyone.

Ultimately, we just want to keep the balance and keep things fun for everyone. No one’s in trouble and nothing needs to be retconned, these are things to keep in mind going forward to help keep things balanced and allow space for complex character development for all types of characters.

ADDITIONS TO THE BESTIARY:

To be VERY clear, these changes do NOT mean anyone has been playing their character/species wrong! You’re all wonderful. Really, really, really. We just want to add additional worldbuilding context to better establish how the setting can impact interactions and plots.

”Caution Tape” section for playable species. We have drafted a section for each playable species write up highlighting some dangerous or threatening aspects of those species, using already existing and implied lore. This should make the danger present more clear and provide some complex plot ideas/arcs, as well as help people with a frame of reference when they don’t write that species. Before these go live, we’d like to share the drafts with each group of players per species to discuss and see if anyone else has thoughts or additions they’d like to see.

Threat Level for non-playable species. It often takes a lot of training and study to be able to tackle some of the monsters in our bestiary. We are going to be making an addition to the write ups to point out which species are likely to require more effort and practice to take care of. While we’re by no means barring non-experts/hunters from handling these critters with difficulty, we’re hoping this makes the utility of certain characters (most specifically hunters and scribes) more clear and involves them in different plots! Keep an eye out for this addition over the long weekend.

OTHER INFO TO KEEP IN MIND:

Please be careful with character knowledge of the supernatural. It’s very easy to accidentally metagame this because we do have our detailed lore written up and ready for you to access. However, even characters who spend their whole lives studying the supernatural (hunters, scribes) or living in it (witches in covens, fae communities) have gaps in their knowledge; many only have deep knowledge in what they specialize in, or what they’ve experienced firsthand. Others might have very broad knowledge but lack anything beyond surface level details. In practice, this means a witch wouldn’t know about every species and subspecies of a vampire, and a hunter wouldn’t understand the complexities of spells and charms. For example, being well-versed in science doesn’t necessarily mean you would know all of the science (a biologist may know next to nothing about physics). Often people have specialties due to limitations of time and interests.

We know it can be hard to tell what’s realistic for a character to know, but a good rule of thumb is to use the rarity index on the bestiary as a guide to whether or not you think your character might know or be intimately familiar with a species and all their quirks, weaknesses, etc. Almost every supernaturally inclined person in White Crest has probably heard of or seen an alghoul, but the Tender might be considered a legend even by the most experienced and centuries old hunter families. We want to make sure that every character’s knowledge feels earned and important and the specialties and resources of scribes and hunters don’t get nullified!

The majority of White Crest is human and largely unaware (or in deep denial) of the supernatural. We know it can be hard to remember given that our followlist is largely made up of supernatural species and powered humans and a lot of characters who are deeply entrenched in the supernatural, but only 10% (approx 1,500 of 15,000 people) of the town is made up of the supernatural. Human deaths are common and many are at the hands of the supernatural, far more often than the other way around. The town is dangerous on the whole for everyone involved and it should not be downplayed that there are deadly supernatural creatures out there. Some of them are humanoids, too.

We’d like to try and use the news blog more often to help communicate this point, and definitely encourage players to utilize it for their plots, however large or small. Murders, accidents, shots fired, gossip, supernatural nonsense -- all of it can be submitted to move things forward and give other characters a way to get involved and know what’s up with your character.

We’re aware that in-character perspectives often won’t line up perfectly with the reality of the situation and can easily fall into extremes. Characters can be misled, opinionated, or lied to or just have a prejudiced or naive take on the world at large. That’s all okay and we expect that and encourage it. We just want to be sure people are fully aware of the setting OOC and keep in mind when their characters are not in alignment, that it might be nice to give it a nod or a wink somewhere somehow (strikethroughs, tags, etc). Or use it as a jumping off point to explore plots that challenge your character’s worldview (though we know these are often slow burn). You are all amazing writers and we just want to keep the setting grounded and watch the wonderful character exploration that can come from it.

Phew, that was a lot. Thank you all so much for being understanding. This group is fantastic and we’re thrilled with all the characters and plots that are going on -- we can honestly say that we’ve never seen so much creativity and amazing writing in one group before. We just want to make sure that everyone feels that they can engage in the RP to the best of their ability and that no one feels disheartened or excluded. We’re going to continue to try working on this on our end as well to make the lore more readily understood and make the RP better for everyone. We have a great season finale coming up and we’re looking forward to seeing everything that comes out of it!

[Give this a “like” once read!]

#mod note #wickedsmod

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amillioninprizes · 5 years

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Some thoughts on Veronica Mars, fan service, and noir

I’ve been on winter break and at home with a nasty combo cold-ear infection-stomach virus the past couple of weeks, and as so often happens when I don’t have much going on, my thoughts have turned to ruminating over the steaming pile of excrement that was season 4 of Veronica Mars. Why yes, almost six months and one cancellation notice later and I’m still complaining about it--as I told someone on Twitter, it was so stupid that it’s going to take years to unpack.

This particular rant is brought to you by a common refrain seen in both professional critics’ and S4 supporters’ reviews of S4: the movie was schlocky fan service, while S4 is TRUE NOIR. I’m here to argue that neither of those things are true, and that in the grand scheme of things trying to definitively call Veronica Mars noir or not isn’t the best qualitative judgement of the series.

A note on “fanservice”

Something that’s been very strange to me in the critical discussion around S4 is that the fan-funded movie has been retconned as a fanservicey failure. This is weird because it did get a positive Rotten Tomatoes score, actually turned a profit despite the unorthodox distribution model, and was overall well-received by fans except for maybe the 5 Piz lovers out there (he absolutely did not deserve better you guys; he works at This American Life and lives in Brooklyn, he’ll be fine).

A lot of the things pointed to in the movie as fan service actually weren’t. In every interview about the movie and S4, RT and KB always talk about how they started with the image of Veronica punching Madison at the high school reunion and worked from there. The problem is that almost no one had been asking for that. If they had bothered to read any online discourse about the show (and we know RT definitely does), they would know that fans are actually somewhat sympathetic to Madison--after all, she was the intended recipient of the drugged drink Veronica received at Shelly Pomeroy’s party, plus growing up in a family that she wasn’t meant to be a member of must have negatively impacted her. When the preview scene of Veronica encountering Madison at the reunion welcome table was released, Veronica didn’t come off sympathetically. In a similar vein, as much as I liked Corny as a side character in the original series, I didn’t need him to come back for that random scene at the reunion. Nor was anyone asking for an out-of-nowhere James Franco cameo (which given what we know about him now is super gross in hindsight).

So why was the movie well-received by fans? Veronica was in character after an unevenly written and performed S3, and she was back in Neptune, doing what (and who; Ay-yo!) she was meant to do. So while the mystery was subpar (and what Rob Thomas mystery isn’t?), the character side of the story made sense and was satisfying. I wouldn’t call that fan service so much as good writing. Plus, what is even the point of wasting time, money, and effort on making a tv show or movie if it’s going to actively alienate the audience?

S4: more trauma porn than true noir

Admittedly, I’m not exactly the world’s foremost scholar on film noir (in my opinion, the height of cinema is teen romcoms c. 1995-2005), but I do feel I have enough pop cultural knowledge to have a working understanding of what film noir is, and as internet folk would say, S4 ain’t it chief. Sure, S4 was bleak subject matter wise, but that does not automatically equal noir. HappilyShanghaied, who does have a film studies background, wrote a pretty excellent post about why that is shortly after S4 dropped that I could not improve upon, so I will just leave it here.

In addition to this analysis, I would also point out that S4 was lacking in a unique visual style common to noir films, especially compared to the original television series and the movie. The original series made use of green, blue, and yellow filters to fulfill a high school version of the noir aesthetic (quick shoutout to Cheshirecatstrut’s color theory posts for more on what we thought this meant before it turned out that Rob Thomas did not actually intend to imbue meaning into any of this), while the movie adopted a more mature muted blue-grey palette. S4, however, was more or less shot like a conventional drama and was brightly lit, perhaps signifying Rob Thomas’s apparent plans to turn the show into a conventional procedural.

The movie: more than fan service

If anything, the movie was more noir than S4. Take Gia’s storyline for instance. While Veronica was off obtaining elite degrees, Gia spent 9 years in a virtual cage being forced into a sexual relationship without her total consent (because that’s the only storyline women can have on this show), and then set herself up to be murdered at the very moment she could potentially break free. That’s pretty fucking grim.

Then there is the whole police corruption storyline, which is a hallmark of noir fiction. The glimpses we get of the Neptune sheriff’s department point to a larger conspiracy at play than just crooked cops; Sachs lost his life trying to expose it and Keith was gravely injured. This was the story I was excited for future installments of Veronica Mars to address, especially given its relevance to today’s politics. Unfortunately, this thread was entirely dropped in S4, where the police department (because, as Rob Thomas revealed in interviews but not onscreen, Neptune has incorporated) is merely overwhelmed by the scope of the bombing case rather than outright corrupt. (Side note but Marcia Langdon was also a more complex and morally grey character when introduced in the second book than she was on screen in S4. Another wasted opportunity).

Noir is also marked by a sense of inevitability or doom as a result of greater forces at play. An example of this in the movie is Weevil’s storyline. After building a life and family for himself, he ultimately ends up rejoining the PCHer gang he left as a teenager due to a misunderstanding based on his race and appearance and the assumptions authority figures make about him because of those things. No matter what he does, he is still limited by an unjust and racist society. Contrast this with the final explosion in S4; it’s not inevitable, just based on Veronica’s incompetence. Rob Thomas claims that he tried to create a sense of doom to LoVe’s relationship between the OOC Leo storyline and the last minute barriers before the wedding, but those aspects just served to make the story unnecessarily convoluted.

What is noir anyway? Was Veronica Mars ever noir? Does it matter?

But this is all assuming there is a set template for noir anyway. This New Yorker essay points out that trying to definitively establish a set of rules for noir is difficult and that the classic noir films were more a product of midcentury artistic and political movements than a defined genre. The noir filmmakers working at the time would not have described their work as such. The kicker of this essay is the final sentence: “But the film noir is historically determined by particular circumstances; that’s why latter-day attempts at film noir, or so-called neo-noirs, almost all feel like exercises in nostalgia.” I found this particularly amusing because as Rob Thomas infamously proclaimed in his S4 era interviews, he wanted to completely dispense with nostalgia going forward. Rob Thomas and S4 supporters have said that Logan needed to die because noir protagonists can’t have stable relationships; but, if there isn’t a defined set of rules other than “an element of crime”, then was it strictly necessary? Hell, writing a hardboiled detective who does have a stable relationship and maybe even a family could have been an interesting subversion of genre expectations. Unfortunately, Rob Thomas isn’t that imaginative.

There’s also the issue that noir and hardboiled detective fiction aren’t interchangeable genres. This article lays out that idea that they aren’t the same because noir is ultimately about doomed losers; in contrast, detective fiction, while dark, contains a moral center and has an ending where a sense of justice is achieved. An interview with author Megan Abbott makes a similar argument; she states that in hardboiled detective fiction, “At the end, everything is a mess, people have died, but the hero has done the right thing or close to it, and order has, to a certain extent, been restored.” Based on the descriptions laid out here, I would argue that in its original format Veronica Mars far better fit the detective fiction model; while she wasn’t always right, she was never a loser, and she solved the mystery. S1-3 all had relatively hopeful, if not totally happy, endings, but you never see anyone complaining that they weren’t noir enough; if anything, they were more emotionally complex than the ending of S4, where Logan’s death is essentially meaningless. One could make the argument that S4 did push Veronica towards a more noir characterization by the definition of these articles by making her more incompetent and meaner than she was in previous installments, but that is a fundamental change in character, which is not coherent writing.

And that is ultimately why S4 was so poorly received by longtime fans and why there will be no more installments of Veronica Mars anytime soon (at least on Hulu). Even if S4 had been noir (or at least shot like one), the serious issues with plotting, characterization, and lack of adherence to prior canon that this season exhibited would still exist. Defending the poor writing choices made in S4 with “it’s noir!” does not mask them or automatically heighten the quality of the product. Perhaps ironically, in ineptly trying to be noir in S4, Rob Thomas likely prematurely ended Veronica Mars by failing his creation and fans with lazy storytelling.

#Veronica Mars #Burnt Marshmallow #Yeah I'm still angry what of it #If only RT had put as much effort into writing the show as I did into this post

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ramblefang · 4 years

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The End

When I watched the ending of Homestuck for the first time a couple of months ago, I was surprised that the fight with Lord English was left unresolved. My thoughts had quickly went to wondering how people would have felt about it back when the ending was released. I imagined that some people may have been a bit annoyed by it. I didn’t put too much thought into how I felt about it since I had the epilogues to jump right into (which are their whole can of worms that I’ve written a bit about before). I’ve since had the past couple of months to really digest the ending, thinking about why Lord English was left undefeated, what meaning that could have.

Spite

What I first thought of was something that could explain the ending in-universe. (Relatively speaking, considering how meta Homestuck gets.) Hussie could have left that fight unresolved out of spite towards Caliborn/Lord English. And by “Hussie” I mean the in-universe author-insert. Lord English killed him after all.

How does that work as revenge against Lord English? Well, to me, it always felt like Caliborn was trying to force himself into relevance in the story. His little Act Act Acts that hijacked the narrative only ever had the barest connections and relevance to everything else. He really wanted to be the center of attention. Having the fight with Lord English as the climactic final battle of the story is pretty much what Caliborn wanted. So of course Hussie would deny him that honor.

Irrelevance

From noticing how it felt like Caliborn was forcing himself into the story, it occurred to me how irrelevant he felt in the grand scheme of things. He didn’t really fit into any of the kids’ journeys. Dave even expresses that feeling himself to Grimbark!Jade: there’s that prophecy about how he would be the one to land the killing blow to Lord English, but it just doesn’t feel personally important to him.

Caliborn does attempt to retroactively show how the story had been influenced the whole time with the whole Lil’ Cal juju business, but even that felt cheap to me. Everything that Caliborn supposedly influenced through Lil’ Cal had perfectly plausible explanations already. Gamzee stopped eating the sopor slime that was chilling him out, and we had been given enough information about Highbloods and the subjugglators to understand that this sort of thing is what was expected of him. Lil’ Cal’s influence supposedly explained Bro being an abusive guardian, but Bro’s behavior wasn’t too far off from Dirk’s, and, if I understand things correctly, Lil’ Cal was an “empty” juju when Dirk had it, free from Caliborn’s influence.

Moving away from Caliborn a bit, it would be simpler to just think about what really did matter in the story. To me, the main goal was always to complete the game and create a new universe. All of the villains that were properly defeated in [S] Collide stood against that goal. Lord English never cared about that new universe: only destroying the ones that already existed. He was intent on destroying the Medium. And that really didn’t matter when everyone would just be safe from him by making that new universe. It’s why the game’s completion was the main focus of Act 7: it’s what really mattered. Lord English being left undefeated was, in a way, an expression of how he never really mattered.

Symbols

Now I want to get a bit more metaphorical and talk about what Lord English represented.

First, I suppose we can start with Caliborn being the “Lord of Time.” What does that mean? Well, as I had put in a list before, I understand the aspect of “Time” to mean the aspect of “Death,” in much the same way Heart means Soul or Light means Fortune. One of Dave’s major struggles is with his own mortality (especially when Terezi tests him with a coin flip). Aradia is dead for much of the time we know her, and she’s also able to control the spirits of the dead. The Handmaid is a servant to Lord English as a sort of grim reaper. And while we know little about Damara, one of the main things we learn about her is that she killed some of the members of their group.

And the Lord of Time threatens the death of everything, of all universes. The Medium itself. But have you ever thought about what the “Medium” really is? It’s the storytelling medium. It’s the very means through which the story is told. For the world of Homestuck, it is the metaphysical paradox space that everything can happen in. Without the Medium, nothing can happen. The story cannot be told. The story ends. Lord English represents The End of the story.

So if Lord English represents The End, what does it mean to defeat him? It means the Medium is saved and the story can continue. And without an end, the story would continue indefinitely. But end the story must, so it simply ends partially, leaving that particular part of The End unresolved and not quite finished.

Glitch

On multiple occasions it is mentioned that Lord English is an indestructible demon. On one such occasion, Aranea explains that it would take a “glitch” to defeat him, a bending of the rules.

We’re also introduced to the “weapon,” which sports the appearance of the Sburb logo. We know that it gave John his retcon powers, the power to change the story itself. From that, we can imagine how it could cause some sort of “glitch.”

But the “weapon” doesn’t only take the form of the Sburb logo. The Sburb logo represents Homestuck as a whole: not only the original story, but everything that comes out of it, from semi-canon stuff that extends the franchise to—most significantly to my point—the fan community, the fandom. This isn’t too crazy to think because of how closely tied the fans of Homestuck are to the story, down to the way the story is presented: things move forward through “commands” that supposedly come from the audience. Also, if I understand correctly, readers literally suggested those commands at some point. (or maybe that was just for earlier MSPA stories.)

Essentially, the “weapon” is a portal to everything that exists outside of “canon”. It’s a portal to fanfiction. This is the nature of the “glitch” that can defeat Lord English. The rules of the canon story say that he cannot be defeated, that he’s indestructible. But fan authors need not abide by the rules of canon. A fan can defeat Lord English however they please.

And what a playground fans were given to finish the fight! The ghosts of AU versions of all the characters, and even the ghosts of OCs. You can have anyone you want become part of the final battle to defeat Lord English. At the head of it all is Vriska: someone that any fan is bound to have some sort of opinion on. She’s someone perfect to springboard the action from. Then there’s the Beta kids who were supposedly sealed in the “weapon,” including Dave, the one prophesied to defeat Lord English.

Lord English being undefeated in canon did strike me as a challenge to fans to complete the story themselves, but this may have been the intent from the very beginning. He was never going to be defeated in the story because there isn’t really any way to “glitch” things and bend the rules. Anything that happens in the story just become part of the rules.

Lastly, I suppose I’ll address his defeat in the epilogues. It’s technically still outside of “canon;” despite the assertions of the Meat epilogue being “more canon”, the epilogues are still only sort-of canon at best. But I think this semi-canon nature is part of why Lord English’s defeat in the epilogues was so dreary. Really, the epilogues as a whole were dark and dreary, and maybe one could say that that was how they “changed the rules” to be able to defeat Lord English. But it was also a declaration that if you wanted a happy ending, you’d have to write it yourself. I like to think that the inside of the “weapon” in the epilogues was an empty void because it was disconnected from the influence of the larger community of fans: meek and empty compared to what fans would have done with it.

#homestuck #homestuck epilogue #lord english

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darlingxdarkling · 4 years

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I can’t believe my first Medium article is a pop culture piece criticizing Sindel’s depiction in MK11 Aftermath, but you know what? It’s totally worth it.

Full text under the cut in case the article is inaccessible because of Medium’s paywall. I want my pieces to be as accessible to the public as possible.

Warning: Heavy spoilers for Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansion, Aftermath.

Ever since its first release in 1992, the Mortal Kombat franchise is known for its extreme, action-packed violence and gore that led to the creation of the ESRB. It’s also know for its controversial depictions of scantily-clad women; however, did this not deter female gamers from becoming fans of the franchise, myself included. Admittedly I am one of the fans of Mortal Kombat who was late to the party, partly due to my age and inaccessibility of gaming platforms, only discovering Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in 2010 while playing with my older cousins, who were mostly boys.

Eyes fixated on the pixelated, motion-captured sprites on the screen in wonder, I remember being a fan of characters such as Raiden, Nightwolf, and Sindel. Especially Sindel, whom I grew to adore because of her regal, gothic appearance. Due to the stereotype that gaming is a masculine interest prevalent during those times, I felt alienated at times, having no other female playmate aside from my younger sister. However, seeing female characters such as Sindel gave me characters to identify with in my formative years.

A decade later, I still am a fan of the franchise, and of those characters. With the years that passed, there had been significant changes in the video game industry, and the clamor for better depictions of women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other minorities. Mortal Kombat is one of the franchises that changed with the times, even introducing their first confirmed gay character Kung Jin in Mortal Kombat X, and depicting classic character Mileena and 3D era character Tanya as lovers in the same game, confirming that Mileena is indeed canonically bisexual.

Mortal Kombat X’s female character designs were diverse and realistic too; there were some female characters whose designs didn’t show too much skin, like Sonya Blade’s main costume, befitting her role and demeanor as a tough-as-nails general, and there were female characters like Mileena who had more skin in her costumes, justified by her character’s desire to compensate for her monstrous Tarkatan genes. It’s not perfect, but overall, Mortal Kombat X is a breath of fresh air to the franchise. As a bisexual, an Asian, and a woman, I felt seen. I felt good, because minorities like me are respectfully represented.

As for its sequel, Mortal Kombat 11, there are some noteworthy depictions of real-life social issues in the game, such as colonization, which is explored with Nightwolf’s revamped lore. In the rewrite, Nightwolf is depicted as someone who used to be angry that his people, a fictional Native American tribe called the Matoka, resigned themselves to colonizers in his youth, but was blessed by his tribe’s deity, the Great Spirit, with power to help his tribe move forward after he defended the Matoka’s honor against Kano. The subject of race is also explored with Jax’s ending, where he uses the power he obtains from the hourglass to create a world where Black people were never enslaved, which garnered manufactured outrage despite the lack of any real controversy. Another example is Fujin’s ending, where he uses his power to experience the lives of mortals of different races, realms, genders, and faiths, putting emphasis on the value of integrating with the masses in order to understand and serve them better.

However, there are some aspects of the game that left a bad taste in my mouth. No, that would be an understatement. It left me furiously disappointed.

John Vogel is the lead writer for the franchise since John Tobias’ departure, writing the bulk of the story until he left around after Mortal Kombat X. Dominic Cianciolo becomes co-writer, alongside Shawn Kittelsen. Cianciolo is credited as the Story Director for Mortal Kombat 11, and thus responsible for the bulk of the plot.

After being unplayable in MKX, Sindel returns to the MK11 roster in a Kombat Pack, expansions featuring characters who aren’t present in the main story or are guest fighters from another franchise, such as Nightwolf and the Joker from the DC Universe. At the announcement of their return, I was ecstatic. The way Nightwolf’s character is handled and the added lore left me positive and hopeful for Sindel’s return.

But then, the retcon happened.

Originally, Sindel is the deceased mother of Kitana whose husband was killed by Shao Kahn. She then sacrificed herself through a suicide pact in order to protect the realms, and was brought back to life as an evil queen by Shao Kahn milennia later, but then escapes his hold. Here, she is made to be evil all along, responsible for her husband’s death and willingly coming with Shao Kahn to rule alongside him. Sindel becomes a character from her society’s ruling class who is obsessed with preserving her privileged position. Some fans claim that this new depiction is “empowering”, but is it really progressive?

Today, the terms “empowerment” and “women’s empowerment” are becoming buzzwords used by advertisers and big industry writers in an attempt to sell their product to a growing number of women who takes part in geek culture or play video games, and a society with values that are getting more and more progressive. Some people call this phenomena “woke capitalism”, where a corporation adopts progressive political causes. The gaming industry is not exempt from that; people pay for games, downloadable content, and microtransactions after all.

More often than not, when male writers write “strong” female characters, they tend to focus solely on enhancing traditionally masculine values, such as fighting ability, ignoring what other values female characters have that make them strong, or they tend to be horribly, horribly tone-deaf, which I will explain in detail later. These representations of “women’s empowerment” should force us to reexamine the media we consume, and discern whether these are genuine depictions of social issues or woke capitalism disguised as such.

In the first place, why are so many writers obsessed with “empowering” female characters, instead of writing them as characters capable of fighting for their emancipation?

Empowerment is passive; it’s something granted by those who hold power, not earned nor fought for. In the rewritten Sindel’s case, she is empowered by Shao Kahn when he took her as his wife and gave her the privileges he enjoys. Sindel’s empowerment is selfish; her rise to power did not empower, emancipate, nor liberate her daughter Kitana, nor Jade, nor Mileena, nor the women of Outworld. On the contrary, it made life worse and oppressive for all of Outworld’s denizens, including its women, who now have to serve not one, but two privilege-drunk monarchs who rule with an iron fist. If that’s the values the writers want to impart on their audience, I have serious doubts on the sincerity of their “wokeness”.

The release of Aftermath takes things up to eleven, where Sindel betrays her own daughter to be with Shao Kahn, who, originally, enslaves her and forces her into marriage, which holds so much unfortunate implications for those in abusive relationships. It doesn’t help that Cianciolo liked a tweet from a fan that said the original Sindel, an abuse survivor, was never an empowered female character and a was bad mother for killing herself and leaving her child behind, bringing even more unfortunate implications not just for women in abusive relationships, but also for people who struggle with suicide. Somehow, Cianciolo and the fans that agree with him ignore these implications altogether and believes that the new haughty, tyrannical Sindel is an example of a strong female character. This isn’t the first time male writers tried their hand at feminist writing and ended up with tone-deaf plot decisions.

Cianciolo took a nuanced and well-written character and turned her into Shao Kahn 2.0. What happened is essentially the creative butchering of Sindel’s character; she went from being a survivor to an oppressor. Shao Kahn already fills the role of a cruel tyrant who refuses to relinquish his privilege for the good of the masses, and rewriting Sindel to become his distaff counterpart is not necessary at all. This treatment of her character isn’t feminist or progressive at all; it’s poorly-disguised misogyny. It’s implying that a woman can only be powerful if she submits to her husband so that he may grant her a taste of privilege reserved for powerful men, an antiquated sentiment best left to the feudal ages. Granted, the fictional realm of Outworld is ruled by a monarchy, but Sindel’s previous characterization is proof that writers can refuse or avoid using that trope.

Emancipation, on the other hand, is an active role; according to Ruane and Todd, it is “a process by which the participants in a system which determines, distorts and limits their potentialities come together actively to transform it, and in the process transform themselves.” This concept can be applied more appropriately to pre-retcon Sindel.

Going back to my days as a highly impressionable teenager, though I grew interested in her for her benevolent demeanor despite her intimidating appearance, Sindel’s roles as a survivor and a leader are what cemented my love for the character. Shao Kahn murdered her husband, usurped the throne, conquered her kingdom, and coerced her to be his wife. Later, she sacrificed herself for the greater good of a realm, and after being resurrected as an evil brainwashed puppet, she finally broke free from her abuser. With her newfound agency, she became a queen of Outworld who recognized her privilege and used it to stand with its masses against tyrants, and she also becomes a doting mother to Kitana, demonstrating great love for her family. When finally removed from her abuser’s influence, Sindel chose to be free, she chose to lead her people benevolently, and she chose to be with her true family. This Sindel broke free from the traditional Outworld power structure that Shao Kahn perpetrated for thousands of years, no longer a bride to be forcefully taken, nor a pawn to be manipulated by its emperor.

If you can look past the scanty costume design standard for video games of that era, the original Sindel could be a female character ahead of her time. Original Sindel not only can kick ass, she also has agency, willpower, and a heart; a strong female character with good writing. For those reasons, Cianciolo’s Sindel is #NotMySindel.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat 11 #mortal kombat aftermath #sindel #shao kahn #kitana #king jerrod #not my sindel

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reconditarmonia · 4 years

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Dear Chocolate Box 2021 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Elsinore | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Simoun

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

Requesting fic; open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Elsinore

Relationship(s): Hamlet & Ophelia; Hamlet & Horatio & Ophelia; Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia

I found the friendships in this game, and the different ways that characters can reconcile or try to find a way forward together, to be really sweet and moving, and I'd love to read something that focused on those relationships of trust and support. I like how important Ophelia and Horatio's counsel and friendship is in timelines where Hamlet becomes king; I like Hamlet regretting how he behaved towards Ophelia and striving to live through his depression and find out what it is that he wants, not what everyone else wants of him; I like seeing childhood friends Bernardo and Laertes and Ophelia and Hamlet, whose growing-up has stretched them so far apart, taking time to catch up and enjoy each other's company a little.

So, futurefic in one of the timelines where everything doesn't go to shit? A timeline that we don't see? (There is something narratively interesting to me in Permanence/Passion in that the entire plot of Hamlet ends up as a distant backstory to someone's full life; I don't know how compatible that idea is with these requests, but if you want to write any of these groups fucking off to Italy or Constantinople or London and living until the Elsinore pressure-cooker is a distant memory, I'd be just as happy with that as with fic about them building some kind of future together still in Denmark, trying to make it better for its people and to hold on to who they are as individuals, and friends, beyond their roles.) If you want to write Hamlet/Ophelia, Hamlet/Horatio, or for that matter Horatio/Bernardo as shippy, I'm fine with that, but I don't want a focus on the romantic aspects of their relationship.

Fandom-Specific DNW: death of requested characters within the timeline being explored, or focus on death of requested characters. These characters die in this game a lot and I don't need you to pretend entirely that it's not a time loop game, but I would like them to be happy. If you write the Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia request, I'm fine with either or both names/pronouns for Bernardo|Katherine, but I don't want to read a story focused on their gender or coming-out. Please don't include Peter Quince as a character (you do not need to retcon, you know, the existence of the time loop).

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Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Relationship(s): Maria Ross/Olivier Mira Armstrong

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

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Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Relationship(s): Abigail Pent & Dulcinea Septimus; Gideon the First & Matthias Nonius

Dulcie and Nonius were two of my favorite additions to the cast in Harrow the Ninth (and Dulcie in "Doctor Sex" via letter). I loved everything we learned about Dulcie - her wit, her quick thinking in a pinch when confronted by Cytherea and her secret to Harrow. I found her "The only thing preventing me from being exactly who I wanted..." speech both genuinely moving and very funny, and I love her thirst for revenge. What else might she and Abigail Pent, "independent research? it isn't even my birthday!" daredevil spirit-talker par excellence who has just conjured up a ghost out of an epic poem, get up to after Harrow's bubble collapses? Or what were they up to when they weren't on screen in Harrow's dream, putting together this whole, well, play?

Nonius's arrival, entire scene, and departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. I'd love to read either more about his mysterious past with Gideon the First, or about their second encounter as allies (throw in Marta, Ortus and Pro if you like as well!)

Fandom-Specific Exception: to my unrequested ships DNW, Dulcie/Cam & Dulcie/Pal. I love their three strand thing.

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Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Relationship(s): Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...

I would also be up for smut for them, especially something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

Fandom-Specific DNW: sex solely for magical purposes without an emotional connection (sex for magical purposes is fine), focus on Raylla (I don't need you to retcon it, but please don't dwell either on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail), Scylla bashing, Abigail/Adil (I would prefer to imagine, if he is mentioned in the fic, that they’re just friends).

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Fandom: Simoun

Relationship(s): Aer/Neviril; Aer/Neviril & Neviril/Paraietta; Aer/Neviril/Paraietta; Aer & Floef & Neviril & Paraietta & Rodoreamon & Vyuraf

Aer, and Aer/Neviril, really grew on me on my recent rewatch. I appreciated her more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon, who grows into a respected role in the choir, than the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. (I've written a lot more about what I love and am interested in about Neviril and the show in general, her journey of figuring out what it means to her exactly to lead an air force, here.) I'd love to know what happens to them post-canon - what is the "new world" and their travel in it like? It's an escape for them, sure, but what are they escaping to, not just from? Are there problems there, too?

I'd also be up for a poly situation where Neviril is involved with both Aer and Paraietta, her long-loyal second-in-command whom she's blessed and forgiven, as a V where they're friends or as a triangle where Aer and Paraietta are also involved (I don't quite know what that leg of the triangle would look like but I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

If Neviril and Aer make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, as at the end of the series, but their old cohort can't fly anymore, what do they see their role as being? Does Neviril see herself as a leader for peace, for war, for something else? How do they interact with their former squadmates, whether as part of a more plotty piece or not?

I could be interested in explicit fic for this canon, as an option - the series is, on some level, about the contrast between the reality and physicality of their bodies and the general perception of what they do (which even in its non-spiritual military capacity is removed from a connection to their bodies via the Simoun aircraft), about becoming an adult, and of course about gender.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I'm not really interested in Kaim and Alty and would prefer for them not to appear or for their backstory to come up. I would also not like to see pre-timeskip Dominuura/Limone.

#dear author letters

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starksinthenorth · 5 years

Note

What was your dream ending to Season8?

hahahahahahahahaha very much not what we got

I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but this fan written script is ideal IMO. I’m also working on a semi-rewrite here but I’m trying to use as much of show canon as possible so it might not be what you’re looking for.

Some general points because I could vent on this FOR AGES and I am assuming based on this question that I have to accept up to S7 as canon:

Ep 1

Instead of her stupid intro, Dany says something like “the North is more beautiful than I saw from dragon back when I went beyond the wall. I look forward to working with you, Lady Sansa, to protect our people.”

In the intro where the Northmen accuse him of bending the knee, Jon points out that actually, he did it after Dany offered to save the North. He doesn’t try to retcon that conversation.

Tyrion makes a comment to Dany about Cersei being beautiful and vicious and not being surprised that Sansa no longer trusts beautiful people after what she’s been through

Bran tells Jon halfway through who his parents are, he avoids Dany for the rest.

The Ironborn go to Dragonstone to protect it for Dany’s return because THAT MADE NO SENSE. Theon still goes to Winterfell.

Golden Company has elephants.

Episode ends with Jon saying “I have to tell you something” to his family (not Dany), right as the horn blows.

Ep 2

Sansa, in the catacombs, impresses Missandei when she goes to comfort a crying Meereenese woman and either leads the people in songs or gives some rousing speech. Either way, Sansa does something useful. Like the Battle of the Blackwater, their interactions breaks up the tedium of the fighting and helps our budget.

Idc about the outside battle tbh, it was fine. It can pretty much be what happened. Losing all the Dothraki / having everyone outside Winterfell was colossally stupid though.

Arya fights a White Walker one v. one and kills it. A few other of these fights - at least one or two ending in death - would also be good.

The crypts come alive. Sansa, Missandei, and co. are forced to flee the crypts as they’re overwhelmed by the dead. Sansa has the idea to set the crypt on fire based on something Jon said last episode in a battle meeting. Missandei helps her and maybe pulls her out of the line of fire at the last second.

Grey Worm, Jorah, Tormund, Thoros, all die at some point. Also probably Lord Royce.

Generally, minus a few good dead WW, our heroes are losing. There’s a final charge that takes out a bunch of the people we know and love. Jon and Sansa run into each other as she’s fleeing the tunnels, he says they have to abandon Winterfell, it’s super dramatic, “we just got it back, we can’t!” type fighting.

The White Walker’s walk past Jon, Sansa, et al. towards the godwood. They both look at each other: “BRAN!”

We have roughly the same set up with Bran in the godswood. We see a scene intercutting him seeing something about the background, history, creation, whatever of the White Walkers - what do they want? Why are they rising? - with men falling for him.

Finally, Theon falls. We hear / see Sansa screaming as Jon and Arya pull her away from Winterfell

Drogon and Dany appear, seemingly out of no where, and grab Bran out of his wheelchair

Dany starts flaming the Night’s King

Sad music swells as people are shoved onto horses, behind Dothraki, into wagons, anything that can move. We see a small force fleeing Winterfell. Sansa’s on a horse next to Jon, we see her looking at the people being picked off by the dead and Dany’s attack on the godswood. “we have to burn it. All of it.”

Jon nods, calls for Drogon, joins Dany in torching Winterfell

We get confirmation that Arya made it out okay because she stops to swoop up some child (the one from the opening) onto the back of her horse

Ep 3

sad as hell. everything is dark and night.

Cersei gets word that the North has fallen, but night has not recovered in the south either.

dissent among Cersei’s ranks because of all these signs

Jon explains his parentage to his FAMILY not his LOVER, huddled around a fire together. Arya reinforces you’re still our brother, Sansa agrees, but worries what Dany will do if she finds out. Jon assures her there’s no problem

The camera hovers on a little child in the shadows of the fire, staring at them, who then runs off.

Later, same child appears and reports to Varys. Varys talks about things with Tyrion.

Missandei grieves Grey Worm with Dany

War council where Arya’s knowledge of the Riverlands comes into play, somehow; also she hooks up with Gendry in this episode

This is probably the shorter episode of the season as they flee South.

Ep 4

this is also still in darkness

Varys tries to stage a coup, somehow. I don’t have details because this thing was so poorly staged and he should have died eons ago, but roughly what happened in show canon. tries to convince someone they’re following a madwoman to war and she doesn’t know what she’s doingDany is incredibly hurt that Jon didn’t tell her the truth.

at some point, there’s growling on the edge of their camp. Arya is nearby, comes out with her sword drawn to attack whatever beast lurks. Its Nymeria and her whole pack. Arya claims her as a rider / bonded human and they now have 500 wolves to fight the dead

this is also when we run into Jaime again

Dany is less weird about things, but still weird

they get to King’s Landing, host another council to discuss issuesDany says the lights aren’t coming back on, asks Cersei to let them defend the city. Together.

Cersei refuses, but Dany, Sansa, Jon, Arya + co. set up shop outside anyway, ready to die for humanity.

At some point, Bran cryptically tells them that only the end of light can bring the darkness to an end.

Ep 5

In the still before the battle, Jon and Dany have a chat about futures, children, etc. what this whole war (and show/series) is about and what later looks like. He admits he didn’t tell her because of Sansa’s fears and what she expected anyway.

battle is brutal, the WW easily break into King’s Landing, killing people, raising the dead, etc.

Jon and Dany realize, based on their earlier conversation, that the dragons have to die to save the world and fly them into the curtain of light at the end

at some point, Cersei and Jaime die

episode ends with the sunrise

Ep 6

a lot of mourning - like that speech Jon gave in show 804.

Eventually, great council tries to figure out the world and who will rule it.

Sansa gives her independent North speech and names Bran their king, inviting the remaining Dothraki and Unsullied to come populate it in Dany’s memory. The other realms scatter as well.

our last scene is a montage:

Sansa instructing builders around Winterfell as they raise some tower, some faceless/generic man comes up to her and sets a hand on her belly in a hug from behind, then a little redhead comes crying “momma, momma, look what I can do!” or something

We pan over Arya teaching some dark-haired child how to fight, then it gets leaped on by a little wolf

Bran sitting under the tree, smiling creepily, and we pan up into the sky.

There’s obviously a lot of details missing and a lot that doesn’t make sense, but oh well such is life.

#ask #anti got #got endgame #got rewrite #got fix i

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jackkodiac · 4 years

Text

Oh boy this is fun. Extremely long post ahead. Beware of ooc drama.

@holydestruction

"If someone has an issue with another mun, please do not send yourself ‘‘anons’‘ or have your friends send ‘‘anons’‘ as an excuse to try and attack/punish other muns."

Neither I myself, nor any of my friends know who sent the ask. I avoided answering it for 3 days because Ollie and I had not finished discussing the final outcome. I went into Ollie’s DM’s SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE of this ask to try to finally clear the air and have some kind of answer. The ask made me uncomfortable, and the 2 previous ones had as well. It had been sitting unanswered for 3 days before everything blew up.

"Once someone has blocked me I keep it at that and respect their wishes, and i normally don’t give a fuck about the petty vagueposts on here--in fact, check my rules for how i generally approach situation."

Please show me where I apparently vagueposted about anyone??? I didn’t even tell my closest friends about the problem until today (5/2/2020) when I was informed of this callout post, let alone make vague public complaints about you OR Ollie. I blocked you knowing you would likely block me soon anyway.

"However, if someone is coming up to me saying that people are posting things like this, and bringing private matters public while spreading misinformation then I’m going to respond."

No I’m pretty sure I didn’t air any dirty laundry, unlike you? I spoke the truth; in the end I did not get a choice. I got an ultimatum. And I dropped the subject after that ask. Good to know you have someone stalking my blog for you though.

You posted a screenshot of my ask response; a request to have the subject dropped bc I was hurt by a situation I couldn’t do anything about. How horrible of me.

"Hi yeah since you blocked me and Ollie is rarely on Tumblr any more cause of this exact shit right here, and you’re trying to vilify the mun OVER FUCKING WORD BARBIES, I’m stepping in to tell you top stop playing the fucking victim when I have chat logs of you trying to hold Ollie emotionally hostage."

Like I said, I blocked you knowing you would block me eventually anyway. I blocked him too, because I figured the same thing. He specifically stated to me in his last Discord message, and I quote: “After this conversation, I really do think it’s best that we don’t talk again.” So I blocked you both to deter the possibility of accidentally engaging with either of you again. As. Requested.

Also, it hurt knowing you have full reign to npc his character when I was denied even the possibility of npcing a *background relationship*. So yes. I blocked you. I could not forsee us ever interacting in a positive manner, so I cut my losses.

I am not sure how you think I’m “playing the victim” as if I wasn’t also hurt by his words and actions? There were no winners in this argument and you blaming all of it on ME is the actual vilifying.

Also good to know that wanting to talk about something instead of being told I have to end it on the spot with no explanation is “holding someone emotionally hostage.” I guess I will just have to avoid discussions with people ever again bc talking ooc is evil now!

"Ollie tried multiple times to contact you over this issue because they wanted to stay in contact."

This is actually true! Ollie contacted me to talk about general things as well as the topic of our characters a few times over the last month. I did the same thing just as often. He would contact me to say hi and ask how I was doing, we would small talk. I would contact him to show him pictures of my cat bc he liked them! We would small talk. Occasionally we actually would start to discuss things. Then we would either get busy, go to sleep, or have to go to work, and the discussion would end. Other times we had to stop because one or both of us was too stressed out over various factors and the topic was strenuous.

"Every time, you brushed them off begging Ollie not to have them break up because, as you stated, that was the only thing you had to look forward to that made you happy."

I did not brush him off EVERY time. Sometimes we started to get somewhere. He asked to stop talking just as often, if not more times, than I did. And while I did say the ship was ONE of the only things I was looking forward to, I did not say it was THE only one. The epidemic has been stressful on everyone, and with both of us being “essential workers” the external stress is even harder. I enjoyed having something to talk about when I got off of a hard day at the warehouse. I wasn’t ready to let go of that when HE even offered to have them work it out in the first place.

"You then ghosted them for days that rolled into weeks, and Ollie would have to contact you AGAIN."

Correction: I left Ollie ALONE for days at a time, after he would request it. He would leave my messages unanswered just as often? But I didn’t complain about it, because that is something he has always done. We don’t always have time to stop and talk. He would get stressed out and I would drop the subject AT HIS REQUEST until he brought it back up. I think that is actually considered respecting someone’s space.

"Do you know what that is, acyl? That’s putting the responsibility of YOUR HAPPINESS onto OLLIE over a FUCKING ROLEPLAY SHIP, ACYL."

And yet, his choice to make both of us retcon/cut down months of character development between both our muses ISN’T putting the responsibility of HIS happiness on ME? Ok. If you say so.

"Ollie explained to you now stressful and anxiety inducing roleplaying had become, and how miserable they were roleplaying this character for reasons that I’m not getting into and don’t matter right now. The point is, ollie explained how they felt."

And just as many times, I expressed that he did not have to continue writing. He said he was leaving tumblr and going to restrict rp to Discord. I said Ok I can work with that. He said he wanted to drop the character. I said Ok I can work with that; I have had many partners drop muses or leave the rpc before, and this issue has NEVER arose in all 5 years I have been writing this blog. The characters have either been killed off by the original mun or allowed to be npc’d in a background relationship. (Ie, implied that they occasionally hang out or talk. No large modding of anyone else’s characters.) Not once has someone started a huge ordeal over this.

"You then got MAD AT OLLIE, and LASHED OUT because Ollie deleted their blog, and told them that OLLIE SHOULD HAVE CONSULTED YOU FIRST???? AS IF YOURE ENTITLED TO THEIR BLOG??"

I was never once mad at Ollie. I was shocked and hurt by the last message Vwig had dm’d to Crow on tumblr before Ollie deleted the blog. I was concerned for Ollie over what had caused this sudden change. I had just gotten off an 8 hour shift at work and seen the aftermath, and I went into Ollie’s DM’s on Discord asking what was wrong. The previous night, when the characters had been fighting, I asked Ollie multiple times ooc if he was ok. I asked if he was bothered and he told me no multiple times. He said it was all ic and he was perfectly fine. I dropped it and the next I heard from him was THAT. I asked what was wrong, what had happened. I was concerned for my friend who just previously said he was ok. He said he didn’t want to rp vwig anymore and we started to talk about what to do since he was leaving the community. Not once did I say he had to ask my permission to delete his blog. I asked why he didn’t talk to me first about what had upset him, but I did not tell him he had to have my permission.

"YOU DO NOT OWN ANY RIGHTS OR GET TO HAVE ANY SAY IN WHAT OLLIE DOES WITH THEIR PROPERTY, NOR DICTATE WHAT OLLIE DOES WITH A HOBBY MEANT TO MAKE THEM HAPPY AND RELAXED. YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT CONTROL OVER OLLIE."

At no point did I ever express that I did. I expressed concern over his change in demeanor.

"You DO NOT get to do nothing but guilt trip Ollie to try and make them do what YOU WANT. You DO NOT then get to try and use anger to INTIMIDATE Ollie into doing what YOU WANT. You DO NOT get to ghost Ollie after they try to reach out, and pin the blame on them. You DO NOT get to try and vilify ollie because YOU DIDNT GET YOUR WAY."

Good to know that expressing my own discomfort, and concern is suddenly all of these things. Good to know that trying to find out why we can’t work things out all of a sudden is manipulative.

Good to know that internalizing my pain over this fight and going out of my way to avoid talking about it to literally anyone in order to avoid vilifying him in any way is me trying to make him look bad.

"Ollie stated why they were uncomfortable with you NPCing their relationship, and it is your responsibility to RESPECT it. Even if you disagree, it is THEIR CHOICE."

Just as well, I stated why I was uncomfortable with retconning months of writing and development. But apparently it is not his responsibility to respect that and try to come to a compromise. I am the one supposed to only respect him and not expect him to respect me back.

TLDR; You claim I am out here slandering and defaming someone I have never once mentioned in public about a private issue. Yet you name drop and vilify me in a callout post, yourself. You are being a hypocrite, and I would appreciate it if you did not mention me again. Have a nice day.

#ooc #ooc drama #long post

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twilight-deviant · 5 years

Note

So I never saw the Timeless movie but enjoyed your feedback on the show while it was in progress and agreed with you much of the time-- is the movie worth watching ? I'm scared it's going to be rushed, sloppy, and ly@tt garbage

First of all, thank you for valuing my opinion enough to ask. I haven’t rambled about Timeless in awhile, but I’m flattered you enjoyed and remembered my feedback when I did. ♥

Sadly, I have to report that Timeless finale is a movie disliked by Garcy fans, Riya fans, and gen fans alike. Pretty much the only way to like it is if you’re the target audience: Lucy/Wyatt shippers. Or maybe if you’re a very, very casual fan.

Full disclosure: I have not actually watched the Timeless movie. Like you, I feared it would abandon everything Timeless stood for, everything we loved, to waste its last moments on Lucy/Wyatt fan service. Aaaaaand I was right. Good call me on not watching it live. It might have broken my heart. I got the information later through friends and research. And tbh, hearing everything second-hand was actually hilarious. Yes, it was upsetting, but the writing is SO BAD, I actually laughed. Out loud. I may have cried laughing. It’s just… so bad. XD

I spent months dreading a worst case scenario for the movie, and when the time came, it was every bit that. (And then some? Somehow?) But when it got here, all of my fears turned to hilarity. I was RELIEVED. After months of being afraid, I finally felt free. I thought “This is what I was afraid of?” Because toxic shippers in the fandom got everything they wanted, just the way they wanted, but it is HORRIBLE! Because what they wanted was BAD. It watches just like the badly written fanfiction they demanded. Which is ALL this movie is: badly written fanfiction.

To quote Claudia Doumit when she read the script: “It feels like a fan wrote the movie.” Perhaps she means that in a positive way, but if a professional is writing “like a fan,” spoiler alert, it’s never a positive thing. It’s a “basic” thing.

Timeless movie is SO BAD that it is the least rewatched episode of all Timeless. Delayed returns on it are borderline embarrassing. Few people except Lucy/Wyatt shippers wanted to subject themselves to it a second time. Not to mention that support for Timeless and a third renewal fell into steep decline after the premiere. It seems not many people want more if this is the “more” we might have to look forward to.

imo, Future television writers should study this movie for direct examples of what NOT to do. It’s every worst case scenario, presented to you at breakneck speed. You barely have time to get over one absurdity before the next one hits. Not gonna lie. I’ll give kudos where due. I am legitimately IMPRESSED that writing managed to get every single thing wrong. Do you know how statistically impossible that is?!?!

Timeless movie really sort of took all the negatives, low points, disproportionate focus on romance, and bad writing of S2 and ran with them. That’s what it is. Concentrated S2, minus any good parts.

Basically, if you are a fan of Flynn, Lucy, Rufus, Jiya, Jessica, Emma, Connor, Denise, good writing, feminism, no plotholes, Riya, Garcy, or TIMELESS, please do not watch the Timeless movie. Save yourself. If your first (only?) priority is Wyatt and Lucy/Wyatt, go right ahead. It was made just (only?) for you.

Though obviously, I can’t/won’t stop you from watching. You may still want to form your own opinion, and if so, you have my full support. I hope that you find something appealing to make it worth your time. I especially hope that if you don’t, it doesn’t ruin Timeless for you, as it has other people. I still may watch it myself one day. I may. But not for entertainment purposes. Really just to mock it from a more informed standpoint. I’ve considered live-blogging the event. lol.

As is though, I basically know the entire movie through aforementioned friends and research. And I will summarize below the cut on the ways this movie failed Timeless and its fans. (PS: This is by no means everything. There’s just SO MUCH and I got tiiiired thinking about this monstrosity! Anyone is free to add on whatever I didn’t cover.)

[Spoilers]

Future Lucy gives the journal to Wyatt, the writer’s attempt to take something that has always been Flynn/Lucy’s thing and make it a L/W thing. (Somehow, we’re supposed to ignore that this Lucy already would have given her journal to Flynn in 2014. Conveniently, illogically, she has it again. So she can give it to Wyatt.)

Future Wyatt announces that Jessica was lying about being pregnant. Right out the gate. Great. Now, they get to kill her. Don’t worry, writing will strip away her entire character first so we don’t feel guilty when an “evil Rittenhouse agent” dies. It’s fine to kill a woman who was brainwashed from childhood, but let’s not kill a baby. We’ll just erase it instead. That’s different because reasons.

Writing introduces a new stipulation that people can coexist with time travel, but staying too long will kill them. This will come in handy later.

Also the new, updated Lifeboat will conveniently be able to do whatever the plot needs. Coexist? Sure. Autopilot? Suuuuure. Able to jump multiple times on one charge as if it had a nuclear core like the Mothership? Why not?!

If you thought Rittenhouse wasn’t scary anymore in S2, well hold onto this writer’s beer. Gone is any intimidation or purpose they once stood for. Now that Emma is running things, all that matters is stealing art and money from the past. Caution: Never go full two-dimensional evil.

Wyatt decides Jessica has to die and he’s the one who has to do it. But after half an argument from the team, he gives in and agrees not to. FLYNN will clean up Wyatt’s mess instead! Because suddenly, all that matters is he loves Lucy. Not his family. Not stopping Rittenhouse. No, he has to do this so that Lucy can be with Wyatt and Rufus can be alive.

Flynn tells Lucy that the journal can be unreliable. Despite this, he goes to 2012 and dooms himself because he believes, without a doubt, that Lucy’s heart will always belong to Wyatt, something he, ya know, got from the journal. And that neeeeeever changes. I mean, some guy said it was unreliable, but his name escapes me right now.

When 1x06 first aired and we heard the story of how Jessica died and how it was very much Wyatt’s fault, painting him in a negative light, I thought to myself (almost three years ago), “Wow. If we ever get a flashback of that night, writing is going to retcon all of that so hard so that it doesn’t look like Wyatt’s fault.” And lo! It’s Jessica’s fault now. She made Wyatt get jealous on purpose. She made him drink too much. She MADE HIM let her out of the car, per text orders of Rittenhouse agent. Poor Wyatt, what a victim. (Periodic reminder that Timeless hates women.)

Writing in the scene with Jessica’s death is so bad that we’re actually left with no alternative BUT to believe Wyatt was the original killer that night. Rittenhouse agent tells Jessica to get out of the car. This saves her life. No other person is seen on this road (save Flynn later) that could be the killer. And what’s the other course (the original timeline)? Without instruction, Jessica would have stayed in the car. And died. Wow, I can’t believe Wyatt killed Jessica in a drunken, jealous rage, but also I can. Also also writing just told us he did. If Rittenhouse wanted to make sure she was okay, they would tell her to stay in the car with her soldier husband, no matter what. That would save her. But what do they do instead? Hmmmm…….

Flynn kills Jessica and hurries to the Lifeboat, feeling the effects of coexistence taking affect. Set course for any time but this one, am I right? Wrong. Nah, better just die. Flynn sends the Lifeboat back to 1848 for the team and stays in 2012 so he can see his family one last time and then die. Because true character development is letting your five-year-old die violently two weeks before Christmas when you still have the life and power to prevent it.

Why does all of our correspondence end the same? Reply, reply, and then *crickets* Notice me, senpai. TToTT

For some reason (I mean, I know the reason. It’s bad writing by an idiot), dead Flynn’s fingerprints do not pull up when police find a John Doe on the beach. Despite the fact that he worked with the NSA and his prints would be on file.

I can’t with this woman:

Anywaaaaaaay, Rufus returns in a way that breaks all time travel rules thus far established in the show. Even though the team was traveling in 1848 with Flynn, suddenly it’s reset so that Rufus was there the entire time. Which, even if writing wants to claim that’s SOMEHOW possible, is still illogical because to overwrite that timeline, the characters’ memories would have also been overwritten. However, they remain perfectly intact with everyone remembering Rufus died. (Except Rufus, of course.)

Flynn dies because he stayed in the past too long. The writer would then go on twitter and pretend the matter was out of her hands, even though she’s the one who set the condition. She WROTE the rule that killed him, SO she could kill him. (This was previously not going to be a condition on coexisting time travel. Source: Interviews in which it was suggested that had Timeless been renewed for S3, Future Lucy and Wyatt may have stuck around for a few episodes.)

Arika would also say on twitter that, in her opinion, Flynn didn’t deserve a happy ending, to the uproar of many.

Writing tries to claim that Flynn was always the person who killed Jessica in 2012. Deer lord at the plotholes.

And the holes keep comin and they don’t stop comin. ♫

It’s Christmas now. For some reason. When the team returns to the bunker, there are Christmas decorations everywhere and we’re told that it’s Christmas in present day. Even though it was May yesterday.

There are more than a dozen ways to save Flynn at this point, but Arika doesn’t like him and just wants Lucy/Wyatt to bang. So you can bet none of them will be used. Also because she’s an idiot, the woman claimed on twitter that Flynn can’t possibly be brought back because he died while time traveling. Uh-huh. First off, what? He absolutely can be saved. Secondly, tell me how Rufus died again?

The characters acknowledge Flynn for a minute (in a toast give by WYATT, of all people) before promptly forgetting he ever existed until the end of the movie. When they need him again.

When Rufus wants to get intimate, Jiya tells him that she suffered some form of abuse while stranded in the past. That’s it. We will never talk about this again. Forget it ever happened. They brought it up just to scar Jiya even further and then ignore it. Anyone who tells you Timeless loves women is lying. Timeless wants to torture and torment women. FOR NO REASON!

Emma is the only person who cares Jessica is now dead. Because it sure as shirt wasn’t going to be her husband who like two days ago was desperately trying to get her to come home to her “family.” (Remember kids, women are just baby makers. If there’s not a baby in there, she’s garbage, and a minute spent mourning is a minute you’re not banging the next lady.) Emma plots revenge on the team, and honestly, by this point, I say let her do it. They’re horrible people.

Lucy boldly says she won’t be Wyatt’s second choice. So she can forget she said it in 10 minutes, when she’s suddenly fine with it.

Rufus is alive again, but all of his memories after 2x03 are conveniently erased. In his timeline, Lucy/Wyatt have been together this whole time, and he’s their biggest fan. He actually, canonically, verbally says that he’s “Team L/yatt.” That’s great because otherwise we’re left with a Rufus whose last words on the subject are:

“You are so worried about your stupid Lucy-Jessica soap opera that you forgot that there are other people here. Who matter to each other. Who love each other. If anything happens to her, Wyatt… I don’t think I can ever forgive you.”

Yeah, we can’t use that in the Lucy/Wyatt movie. Better erase the black man’s memory since he’s no longer serving his purpose: head cheerleader of the white couple!

Because Rufus’s memories are gone, all S2 development in the Riya relationship is gone with it. Damaging them even more after Jiya spent 3 years in the past (becoming hardened and almost a different person) and then watched him die. Don’t worry, writing will address none of this.

Rufus compares Lucy/Wyatt to Aragorn/Arwen. As a Tolkien nerd, I’ll throw down over this alone. IN WHAT WAY?!

There’s a pregnant woman in labor because leave no cliche unturned. Wyatt delivers the baby because what did I just say about cliches.

Lucy’s hormones go all a-twitter when she sees Wyatt holding said baby. Outside? In weather they admitted earlier is deathly freezing? (I mean, the mother might want to hold her own baby, but no. She has to get in line. Lucy absolutely HAS to have an epiphany that she needs Wyatt’s babies.)

Lucy decides that since Wyatt’s mistreatment of her was technically from another timeline, she can let go off all self-respect and tell herself he didn’t mean it. Also almost everyone else is dead or has their memories erased, so only they will know. Now Lucy can be with Wyatt and no one will judge her? Yay?

Despite Emma’s big speech in 2x10 about abandoning the pillars of “old Rittenhouse” and striking out on her own, she still backs down immediately when Denise makes Benjamin Cahill tell her to knock it off and surrender.

Emma dies at the hands of some deus ex machina random sniper. Letting us know the writer could no longer pretend she cared about any of this and just wanted to make Lucy/Wyatt bang. Are they banging yet? Bang now! Will this convenient and corny mistletoe move things along? Are they banging yet?

So Denise saves the day. In the most anti-climatic way. Meaning Rufus was never actually necessary and could have stayed dead. Actually, none of the team was necessary. Nothing in these episodes was necessary. All it took to end Rittenhouse was Denise and Ben. Roll credits.

Lucy decides NOT to save her sister Amy. Even though it’s what she has been fighting for since episode 2. Her reasoning? She says that trying to save the people they love has negative effects. (Let’s get one last jab at dead Flynn by saying, “Look at all the awful things that Flynn did in the name of saving his family.”) This is said in spite of the fact that Amy is SUPPOSED to be alive, and leaving her erased IS an alternate timeline, carrying the potential of being more catastrophic than SAVING HER and setting the events right.

PS: While in the past, Lucy JUST SAID, “What’s the point of saving history if we don’t save the people in it?” And then saved a stranger that was supposed to die. Writing for this movie does not care about consistency, only what’s relevant in the moment. And clearly the writer wanted Amy to stay dead.

Leaving Amy dead creates this lovely paradox:

Writer is too ignorant in time travel to understand that current timeline is erased, Lucy is now with Noah, and that is our endgame. Movie proceeds with Lucy/Wyatt ending.

The Mothership is dismantled for no reason. So now the team is stuck with ONE time machine for any future situations. Remind me again. Remind me. Why… did we have the Lifeboat in the first place? Oh yeah, Connor kept it in case the crew of the Mothership was ever stranded. And it came in handy after the Mothership was stolen. Right, who needs two time machines? Scrap her, boys!

In a flashforward to 2023, we see that Lucy is teaching at Stanford again. And she just got tenure! Which is a throwback to the Pilot, but completely ignores that it is not what Lucy wanted for herself, only what Carol influenced her into doing. Lucy’s dream job was to teach at a small college in Ohio. (Source: 1x14 conversation with Lindbergh.) But who CARES WHAT LUCY WANTS?! Certainly not a writer who barely knows the show upon which she is the showrunner.

Lucy is a thoroughly horrible fake feminist now. At her job, she teaches a general history class, but only talks about women in history. When a male student brings this up, Lucy says, “I meant to get to the men, but we just didn’t have time.Maybe in the spring, okay?” So he gets to sound sexist for valuing his education. Oh, wow, thanks. Feminism isn’t about ignoring men and acting like they’re not important. It’s about EQUALITY! Label your class as “Women’s History” if that’s all you’re going to teach. Also what if they don’t HAVE YOU next semester, Lucy?! They’re going on to their next classes completely unprepared. Remind me again how this woman got tenure? Because she didn’t get it in the Pilot due to her unconventional teaching methods. Somehow not adhering to your own course description is the secret to success?

Lucy and Wyatt have two twin girls named Flynn and Amy. There are so many bad fanfiction cliches I want to cry. TToTT Why are you making me cry? Never. name. the. second. generation. after. characters. that. died. It’s. THE. corniest. thing. Petition. to. stop!

Jiya and Rufus started “Riya Industries.” That’s right! They squeezed not one, BUT TWO fandom ship names into this nightmare. If you needed further proof no one was taking this movie seriously, here ya go.

2023 Lucy does take the journal to 2014 Flynn in the bar in Sao Paulo, but everything about it is wrong. Not only do Rufus and Wyatt accompany her, but the conversation leads to Lucy telling a man who just lost his family that he can change the past but will never save his family. Also he’ll die. And he should just accept all of that but still do what she says and sacrifice himself to save a world that hates him. And the entire conversation takes place in about a minute. I mean, people had a hard time believing Flynn would buy into Lucy’s story and do what she said after 2x08 premiered. Now? NO EFFING WAY!

A clip (deleted scene from Pilot) of 2016 Flynn at the end shows him about to raid Mason Industries and start us over again. In other words, he is stuck in Hell loop for eternity. His family will die in 2014, he will do horrible things he hates to save them and the world from Rittenhouse, and he will die unnecessarily to save the world. Then Lucy will go back in time, give him the journal, and start him on this quest all over again, knowing full well that he is a good man and this will destroy his soul. But she doesn’t care (actually smiles as she approaches him) because he “did bad things” and the writer thinks he deserves this. Even though Lucy is the one who set him on this path and one can EASILY argue it is all her doing and Flynn was nothing but her tool. Don’t worry, she gets her happy ending.

The movie closes on a young girl designing specs for her own time machine. Motives unknown, other than general interest, same as Connor in the beginning. The writer thinks this is an AMAZING open ending, leaving plenty of groundwork for more Timeless when fans get it renewed for a third time. (It is not. No one cares. You killed Timeless and flew all its plots into the ground.)

In conclusion, yes, worst case scenario on every single plot point. Timeless does nothing to prove or even suggest it deserves a third chance. I personally am left wishing it had never been renewed after the initial cancellation following S1. Let it stay dead now. Forever. It has done nothing to deserve yet another chance.

RIP Timemess.

#hopefully-happy #Ask #TD Reply #I hope you don't mind I published this publicly #I obviously had a lot to say #^__^;#In conclusion: It bad #And I would gladly meet with Arika in a Denny's parking lot #She ruined my favorite show #And then she came back with this movie and DESTROYED IT!#Also she hates logic and I love logic #She is my arch nemesis #I ranted way too long about this movie but if there's one thing I have in abundance #it's an opinion #Hahahahaha #Timeless

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aspoonofsugar · 5 years

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I know this might be weird but can you pinpoint what Eren actual plan is actually is? I still don't believe his declaration and i'm sure there is more that meets the eye. Can you give any other probability of what his real plan is judging from his character before his POV was shut off. Can you also include how the role of Kruger memory and advise to Grisha helped shaped the current Eren since I see a lot of similarities between the two in this final arc

The same dude btw. Do you have any theory on why Eren set up PATHS discord to declare his goal. Don't get me wrong but so far Eren intention has been presented as noble even though his method and goal isn't. The intention we have gotten from other character POV btw is to protect his friends and Paradise. What then do Eren benefit from monologuing like a stereotypical villain before unleashing his plan? He isn't the type to instill fear into people before killing them. That's OOC for him

The wall titans will take days or even weeks before they realistically reach the shores of Marley. Maybe it cause of bias but if I want to commit a genocide with something as slow as the wall titan, I will cut off flow of information so that they will meet their doom by surprise. Also thanks to him announcing his goal, he has helped clear indecisiveness for any Paradisians that's opposed to that outcome. Did he really expect Armin to sit still and allow him after what he pulled in 112?

Lastly, in Eren memory shard. We saw a shard of the fez boy whom he was looking at the last night. The general consensus among the fandom is that Eren decided for the genocide after what transpired in the meeting but if Eren really went out of his way to meet that boy after he ditched the SC, that kind of puts a dent in his genocide plan cause that shard looks to pure with the hand placed on shoulder and the whole body language. Sorry for rambling too much. I know it kind of makes other

characters development pointless if Eren isn't genuine. But it's just like saying Mikasa character development when Eren died is pointless cause Eren came back alive. I don't know if I make sense

One question, I want to ask about Kruger word on the wall " you have to complete your mission if you want to save Mikasa, Armin and everyone". Are we supposed to ignore that line or is it retconned or what? Many of the analysis I see base off of post timeskip Eren with no POV and ignoring established themes. I just see a lot of theory about big bad Eren and I can't help but wonder considering the scene was emphasized by both Grisha and Kruger. I feel like something is missing

Hello anons!

These asks can be answered together. I am also sorry for the wait since it has been a while since I have received them.

I have talked about Eren here and in particular I have said this:

Finally, when it comes to Eren’s future development, I currently see two possibilities.

a) Either we are given more information through Historia and his POV and this new information can modify the reading of Eren’s actions up until now.

b) He will grow and develop because of the actions of the other characters exactly like them will grow because of his current ones.

I think that point a and b which describe two possible ways in which Eren can gain future development lead to two different machro-theories I see going around.

1) Eren plans to turn himself into humaniy’s enemy, so that humanity can join hands, fight him and overcome their struggle in the meantime.

2) Eren’s wish to protect his home and loved ones coupled with his future memories led him to think that destroying the world is the only way he can ensure Paradis safet and so he is doing so even if he knows it is wrong.

I call them “machro-theories” because they can be interpreted in numerous ways and each one has a different nuance and a different spin to it. I am also sure that other explanations could be found, but, as for now, they are the two I find more plausible.

They can both make sense under certain conditions and I think they are the two ones that would have the more foreshadowing if proven true.

Now, let’s address some points you make against theory 2 and in favor of theory 1.

1) The boy with the fez. I don’t think him appearing in Eren’s memories disproves nor proves anything. Him appearing in Eren’s memories shows how much important was that night for Eren himself. It is the last night he spends with the people he loves before leaving them and starting to act coldly towards them. What is more, the child is a person who reminds Eren of his past self since he is a victim of war and a refugee like he was. Because of this, it makes sense that Eren was such impressed by the child since he represents both his past self and how people outside and inside the walls are the same.

As a matter of fact even if Eren is indeed doing what he seems to be doing it does not mean that he does not realize its gravity (different from the Jeagersists). He clearly does. That is why he cries after seeing the child. It is because he realizes he will die together with other people when he activates the Rumbling. Or at least the hapter implies this.

Alternatively, in case theory 1 is correct, Eren crying might simply be because he is somehow giving up on his past and possibly on his future since he knows he needs to sacrifice himself.

2) Eren’s speech to the world Eldians.

As the first anon said in their asks, it might be a trick Eren is using to stage himself as the only true monster in order to unite the world against him.

Alternatively, someone (whose name I don’t remember, so tell me if yuou know) noticed that the Founding Titan powers seem to work without specific restrictions. So, for example, when Eren ordered that all the hardening had to become undone, not only the walls, but also Reiner and Annie resented of the effect of Eren’s order. So, Eren might have wanted to announce his plan only on the Eldians of Paradis, but ended up bradcasting to all the world Eldians. That said, I don’t find the theory that convincing even if it is interesting simply because Eren’s words seem to be directed to all Eldians.

3) Eren as an antagonist being against the themes.

To this I disagree. As a matter of fact a way to explore a theme is to have the MC have a tragic arc which embodies the opposite of a story themes. Because of this, having Eren who wants freedom ending up representing freedom’s opposite can be an effective way to explore the theme of “freedom”. If anything Eren manipulating everyone, so that things go according to his plan is something which risks not to fit with the idea of freedom. As a matter of fact, having a single character giving “freedom” to others through manipulation seems kind of hypocritical. That said, there could be ways in which theory 1 can be proven true without this happening. So we’ll see.

4) Kruger’s words. I have talked about Kruger’s words here:

He might be doing it because he has seen Kruger mentioning to Grisha that if he learns to use this power correctly he can save Mikasa, Armin and everyone else. All in all, just this hope might be enough for him to push forward in a confused hell despite the fact he has only partial information and that he might very well mess up in the process.

In short, the panel of Kruger mentioning Armin and Mikasa is clearly important and I think that that panel together with the one of Mikasa in chapter one have still to be explained and will be in the future. What is more, I think they are connected to the Attack Titan piower somehow.

When it comes to Kruger’s words it is possible that, as I say above, Eren is also animated by them in doing what he is doing. As a matter of fact being told by my future self that doing something will save the lives of people I love might be a reason good enough to do whatever I am told. I also think we might see Eren sending himself this message in future chapters.

In conclusion, both theories 1 and 2 are still possible. They have both positive and negative aspects to them.

For example, having theory 1 be true would make difficult to understand why Eren could not simply tell the others about it. Why did he have to risk the destruction of the world hoping that a bunch of people who could have died countless times would join together and stop him against all odds? This is something which seriously needs to be addressed not to make the whole situation ridiculous and it can be addressed either by adding plot-points which make Eren’s choices understandable or by clearly showing that Eren was wrong not to tell others.

At the same time, for theory 2 to be true there is the need to find a convincing reason why both Historia and Eren’s POV have been hidden from us up until now. If Eren wants to destroy the world and that is, why have we not been shown his pov and why is there still mystery about a meeting between him and Historia? Similarly, there is the fact that it makes no sense for Eren to have told Floche his plan and not people he truly cared about. As a matter of fact even if he wants to destroy the world, why should he want a group like the Jeagersists rule over Paradis considering they are a threath to people like Hange and Levi he cares about?

All in all, why is he pushing Armin and Mikasa and the others away? No matter what theory is true, it must address this point.

These are my two cents as per now.

Have a great day!

#snk #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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