#ultimately I’m just very confused by the writers

[fullyinconsequential]

Here’s a 3am Steddie rant I think every Steddie lover (and possibly hater) should hear. I have no goal to convert anyone—just to say that the ship did not actually “come from nothing.” Here’s why:

I don’t understand how there wasn’t Steddie foresight in the writer’s room.

So they play it up in season 3 like Steve just can’t get the girl and when he does she’s not the right girl and yada yada yada—cool beans. I love his character arc with Robin, their friendship, her queerness. I love their entire bathroom interaction.

Specifically: “It’s somebody that I didn’t even talk to in school. Maybe cuz Tommy H. would’ve made fun of me, or I wouldn’t be prom king…. First of all, she’s hilarious. So funny. I feel like this summer I have laughed harder than I have laughed in a really long time. And she’s smart—way smarter than me…. She’s honestly unlike anyone I’ve ever met before.”

Traits Robin Also Has that Eddie Shares:

Outcast

Band Kid

The Witty Banter

Eddie’s personality is VERY Robin. Not perfectly so, but maddeningly close.

Another point:

This is just the same person in different gender specific fonts, A.K.A. Steve’s “love interest” versus a guy who called him “big boy” completely unprompted and interrupted a tender moment between him and his “love interest” and complimented him for an entire scene while Steve wore his clothes.

So, really, one of them’s Steve’s love interest and the other is Nancy Wheeler /hj.

I write a lot, and as someone who both writes and consumes an abhorrent amount of media, whoever wrote this down, casted and costumed this way, and allowed for the interactions between Steve and Eddie to be as nuanced as they were (EX: the scene in which Eddie steps forward like he has more to say to Steve before he goes off and kills himself) had to have known what was going to happen. There is simply no way of not seeing it.

And if they didn’t want people shipping Steddie at the scale which they do, here’s what went wrong:

First: defaulting to Steve wanting his ex back is just plain shitty writing. It means you don’t know where to go with the character anymore, and since you’re certain he’s done all the growing he can do, he’s just gonna double back to the conflict he was in in the FIRST SEASON.

Are you serious right now, bro?

Steve’s arc as a character has been absolutely heartwarming to watch. If anything, he’d have been better off given the “I need to figure out how to be happy on my own” narrative. Throwing him back at Nancy is a cop out, a big one.

Second: Eddie. Throwing Eddie in the mix was absolutely a WILD decision, because he looks like Nancy, he banters like Robin, and GENDER IS NO LONGER A PLAUSIBLE REASON FOR AN AUDIENCE TO DENY CHEMISTRY, OR EXPLAIN IT AWAY. Not in the year of our lord 2023, no sir. Not unless you’re going to explicitly state in some way to an audience that these characters are DEFINITIVELY STRAIGHT. And with Eddie, they went as far off that course as possible.

The outcast stuff. The D&D stuff. The hatred of the system. The mysteriously living with his uncle and not his parents. THE HANKERCHIEF IN HIS BACK POCKET.

So essentially, this is what they did:

They took a beloved character, flubbed over his character arc because they weren’t sure what to do with it.

Then, they created a SECOND beloved character, made him likable, lovable, even, and relatable. Then they gave him half and half personality and looks of Steve’s last two love interests. Then they gave us scenes of them together where they showed chemistry, genuineness, and playfulness.

Then they EXPECTED that we as an audience had enough heteronormativity left as a society to say—oh, those two guys aren’t flirting with each other even a little bit because they’re two guys and obviously that doesn’t happen.

WHEN IN THE SAME SEASON WE WATCHED WILL AND ROBIN GO GAY PANIC AND DESPAIR LIKE?????

Pick a side pick a side, are your characters fucking gay or is your audience fucking blind?

Point being, I have some friends IRL who don’t really get this. They think Steve and Eddie hardly interacted enough for there to be romance at all, but I think it’s less about how much they interacted and more about the (unintentional) set up they were given by the writers.

Steve’s a truly beloved character and I don’t know on ST fan that wants to see him just end up back with Nancy Wheeler like his entire character arc was just to “get the girl” and “have six kids.” Which he already has by the way.

Anyway, that’s just my two cents. I’m not advocating for anyone to ship them, I’m just saying it’s honestly a perfectly logical conclusion to make, especially if you CARE about Steve as a character, you know? We want him to be with someone genuine, someone who challenges him to be better, to be different than he was. Nancy couldn’t handle doing that. Robin could, but they’re platonic af.

So why wouldn’t it be Eddie?

Rest in peace, by the way. You would’ve loved this text post.

[killinfate]

Do you have any headcanons for Henry Winter, either as a lover or just general? I feel like headcanons are a good way to familiarize ourselves with a writer’s characterization, especially for a character like Henry.

Looking forward to it<3

HENRY WINTER HEADCANONS

(also currently writing an imagine for him BARE WITH)

— Firstly , Zane Holtz is my favourite Henry Winter fancast and this is exactly how I pictured him. Cannot get behind the Cillian Murphy fancast at all.

— To be Henry’s lover I think the friends to lovers dynamic would definitely come into play. I can’t see him being interested in someone purely from appearance, there has to be an intelligence to them and something he can level with.

In conclusion I personally would not appeal to Henry Winter.

— You’d definitely have to be in the Ancient Greek class for Henry to acknowledge and notice you. Unlike Bunny, Henry doesn’t befriend anyone out of the group and has his own superiority where he looks down upon the other groups in the college. I doubt Henry would be willing to get to know anyone outside the class.

— Slow burn would also be important as Henry takes time to trust or more so; you trust Henry. We’re told Henry appears odd to the other students of Hampden, coming off as stoic and cold so naturally you wouldn’t warm to him immediately either.

— Henry would be subtle with showing affection at first. I don’t think he’d be the type to easily confess his love for you and instead would drop subtle hints like gifts that were very personal or preferring to spend time with you alone than with anyone else.

— Despite his lack of emotion showed externally I believe someone who studies Ancient Greek like he does has a poetic side to them. It’d probably be subtle but there would be small lines in cards and letters.

— I’m not going to completely romanticise Henry since I do believe he’d be difficult to be with at times. His detached personality would entail arguments such as he’d leave for hours or possibly days and be extremely vague to where he’s been. There’d be confusing moments to where he’d want to push you away and I don’t think he’d ever be truly transparent and himself. There would always be underlying secrets, something Henry doesn’t want you to know even if you were entitled to knowing.

— Henry would probably think he has some power and control over the relationship considering his superiority complex. This would be another confusing factor because it could be construed as him being caring and compassionate, how he would tend to your needs and allow you to be vulnerable yet it in his eyes it satisfies his need for superiority and power.

— Ultimately I think deep down Henry would love and desire you yet he’d have difficulty showing it unless you got in an argument and you stormed out. Henry’s mind would wonder without you, knowing you weren’t there to talk him away from wherever his mind went.

— You’d act as a rock for him but eventually I don’t think there’d be any saving that man from how his mind spirals.

— His favourite idea of a date would either be a quiet night in reading or going out to some typical fancy restaurant (or simply a bacchanal if ykyk).

[dappledpaintbrush]

Hey question, what’s your honest opinions on canon Dimentio? Like, wasted potential maybe?

OOOOO this is very interesting

I’m not saying this because he’s my ultimate fave (I’m very critical of super paper mario and it’s my ultimate fave game-wise), but I believe he’s perfect. Like honest to god if the writers nailed ANYTHING, they nailed Dimentio and everything about him

Dimentio is a very secretive character. Sure, he might not initially appear to be. He’s consistently flaunting himself in his attire and his words, words that seem so full at a glance, but are ominously empty when scrutinized. He forces the audience’s attention to fall upon him. He WANTS all eyes to stare, both the characters’ and the person’s on the other side of the screen. He is draped in a rich, smooth purple and a sharp, extremely pale yellow. He makes purple and yellow, two complementary colors, seem inverse. He makes them wrong. He makes everything wrong. Something about this character is wrong. It’s not the fact he’s on the villain’s team. It’s something else. Something you can feel but can’t put into words. It’s those words. It’s those colors. It’s that smile. It’s that two-faced mask.

And of course you’re right. Of course he’s the secret villain. He has to be. What else is his purpose? The heroes are victorious, the villain who was also destroying all worlds is redeemed because his motive was known, the other villains live the rest of their lives with good intent in their hearts, and Dimentio is dead.

And … It can stay that way. You don’t have to know anything else. There’s no more Memories. There’s nothing more that you cannot miss. Dimentio can remain as he wished to be: Unreadable. Secretive. Wrong.

But, if you wanted to, you could go beyond what the game intended you to. You could find and take out the narrative that was tucked away and hidden for you. Only you. There’s no cast of characters or musical score witnessing this part of the story with you. It’s just you. You, and Dimentio. Dimentio is dead.

I love Blumiere so, so much. He’s such a beautifully crafted character that is pure tragedy personified, and he deserves nothing but love, and thankfully, that is something he is lucky enough to possess. But Blumiere is a liar. Dimentio is a liar, too. Blumiere lost someone he loved. Dimentio lost someone he loved, too. Blumiere never found happiness. Dimentio never found happiness, either. Blumiere tried to destroy existence. Dimentio tried to destroy existence, too. Blumiere revealed his secrets. Dimentio did not. Blumiere is, somewhere, alive. Dimentio is dead.

How crazy is it that something that was so critical for Super Paper Mario’s story to unfold was only halfway told? How crazy is it that the writers created two characters that are so beautiful and so tragic and have to be handled with the utmost amount of care and an unbelievable amount of nuance and only one’s story is brought to light? To me, that is the best thing they could have done. Dimentio’s story did not need to be told like Blumiere’s. It would have harmed his character- his secretive, unreadable character. The writers wanted him to be a mystery, and by god they did not go back on their word. They kept him true to himself, and he died true to himself. Maybe he’s alive, somewhere, true to himself. It would not be the first time he and Blumiere mirrored one another.

It is fascinating to me. It’s something I’ve rarely seen accomplished this well, it’s something I’ve rarely seen accomplished at ALL. To me, Dimentio is far from wasted potential. To me, he is one of the best characters, both good and evil, that Nintendo has ever created, and the fact a good portion of people may be confused with why I hold that perspective is precisely why I personally have it. Dimentio’s perfection as a character IS that confusion. What is not known is what makes everything. This game’s writing is beyond words and I believe that even when it’s showered in praise it still remains unappreciated. It’s part of why I hold it so close to my heart and have for all these years. It’s so unique. It’s so beautiful. It’s so tragic. It’s so secretive. It’s alive.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Dog Days of BL but July is Incoming

June 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I’m finding the time frames confusing. Still, a lovely crying kiss + a very high drama-lllama gay confession. Kitchen counter make out, my fav! The actor who plays Jeng kisses at MaxTul levels, which is to say = like a man who has actually done it before with genuine desire and is capable of portraying that on screen. (What makes MaxTul kings is that they BOTH do this.) Pat caught up, thank goodness. Also P’Jeng!!!! P’JENG!!! I love how intimate phi is when it’s been all khun prior. This is the Thai version of hyung slinging. Errotic linguistics, my fav. And ALL the work drama and homophobia fall out when you sleep with the boss. I really enjoy that the angst concerning their relationship has to do with the fact that this is an office romance. Lastly? I love Chot so much. Everyone needs a gay auntie. Also Bruce is SO DAMN GOOD. (I mean we knew he would be from Lovely Writer, but this... chef’s kiss.) 

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - There are enough meta-analysis on this one for me not to have to weigh in. Suffice it to say that I like what it’s trying to do, and I certainly appreciate the levels of consent and so forth but I’m not sure I actually like it as much now that we are swimming in high concept. Too much lying. I’m not sure I want my BL to make me think this hard. Also poly, boys = final answer. (Anyone else getting Color Rush flashbacks?) 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 6 of 12 - I love Max now and forever, and I made some very bad puns in the Trash watch here. Otherwise I’m not super invested. 

Dinosaur Love (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 eps - from Ultimate Troop (The Yearbook people) so I shouldn’t watch this as it airs, after Remember Me? I swore never again. But there’s so little on right now, I’m falling on the pulp sword...  My initial thoughts? It’s an En of Love installment? What is going on? Why all this opening with the sides in a bar? Are we framing? Just move on to the 2 boys kissing! Don’t try to be clever, for fucks sake. Okay, good, the pulp has begun. I like soft wet-blanket Rak and his sad love life. I’m not wild about how aggressive Dino is plus insta-SINGING but I DO LIKE THAT HE’S OUT and knows what he wants which is refreshing. It’s trope filled nonsense (crash into me, instalove, sing feelings, floppy drunk, he’s in engineering, fast and bi-curious) also Dino used ter at first (how forward!) then he went to gu/mueng after rejection, while Rak uses khun & phi/pom. Love this for them. Despite my justified reservations with this production team imma stay watching. I need something on Sundays. * 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 6fin - That’s it? Bullsheiit. No seriously. That’s my review. 3/10 I DON'T KNOW WHAT I JUST WATCHED AND NEITHER DOES IT AND I’M MAD ABOUT IT.

* I got to say, you have only yourselves to blame for Dinosaur Love’s ranking. Once upon a time, I lived happily in ignorance of the Thai film industry. And then you all kept asking me extremely intelligent questions about it. And because I am a nosy little shit, I had to figure out what was going on. And now a BL like this, which ordinarily I would just love unconditionally, is a really scary place for me, because I know too much about the production house. The evils of too much information are all true. Remain happily in ignorance, I advise you, especially where BL is concerned. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love Tractor (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - Yechan is such a frank character it confuses all who meet him, also a truly terrible flirt. This is such a puppy/cat relationship. It was cute but it went too far into cringe for a KBL (for me). I don’t think Kdramas are good at farce (sorry), better if they stick with more subtle humor. It was a sweet ending tho, not too cheesy. Nice kiss for KBL but pretty rather than sexy. Full review below.

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - Oh, it’s GREAT. Damn it. There is a lot of subtext and things not being said. This is going to be one of those shows where it’s endlessly frustrating that they don’t just talk to each other. The crying first time was gut-wrenching. Ren is complicated & scarred & closed off. Kazuma is earnest & empathetic & thinks he’s unworthy - so will take whatever crumbs are handed to him. They are both giving parts of themselves away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other. These 2 are gonna fuck each other up while they fuck and fuck with our hearts. Japan is giving us the Bed Friends that Thailand can never even imagine. There is absolutely no guarantee this will end happily (it’s from the Eternal Yesterday people) but it is guaranteed to be painful and beautiful along the way. Oh Japan, must you? I guess you must. 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 4 of 6 - I’m mostly confused by the catfishing & tarot side plots. But the mains sure act like bfs. To the point of our tiny jock idiot getting gay panicked by how much bfs they are. Surprise kiss! For everyone, it turns out. Yes I laughed. What? It was pat but also… FUNNY.

Tie The Knot (Pinoy YouTube) ep 3 of 8 - The main couple is adorable, but I’m not wild about the gay bashing blackmail side story. Still, it’s the best we’ve had from the Philippines in a while so I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 9 of 12 - Seriously? Bah Vinh = chemistry with EVERYONE. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 12fin - So Souta just disappears off to Singapore and doesn’t say anything to his boyfriend about it? And then comes back with the perfect plan and life for both of them? Oh Japan, must you? Review below. 

It’s airing but ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.

Ever After (Pinoy YouTube) 12 eps - Spies reported that it's a real mess and not a hot one.

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me. 

In case you missed it

BL Express reviewed The Egoest. Oh boy am I never going to watch that. 

One in a Hundred - Gaga dropped all 12 episodes (c.10 min ea) at once. This is a 2020 Chinese show. It’s not BL. And it has a laugh track. I watched the first & final eps and won’t bother with the rest. DNF

I finally watched the 2022 thing I should have. 

To Sir, With Love - REVIEW

This is a true lakorn with scenery chewing performances from an ensemble cast focused on family obligation and past sins, especially from the mother characters. It is a Thai tellenovella + Gone With the Wind but gay. That said? I loved it: A glorious central brother relationship (the best, made me cry), het romances, class divide + gay *gasp* main romance, the camp of it all! It’s like it was invented by drag queens. Arranged marriage, rebellion, cut sleeves, dramatic death with curses and regrets, beautiful if inaccurate costumes, secrets unraveling, cover ups, sparkle murder, sex herbs, coils within coils including snakes and death by glitter (is anything gayer on this earth?). It’s a WILD ride. It’s not BL. It’s not a romance, it’s a family drama Thorn Birds style but it does end happy for our gay boys. Like Manner of Death I’m struggling to rate something on a BL scale when it patently isn’t a BL. I think I have to give it exactly what I gave that show, 7/10 

I loved it, but not as a BL. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS (over its BLness) 

Zenra Meshi - REVIEW

AKA Naked Dinner 

I have to be honest, I didn’t really like much about this show. The central premise was too odd and the main character too clumsy & slow on the uptake. I like the food, but there have been food-set BLs before that failed to meet expectations. Too many of them. This one joined that throng. Good ending tho. 7/10 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Love Tractor - REVIEW

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed, all my favorite tropes. This show was basically a light-weight Restart After Come Back Home and I’m not even slightly mad about that. 

But (and you knew there was a “but” coming) something about the cringe of the final 2 eps and the impermanence of the ending (both of which highlight the fact that ultimately these 2 are I’ll-suited: too different & too far apart) left me with the feeling that they probably won’t last as a couple. However, in this case, rare for me, I forgive it this finale for my love of the rest. 

I did dither a lot though, it’s not an 8 but not a 9 either. Better than Love Mate (8/10) not as good as The New Employee (9/10) but in the end I’m value adding up for the premise and the cast, giving it a 9/10. 

RECOMMENDED 

(Gotta say, because this is rare for me, that this had a great OST. Not the credit music but the refrain, Rainbow.) 

Next Week Looks Like This:

July 2023 Supposedly... 

7/3 Be Mine SuperStar (Thai Mon Viki) 12 eps - JaFirst whipping boy/spoiled prince, obsession, celebrity/mundane. Third-year film student Punn (Ja) gets an internship on the set of a drama. He’s come to learn, but "what lights his passion even more than the work" is leading man Achi, Thailand's sweetheart. Adapted from the novel “The Superstar and the Puppy on Set” (พี่พระเอกกับเด็กหมาในกอง) by Orpheus, cast includes Benjamin Brasier (2moons2), Bosston Suphadach (UWMA), Jo Kavinpat (War of Y), Kokliang (TharnType). Directed by David Bigander (Bite Me) which makes me nervous. Maybe he'll do better with an adaptation?

7/6 Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu ????) 12 eps - The story is a continuation of Minato & Shin's love story, and it picks up 10 years after the events of season 1 but the characters don't seemed to have grown at all. Very Japan of you, Japan.

7/7 Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 10 eps -  Gu Bu-Xia has the ability to hear ghosts, except when he is around his new roommate Jiang Chi. So he starts to find ways to approach Jiang Chi. But is it  the ghosts or Jiang Chi’s charm?

7/8 Low Frequency (Thai Sat YouTube?) 8 eps - ghost boyfriend, celebrity/mundane - Mon's life as a spirit-seeing interior decorator is full of headaches. On good days, he helps settle problems for his relative, who is a star manager. But then he gets involved with the spirit of Thames, a famous young actor who is in a coma.

7/9 Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - JoonDunk are back. Zo, a college freshman whose never been in love, decides to change it by making the college’s star Nita as his gf. He approaches Joke, Nita’s ex, for dating advice. What he fails to realize is that Joke has had his eyes on him for a long time and uses this opportunity to approach Zo. TMS 2.0.

7/15 Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat ????)  Stars the pair from To Sir With Love and with the same production team, cryptic description, but it seems to be Manner of Death esk.

7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not... that is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts.

7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 (TutorYim rumored to cameo) this office romance features 2, yes 2! Bls. Seme looks aggressive, we in classic yaoi territory. There is an idol involved. Past failed flirts. I am very excited about this one.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To Sir With Love

Best execution of the piggyback trope ever? I think so. 

Fucking GENIUS piece of acting. Bruce we LOVE you! 

All Step By Step 

It was stupid funny, okay? (Stupid Genius) 

Ridiculous man, you don’t have to eye fuck THAT hard. But we all appreciate it. (Vian) 

Dangerous thing to say in a show about identity in relationships. 

Brave boy.

I said this show was deep, not that I was. Although Patts seems to be going there. 

I’ll stop now.

All La Pluie. 

(Last week.)

[supercalime]

“you can think your friends are hot and like, not want to pursue them, whether you realize you’re queer or not.” you are 100% right! as a queer person who finds basically everyone hot, this is so real!!! your whole rant is so real btw.

and i’ve been there, where i thought i had a crush on my friend after figuring out i’m queer cause we’re close and love each other, but then i reflected and realized, no i just love them as friends and also have eyes to realize they are hot. simple as that.

as a bucktommy endgame truther, i really hope the writers and producers are pressured to make b*ddie canon. but i won’t be upset if b*ddie happens but i hope they do it well and respectfully.

Im glad you relate, bestie!

The whole friendship being mistaken for romance is such a complicated, confusing and goes into so many areas of a spectrum that i can’t even get started with here.

But all I can say is that it all comes down to public enemy #1 and say it with me:

amatonormativity!

There are many kinds of love, and while they can be put into boxes, they can be interwoven into a complicated tapestry that can be impossible to define if you only see love as the 8 different categories from Ancient Greece.

This pressure of romantic love being put on a pedestal as the ultimate goal and accomplishment in life is very damaging in real life and I hate how this bleeds through so much through media as much as it does.

There are countless examples of movies and shows that put two characters together simply because they were the two mains who had a deep bond so to make it “concrete” they have to be romantically involved otherwise it wasn’t as “legitimate” as any other type of relationship. And I say this as an absolute sucker for a good friends-to-lovers trope!

Anyways, I’m like you, anon. A bucktommy truther who isn’t bothered if b*ddie becomes canon if it’s done well

[dutchdread]

I was reading some of your stuff and I’m very confused. If aerith first love was zack why not have them kiss in ccr or hold hands ? It just seems like the writers don’t want them together when they let aerith have all this moments with cloud especially since they don’t let zack and aerith meet in rebirth. And I didn’t understand why the dev don’t say cloud and tifa are married after ff7 if there the cannon couple.

This question is odd to me, you're essentially asking me why the story didn't end in part 2. We have an entire third game to get through. Drama and bumps on the road are a part of every story, you're essentially asking me why they don't just skip that and resolve the story at the start...... the reason they don't is because that's not a story. Aeriths uncertainty and inner struggles concerning Cloud and Zack are a part of the story, and they're what make the story engaging. Clouds issues in regards to his jenova and mako induced mental and physical health as well as his pre-existing conditions, are all elements of the story that cause friction and interplay with the characters as well.

The reason we don't get an Aerith and Zack reunion in part 2 is that that is a pay-off, and pay-offs are for endings. Aeriths feelings concerning Cloud are part of the inner struggles being told. In this part of the story we see Aerith using Cloud as a stand in for Zack, we see her realizing that's wrong, we see her trying to look at Cloud for Cloud, and ultimately he see her discovering that it's just not the same, that while she really likes Cloud, she doesn't "like like" Cloud.

That was the pay-off for part 2. Part 3 will reveal exactly why it was that she did feel a certain draw towards Cloud with the Zack reveal, and it will have the pay-off of Aerith and Zack reuniting, supposedly combined with a good example of how her chemistry with Zack contrasts with the forced nature of her interactions with Cloud. And we'll get the pay-off of the tension that's been built up between Cloud and Tifa. Concerning why we don't see them married in ACC. If Zidane and Garnet are canon why didn't FF9 show them kissing? If Squall and Rinoa are canon why didn't the ending show them getting married? What is it with these specific requests? They're living together raising kids, what more do you want? Instead of asking why we're not getting something, lets look at what we do get. We get Cloud and Tifa kissing in the second part of a 3 part story where their most iconic and romantic scenes, the scenes all about them revealing their hearts to each other and growing closer, are yet to come. We get Cloud and Tifa living together and raising a family. We get more than just about any other canon couple I can think off. Yes, there is still wriggle room, there always is, but why wouldn't there be? Why would SE go out of their way to stomp out any and all other interpretations of their work? What would be the point of a scene showing that Tifa and Cloud officially married OTHER than just being there to piss off Cleriths? That would honestly just be cruel for no reason, plus it would make Cloud come across as even worse. And one has to wonder why anyone would expect them to be married after only 2 years at age 23 while already dealing with raising kids, rebuilding bars, and dealing with loss. But them not going out of their way to ruin peoples days doesn't mean that there isn't a canon interpretation that they are following when writing. And that canonicity specifically, repeatedly, calls them a family. Here is a question, if there was supposed to be a question about who Cloud ends up with in FFVII, why does Cloud end up raising a family with the same girl whose "special existence" he vowed to become a decade earlier, while Aerith ends up dead?

[mortalityplays]

Hi there! I’m a newly graduated editor and writer trying desperately to make freelance work for me, and/or find a permanent position with a publishing house or company. Do you have any advice for how to start getting clients consistently/how to get your foot in the door? I’ve been struggling to find work since I graduated last spring and it’s been hard to figure out where to start or what I’m doing wrong when a lot of the time I am just being ghosted :”)

I had to go for a walk and think about this. I've written and deleted two very long responses because it's hard to balance what I think I've learned about 'the industry' (fake idea but we can unpack that another time) with what it has made me learn about myself. The latter is not really going to be important or helpful to anyone else's specific circumstances.

Here's what I can boil it down to:

The idea of a 'traditional path' into editing/publishing or a standard entry point and career ladder, is almost entirely made up. I don't think that's on purpose. Getting established is very slow and hard and confusing and full of unexpected opportunities and disappointing dead ends. As people who are fond of narratives, it's only natural that we retrospectively turn our journeys into storylines. Real life doesn't really work like that, though. Take all advice with a pinch of salt; ultimately all advice is just somebody trying to speak to their past self.

All of the best clients I've ever worked with have been friends and artistic peers first, clients second. Some of them were also starting out when I was starting out, and we just traded services to help each other get a leg up. Now that they're well established in their fields, they're in position to vouch for me with bigger clients.

Having someone who can vouch for you is worth its weight in gold. Do a tiny job as a favour, then tell a small client you did that job. Do their small job for a small fee, then tell a medium client you did that job. Collect testimonials. Collect examples of past work. Let me tell you a secret: I didn't go to school for this, and nobody ever trained me. I've never landed a job by talking about paper qualifications because I don't have any. Show, don't tell.

Don't beat yourself up if you have to take other work to make ends meet. Not only will you be happier, healthier and more stable with that consistent income, but life experience will make you a better editor. I spent years working in bars and restaurants while I was doing sporadic small editing jobs on the side, and I loved it. It taught me about people, and how to speak to strangers with total confidence, and how to demand the value of my work, and how to spot when a writer doesn't know their shiraz from their malbec. All experience is work experience in the arts.

On that note, SPECIALISE. Pick out a subject you're especially passionate and knowledgeable about, or a genre or medium where you're particularly determined to excel. Study up on it. Look for clients who need specific expertise, and sell yourself to them. Generalists are everywhere, but you might be the only 'amphibious vessel technical manual editor' in your state. Learn to adapt your offering to the client and tell them why you're the key that fits their lock. Lie sometimes maybe I don't know shh I didn't say that part.

I think that's all I've got that isn't unbearably navel gazey. It's really hard work and I haven't finished the marathon either. I may still end up going back to generic office jobs on and off in the future. Mostly I try to follow the only really good advice an artist has ever given me: Do what you can, with what you've got, for as long as you can. At least then you can say you did.

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

I’m a bit confused by your username

Feminism is a movement that’s defined by the desire for all people to be seen as equal, including men, women, and others. There’s extreme cases, like radfems and “kill all men” etc, but at its core feminism is a movement that’s supposed to embody positivity and equality, not hate

Do you really consider it a hate movement or do you only consider the extreme cases that way?

You're mistaken in a very fundamental way: radical feminism is not an "extreme case"; it's rather the bedrock of all feminist assumptions about the world that simply become more diluted and palatable to a larger number of people the closer to the mainstream they get.

Radical feminism is not fringe feminism but core feminism: All of the beliefs that the moderate foot soldiers of that movement obediently march along to and mindlessly assert to be true, such as "The Patriarchy", "rape culture", "gender is a social construct", "The Glass Ceiling", even the belief in a pay gap, 60 years after it was made illegal across all western nations to pay a woman less than a man for the same work... all of these originate with radical feminist thinkers and writers back in the 1970s onwards and are still chiefly propagated by radical feminists today.

The "why can't we all just get along" feminists don't teach gender studies classes. The "why can't we all just get along" feminists didn't write the textbooks taught in those gender studies classes. They don't organize the marches or start online forums devoted to feminism, etc. The more fanatically taken over by the false assumptions about reality that a person is, the more radical that person becomes and the more deeply involved and influential in the feminist movement that person becomes.

None of modern feminist thought originates with the moderates. There's a case to be made that the movement was for a time a much more moderate, vague and well-meaning ideal, post-suffragettes and pre-radfems, but that was before it was infiltrated and taken over by Marxist radicals around the turn of the 1970s. From then till now, all feminist theory can be most clearly understood as Marxist explanations about reality but with the word "class" replaced with "gender" and the words "the bourgeoisie" replaced with "men".

So, instead of saying all human history can be best explained as a class war, all human history can thereafter be best explained as a gender war. Both of these positions are obviously and self-evidently false, or, at the very, very, very least, so flawed and incomplete as an explanation of human society to be dangerously misleading and terribly destructive: the majority of the day-to-day reality of all the tens of thousands of years of human history can be much more realistically depicted as billions of men and women working together to care for and protect each other and the children they produced, which ultimately resulted in each of us.

Feminism, particularly of the past 50 years, is founded upon a narrative of the world that divides all women and men up into ‘innocent victims’ and ‘privileged oppressors’, and as such has done more to foster hate and drive a wedge between the sexes than any other political movement in history. Instead of seeing men and women as brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and lovers, feminism sees only a gender war that it alone started and it alone propagates, with no realistic end ever in sight. 

Even fairly moderate feminists today think and speak of men almost exactly the way Nazis thought and spoke of Jews, and that’s why I say feminism is a hate movement.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Preliminary: Everything We Know About He/She/It

The Cast

Mike: is a garbage person. He’s cheating on his girlfriend with his best friend, then (accidentally) kills him. 

Peem: is also Not A Great Person, because he’s knowingly helping Mike cheat. (He does not deserve to die over this.)

Pear: Mike’s girlfriend, did not deserve All Of That, hands down the best person in the entire series. Seriously. 

Meen: gossipy little bitch, acts like he was looking out for Pear, but was really just there for the drama. Does deserve All Of That. 

Drama Teacher: got way too into making these guys make out with each other. That’s all I’m gonna say. 

The Setting

This happens in the backdrop of a university drama class, because of course it does. All of these characters are messy, except Pear, who notably isn’t part of the class. 

The living situation confuses me. First I thought Mike and Peem were roommates, but I think they’re all living in dorms/apartments close to each other. (Which is convenient bc it means Mike has easy access to Peem and Pear, without the need for many excuses about where he is.) 

The Events 

Mike truly didn’t mean to kill Peem. He was angry, but he wasn’t murderous. He made a devastating mistake.

Mike does have feelings for Peem, and I think he did love him. Whether I think it’s genuine love or he just loves how Peem makes him feel… depends on how generous I’m feeling at any given time. It could really go either way. 

Peem is possessive. He’s vindictive. He knows he’s the other woman; he doesn’t like it, but he knows tolerating it is the only way he can be with Mike, but he’s going to make Pear's problem. He rubs it in her face without her even knowing, and I love that for him. 

BTS/Interview Extras 

Jeff talks about how he was playing Mike from the angle that he has an abusive and homophobic father, which is the source of his own internalized homophobia and his Thing with Peem, and the reason why he can’t let himself break up with Pear, which could have solved all of their problems. He needs to be the perfect picture of heteronormativity and masculinity. Which, word of God and all, but when viewed under that lens, does make Mike a more sympathetic character! Of course he’s terrified of anyone finding out about him. Of course he can’t love Peem. Of course he can’t even face his own sexuality. It’s very telling that in all but one of their intimate scenes, Peem is the one initiating it. Mike is always holding back, where Peem is reaching out, pushing for more. 

About working out the backstory for the character (unclear if the writer/director were involved or if this is just personal interpretation): “for family issues, given the reason that Mike’s dad hates queers, so much that he’d even physically assault them, it creates a mold that Mike needs to fit into, that he has to love a girl. And when that mold’s shaken, he loses control."

There’s a funny/cute part where they’re asking about the kissing scenes and it’s adorable, he gets so flustered xD He said he thought they would be able to do it in one take and uh… that’s not what happened. 

Another fun quote: “The hard part of playing Mike is that Mike is flirtatious, which I’m not personally. I just can’t.” Uhh… I think that’s definitely changed lol

Finally, the most important line in the series, coming from the drama teacher at the start of episode 1:

“In the real world, we don’t know who is acting. Sometimes, in the world of performing, we don’t know who’s real. Sometimes we can’t tell them apart at all.” 

This sets the stage for everything that happens moving forward. Peem and Pear don’t know if Mike’s feelings are real (and neither does he), and Mike doesn’t know if Peem is really drowning, ultimately leading to his death.

The ask that inspired this

Stay tuned for the rest, I've got 3 more posts about this nonsense!

[blackcat419]

Harwin also had 3 bastards with Rhaenyra and everyone knew about it, he didn’t seem to care about inheriting Harrenhal, marrying and having trueborn children, yet Lyonel still didn’t name Larys heir over him.

And if Alys is his bastard daughter, he took his trueborn sons to Kingslanding with him but left her to a life of servitude at Harrenhal where she served the Strongs as a wet nurse for years and years. Yet he turned a blind eye to Harwin committing the ultimate act of treason by having bastard after bastard with the very married Princess Rhaenyra until Harwin showed his stupid ass and assaulted Criston.

No wonder Larys and Alys didn’t give half a fuck about their family. Harwin was a massive fuck up and still the apple of his father’s eye.

Totally agree! I think Llyonel is just not a good guy. He’s very similar to Viserys with enabling his oldest child’s actions and only stepping in when they’ve gone too far.

Larys and Alys probably felt a lot of empathy for Alicent’s kids because they lived a very similar situation. Seeing this parallel it makes total sense to me that Larys and Alys would hate their father and Harwin.

I really hope we explore this with Alys and Aemond. They can bond over both having fathers who favored their eldest kid no matter what they did and how that put them in danger.

Personally I am really fascinated by Larys. His actor Matthew Needham is weirdly attractive to me and there’s so much unknown going on. The foot scene really soured him for me but as time goes on I’m more angry at the writers than the character for it. Like really? This is what Larys is doing? Come on. The show could have done so much exploring how a physical disability can alienate someone from their family and what may seem like protection from the family can easily be seen as degrading and demeaning. Larys getting to take his pent up hatred for his father and brother out on them then feeling so emboldened as to offer to off his nephews is fascinating for a character. He’s at the top of his game, he’s over come who he sees as holding him back and treating him as a fragile object. But instead of leaning into how Larys might exert his new power to feel strong and get back at people who have wronged him, he instead abuses Alicent, the only person we’ve seen him be nice to. Why?

There is so much good food that can be chewed on to make the next seasons feel like the much needed pay off we need but instead we get such lack luster characters who don’t tread new ground or make the show more confusing to analyze.

[angelfleurry]

Could you write Toko Fukawa x fem reader that's like Gomez Addams? Just everything Toko does is worth a kiss on the hand or verbal affection from the reader. If your comfortable maybe the reader becomes blackened by taking out Byakuya

♡Toko Fukawa X Devoted! Fem! Reader♡

Hello!! I really hope I did this request well. Sorry for how late this is, I was juggling coursework with this and I ended up coming down with mega writer’s block. I’m coming out of it though, so I really hope this is okay!!

ALSO THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THH!!

Have a wonderful day, angel!! Thank you so much for requesting!

~

♡ Oh, you would die for her.

♡ No, seriously, you would genuinely die for her.

♡ She was perfect, and she didn’t even want to be.

♡ At least…not for you, originally.

♡ You’d been enamoured by Toko from the moment you’d laid eyes upon her.

♡ But, there was competition.

♡ Byakuya Togami.

♡ He didn’t even care for Toko and, yet, she still tried to latch onto him.

♡ One mistreat after another, you grew tired of seeing such displays occur.

♡ Fast forward sometime along the Killing Game journey, and you’d managed to earn Toko’s trust.

♡ You’d become her close companion, always beside her, and everyone knew.

♡ You naturally gravitated towards her, often unintentionally.

♡ To say you adored her was an understatement.

♡ If anyone ever needed you, they’d immediately go find Toko. Similarly, if they needed Toko, they’d go look for you.

♡ Most of the time, you were the one being looked for. Unlike Toko, you were on rather good terms with the majority of the class. Out of you and Toko, were the most sociable, often stating what was on your mind but in a more respectful way as compared to Toko.

♡ That being said, however, you defended her with every fibre of your body. You sung Toko’s praises constantly, much to her confusion.

♡ Everyone knew the both of you girls were a unit. Your loyalty to one another did not waver, it was almost threatening.

♡ Everything she did warranted affection from you. She could genuinely just enter the room and you’d immediately go to greet her, putting your joy on blast for all the academy to hear.

♡You treated Toko with extreme devotion, often trying to get her to let you play with her hair, with a soft kiss on her hand becoming the regular way you acknowledged her.

♡ When you first started doing such things, Toko was incredibly confused; a little overwhelmed, but it wasn’t that she didn’t like it. She just…didn’t know what to do??

♡ Nobody ever treated her with such adoration, ever.

♡ But, it was clear, you loved her.

♡ And she loved you.

♡ If there was one promise you knew you could uphold within this killing game, it was that you’d protect Toko no matter what.

♡ No harm was coming to her under your watch.

♡ And, ultimately, you proved that in the most tragic way possible.

♡ The aftermath of the second class trial had occurred, and you were outraged.

♡ Genuinely, you were outraged.

♡ So, Toko had a split personality, and a threatening one at that; no biggie.

♡ But the way you found out?!

♡ Oh, you were enraged.

♡ For reasons beyond your understanding, she turned to Byakuya during the ordeal, informing him of a part of her identity she hadn’t told anyone but you.

♡ And he outed her for it.

♡ In front of everyone.

♡ Your hatred for him only intensified after that, especially knowing how much trust Toko had put unto him.

♡ Usually, you could ignore Byakuya like no problem.

♡ Yet, something about the way he so carelessly threw her confidence in him away like that…angered you. His lack of shame, his absence of guilt, it really stung.

♡ You couldn’t ignore it, not this time.

♡ Toko was everything to you, her wellbeing meaning so very much, which is what prompted you to act the way you did.

♡ So, that’s what lead you to this very moment.

♡ Killing Byakuya was not something you fully intended to do.

♡ Sure, you hated him, but you were determined not to leave Toko behind by acting upon your rage.

♡ However, after everything that had unfolded, you couldn’t help yourself.

♡ The killing happened in a very impulsive manner, but there was a struggle.

♡ Byakuya immediately caught wind of what you were trying to do, and began to fight back.

♡ This, however, did not stop you - you had too much adrenaline.

♡ It only made the killing more fun.

♡ You didn’t know how you’d tell Toko, or even when to tell her.

♡ She was the very meaning of life to you, and you did not want to rope her into your dilemma, nor it’s subsequent consequences.

♡ It would be revealed soon enough, for if you were to live she would have to die.

♡ And that was not what you wanted.

♡ Dying for her would be the biggest honour you could ever think of…

♡ And, so, you let it happen.

[makeitastrength]

Throughout season 4, I feel like there was a lot of confusion about Lucy’s character development (or lack thereof). It’s something I’ve been trying to make sense of, too. Initially, I thought maybe the writers just didn’t know what to do with her. And maybe that was the case. But now that we’re seeing her be a total badass in season 5, I’m wondering if maybe it wasn’t. What if Lucy’s seemingly random and sometimes out-of-character behaviors and her lack of professional progression throughout season 4 was intentional?

Between the barrel, the fallout with her parents, and the loss of Jackson, Lucy had a year from absolute hell. It’s completely understandable that she’d be struggling to come to terms with everything and to find her place in this world where she’s basically estranged from her parents and her best friend is dead. For as much as we know that Tim is closed off, Lucy is actually very much the same. Yes, she’s bubbly and friendly and empathetic and she likes to talk things out, but she doesn’t truly open up to just anyone. And she’d just lost one of the few people she felt comfortable opening up to.

I’ve always felt like part of the reason she fought so hard to be Tim’s aide was because he was the one remaining constant in her life and she really craved that security and feeling of safety. She needed someone she could talk to. She needed support. She needed a reminder of the more confident and capable woman she’s become. Once she was riding with him again, I think she was content to just cruise along in the comfort and familiarity, and to find little moments of joy wherever she could (making bets, teasing him, etc).

And then Chris happened, and although I don’t think she ever truly opened up to him, he certainly helped with the loneliness part (which is probably also why she was often too eager to forgive him for certain things). Between Chris and Tim, Lucy found some semblance of normalcy and happiness, and given how much upheaval she’s faced, I think she spent season 4 living within the confines of that stability. I think she wasn’t ready to challenge herself, professionally or personally.

Don’t get me wrong. Lucy deserves a promotion. She’s an absolute badass and a damn good cop, and I hope we see her move up by the end of this season. But she’s also always been a person who struggles to commit. (Which, by the way, makes sense for her character. When you grow up with parents who force you into a certain mold, it takes time to break out of that and figure out who you actually are and what you actually want to do with your life.) From what we know of her backstory, Lucy flailed around for a few years before finding this job she loves. And then after losing Jackson, she (justifiably) fell into the routine of riding with Tim, which didn’t really allow her to stretch her wings. Now that she’s riding solo - which has been so good for her - she’s having the chance to expand her skills and find her own path.

Along those lines, I actually don’t find it to be bad writing or out of character for her to be stepping into so many different roles in season 5 - not just UC, but also helping the feds, acting as watch commander for a day, teaching citizen’s academy, etc. Lucy has always had a diverse skill set and she’s a quick learner, and I think it’s great that she’s getting to try on all these hats and decide which will be the one she ultimately wants to pursue.

I also think the heartbreak of losing Jackson coupled with the stability provided by her friendship and working relationship with Tim is part of the reason Lucy was so afraid for them to become anything more than friends. There’s so much for her to lose if it doesn’t work out. I know I’m not the only one who was surprised that Tim was the one to push things forward, but in retrospect it makes so much sense. It had to be him. I think he was scared too. But what Tim has that Lucy doesn’t - because he’s been in love before and she hasn’t - is an understanding of how much they have to gain from being together, and that was enough to push him to take the leap. Because he knows they’re worth the risk.

Anyway. This is just my thought process. I’m interested to hear what anyone else thinks!

[hainethehero]

I have writer’s block so now I’m bugging you with my ideas.

Hear me out………

A Stucky fic where Steve & Bucky fooled around (or were together) pre-war. Things between them fade once Steve gets the serum. Steve thinks Bucky doesn’t find him pretty anymore, but reality is that Bucky isn’t in the right state of mind after Azzano.

Canon happens, life goes on, Bucky’s back and he’s recovering well. Steve & Nat spoke a lot about Steve’s love for Bucky and his insecurities, so she and the team devise a plan. Only their meddling goes terribly wrong.

Bucky thinks he’s going on a blind date. Steve thinks he’s going in a date with a knowing Bucky. He gets all pretty: soft natural makeup, beautifully styled hair, a sexy high-waisted pants suit—in royal blue as it compliments his smooth skin and helps him stand out in a crowd, according to Nat. Steve feels gorgeous, something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

He gets to the restaurant and finds Bucky, already eating, with some twink that looks shockingly familiar to the way Steve used to look (and what are the odds, right?). Bucky’s smiling and flirting and holding this guy’s hand! What the hell? Why the hell would Bucky agree to a date with Steve if he already had someone?

Steve wants to confront Bucky, but he’s too hurt, too embarrassed. All that effort wasted. And he can’t believe he let Nat and the team talk him into this. He rushes home, angrily wipes off the makeup, fucks up his hair, rips the suit and falls into bed. Steve doesn’t speak to Bucky or the team anymore, outside of leading the missions.

But Bucky is confused. He had that blind date with the cute twink (who was actually just a fan of Sergeant Barnes and approached him for an autograph), but had ultimately decided that he wanted nothing further. The kid looked too much like Steve, and if he can’t have the original, he’s definitely not going for a copy. But now Steve is avoiding him and he doesn’t know why. Or why Steve is being short with the team. He won’t hangout with anyone except Sam, he barely looks Bucky in the eye, he moves away when Bucky tries to touch him. What the hell happened?

Angst, a huge misunderstanding, and more insecurities for our poor Stevie. 🥺

Omg the angst is just too good in this one!

And what makes it worse is that Natasha thinks things didn't work out between them and that's why Bucky and Steve aren't talking. So what does she decide to do? Just leave it and not meddle anymore to try and see if they could make up on their own.

The only problem with this is that they don't make up, because Steve's still avoiding them all. Sam tries to ask him what's going on but he tells Sam he just doesn't want to talk about it.

Steve gets in his head, stops eating, stops drinking much of anything. He exercises everyday and drives himself to the brink trying to get smaller somehow. Then some stupid villain convinces him that he can take all of Steve's insecurities away by taking the serum away. Steve- very much messed up from his hurt- agrees to it. (Kind of like when Rogue went to the scientists to be normal again so she could be with Bobby).

Bucky finally has a talk with Natasha and she reveals the plan all along. He realizes that Steve must've seen him with the fan and feels absolutely horrible for making his boy feel that way. He goes to find Steve and instead finds a letter from Steve, apologizing for changing himself and that he could be good for Bucky again.

(Or he doesn't leave a letter and Bucky has to scratch and claw his way to Steve before he goes through with the experiment.)

[justanotherwriter140]

Kung Fu Panda 4 - Edited

A really, really long discussion post.

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve expressed an explicit opinion on anything, hasn’t it? Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever done a hot-take post. I guess now is as good a time as any to write my first one, given our current situation...

So, the elephant (panda?) in the room: CinemaCon.

While we’ve hardly even had twenty-four hours to process this new information, I know that there are already a lot of strong opinions out there, and many of which are displeased. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who’s necessarily happy about the news we received yesterday, and while everyone has differing reasons as to why they’re not thrilled, I think there are a lot of common factors among the skeptics. IMO, all of the concerns I’ve heard since the announcements have been understandable. Here’s a list of the most significant concerns:

Chen/Fox Warrior

A replacement for the Dragon Warrior

A villain whose “power” is (potentially) resurrecting past villains from the dead

The Furious Five and their relevancy

Director Mike Mitchell

Many fans are finding themselves confused with this alleged plot, mainly because (to put things bluntly) it doesn’t make any sense. I have a plethora of questions in regards to the second bullet alone, imagine how many I have in total!

You won’t have to imagine, actually, because I’m doing you all the favor of writing down my every thought. Strap in, folks!

First of all, who is Chen (?) and why is she relevant? While these are things that will, without question, need to be answered in the upcoming film, I’m still feeling apprehensive. Why would Po choose her as the next Dragon Warrior, a title that for three consecutive movies has been regarded as the highest possible title that any living being in this universe can achieve? What makes Chen the next Dragon Warrior, what makes her eligible? The Dragon Warrior is essentially OP at their full potential, and if we’re assuming that this title can in fact be passed on, why would Po give this power and influence to someone he meets in the same movie in which he makes the life-altering decision to seek out an heir? Why wouldn’t he at least choose someone he knows closely, rather than someone he initially doesn’t get along with (as stated in the plot description) and likely doesn’t trust? In my mind, the movie could only justify that choice with some sort of “message from the universe” making itself known to Po and telling him to choose Chen as his successor, but if that’s the road the writers end up going down, then I’d have to reiterate: why?

Backtracking for a second. We have never had any reason to believe that “another” Dragon Warrior existing is even a possibility, forget the concept of them co-existing with the current and original Dragon Warrior. Didn’t the initial significance and nuance of the title come from the fact that there is only one person who can be the Dragon Warrior, because the concept of the “Dragon Warrior” isn’t so much a title as it is Po himself? The universe (Oogway) must choose the Dragon Warrior because they are a singular being of legend. It is one person, and that person is Po. Wasn’t the point of the first film that the title ultimately doesn’t really matter because there is no “secret ingredient,” so to speak? The title doesn’t actually give Po anything. “It’s just you,” Po says, and that was the resolution.

Let’s set all of that aside for a moment, because I have a follow-up question: why in the world would Po be finding a replacement so soon? Yes, the alleged plot states that he’s been given a promotion and therefore wants someone else to fill in for him as the Dragon Warrior, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Po’s new status (as something along the lines of the “Spiritual Leader/Master” of the Valley of Peace) hold him back from being the Dragon Warrior? If there’s something else behind him wanting to leave the role behind, I’m listening, but right now it feels very unbelievable. Why is he doing this so early in his life? He’s been the Dragon Warrior for four or five years at most, why is he throwing in the towel so soon? He’s young and has so much ahead of him, especially after all that he’s done. He’s built prestige and respect over the years and he’s so proud of his role as the Dragon Warrior. I’m confused!

One could make the argument that Po wants to settle down, which I’ve seen a few times on different social sites as a suggestion. However, he has shown no interest in such things in the past. He’s always excited to travel and see new things, so to see such a sudden change in attitude and priorities would likely have to be the result of a drastic occurrence. Po is not giving up his title as the Dragon Warrior, at least not with the way things are now. I’m not necessarily adverse to bold decisions being made in sequels, but this is probably too sharp of a turn for me to be okay with it. 

Is it even possible for Po to no longer hold the title? If we reference what I stated earlier, about the title being not so much a title but rather just Po himself, could we even consider that Po can just spontaneously decide to not be the Dragon Warrior anymore? He was chosen by the universe; can he UNO reverse card the universe? 

So many paragraphs, and I haven’t even gotten around to discussing the villain or the Furious Five. Let’s see how long I can write before my passion-induced rant starts to fizzle out!

In regards to the villain, I’m conflicted. 

On the bright side, I’ve been rooting for a female villain for as long as I’ve been in the fanbase. A female villain could add something really new and fresh to the series, giving fans a new perspective and experience altogether. The only canonical female villains in the KFP universe as of right now are the Wu Sisters, who are some of my personal favorite villains to ever come out of the franchise.

Additionally, rumors suggest that the chameleon can shape-shift. The idea of a shapeshifting villain (who potentially possesses dark magic, or something similar) is admittedly really cool. In an unreleased (unfinished) discussion post, I go into detail regarding the advantages of a manipulative villain. If the chameleon is as manipulative as her shape-shifting powers suggest, she could actually be pretty interesting to watch. Of course, being me, I’d prefer emotional manipulation over anything else, but that’s still a possibility!

In the plot description, it’s stated that the chameleon has the ability to “summon” villains from Po’s past. While it’s been assumed that this is in reference to full on resurrection, there’s still some wiggle room for speculative variation. There are disagreements and conflicting information on whether or not the chameleon can actually revive Po’s former adversaries, as some claim that she has the ability to resurrect the dead (perhaps via dark magic), while others state that she simply takes on their form to mess with Po.

Let’s assume that the chameleon is legitimately able to bring back villains that Po has done away with in previous movies. Isn’t that an incredibly easy way to make it seem like Po is going to experience difficulty in defeating this movie’s opposing force? While I’ll admit that coming up with someone/something that will make Po falter and struggle was never going to be an easy task, especially at this stage, I can’t help but feel as though there’s a bit lacking in the creative department. It’s also a bit insulting, to be honest, because if this new villain has to rely on the reputations and powers of previous villains to put up a fight, then is this a villain worth paying any real mind to? Does she pose any kind of true threat?

Personally, I hope that the whole resurrection theory is false. I don’t think it would be in the best interest of anyone if the past villains were to come back in any way that’s not a flashback (even then, I’m not sure I’d see the point). In all honesty, I thought that the whole point of the villains was that they died and stayed dead. They were defeated by Po once and for all as a testament to the idea of establishing Po's character growth and journey as a person through the bad things he’s able to overcome. It’d be highly contradictory to the messages of the other films if these villains were to suddenly come back.

For a while, there were theories floating around that suggested that Kung Fu Panda 4′s villain would have some significance to Tigress. The thought process behind this follows a “villain formula” of sorts; each movie villain so far has been connected to a main character through that respective character’s past. Tai Lung was Shifu’s failed prodigy; a fallen angel archetype. Shen killed Po’s mother and led a genocide on his people in a feeble and desperate attempt to save himself from his own fate. Kai was Oogway’s former fellow warlord and brother-in-arms, seeking revenge for the betrayal he felt had been enacted upon him.

I am a full-fledged supporter of the next villain having a connection to Tigress. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t seem likely given the information we currently have. This chameleon, from what we know at this point in time, has absolutely no connection to Po or anyone in the main cast. I’d even go as far as to say that there’s more of a reason to believe the chameleon will have a connection to Chen; mainly because I think that if Chen needs to be integrated into the main cast, that’s the way the writers are going to go. The problem with this, however, is that it doesn’t make that much sense given how significant of a character Tigress has become in the franchise.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt, though, because in truth, we really don’t know that much about our new villain. This chameleon could very well have a connection to Tigress! We won’t know until the time is right, I suppose.

I’ll use Tigress as a segue to talk about the Furious Five, because unlike in the third film and god-forsaken TV shows, they’re actually relevant here! Personally, I think that the Furious Five still have a bit to offer as characters, for found family feels and to act as nostalgic plot devices if for nothing else. I love the five, and while I can understand if the upcoming film's story doesn't call for their involvement as frequently as in KFP 1 and 2, I would still very much appreciate their presence throughout the movie instead of being totally cast aside like in the third movie.

That said, though, I have a different opinion regarding Tigress. She has always stood out as the most significant member of the Furious Five (to both the audience and Po) and has been very impactful to Po and his journey; she was especially important in Kung Fu Panda 2, during which she was shown coming out of her shell and showing something akin to affection towards Po. Their interactions were later described by Guillermo del Toro (who I believe worked on the movie as a creative consultant) as possessing “the hint of a romance.” Whether or not the fourth movie will decide to capitalize on this idea is fully up in the air. It’s been stated by former directors that the theme of romance in KFP would only ever be applied in a comical fashion, but those directors may no longer be involved at all. I’m a Po and Tigress enjoyer, but I’d much rather KFP 4 be a good, solid movie than it being weak and trying to hold itself up with a shallow romantic subplot with Po and Tigress. I would also hate (with the fury of a thousand suns) to see Tigress’s character reduced to that of a love interest; she’s strong, capable, independent, and totally awesome. If she has a larger role in the fourth movie, I’d watch her being a cold-hearted badass a thousand times over before I sit through two hours of her being overtly out-of-character for the sake of a “classic romance” with Po. A relationship between them could work, and I’ll be supportive of it if it’s done well, but it doesn’t and shouldn’t have to happen for the movie to be emotional and impactful and mean something.

I have an unfortunate yet strong suspicion that the Furious Five will be tossed to the curb in this movie, and I really hope I’m wrong, because they’re fun characters that help encapsulate the original feel of the franchise. They’re a key part of what gave Po his beginnings in the world of martial arts, and they’re also the people he desperately wanted to be like throughout his childhood (and young adult years). They’re his best friends, and while I want Po to have adventures of his own, I don’t want his origins to be forgotten in favor of new characters. I want the nostalgia, alright? Is that wrong? No, and if it were, I wouldn’t want to be right. Speaking of long-time characters, what about Shifu? I can’t help but wonder what he’ll be up to during this whole debacle. Meditating, perhaps? I hope nobody in the writers’ room decides it’s Shifu’s time to go, which has been a growing concern of mine since learning of Po’s ambiguous “promotion.”

The movie’s director, Mike Mitchell, has been involved with KFP before, but not to the extent of previous directors. While I know little information about him, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and I’ll maintain that sentiment until the movie releases. A potential (confirmed?) co-director is Stephanie Stine, the director of Raya and the Last Dragon.

Final thoughts, summarized:

The plot is kinda off and contradicts both Po’s character arc and the other movies

A female chameleon is the villain, which is maybe the only aspect of the movie I can get behind

The Furious Five and Shifu may be completely ignored (again)

The whole “passing of the torch” storyline does not work given Po’s situation

Chen’s character doesn’t make sense

I’m not familiar with the director(s) 

If you took the time to read this post, kudos to you. I hope I was able to help you arrange your thoughts regarding this news, because I’m still a bit scatter-brained myself (which is a feeling that I think we can all relate to at the moment). I’ll likely add more to this post over time, whether it be via re-blogs or simple edits. I think of something new to add to this post every few minutes, which I’ve been doing for a few hours now...

Let’s end on a positive note, because I know I was a bit of a downer here:

The title looks pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie. I like the scale texture!

[timefospookies]

soooo i redesigned sachiko-san cuz her design was NOT cutting it for me<3 below is my thought process behind it :3

before anything i’d like to clarify that this is anything but a professional design analysis or smth like this was just for fun 😋.

the drawing was super rushed and on a whim cuz i just had a lot of thoughts in the moment that were interesting to me and i wanted to get down on a page. i’m far from a corpse party expert and only know the blood covered game lore LMAOO.

also this is in no way meant to shit on the og corpse party artists or writers, it’s just my personally opinions and takes! for funsies :3

anyway!! now with that out of the way!!

sachiko has always been such a bizarre character to me.

like, she’s the twist villain, she’s some little girl, she’s the victim, she’s the murderer, she’s from the 1940s but also from the 70s!?!!

she has such a convoluted story and generally vague motives and GRRRR it makes me a little frustrated because she’s really interesting, but her writing is confusing :(

but anyway, her character is not what i wanted to tackle today! i’m here about her design!

cuz yknow.

for being the all powerful main villain of the corpse party saga, her design always came off to me as very “generic evil ghost girl” to me.

apart from her frankly iconic red dress, she really doesn’t have that many defining features- and more importantly to me, her design doesn’t communicate her story against all!!

sachiko shinozaki was a timid girl in the 40s who was r*ped by her teacher and then fell to her death at 7 years old. how do i even begin to unpack that.

first i wanted to make her seem like she’s from the 40s, or at least nod to the fact. i knew i wanted to keep her hair long and straight like in the game, so i opted to use her outfit as a means of doing this.

since she died in school, i decided to look up some japanese uniforms from the 40s, and i ultimately decided to use this picture as reference because the neck of the uniform looked closest to sachiko’s dress. i also thought that the pin on the uniform could be a nice way to callback to her paper doll!

i wanted to also replace her long hair with pigtails like ayumi’s as a nod to them being related (i want them to look alike also, so sachiko here resembles my own ayumi design). the pigtails are shaped like scissor blades cuz i thought that would be fun :)

for her ghost form, i let her hair down like in the game, but i wanted to keep that scissor-like sharpness so i made her hair all spiky.

i twisted her limbs and messed up her left eye to indicate that fall damage (she did fall from the 3rd floor), but i kept that ripped look on her dress cuz slay. made her eyes read again to hint at the damage she took (feel like i might need to redo her face though cuz it doesn’t feel “i fell to my death”-y enough)

anyway that’s all lol 👍👍👍👍

[wafflesetc]

Gwen’s never-ending bullshit is why I’m so confused why there are fans who are happy about Tracy staying the entire season. That news was so disappointing because I know this woman and her band of idiot writers by now. It will be nothing but trauma and misery for the sake of drama until the end (I can see her very last episode or two being a happy sendoff but that’s it). I just don’t get it at all, are fans really able to stomach this bs better than I am? I was hoping with everything I had for 3 episodes and then out of this black hole of misery that has been the last year, how was every other Hailey fan not wanting the same?

I can't speak for others, I can only speak for myself. I was very on the fence about whether I wanted her there for just a few episodes or if I'd rather her stay for the whole season. I don't really have good answers but here are a few of my thoughts:

I think that they continually throw heavier material at Tracy and Hailey because as an actress has the breadth to deliver those performances and they resonate with fans. Each actor on the show has strengths and weaknesses and delivers each character's drama/trauma differently. But I think Tracy has a special knack for how she personifies it and how it resonates with the fans. I don't mean it to be an excuse because we all know Hailey deserves a BREAK, but to the writers and network the show is ultimately a business. Their attachment to the characters and writing are a very different view than how fans view the show and characters.

I don't really know about the number of episodes. I'm a little shocked that she's *seemingly* staying for the entirety of season eleven, but maybe she did that because it's a shorter season or maybe she was planning to stay all of eleven from the beginning. Since we got the word of Jesse's departure last season, it was only a matter of time before I knew we'd hear about Tracy leaving. I don't think their departures are necessarily concurrent or dependent on one another, but I do think they were both ready for a clean slate for a variety of reasons.

I said this in another ask but I would genuinely love to have a conversation with Gwen & Co. about the creative decision making process over season ten and season eleven. For not only Jay and Hailey's departures, but how she chose to tell everyone's stories (like why was that hospital scene cut with Burgess and Ruzek?) Because every time she opens her mouth and gives an interview I am left very perplexed and wish that I hadn't read it. I know that part of the reason they give these interviews is to draw attention to the show and upcoming interviews, but she appears to be very tactless and careless with the phrases she gives as a response. The words don't correlate to the medium projected on our screens. Albeit, that is merely my opinion and there are likely fans out there who see what has happened since she's been showrunner as good material, but that's not how I see it. So I'd love to know a bit more about the creative process because I just find it all very confusing.

All I can really say is buckle up because the next few months will be a bumpy ride.