#why did they remove her whole character development????

[k233-0]

who am i without my powers?

[emdotcom]

*remembers what they did to Vanny* 500 FUCKING PIPEBOMB ATTACK.

[mg549]

god i wish season 2 of h2o wasnt unwatchably misogynist 

[twdgkidsdeservebetter]

Everything Wrong With Umbrella Academy Season 4 (Characters)

The way it felt like someone who had never seen the show wrote this season????

The characters were AWFUL and were almost entirely new characters with all their previous character development forgotten.

Allison - Honestly, I don't like Allison (after watching THAT scene w Luther), so I really didn't care what happened with her this season. I think it does suck that she wasn't able to be happy with Ray, they were nice together. Also, no rumours? Her power was one of the most interesting out of the family.

Luther - People were commenting about how childish and positive he was being this season and how it was out of character from him being so serious. Honestly? I love silly Luther, he's such a breath of fresh air. I also like to believe that because Luther was assigned the leader of the family (being number 1 and all), he's able to enjoy himself without that pressure. Also, I also love to believe that Luther is using being positive and silly as a coping mechanism as to not be overwhelmed by the sadness of losing Sloane and also his current living situation. Giving him his gorilla body back was so unnecessary and makes no sense cause it wasn't the marigold that gave him the body.

Ben - He sucked. I hate that Sparrow Ben was the one that was dragged with them because it meant that we had to deal with him sulking and being angsty the whole time. Also, the character development we witnessed 1-2 just disappeared instantly cause of Sparrow Ben. Also, his friendship with Klaus was the best thing in the show and I hate that we never get to see that in season 3.

Klaus - I was actually so happy for him being sober, even if he wasn't living the best life because of his paranoia with death and germs. So it really sucked when that immediately went down the drain the second his body got the marigold.

Diego - He deserved better. Yeah, his constant complaining about his "belly" (which wasn't even that big of a difference??) and wanting to go back to his old super spy life did affect his and Lila's marriage, but when he realised that he immediately accepted that he was at fault and was willing to improve their marriage to make Lila happy.

Lila - I liked Lila before season 4. I don't know what they were thinking honestly by changing her entire character. Yes, she and Five were stuck for 7 years together, but seriously? That plot added NOTHING to the story because in the end, Lila chose Diego and then they all DIED like 10 minutes later!!

Viktor - Honestly? Viktor didn't really stand out this season for me. Sure, he got kidnapped by Ian Hawk. I thought the idea of him trying to remove the marigold from Ben was a really cool idea but then it just didn't happen. I thought his interactions with Reginald were decent, since it's interesting to see how this Reginald thinks about Viktor compared to the original timeline Reginald.

Five - It's honestly kind of impressive how the writers were able to make the best character in the show the worst character by the end of it. They completely changed his whole character. First, his personality is duller than a door nail. He's so emotionless and so boring. Where's the excessive facial expressions and movements? Second, changing his motivations. For the past 3 seasons we have watched him with one goal in his mind; "Save the world and his siblings". So why would Five ever possibly consider both giving that up for Lila of all people. Third, giving Five a love interest was so useless and lazy. Why would he choose a girl over his siblings? Especially one literally MARRIED to his BROTHER. Fourth, him being all pouty and jealous over Lila choosing Diego (her husband and father of her kids - no shit she was gonna pick him over Five, literally have no idea why Five even thought he had a chance) to the point where he plans to just ditch his family in the middle of a big fight. Five, him fighting Diego in the middle of said big fight. THEN, Five just gives up??? Yeah, that's probably all he could do but seriously, this is Five we're talking about, the guy who survived in 45 years in the apocalypse to try and get back to his family and save the world. Do you really believe that he would just give up?

BONUS:

Jennifer - They could introduce a new character/love interest for Ben but they didn't do the same for Five so they just gave him the only other woman who wasn't his sister???? LAZY. Also, the amount of plot holes with Jennifer's character makes me queasy.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

I don't even ship rellana and Messmer as they're related but nothing is funnier than yet reducing another character to be an extension of Marika, even the one who was explicitly said to abandoned her lineage to "chase after Messmer" yes the developers are lying 100% and it's was all about of Marika of course. boring & predictable take even more boring than those who make rellana Messmer's girlfriend. Maybe remove your uwu marika glasses and start seeing the lore for what it's rather than twisting in it for the sake of your headcanons. Do the Japanese version of the game say that Gaius, Rellana, and even the golden hippo followed Messmer because they've such massive boner for Marika , wouldn't you try to lie about the japanese desc this time🤔 like you did when you said Messmer was hiding himself lmao

imagine trying to pull up canon validity to the artist that started the whole Malenia/Gwynevere thing in 2022 and made a popular AC6 ship out of a weapon arrangement spreadsheet 🥲🥲 (also u r so mad that u had to go and make r*pe jokes about these characters in my inbox, like that second message is so embarrassing pls go outside and touch some grass)

secondly, i already clarified on my twitter it was my fault for reading Messmer's remembrance description wrong (i didn't post it on tumblr), the tweet is still there for all to see that i took responsibility if i misread something, and i always include the original Japanese text so ppl can recheck it themselves and inform me if there are any mistake, so i don't understand why you're using it as a gotcha here.

i won't even entertain the rest of your rant cuz i think they are kinda dumb, im just publishing this to commemorate yet another unhinged ask im getting and clarify those 2 points 😭

[aurora-313]

I never understood why there had to be such a massive conspiracy around Masaki. It detracts from the tragedy of Memories In The Rain and Ichigo's character as a whole that she was a Quincy.

Look at that flashback objectively if Masaki were a powerless human:

It's bucketing down rain, a deluge in the middle of monsoon season. You're eager to get your son home from his karate practice. Conditions are dreadful but as long as you're on concrete, you're both okay. Then your son suddenly stops. Something only he claims he can see catches his attention. You've indulged his talk about ghosts because he's a boy, he's allowed to have an imaginary friend and its never harmed anyone. But suddenly, your son's shouting. Launching into a full sprint down that steep slippery hill, at the base of which is a dangerous rushing river. Or potentially slip on a loose bit of stone or root, and break his neck. You can't see what he sees. As far as you're aware, your son's taken absolute leave of his senses and is charging headlong into a certainly fatal situation. Naturally, your response would be to freak out and throw yourself after your son, hoping to catch him before he could jump into the water, very probably drowning. Then CHOMP. Hollow chow.

Revealing Masaki was a Quincy is irreparably cheapening her death.

Let's pretend for a second Grand Fisher wasn't there. And the same thought process outlined above occurs.

In an attempt to stop Ichigo running down the hill, Masaki could've slipped, fallen and broke her neck instead. Or took a bad tumble, ending with a fatal blow to the head. The effect on Ichigo would've been the same. He would've developed a massive guilt complex because his tragedy of impulse caused his mother's death.

That is the whole crux of Ichigo's guilt. His actions caused this outcome. And it was the hardest lesson he had to learn.

Grand Fisher or no, if Ichigo hadn't acted the way he did, if he hadn't tried to save the 'girl' from falling into the river, then his mother wouldn't have died in the first place.

Revealing Masaki as a Quincy, and that her powers were """conveniently""" stolen at exactly the time she needed them most, completely invalidates the human randomness, tragedy and relatability of that death.

It invalidates the guilt that drives 99% of Ichigo's character and actions. That same guilt, now predicated on false pretenses, fueled his desire to protect, to suffer through hell if it meant he could protect the people he cared about (at times to their detriments). Especially since that desire can rage dangerously out of control, and at one point literally got Ichigo killed and reanimated as a monstrous hollow hellbent on destroying everything around it, muttering 'protect, protect, protect' like a zombie.

It's a flaw Ichigo had to overcome by coming to terms with it and using it to as motivation in a healthier manner. Not be absolved of.

A prime example of a character carrying their guilt and growing past it done well is Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist/Brotherhood.

Edward and Alphonse never got over Nina and Alexander. They were never absolved of their guilt. Its a mark permanently etched in their collective psyches and reconciling with the fact alchemy could be used in such vile ways drove a huge part of their early characters.

What they did was learn to grieve and cope and move on with it as motivation. They vowed never to allow that kind of monstrosity to happen again. Even when Ed's about to give up his alchemy forever, he declares 'I'm just a simple human who couldn't save a little girl. Not even with alchemy.'

Rather than have Ichigo go through a journey like this, EBTR removes the burden of guilt from Ichigo's shoulders completely when Isshin tells him "No, it wasn't your iconic recklessness that got your mother killed. It was an ancient prophecy and you never should've felt guilty in the first place."

Isshin may as well have said "Everything you believed about yourself since the moment you were born is a lie. The foundation of your personality since you were 9 is a lie. Have fun finding a therapist to deal with the crippling psychological ramifications of that bombshell, but do it after you win another war for us."

It irreparably damages Masaki, and by extension Ichigo's and Isshin's, characters that she had powers.

If Masaki was a Quincy from the jump. Cool, why didn't she teach Ichigo basic control of his reiryoku? Or how to tell the living from the dead - something Ichigo canonically struggled with for as long as he could remember? Basic safety measures that would've avoided those kinds of situations in the first place.

You don't wait until a toddler get splattered by cars before telling them not to play in a busy road, or not to stick a fork in a power point after they've been electrocuted and rushed to the hospital. You teach them rules and install safety measures to prevent those situations in the first place.

There's four main interpretations I take from Masaki's decision to willfully neglect Ichigo's education in the spirit arts:

Well-meaning but naïve and frankly reckless desire to preserve Ichigo's innocence for as long as possible. Fair and the most benign explanation.

Threatened into maintaining her silence by either Kisuke or Isshin (or both depending how generous I feel), lest the seal on her hollowfication "mysteriously" weaken.

Realizing she was a dead woman walking since been bitten by White, Masaki partook in the conspiracy to turn Ichigo into a living weapon and purposefully martyred herself to make it happen.

Masaki having powers is the cosmic retcon of retcons and Kubo didn't think about the implications of his own writing...

If Masaki absolutely HAD to be a Quincy for the sake of turning Ichigo into Aizen's gary stu project, then fine.Yhwach's influence should've been kept far FAR away from it.

Maybe Masaki couldn't use her powers because if she tried, it would've destroyed the seal keeping the hollowfication in check. When Grand Fisher emerged, she baited it to kill her instead.

"Oh, but we need to explain why Ichigo's so powerful."

Ichigo's sperm donor is an ex-Captain and member of one of the royal families, who are noted to have above average base stats. His powers took a hollow aspect thanks to the encroachment temporarily transforming him into a hollow at the base of shattered shaft. Hollowfied Shinigami are naturally stronger (on paper) than their non-hybrid counterparts.

"Why does he two spirits?" The awakening of his power was so fractious it literally splintered into its component pieces. The hollow is the repressed parts of Ichigo's, so its a psychopathic reflection of himself. The old man is the other half of his soul realising the best way to get through to Ichigo is by giving him actual fucking parent.

Sometimes Occam's Razor is the best solution.

[bingeeaterblog]

// small warning big re touken hate it's a post on why I hate it and how I think it could've been done better BUT I encourage you to keep reading if you do like them and to give me your thoughts whether to tell me why you like them or why you think im wrong in some regards i love a good debate its why i joined Tumblr

I'm gonna start this off by talking about why I loved the original mangas touken.

They start off as strangers, them only having a REAL meeting when she saves his ass from nishio. Initially she was cold and rude, for every reason he was very disrespectful(also for good reason he was scared and all he knew about ghouls is that they are monsters who hurt people, one literally just had him in a choke hold) but I digress. Kaneki starts working at anteiku and he's shadowing touka much to her dismay she feels he can't do anything right and is just a know it all human.

Right off the bat they have a very interesting dynamic, touka learning to care for kaneki him starting to see her(and ghouls as a whole) as a person and not something he should be afraid of.

As time goes on, touka falls for him, it's what makes everything so hard when he abandons her. She feels betrayed he left just like ayato and her dad did no one ever stays for her? How could they? She makes herself so hard to love shutting everyone out. She blames herself partly, not being able to protect him from whatever happened at the aoigiri base.

When she does see him again she's angry! How dare he come back after all this! Why can't he just make up his mind! So she lashes out, she misses him so dearly but she can't tell him that? Let him know she cares? She hits him and tells him to never come back to anteiku (to her).

You can see why it's so appealing!! The angst!! The drama!!! They have it all! Toukas longing and kanekis isolation are what makes them so GOOD.

To explain why I don't like re touken we have to talk about why I don't like re touka.

Touka before was a very well rounded character, she was brash and a little impulsive, she loves the people around her even if its hard for her to show it in a healthy way. She'll do whatever it takes even if it means risking her own life.

Re touka, doesn't really have that. She's very... Water downed. I like to call it house house wife-ification. She's lost any semblance of her old personality. While I do like the idea of touka calming down and becoming more docile it's not done right, we meet her again and she's just... Like that? There's no character development of her changing it just happens! She's shaved down so she can be the perfect love interest for kaneki, it's even shown in her design! Her eyes are softer and she doesn't hold any of the same energy as old touka(this happens with a lot of female characters ishida just ended up giving them all the same face besides eto).

Kaneki is? Fine? I loved haise as a character and him and touka were sorta cute if u kinda ignore that fact touka isn't touka. Kaneki was fine and re and that's it, he's just okay. His Savior complex is removed and it's just "I wanna save people!!" The whole reason his savior complex is important is BECAUSE it ends up hurting more people he should've been developed to learn how to manage that and be the hero he could be.

Now for their actual relationship.

It's very.... Rushed? There's no tension no build up just "are you a virgin?" Which in my opinion is something touka would never say she'd stumble around it. they made her bold at the wrong times she's an awkward lil freak. And then boom! Sex yeah! And it's? Okay? It's not my favorite I felt like a sex scene between them should've been more desperate!! That's when the marriage bite should've happened! It should've bites and messy kisses and promises to never leave again! There was no passion! There was the "why are you crying" but that didn't really do anything for me!!

I do like the end scene where she was petting his hair that was very soft which is what he needs.

Then toukas pregnant!(Which is something I'll get into good another time) And it kinda feels like they only rush into the marriage because she is... Like I feel like they should've atleast had a dating stage y'know!! Everything just felt so fast with them and nothing like the original:(

The end credits scene feels nothing like touka, she looks dead that's not the character I used to know :( kaneki too only the scene with hide felt real

And yeah! I like ichika! But how cool would it have been if touka got pregnant AFTER re and in the end credit thing she was revealed! Another natural born one eyed ghoul!! Idk...

This is very messy sorry I had to get this out. if you like them? That's fine!! That's super duper cool its just not my favorite. Tell me why you think I'm wrong! Id love to hear your opinions

[quirkwizard]

I'm not sure why I made this. I just thought it would be fun to do and now all you have to see the fruits of my labor. So, without further ado, the Pro Hero Parent Tier List. Hope you all enjoy it and try not to take it too seriously.

F Tier: Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and Yoroi Musha: The simple fact is that these three characters are way too old to be parents. Maybe if this were a grandparent tier list, they'd be higher, but it isn't, so they're all going in the F Tier.

D Tier: Endeavor: Look, do I even need to explain this one? You all know what he did. One of the biggest problems in the story is the result of all the messed up stuff Enji did as a dad. His attempt at redemption was to remove himself from his family. Easy bottom tier.

Nana: While I'm someone who tries to understand Nana's position and decisions in regards to her kid and her role as a "One For All" user, she still didn't seem like a very good parent even when she was around. She herself even admits that, so that is what puts her so low.

Gang Orca: What few interactions we see him having with kids is screaming about their failures and throwing them when he is dissatisfied with their answers. That is bound to cause some trauma later. Like some Pavlovain response when they think of Free Willy.

Hound Dog: He may be a guidance consular that works with kids, implying some understanding of child psychology, but if his first reaction is to yell and growl at any emotional problems in front of him, he probably isn't going to communicate with his own kids.

Thirteen: I get that Thirteen is someone who takes a lot of care and consideration with her power and is quite safe to be around. That being said, I don't think that someone who is at risk of destroying their own child at the atomic level should really be handling children.

C Tier: Edgeshot: There really isn't a lot to say about Edgeshot as we don't get a lot of personality outside of being stoic, which could certainly be an issue for a parent. That being said, being willing to sacrifice yourself for a kid does push him above the bottom of the tier list.

Mount Lady: If we're considering her early in the series, she'd definitely be at the lower tier given how irresponsible and self-centered she is. Though considering her development and how mature she's gotten in general, she barely scrapes by as an average parent.

Kaumi Woods: Kamui Woods is just kind of average. There just isn't a lot going on with him that could give or detract merit from the little hero work he's done. He's here by default. His inability to hug his kids without giving them splinters would certainly be an issue.

Manual: Again, he's average. The most we have is that he seemed to do pretty well with handling Iida's whole situation but didn't seem to notice it in the first place. Otherwise, he's pretty plain. I could see him being the lame dad his kids don't want to talk to or be around.

Miruko: Definite Tiger Mom. She'd be making her kids do all kinds of sports stuff and getting them to exercise all the time. She cares, but she shows it by trying to make her kids excel at what they're doing. Great if they're into that, but I can see it fostering a lot of resentment.

Sir Nighteye: Like Miruko, but at the other end of the spectrum. He would be the kind of dad to make his kid study a lot because that's what he would think would be best for them. Cares and can loosen up when needed, but is emotionally distant most times.

B Tier: Ms. Joke: She is a teacher, meaning she must have some understanding of kids. She'd definitely be the "Fun Mom". She'd always try to keep a smile on her kid's face, even if that meant making terrible mom jokes. Be ready, she has been working on them for years.

Ectoplasm: He seems to be pretty good with kids, but the real clencher is his power. No matter what, he could always be around to be present in his kid's life. And hey, family dynamics are always changing. Who is to say a family can't be just a kid and their thirty-six identical dads?

Ryukyu: She can be hard on herself, but she seems to have a soft spot for children and do well with her wards, given how well they have turned out, being commanding without being harsh. And let's be real: who wouldn't want to have a dragon for a parent? That alone would put her pretty high up here.

Eraserhead: This may be a controversial pick putting him so low, but hear me out. I think Aizawa would try to be a good dad, but he's married to his job, being too tired and absent to really make it work. And did you see what he bought for Eri to wear? What self-respecting father would ever do this his child?

Fourth Kind: A good role model to any kid who tries to foster strong moral foundations and understanding of community in his wards. All around, a pretty stand-up guy to have as a dad. He loses points because punching kids is not a good way to punish them, even if it hurts him more than it hurts them.

Midnight: This could be because I read Vigilantes, but Midnight actually shows quite a few parental traits, like being highly empathic and understanding of those younger than her. Then again, I can only imagine the kind of teasing and general awkwardness that would come from having the R-Rated Heroine as a mom.

A Tier: All Might: If we're counting him without "One For All", otherwise he'd be working too much to be a dad, I think that he'd be a parent. If his students are anything to go by, he'd be a pretty effective parent. We can also tell that he plays favorites with his kids, and that knocks off a few points.

Present Mic: This may be a surprise pick, but I can see him doing pretty well as a parent. He can be the fun, comic dad that plays with his kids and can get on their level, but he can instantly go into serious mode if he needs to. The fact that he can do both so well, which you kind of need as a parent, puts him pretty high on the list.

Best Jeanist: Another stand-up guy, just trying to be a good role model and look amazing while doing it. I mean, the guy had an actual positive impact on early series Bakugou. That has got to count for something. Probably has all kinds of weirdly good life advice if you can understand fashion metaphors.

Rock Lock: One of the few real parents on this list, Rock Lock just seems like a responsible parent. He did try to call out the kids for being on missions, but he was kind of right in that regard and just looking out for them. Probably try to keep his kid from doing stupid stuff. He'd be a good, but restrictive father.

Hawks: Like Present Mic, I could see Hawks being a chill dad who doesn't seem to know what's going on but actually knows everything that happens and always has one eye open when it comes to his kids. He'll give his kids their freedom, but he's going to be there to catch and guide them when they really need him.

S Tier: Mandalay: Another one of the few real parents here, and one with a pretty bad hand. Mandalay not only had to take over as a guardian out of nowhere but had to do it with a heavily traumatized child while trying to lead a team as a pro-hero. The fact that she seems to be doing as well as she is puts her this high without question.

Fat Gum: No one should be surprised that Fat Gum is this high. He's super protective without being overbearing, tries to instill valuable lessons to make them develop, and does his best to encourage his wards to be the best they could be. And could you imagine him giving hugs? That would make any problem vanish.

Tensei: Tensei is just such a good guy. He's a good role model and leader for his team without it being detrimental. He knew Koichi for about a day and he was able to understand Koichi and tried to set him up for success. Imagine how well he'd do with his own kid. Plus, he's an older brother. That's like a being a parent with training wheels.

[siblingshuffle]

Sibling Shuffle: Unanswered Questions

The shading killed me for like 3 straight days 😂

You guys are great and I appreciate the love, patience, and support you guys give, but there was no way I was doing backgrounds too

—

I’m not sure if I should put a TW, so I’m playing it safe & doing so

TW: To put it simply, Tempo probably needs a hug & a long talk with her creator. To elaborate, Blues shares his concerns, and Tempo goes "wait, those are my concerns too" and, uh, isn’t coping very well

"…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you."

"No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out like that… I don’t really know where that came from…"

"It seemed like that was building for a while. …Are you alright?"

"Honestly? …I don’t know."

"…you don’t owe her your trust or forgiveness, you know."

"I…will keep that in mind." —

LORE: In the source material we do see Tempo is affected by the cave-in - she freaked out twice about possibly becoming lost or destroyed; once while sinking underwater and once in the Arctic while helping Ice Man with some research - but we didn’t really get any of the buildup to Tempo deciding to forgive Dr. LaLinde. In this AU, though, it’s… well, it’s more of a process.

This version of Tempo wants to trust Dr. LaLinde, wants to be able to get over it, but there’s some lingering doubt that make it hard for her to. And she doesn’t have very many people she can talk to about it other than Dr. LaLinde herself (which doesn’t really feel like an option to her at that time). And, knowing that the possibility of her developing PTSD or something similar was a contributing factor in the removal of her IC Chip, she’s been dealing with feeling like she can’t trust her own mother anymore and the cave-in trauma pretty much alone.

So when Blues showed up at Geoworks HQ to check on her and confessed that he was also worried about the exact same possibility, she kind-of went from being able to be like "i have this concern, but it’s based only on one past experience that she has already apologized for; I’m being unfair to feel this way" to something more like "I’m not the only one worried about this, meaning there might actually be a problem here, but I don’t know if I can talk to her about what she did to me, and I still feel bad for feeling this way because I don't feel like it’s fair to her".

…She might want to get advice from someone who isn’t the Light Family’s resident grudge-holder, though lol

(This mini character arc has at least 2 more minicomics planned for it. There will be a resolution, I promise, but it’s not for this batch of minicomics to do.)

—

Other Random Tidbits:

This isn’t the first time Blues kinda just showed up at the LaLinde residence, which is why Tempo was smiling in panel 3.

REALLY proud of the first & second panels! They were drawn using a couple panels from the comics as the references :)

I made a new digital pen to help with some of the Round Thing Shading. I think it looks pretty good, all things considered, but you’ll have to let me know.

The next one Tempo's involved in will not be focusing on her & the whole thing with Dr. LaLinde.

—

Next Up: Rescue

[spacerockfloater]

House of the Dragon, Season 2, Episode 1: Discussion

Overall, I did not like the episode at all.

First of all, am I crazy or was the whole scene at Winterfell and the Wall purely fanservice so that HOTD can gain the sympathy of old fans? I mean, it lasted like, 2 minutes, and added nothing to the plot. Cregan’s speech was amusing though.

Daemon didn’t let a single moment go to waste before he started acting like a king. Typical and at least consistent with his character.

Sigh. Preparing myself for the backlash I’m going to receive for this. I did not like the way Rhaenyra’s and Jace’s emotions were portrayed. Where was the shock? The agony? The horror? The pain? Too much silent grief for someone who just found out that their son/ brother was murdered. Hell, Rhaena showed more emotion than both of them combined and we saw her face for merely a second.

Good for my girl Alicent for finally getting some I guess, but the Alicole sex scenes were weak as fuck. No passion, no chemistry. It was robotic as shit. All that subtle tension between them during the first season led to nothing. Rushed as fuck and not at all what they made us think it would be. Provided absolutely zero context. Boring as hell, too. Thank fuck that it was leaked because it would have been a jumpscare. Nothing could have prepared me for it, it came out of nowhere.

Alicent standing her ground against Otto was surprisingly very good. I loved seeing her take the lead. And it was touching to see her light a candle for Luc, too.

Aegon II was very entraining. Refreshing to see him try to be a good king, actually care for his subjects and love his son. Distracts you from the fact that he’s still a stupid unseasoned teenager. Looking forward to some more character development on his part.

Now, what the actual fuck could Aemond ever possibly have to be angry about? Didn’t he just have his revenge? Who is he so pissed at?

Daemon and his murder cloak are the strongest ship in HOTD, which they should rename to “House of Misunderstandings” at this point.

I nearly pissed myself when Cheese’s super secret hidden path through the castle, that only he as a specialist knows, was crossing the fucking throne room on their tippy toes. Did they sneak back outside to meet Daemon the same way while leaving a bloody trail behind them? Are the writers actually insane? Who gave that shit the green light? Why does the door to Aemond’s room open by a lever? Is he Batman? Where the actual fuck was literally everyone? The guards? The servants? The ladies of honour? How was the fucking queen all alone?

And lastly, speaking of the queen… Oh my God. This was the most anticlimactic scene in the whole episode. I nearly fell asleep. I don’t know what’s Helaena’s deal, like is she neurodivergent? Is she just not fazed by anything because she has already seen everything play out in her head before it actually happens? It’s never explained and it makes it so infuriating that she looks just… concerned. Not traumatized or shocked, just perplexed and worried, lol. She pointed to her son faster than lightning. Did she just want all of it end as fast as possible? No idea. All the tragedy of the situation was removed. Luc’s death was much more impactful and shook the audience. This seemed so underwhelming and stale. And then Helaena quietly goes to her mother’s room, walks past her riding Criston like this happens to her every Tuesday, sits down, refers to her own son as “the boy”, and looks slightly distraught. Dian Doesn’t even shed a single tear. Nothing like the mourning woman gone mad by grief we saw in the trailer, though maybe we just have to wait I suppose. Like, lol okay. This was not giving like y’all promised it would. The only grotesque thing about it was listening to them sawing Jaehaerys’ head off.

The episode felt rushed as fuck and has severely reduced my interest in hating or loving any of the characters. There’d better be some top notch acting next Sunday or I’m dropping the show.

All opinions are welcome, just please be civil to one another!

[adaines-furious-feast]

One of my interests is how gods of old pantheons changed over time and after contact with other religions. I have a series of pantheons for my own fantasy novel and I just get really deep into world building and never any writing. So I'm really fascinated about how it works in Fantasy High. So:

(Undercut because long)

Ankarna and Ruvina would have been created somewhere in the north, possibly in the mountains of chaos. There's also an unnamed autumn deity and an unnamed spring deity. I think these two would have possibly been more important than they seem because when you think about pantheons today spring, the returning of life after winter, the time when new animals are born ect. ect. and autumn, the harvest time are much more prominent characters than summer and winter.

Galicaea and Helio are created somewhere in the south. Proto-Galicaea has moon connections, but also connections to mystery and magic, which is why she becomes a favourite of the elves. Helio has more sun connotations but also harvest time.

More human followers of Galicaea, possibly originally from a place called Osmir, create Galicaea-Osmir and eventually just Osmir, a deity of mystery which Rana worships that doesn't have a whole lot of followers. It wasn't uncommon in ancient Rome/Greece for there to be multiple versions of the same god worshipped in different places (Aphrodite for example had both romance and war connotations depending on where she was worshipped)

Eventually proto-Galicaea of the elves is split probably around the same time High Elves isolate themselves on Fallinel. She becomes this very isolationist and unmoving god, while those in Sylvaire worship Galicaea-Cassandra and then eventually just Cassandra. There are still some on the mainland that worship Galicaea-prime but in a more primal form than the High Elves, but it doesn't get enough followers and development to split off into its own deity and just remains Galicaea-Lida.

Meanwhile, while this is all happening there is development of two different kinds of Helio: Helio-corn and Helio-sol. They're not fully separated until the human followers encounter the giants who are trying to change Ankarna into this goddess of war and remove the sun from her. Up until this point, Helio-corn had been the prime god because, again, the harvest is so important. But followers of Helio-sol work with the Sunstones and rise to prominence, making Helio-Sol, then Sol-Helio, then just Sol the main god. Helio-corn, while being an older god than Sol, ends up becoming represented as Sol's son (not unheard of. See the development of Dionysus which is a fascinating case).

I think Helio would then have some influence on the unnamed Autumn god of the giants, possibly making them weaker as Ankarna in her war form took prominence, and also because the Sunstones/Cliffbreakers probably did a bunch of murder of their followers until this autumnal god took a backseat like Helio did.

[frommike]

Okay, I have a question because it's the one thing that makes me doubt Byler... If Byler is endgame, why do we have Mike's monologue??? Wouldn't it have been better to have a platonic "I love you" from El's brothers, to give her strength, just like her mother did? Why did the writers make Mike say that he's always loved her and even made him remember the color of her t-shirt? That can't all be a lie. The only possibility I see here is that Mike truly does love El but will still end up with Will because he realizes they're a better fit or something, idk.

Honestly, this one moment has nothing against byler to me. I know people were freaked when it first came out, but in all context the scene does not have romantic connotations. It's so far removed from intimacy or tender affection that I would feel genuinely sorry for El if this was the culmination of Mike's love for her. I do have a lot of thoughts, so sorry if this derails at any point, but I'll try to hit the broader ones, since I know so many people have already done analyses on the details.

Important point, bouncing off the lack of romance, it doesn't help her. She doesn't gain any motivation from the bulk of the monologue. And there's no action on her side that would stop them from framing it softer, more romantic. Meanwhile, even with Max's possession in 4x04, there is heart in it when Lucas catches Max. There are people in the frame with them that don't crowd or intrude on their connection. That was their moment. After all the action that hinders heartfelt moments, we still get that reciprocation at the end. Nothing like that for Mike and El. It wouldn't be that hard to see the direct aftermath of El waking up and Mike comforting her. I mean, we also get zero m*leven moments after that, for whatever reason. The closest thing is El leaning on him for comfort, which is so shocking(sarcasm) knowing all the trouble they have with communicating, finding common ground, understanding each other, that leads them to seeking physical intimacy as a workaround.

In fact, she even seems kind of upset at Mike during the cabin scene. The only thing stopping her from slamming that door on them was the memory of her (presumed) dead dad telling her to keep the door open 3 inches.

It wouldn't have been hard to, with this moment being so out of the way, have just put it in a place that actually makes it feel romantic. Like the pizza scene right before they put her in the freezer. There was no reason to save it for a high stakes moment where it does nothing.

There was also no reason to have Mike piggyback off of Will like that. They directly made him the motivator, even without the added context of Mike's development having been built up off of Will the entire season.

The monologue still coincides with the main views I've had of the characters since season 3, by the way. Mike is loyal to the point of doing anything that means he won't lose his loved ones. El was dying in his arms and the biggest conflict he knew he could resolve, to give her motivation, was that last fight they had. If that meant lying, then so be it. Dire circumstance was also the only thing motivating enough for him to say he loved her even through the whole argument with her begging for him to say it. Then he has the gull to claim he didn't know what to say. Almost like the truth wasn't something she wanted to hear. He suppresses his emotions because he refuses to be seen as weak, but that was just on another level. She had already assumed he loved her the entire time from the "I love her and I can't lose her again" thing, and she verbally reciprocates it to him. He's not hiding feelings she believes he has from her, because he already knows she thinks he feels them. That offers nothing. All she wanted was for him to say actual words that reflected how she thought he felt, while he was unable to because he knows the romantic implication of saying them and he knows that's a lie. And he knows he's not good at lying.

Still hasn't said it directly to her, by the way. She wasn't in a position to respond to him and we still don't see her response on screen through the aftermath. We don't know what she thought of the confession. We can assume, but it hasn't been shown thus far. Which is kind of suspicious. I'm sure people would love another cute m*leven scene where she responds on it, but whatever. Sure let's hide that.

Also, at the point about him remembering meeting her in the Benny's Burgers t-shirt was one of my problems with the monologue. That's his only memory, and the only thing specific he can say is the color of her shirt? Really? He can't even go into detail about how he felt during that, what she offered to him, there was no why involved. Compare to the shed scene, season 2 (re: i just felt so alone, and so scared, and i saw you on the swings and you were alone too.) (and it might help you to know, mike's line about the shirt is basically copied verbatim from eddie's line about the weird al shirt to dustin. that's not romantic)

"That can't all be a lie." It doesn't have to. What I take from the fact he lies or exaggerates at all, is that it makes you wonder what else he could be lying about. If he's willing to say it was love at first sight, or that he was never scared, what's stopping him from lying about the entire thing? It's reminiscent of the deflection technique he uses when El first confronts him about not loving her.

And your last point is possible, sure. I just don't think it would be a main point of conflict if Mike was telling the truth. Characters develop through inward reflection, and if nothing changed about how he actually felt then there was no development for him. And I don't think Will would be the one guiding and supporting him to gaining confidence if the journey he's going through resolves with him with Eleven. I mean look at J*ncy, their time apart caused more problems because they didn't communicate and find answers through each other. They're still lying to each other. Imagine if the situation with Jonathan's college letter was magically resolved with Argyle getting him high, that's kind of how I feel on where Mike and El's relationship stands.

Their conflict was a lot more involved and complicated, though. Something I genuinely need to see them work through together instead of bullshitting by splitting them up again and claiming to have done something. I want to see the miscommunication and lying resolved without Will standing in the background with cue cards.

A part of the monologue I just straight up dislike is Mike's "hero worship" of El (it's way more complicated than that phrase captures, but it would take up 2/3 of this entire post to explain my thoughts, so just be aware there is more than just idolization). The main thing that made her feel like he didn't love her anymore was connected to her powers. She feels like she has to be in this position of a hero for him to love her. And he upholds that during the monologue by rambling on for 1/2 of it about how much he loves her for her powers("I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero... ...You can fly, you can move mountains"). It's just full of disrespect. Her smile drops on screen as he says this, if you rewatch the scene. Something something... he's piggybacking off of Will again... and didn't actually develop in his mindset towards El...

Also I just realized I skipped over the point about platonic love, and all I have to say to that is that Vecna is still alive. If the point is that platonic love conquers all, or that it's what she needed in that moment, I'd rather that be saved for the ending where he actually dies. Or where El actually goes all out with her powers and starts floating, like she did while remembering her mother's love. So Vecna still kicking after Mike's shitty monologue is actually a win to me.

If this doesn't explain all your questions or you want me to expand on something, feel free to ask :)

[highway-road23]

This is Admin talking

It is very sad that krul dead without having any kind of special and unique and glorious moments of hers just like how other side characters like kureto or shinya had for themselves. Krul's personality and character was very well written and had so much potential but it was completely wasted thankful of takaya only focusing on two characters and their relationship for YEARS and completely ignoring all his other side characters aside that now it was time to remove them, which the removal itself wasn't bad or bad writing, it suddenly felt a too rush in forward although it was not and krul's death in all aspects was completely predictable just like how the title of the previous chapter "Queen's time" was a promising title telling us that krul's end is very close, but yep it felt bad and out of blue because unfortunately takaya never gave her enough screen times of her that now she had removed we can't accept it and get over with it, like krul never had any special plans of her and all she did was following mahiru's or ashera's plan and words but she, herself, never had a motivation forward although she was even older than ferid and she literally did nothing all these long times to make a plan of herself to defeat the first or gain more information although we can see how MALE characters like kureto, saito, ferid, ashera, noya and guren had their own plans in their own ways yes a character like crowley had non too but at least we have goddammit novels of him and we got enough screen times of him so that his death didn't felt too rushed or anything but for krul? Nothing. We had nothing. And the sad part is that she was an important side characters not a minor character like chess, horn, rene, lacus, byakkomaro, raimeki and etc. so that if she would remove from the story we won't feel that much of a problem with it, yes she was a side character but she was an important side character, she wasn't anything near a minor side character but unfortunately takaya showed again he is definitely too bad at writing not the side characters themselves but also FEMALE characters so badly too, like krul even in the story of her and her brother wasn't the main one and it was always ashera who was the main character in their stories and krul was playing role of a supporting character even there and it was no single motivation and act from her side throughout the whole manga although we expected so much more and high of her why? Because at the beginning of the manga it was shown that she kind of have plans for both Yu and Mika and she whispered some amazing and mysterious things to Mika and it made us be so curious over it just to realize that no it was never anything important and there were no actual and amazing plan from her side but the amazing plans was only from the male characters or mahiru and that is what made her death unbearable although it was a need for the story and it was simply her time to go away but because she laced character development a lot, her death felt so out of blue.

[iris-sistibly]

The Targ Talk: House of the Dragon S2

Episode 6 commentary

The way Alicent is surprised that Aemond is also treating her like shit, and her acting like as if she doesn't recognize Aemond anymore, I mean girl...

Show Alicent was manipulated by her father into thinking that Rhaenyra would kill her sons, and I think the reason why she believed him was not only because it was Rhaenyra who exposed Otto and convinced her father to remove that leech from his seat (in exchange of her marrying Laenor), but also because Rhaenyra lied about Daemon not touching her (again, I don't think Rhaenyra trusted her enough to confess about what happened in the brothel and after that because she knew that Alicent is a puppet of her father). In Alicent's perception, if Rhaenyra could do all those things, then what are the chances of her not going as far as getting rid of her half-brothers so no one could challenge her claim to the throne right? So she instilled in her sons' minds about Rhaenyra killing them once she sits on the iron throne, hence their fucked up relationship with their sister (and nephews).

Book version is more straight to the point though, Alicent was so adamant at putting Aegon to the throne that she has taught her own children to hate Rhaenyra and their sons because they were their rivals (apart from Rhaenyra of course). Either way, book or show version, Alicent was still part if not the reason why her sons ended up this way. Slut-shaming Rhaenyra, allowing them to call their sister the whore of Dragonstone, making them feel like they are far more superior because they were born males and has more right to the throne was something she herself taught them. Funny thing is, just like everyone else pointed out, she thought she was exempted from their misogynistic bullshit.

Helaena once again getting dragged into this whole mess was painful to watch. This wouldn't have happened had Alicent agreed to marry her to Jace instead of Aegon, fanfictions and delusions aside, let's face it--Jacaerys would have treated Helaena way better than Aegon ever did. But you know what hurts more? Alicent acting like she cares for Helaena the most yet she allowed this to happen to her.

Aemond Targaryen finally showing his true colors (aka his book version). He has grown cockier since becoming the Prince Regent, but his arrogance will lead him to his demise.

Now that Aegon knows that his life is in danger in the hands of his own brother and enlists the help of Larys, I'm kinda hoping that he'll plot some sort of revenge towards Aemond, and the fight between the brothers would be the key to the greens' downfall.

I am hoping to see a more feisty version of Helaena, the scene where she faced Aemond for the first time since becoming Prince Regent gave me a spark of hope that the writers would give something better for Helaena, some sort of character development that will help her to finally stand up for herself (and her daughter). Also I want to see her riding Dreamfyre even just once.

Seasmoke choosing his rider will always be badass. I agree with what other fans pointed out that he's most likely the father of Dany's dragons since he looks more similar to them compared to Syrax. At least Seasmoke and Syrax were able to do something Leanor and Rhaenyra never did.

Speaking of dragons, it was indeed a crazy idea for Rhaenyra to heed Jace's advice, but with a big-ass grumpy old dragon on the opposing side, they're gonna be needing more dragons. Syrax and Caraxes would have stood a chance against Vhagar considering that Sunfyre is severely injured, Tessarion and Daeron are still MIA. Putting Helaena and Dreamfyre in the battlefield is out of the question/non-negotiable. But because, the Haunting of Harrenhal starring Daemon is like a whole-ass season long, Rhaenyra is still at a disadvantage. She is a dragonrider, but she obviously can't command all of the other dragons. Daenerys was able to do that to all three of her dragons because she wasn't just a dragonrider, she was their mother. Rhaenyra isn't. Having more dragonriders would increase her chances to win the battle, but if Rhaenyra carefully weighs her pros and cons, she'd do something to ensure that none of the dragonseeds would betray her. But then again, if you've read Fire & Blood, you know what happened.

Never underestimate the power of the smallfolk, that is why Otto wanted to get them to the greens' side by using the death of Jaehaerys to paint Rhaenyra as the bad person. But one thing that old prick didn't realize was that he needed to do much more than just earn their sympathy. Having Mysaria on Rhaenyra's side, someone who has lived the life, knows the struggles, and knows exactly what the people need gave Rhaenyra the advantage. By giving them something the greens never did, she successfully provoked the ire of the people towards the usurpers and get their support. The kissing scene between Rhaenyra and Mysaria to me doesn't feel romantic (at least not for now). Though I have to say that the latter is exactly who the queen needs at this point, someone that Daemon should have been for her.

Nice to see Paddy Considine make a cameo in the show. We all know that the Viserys is the person that Daemon loves the most, but the truth is, I expected more action and more thrilling scenes from Daemon this season. Matt Smith didn't lie when he said that we're gonna see a weaker Daemon but I feel like the Haunting of Harrenhal feels...dragging. Maybe I'm not just used to Daemon not committing war crimes but ngl I was expecting him to get his shit together this episode.

Joffrey telling Rhaena that he wants his mother and the scene with the baby dragon are just making my chest tight (knowing what will happen to him and all of the dragons).

[satellite-sims]

Heya, it's time to present the final version of my beloved Antje. I worked on her since late 2019. It was the very beginning of my new era lol. I started writing Deep End where she have the support role and she should have look exactly the same as her real prototype. That's the goal. I had to admit - her face wasn't that easy to recreate. (Like Adrien's too). But i did my best to get even more resemblance by making a low-effort skinblend and it came out super gorgeous! I'm gonna show you results in the details. Pictures are slightly edited and taken with reshade.

Let's get started.

1. Portrait Zone

The first thing that triggered me in her face is her dark and "muddy" cheekbones. It was the skintone and the blush itself fault. Skintone have multiple colors on the face (some zones are yellow and some are pale & bluish) and it was disturbing to constantly remove this effect on portraits. Now this problem solved! Her face now have smooth colors with warm pink/peach undertones (which i usually remove to get the "porcelain" skin) and smooth cheekbone line. The other important part that may be not really visible is that her neck got shorter to fit the resemblance.

2. Face Proportions

When it gets to the skintone changing - sims may lose some details that makes them resembling. It does happened to Antje but it wasn't that terrible, because i blended some parts of her previous skin (Ephemera's Fresh) and the newest one (Simpicient's Tranquility) I blended eyelids, nose and lips to save the definition. I've added a cheekbone definition to make colors smoothly looking (makeup part not really worked with her) and it gave me an ability to make cheekbones a little lower which looks more accurate. Some little touches i've made: slightly reshaped the lips (they've got "sharper") and widener the jaw. I think i will do some changes in future, because chin and eyes are slightly off to me. Yeah, i'm the perfectionist, but anyway, i love how she comes out in general.

3. Clavicle & Cleavage Details

When i seeked some photos of Antje for references, i noticed that her clavicle and cleavage are not that subtle as my Antje. It's more soft and flat. Anyway, previous version looked unrealistic to me when i took the pics of her body in lingerie. Something was off to me. That's also the reason why i decided to experiment with skinblending. But in fact, i didn't changed the body. I just took original from Simpicient and i really liked how it looks on her. Textures are more realistic and details are smooth like Antje should have.

4. Belly & Spine

Honestly, i don't like how previous belly looked like. It's kind of dystrophic for a middle aged woman. It should be just flat in my view. And again a yellow tone looks a bit odd. Yeah, she still have ribs at the second pic but they're not that obvious now. And a neat button as bonus, lol. Spine is my favorite thing about Antje. She have unusual body shape for a woman - reversed triangle. It's always called "less feminine" and etc. but i found it very sexy. I really love how her spine looks like especially with wide shoulders.

5. Legs

It's the most boring part for me, lol, but they look fine in both variations. That's all. Second ones are just better textured as the whole skintone does. Knees are slightly controversial to me. Maybe, i will rework them later.

6. Misc Parts

These are the smallest improvements, but i decided to show like everything (except nude parts, sorry, but we're on tumblr).

That's all i wanted to show you. It's a little, but honest work :D I love the way Antje transformated just by changing a skintone. She became "older" and that's what i wanted to get. I wasn't sure that i have any luck with skinblending, because all my previous efforts were too bad. This one is a small but important step for developing my favorite character.

Thanks for reading ❤

[theirisianprincess]

As much as I love Tomoko x Asuka, I hadn't quite put my finger on how it even happened. Like, there's a clear shift in how Asuka treated Tomoko, but since we rarely see Asuka's perspective, it's hard to gauge why she's so interested in Tomoko.

I don't mind not getting a "reason" for Asuka's interest. Not everything has to be explained immediately. But the way this shift snuck up on me made me wonder how and when it even happened. At most, I figured it happened during the Disneyland Arc.

Asuka's treatment of Tomoko before Disneyland was pretty much just her being polite and treating her like she would treat any of her friends. After Disneyland (and also near the end of it) is when Asuka starts giving Tomoko special treatment.

When she arrives at the theme park, she was set to join a large group consisting of both boys and girls, but after Nemo joins Tomoko's group and Akane goes off on her own, Asuka goes with Akane (and Koharu goes with them as well). Asuka spends the first half of their trip trying to convince Akane to make up with Nemo, but it goes nowhere. The three of them see Tomoko with Nemo and Yoshida, which Asuka comments on how atypical such different people became friends. Koharu starts talking shit about Tomoko and Akane asks why she's there when she wasn't invited. After Koharu runs off in anger, Asuka invites herself and Akane into Tomoko's group.

And somehow, Tomoko got Akane and Nemo to start talking to each other in one conversation. She did what Asuka failed to do all day. And if I were to guess, this is probably the biggest reason for Asuka's crush. I mean, both of Asuka's biggest takeaways on Tomoko (she has lots of different kinds of friends and she's good at mediation) utterly destroys any preconceived notions of her character (which she thought Tomoko was a quiet and diligent student).

On a side-note, I think the same is true for Ucchi, except instead of seeing that Tomoko cares a lot more for others than she lets on, Ucchi finds out she's far more perverted than expected. The end result is the same though, where it becomes incredibly clear that Tomoko occupies both of their minds.

Asuka, Nemo, and Akane go back to the co-ed group that they were originally in, but not before Asuka does this:

She winks at Tomoko.

Fucking winks.

Somehow, despite re-reading this arc over and over, I missed this fucking wink. The reason why I wrote this long post is solely because I saw this wink and I had to get the brain rot out.

I think that this is the moment when Asuka knew. When she knew that she didn't see Tomoko as just a friend. When she made the conscious decision to flirt with her. And when they meet up again later...

...she made good on that decision.

Now, I want to acknowledge the argument that Asuka could be spoiling Tomoko instead of flirting. After all, she told Kii-chan that she tried to do just that at first. Except, the fact that she eventually shifts from wanting to spoil Tomoko to wanting to be spoiled by Tomoko means that her priority is the relationship itself. It seems far more likely that she was acting this way to get into Tomoko's good graces (which Tomoko is also clearly doing as well). On top of that, the whole "seeing a new side to this person" doesn't explain a desire to spoil that person. Seeing a new side to someone could explain developing a crush on them, which in turn, could explain a desire to spoil that person. But that chain of reasoning doesn't make sense if you remove the having a crush part. And finally, wanting to spoil someone doesn't actually contradict having a crush in the first place.

Anyway, it should be very clear to everyone that Tomoko x Asuka should never happen, because if they did, I would immediately die on the spot out of sheer joy.