@elle-tale-heart - Tumblr Blog

One thing about the whole “I need to shock audiences and surprise them” mentality going on in media currently is that, not only does it sacrifice character arcs or having the narrative make sense for the sake of “surprising audiences”, I feel it also punishes the audience for trying to engage with the material.

Good world-building and foreshadowing should reward people for noticing small details such as names or places or even guessing what a character will do.

Since it is a general rule in Tumblr to use ATLA as an example of good writing, I want to point out to Azula’s first appearence in the show.

We first see her in a flashback only for a moment where she does not say anything and her identity is not even hinted at. But to those who pay attention, you can gather that her design is too unique to be just a background character, she must have some importance down the line.

You can also see that her reaction to Zuko being punished is similar to Zhao’s and the opposite to Iroh’s. This manages to establish plenty about her.

And then the season finale reveals she is Zuko’s sister.

One of my favorite things about people’s blind reaction to ATLA is when they notice Azula’s flashback cameo and say “hey, she seems happy Zuko is being scarred for life. Wonder if she is important in some way” then discover who she is and go “the girl enjoying Zuko’s suffering was his sister!!?”

And that is good payoff. Because it is something that actually rewards people for engaging with the material. It gives them positive feedback that tells them there is value in engaging with the material beyond just consumption. That there is value in rewatching and see what one missed.

The need to “shock” audiences is the opposite of this. To have a character or story seem important only to drop it unceremioniously because “it was unexpected” is the opposite of that.

It tells them “you tried to guess what was going to happen? to think rewatching would help you understand the work better? you are stupid for doing so.”

surii-deactivated20200815

HELLO HAVE ILLYA AND ALPHINAUD. They are a super vanilla and nerdy couple who have gone through hell and back together. Their feelings had to develop over a long period of time (slow burn ;w;) but when they finally do get together they're inseparable.

Through the ages - Gabrielle Aplin

surii-deactivated20200815

@whitherliliesbloom

fearless-fawn

Is no one else gonna say it?

I'm gonna say it...

Alphinaud is like, 15.

0hmama

THANK YOU. People really just let this shit go on and it's SO disgusting. I know full goddamn well if it was a dude WOL they'd be fucking cancelled and dragged. But since it's a uwu cute gorl that knows how to gpose, everyone just lets it fly.

Just know, if any of my followers support this person: I am disgusted with YOU just like I'm disgusted with THEM.

catchymemes

wildflowerveins

you can’t read a few text posts on tumblr and reblog a couple pictures of black lives matters and think you’re not racist. racism is a deeply engrained part of our culture - sometimes it’s not even conscious. you have to constantly question yourself. it’s pretty hard to unlearn 400+ years of institutional racism and in order for us to properly dismantle systems of injustice, we have to stop pretending we all aren’t part of the problem.

nosez-moved

im not a people pleaser anymore im a huge cunt now

anarchogay

me after setting one (1) boundary

okay

“I am an old soul. I like old music and old movies and even old people.”

The Edge of Seventeen 2016

memewhore

shiiimmer

a guy just argued against socialism by saying “why would you spend years becoming a doctor to earn the same wage as everyone else?” oh idk maybe i’d like to save people’s lives?? maybe you can have genuine interest in something beyond money?? honestly what is wrong with our culture if the only motivation to get out of bed is greed? capitalism has such devastating consequences on our sense of self and our values, and honestly we don’t talk about that enough

shiiimmer

all the people in the tags saying they’d like to be a barista or do cleaning or something like that! and who are made fun of for it! are so precious! i hope we can build a world where u can just.. choose. and not end up in poverty for it.

swiftpinkskies

Before you think about voting for Kanye, remember...

He has openly supported Trump and his racist, sexist policies

When the Bill Cosby allegations dropped, he tweeted “BILL COSBY INNOCENT”, invalidating any experiences of his victims in the process

“When you hear about slavery for 400 years... 400 years? That sounds like a choice”- Kanye west, TMZ

He has openly supported Trump and his racist, sexist policies

He is a part of one of the richest families in the world that capitalize from our money through everything they can- whether it’s their TV shows or their overpriced merchandise.

Remember the Kardashians have enough money to end a lot of serious issues in the world. And do they do that? No they do not

He has openly supported Trump and his racist, sexist policies

He literally had his fans chant “fuck taylor swift” at her Nashville hometown because he was petty. How hateful of a human do you have to be to do something like that to someone? Is this the type of person we need in office?

On the topic of Taylor Swift- remember when he lied about a phonecall where he referred to her as a “bitch” and made it out as if she “owed him sex”

And we all haven’t forgot about the 2009 MTV music awards 🙂

*cough* asshole *cough*

And oh, yeah!

He supports Trump and his racist, sexist policies