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laugtherhyena · 5 months

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So, what's up with Udon comics Karin?

Recently i got a hold of physical copies of the Sakura ganbaru manga and after reading through the whole thing i decided to organize this character analysis of sorts where I'll be comparing this awful iteration of the character to her versions from the game's canon and the manga where she originated from in order to highlight where the Udon comics completely missed the mark when it came to portraying her.

First off, who is Karin?

She's the sole heir to the Kanzuki Zaibatsu which is one of the biggest and wealthiest business organizations in the Street fighter world. She has an incredibly strict father and has been trained pretty much since birth to become what he considers a worthy heir, being set to live by their motto that's something along the lines of “In all things be victorious”.

Karin is very obviously SF’s version of the ojou girl character trope, she's filthy rich, snobbish, mean and has a condescending attitude from her mannerisms to her laughs. These are traits present in all of her iterations, however, there's one key element about Karin that completely flew over the heads of the udon comic writers;

Karin is not spoiled, she is proud.

At age 15 this girl was on her way to becoming the leader of one of the biggest business conglomerates of the world while also being proficient in several different fighting styles, remaining undefeated for god knows how long. Karin is good at what she does and she knows it, she's proud of her accomplishments and that's exactly why she acts the way she does.

Her attitude was never solely out of her fortune and status, it always came off as being mostly out of her own merit.

Meanwhile, in the Udon comics Karin is portrayed as a huge spoiled brat. They essentially removed every aspect that made her a rounded likable character and amplified all of her worst traits, a complete disservice to a character that in her proper characterization feels almost like a spin on the standard ojou girl archetype.

As research for this post I tried to find the first time she appeared in the story and as far as I'm aware that was on Street fighter issue 8 in a small backup/extra comic. In it, her initial fight with Sakura has already happened and Karin is after her for a rematch, Sakura is running late for school but Karin corners her so they can have their match, she beats her up fairly quickly and then runs off.

While appearing at the most inconvenient times is not out of character for her (Example: in Sakura ganbaru she breaks into Sakura's house at night by smashing her window solely so she could invite her to this fighting event she'll be hosting) one thing that stood out to me is how Karin talks about their previous fight.

She says that she only lost because of a fluke in their previous fight, implying that she would have won otherwise. And this is something that gets shown again and again in her later, major, appearances in the series; Street fighter legends Sakura (top left) and Street fighter Sakura vs Karin (Bottom left + right)

Karin seems to genuinely believe that there's no way she could lose to Sakura, and if she did, then there must have been some kind of casualty during the match that prevented her from whining, foul play involved on Sakura's part or she straight up says that the fight in which she was bested by her doesn't count for whatever reason.

This inability to accept defeat not only paints her as a whiny sore loser, but shows a clear misunderstanding on the writer’s part on the reason why Karin goes after Sakura.

She's not after this rematch because she refuses to accept that Sakura could win or even because she hates this girl, she just wants to prove herself as the better fighter to uphold her family's motto of being the winner at everything. In both the game's canon and in Sakura ganbaru she accepted that she was bested and worked towards growing stronger so that she could defeat Sakura in a rematch.

That's literally it, but for some reason the Udon comic writers seem to think that Karin has some sort of obsessive vendetta against Sakura and just can't stand her. In Street fighter legends Sakura she breaks a tv just because she saw Sakura being praised on it and in the prologue of this short series she's seen destroying several punching bags with Sakura's picture on it and makes one of her employees dress as her for them to fight.

(I'm sure there's a version of these with more dialogue but i couldn't find it in english :[)

This is downright atrocious because Karin NEVER hated Sakura. Her infatuation for her (because you really can't call it an obsession) came from a place of genuine admiration for her skills.

In Sakura ganbaru she orders her butler to give her a full resume about Sakura's life just because she saw her fighting from afar and was impressed by her skills, even calling her a “special commoner” when the butler asks her why she's so set on wanting to fight a girl like her. And in Alpha 3, Karin straight up tells Sakura that she admires her.

Hell, even after winning against Sakura in a match, Karin proclaims her as the better fighter. A level of humility that's almost nonexistent in her Udon comics counterpart.

Because yes, Karin can be nice. We see this first-hand in Alpha 3 where after losing to R.Mika in a fight she tells her hasn't studied enough about pro-wrestling (admitting that she had underestimated her fighting style) and even offers to sponsor Mika's wrestling career.

Later on in Street fighter V she pays Birdie to be her bodyguard and pretty much lets him lay around her mansion doing nothing all day after finding out Shadaloo was after him.

Something similar to these acts of kindness on her part happens in Legends Sakura, where she lets her employee keep the trophy of the hot dog eating competition they were in. But the thing is; they have made Karin such a bitch in these comics that this act, which would be in character for her game counterpart, feels out of character in this because she's just so mean and victory focused all the time.

And speaking of victories, another thing this characterization of her gets wrong is her approach to them. Udon comics Karin will go above and beyond in order to achieve a victory, it doesn't matter if it's unfair for her opponent, all that she cares about is if she scores that win.

In Legends Sakura she challenges Karin to a hot dog eating competition since she wasn't feeling like fighting her physically, Karin cheats in it by shoving the food down her employee’s throat under the table, when Sakura and her friends out her as a cheater she quickly changed the challenge into a fighting match even tho Sakura has eaten like 30 hot dogs by now and is in no condition to fight her.

And in Sakura vs Karin, where the two are competing in a game tournament, Karin buys the company that made the game and adds herself as a character on it. Something Sakura was previously not aware of and as such had no chance of knowing how to play well against the new character.

This is wild to me because it's quite literally the exact opposite of how Karin acts in her other iterations. She strives for a fair fight because otherwise her subsequent victory on it will be meaningless, after all, there's no merit in winning against someone when you've got an unfair advantage over them.

Even when she had the perfect opportunity to give herself an advantage, manga Karin still strived to keep things fair. After her initial loss against Sakura, she organizes a tournament around the district that's essentially a battle royale with several fighters of the region. She made this whole event with the sole purpose of challenging Sakura by the end of it since she expected her to defeat all the other opponents.

As the organizer, she could absolutely have abstained from joining the tournament herself and stand there high and mighty as the final challenge for the whole thing, but not only did she actively participate on the tournament, Karin strived to defeat more people than Sakura because she saw that as a way to redeem herself after losing to her a few days back.

She is so set in winning this tournament that she refused to even stop for a moment and get her injuries treated.

Cheating legitimately feels like something Karin would frown upon so to see her doing it more than once in the Udon comics feels like the pinnacle of character assassination.

Another thing that stood out to me is that even after being outed as a cheater during that hot dog eating competition, that not only had an immense live audience but was also being televised, Karin faces absolutely no repressions for it. Meanwhile in the manga Karin's father makes her undergo a series of trials in which she fights an eagle while balancing on a tightrope over a ravine, a bear in a waterfall, and a lion otherwise he would basically disown her.

All of this because she lost twice, first to Sakura and later to Ken during the tournament.

And speaking of Sakura, they messed up her and Karin's relationship so badly in the Udon comics that it's only when the two of them are adults that they become friends. Meanwhile, in both Alpha 3 and Sakura ganbaru volume 1 they're left on a good note with each other right after their stories wrap up and implied to have become friends in the following entries of the series.

In Street fighter IV this is done via Sakura's win quotes and in volume 2 by Sakura sending Karin a souvenir from her travels.

By the time we see them as adults in Street fighter V we are shown that yes, they are friends! And seemingly have been for quite a while now.

This is honestly kinda sad to me because we learn first hand that Udon comics Karin had no friends growing up and it seems like this lack of positive figures in her life, Sakura specially, stunted her growth as a person since it's also only when she's an adult that she comes to the realization that fighting it's not about winning or losing, but the moment of the battle, and that some defeats are more valuable than victories since it's from our failures that we can learn to grown stronger.

Something that both the manga and game versions of Karin discovered much sooner, truly showcasing how Udon’s version of her is always 5 steps behind the others.

#can you tell this is my favorite Sf character can you tell-#i had to learn how to mess with Tumblr on desktop just to add all the images to this #street fighter #Karin Kanzuki #hyena ramblings

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respectthepetty · 1 year

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@optimisticdreamtacoshark - I'm glad you enjoyed my Dark Blue Kiss color post. I highly encourage everyone to rewatch the series because not only does it hold up after three years, but maybe your eyes might catch some smaller details:

T-shirts:

Since T-shirts were Mork and Sun's love language...

When Sun is trying to get Mork to go home with him and explaining how Mork could be better, Mork's shirt reads "I AM BASIC"

After Sun kisses Mork, and Mork runs away to avoid Sun, Mork wakes up in a "NO" shirt

Mork gives Sun a different shirt to wear claiming they were the only ones left in the gift shop; however, they continue to stand in the best positions for the "MINE" signs to point to the other AND Mork's shirt is American Sign Language for "I love you"

Rain's first scene has him wearing a "I'm not short. I'm concentrated awesome" shirt

And his last scene has him wearing "My Giant" shirt

When Non was trying to confess to Kao, Kao's shirt states "La piscine" in blue and red, which is Pete's color, and means "The pool" in French which is Pete's favorite place

And when Non is lying to Pete about being invited over for dinner, his shirt states "I know you think you know everything" in red, which is Pete's (and Non's) color

Background & Signs:

When the show starts, the sign for the Blue Sky Cafe's, which blue boy Sun owns, is completely in blue

But as the red rascal Mork warms his way into Sun's heart, the sign integrates Mork's red

Whenever blue boys Kao and Sun are experiencing hardships, their backgrounds are highlighted in blue reinforcing who they are and giving them support

When the barista from the other coffee shop is flirting with Mork, the sign next to Mork states "No Entry Allowed" since his heart already belongs to Sun

And when Sun asks Mork to stay, their hands touch next to the blue "I love you to the sea & back" notebook

When Mork leaves Sun, and Sun is wandering around missing Mork, he unknowingly stops in front of the place Mork is now working and the sign behind him tells him to go "IN"

And when they fight outside the bar, the wall reads "FAKE: Human beings survive by faith, love, and belief in dreams. Life is so short. Let's be happy"

A constant sore point between Kao and Pete is Pete's desire to be open about their relationship, while Kao is afraid; therefore Pete is usually reinforced by rainbows and colors while Kao isn't

And when Pete and Kao breakup, the multicolored books behind Pete read "Love Story" and "Second Wind" aka second chance in red and blue, Pete and Kao's colors

Barriers:

Kao and Pete never have physical barriers to demonstrate emotional disconnect until this moment. Non is literally and figuratively the divide between Pete and Kao

After that, several physical barriers come between Pete and Kao as they struggle to communicate

In this scene, Pete once again argues for Kao to admit publicly that they are dating. The barrier between them is an open door which symbolizes honesty and living openly. This door in every other scene had been closed.

The distance between them grows so much that wide shots are used to show the empty space that is normally filled with their love. The barrier also still exists with the sign that reads "We make life easier, safer, and greener" which shows irony.

Mork and Sun also experience communication barriers, but their barrier features several items in pairs: the cups, the cakes, the images on the chalkboard, the tea packets, etc.

For Funsies:

Mork and Sun serving us vers

If you spot any others, let me know, and as usual, thank the director P'Aof and the cinematographer Rath for a great visual narrative.

I also did this for Semantic Error in case anyone is interested.

#Dark Blue Kiss #the colors mean things #Pete x Kao #the cinematography #the visual cues #Dark Blue Kiss the series

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kingfisherprince · 1 year

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⭐ since I saw the post you reblogged about the fanfic director's cut

i wish i knew which fics you would want to hear about, anon! but we're gonna go with this one because it's been a while since i wrote it and i want to relive those days,,, fair warning, this is *long* so it's gone under the cut.

i. intro

fair warning: this is 50% because there’s a lot i want to say about the series, 50% because i’m procrastinating, and 100% unnecessary. if you don’t want to stick around for way too much rambling on characters, choices, and chaos, you won't be missing anything.

ii. Afterwards, when he looks at Rafa, all he sees is the ghost of a hundred flashlights against the dark London sky.

what else could this be referring to but wimbledon ‘08? i liked the idea of setting it very clearly in a time period without ever mentioning the time period - this is something i continued throughout the series, making a point never to mention the year by number. this line is the very first thing that came to me, and established the style of the story, followed shortly by the title. after that there was no looking back.

iii. The part that stings the most is…[]

weirdly enough, i remember exactly where i was and what i was doing when i wrote this section. it was written entirely on my phone while i was charging it in a hotel room at 7am. i remember this so specifically because it was one of the more difficult scenes, because i didn’t know what i wanted from it - it’s very transitionary, and that made it hard. i do love the way it ends, though, which is why i brought it back in the final part.

iv. The reason he loves grass…[]

oddly enough, this was mostly what this series was about when i first conceptualised it. character studies of the big 3 as related to their best surfaces, with some elements of fedal. obviously, that is not at all what it became, but this scene is a glimpse of the original intentions.

v. When they first meet…[]

the fic says it better than i can - it’s nothing special. i don’t like love at first sight, or the feeling that two characters are destined to be together, especially not in something canon-adjacent like this. that just feels too idealistic, even for fanfiction.

at the same time, i think there’s something undeniably magnetic about rafa’s energy, especially when he was younger, and i tried to spend time highlighting that here - adjectives and the vibe they give is especially important to me, and i focused on using clay imagery and warm-toned words for this section.

vi. Here is a lie: Roger Federer cannot lose.

ah, here it is. the very first “here is a lie” of the entire series. when i first wrote this, i didn’t think i would even use it more than once, let alone that it would become - along with “afterwards” - one of the primary motifs throughout the series.

i was thinking about layers of lies, and public perception. that roger can’t lose is very obviously a lie, but also we like to think of him - at least during this period - as untouchable, beyond everything. there’s the idea that he perpetuates this lie just by winning so much.

then the second lie, which i imagine to be more of a justification. he’s a sore loser, of course. this is sort of my take on how he justifies that to himself - he needs to win all the time, no matter what. and that’s obviously not true, monetarily or in terms of his legacy. so why does he tell this particular lie? very simply, it’s his excuse.

then the truth, because i was modelling this section off like, a backwards version of two truths and a lie. so it’s two lies, now here’s the truth - he does lose. of course, we know this. he doesn’t only lose tennis, he also loses at other things, and sometimes he loses at other things even when he wins at tennis.

this is a not-very-veiled reference to rafa, and it becomes even more obvious later, when he discusses the last lie, and his fear of losing everything. and of course, there’s that word: fear. it returns a lot, more than even i expected.

vii. Afterwards, time begins to flow again, surging forward and forward and forward.

i would of course be amiss if i didn’t talk about the endless repetition of the word “afterwards” because, well, that’s really the defining characteristic of this series. anaphora is my favourite literary device - “excessive use of anaphora” is my tag - and i knew i was going to use the hell out of it in this fic. and that is exactly what happened.

not only does it help tie together the huge number of disparate, motif-heavy, metaphorical sections in this fic, but it’s also a great cop-out which helps me avoid writing about actual tennis matches. and it makes me sound all ~poetic and fancy~ so. there’s really no downside to this.

viii. If things were different, he catches himself thinking sometimes - but he stops there because he's scared of how it might end.

now this is something that came back twice, arguably in the two most important sections of this fic. i wrote this much later than a lot of things, and by the time i did, it was becoming clear that fear was really the defining characteristic of this roger - something that makes him more sympathetic and yet worse, and something that he overcomes near the end.

this was also around the time i gave up on grass being an important motif, and started letting this fic go in whatever direction it wanted. never let it be said i have any control over my writing.

ix. There is a fairy tale…[]

another of the scenes that was part of my initial concept for this fic, and one of the few that didn’t change very much. looking back, this bit is definitely why the fear theme took over instead of grass: you can characterise someone by fear, but not by the lawn. i should maybe have figured this out a bit sooner, but hey. all’s well that ends well.

the strikethrough text portions happened by accident, when i was summarising the fairy tale and realised how much of it was vaguely akin to training and becoming a tennis player. accordingly, a large focus of the ‘fear’ theme is the fear of losing, and rafa teaching roger fear is synonymous with him teaching roger how to lose.

later i added a couple of pinocchio callbacks to the australian open section, so i guess the idea of fairy tales was a strong one for this fic.

x. Afterwards, he tries to speak, to say something, but his English is breaking in his throat is closing his eyes as tears sting their corners and he can't, he just -

of all the “afterwards” in this fic, i really like this one. this is something i do a lot on the rare occasions that i write poetry - fracturing sentences, and using each fractured portion as the beginning of a new sentence with a different meaning. his throat is closing, and so are his eyes, and that’s normal as a descriptor of upsetness. but combining them like this makes it a lot more memorable.

really it’s just an extension of my love for things like puns and dad jokes, but it also helps with giving the moment that overwhelming, everything is happening toofastidon’tknowhowtodeal kind of feeling.

xi. Here's the truth, once again: Roger Federer loses all the time. Even when he doesn’t.

i first used the “two truths and a lie” structure while writing a short story; it was absolutely the opposite of this series in terms of subject matter, tone, and style, but that structure - especially “here is the truth once again” and “one last time” - stuck with me. i feel guilty about blatantly repurposing things like this, but honestly, some lines are too good to let languish in the stories i originally wrote them into.

the reason i brought this motif back at this point was to contradict the idea in the previous section. we’re talking about how much roger likes winning, how he would give everything, almost, in order to win. fine. great. but what if he’s giving everything, and losing? i wanted to remind the reader that winning and losing for roger is not necessarily that simple.

xii. The thing about fear is this: it feels a lot like love, sometimes.

i remember coming up with this, too. it was when i finished up the fairy tale section, and i was just describing fear in a variety of ways, most of them using dark adjectives and similes - and all of a sudden, i realised that these things sort of apply to being in love or being nervous as well.

so i wrote this line, and then i went back and edited that section to be less miserable; usually i do this by changing which adjectives and imagery i use, because deliberate word choice really does matter when you’re trying to create a mood. hummingbirds? cute, elegant, they work for this. my older sentences, with shockwaves and shaking out of your bones from nightmares? not so much.

xiii. the cafe scene

this is the absolute last scene that i wrote, and it was unbelievably difficult - this fic would have taken at least a week less if i hadn’t had quite so much trouble with this part. originally it was intended to be more important, longer, but i had trouble reconciling myself with the idea that a scene which is pretty much their developing relationship would happen entirely in public.

i characterise rafa here in very broad strokes - he’s grinning, happy, laughing, fondly annoyed at worst. it’s a pretty common thing, when focusing primarily on one dynamic character, to make the other person more static, simpler, without too much depth in their actions. especially when it’s from the deep, introspective pov of one character, you’re unlikely to be able to flesh out the other one.

the results of this are mixed; on the one hand, you get a version of rafa who is instantly endearing and loveable. on the other, he’s not written with much depth or character motivation in mind in either this scene or the next, so it was much more difficult to get a handle on his character when i was working on part 3.

xiv. video games

as soon as i realised the cafe was Not It, though, i wrote the video games scene, and this was very easy to do. i am a casual gamer, and lots of this - tangled wires, snacks - was taken from personal experience. a lot of people told me they liked this scene, which is nice to hear.

as i mentioned, rafa isn’t characterised with much depth here, as opposed to roger, whose fear & losing theme is playing throughout. when i began work on part 3, one of the first things i had to do was come back to this scene, and figure out what rafa, a more complex and dynamic version than we see, would be thinking here.

in the end i came up with the idea that what seems like carelessness to roger (rafa having no regard for personal space, the hand-holding, all of that) is much more deliberate than we think. at this point, rafa is well aware that roger is attracted to him, and vice versa, so he knows he can get away with physical contact - and maybe it’ll even speed up the process of getting together; at this point, rafa still thinks they can make it work.

because we’re still playing strongly with fear, it ends with another moment of hesitation from roger, but at least there’s something there to hesitate over.

xv. The thing about love is this: it feels a lot like fear, sometimes.

immediately after i wrote the first fear-love line, i knew that i had to write the flip side. arguably this is the more important of the two, and more central to the fic’s themes. it’s placed after one of roger’s hesitations for… well, i think the reasons are fairly self evident, to be honest. overall i like this one a lot.

xvi. Afterwards, he lifts the Wimbledon trophy over his head, the grass steady and worn and alive beneath his feet, and it’s a familiar feeling, this, a familiar weight in his hands and lightness in his laugh.

this is my absolute last-ditch effort at bringing the focus back to grass courts, where it all began. in the end, i think i did a decent job of this simply by having it set mostly during grass season, and especially the pivotal moments and final scenes literally on court, but it’s the final piece of evidence as to how much this fic changed between what it was in my head (a 3k character study with grass courts as metaphor) and what it became.

also - the sheer importance of doing research! if i could just have remembered that rafa didn’t play wimbledon in 2009, i would probably have tagged the fic “canon compliant” instead of “canon divergent” which is only a minor difference, but it Bothers me.

xvii. final scene

one of the very few scenes i can confidently say i knew what i was doing while writing; the goal from the very start was to write a bunch of anaphora-based motif sections and tie them all into the final scene via parentheses (this was my goal even before i knew what the final scene was going to contain) and it turned out exactly as i’d hoped.

i wrote this scene in bits and pieces, filling it in as i wrote the rest of the fic around it, which is something all of the final scenes have in common in this series. believe it or not, this wasn’t intended to have a sad ending - that just kind of happened as i was writing, and it fit, so i took it that direction.

or, well, it took me in that direction. quite often, especially in dialogue based scenes, this is what happens to my writing, but it usually turns out better than before, so i can’t complain. a lot of people have said they were genuinely emotional about the way it ended, and i’m proud of that - i really wanted to give this scene the gravity needed for it to tie everything together, all those motif threads and metaphors.

xviii. Afterwards, everything changes, and still everything stays the same.

initially, i had this line in the first set of “afterwards” as well as the final, but i preferred it to be just here. it really ties the… circularity, almost, of this fic back together. things have changed - they’ve talked and kissed and confessed and all that - but now in the end, it’s exactly the same as it was when they started. they’re friends, nothing more, and quite possibly less.

looking back, i feel sorry for the people who read this when it was first posted. that ending is depressing as hell, and it was posted as a oneshot, so it could have just been a standalone.

i am exactly the kind of person to leave an ending like this, but the desire to do a three-surface series took over. all of you should thank tennis for being played on multiple surfaces, otherwise this would have been the end.

xix. random facts

well, i said this in the notes, but usually i title fics by songs, and i didn’t do that here - but for this one i had ‘the scientist’ on repeat while editing. overall it’s a very coldplay sort of fic, i think.

this fic has, in my humble opinion, the single ugliest mixture of british and american spelling you will ever find. i pretty much wrote the entire thing in a cross between oxford conventions and the texas-canada border. and if that sounds awful, that’s because it is awful.

large parts of this were written in the midst of family reunions, while horribly jetlagged, on planes and trains and in hotels, and between long stretches of wifi loss. let’s just say it was an Experience.

xx. final thoughts

gosh, this has been fun! i really enjoyed going back through the entirety of this fic, especially since it’s been so long since i thought about it that i forgot how much it changed through the course of writing it, from a character study about grass - horrible idea, past self - to what it is now.

and that ends the dvd commentary for grass stains!

#actually i wrote this director's cut a while ago #posted it and then took it down because i was embarrassed lol #but it's back now!#fisherkings fic #tennis #tennis rpf #fedal #series: stained in your colours #fic: grass stains when you kneel #the right questions #anon as percival

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harocat · 10 months

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I think the highlight of the Cdramas I’ve watched over English language live action shows (mostly but not limited to American) are: male leads that are actually appealing, m/f ships that are often actually enjoyable, the fact that I can actually see them without max brightness on my phone (since every gaffer in Hollywood appears to have fled, which I can’t blame them), and of course, beautiful costumes if it’s period or fantasy.

I find a lot of male tv characters really uninteresting, and the less said about m/f romances in most tv shows, the better.

There’s also the fact that I know I’m getting a complete story!! This is kind of a big deal for me. When you watch a limited series in the US, you know you’ll get one, but outside of that, we all know how cancel happy networks and streaming services are. I’m wary to watch anything I know isn’t complete.

And it’s not to say there aren’t great tv shows in the US, and tbh, it might actually be a little better than it used to be because prestige tv means we get more shows of a set length, instead of endless twenty-four episode seasons. That’s good for storytelling.

But I genuinely think it’s been since Sleepy Hollow that I’ve watched a tv length week to week drama on a consistent basis, and we saw how that turned out. Otherwise it’s just been limited series like Good Omens for me, shows with short seasons and set runs, and a couple comedies like The Good Place.

Of course, as a gay, the lack of canonically lgbtq+ characters is sorely missed, but I do have other outlets for that.

#being said when RTD doctor who comes back you will not be able to tear me away #just a warning

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becauseimanicequeen · 2 months

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RANDOM THOUGHTS: Manner of Death ep. 12 (rewatch)

(These are my random thoughts from my rewatch on the 31st of March - 1st of April 2024)

Since my rewatches may contain spoilers, I’m putting my random thoughts after the “Read More” link.

I’m going into this episode expecting more twists and suspense. And Tan and Bun moments, of course, and That and Sorn moments because I love them. I would also like a cactus comeback (it’s still at the other house though, right?). Also, I can’t remember if it’s in this episode that Inspector M gets shot or if it’s in the next one, but it might happen in this one. Let’s see.

I understand Jane’s outburst. Sitting there having to hear these disgusting assholes talk about which girl to rape next and then compare her to Jane, I can definitely understand her reaction. However, the smart thing would’ve been to expose them in secret, not reveal her goal to the whole party. But if she was more careful we wouldn’t have MOD. So, don’t listen to me.

The bitch said she would tell the truth and yet she started with a lie. Another corrupt person trying to control the story with their made-up version.

Por touched a sore spot right there when threatening Rung about her spa and her shady business.

The way Bun fucking kicked Tan off him when Sorn and That came into the room will never not make me cackle.

Sorn: “Mr. Tan, why are you lying on the floor?” Because Bun sent him there. With his foot.

Sorn is so adorable. Everyone else knows what is going on with everyone else (Tan and Bun knows what’s going on between That and Sorn and That knows what’s going on between Tan and Bun), but Sorn knows nothing. He’s so innocent and fucking adorable.

Don’t go to that judge for help! He’s the worst one of them all.

Nam is finally rescued.

That book is important! It holds the key to all the evidence.

A CACTUS COMEBACK! How I’ve missed their (plant) baby.

The cactus had the SD card taped to it! That’s why I’ve always had a diffuse memory of whether it was bugged or not. It wasn’t bugged, it had the evidence taped to it. I’ll probably forget that in time for my next rewatch of this series, though.

Bun calling Tan a flamingo will never not be funny.

And there we have the key to all the evidence. At least Jane was smart enough to store the evidence in more than one place. Especially since the SD card will be destroyed very soon.

Btw, the “My dear sis” password is so heartbreaking.

Nam pretending not to remember anything is so mean, though.

Poor Nam. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. She’s a victim of sexual assault and she’s surrounded by men. Sure, Sorn and That are her friends and she trusts Bun. But, still. At least Fai should’ve been in there. She was a psychologist too, right?

Oh, no, Inspector M. I know he’ll survive, but it still pains me to see him shot. And by no one other than his partner.

See, you should not have trusted the judge.

Only Tan would get horny in a situation like that. I don’t blame him, though. Bun is right on top of him.

Look at these assholes threatening Oat. Leave him the fuck alone. His only crime is being cute as fuck.

Look at the commander and Gun being all “worried” about Inspector M. Disgusting.

Another episode with some great highlights. More clues were revealed, more twists were twisting, Inspector M was betrayed by his partner, Nam was finally rescued, Sorn was cute, Bun was funny, Tan was horny, and now they’re on the run again. And, let’s not forget that the cactus made a comeback! I’m happy.

#manner of death #thai ql #thai bl #thai series #my shit #iq random thoughts

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quirklessidiot · 3 years

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; dastardly (rebellious!older!gn!reader x Kita Shinsuke; high school au) ; unrequited love, older woman & younger man dynamics (reader is a few years older than him), mild angst ; in which kita shinsuke has a huge crush on his next door neighbor who’ll probably never notice him.

Warnings: smoking, mild violence

notes: this is a small warm up as I slowly get back to writing. Im continuing my Gojo/Toji & nanami series once again Hsjshdjsd hELP i mISSED YOU ALL ALSO I HUST WANNA SHAre WOULD U GUYS WANNA SEE THE ART JJK/HAIKYUU MERCH I GOT FOR MYSELF SJEHHDD I LOVE FAN ARTISTS SM I SPLURGED SINCE ITD ALMOST MY BIRTH MONTH🤩😭

Kita Shinsuke doesn’t know what love is.

At the mere age of thirteen, the idea of cute crushes on people his age didn’t worm it’s way to his thoughts. It was all about academics, volleyball, and doing his chores. Despite the popularity amongst his peers and the shy confessions, he shuts them down with a blank look and the words, “What is that? That sounds like a waste of time.”

It changes one summer day though, in the form of well, you.

Kita has never seen someone with piercings, henna tattoos or unevenly chopped hair before.

He recalls his parents, shying him away from you, muttering something about being the devil’s incarnate or something along those lines because of your appearance. Kita wouldn’t deny the first-hand intimidation, you looked like you were going to pummel him or do something if he ever tried to get in your way even if he was three years younger than you but that didn’t really stop the middle schooler from observing you from afar.

The boy wasn’t blind.

You were beautiful, no tattoo, piercing or whatsoever could hide it (not that it made you hideous, in fact, Kita thinks it highlights you well and shows a bit of your personality)

He’s reminded of those people he sees on tv whenever he sees you. In the small town, you stood out like a sore thumb and you didn’t seem to give a single ounce of care.

Maybe that's why he got more curious despite his parents warnings, you were so different from what he was accustomed to and he likes that idea. So he continued to stare from afar and you didn’t seem to notice at all, really.

The first time he actually gets to talk to you is a year later.

The boy, now fourteen, was on his way home from school alone. He was nibbling on some umeboshi and he finds you standing there in front of a man who’s a whole foot taller than you, he notices the flaring nostrils and clenched fist as if he was getting ready to pummel you down despite being an opposite gender.

Kita does something out of character next, he runs to your side, dropping his food in the process to help you. The boy is never scared or nervous, why would he be? But the rather large figure of the man isn’t exactly a big help in the moment.

“You shouldn’t do that.” Kita’s voice doesn’t shake, it never does. Growing up, he picked up that being nervous wouldn’t lead you to anywhere good in life, he had to at least not look like a fool in front of you after doing this.

The six foot something man was about to lay a finger on him but before he could react, you’re grabbing the giant’s wrist and twisting it in a rather painful position as you land a rough punch on his nose, Kita’s eyes widen as he sees the man’s blood trickle on your knuckles.

He’s never seen a stranger’s blood before nor has he ever seen a fight like this yet when he sees the glint of amusement in your eyes, he comes down to the hypothesis that you were used to this lifestyle. He watches as the man staggers away while you stand there, remaining composed as if you just hadn’t pummeled a six foot something man, “First time?” you ask, your gaze still at where the man stood a while ago.

“Yeah.” He muttered, “I apologize, I-”

“Your parents would’ve killed me if something happened to ya,” You paused, turning to him, “What’s your name again?”

Kita feels something bloom on his stomach and not in a good way, you didn’t know his name, “Kita...Kita Shinsuke...I’m your nei-”

“Neighbor, right.” You cut him off, grabbing the tissue on his hand without even asking, “I know. You’re the type of kid my parents want to have.”

He’s not sure what he should feel about that fact.

“Look, if you see me in that position. Look the other way, nothing good comes out of you nosing in on my business.” you continue as you toss the tissue to the side and walk ahead of him, leaving him standing there alone under the streetlights.

Kita Shinsuke doesn’t know the budding feeling growing on his chest.

He only realizes later on that this is what many would call, a school boy crush.

The first time Kita realizes that this was something more than a little interest is when he feels his cheeks flush red when he sees you in white. It was your older brother’s engagement party that day, you wore something very ethereal that he couldn’t even recognize you at all.

He hears his heart hammering on his chest and feels the tips of his ears turn bright red, if it weren’t for the mask he wore, he’d be dead meat.

You looked amazing.

Angelic even.

This makes the boy pale when he comes to the realization that this wasn’t just mere interest, he had a crush on his neighbor. What’s even worse, a high school senior who only saw him as the annoying brat next door.

Kita shinsuke hates the idea of liking you, you were completely unattainable and he didn’t like that feeling. It made him sick, he had asked his grandma about it and all she did was laugh at him and tell him that it was a normal thing.

Yet the young boy wants to refuse to believe that idea. He doesn’t fantasize you but he hopefully wishes that you’d see him in a better light. So, for the next few years, he tries to be nice and more open to you. He makes good mochi’s and apparently he overheard your love for them, so he makes you one yet when he’s about to give them to you one day, you’re standing out your home next to this tall and lanky stranger and exchanging saliva.

It was disgusting and Kita knows that disturbing you would only put him in a worse light.

He tries to make conversation too yet you wave him off.

Uncharacteristically, he sort of gives up after he hears that you were moving. Apparently despite the appearance and aura you gave, you were accepted in a huge university in Tokyo. Kita feels something strange bloom on his chest, he immediately runs to his grandma that day and asks her about it.

She tells him a new word.

Heartbreak.

Odd.

Was that how it felt like?

He wants to ease the little cracks on it so he decides that maybe he should talk to you again, it wouldn’t be too bad to try right? So one night, before you leave, here he is, carrying out the garbage while you stand there outside your gate on your phone. Typing away as usual.

“Congratulations.” He starts, “I heard from my okaasan you got in a good Uni.”

Your brow is upturned, kita always prided himself with being good at reading people but for some odd reason, he can’t ever do that with you.

“You’re too damn good, aren’t ya?” You shrug, stuffing the phone back in your pocket, there was no malice in your tone this time much to the young boy’s surprise, “Kinda feel like I’ve been too much of an prick to ya.”

“You were fine.”

“Still the nice one, huh?” You muttered, shaking your head, “well, i hope ya keep doing whatever you're doing, kid.”

That was all you said and despite the seemingly niceness of the conversation, Kita is still disappointed.

He wishes you’ll stop calling him that.

#haikyuu x you #haikyu scenarios #haikyuu fanfics #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #kita shinsuke #haikyuu #kita x you #kita x reader #kita x y/n #haikyuu hcs #hq angst

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bossmodeplus · 3 years

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I love how Marceline’s character pans out in Adventure Time. She’s introduced through Jake telling a story about a vampire mutilating a dude and then POOF the Vampire Queen herself swoops into their house. She kicks both Finn and Jake out of their house because it was hers first. And vampires are murderous creatures burnt out on dealing with mortals. Right?

We’re treated to Marceline’s supposed terror in Henchman when Finn becomes her servant out of heroic obligation.

She barges into some guy’s home and we’re all convinced her vampiric ways will become known to all after saying “Smells like dinner...!”

But no.

She just...drinks the red from his bowtie.

She sings a song about killing off a fisherman in graphic detail but it’s just that. A song.

We think Marceline would have a powerful army of sorts considering she’s demonstrated some form of dominion over the undead. A place the damned are happy to call home.

But instead, she sings these really emotional songs in private and has centuries of unprocessed emotions.

She’s been on the receiving end of heartache, having a distant father, a toxic boyfriend, and watched The Crown sap away her father-figure’s sanity. Her mother passed on when she was young after a devastating war. She broke up with Bubblegum after her comments and overall demeanor hit a personal sore spot.

She operates on some level of self-loathing, considering herself a monster after using her powers to save her mother. She coped by telling herself that she wants people driven away. Then you realize why Marceline’s appearance is marked with her confidently stating herself to Finn and Jake as the Queen of Vampires. It’s why she makes these gruesome, somewhat eldritch transformations to drive away Finn and Jake. It’s why she takes cracks at PB, especially in What was Missing, because her own girlfriend calling her a monster still stings.

But deep down Marceline faces dilemma. She shows herself through the series as wanting to reconcile, that she’s actually an immense softie, but she’s afraid of being hurt again. So she fronts in response to hurt, mainly in her relationship with PB as the series goes on. It doesn’t help that PB’s circumstance makes her cope with coldness. Marceline’s arc is mainly about honesty and learning to love again.

She experiences her first tastes of mortality and wish fulfillment toward the end of Stakes. She contemplates a world where she’s older but her father-figure hadn’t taken the crown. She dreams of growing old with Bubblegum on the countryside.

Stakes itself sees Marceline growing up, by being a vampire and removing that essence from her. The sun stings and she fears she’s going to hurt someone someday.

It’s the transformation from the adolescent to the adult. Being young means being deluded with a supposed invulnerability. So you act the part when you’re young. You’re blissfully unaware and everything feels more vibrant. Marceline faces off with past foes. Past demons. As she hunts down the vampires, we see Marceline struggle to beat them. There’s the looming possibility that Marceline can die, especially to these creatures.

Because being an adult means realizing how vulnerable you really are.

Even after killing the Vampire King and being turned back into her old self, she comes out of the ordeal a completely new person.

Her status as a vampire here isn’t proof of relapsing, however. Stakes demonstrates that it’s possible to go back to an older version of you as someone completely new. Marceline comes out of the miniseries more enlightened than ever before. She sings Everything Stays which highlights her knowledge of cycles. The more things change, the more they stay. Even though she is a vampire again, with the knowledge she has now, she’s capable of growing and breaking the cycle.

One of my favorite moments is in the series finale Come Along with Me. Marceline and PB have a talk as another war is about to rage on. It’s different than other interactions, because neither of them are making jokes at the other’s expense. Marceline ponders about the new war to PB, because she’s worried. Because she doesn’t want to lose her. This fear becomes nearly reinforced when Marceline spots PB almost killed by a beast, rescuing her. They have another heart to heart, expressing mutual worry and sharing a kiss in the end.

Her character starts as the mischievous punk rocker who lets no one in. As the series draws to a close, she becomes a woman who learns to love again and faces the somewhat tragic revelations of adulthood.

Her ‘terror’ is melancholy.

#marceline the vampire queen #marceline #bubbline #princess bubblegum #adventure time

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chiizuburger · 3 years

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Let's talk about the series Giri/Haji (2019) aka the most underrated series in Netflix

I literally just finished Giri/Haji and I need to talk about it. Because I don't think I've ever been this...in love with a series since ever.

First things first, I'mma share a little bit how I learned about the series:

I became obsessed with Sophia di Martino after seeing her in Loki, and like anyone with a heart, I looked through her IMDB to find where else can I see her?!

And I stumbled upon Flowers, which is an equally phenomenal series also available in Netflix, and I discovered Will Sharpe.

And lemme tell ya, he's a beautiful piece of mankind and I learned that not only did he write and direct and act in Flowers, but he is also the lucky husband of Sophia.

Then I saw that Will won a BAFTA for his role in Giri/Haji. Learned that it was also in Netflix and a week later (because I wanted to savor it), here we are.

Okay. No-spoiler thoughts first.

If you dig detective series and/or British series and/or Japanese drama, this delicious piece of bilingual media is for you.

If you love the whole "found family" premise, this is for you.

Off the bat, Will's character Rodney is the clear scene stealer of this series. Right from the first episode, you just know you're gonna love him and wanna give him all the love he sorely needs.

I adore that Kenzo isn't written as a macho detective lead. He allows himself to be vulnerable and isn't afraid to get in touch with his emotions.

Of course, as the Japanese man he is, it takes time for him to accept his emotions, but I'm happy he doesn't resort to anger or self-pity to deal with them.

I love how all the women--and I mean all of the women characters--are strong-willed and unapologetic and flawed and fierce and I-will-stab-you-in-the-legs-if-you-grope-me energy. All of em. They take no bull shit and I respect that.

It is particularly nice to see that kind of energy with Japanese women, who are often written as innocent and demure and pure.

My most favorite aspects of this series is its cinematography, its editing, and its storytelling.

The various ways it uses cinematic language and different forms of media to highlight important moments of the story really makes the series a well-crafted show.

My favorite episodes are Episode 3, 4, and 6.

Episode 4 was particularly memorable. It is one of the best flashback episodes I've ever seen and it deepens our perspective of every main character.

My favorite sequence comes in both Episode 6 and Episode 8, the finale.

Despite getting recognized by BAFTA, the show got cancelled after one season.

But you know what?

(Spoiler thoughts start under the cut)

I think it was a smart move to keep it a one-off drama.

Everything actually wrapped up nicely. There's one semi-loose end that I need reassurance about, which is whether Rodney and Sarah (our female lead detective) become friends again and Rodney can fully realize that he is loved by his newfound family.

Apart from that, this is one series where the semi-open ending finale trope works.

I think the whole Ian-might-rat-us-out subplot could have played out better? Or maybe it could not have played out at all? Like, maybe instead of Abbot being at the rooftop, maybe it could have been Ian?

I actually wasn't sure about how we should feel about Ian. I mean, he didn't deserve Sarah, but...he's...not...a bad...person? I mean, a sketchy detective and a bad boyfriend, yes, but it didn't fully read out to me as "don't trust him" or "stay away from him."

Because when Sarah said in the second episode that her ex was a man who did bad things "until he couldn't," I heard that as he physically abused her. Like, that shit of a man.

But...I don't know. Maybe I missed out on something.

Plus, WHO DID PUT THE SNAKE IN SARAH'S LETTER BOX? Was that some kind of sicko prank?! Did one of her neighbors have it as a pet and it accidentally went to her letterbox???

If Ian was worked for the mafia, maybe that would have worked better? Like, switch Vickers, for Ian, maybe?

Gosh, Vickers, am I right? I mean, who would have thought Justin Long would be a part of this?

ROY was a surprise. Did not expect that twist in the finale. I feel bad for him though because he was really just a bloke caught up in a sticky situation. Like, he's not a bad guy, too. He's just in a bad situation.

Huh.

It's like what Kenzo said, huh? "We're not bad people. We're just doing bad things."

Kenzo and Sarah, right? I felt like it wasn't necessary for them to get romantic, but after Episode 3 with that silent exchange, I appreciate that they went that direction.

I also appreciate that Kenzo was fully aware that he is married and Sarah was fully aware of it too. She knew it was the worst way to let light in.

And I'm glad that there was a moment between Kenzo and Rei where they allowed themselves (or at least Rei allowed Kenzo) to go off their separate ways.

I love the detail that Rei was actually in contact with Yuto and Natsuko is an badass old woman who likes to live on the edge.

The way she said, "Then we will fight" when Eiko and Rei worried about the yakuzas. I mean!

Okay, okay. I'mma back up a bit, because the reason why I thought the whole Ian subplot didn't work was because it felt like the writers eventually didn't know what to do with Rodney?

Like, why bring this kind of pain to Rodney?!

But then, you know, thinking about it as I am writing this, we all know Rodney would be with Taki and it might be Rodney who gets in trouble with Jiro.

Ahh, Jiro. That...dangerous specimen.

Glad he didn't kill Toshio.

But still, my biggest concern for the ending of this series is that we leave Rodney at such a low place.

Like, I just need to know that he needs up okay and he reunites with Sarah and Taki and all live together in London now. And Rodney's restarting his life with a better direction in life, but of course struggles with relapse?

Okay, I am seeing now where the second series could have went on. The creator said it would have been a "Rodney-Taki centric" season.

Gosh, so maybe they would have changed genre?! Aaaahhhhh! but who knows? I mean, I imagine the yakuzas are still after the Mori brothers.

But then again, Fukuhara and Endo are dead sooo...

Giri/Haji, right?! It's... It's a great piece of media.

Anyway, if you wanna talk about Giri/Haji, please feel free to send me a message!

PLEASE! Haha. Take care, y'all

#giri/haji #giri haji #giri / haji #kelly macdonald #will sharpe #yosuke kubozuka #takehiro hira #aoi okuyama

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cina-full-moon-xanadium · 2 years

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Well, that’s it then.

After... oh good god about 6 months huh? After about 6 months I’ve reached the full entire complete end of my OOO and Ghost rewatch; all the major post-series material disregarding things like All Rider crowds, and even then I threw in a couple like Heigen FOREVER. I’ve watched everything. ... watch them announce a Ghost movie at the weekend.

So, said post-series content... well, this rewatch project was just about perfect for the 50th anniversary of my favourite show in ways I couldn’t imagine. Not only did I get to see some absolutely wonderful stuff for both OOO and Ghost that’ll stick in my heart for a while; but I got to touch upon so so much else that makes Kamen Rider shine for me -- Build, Fourze, the Seven Legendary Riders, a big Kuuga tribute, a little journey back to Zi-O with its crazy celebration of everything Heisei Rider; I even got to see the Gokaigers fuck around for a bit! It... it was magical, you know? I didn’t directly plan to see all these guys for the 50th, but getting to see things like Sento’s declaration of identity and how much Banjou means to him in Heigen FOREVER, one of my all-time teamups in Heigen FINAL, MEGAMAX featuring the early Heisei 2 trinity and a showcase of the Showa Riders after I’d just finished watching them, Tsukasa and Kaito going through their seventh divorce... this all worked out, y’know? These are my guys.

As for OOO and Ghost themselves? You could say a mixed bag, for sure. Ghost tragically does not get a lot of good post-series material, even getting super overshadowed in his Ex-Aid teamup movie; and OOO 10th for me was... well, if you read it, I do think it’s good but it’s a very strange and mixed place for me to end on. Ghost as well I had to end up reconsidering my feelings on it; it’s still a fantastic show to me but one that had so so many flaws looking back.

A funny thing to say though given so much of my favourite things for both of these seasons happen after they end? MEGAMAX I have said time and time again is the perfect epilogue to OOO; with a glimpse to a hopeful future where Ankh is alive and where their feelings are carried on into that future with Aqua. The Final Stages were new to me and it was clear I was missing out with a special highlight being Ghost’s generational teamup. Heisei Generations FINAL was a perfect little intertwining where even if Ghost didn’t do much I still got to see him show off while OOO got one of the most heartstring-pulling revisitations I’ve ever seen; and then Ghost’s V-Cinema and Saber crossover provided all the characterisation of Specter and evolution of themes that the series so sorely needed. It may have taken me a while but this was just a treat!

Where does that leave me with both shows, at the end? A year and a half of rewatching the two of them later, this project has left me all the better. I’ve said it all at the series retrospective, really -- Ghost is a series I slept on so bad, and OOO has flaws I wasn’t ready to accept before but once I did I was able to appreciate so much more what it did right! Both of them are rich with themes of reaching out and connecting to other people, with a bunch of captivating drama and silly bullshit to help that along the way. OOO remains one of my favourite Tokusatsu seasons of all time and Ghost sits comfortably near the upper echelon as well -- admittedly crowded as that may be, because it turns out Kamen Rider actually has been good a lot of the time!

Honestly, it hasn’t quite settled in that this project is finished. Like I said it’s been a full year and a half; committing to doing a weekly watch like that and then digging through so many movies and stageshows and HBVs and random little specials and even net movies afterwards was absolutely consuming! It’s just been a part of my life throughout most of the pandemic, and it’s gonna feel weird to not have anything left on that little watchlist. But I’ve made about all the good memories I can with it, and I’m ready to reach out my hands to an infinite future. See y’all in a few years for Ghost 10th and OOO 15th!

#the king who controls desire #fight with the power of heroic souls

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evilwickedme · 3 years

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ok so to sum up my feelings for leverage: redemption, season 1(a): (long post warning, there’s a tl;dr at the end)

I knew that Hardison wouldn’t be in most of the season due to Aldis Hodge being a busy bee nowadays, but I didn’t realize that meant he’d only be around for the first two episodes. He was sorely missed, not only because of my attachment to him, but also because he’s usually the grounding factor in the group dynamic, and his role as info guy and tech guy was split evenly between two characters who had their own issues.

That said, Hardison is absolutely a highlight of the two episodes he’s in. his speech about redemption was everything I could’ve hoped for (plus, more evidence for the Jewish!Hardison pile...). I wish we’d gotten to see more of his dynamic with Breanna because what we saw was funny and sweet and we don’t generally get to see Hardison taking care of somebody who so desperately needs taking care of. I hope that Aldis Hodge is around for more episodes in 1(b), because what we’re left with feels a little hollow.

Sticking to original leverage characters for now, for the most part the leverage crew still felt true to the original series as characters, even if the show itself was a little bit confused at times. The actors understand their characters and embody them so well that I think one could give them the trashiest script ever and they’d still sell it. Sophie is a particular focus in 1(a) because of Nate’s death, and she’s particularly well written as a result.

That said, I’m super bitter that we saw little to no mastermind!Parker. Parker’s character being given the mastermind role was a big deal and it feels like they’re walking it back because they feel uncomfortable with it. It is eventually given an in-text excuse, but literally in the last episode, and it was not a particularly convincing reason, and in fact contradicted moments from previous episodes (Sophie leaving for a client meeting and ignoring Parker in ep3 comes to mind). It’s frustrating, it makes the end of the original leverage feel pointless, and letting Parker make a decision once in a while is not the same thing at all. The original series repeatedly showed us that while everyone in the team had their strengths, Parker works problems and solves them in unique, interesting ways, and other characters’ days in the limelight tended to be comedic or even failures. It’s a broken promise, and a pretty major broken promise at that.

On a more positive note, Parker’s dynamic with literally everyone was fantastic. She’s possibly the best written character this season. They’ve taken the autism out of the subtext and into the text (although obviously still undiagnosed), and given her coping mechanisms that were taken seriously in the text even when they were played for laughs, which I appreciated. Her attempts to mentor Breanna were sweet, her friendship with Sophie was electric and at times (CRIMES) hilarious, and as usual, she has a fantastic dynamic with Eliot that makes my heart burst. If you don’t think they’re romantically involved, at least acknowledge there’s a life partnership here. They’ve spent the last decade together.

(We’ll get to Harry.)

Eliot isn’t given much arc-wise, which is frustrating since he’s my favorite. He’s being presented as the goal at the end of a redemption arc, ie to keep working at it every day until your soul heals or whatever, and it doesn’t reflect the message they’re trying to convey via Hardison’s speech and our two new characters. He’s got his moments, but I think they under utilized his potential.

Breanna!!! Breanna’s my new favorite, except for Eliot. She’s hilarious, she’s insecure, she’s nerdy and excited in a way that’s similar to Hardison but still distinct in its inherent teenage-girl-ness and I LOVE IT. Unlike the previous series, where Hardison’s “age of the geek” was often a joke played on Hardison, we’re at the point where Eliot and Parker are both right there with him, and so they accept and even appreciate Breanna’s nerdiness. Also, canon gay character? In YOUR Leverage? It’s more likely than you think.

(No, I never thought they’d make ot3 canon on screen. I hoped, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.)

I think Breanna’s the character that will be the most interesting to see grow. She’s got a lot of potential and a list of crimes a mile long (or more). I adore her with all my heart. I want to see her tiktok account.

Harry. Oh, Harry.

It took me a while, but I do like Harry. It took a while, because the narrative positioned him at the same level as Nate back in episode 1 of original Leverage. But in episode 1 we didn’t know the other characters. We had Nate as the POV character, and so we cared about him because we were seeing the world through his eyes. (This is TV Studies 101. I know this, because I took TV Studies 101 in 2019.) In Leverage: Redemption, we no longer have a POV character, for several reasons:

Nate, previously the POV character, is dead.

As it is, by mid-season 3 of leverage Nate was no longer a POV character. This is, coincidentally, the point where the leverage writers realized they had four other characters in the main cast they could do something with, and in-universe, Nate accepted that he was a thief, not a special Good Man.

Sophie is sort of a POV character for the first episode of the revival, but only for the first few minutes. Afterwards, the series settles into the groove of seasons 3-5, i.e., the entire crew is our POV. We know our crew, and we love them as is.

Narratively, however, Redemption insists on positing Harry as the POV character, because it is his redemption we are pursuing most vehemently. And I think they really relied on us already knowing the actor - I’ve never seen him in anything before, so to me he was a completely fresh face and they put almost no effort into selling him to me. Beyond being competent and consistently mildly baffled by the antics of the leverage crew, I honestly don’t know who this man is by the end of EIGHT episodes with him. I have a much better handle on Breanna by the end of 1(a), and I can tell you I knew all five of the original leverage crew better by the end of the first episode of the original series than I do Harry. What’s the name of his daughter, John Rogers. Is he still married. How old is the daughter. Why is none of this worth mentioning. Give him a sense of humor that isn’t reacting to other people’s shenanigans. I’m so frustrated. It’s bad writing.

I did manage to grow to like Harry by the end, but I’m pretty sure this is down to Noah Wyle’s charismatic portrayal of an under-developed character, at least partially. And I never stopped being frustrated at not knowing who this man is at all.

The two highlights of the season are undoubtedly episodes five and six. Episode five was the first time I felt like the episode was more than a collection of good moments between the main cast and mediocre moments between the main cast and also the main plot. The issues with pacing and tone that I suffered through for most of the season were mostly non-existent in ep5 and 6, and at least in episode 5 I attribute that to the pared down cast. They had time to focus not only on our actual characters - Sophie, Parker, Breanna - but also on the case. This is the only client from 1(a) I am going to remember next week without googling it first, mark my words.

Episode six worked for the exact opposite reason - it completely disregarded the client and plot and immersed itself in the characters. Breanna gets a moment to shine, but everybody else gets their bits and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the script that was most fun to write. The characters felt natural, real, and captured the found-family dynamic that’s been missing all season for the first time.

While episode 2 is the weakest episode, I don’t actually have much to say about it. I am disappointed in episode 8. For a mid-season finale, I really expected them to do something. Instead, it was an episode about Nate Ford that copped out of being about Nate Ford (both with fake-Nate and with the new version of him being relayed to us). I would have told the writers to give that energy back to episode 1 and write an episode that’s about anybody who isn’t Harry, oh my God. I know I said I grew to like him but so many episodes were about Harry. He’s the newbie! Why didn’t Hardison get an episode that was actually about him, considering he was only around for two episodes? Why does Eliot have to be the butt of the joke when the theme of the series should directly tie back to him in a much more meaningful way? The last episode parodies their own tagline by saying Eliot isn’t just a hitter, but it deftly avoids noticing that they’ve turned him into nothing more than very muscly comic relief, including in that very episode!

Also, I hated the Marshal. Eliot actively looked uncomfortable around her.

tl;dr

The season took a while, that’s definitely true. But it did find its footing eventually, and by the halfway mark of 1(a) it finally felt cohesive again. The characters were played fantastically even when they weren’t well-written, and if nothing else, the humor landed every time. It still has its kinks and problems to work out, but if you look at it as a brand new show rather than a continuation of one that went off the air over eight years ago, it’s actually doing rather well. I’m choosing to judge it in both lights - according to its own standards, it establishes its identity in episode five; according to Leverage standards, it establishes its connection to its roots in episode six. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed 1(a), and continue to have high hopes for 1(b).

fic writing will commence in three, two, one...

#leverage #leverage meta #leverage redemption #leverage ot3 #parker leverage #alec hardison #sophie devereaux #eliot spencer #breanna casey #harry wilson #mine

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scottiedeux · 2 years

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CaitVi Fic Rec Friday - 5/6

Coming at you from my Ao3 Bookmarks List (Ao3 handle Scottie2) - It's Fic Rec Friday!

Read about the logic behind Fic Rec Friday here

For the next few weeks I'm taking an approach of highlighting some fics that have lowest Kudos counts first - these are goodies that perhaps you missed!

Fic Name: Not Even a Minute by TonightAppearance

Ao3 Summary:

Caitlyn sighed in frustration and then hissed in pain, finding herself angry. At herself, the light, the constant noise of explosions, Vi’s uneven breathing, the tension in the air, herself again. Not even a minute ago she had it all and now she was jailed in the squeaky bed under the watchful gaze of a woman she wanted but was uncomfortable with her affection. Seeing Vi by her side was a sight for sore eyes, but also somewhat annoying. So confident and cocky, the red-haired varmint smirked lightly as if trying to test the waters, but her grin disappeared when met with Caitlyn’s serious gaze. It wasn't the right time for smiling.

Keep reading for my gushing about this fic and Ao3 tags/details

Why this fic:

This is a another quick one-shot fic, post season 1.

Sensing a pattern here? Yep - its those well written emotionally intimate scenes with Caitlyn and Vi that get my motor humming. And when Vi ‘chooses’ Caitlyn - well my heart goes a flutter what can I say.

I bow down to the fic writers who can capture that special spark between these two thats kind of that trite ‘love at first sight’ but for us CaitVi shippers we know its deeper and more meaningful than that.

This one pairs beautifully with a smart and skillful intimacy scene - I won’t call it smut because in this fic its just too damn beautiful to be reduced to that.

More by this Author:

This is the author's only fic in the Arcane fandom. Perhaps she will grace us with more in the future? Perhaps a few more kudos on this fic could be persuasive?

Can't find them on Tumblr or Discord server, but if anyone knows something let me know and I can tag.

Ao3 Details:

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends) Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends) Additional Tags: Romance, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, Caitvi, Piltover's Finest, Post-Season/Series 01, Slow Burn, They are Kissing, and hissing

Previous Fic Rec Fridays:

Fic Rec 4/15 - Shades of Us by yourkilljoy Fic Rec 4/22 - if you're a grenade, i'll hold you; if i'm one, pull the pin and run by zoeyclarke Fic Rec 4/29 - All the King's Horses by paxbanana

#caitvi #caitvi fic #caitvi fic rec #violyn #piltover's finest #Scottie2 caitvi fic rec #caitlyn kiramman #vi arcane #caitlyn arcane

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anothertimdrakestan · 4 years

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Familiar Green

Damian Wayne x Reader Soulmate AU

In an AU where when your soulmate and you touch you feel sparks and intense warmth! Damian is around 16-18 ish in my head!

Being a sucker for a good love story you couldn’t help but always feel jealous watching your classmates, friends, and even strangers on the street find their soulmate. You watched as kids bumped into each other only to see their eyes meet at the feeling of sparks. What did the “sparks” even feel like? As a child you were about ready to touch an electric fence to understand the feeling.

As you grew up your focus eventually left your soulmate and you spent far to much time focussing on school work. You got into Gotham Academy on a merit scholarship from the Wayne Foundation and you were determined to put it to good use. Money was a sore subject and your family had been scraping by since you could remember. Your parents were soulmates and always said that their love would conquer all or some sappy shit like that. The only thing you were in love with was knowledge and that was just fine. In classes you were attentive and quiet, learning quickly no one liked a smart ass. Teachers often slipped you materials for projects knowing you probably didn’t have them at home and you sat in the back minding your own business.

You never ran with the popular crowd. You had friends you walked to class with and studied with, especially friends who were as driven as you but you never had a BEST friend. The person you tell everything to and a confidant who shares your passions and jokes with like no other. You would wait for the sparks to show you who that would be.

Currently, you were planning a speech for the annual Wayne Family Gala where all their merit scholars would show what they were doing with their scholarship. The speech was somewhere in between intense bragging about your grades, achievements, and experiments while also thanking the Wayne family every two words. You had it planned perfectly: big purse to get snacks for the endless speeches, the same dress you’ve worn the last two years, and one gratitude dance then home. Easy.

When the bell released you from the last class you began pushing towards freedom. Students grumbled and shoved through the tight halls and you rolled your eyes at the stupidity of those walking against the crowd or those stopped to chat about nothing. With the door in sight you sped up, pushing hard when you felt a zap. Your heart stopped, turning around to the sea of people pushing past you. The feeling was comforting yet alarming, the friction of just tapping shoulders was enough to stop you dead in your tracks. What seemed like endless hoards of people pushed past you while you stood begging for the person who felt it too to run back to you.

“Look at the genius who forgot how to walk”

Words shook you from a daze as you looked up to see a football star with a 2.1 GPA staring you down. Rolling your eyes you headed out for fresh air and a walk home to prep for the gala, but you couldn't shake the feeling resonating in your shoulder.

-- agressive time skippppp --

As you watched your classmate wrap up his speech on his first place win at the Math Olympics you realized it was time for yours. The two of you did a quick high five before you found yourself alone, shaking hands clutching note cards with bright white lights blinding you from seeing Gotham’s most powerful staring expectantly up at you. With a deep breath, you began recounting the highlights of your year. Finding Mr. Wayne’s face up near the front you saw him nodding as you detailed your research with collegiate professors, perfect test scores, and passion. Thanking the board members one last time you looked to the cameras and gave a big smile before heading back behind the stage.

Once away from the prodding lights you let out the breath held in for the entire speech. Until next year Gothamites. Detailing your plans to chat up the rich folk, dance in front of the cameras photographing merit scholars then leaving and probably getting fast food on the way home, you smiled to yourself knowing it was almost over. Heading out to the main floor you listened politely to the rest of the speeches before scouting out the person with the biggest net worth in the room.

Making your way around the room, you accidentally locked eyes with none other than Mr. Wayne who gestured you over. Estimating that the money held between Mr. Wayne and the men he was talking to stood around a couple trillion dollars you gladly complied, hoping to find a sponsor for more research, maybe even college scholarships.

“Hello Miss. It’s y/n right?” you politely greeted Mr. Wayne trying not to gawk at his suit that probably cost more than your family’s rent. Finding your inner confidence you took the opportunity to explain your passions and ask questions of the people in the semi-circle formed around you. While talking, a young man came to stand next to his father, clearly impressed with your credentials. After a couple glances you recognized the light smirk and emerald green eyes as Damian Wayne. You saw him as the opposite of you, he floated through Gotham Academy on Daddy’s wallet, barely showing up to school and often wearing dark sunglasses to hide what you assumed to be a hangover from partying the night before. Giving him a curt smile you continued, mostly focused on David Shield, a man about 55 who ran a series of fancy hotels, he shared passions with you and looked very interested.

The more you spoke the more Shield focused on you. Eventually, he offered to bring you to get a drink (non-alcoholic you assumed) and talk about a possible partnership. Quickly you began thanking the men around you will either a nod or a quick handshake. You couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shake Bruce Wayne’s hand and you almost fainted when you realized you were shaking hands with THE Bruce Wayne. Lastly you turned to Damian and saw Mr. Wayne pat his back, forcing him to hold out a hand, rolling his bright green eyes lazily. As you went to shake it Mr. Shield tapped your shoulder hurrying you saying “let’s go princess I’m in a hurry here” as he started walking off. This was the opportunity of your lifetime, you tried to walk past Damian, hurriedly trying to follow Mr Shield. When your shoulder brushed Damian’s and you felt the familiar sparks again your heart ripped in half. You could swear you heard them crack and pop in the air as you locked eyes with his green ones. Ready to forget about Mr. Shield you turned to Damian only for him to put two hand on your shoulders and mouth “Go I’ll find you” as he tried to direct you towards Mr. Shield. Where his hands made contact with your collarbone warmth erupted you could feel each finger radiating and sizzling against your bare skin.

In a daze, you felt Damian let go and you stumbled towards the bar. Mind racing you couldn’t stop turning back to Damian, who was in deep conversation with his father, both of them stealing glances at you. Trying to focus on the room and not the cold feeling from missing your soulmate’s touch you felt a hand snake around your waist and pull you towards the bar. Looking up at Mr. Shield who held your waiste for far too long you tried to shake off all thoughts of Damian and secure your future. Mr. Shield told you to call him David and he tried to order a fancy alcoholic drink for both of you. Asking for a club soda he paid and the two of you spoke about shared interests and a possible collaboration. Trying to focus on the conversation and not the feeling of your heart beating out of your chest was extremely difficult.

After sipping bubbly water with Mr. Shield David and him deciding to grant you the money you needed you felt ecstatic. Trying to wrap up the conversation and look for Damian Mr. Shield wouldn’t end the conversation with you. Your heart sunk as you saw the paparazzi follow Mr. Wayne, Damian, and his three brothers out of the ballroom. The only breath of hope you felt was seeing familiar green eyes frantically scanning the ballroom for who you hoped was you, but his eyescouldn’t find yours.

Defeated you returned to speaking with David but decided it was late and you were feeling more lightheaded than normal. He offered a ride home and you couldn’t pass it up, not feeling too well, probably because of the loud atmosphere and heavy air. Getting up you felt him place his hand in the small of your back and though you tried to twist or politely shake it off he kept it there. As you stumbled towards the door you felt worse and worse. Knowing something was seriously wrong you decided it was better to wait outside for your parents to come get you. You tried to explain the situation but Mr. Shield adamantly said you had to come with him. Beginning to get woozy and frustrated you started pushing him away.

“Y/n sweetie let me take you home” he purred

“You don’t even know where I live let me go” you stopped dead in your tracks.

“C’mon just right here let’s get in” he gripped your arm and immediately fight or flight kicked in and momma didn’t raise no bitch. You began to hit his chest, yell, and try to slither out of his grip. Your fist connected with his chin and he stumbled back, visibly angered he advanced toward you and you realized this was not going to end well. Closing your eyes you braced for pain but felt a smaller, latex covered hand wrap around your waist with a woosh.

With your eyes still closed you couldn’t tell if you really were floating in a stranger's arms or if you were just heavily drugged. Opening an eye you saw the gala building grow smaller and you decided it was definitely the former, but probably also the latter. Sucking in a breath you looked up to see a domino-masked, red and yellow-clad vigilante holding you with one arm and a grapple with the other. Realizing you were literally hundreds of feet above solid ground you wrapped your arms around Gotham’s own Robin squeezing his neck and feeling a familiar spark. Unable to connect the dots due to a heavily drugged brain you clung to the hero praying for your life until you heard

“y/n we’re safe now” from a familiar, and very concerned voice.

Peeking up you realized he was still holding you as you clung to him though he stood comfortably stable on the roof of a building. Gingerly you put your feet on the ground, not releasing him from your grasp feeling the sparks fly between your fingertips and his neck. Looking up at Robin you moved a hand to his cheek, sparks sizzling and jumping more so than ever. And in what was probably not your smoothest moment you mumble

“hey Damian” at the masked figure. Your fingers instinctively tug at the domino mask and as you expected, the same piercing green eyes looked down at you.

“hello y/n” he nodded. His eyes began to scan you for any signs of pain and you assured him you were fine.

“disgusting of David Shield to try to drug a teenager especially my own soulmate TT” your heart fluttered at the acknowledgment of the bond. You reached up to touch his face again just to check the sparks were still there. Like clockwork electricity danced between the two of you. Content with the feeling you decided to share some personal information. Whatever Shield gave you made you bold if nothing else.

“You know I’ve wanted a soulmate my whole life. I’d let Shield go after me again if it meant I’d get to meet you. Especially if it meant my soulmate was this hot holy hot damn” Damian’s eyes softened looking down at you and his lips pulled into a smirk but you could tell no amount of comfort would stop his anger.

“Trust me beloved no one will go after you ever again” he pulled you against him and you instinctively wrapped your arms around his torso, fitting together like a puzzle. Even with a cool breeze blowing around the top of the building the warmth from holding your soulmate was enough to have you melting into his arms. In that peaceful moment every cliche made sense. This was feeling you wanted to feel forever. You heard a light buzz from his earpiece with a voice asking about his location and status. With a curt reply Damian told you it was time for him to take you home. Holding onto Damian as he swung down he whispered in your ear

“I could get used to having you in my arms beloved” and with a giddy smile you replied

“I’d hope so lover boy you’re kinda stuck with me forever” at this he squeezed you tighter, his eyes shining with an emotion he’d never felt before and you looked up filled with excitement for the emerald green eyes you’d spend the rest of your life looking at.

#damian wayne #damian x reader #damian wayne x reader #dc #batfam #damian wayne x y/n

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kiingocreative · 3 years

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The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

Every author starting out will know how important reviews are. If you’re yet to be convinced, here are some fun facts about reviews*:

1. 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.

2. 72% of consumers will take action after reading a positive review.

3. Positive reviews tell Amazon and Google you’re worth ranking and can boost search results for your book by feeding into SEO (reviews account for almost 10% of total search ranking factors).

So reviews aren’t just a nice to have — they’re critical to the success of a book.

Now, amongst the writers community, we talk a lot about receiving reviews, but less so about giving reviews. I enjoy writing book reviews immensely, because it makes me think about what I’m reading on a different level, and forces me to learn how to articulate that opinion. This is actually one of the main reasons why I got into professional BETA reading.

I was asked recently how I structure my book reviews (all of which can be found on my blog), so here you have it: all the secrets to how I go about writing book reviews, along with some concrete examples!

Start With Why.

The most important question to ask yourself before you even start writing a review is this:

Why do people read book reviews?

In essence, they want to know whether the book is good, what it’s about, and — more importantly — whether they should read it. They generally like some context and detail to back the review so that they feel it’s genuine and trustworthy.

If you can keep in mind what people generally want to get out of a book review, this will help you keep your review relevant and useful. It’ll help you figure out what’s worth including and what isn’t. If in doubt, ask yourself what you would want to read about in a review when you’re trying to decide whether or not to buy a book.

Some Key Questions.

Before you start writing, you also need to ponder a few things. It may not always feel natural to reflect on a book on this level of detail — it didn’t for me at first. I either liked a book, or I loved it, or I didn’t, but I rarely spent a lot of time critically thinking about why I did or didn’t like a read.

If you’re also finding this uncomfortable at first, I say stick with it. I found it extremely interesting to make myself think these things through. It’s made my writing so much better, because I’ve developed that objective evaluation muscle that activates even when I’m with my own work. It’s also made me much better at forming and formulating an opinion, which is something I didn’t use to be good at!

Here are some questions to start with before you start on your review:

• Did you like the book?

• What did you like about it?

• What didn’t you like about it?

• Are there any themes that were particularly well handled?

• Were there any characters you liked above others, and why?

• Would you recommend the book to a friend?

These few questions will start shaping your view of what you’ve read and provide the main elements of your review.

To take your critical reading to the next level, you may want to ponder the various elements of the story and the writing as a whole. Think about:

• The plot / storyline — is it strong? Consistent? Original? Enticing? Are there gaps?

• The characters and character arcs — are all characters well developed? Multi-layered? Do they make sense? Are they relatable?

• The key themes — what are some recurring topics through the story? Are they well handled?

• The pace and timeline — is the story progressing at a good pace? Where does it lag? Does the timeline make sense?

• The writing style — how was the writing style? Did it flow well? Did it feel unique or original?

• The dialogues — did they feel natural? Were they believable? Were they engaging? Did they add to the overall story?

• The editing — how was the editing? Were there any typos or formatting errors?

Example Review Outline

Once you’ve spent some time with those initial questions, you’ll find it gives you the best part of your review content. At first, you may want to note down your answers to each of these. With time, you may find you can process these in your mind faster than you did before, and you don’t need so many notes. Whichever way is right for you, once you have this, you’re ready to start structuring your review.

I tend to use the following outline (though, of course, this isn’t the one and only way to write a review!):

1. Star Rating:

It’s most common in this day and age to include a rating in your review. There are talks out there about not leaving a rating on a book, because these can be extremely subjective — someone’s three-star rating may mean they loved the book but for others it’s a negative rating, some people don’t leave five-star reviews out of principle etc.

If you’re reviewing the book on Amazon and Goodreads however, you don’t have a choice but to pick a rating out of five stars. Have a think about how that rating system relates to you. For instance: would you leave five star ratings? What rating do you use for a book you liked versus a book you absolutely loved? What kind of book would warrant a low-rating? etc.

2. Opening:

Start with a short overview of what you thought of the book. This should give the reader a concise view of what you thought of the book, in two or three sentences. The idea is that, if they read only this opening part of the review, they should know your view on the matter.

Here’s an example opening paragraph I wrote for Heart of a Runaway Girl by Trevor Wiltzen:

‘Heart of a Runaway Girl is a breath of fresh air. As far as crime and murder investigation novels go, I only ever read Agatha Christie, so my standard is high. But this book did not disappoint.’

3. Synopsis:

The next section of the review is a short summary of the book, which should give the main elements of the plot. I tend to keep that part really short because I find that, if anyone wants to know the specifics, the book blurb the author so diligently wrote for the back cover is a much better place to learn more about that. Yes, you need to give a sense of what the book’s about, but it shouldn’t be the bulk of the review.

I think this is a matter of personal preference, I’ve seen reviews out there with a much longer synopsis section, but I always find myself skipping those bits to get to the nitty gritty of the review, which is what the person thought. There again, go back to the why — people who read reviews do so to find out whether or not they want to buy a book, so the more valuable pieces to help with that (in my view) are your opinions, more than an in-depth summary which they can find elsewhere.

For instance, when I reviewed Counter Ops by Jessica Scurlock, the second opus in the Pretty Lies series, I kept the synopsis paragraph to:

‘In Counter Ops, we meet a familiar duo, Ivy and Nixon, as they face the aftermath of the Elite Auction, and each endure its painful consequences. We follow their journey as they try to escape their fate and attempt to come to each other’s rescue — in more ways than one.’

4. Highlights:

The next part is what I call the ‘highlights’. This is where you talk about what you liked most about the book, or what you thought the strongest parts of the book were. This can focus on one element of the book (a character, a part of the plot, a theme etc.) or cover multiple elements.

See, for example, the highlights I picked for my review of Age of the Almek by Tara Lake:

‘I loved the author's ability to give every character their own voice and a distinct perspective on the world around them. I loved how involved I became with every character's fate and woes. I loved the precision with which the Almek world has been created, with such minuteness you can picture it down to the finest details.

My favourite part is the portrayal of the many facets of human nature, be it through the reactions of the masses to the barbaric ways of their rulers or the individual views of the protagonists. In every Almek citizen is a piece of the great puzzle that is humanity at large, and the author has a gift for writing it as raw and real as it gets.’

5. Mitigate your view:

Right after the highlights is where you’d add anything that mitigates your view. That’s anything that wasn’t quite as strong as you’d want it to be, or anything you weren’t a fan of.

You can skip this part if there’s nothing you didn’t like about the book — you don’t have to go nitpicking if nothing comes to mind. And it doesn’t have to be a bashing of the author and their work either. Keep it constructive and explain why you felt that way. There’s never a need for insults or expletives, and these wouldn’t enhance the quality of your review anyways. Formulating constructive criticism takes practice, and requires tact and subtlety. It’s a valuable skill to have if you’re willing to invest time in honing it.

Here’s how I phrased that part of the review for Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:

‘But - and there's a but - my qualm with this book is that, for a story that revolves entirely around Nick and Rachel... There's actually very little Nick and Rachel in it!

Yes it's all 'about' them and it talks 'of' them loads, and we're told theyare happy together and want to be together... But it's all 'tell' and no 'show'. Their intimacy is sorely lacking, so I was left missing that added colour to convince me that they, in fact, do love each other. And I'm not talking saucy passages — I 'm talking about basic things suchas them actually talking to each other and spending time together.’

6. Conclusion:

The final part of the review is a short paragraph with closing remarks, such as a short summary of your view on the book, whether or not you recommend it or some indication of what readers the book may be for (e.g. ‘if you liked… you may like this book’).

When I reviewed Collision by Kristen Granata, I ended the review with:

‘Readers used to intricate, far-fetched romance plots may find this book too straightforward for their liking. In my mind, this is what makes the book's key strength: it's real and honest, it takes the reader through difficult situations and complex emotions beautifully, and that makes it all the more relatable.

A great read overall - and the moment I finished the last page, I was on Amazon ordering the next book in the series!’

How long should a review be?

I don’t think there should be a minimum or maximum word count to a review, though I find that mine end up being around 300 to 500 words. I feel this is a good length because as a reviewer this forces me to be concise and clear in expressing my opinions, and as a reader it’s long enough to give people a sense of the book, but not too long that they’ll drop off before the end.

Final Thoughts: To spoil or not to spoil?

My view on adding spoilers in your review is simple: DON’T.

Try as I might, I can’t fathom what could be gained from adding spoilers to a review. Once again: back to the why. Someone reads a review to find out if they want to read the book themselves. If you ruin the plot for them in that review, what’s the incentive to pick up the book?

It just hurts the author’s chances of making a book sale, and it robs a fellow reader of the joyful rollercoaster of finding out those plot twists at their own pace. Don’t do it, it’s just rude.

*Sources:

www.bookmarketingtools.com

www.searchenginewatch.com

www.dealeron.com

#writingtips #screenwriting #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writerblr #writing advice #writing community #writing resources

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firefly-in-darkness · 4 years

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Misconceptions - 6/12

Characters: Y/N, the Avengers, Marcus (OC).

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Series Summary: Bucky Barnes overhears a conversation that he shouldn’t have… and now he regrets his reaction…

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Angst, jealousy...

Beta: The always lovely, Stacey - @princessmisery666 // all mistakes are my own.

A/N: Erm... so yeah this happened... I think this is gonna be a 10 parter... with an epilogue... just fo a little extra somthing... or it could be another 5 parts. Who knows right now, I’m enjoying this story too much to give it up just yet! Hope you like the new part too - love the feedback as always

Catch up with the series here: Misconceptions Series List

Return to Firefly’s Library & Masterlist

Previously: It wasn’t until Sam started putting the cards back on the window sill that Y/N realised that there was nothing from Bucky. Has he even been to see me? With now only the glow of the small lamp and the beep of the machines filling her ears, she let the tears fall.

It had been nearly two weeks since she'd been rescued and brought to the medical wing. She was slowly starting to hate being here, she felt fine and just wanted to go back to her apartment in the compound. It also didn’t help to have the constant reminder from the cards, gifts and visitors that the one person that she wanted to see, still hadn't entered through the door.

Once more, Y/N awoke to the soft hum and the repetitive beep from the machines. Her blurred vision took in the soft light from the lamp and the navy sky beyond the window. It must have only been a couple of hours since she fell asleep after Clint’s visit.

She heard the door opening behind her, feigning sleep to find out who her visitor was. She couldn’t be sure if it was a certain super soldier paying her a visit, but after the team visiting her earlier who else could it have been? Y/N tried to keep her breath steady, hoping her heartbeat remained normal too, otherwise the machines she was hooked up to would betray her.

Footsteps edged towards the seat beside her bed and she couldn’t have been more relieved that she was facing the other way.

“Hi sweetheart.” Bucky’s voice was almost a whisper, “Sorry I didn’t visit sooner. Sam’s a tough bodyguard. But even he must sleep at some point. Hopefully, I won't have to sneak in every night for much longer.”

Her heart skipped as his words washed over her. Every night? She scolded herself for thinking he wouldn't visit and made a mental note to reprimand her best friend for keeping him away when she was awake.

She was glad that she had feigned her sleep and prayed that he would continue talking but silence filled the room. If it wasn’t for the whirring of his Vibranium arm or the slight deep breath he took every now and then, she would have thought he’d left.

Y/N heard the muffled voice of Bucky, she’d fallen asleep again, but he was still here, the dark sky was slowly lightening, and she focused on his words as best as she could through her hazy thoughts.

“- Wanda’s been baking cookies, Vision is slowly getting the hang of using doors and Natasha is losing her mind without her drinking buddy.” Bucky scoffed, “I miss my movie nights with you Y/N. It’s only been a couple of weeks but yeah, I miss it. I miss you.”

“I shouldn’t have left you on your own. If I’d been with you like I was supposed to have been then you wouldn’t have ended up here...” Bucky leant his elbows on his knees, head in his hands and sighed.

His thoughts were consumed once more with the phone call he'd overheard, and the way Sam had protected Y/N without hesitation. The affection he had seen through the little window in the door; holding hands, forehead kisses, helping change her clothes, the laughter that filled the room.

Fuck it, I need to say something. Bucky steeled himself and sat up straighter.

“I should tell you this when you’re awake but I-”

A shuffle from the bed had Bucky’s attention, Y/N had rolled over to face him and began to rub at her right eye.

“Buck?” Her quiet yet hoarse voice melted him.

“Hi Y/N, it’s early, go back to sleep.”

“I’ve slept enough for the last two weeks to survive an early wake-up call.” Her sleepy smile beamed at him, squishing the side of her face further into the pillow.

“I guess you're right.” Bucky gave her a soft smile and ran his fingers through his short locks, “so how much of that did you hear?”

“Enough. Please don't feel guilty about what happened to me.”

“Y/N-”

She raised her hand, “Nope, it happened because I decided to leave at stupid o’clock.”

Bucky couldn't help but still feel responsible for what had happened to Y/N and now he felt worse for making her leave.

“I know you wished it was Sam on the mission.” His shoulders sagged and he sunk back into the seat. “I overheard you on the phone that night.”

He watched for Y/N’s reaction; her eyes widened, and mouth opened and closed several times but what surprised him was the way her cheeks were dusted pink.

“It’s okay, I get it. You two are really close.” Bucky stood up, collecting a brown paper bag from the floor and opening it.

Y/N’s silence made Bucky nervous, but he delved into the bag and grabbed the plums, placing them into the bowl. “I know it’s not much, but I remembered how much you liked the ones from the market.”

“Thank you, Buck.” She smiled, not taking her eyes off the fruit bowl on the table at the end of the bed.

Bucky headed towards the door and with a slight nod he left.

Y/N sighed at the sound of the door clicking shut, her eyes still focused on the plums. Of course, he visited and brought something. She was annoyed at herself for thinking he didn’t care, that she was too wrapped up in her selfishness. Bucky had occupied the table at the end of the bed with plums and fresh daisies.

It was a reminder of their trip to Bucharest, revisiting his recent past. It was only a few months ago. They had eaten delectable fruit as they weaved through the market stalls, sat in a local park and made daisy-chains for hours. Bucky had delicately weaved the flowers and created a crown, placing it atop her head. When her attempt failed, she tucked a single daisy behind his ear.

Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of Bucky’s infectious smile as they laid in the luscious grass, the sound of the city muffled by their bubble. This was the moment that she knew that her crush was something more. Her heart had ached at the way he spoke of the women he had recently dated, and she obliged him with telling her own dating stories. They were all fake, but they eased the tension in her chest.

And now he knew, he had heard her phone conversation with Sam. It explained the way he had disappeared that night, he couldn’t be near her. Her mind reeled with how he had blatantly courted a woman in front of her, brought her back to the hotel suite. He was trying to tell her that he was not interested in her, not in the way she hoped at least.

The tears cascaded down her cheeks, small sobs racked through her already sore body. Bucky could never find me attractive, let alone love me. They had their friendship and that had to be enough. She used the heel of her hand to wipe at her cheeks, vowing to not cry over him anymore.

Two Months Later…

Y/N eased back into training. It was difficult at first but slowly she got back into the rhythm of working out and after multiple therapy sessions, she was on track to returning to the field once more. She had her downfalls along the way but with the help of her friends and therapist, she picked herself back up.

A small smile rested on her lips as she stretched on the mats, ready for a sparring session with Sam. It was the highlight of her week, taking down the all-talk-no-action Falcon. Speaking of the devil, his laughter echoed across the room, catching Y/N’s attention. She glanced up to see her best friend, clinging to his sides at something he had probably said; Steve blushed, and Bucky shook his head in annoyance.

Y/N’s smile faltered slightly, seeing the super soldier had her thinking of how their friendship had changed since that night. Everything seemed like it was back to normal on the surface, but things were different, and she couldn’t avoid accepting that any longer. Sparring with Bucky was completely off the cards, he had confirmed that as soon as she was back in the gym.

‘I can’t spar with you.’ - No reason. No explanation. Nothing.

Bucky no longer joined her when she and Sam headed out of the compound to go shopping, trying new restaurants and bars. Movie nights were no longer their thing, he had brought Wanda and Nat into the fold. Not that Y/N minded the girls being there, but it was still a prick to her heart.

“Hi, erm, Y/N?” The male voice brought her out of her thoughts.

She continued wrapping her hands and gave him a slight smile, “Yes, Agent Reynolds?”

Y/N looked over the tall tanned man, the short caramel locks a mess on his head, a few strands sticking to his forehead. She had become fond of him over the last couple of weeks; not only was he an incredible recruit, he’d been a good laugh whenever they’d been in the gym at the same time. Much like earlier today when they caught up over by the water fountain before hitting their own routines.

“You can call me Marcus,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I was just wondering if you’d like to go out for a drink sometime? Or dinner? Maybe?”

Y/N glanced over his shoulder. Eyes landing immediately on Bucky with his arm wrapped around Nat’s shoulders. Her stomach dropped and she turned back to Marcus, who patiently awaited her response. She knew it was time to move on, maybe a little bit of fun is what she needs right now.

She smirked and held out her phone. “With that uncertainty, I don’t know... How about we exchange numbers and you give me a call when you’ve decided on dinner or drinks, or both?”

Marcus’ cheeks dusted a light pink and Y/N was glad she hadn’t lost her touch. Maybe that only applied to the Super Soldier. Her charm and flirting seemed to have caught Marcus’ attention, so maybe it wasn’t her after all.

He punched in the number and called his phone, the little chime from his pocket confirming it had gone through. Handing it back to Y/N just as Sam jogged over to them.

“Are you ready to get your ass whooped, Y/N?” he chuckled, giving her a toothy grin.

Y/N tilted her head with a mischievous pout, “Oh boy, someone’s had their cocky pills today.”

Continue Here...

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#Bucky Barnes Fic #Bucky Barnes x Reader #Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes Fic Series #Bucky Barnes Fanfiction #Bucky Barnes Fanfic #Bucky Barnes Angst #Bucky Barnes Fluff #Bucky Barnes Fiction

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whitelionspirit · 3 years

Text

Pale Fire: Hard Days and Happy Birthdays 1/2

Paring: Ace x Reader

Series: Modern au of the life of Ace and the reader

Scenario: Even after a short few months there is still a lot you don’t know about your newly proclaimed best friend. Like why he doesn’t celebrate his birthday and why his friends and family are used to it.

wc: 1.7k

warning: angst, hurt/comfort, abusing alcohol, fluff

A/N: Hello! Sorry for the lack of updates but writer’s block hit sudden and hard. Anyway I wanted to get this out yesterday but here we are and now it’s in two parts because it became longer than I had intended. Hopefully by next week I’ll be all caught up and open the inbox again! I hope everyone had a good holiday and an even better start to the new year! I’m happy people have enjoyed my writing as well means a lot! Also this isn’t edit at the moment.

The end of the year was fast approaching with only days left it felt strange to you. The fact that your first semester of college was finally over. The past few months had been wild if you could pick a word to describe it. You never imagined you would have so many friends or just good memories in general. You had gotten lucky when being paired with Perona.

She was rather strange but you really would not have her any other way. It was because of her that you met Zoro which from there meant you would meet everyone else. The collection of them were all vastly different and it made you feel included somehow into their strange little family. Though it was your friendship with Ace that you didn’t expect.

He was loud, angry, and shameless among other things you could rattle off. For some reason he had quickly taken a liking to you and it was all over after that. He had this way of coaxing you to come out of your shell and express yourself in ways you had never done before. He stunned everyone when he declared you were now his which didn’t settle well with any of the girls plus Sanji. Perhaps it was the five year age gap that threw most people off but it didn’t bother you that in the way most presumed it did.

The reason he had plagued your mind a lot recently was because his birthday was two days away. While you were excited about getting your new friend gifts and a supposed party to happen. You found out that their wouldn’t be a celebration, nothing at all. Ace hated his birthday which made you quite disappointed.

You didn’t push the subject when Sabo gave you the bad news. He had smiled sadly at you as he patted your head and moved on with his day. If no one wanted to speak of why then you wouldn’t push it. Ace would tell you if you asked you know he would but you didn’t want to pry it seemed to be a rather sore subject for everyone.

So you went about your week as you usually would which was more so spent at the three brothers apartment. You were currently splayed out on the couch with Luffy, Chopper, and Vivi laying on top of one another. It was a comfortable squeeze with Chopper’s head tucked into your lap and Vivi’s thigh bumping against your own as Luffy splayed out over her entire lap as she played with his hair. The only light coming from the flashing tv and that of the Christmas tree still up in the corner of the room.

It was a nice feeling to be surrounded by friends in a place you considered homey. The sudden buzzing of your phone dragged you out of your thoughts. Pulling the device from your sweatpants pocket you saw the familiar name lighting up the Home Screen.

Firefly

As he had so happily put into your contacts months ago. You smiled as you slide your finger across the text opening the phone.

“Work is so boring today, tell me something interesting.”

You roll your eyes at his response Ace worked a rather fascinating job in your opinion at least. Though he says his previous job had been cooler before the accident. You texted him back before closing the phone.

“You should really pay attention to your job but if you really want something good. Luffy choked on a piece of food today and Vivi had to give him the hemilich maneuver. It was a real sight I have all on video.”

You sent the text and closed your phone again only for it to vibrate. The message highlighted with a laughing emoji making you smile as you place the phone on your lap. Closing your eyes as you listen to the background noise of the tv.

You were awoken by the sensation of someone putting a blanket over you blinking your eyes open sleepily. The blurry image above you stopped before continuing and backing away as you drifted back off to sleep cuddling close down into the soft material. The sounds of chatting is what finally woke you up this time around.

They were soft almost trying not to wake up or anyone else who was still asleep. The room was dark when your eyes opened, the only light coming from that of the kitchen and even that was dimmed. You could barely make out the voices but there was definitely more than one. Pulling your arm upward you realize that it had actually been covered by a blanket. Your brows furrowed at how it got there, as your hand finally landed on your phone. The screen lit up showing the time it was half past 9 p.m. making you groan.

You had missed dinner, the sudden grumbling of your stomach reminding you of it’s emptiness. “Thanks, stomach.” You mumbled as you looked around you to still see everyone was still asleep. Chopper had moved over so he wasn’t on top of you, but Vivi and Luffy were now cuddling up one another in their sleep. The sight made you smile as Luffy’s soft snores were let out against Vivi’s neck. The voices broke through your train of thought again as a sharp “No” was admitted.

Curious but not wanting to be nosy you carefully untangled yourself from the pile. You walked towards the kitchen quietly as the voices became more distinct. The soft tremor of Ace’s voice was heard as he hissed at the slightly higher one of Sabo. Were they fighting? You thought which would be odd because they almost never fought unless it was over something serious. Over the few months you had known them you had only seen it twice. So whatever they were disagreeing on must be rather important or personal perhaps.

“You such an idiot you know that right?” Sabo said.

Peeking around the corner you could barely make out their appearances through the doorway which was blocked by the door being half way closed.

“It’s nothin’ I’m an dult I can do wha- I wannnt.” Ace said his words sounding muffled.

You frowned as Sabo sighed making you wonder if Ace was actually drunk and Sabo was trying to hide it.

A sound of shuffling could be heard as someone started walking. “Ace, come on you’ve had enough of tha-.” Sabo words were cut off as the shattering of glass echoed through the otherwise quiet house. The noise alone startled you momentarily before you decided to make your presence known.

You pushed the door open into the kitchen and the sight that greeted you was rather amusing. Sabo was hitting Ace upside the head while the freckled man pouted. He was gazing down at the red liquid splashed across the title flooring.

Sabo looked up at you and sighed. “(Name) could you hand me the mop and broom it’s in the closet across the hallway”. He pointed behind back the way you had come.

“Ugh, yeah sure are you guys alright?” You questioned.

Sabo just nodded not really akwoldging you as he hauled Ace by the sleeve of his shirt and put him into a seat at the breakfast bar.

You walked to the closet and opened the door it was dark inside but you didn’t need to see where the objects were. Grabbing them you closed the door and headed back into the kitchen where Sabo was staring at Ace in frustration.

You looked over at him he was leaned over the counter his forehead laying against the wooden surface.

“Here.”

Sabo sighed and reached out for them as you placed them in his grasp.

“Is he alright?” You asked unsure.

“He will be but it really isn’t anything new he is like this every year.” He said as he began sweeping up the glass.

You bit your lip as you stood there wondering what you should do. You wanted to be helpful but it seemed like a private matter that Sabo could easily take care off.

“If you want you can put him in his bed,” Sabo spoke without looking at you as he dumped the glass into the trash bin.

You looked at him and blinked as if you weren’t expecting him to answer your worries. Walking forward you stood next to the man who was groaning softly into his chest. Gently placing your hand on his shoulder to not startle him you also opened you mouth to talk.

“Ace.”

He groaned again as if acknowledging you.

“Come on let’s get you to bed, alright?” You said as he got up without a fuss.

....

Once inside his room you guided him slowly to the bed as all his dead weight was laid on top of you. It was extremely uncomfortable but you bared it as you mostly threw him onto the twin size bed. He landed awkwardly on his face as the mattress squeaked under the pressure. You sighed at the sad sight as you picked up his feet and hauled him into the bed. You weren’t going to baby him or be gentle.

Ace mumbled from where his face was planted in the maroon sheets. You rolled your eyes and shoved at his shoulder hard enough to move him slightly to were yup could hear him speak.

“I’m fine (Name) you can just go.” He said with no heat behind it.

You huffed and crossed your arms in annoyance at his statement.

“I’m not going until you get into bed Ace.”

The man just sighed as heaved himself upward and began shimmering his way out of his work pants. His button down followed surely until he left in a a plain undershirt and his boxers. The sight alone made your cheeks redden as you quickly hid your face into your hands.

“Well, are you happy?” He asked as he pulled his comforter around his body.

“Y-yes! I’ll be going now, I'll see you tomorrow!” You said your voice went a pitch higher as you left the room shutting the door behind you.

As soon as you left the room you groaned as you leaned your head back against his door. Well that just happened even though nothing actually occurred just him taking off his clothes to sleep. Patting your flaming cheeks to come yourself you stepped away from the door. Only to hesitate as you looked at the door as concern took over. As you ponder about what exactly could have him so uneasy and so unlike the man you knew.

#one piece #portgas d. ace x reader #op imagine #one piece imagine #pale fire series #one piece x reader

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