#because she represents not only a concept of happiness that he had almost no grasp of

[animehouse-moe]

Undead Unluck Episode 3: How To Use My Unluck

To be perfectly honest, this episode's boarding and animation through the first half (aside from the cold open)isn't near as good as the first two episodes. It jumps around, there's a lack of movement and interaction with the environment, and the content itself is filling the gap between point A and point B. That said, the second half is infinitely more interesting and has lots that I really want to talk about.

So let me talk cold open first since it's so important. Time is very heavily featured in the opening of the episode. However, while we do see the machinations of a regular clock, we also see an hourglass. Immediately, the idea of a doomsday that appears from the content of the first episode seems more and more likely as a "countdown" appears behind the work of the Union.

Also, I may or may not be blind, but I'm assuming the spheres circling the hourglass are meant to represent the planets. For what reason I'm not sure exactly, but I feel like it makes the concept of a doomsday that much more likely.

Overall it's a really interesting piece that does not make sense in the context that Andy has given us so far. I mean, just looking at the two interactions from 1970 to 2020 and it doesn't feel right.

Back in 1970, the same year that Andy was originally caught, he's wishing Gina a happy birthday, and she's smiling at him? But now in 2020 he's ready to kill her and she's visibly frustrated with him? There's far more going on with the characters than just appearances, which is a great segue into Gina as a character and her negation.

I think the easiest context to think within is spacetime for Gina. It's been 50 years since she first captured Andy, and in terms of looks and whatnot she's not changed aside from makeup. She can also stand on water, control vast portions of matter, and survive in outer space (though it's unknown if that's for a limited or infinite amount of time). The one ability that I don't have confidence in being Gina's is when she produces a second easel for Fuuko. Considering the fact that she had a beret teleported to her (which may or may not have influence on her powers), the sudden appearance of an object can't be confirmed to be Gina's ability, so I'll chalk it up to whoever does the teleportation business.

Though I wouldn't think it anything as extreme as actual spacetime manipulation considering that a) she in fact wears makeup, and b) she references a boss above her. Both of these imply that her ability can't be something so overpowered, and that she's specifically an external targeting negator.

Furthermore, she can't use her technique on Andy directly, which means she most likely can't affect living objects in any fashion.

The first idea to spring to mind is 'unmoving', but that doesn't really fully grasp what Gina is doing. She's controlling matter to some degree, but I feel like the idea of 'unchanging' only really applies to her makeup. It's really quite hard to come up with the correct "un" terms for these negators, but aside from that I feel like I have a basic grasp of her abilities.

Actually, I just re-watched the clips for Gina at the end here, and I do think it's unchanging. Simply because instead of Gina saying that Andy will have to 'Kill' her, it's that he has to 'Change' her.

Anyways, I feel like there's a degree of significance here. The convenience in the order of operations and how they align feels far too on point. Fifty years after his initial capture, he runs into the same woman again? Right as he was talking about being captured? To me, it seems like at the minimum there's a negator with the ability to look into the future or something of the sort. The events themselves feel almost pre-ordained in the fact that all of these pieces are falling into place so quickly.

And then there's the UMA namedrop? I don't believe we'd heard of it before this episode, but Andy describes it as another facet of work that the Union does. If it's being handled by the union it'd have to be something to do with negation, no?

But it can't be people, because Union members refer to Negators as Negators directly, UMAs are something entirely different.

It's Unidentified something, but I don't know what that something is. It's not a person, so could it be an artifact or an animal or maybe even an affect or something of the sort?

I'm not sure, but it's one hell of a curve ball considering how quick they breeze right past it. Hopefully we'll get to see what this UMA is soon, because much like Gina and Andy's fate (could 'unfate' be a negator?), I think whatever a UMA is will have an important role to play in the story.

Anyways, that was a lot of talking and not a lot of showing, here are some pretty layouts from the episode.

#undead unluck #fuuko izumo #david production #yuki yase #anime #anime and manga #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review #uu anime

[masterofdeath]

it ALSO needs to be said that what develops over the course of ginny weaving herself in and out of harry’s story, and what is offered in exchange between the two of them allows for such a solid foundation of trust between them that -- yes, the break-up is their ‘i love you.’ 

ginny and harry find their stride by stepping in for each other. starting with something as innocuous as pretending not to see an embarrassing moment of an elbow in butter ( a favor ginny returns in the year of rogue bludgers ten times over ); and culminating in clawing their way from certain death and avoiding almost more certain expulsion together.  

harry is a hard person to comfort, ginny is shown to have a talent for it ( offering comfort is something that defines her even in what harry believes is the last time he’ll see her ). much can be said about how they navigate conflict ala ‘lucky you’ but i think even more can be said about the care ginny takes in comforting harry in ootp over chocolate eggs and laughing in the library. -- i will let more more adept hands craft all the ways in which ginny’s vulnerabilities shine through with harry in a way we are expressly told she does not allow herself to be perceived in her other relationships, but there is equally footing in what they allow the other in on, the emotional honesty that comes at no cost ( or real punishment when forgotten ). 

in his relationship with ginny, we see harry able to free himself even physically from a body he is near-constantly, painfully aware to be inhabiting. his dreams -- so often invaded in violating and traumatic ways -- take on something softer, something more hopeful. ginny shocks hope into harry’s life and offers a promise of a life beyond what he knows is directly in front of him. 

when harry breaks up with ginny he’s not doing it because he believes she incapable of handling any threat, he knows he can’t risk her. he’s asking her to give her this one last bit of comfort and because at that point in their lives they had already been woven so tightly into the fabric of each other’s being, she lets him go to comfort him. 

#not only is she so often tied to sun / sunlight imagery #harry loses himself to daydreams more when her presence is fully asserted into his life #because she represents not only a concept of happiness that he had almost no grasp of #but because harry has more freedom ( of expression of autonomy of will ) whenever she is near #what i am saying is that if you do not think that ginny is central and important to harry #or that their relationship is beautiful and developed #i think you are interpreting it wrong #also not to be like this but his genuine will to live is intrinsically tied to her #not in the way that he needs to possess it #but in the same regard that harry acts as a patronus for people #he needs that one happy memory of her and he remembers what it feels like to have his heart thumping in his chest #anyway #i gotta go scream #meta.

[yoonpobs]

bad boy good thing iv.

pairing: jeon jungkook x oc

genre: angst, smut, fluff, miscommunication (we hate her lol), pining

warnings: smut, jungkook is really an asshole, the angst hurts a lot tbh, unhealthy relationships (?)

words: 2, 105

summary: a series of drabbles where you're confused and jungkook's confusing

a glimpse into the past

Jungkook’s been to a total of two graduations his entire life—one was his middle school’s graduation that seemed more like a farewell party and his older brother’s college one. Now, he can say that he’s attended three. But he’s never felt like this—never felt dread to say a temporary goodbye to a face he’s been so accustomed to seeing.

Maybe that’s why he’s in such a sour mood as his peers hugged their seniors' goodbyes, smiles on their face while they engaged in chatter about the future. Jungkook’s always been hard on parting and today is no different. Especially with the constant reminders at every corner of the hallways, streams of red and blue painting the ceilings with a big fat ‘happy graduation to the seniors!’ Mocking him on his journey to his classes.

He almost wants to slap some sense into himself. Because why was he terrified for the beginning of a new chapter that wasn’t his story to tell? Why was he dreading the moment that the seniors collected their diplomas and walked off the stage; and out of his life?

But he doesn’t do that; because the fear is as addictive as the excitement he feels when he thinks of you. A conflicting and tortuous juxtaposition of the beautiful day for a valedictorian and her younger friend.

“Jungkook!” A voice calls, and when he turns he sees Taehyung barrelling towards him with two people trailing closely behind.

When Taehyung plummets into Jungkook’s chest with an oof, but all Jungkook can focus on; despite the ache in his chest, is you.

You’re so pretty. But that’s nothing new for Jungkook. However, you were smiling, soft and sweet like the person who stayed up during her finals to tutor Jungkook on math concepts and the same girl who supported him through his football trials in junior year.

But you were grown, and the robe was the testimony of your age and maturity—the level of intelligence that you possess only grew with time and now you were walking towards him with a sense of quiet assuredness that he’s always admired you for.

Jungkook’s sure he’s gaping but he’s never been able to control himself around you.

“Can you stop gawking at her already?” Taehyung complains, twisting the skin between Jungkook’s armpit in retaliation.

Jungkook burns but scowls at the older boy who simply snickers in response.

“I’m so glad you’re graduating.” Jungkook snaps.

Taehyung snorts, “If I go she goes.”

Jungkook purses his lips as he readies himself for another retort, but you arrive and the first thing he notices is how gentle you smell. His favourite scent in principle, a whiff of laundry detergent accompanied with the light floral perfume he remembers his mother gifting you for your birthday.

“You’re gonna miss us, aren’t you?” Is the first thing Jimin says when he greets the younger boy with a ruffle to his head.

Jungkook glowers in embarrassment as he tries to fight him off, and despite his shorter stature in height—Jimin was in fact, quite strong.

Regardless of his flustered state, you smile at him warmly and perhaps Jungkook is biased when it comes to you because he’s sure you’ve always smiled the same, but every tilt of your lips evoke an array of different feelings in Jungkook’s chest.

“The two of you are like dumb and dumber so no—not really. God knows he’s finally granted my wish for emancipation.” Jungkook grumbles.

Taehyung feigns offence with a hand to his chest, leaning his head against Jungkook’s shoulders while he rolls his eyes.

Then he remembers you, the girl who just smiles as the world will always do her good.

“But I’ll miss Noona, though.” He says, and he hopes the shakiness of his voice isn’t obvious. “She’s the only one that doesn’t tease me.”

You grin up at Jungkook, giggling when Jimin and Taehyung gape at the younger boy’s audacity.

“Yah. You call her Noona and not us Hyung?!” Taehyung screeches were loud enough for the group of you to wince at his loudness.

“Don’t forget that you would have never have met her if it weren’t for us, you brat.” Jimin reminds, though not maliciously.

Jungkook does thank the stars for them introducing him to you. Because he doubts otherwise you’d ever interact with him. You were always in your own bubble, tucked away in a safe space filled with your own sense of solace and comfort. And Jungkook admired that.

He liked being alone, but he never wanted to be lonely. You were a breath of fresh air when you taught him the lines between loneliness and being physically alone; and how you learnt to never conflate the two. You were independent and bright, but warm and welcoming—and Jungkook remembers that these feelings weren’t just a floor away anymore.

“Ignore them, Kook.” You sigh. “Gonna miss you too.”

Jungkook feels himself melt because you say it so sweetly and sincerely.

Taehyung and Jimin ruin his love-blurred lenses by gagging at your blatant display of affection towards the younger boy.

“The two of you are so gross.” Jimin groans, earning a nod from his other half.

You roll your eyes when all Jungkook does is flush at the insinuation.

“Unlike the two of you, we make the better and more rational pair.” You chastise. “Don’t we, Kook?”

And the nickname he’s grown to love though he has a love-hate relationship with it slips off your tongue and he finds himself agreeing with you.

“These two idiots are a quarter of a brain-cell combined on a good day,” Jungkook mutters.

You burst out into laughter, rubbing a calming hand onto his shoulder and he feels the dread come in. Because this was no longer something he could reach out to when you went to college.

“Whatever.” Jimin scoffs.

Then the PA system sounds, and the principal calls for the graduates to gather at the hall. And it represents all of Jungkook’s worries in an announcement and he’s not ready to let you go yet.

“That’s our call.” You declare, eyes darting to the other seniors who pull apart from their juniors to rush to the hall.

Jungkook’s eyes widen one last time before Jimin and Taehyung both wrap their arms around Jungkook tightly, murmuring a much more sincere and grateful remark than their previous chides. And he feels slightly bad that he can’t respond because his brain is far more focused on your lone figure, who eyes him with sad yet gentle eyes.

“You’ll come to our role call, right?” Jimin asks.

Jungkook gulps because all he can focus on is your face.

“Y-yeah. Course’.” He mumbles. He feels the need to say something—do something before people crowd you after it’s over. Jungkook would never stand a chance.

He seems rooted in his feet, Jimin and Taehyung already trailing off with their arms around each other and words of their future in the air. You smile at Jungkook—and it’s the same—but his hands reach out before he can think twice.

Jungkook grabs your wrist before you can leave, gulping to himself when you stare at him with wide eyes.

“You okay?” You ask softly.

No, he’s not, because his heart is beating so fast and he doesn’t want this day to come to an end.

“I-I’m okay.” He chokes, “I just—don’t you have a parting gift for me?” Jungkook blurts before he can rationalise what the fuck did he even mean.

But Jungkook just stares at you like a deer caught in the headlights while you tilt your head at him endearingly. He hopes that his pulse doesn’t emanate from his grasp, but your wrist is small, and it feels just right in his palm.

Your lips are twitching as a grin threatens itself on your expression, and he sees the mischief in your eyes that come out every once in a while.

“Aren’t you supposed to be giving me a gift, Jeon?” You tease, and Jungkook is so soft.

He snorts, a little glad that you didn’t point out his sudden grip on your wrist.

“But you’re leaving me.” He pouts.

You roll your eyes and take a step closer to him until you’re directly in front of him. And he sees your features up close and God—did he say you were pretty?—well because you’re even prettier up close and he loses all sense of thought when you’re smiling up at him with bright eyes.

“I’m always a call away.” You say softly, gently tugging at his hand; and it’s crazy to think that you were the same older girl that was usually timid reaching out to him in a way that was shy but so you.

Even with the chattering of other students, Jungkook only hears your subdued voice.

“It’s not the same.” Jungkook sighs, and he’s slightly aware that he was whining. But you don’t seem to be bothered.

“You’re probably going to forget about me.” You scoff and it’s light, but he can see the slight furrow of your brows. “You’re Jeon Jungkook. You’ll do great.” You add softly.

Jungkook purses his lips and wants to tell you that it wasn’t possible. You took up space in his life, both in school (well, not anymore) and in his mind. You and your wonderful mind.

“Says the valedictorian.” Jungkook huffs.

You pout, “You know that isn’t long-term. What if I just peak in high school and … you know …” You sigh, shaking your head, “I’m not outgoing like Jimin or a social butterfly like Taehyung. Neither am I as friendly and likeable like you are, Jungkook. I’m just … boring.”

Jungkook freezes because while he knew you were on the shier side; the louder than life tendencies you had were small but abundant. You didn’t need to speak louder than anyone in a room to get your points across, you were soft and empathetic and led people in organisations to see the good in the work they did.

Your genuine nature drew people in, even though you’d flush under attention and praise—and if Jungkook could—he’d scream it out to the world. But you were in front of him, and he figured that was enough.

“Don’t say that.” Jungkook snaps and his tone causes you to flinch as you stare at him with wide eyes, “Don’t … put yourself down like that. You’re great, _____. You’re intelligent and kind. Just because you’re different doesn’t mean you’re boring. There are situations in this world that need people like you. There are people that find comfort in a quiet soul because you’re introspective and thoughtful. People like …”

Jungkook exhales when you stare at him so earnestly, and his ears turn red. “People like me. We need people like you in our lives.”

Your mouth falls open as you blatantly stare at Jungkook with wide eyes; he’s on the border of being absolutely mortified and running away so he wouldn’t be the subject of your obvious ogling.

But then a soft smile makes its way onto your face, and you’re tugging Jungkook by the hand and into a warm hug.

Despite him being younger than you, he’s always been taller and bigger than you were. And it was a sense of security he felt in your presence rather than your physical entity that would never be replaced with anything else.

“You really grew up, huh?” You say, a giggle in your chest.

Jungkook rolls his eyes but accepts the way you rest your head on his chest. He’s never had you this close before, and he hates that it’s on the day he needs to say goodbye.

“I’ve always been this way.” Jungkook answers. He also thinks: I’ve always been here. For you.

“Thank you, Jungkook.” You say softly, pulling away even though Jungkook wants to keep you close.

“Anytime.” He smiles widely at you, and a classmate of yours calls your name as you turn to give them a nod of acknowledgement before you’re turning back to Jungkook with a cheeky smile on your face.

“Here’s your gift.” You inform him.

“I was kidding—”

And before you can respond, you’re placing both hands on his shoulder and on your tippy-toes to deliver a kiss to his cheek.

Jungkook is stunned and he isn’t able to process it fast enough. But you’re already offering him an equally flustered smile with the tip of your ears turning red before you’re waving shyly and tittering off to the hall.

Jungkook blinks, and a hand reaches to touch his cheek.

He looks up, and groans—because how the hell was he going to survive high school now?

#bts fic #bts imagine #bts fics #bts imagines #bts smut #bts x reader #jungkook fanfic #jungkook imagine #jungkook angst #bts fluff #jungkook fluff #jungkook x oc #jungkook x reader #jungkook #jungkook smut #jeon jungkook #jeon jungkook x reader #bts angst #bts fanfic #bts jungkook

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Since the very conception of the motion picture, the LGBT community have been represented on-screen in some form. An early example is Algie the Miner (1912), a short silent film which follows the effeminate Algie (Billy Quirk), who enjoys kissing cowboys. In order to marry someone’s daughter, he heads west to prove that he’s a man. While this is quite an outdated stereotype of being gay, the portrayals have varied greatly over time. Only recently is LGBT representation becoming more positive and common. However, when it comes to portraying bisexuality on-screen, it still seems to be a difficult task.

Many narrative tropes have been birthed through filmmakers trying to show sexuality on-screen and most of them contribute directly to the overall erasure of bisexuality in cinema – usually with ambiguous portrayals, negative stereotyping and characters needing to pick a side. Not all instances are problematic, but their prevalence isn’t helping to combat the stigma that bisexual people face. There are three main tropes when it comes to depicting bisexuality, which is infidelity, picking a side, and the horrible husband. They’re usually found together in a common narrative that erases bisexuality, whether intentional or not.

Infidelity

There’s a long-standing stereotype that bisexual people are more likely to cheat on their partners and are incapable of commitment. This is a trope that is heavily carried in some of the most well-known depictions of bisexuality. Typically, a female protagonist is engaged or married to a man, but she meets a lesbian woman and they become involved sexually and romantically, leaving the protagonist torn between two lovers. This happens in Imagine Me & You (2005) when Rachel (Piper Perabo) falls in love with lesbian flower shop owner Luce (Lena Headey), who provided the flowers for her wedding to Hector (Matthew Goode). It’s a fairly average film that could’ve been amazing had it acknowledged Rachel’s bisexuality, but it’s still one of the better ones considering Perabo and Headey have amazing chemistry.

For some reason, bisexual characters are often in serious relationships when they’re suddenly sexually awakened. This happened to Rachel right after her wedding because she happened to meet the right woman. While this type of experience does happen in real life, it’s always the go-to narrative for films about women realizing they’re not one-hundred-percent straight. In these instances, the same-sex love affair acts as the conflict within the narrative – this can create good drama when done right, but it gets boring and bisexual characters deserve better than constantly being portrayed as cheaters. People are not more promiscuous or likely to cheat on their partners because of their sexuality, but these tropes are constantly telling people otherwise.

We deserve to see bisexual characters whose sexuality isn’t the main narrative focus or who at least explore their sexuality outside of a relationship. Appropriate Behaviour (2014) is a good example of this as Shirin (Desiree Akhavan, who is also the film’s writer and director) is a bisexual Persian American woman who is keeping her sexuality a secret from her judgemental family, while also attempting to rebuild her life after breaking up with her girlfriend. Seeing bisexuality portrayed on-screen is another place where people pick up more stigma or acceptance, and with bisexuality it, unfortunately, seems to be the former. This is why bisexual filmmakers like Akhavan are better suited to portraying the experiences of bisexual men and women than others.

Picking A Side

When the protagonist is in conflict with her sexuality, the people around her usually wonder if she’s a lesbian now – despite them being engaged or married to a man. This can be seen in Below Her Mouth (2010) where Jasmine (Natalie Krill) begins having an affair with Dallas (Erika Linder). When her husband finds out, he tells her “You’re a lesbian” but she tells him that she loves him and nothing has changed between them. It seems impossible to grasp that a person could be attracted to both men and women. Bisexuality is erased.

Some films insinuate that the protagonist isn’t necessarily bisexual or even a lesbian, it’s just that they’re attracted to this one woman only and no others – they’re an exception! This is the kind of impression you get from Below Her Mouth, but also from other films such as Imagine Me & You and Elena Undone (2010), which isn’t particularly helpful for lesbian representation either. In Imagine Me & You, Rachel tells Hector “You are my best friend. That was enough before, and it will be enough again.” This implies that Rachel was never truly attracted to him in a romantic sense, thus implying that she’s a lesbian. While this could be a case of compulsory heteronormativity, it seems problematic as it’s never discussed or explained. Avoiding discussions about sexuality – as most of these films do – are what contribute to this trope massively and result in misinterpretation and erasure.

Films as new as Netflix’s Alex Strangelove (2018) also feed into the idea that bisexuality is a stepping stone to picking a side. Alex (Daniel Doheny) prepares to lose his virginity to his girlfriend but finds his plans derailed when he’s attracted to another boy. He spends most of the film questioning his sexuality and at one point thinks he’s bisexual. The film does highlight biphobia which brings attention to this problem, so it’s disheartening at the end when Alex realizes he is gay and not bisexual after all. The set up for Alex Strangelove was perfect for a bisexual love story and, while it’s still positive LGBT representation, it’s a shame it didn’t stick with that. It’s even rarer to see bisexual men portrayed on-screen, so it would’ve been really rewarding.

It’s important to acknowledge that bisexuality is a comfortable place for some people to be while they’re trying to accept that they are gay – and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, there still seems to be some widespread discomfort when it comes to sexuality being fluid. For bisexual people, there isn’t any side to pick – they’re not torn between polar opposites, nor are they confused. They aren’t on the fence, they’re on both sides of the fence. Nevertheless, films continue to portray bisexuality as a personal conflict that needs resolving, and it does this by putting bisexual characters in a situation where they’re having affairs. This makes their sexuality the narrative conflict, which is wholly problematic in itself.

The Horrible Husband

The protagonist’s fiancé or husband is usually abusive or passive in the relationship, and thus portrayed as the antagonist. She is then drawn to a lesbian woman who treats her so much better and gives her the attention she deserves. Sometimes it’s as though these films are saying that lesbianism is the cure for a dissatisfying heterosexual relationship. This contributes to bisexual erasure by suggesting that bisexual women can only be happy with women and never with a man because they’re horrible or not good enough. It also perpetuates the idea of picking a side – almost telling bisexuals that they should just be lesbians instead.

This trope is found in films like Elena Undone, where Elena (Necar Zadegan) meets Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie) who is a famous lesbian writer. Elena’s husband Barry (Gary Weeks), however, is a homophobic pastor. Elena Undone is actually loosely based on director Nicole Conn’s real-life romance with Marina Rice Bader, but the film itself isn’t great. It’s also shown in The World Unseen (2007) as Miriam (Lisa Ray) quietly follows the customs of 1950s South Africa, alongside dealing with her abusive husband Omar (Parvin Dabas). Miriam becomes empowered to change her circumstances when she meets and falls in love with free-spirited cafe owner Amina (Sheetal Sheth).

A much better film that deals with this trope is Bound (1996). Lesbian ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) arrives at an apartment building to start work as a painter and plumber. She soon finds herself being seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilly) who lives next door with her boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Violet explains that they’ve been together for five years and he’s a money launderer for the mafia. She wants to escape and make a new life for herself, so she and Corky plan to steal $2 million of Mafia money and blame it on Caesar. The horrible husband trope actually works well in this film because the women plan to screw Caesar over and it doesn’t use Violet’s infidelity as the main narrative conflict – it’s a lot more original, which isn’t surprising as the first directorial feature film from the Wachowski Sisters. Bound would’ve been much less effective if Caesar was just a regular guy who Violet hated, but she has a better motive with the drama surrounding his violent mafia connections.

These three tropes are collectively the entire plot of Imagine Me & You, Elena Undone, The World Unseen, I Can’t Think Straight (2008), Kiss Me (2011) and more. It’s a shame that there isn’t always a huge focus on the actual relationship between the two women in these films. It’s more about them hiding their relationship and because they officially get together at the end, we never get to see much of what their life is like as a couple. They all feature very similar themes, meaning that when it comes to telling the stories of bisexual characters, the narrative is rarely diverse. Romantic comedies in general always follow the same beats which is fine, but these tropes for bisexual characters either erase their sexuality and/or display it as a problem.

These tropes can still work well (like with Bound) depending on certain aspects of the narrative. Infidelity works well in Carol (2015) due to the 1950s setting. Carol (Cate Blanchett), who is in the process of divorcing her horrible husband, and Therese (Rooney Mara) have to hide their relationship due to homosexuality not being accepted during this time. This adds an extra layer to the narrative, giving actual depth to why things are happening the way that they are. There’s also Disobedience (2017) where it works well due to the Orthodox Jewish culture. Ronit (Rachel Weisz), who is considered bisexual, returns to the community for her father’s funeral to find her childhood friend Esti (Rachel McAdams) married to a man. Esti describes herself as a lesbian woman in a relationship with a man, which is disheartening but works in the film’s world. Disobedience also plays through the infidelity trope very differently to other films, allowing it to be more effective.

The Erasure

In films with bisexual characters, it’s rare that the word “bisexual” actually comes up. It’s mostly ambiguous, implied or erased completely by the protagonist seemingly picking a side. It’s constantly reinforced by narrative tropes that are set up for dramatic entertainment, with no real intention of representing sexuality with genuine care. Erasure also happens due to words like “gay” being used as an umbrella term when referring back to certain films. Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Call Me By Your Name (2017), for example, are often referred to as gay films on social media due to the gay relationships portrayed, However, the characters are portrayed to be sexually fluid/bisexual due to the nature of their relationships with women. It also happens with films like Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2014) which is always painted as a lesbian love story when Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is clearly bisexual. It’s not necessarily bad to use gay and lesbian as umbrella terms, but it, unfortunately, does contribute to bisexual erasure. We should be bringing more attention to bisexuality on-screen and pointing it out specifically when we see it.

One of the biggest erasures is the portrayal of bisexual men. They appear much less frequently than bisexual women. The most recent example that comes to mind is Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), but the word bisexual was never used and he was portrayed as being promiscuous, which fits into the negative stereotype (although the film is satire so perhaps it can be excused). Some better, or at least more interesting, depictions of bisexual men are still out there and can be found in films such as Velvet Goldmine (1998), Kaboom (2010), The Comedian (2012), The Lobster (2015) and Moonlight (2016).

If anything, bisexual characters are usually left out of the bury your gays/dead lesbian syndrome trope. It’s very common both in film and television for gay men and lesbian women to be killed off in some dramatic way, such as in Brokeback Mountain, The Fox (1967), Les Biches (1968), Lost and Delirious (2001) and A Single Man (2009). Bisexual women have been killed off quite a bit in television – like Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in The O.C. – but they’re relatively safe in film and hopefully, it’ll stay that way.

Acknowledging Bisexuality

It is disheartening that bisexual representation on-screen isn’t as good or as frequent as gay and lesbian representation. We’re also at a time where it could be massively improved, but now we face the barrier of “queer” as another umbrella term. It’s wholly unhelpful when not everyone identifies with it and when we want bisexual characters to say the word bisexual on-screen. We want to be acknowledged. Bisexual actress Stephanie Beatriz made sure her bisexual character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine got to say it earlier this year, because that word means something to certain people and the impact is great. Hopefully this will start to happen more in film going forward.

There are definitely films out there where the word bisexual is actually said, like in Appropriate Behaviour, Kiss Me, Velvet Goldmine and Margarita with a Straw (2014). It’s rare that we hear it so when we do it’s pretty exciting. In addition to these, other films that feature positive and/or complex portrayals of bisexual characters in general (and not the previously discussed tropes) are: Cabaret (1972), Chasing Amy (1997), Black Swan (2010), Atomic Blonde (2017) and Tully (2018).

There have been many positive and negative depictions of bisexuality, but the majority of them aren’t great or feed into the biphobia and the erasure of the identity. Filmmakers need to do better when it comes to portraying bisexual characters and their stories. It’s always helpful when bisexual people themselves get a voice, whether as writers, directors or actors. For some reason, although there are exceptions, most straight male and lesbian filmmakers have trouble portraying bisexuality both positively and accurately. They essentially give the message that bisexuality doesn’t exist or is an inner conflict that needs to be resolved. We must do better because one day someone will be watching a film where a character says “bisexual” and their life will suddenly fall into place.

#bisexuality #lgbtq community #bi #lgbtq #support bisexuality #bisexuality is valid #lgbtq pride #bi tumblr #pride #bi pride #bisexual education #films #bisexual #bisexual community #bi erasure #bisexual erasure #biphobic gay people #internalized biphobia #biphopia #biphobic #bisexual nation #queer nation #queer #bisexual men #bisexual women #bisexual youth #movies #bisexual movies #bisexual films #respect bisexual people

[septembercfawkes]

Writing Your Anti-thematic Statement

I probably had a lot more fun writing this than I should have--and I probably spent more time on it than it deserved.😅😍  Just as your protagonist is in conflict with the antagonist, your theme is in conflict with the anti-theme. 🙌

Most of us have heard of the thematic statement--the argument or point the story is making about life. But every thematic statement has an opposing worldview. The anti-thematic statement. When we understand what the anti-thematic statement is and how it functions, we can craft better themes. Which means we can craft better plots. And craft better characters. Because all three interweave as the holy trinity of writing 😉.

What is the Anti-thematic Statement?

The thematic statement is the truth the story is arguing.

Disney's Frozen: We must be open to be loved authentically (that might mean we get hurt, but some love is worth the hurt).

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: Love is the most powerful force in the world.

M. Night Shyamalan's Glass: We must believe we are extraordinary, so we can do the extraordinary.

(Yes, I'm using Glass. Yes, I know a lot of people don't like it because it broke plot rules, but that doesn't mean its thematic components don't work.)

But for every argument, there is an opposing argument. For every truth, there is a lie. This is the anti-thematic statement, which is a type of false thematic statement. (I like to use "anti-thematic statement" in this case, because we are talking about the direct opposite of the thematic statement, specifically.)

Here are the anti-thematic statements of the same stories.

Disney's Frozen: We must be closed off and isolated from others to be authentic and safe, otherwise there is hurt, including hurting loved ones.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: Hatred is the most powerful force in the world (alternatively, love is the weakest).

M. Night Shyamalan's Glass: You must believe you are ordinary, because you must only do the ordinary.

Every story makes a statement about life. The anti-thematic statement is the opposite of that.

Why the Anti-thematic Statement Matters

The thematic statement is proven true at the end of the story, and it can only really be proven true, if it's challenged and tested through the middle

. Just as the protagonist and antagonist are in conflict, so are the thematic and anti-thematic statements. They're two different worldviews that are opponents. They can't both succeed.

And just as the protagonist is made stronger by a powerful antagonist, the true thematic statement is made stronger by a powerful anti-thematic statement.

We wouldn't want a story where the protagonist is already amazing at everything and never faces significant resistance. It'd be boring (and annoying).

Likewise, we wouldn't enjoy a story where the thematic statement is treated as a given and faced with no real challenges. It'd be preachy (and annoying).

An argument isn't really an argument if no one is disagreeing.

Perhaps the most common mistake when it comes to handling theme, is when the author takes the thematic statement and swings it around everywhere from beginning, to middle, to end, without any legitimate resistance. It makes the theme feel flat, and it makes the story feel a little more like propaganda.

Just as the protagonist's triumph (or final failure) must come after a struggle or a cost, so must the thematic statement.

There are multiple ways to round out a theme, but one great way is to flesh out the anti-thematic statement.

Where it Fits

Many of us struggle just to grasp and place the true thematic statement, let alone the anti-thematic statement. Never fear, there are several places where it usually manifests.

Within the Protagonist

The majority of protagonists are what I call "positive change protagonists." This means that the protagonist starts with a weakness, flaw, or misbelief--he or she starts out with an inaccurate or incomplete worldview. Through Because of the story, he or she will do a 180 flip (more or less), overcoming this flaw or misbelief, and become someone better with a clearer perspective.

The flaw or misbelief, and how it changes, is inherently linked to theme--because it's one of the ingredients that makes theme, theme. (It's sorta like how cheese makes a cheese sandwich.) At the climax, the protagonist proves the thematic statement true through revelation and/or action (more on that in the future).

If the protagonist did a positive 180 flip, this means that their weakness, flaw, or misbelief in the beginning, taps into the anti-thematic statement. Let's look:

Frozen: After the childhood accident with Anna, Elsa becomes isolated and closed off from her and all others--she doesn't believe it is safe to be authentic around them--and she wants to protect loved ones from who she is. (Anti-thematic statement.)

Harry Potter: Harry is hated by his aunt and uncle and cousin, who essentially exercise full power over him. (Anti-thematic statement.)

If you are writing a negative change protagonist--someone who becomes a worse version of themselves at the end--this is reversed. The protagonist ends on the anti-thematic statement, as he changes negatively.

If you are writing a protagonist that more or less is the same from beginning to end, you are writing a steadfast protagonist.

A positive steadfast protagonist will be true to the thematic statement at the beginning and at the end. Some stay true to it the entire time. However, these days, steadfast protagonists usually waver, wander, and doubt through the middle of the story. This means if the anti-thematic statement does manifest in a positive steadfast protagonist, it will manifest in them in the middle. Let's see:

In Glass, David Dunn is a positive steadfast protagonist. He believes he is extraordinary and can do extraordinary things. But through the middle, he wavers and starts to give in to the anti-thematic statement--maybe he's actually ordinary (or mentally ill even). In the end, though, he returns to the truth.

A negative steadfast protagonist will be the reverse. He will believe the anti-thematic statement at the beginning and at the end. He might consider the true thematic statement in the middle.

Worth noting is that in most stories, a character who has a key relationship with the protagonist (the Influence Character) will be opposite the protagonist's type. For example, in Frozen, Elsa is a positive change protagonist, while Anna is a positive steadfast character. (And honestly, for Frozen, I think you could argue they are dual protagonists.) You can learn more about that concept and Influence Characters in my article on them.

Within a Thematic Opponent

A thematic opponent is someone who is at odds with the protagonist thematically. In Glass, Dr. Ellie Staple insists David Dunn is ordinary and (more or less) only does ordinary things. She is a thematic opponent.

With a change protagonist, this can be a little trickier, because the protagonist is changing.

In the beginning of Frozen, Anna is Elsa's thematic opponent. Anna argues we should be open to everyone (and especially to love).

But at the end, Hans is their thematic opponent. He shows that if we are open to others, we'll get hurt. He also believes in being closed off and insincere--no one knows the real him.

So--as you can see--there may be multiple thematic opponents within a story. One of them usually embodies the anti-thematic statement.

If the antagonist is a character, the antagonist will almost always be a thematic opponent by the end, and will almost always embody or implement the anti-thematic statement.

In Glass, Dr. Ellie Staple is the true antagonist; she's also the character who voices and acts on the anti-thematic statement.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort embodies the anti-thematic statement. He's full of hatred and rules by fear--he doesn't even have the capacity to properly understand love.

In Frozen, Hans, as we already stated, is closed off and inauthentic.

Remember: The anti-thematic statement may be present in more than one character. The Dursleys' hatred and abuse of Harry also tap into it.

If the antagonist isn't a character, usually another character will voice or illustrate the anti-thematic statement. And even if the antagonist isn't a character, often the antagonist may still represent the anti-thematic statement in some way.

. . . unless you are writing about a negative change or negative steadfast protagonist, in which case, it will likely be flipped--in the end the protagonist embodies the anti-thematic statement while the antagonist embodies the true thematic statement. (If that makes your head spin, feel free to move on.)

Just know that usually a character voices or illustrates the anti-thematic statement.

Within a Society

Most stories take place within a society. Most stories will have groups of characters who act as a collective. In a well-structured story, theme will be present within this level. This means that the anti-thematic statement may fit within a collective, or someone who represents a collective.

In Frozen, the castle doors are open in honor of the coronation. People from different societies come to attend the event. Some of the characters present the view that this is a happy occasion as a chance to get to know Elsa, Anna, and their kingdom. Others, however, see it as an opportunity to infiltrate and take advantage of the sisters and their kingdom--this is the anti-thematic statement.

In Glass, we learn that Dr. Ellie Staple is part of a larger collective--a society that is working to stamp out the belief that there could be real superheroes (people who are "extraordinary"). Their goal is to convince the world that people are ordinary.

In Harry Potter, you could argue that the Dursleys represent a collective of the anti-thematic statement. But within the Wizarding World, we learn that Voldemort has his own followers--people who still share his beliefs.

Check the societal conflicts within your own story. Is the anti-thematic statement there? If not, could it be added?

How it Functions

Now that we know where it fits, it's time to discuss how it functions through the story.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, usually the thematic statement and anti-thematic statement are both introduced--this may be "told" or it may be "shown." Remember, the thematic statement and anti-thematic statement are in conflict in the story, similar to how the protagonist and antagonist are.

Usually in the setup, about halfway through the beginning, the protagonist will encounter a worldview that is directly opposite of his. Whether your protagonist starts on the true thematic statement or the anti-thematic statement, this will still happen. Let's look:

In the beginning of Frozen, Elsa believes the anti-thematic statement is true--she needs to be closed off. Anna, her thematic opponent, expresses how excited she is to have the castle doors open.

In the beginning of Harry Potter, Harry is unloved and powerless, but he's surrounded by the Dursleys, who love Dudley so much, it's ridiculous. Harry virtually gets no presents on his birthday, while Dudley gets over thirty. Harry is also introduced to the idea of power, when he makes the glass disappear at the zoo.

In Glass, David Dunn's son, Joseph, expresses concern that David needs to slow down, play it safe, and take some time off from being a vigilante. While not antagonistic by any means, Joseph voices the idea that David isn't as extraordinary as he's acting.

Remember that the two thematic statements aren't necessarily set characters. They're lifestyle arguments. We just need them introduced and meeting.

In the Middle (Part 1)

By the end of the beginning, the protagonist has encountered a new problem or a new opportunity (which is what the story will mainly be about). He or she transitions to either a new place or a new state of being (this is sometimes called the "Special World").

The protagonist will have his or her worldview challenged, but will hold onto, voice, or act on his or her initial worldview. Let's check:

In Frozen, Elsa's powers go out of control at the coronation celebration. Everyone sees what she is. She holds tighter to the anti-thematic statement by running away and building a kingdom of ice-olation, where she can be alone and be herself (and hurt no one).

In Harry Potter, Harry learns he's actually a wizard and that his parents were particularly good at magic. He can hardly believe it. Hagrid takes him to the Wizarding World where everyone knows him, talks about him, and where even strangers come up to shake his hand--all adoring him (because he apparently was powerful enough to destroy Voldemort). Harry voices he doesn't understand why he's special and expresses fears that he won't know anything at school--he'll be the worst in his class. (Snape then plays into the anti-thematic statement.)

In Glass, David Dunn encounters someone who is, shockingly, as strong as he is--he's not the only one with super strength. Ellie takes him and The Horde to a mental institution, where she tells them they aren't extraordinary at all--they're mentally ill. Everything they've ever done can be explained away with science. David and The Horde don't really believe her.

Usually halfway through the story, at the midpoint, the protagonist will get a glimpse--a half-understanding--of the validity of the opposing worldview.

In the Middle (Part 2)

Just as the protagonist and antagonist fight more aggressively after the midpoint, so do the two thematic statements.

In Frozen, Anna pleads with Elsa to come home, but Elsa accidentally freezes her. On top of that, Elsa's already frozen the whole kingdom, because of what she is. The anti-thematic statement seems correct--being openly authentic causes pain. Anna, however, holds true to the thematic statement; she's not ready to quit yet. Soon after, Elsa is attacked by men, because of her magic, and taken prisoner. Anna needs an act of true love to heal her.

In Harry Potter, we learn that dark forces are trying to take the Sorcerer's Stone--the trio suspect it's Snape, who seems to hate Harry in particular. They later learn Voldemort could use the Stone to come back to power--which would unleash the anti-thematic statement. Although he's not invincible, Harry, armed with his new best friends and magic skills, isn't willing to standby and let dark wizards succeed.

In Glass, David Dunn struggles with doubt about his identity. Dr. Ellie Staple has argued again and again that he's ordinary and can back it up with evidence. She even moves forward with a prefrontal lobotomy on Elijah, which is meant to "cure" him. Elijah, however, has outsmarted her himself, and vehemently argues that both David and The Horde are extraordinary like him.

As the stakes get higher, each thematic statement seems to hold validity. Anna needs to be healed by love, but she was hurt by someone she loves. Snape seems to be a bully to Harry, and obviously the prospect of Voldemort is even worse, but having Ron and Hermione by his side empowers Harry. Both Ellie and Elijah present valid arguments against and for extraordinariness.

Remember, the thematic statements aren't always perfectly embodied in a character--they are arguments in conflict, so they may "attack" from different places.

In the End

After one last turn (often in which it seems the anti-thematic statement is the winner), the story heads to the climax where thematic statement and anti-thematic statement duke it out to get to the truth.

Sometimes in the last quarter, the anti-thematic statement will turn into an uglier version of itself--it may reveal itself to be more deceptive, more grotesque, or more perverted than we could have anticipated.

Likewise, the true thematic statement may take on a new, profound form--something richer than we could have guessed.

In any case, it shines all the brighter and puts the beast to rest. Let's see this in action.

In Frozen, an injured Anna is taken to Prince Hans, who reveals he doesn't love her--he's been pretending all along. He's not just closed off from people like Elsa was, he's intentionally insincere. He's not just distant from loved ones--he pretends to love others when he doesn't (something uglier). It seems Elsa's worldview was right--being open leads to pain.

Elsa manages to escape her prison, but Hans pursues her, intent to kill her. Anna struggles through the blizzard, looking for Kristoff to save her. In a defining moment, she chooses to save Elsa instead--putting Elsa's needs ahead of hers, and showing that she's so open, she's willing to intentionally hurt herself to love another (something richer). This leads Elsa to realize how to melt the snow--by allowing love to flow (being open).  

In Harry Potter, Harry encounters Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Scar aching, Harry is so scared, he can't even move--but luckily a centaur comes and saves him. It seems that Voldemort, and fear itself, are too powerful.

After learning that Voldemort wants the Stone to return to full strength, Harry and his friends go through the trapdoor, where he eventually faces Quirrell and Voldemort. But somehow, magically, Harry is able to burn Quirrell and survive. Harry learns his mother's loving sacrifice armed him with some of the most powerful magic in the world--which enabled his victory.

In Glass, Ellie has argued her case enough that David now believes he's ordinary. Elijah tells David his criminal plan, egging David on to believe they are both extraordinary. In order to save lives, David must stop Elijah and The Horde, which means doing the extraordinary. David escapes his room and goes head to head with The Horde, but Ellie calls in reinforcement.

As David touches Ellie, it is revealed that Ellie doesn't actually believe he's ordinary at all--she's part of a secret organization that specializes in convincing superheroes they are ordinary, and killing any of them who refuse to believe it. It's an uglier version of the anti-thematic statement: You must believe you are ordinary, because you must only do the ordinary.

But despite Ellie's great success in stamping out the superheroes, their footage is leaked to people all over the world--allowing everyone to know that some among them are extraordinary (something richer).

In the negative protagonist types, the protagonist will fail because he or she never embraces the true thematic statement.  

Usually during the climax, the protagonist will have a thematic epiphany and take a thematic action (though not always in that order). If you are writing a positive change protagonist (like most people), the epiphany is the protagonist fully realizing and shifting to the true thematic statement. The action is a manifestation of the true thematic statement. I want to explain this more, but I think I'll leave it for its own future post.

How to Develop it

If you know your story's thematic statement, you can figure out its opposing statement. If you don't yet know your story's thematic statement, see if you can at least figure out the theme topic. The theme topic will have an opposite.

Frozen: Open vs. Closed off

Harry Potter: Love vs. Hate(or Fear)

Glass: Extraordinary vs. Ordinary

This will at least give you an opposing value you can explore, until you get the statements worked out.

Some stories will include the anti-thematic statement, but it's argued weakly. This is the equivalent of having a wimpy antagonist. As a writer, you need to fairly argue and show the anti-thematic statement. In the example stories I used, at several points in the story, the anti-thematic statement seemed to be the truth. It seemed valid.

Some say a plot is only as good as its villain--because the villain is what pushes the hero to become better. Likewise, one might say that a theme is only as good as its anti-thematic statement--because it's what pushes the thematic statement to argue harder.

This means you need to honestly explore the opposing worldview, as if you are in favor of it. Why would someone believe the opposite? What proof is there of it being correct? What is the strongest case you can make on its behalf? What benefits does it offer? How does it help people? What are its half-truths? These are some questions you may want to ask. You'll want to put the answers into the characters and plot.

How Theme Rounds Out

As I've talked about before, complexity comes from smashing together opposites and exploring the gray areas there. By crafting a strong anti-thematic statement, you immediately make your theme more complex.

But there are various shades of gray.

Just as theme topics have opposites, theme topics have contraries. Contraries are topics that fit between the opposites.

Between being open or closed off, you have people who are reserved or set apart.

Between love and hate, you have indifference or tolerance.

Between extraordinary and ordinary, you have special or unusual.

These topics can be added to characters and plot to further round theme out.

Variations

All of the story examples I chose today have, what you might call, optimistic thematic statements. They're uplifting. But you can just as well have a . . . pessimistic thematic statement that is true. The kind of story that makes you sadder but wiser. Like maybe the argument that it's impossible to ever fully know someone. Or that societal corruption is inevitable. Or that human beings will never be satisfied. All those can be true too.

In some stories, the winner of the thematic argument is ambiguous, because the ending is ambiguous. This means that the ending is left to the reader's interpretation, and they get to decide which side of the argument is correct. An example of this is A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, where the outcome of the climax is unclear, so one could argue between two different interpretations.

Arcs and thematic opponents may sometimes have variations. For example, in Hamilton, Hamilton, Burr, and Washington are all thematic opponents. Hamilton and Burr swap worldviews, but because both views are incorrect, we get a tragic ending. Washington's was right all along. (Though Hamilton does come to recognize that as he dies.)

The most important thing, is to have two opposing arguments being made convincingly.

#Writing tips #Writing tips and tricks #Writeblr #nanowrimo #fanfic #writing reference #writer problems #frozen #theme #harry potter #glass

[lionsloveandlies]

Do you know anything about the movie Performance 1970? If so please would you share your knowledge with us, I find the whole thing so intriguing but know nothing.

Okay I know I received this ask well over a month ago but I rewatched Performance last night and finally feel prepared to talk about it. I'm going to be separating this into two parts; behind the scenes drama and actual film discussion.

Behind the scenes drama:

Okay so the infamous drama that went down that this is known for is that Keith Richards accused Anita Pallenberg with having an affair on Mick Jagger while on set. This almost broke up The Rolling Stones (kind of like how Brian Jones wanted quiet after Anita left him for Keith) but obviously Mick and Keith were able to get over it and I believe not too long after filming Anita found out she was pregnant with her and Keith's first son Marlon. I remember reading stuff that supposedly Keith presumed that the baby might not have been his but christ that boy is Keith's clone.

However I should also mention that initially Marianne Faithfull was supposed to have Anita's role but she found out she was pregnant and had to be recasted (around that time Anita found out she was pregnant as well but decided to have an abortion so she could keep the role - I'm not shaming, actually good for her! there is no such thing as a bad reason to get an abortion!). But I still can't believe Mick cheated on a pregnant Marianne, I know he horribly cheated on everyone he had ever been with but christ Mick, have a little integrity for once in your life! But that same man also cheated on Bianca Jagger so yeah, he's an idiot.

I would also like to add this film was shot in 1968 and I can't imagine how ahead of its time this would have been but Warner Bros execs were apparently incredibly grossed out by the film, in particular the disgusting and filthy conditions of the bathtub that the 'women' (word used in what I read despite the fact Mick Jagger is in that tub as well) were all bathing in. Honestly the filth is what makes the film so much more real and interesting compared to a lot of other psychedelic films from around that time.

The soundtrack for the film was meant to be done by The Rolling Stones as a whole but due to the affair Keith was not interested in doing that and that was when Brian was going through his breakdown after his second drug bust.... so no score from them :( but it's still an amazing score but there are bits that sound, and forgive me if this makes no sense, that sound very Brian Jones-ish. There are aspects of that score that remind me of his contributions, the songs that he had a big part in composing, and even the A Degree of Murder score. I don't necessarily think they were trying to rip him off, I honestly think it helps add to the whole idea that Mick's character Turner is inspired by Brian (and having seen this film 3x I feel like I can see more and more of him in Turner with just a little hint of Keith for balance).

This is a little more silly and I have pointed it out on my blog before but you can see the kaftan Brian wears at the Rock and Roll Circus on one of the clothing racks in the film (also there are behind the scenes photos of Anita wearing it - probably because it's hers and Brian most likely stole it) Here are comparisons:

I wonder if it was revenge for the amount of clothes Anita took from Brian after their big break up... but that's not important. Now onto the film itself.

Film discussion (Spoilers obviously):

I can honestly say I needed the three watches to be able to understand this. I was completely confused the first time around (did not help I took like 3 gummy edibles and it was the second time I had done that... the sound became distorted in parts and the screen was spinning lol) but I still loved what I watched and specifically remember absolutely loving Mick's performance (still one of my favorites) but there are so many layers to this - everyone always seems to hyper focus on the drug aspect and rarely on the sexuality and gender parts of the film. Obviously drugs are a big part of the film - I believe it was one of the film's directors who stated that Performance was made to be a pro-drug film (which is hilarious). But if that was all the film was then it would have been another forgettable psychedelic film much like The Trip (1967) or Psych-Out (1968) (though I do suggest Psych-Out! I love that film) but it goes much deeper than those films do.

With the drug aspect, I like how the psychedelic, tripping scenes weren't like how the other films did it with bright colorful spinning lights all over the place but instead with a kind of ugly sequence that goes straight to the brain - because that's what drugs do, you're not going somewhere else you are entering your own mind. And Chaz, the film's protagonist played by James Fox, sees in his drugged out state Mick Jagger as the role of his boss making references to his sexuality in a sly way while making all of Chaz's associates strip naked. It's all scored to Mick Jagger's song 'Memo from Turner' (love, love, love this song by the way).

Throughout the film the idea of performing comes up a lot (duh it's the title of the film) but specifically the concept of presenting yourself in such a way that it appeases those around you. In Chaz's case it's shown in the film that his whole persona is a performance, that his toxic masculinity and heterosexuality are not really him. That he over emphasizes his attraction to women because that is what he is meant to be but his true self slips in every once in a while, the main visual I remember is his wall covered in nude photos of women but there also being a few photos of boxers that are in great shape and only wearing shorts. There is a character, Joey, that enters the film who has some kind of a past friendship with Chaz but it clearly went horribly wrong as Chaz's boss does not want him to speak to him. But Chaz disobeys and ends up pissing off Joey so he retaliates by destroying Chaz's apartment with red paint (including the word 'poof' written on the wall), beating the crap out of him, humiliating him and trying to get him to admit to his sexuality. He ultimately kills Joey instead because he would rather be a murderer than admit to who he really is.

Chaz and Turner have an interesting relationship to say the least. Chaz, on one hand, seems to be rather uncomfortable by the 'bohemian' lifestyle that Turner and his two girlfriends, Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michele Breton), live. Turner and Pherber take it upon themselves to expand Chaz's mind themselves by 1) trying to get him to dress more femininely and trying to get him to admit that it's perfectly fine to feel like you are a woman sometimes (with reference that neither Turner or Pherber fully identify as either man or woman entirely) and 2) drugging him with hallucinogenic mushrooms leading to the musical sequence featuring Turner.

The film implies throughout that Chaz and Turner have some form of an interest in one another, whether it be platonic, sexual, or romantic I think is more up to the viewer (though I would not say it's platonic...) The scene that gets to me while watching is towards the end, Chaz wakes up and find Turner in his bedroom than it cuts to the two of them in bed together and they embrace but then it cuts to reveal that it isn't actually Turner but Lucy (who Chaz thinks kind of looks more like a younger boy than a woman). He does like Lucy but there is a clear sentiment throughout that he wishes it was Turner who did come to his room. Even Turner seems kind of mad that he let Lucy go down to talk to Chaz when initially he wanted to be the one to do that.

In the end when Chaz is forced to leave because his boss finally found him, he makes one final goodbye to Turner (and Pherber) but Turner is insistent that he join him. Turner represents so much to Chaz, he represents what Chaz secretly wishes to be; completely open with his sexuality and gender and not caring if anyone is uncomfortable by it while also being clearly attracted to Turner as well. But Chaz is confused by everything going on (and he has a limited amount of time before he has to leave) and decides the only way he could be happy now is to become Turner. So he kills Turner, there is a quick shot of going through the bullet hole into his mind (similar to the tripping out scenes) and Chaz leaves. The film's ending is Chaz, now played by Mick Jagger, leaving in a car with his boss.

I must admit it took me until this third time watching to fully grasp the ending. Chaz is sick and tired of performing for everyone (i.e. being a masculine, heterosexual man) and the only way to stop that performance is to put on a new performance and become Turner (i.e. androgynous and non-heterosexual) because I don't think he can ever truly be himself. The whole film is everyone trying to get Chaz to be the real him but that's the last thing he could ever want. He'd rather place all these affectations on himself and play a role instead. It's just now this new performance is more aligned with his 'true' identity but nonetheless it's still a performance.

#I have no idea if this is what you intended or wanted from me but here you go anon probably my single most in depth film analysis #I've done - which is sad because I have done quite a few for school but I could never be this impassioned by The Graduate or Natural Born K #illers which I have written essays on :/ #Obviously the film analysis part is mostly my opinion so I hope it's not too rambly #Ask

[rainebowkitty]

Happy Birthday Riddle! <3

IT'S FINALLY TIME! I've been hyped about this for awhile ngl, but let's just get right into a small summary of the piece.

Riddle celebrates his first birthday with friends (for plot convenience, I'm also making this when he first tries a tart. Also, I originally had Che'nya insert cat puns whenever he spoke, but ehhhhhhh I don't think they really fit the piece, soooo yeah. They weren't good either, they were just changing 'you' to 'mew' and such, but whatevs).

“Take a bite now, would you?” 

“Che’nya, no need to rush him.”

Riddle stared at the slice of strawberry tart with a hesitance no kid should a dessert on their birthday. It was a gift, after all. He should be just as grateful for this sweet treat as he was the new stack of books his mother gifted him that he had neatly worked into the countless other organized scriptures on his bookshelf earlier that day. 

“Che’nya’s right,” Riddle nodded slowly as he picked up his silverware. “I… suppose I’m nervous is all.”

“It’s not like your mom can sense when you’re misbehaving,” the cat boy continued, causing Riddle to freeze mid-cut. Was he really that easy to read? 

Of course he was. He was just a boy, yet he had developed years of trust in his mother’s words already. The only flicker of doubt he had in her was the contradictory things his friends would say and do, but it was enough to keep him from arrogantly strutting about as if the name ‘Rosehearts’ were that of a prince. 

For now, anyway. 

“If you don’t want to do this, Riddle-”

“No, I-I didn’t say that, I…” the redhead trailed off as he gritted his teeth in a fit of determination. He jammed his fork into the piece of tart with the grace of an awkward goose, causing a not-so-subtle clang of plate and silver before lifting the utensil up and turning it towards his mouth. He opened then closed his lips around the fork as an overwhelming sweetness danced on his tongue. 

To anyone else, the strawberries covering the top of the tart would’ve more than balanced out the sugary cream just beneath them, but this was a new flavor for Riddle. His taste buds didn’t know how to process the dessert in the slightest, yet it was still so good that he quickly brought the knife back down to the plate to cut off another bite-sized portion. He plopped the new piece into his mouth before he’d finished chewing the last one. This frenzy persisted until there were only crumbs remaining.

“See, I told you he’d like it,” Che’nya elbowed Trey with a wry smile coloring his already flashy features. Trey just smiled as if he knew too, but he was too gentle to force Riddle into anything whether he trusted his intuition or not. 

Trey almost regretted his inability to give Riddle much of a proper push upon seeing how drastically the boy would change whenever the trio happened upon something he hadn’t experienced before and enjoyed. There was always this light in his eyes that wasn’t there before. It’d never last long, especially when early in their friendship, Riddle would sniffle and sob as he mumbled strings of apologies to his mother, careful not to exclude how much of a disgrace he was for breaking the rules. 

~

“I-I n-never should’ve d-done th-this,” Riddle wiped a salty tear from his cheek only for three more to take its place in a neat and orderly line. It was incredible how even Riddle’s tears seemed to follow some sort of pre-planned procedure. 

“But you had fun, no?” The curious cat boy tilted his head as he asked. He was never great with this sappy side of Riddle. He knew he was there simply to convince the impressionable redhead to do things he normally wouldn’t with that buzzard of a mother present, but at least Che’nya had enough sense to be serious when these episodes of Riddle’s occurred. 

“I g-guess,” Riddle hiccupped. “B-but wh-what if w-we’re caught? M-mama will h-hate me and I-I’ll d-deserve it.” 

“That’s not true,” Trey put a hand on the blubbering boy’s shoulder, the redhead jolting a little but not having it in him to push Trey’s hand away. “At least you learned something new, right? Croquet was a pastime of one of the Great Seven.”

“R-really?” Riddle’s lip quivered. He’d heard tales of the Great Seven before and the school they represented. Entry requirements were a mystery, but even his accomplished eyes glazed with innocence dreamed of entry to a school with so many dazzling founders.

“The Queen of Hearts,” Trey nodded before wiping Riddle’s tear stained cheek with his sleeve gently. “In fact, games like this were part of the rules she upheld.”

“A-a Queen built entirely on f-fun,” Riddle wiped his other eye slowly as if the concept were impossible to him. “So sh-she wouldn’t get m-mad at me, even if I’m a-awful at the game?” 

“She wouldn’t,” Trey smiled as he picked up the mallet cast aside in Riddle’s short outburst. “So how about we give it another go?” 

“A-alright. If you’re sure.” 

~

“Thank you both,” Riddle looked up to his friends happily, that light so rarely seen in his eyes lingering there, even as underlying guilt rested in the sheets of silver.

On their way back, the sun only seemed to illuminate them more before the group reached the window in which Riddle always climbed from to join Trey and Che’nya on their daily escapades. The metallic gleam of grey irises dulled at the sight of his room. He climbed into it with a wave and a weak smile to his friends, two boys that represented the freedom he could never fully grasp returning Riddle’s gesture before turning around and walking away back to their happy homes, the redhead watching them was sure.

“I had fun,” he whispers to their backs as they disappeared in the streets.

~

Bonus: 

“I certainly hope you did, because it won’t be happening again,” came a stern voice from the corner of the room. Riddle whipped his head around to the sound with a sharp gasp.

“M-mama? Mama, please, I-I can explain!” 

“Oh, I think you’ve explained quite enough. The cream attached to your bottom lip certainly does tell me exactly what you’ve been up to.”

Riddle could only blink before wiping the remnants of the tart away distractedly, the shirt unluckily enough a darker color that made the white icing stand out harshly on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could squeak out as he pursed his lips so they wouldn’t quiver and so he wouldn’t cry. But it wasn’t enough for her. It never would be, and neither would he.

~

Bonus bonus: aka some doodles of mine :3

Aaaaaaand that's it. Until next year everyone! (Jk I can't pry myself away from making Riddle content. I already have ideas for general hcs of next year's bday for the lil' tyrant, but that's none of my business 👀)

#twisted wonderland #twst #riddle rosehearts #twst riddle #twst fanfic #happy birthday riddle! #<3

[aspoonofsugar]

Hewwo! I read Chapter 83 of Bungou Stray dogs, and I have no words. I'm rather surprised by the identity of the mastermind and I wonder what's going to happen now. So I was wondering, with the reveal of the mastermind, what's your opinion on chapter 83? :)). Thank you and stay safe!

Hello anon!

I am very happy about the reveal! It actually makes the whole arc and especially the last couple of chapters even more enjoyable!

As a matter of fact, even if I liked the latest chapters, it seemed to me as if the arc was becoming a little bit too fragmented. By this I mean that the arc had been mostly driven by the conflict not only with the Decay of Angels, but also with the Hunting Dogs. However, the latest twists seemed to suggest the dogs would have become allies of the ADA. Even if I am not against it per se, I would have liked for it to happen after the conflict between the two organizations had been settled in a meaningful way. In particular, I want the arc to make full use of the Hunting Dogs thematically. I have discussed here some ideas about this group:

In short,  the HD are imperfect humans just like everybody else and they have  found a reason of living in their organization just like the members of  the ADA and of the mafia did.

This is also why they are so easily  manipulated. It is because in order to truly think about “right” and  “wrong” in a constructive way, they should let go of the labels they use  to read the world. However, they can’t because if they did they could  very well lose themselves.

In the end the HD are foils of the detectives just like the mafiosi, but they are so in a different way.

The  mafiosi are who the detectives could become if they were to completely  lose themselves in their most violent and darkest parts, while the HD are who the detectives could become if they were to embrace simplicistic  ideals over people. This is also why this arc has been particularly  hard on Kunikida since among the members of the ADA he is the one who  risks to do so the most.

In short, having the HD simply work with the ADA after all the time they spent after the protagonists and after they have almost killed them would have been a little cheap. To be more specific, it would not have led to any growth in the HD whose  modus operandi (follow the rules and Fukichi’s orders) would not have been challenged at all. Thanks to Fukichi being the mastermind, instead, all the themes introduced since the beginning of the arc are strengthened and all the characters can be challenged.

-Fukuzawa will be forced to face his old friend. What is more, this whole ordeal marks another step in Ranpo’s growth. As a matter of fact, as I have written here, the arc starts with Ranpo disagreeing with Fukuzawa. Facts proved him right. What is more, in chapter 80:

I  think that Ranpo’s behaviour in chapter 80 might tie to what is satetd  above. On one hand, in the past, Fukuzawa used to be the one protecting  and saving Ranpo. On the other hand we have seen Ranpo trying to save  Fukuzawa at all costs in Cannibalism. However, in that arc, Ranpo  ultimaley fails. What is more, his wish to save Fukuzawa in that  situation puts the whole Yokohama in danger adn goes against what Fukuzawa himself wants.

However, in chapter 80 we see Ranpo   successfully saving Fukuzawa and the other ADA’s members. He does so by taking action by himself with the help of a connection he himself made (Poe). At the beginning of the arc, he showed to have a better grasping  of the situation when compared to Fukuzawa and in chapter 80 he manages  to save his father-figure on his own. To me, it seems that Ranpo might  have already reached a point where he does not need Fukusawa’s guidance  anymore. However, he still chooses to depend on him, as seen when he  asks for Fukuzawa’s order as if Ranpo himself doesn’t perfectly know  what is better to do.

Despite all of this, once Ranpo takes Fukuzawa back, he immediately goes back to completely rely on him and on his judgement. If Ranpo had immediately used his analytical skills to deduce who Kamui is, he would have avoided finding himself in the current pinch. However, Ranpo preferred to follow Fukuzawa’s orders and to trust the person Fukuzawa trusted. This dependence led to the current situation.

-The Hunting Dogs will have to face their shortcomings. As I have written in the meta linked above:

The HD are proud because they see themselves as heroes of  justice. They are not stray dogs, but dogs selected and adopted by a  master (aka the governement) and this makes them better than others. At  least, this is probably what they force themselves to believe.

The ironic thing is of course that all of them are portrayed with attributes society would consider problematic.

Teruko  is sadistic and violent, while Jouno enjoys psychologically torturing people. Finally Tachihara is in the HD simply because he wants to find a  place to belong.

All in all, among the four subordinates, Tecchou  is the one who probably genuinely believes in justice, but his idea is  simplicistic and naive as it was explained in point one.

The Hunting Dogs are basically Stray Dogs who are made feel “special” by the government. They work for the government and for Fukichi who is the greatest hero of the world, so they are heroes as well, right? They wil soon have to face that their leader is not only the leader of a bunch of policemen, but also the leader of a terrorist group.

It will be especially interesting to see how Teruko and Tecchou will react. As a matter of fact both have shown to genuinely believe in “justice” even if they are cruel in their pursue of it. That said, there might be a difference between the two of them and the current twist might make it more obvious. As a matter of fact, among the dogs, Teruko is the one who believes in Fukichi the most. She is fond of him and is never shown to dislike anything about him (differently from the others who are annoyed by Fukichi’s behaviours). So I think that it will be especially challenging for her to face the truth. Tecchou is instead the person who, among the dogs, seems to me to embody justice the most, so I wonder how he will react when he discovers he has been helping terrorists all along.

When it comes to Jouno, he is the one who has always fitted the least among the HD to the point that I wonder if he knows about his boss’s real identity or not. Whatever the case his reaction is bound to be interesting.

Finally there is Tachihara who has already started to move past his role as a HD thanks to his experiences in the mafia:

Tachihara being able to break the book’s spell because of his ties with the members of the mafia is symbolic of how he has managed to develop more empathy for criminals because of his relationships with some of them. Tachihara is different from the other HD who do not see criminals as people because he got to personally know and to grow closer to some of them.

-This leads us to the fact that I expect the mafia to get involved pretty soon. After all, Tanizaki and Kenji are still under the mafia’s protection and the mafia is the shadow of the detective agency:

All in all, BSD is a story which deals with the concept of jungian shadow a lot. The abilities of the characters are nothing, but repressed parts of them and the the same can be said of the mafia as a group. This is why Dazai and Atsushi are both escaping from what the mafia represents for them. For Dazai the mafia is proof of his criminal past, while for Atsushi it is a reminder of who he could have become. The strong link between these two organizations is why they are often fighting, but also why they are so strong when they unite. It is because the ADA can’t let its shadow take over (so it can’t let itself be destroyed by the mafia and must criticize their violent methods), but at the same time the agency can’t ignore the mafia or that the people in there are similar to them under many aspects. Because of this, now that an alliance with the HD seems more difficult to realize, I wonder if we will soon see the mafia or not. In particular, it has been a while since we have seen Akutagawa, so I wonder if he will once again team up with Atsushi towards the end of the arc.

Finally, this reveal makes Fukichi himself much more interesting as a character. In a sense, it is as if he embodies the dychotomy explored in this arc between justice and terrorism, laws and anarchy. Apparently, the two enemy organizations represent these two opposite concepts. The HD are justice and enforcers of the law, while the DoA are terrorists who want to destroy all laws and to rewrite the world. However, the reveal shows that the leader of both organizations is the same person. So Fukichi comes to embody both concepts. He embodies “justice”, but also the that feeling that justice is deep down unfair. Hence why it is necessary to act outside of it. In a sense, it is as if Fukichi, as a person, is prisoner between two roles. On one hand there is the legendary general (Fukichi’s persona aka the image he projects of himself and what others see about him). On the other hand there is Kamui (Fukichi’s shadow aka his hidden desires to act outside the law and in an unheroic way). However, the person “Fukichi Ochi” is kind of lost between these two big characters:

Fukuzawa mentions how Fukichi was jealous because he had found his path in life before Fukichi himself. This means that his career as a soldier is not something which gives happiness to Fukichi. He probably feels that he lacks something and his current actions are very likely an attempt to fill this sense of void. At the same time, I would not be surprised if he has targeted the Agency because of the envy he feels for Fukuzawa who has become happy.

In conclusion, the fact that “Kamui” means God reminds me of this:

If the world is chaos and unjust, then I will become the God who fixes it. I wonder if Fukichi’s line of thought is similar to Fyodor’s. If that is the case, then it will become obvious why the symbol of justice has also become a terrorist. It would not just be a contradiction, but a natural evolution of an ideal which twists itself in its pursue of righteousness. After all, when ideals forget about people, they often become rigid ideologies and end up embodying what they were fighting. I wonder if something similar happened with Fukichi as well.

Thank you for the ask!

#bsd #bsd 83 #bsd meta #fukichi ochi #ochi fukichi #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[foreveransparrow]

Fairy Fear Week 2020 - Day 2

Hello, everyone! This is my submission for Fairy Fear Week 2020 run by @ftguildevents. I’ll post a short story everyday of the event. All short stories can be read on its own, however, i did my best to create one big story through the collection, so make sure to read all of them in sequence, if you’re interested in that 😊 This is my second time participing in an event and my third time trying to write a fanfic, so all feedback is highly appreciated, since i’m certain i’ll need lots of it haha Anyway, without futher ado... Happy Halloween!

DAY 2: TRADITIONAL. PROMPT: SPIRITS

“Ms. Heartfilia, if you are in need of a new wrist watch, may I suggest the Horologium brand?  They say you will never be late with one of those…”

The embarrassment Lucy felt prevented her of saying anything. In fact, it prevented her from doing anything at all, considering she must have stood at the door completely frozen for a whole minute, until her creative writing teacher, Mr. Capricorn, instructed her to sit down and get started on the assignment. The fear of being called out for a third time on a row seemed to do the trick as Lucy promptly did as told.

While she took her notebook and pencil case out of her backpack, she looked around the classroom. With ease, she spotted Levy McGarden a couple of rows to the right. Although her friend was one of the shortest students at Fairy Tail High, her vibrant blue hair made her stand out in any crowd, especially with the orange bandanna she made a point to wear every day to school since October started. Levy said it was her way to ensure Halloween was celebrated to its fullest, which meant, as the days went by, hinting the upcoming holiday even more with black-painted nails, spider rings and countless other subtle references.

Lucy was worried Levy might have been upset they didn’t get to meet before class, but one glance at Levy made her realized she would have to sort that out later. Levy was writing frantically, so intensely focused on her task that her nose tip was almost touching the paper, which gave Lucy absolutely no chance of getting her attention. Lucy sighed in defeat and tried to follow her friend’s lead to get some work done. Apparently, Levy wasn’t the only one drawing inspiration from Halloween, since the blackboard challenged the students to reinterpret the classic ghost genre with their own personal touch. Lucy reminisced about an old story her mother used to tell her. It was one of her earliest memories, if not the very first one she had. It was about the stars.

It was told each star in the sky represented a spirit from another realm. For a long time, it was believed the spirits didn’t take any interest in humankind. Being ancient beings with countless time in their hands, it seemed there was no reason why they would. It was certain that whatever admiration humankind felt for the stars would remain forever unrequited. That was until a little girl changed it all. Like many others before her, she was deeply in love with the stars. She wondered what they looked like, what they dreamed about and if they fell in love, even if not with humankind. However, unlike everyone else, she had never asked for her questions to be answered. In fact, she had never asked for anything from the spirits. She didn’t mind not knowing.

On a faithful night, her father woke her up in the middle of the night. He said her mother was calling for her and that what she had to say could not wait. The little girl was confused, nevertheless, she followed him. Her mother was laid down in bed. She tried to sit up when she saw her daughter, but failed to do so. For some reason that the little girl could not reckon, her mother was very weak. With a push on the back from her father, she got closer to her mother. From close distance, she realized her mother had sweat dripping from her forehead and that her breathing was erratic. Frightened, the little girl took a step back, which didn’t go unnoticed by her mother. Standing her hand towards her daughter, she finally spoke.

“Do you fear the stars, my love?” The little girl nodded in denial. “Then there is no reason for you to fear me now, because I’m merely becoming a star.”

The little girl said nothing. Instead, she reached for her mother’s hand and held it tight to her heart. When the sun rose, her mother was gone, just like all the other stars from the night sky. When night time came again, the little girl went to her backyard and, for the first time ever, wished upon a star. She wished the spirits knew what an honor it was to have her mother beside them. She wished they knew the only enviable thing about them was that they had countless time to be with her. She wished they knew nothing about love so they would learn from her mother what true love really is. The little girl wished as much as she grieved and as hard as she cried.

“We know, my friend.”

A deep voice resonated in the air. The tallest man the little girl had ever seen stood in front of her. His skin was a light blue and his eyes were dark red. His white mustache was so long it reached his broad shoulders. Two horns adorned his head and, placed between them, there was a golden star. Everything about his appearance was intimidating, but the little girl felt no danger coming from him.

“Do you?” She confronted him.

Her boldness made him laugh. “Yes, we do.” He assured her.

And as simple as that, the little girl believed him.

“I brought you something.” He showed her a silver key.

“What does it open?”

“A gate.” And with that being said, the man disappeared.

It would take years for the little girl to grasp what had happened. She was the first celestial gatekeeper to ever exist, people capable of summoning the spirits from their realm to the human. It was an honor granted to very few of those who wished upon the stars not for themselves, but for the ones they loved and cared. And when it came their time to join the spirits as a star, they would be welcomed as old friends, as if they were the same little girl who came before them.

That story was Lucy’s favorite and even though, as a teenager, she still had many years ahead of her to change her mind about it, she was confident that no other story would be quite special as that one. Lucy decided to use the tale’s premise of a world where the celestial spirits could be summoned to earth by humans as the background concept of her writing assignment.

When class ended, she was quite pleased with her first draft, in light of the short amount of time she had to work with after her delayed arrival. It was about the banishing of the zodiac sign of Leo, whose exile from the celestial realm had slowly drained his vital energy until he was a mere ghost waiting for his own vanishing. In her second draft, she was hoping to explore with more details the reasons and actions which led to his dismissal and assure her character had a redemption scene in which he safely returned to the celestial realm before ending the story. What could she say, ghost story or not, she owed to a certain little girl to guarantee all stars were where they rightfully belonged.

#ftguildevents #fairyfearweek2020 #lucy heartfilia #levy mcgarden #capricorn #fairy tail #fanfiction #likearrietty

[consummate-deviant]

Why I Think Entrapdak is Pretty Neat

Hello!  How’s the family?  Cat treating you okay?  Isn’t autumn just...like… the best?  Anyway, so, my Hordak thing turned out to be kinda popular.  I’m flattered, really!  If there are people out there willing to reward me writing stuff with positive attention, then I’ll just have to write more stuff.  I mentioned back then that I had a similar write-up about Entrapdak, as a ship… and there seemed to be a little bit of interest in hearing my thoughts on the subject. So, here ya go!  I’m Lancer, by the by.  Not a lot to me.  I’m a guy who likes things, and who enjoys articulating why I like things.  I don’t really do it for any particular reason. I’m not trying to pwn haters or convert nonbelievers…  As you may recall, though you might have missed it (I tend to be very lowkey and subtle about it), I’m not your dad and have no interest in the position… unless it pays.  I just feel like the internet doesn’t have enough positivity, and the best way to remedy that is to produce some of my own.  

As fate would have it, I like Entrapdak.  A lot.  I don’t ship often... a relationship has to really sync with me on a profound level to make me invested enough in it to want to write about it, but this one did it.  Now, I’m not really promising originality here.  As someone who explores the tag frequently, I know that plenty have expressed feelings I’m going to share with you here, many of whom did so better than I ever could, but sometimes you want to share your perspective, even if others whose opinions mirror yours have done so in the past, y’know? It’s a human thing! The relationship is a little… polarizing with people, though, I’ve noticed.  A lot of people hate it, and have various reasons for doing so.  Again, I ain’t here to convert you if you feel that way, but I did feel like the best way to kick things off would be to look at some of the major reasons other people tend to react to the ship like it were horseradish on a hotdog, and why those reasons don’t really bother me.  A part that I, in my infinite wit and adorned in my clever pants, have dubbed:

Part 1: Entrapdak- Why I don’t hate it

***EXAMPLE THE FIRST: “HORDAK, THE AGED”***

By now it’s fairly well known that Entrapta is somewhere in the range of her late 20s to her early 30s.  Now a few people refuse to accept this, citing her behavior as childish and accusing the creators of lying.    I’m not really going to engage with that perspective.  Hordak and Entrapta have appeared together in creator works and concept art dating back to 2017.  Their interactions were intended to be a part of the show from the early stages of its creation.  If you have so little faith in Noelle that you believe she planned for her story to have a romantic-coded relationship between an adult and a minor… I don’t know what I can even tell you.

Rather, the perspective that interests me comes from people who accept Entrapta being in the stated age range, but who still find themselves repulsed by the relationship on grounds of age.  ‘She’s an adult, sure, but how old is Hordak?  He could be in his fifties or sixties, or even be hundreds of years old.’  This point of view is at least interesting to think about, so I reckon I can share why this deal-breaker for some doesn’t really bother me.  

To begin,  assigning human ages, and the stigmas thereof, to an alien bat clone just feels strange to me.  The Horde doesn’t seem like the type of place to want to waste resources on alien bat clone daycare... was Hordak born as an infant, or was he artificially developed to his current age?  If it’s the later, do we consider him 0 years old at the moment of his birth, or already an adult?  We don’t have a timescale provided to accurately determine his age, so investing too heavily in trying to learn it seems somewhat tedious and a lotofwhat pointless.

If we do, though, my next question is: what is the element of an age gap that makes it inappropriate?  Now, that’s a personal question, of course. Morality isn’t something that really lends itself to objective declarations, but there are a few answers you can offer.  ‘Morality’ isn’t really the operative word here anyway... since it has more to do with taste, though this particular taste does come from what you believe…  Y’know, it just occurred to me, but…  People who believe that their taste in ships makes them morally superior, and that ships they dislike are supported by moral degenerates, seem like people who just aren’t a lot of fun to be around or think about… but that’s a digression, I’ll refocus my thought-lazer.

For me, with age gaps, it comes down to two things:

1.) Both parties being on the same side of the child/adult divide- I should hope this one sounds reasonable, right?  The ships that really powdered sugar my poptart are the ones that feel like equal partnerships, and relationships that try to cross this line tend to not be especially equal.  

2.) What stage in their lives they’re at-  It’s difficult for even a wizard of self expression like myself to state plainly, so let me give an example: If I saw a 25 year old dating a 50 year old, the 25-year age difference isn’t so much what makes it off-putting, but rather what those 25 years represent in this circumstance.  At age 25, people are still struggling to find themselves.  They’re adjusting to independence, gaining an identity, maybe finally finding an entryway into a career path that suits them.  By 50, a person is already established.  They likely have a career, they have a firm grasp on who they are as a person and what they want to be, and they almost certainly have a greater degree of financial stability.  Thus, if they enter a relationship, which is supposed to be equal, it doesn’t feel that way.  One side has a stronger position than the other, and over time that could become power they use to sway and control the other.

I don’t see Hordak as being in a more advanced stage of his life than Entrapta.  They seem to be at about the same place when it comes to self actualization.  In fact, Hordak is a bit more arrested in his development than Entrapta is, simply because he’s never really thought to question what would make him happy or why.  Hordak rules the Horde, which Entrapta is a part of… which could lead to an imbalance, if Entrapta, like, could be bothered to give even the slightest toss of a salad about status or promotion, but she doesn’t.  Neither of them holds higher ground over the other in a way that’s significant to the two of them.  In terms of life stage, they’re perfectly equal. The fact that Hordak might be physically older than her by some unspecified amount is, by itself, completely arbitrary and meaningless.  

*** EXAMPLE THE SECOND: ‘ENTRAPTA, THE MANIPULATED’***

A second, rarer discussion point for those who are unfond of the ship is that it’s unhealthy, on the grounds that Hordak is manipulating Entrapta.  Taking advantage of her naivete to coerce her into aiding the forces of darkness despite not caring for her at all.  Now, as I mentioned above, I ain’t writing this to change anyone’s mind.  If you’re reading this, and this is a viewpoint you hold as valid, do what makes you happy, homie.  That said, the issue I ran into when I tried to think of why this perspective didn’t bother me was a vexing one. See, I like to fancy myself an empathetic dude.  I try really hard to consider other people’s perspectives when I have a disagreement, and avoid judging anyone too harshly if I don’t know their full circumstance… but even with all that alleged empathy at my disposal… this hot take about Entrapdak is… kinda completely incomprehensible to me? Like, I have no idea how anyone could have seen the interactions between the two and draw this conclusion?

Part of it has to do with how Entrapta is written.  She’s both ADHD-coded and Autistic-coded, and there’s a tendency to perceive the behaviors of both those groups of people as childish.  People who see that ‘childishness’ extrapolate it further to a general innocence/stupidity, and assume the character in question lacks the faculties to engage with other people evenly.

Look, I don’t have ADHD, but I am super, duper autistic.  Having lived with myself for a lifetime, let me just say, I kind of get why this happens.  We get extremely focused on our hobbies, we’re bad at reading social nuance, we have very simplistic body language, we tend to express our emotions in a very blunt and straightforward manner… I get that, for most neurotypical people, the only other group they ever encounter who shares these traits are children, and thus they tend to subconsciously connect the two.  I understand why it happens, even if I do find it awkward and condescending.

…but y’all are underestimating Entrapta.  She’s not helping the horde because she’s helpless and being manipulated. She’s helping them because she has no moral compass to speak of, and will eagerly assist with any scientific endeavor she finds interesting, without care for its ultimate application.  In season 1, she knew well in advance the damage her actions would have on the world, and followed through with them anyway.  In season 2, she happily assisted in the creation of a portal, knowing full-well that its opening would invite a colonialist military force into the vicinity of her home, and only withdrew her support for the project… hesitantly… when it became clearly evident that activating it would eradicate all life on the planet.   At no point is she ever acting while the applications of her actions are being hidden from her by Hordak.  She’s not an innocent child.  

The thing is, though, I agree that Entrapta would be incredibly easy to manipulate… if someone knew what buttons to push. She is very self conscious of how difficult it is for her to form lasting emotional bonds with other people.  She tends to blame herself when she feels she’s been abandoned by others, and feels that her inability make friends is a sign that she’s a defective failure. If someone wanted to manipulate her into doing something she didn’t want to do, they would probably find success if they offered her friendship and then fed into that self loathing, emotionally abusing her by implying that she was indeed a failure, and would be abandoned again if she didn’t obey.  That is totally something someone could do to her, and I would absolutely not enjoy any ship between her and such a person.  Good thing Hordak… y’know… did literally the opposite of that.

***EXAMPLE THE THIRD- “ENTRAPDAK, THE PLATONIC”***

A nice short one to balance out the longer examples above.  Quite a few people just deny that there are romantic implications behind their interactions, and see them as a friendship instead.  I do disagree with this assessment, but honestly, even if it were true, this would still be my favorite relationship in the show.  

Something that has always boggled me about people on the internet is their tendency to treat friendship like some ‘equal but opposite’ force to romance… a status independent of a romantic relationship rather than literally the foundation upon which all successful romantic relationships are built.  Genuine friendship is a beautiful, underrated thing, and acting as though the bond of friendship is inherently less worthy of appreciation than romance is silly.

So… yeah…  platonic Entrapdak… I disagree, but even if you’re right and I’m wrong in the end… I’ll be pretty okay with that, too.  Movin’ on.

***EXAMPLE THE FOURTH: ‘HORDAK, THE IRREDEEMABLE’***

For the last dealbreaker I want to consider today, I figured I’d bring one up that’s a lot like the platonic argument, in my eyes: that an evil guy like Hordak can’t change his ways, even with the power of love.  Thus, the relationship is bust, because what’s the point of of a villain x heroine ship, if not to redeem the villain?

...

So, recently I wrote this whole big thing about Hordak, where I argued in favor of his redemption, and why I felt like that was where the story is going… I stand by the opinions expressed there, but I’d like to ask any who read that to push it out of their mind for now.  Hordak’s redemptive potential is largely irrelevant to my feelings about this ship.  When it comes to entrapdak, when confronted by the possibility that Hordak may remain a villain, my reaction is the most intense and passionate of shrugs.

...I just don’t care.

There’s a tendency to assume that redemption is the aim of a villain ship, and I suppose I can see why that is.  There’s a bit of a stereotype for female fantasies where they fix a broken man with the power of their love, and when people ship villains, that’s probably the first assumption an outsider will make as to why.  I cannot speak for others, but that’s just not a factor in the appeal of their relationship for me.

When you allow yourself to be vulnerable in front of another person, you open yourself up to the risk of being completely devastated by them.  When you show vulnerability to another person, and they accept that side of you, and express vulnerability of their own, you establish a genuine connection with that person, and those connections are kiiiinda one of the most important elements of the human experience.

That Hordak was a villain who did terrible things was always kinda aside from the point of what really makes Entrapta and Hordak such a bewitching pairing for me.  It was always the serendipity of two people who privately believe they’re alone in the world realizing they resonate with one another in a meaningful way.  Resonance is the appeal of Entrapdak, not redemption.

I tend to hope for Hordak’s redemption, I won’t lie, and I do think it’s likely, but I don’t think it’ll be love that redeems him, nor would I want it to be… not entirely.  I like seeing flawed, morally dark/gray characters overcome the obstacles that deny them self actualization, and watching them grow as a result.

That’s got nothing to do with him and Entrapta, though.  Whether the story ends with the pair of them riding into the sunset to collect data and invent shit, or with the pair of them leading the Horde in the name of galactic conquest and terror… I’m down with it either way, dude.   In the context of the ship, I care that Hordak is an evil overlord… about as much as Entrapta does.

However, pseudo-responding to naysayers is a bit negative for my tastes.  I prefer to focus on the positive in life, like the smell of soil and rain on a crisp autumn morning.  I… I’m in a very fall mood, okay?  Sue me.  Y’know what else I like, though?  Entrapdak.  Lemme wax poetic for a bit longer, and I’ll tell ya why this ship is, like, the peanut butter on my blueberry pancakes.

Part 2: Entrapdak- Why I love it

So, uh… If brevity is the soul of wit, I may be something of an idiot.  I’ve made my peace with that, of course, I’m just sayin’: I’m many things, but I’m not pithy.  If someone were to put a gun to my head, though, and demand that I describe the shipping aesthetic I love the most in life in a single sentence… I would probably respond with this:

My favorite ships are ones in which awkward, lonely people bond over a shared fondness of nerdy hobbies.

Now, that sounds super narrow, and it totally is… I don’t get new OTPs very often… but hearing that, I imagine you can see why Entrapta and Hordak immediately appealed to me.  It goes a bit deeper, though.  

The bonds between people are a major part of the story of She-ra.  We see how characters are changed, positively or negatively, by the connection they share with other characters.  Just like in real life, these connections are a mixed bag; some of them are positive, and some are negative.  Some characters, like Hordak and Catra, resonate strongly with one another, but the resonance is a negative force in their lives, which draws them deeper into darkness, and for many of the characters in the show, their character journeys are about breaking free of such toxic relationships and forming healthy bonds.

The bond between Entrapta and Hordak is unique among all bonds in the show though, in that it is the only one that isn’t mixed.  It is an unambiguous positive influence on both of them. Let’s break it down a little bit.

***ENTRAPTA***

Entrapta, at first, seems like the kind of person who isn’t super connected to other people.  At the princess prom, she mentions that she finds observing the relationships of others far more fascinating than forging relationships of her own, and she spends much of the early seasons working alone with her robots, buried in whichever task happens to have her interest in that particular moment.  

Later seasons gradually tear this facade away, though, and reveal a fairly tragic truth hidden behind it.  I mentioned above that she internalizes her failures to form lasting bonds with other people, and is genuinely distraught about it.  When she’s exiled to Beast Island, her frustration at her inability to make friends was the driving force that chained her there, even more so than her love of technology and invention.  It becomes clear that, to some degree, she buries herself in her work to escape her feelings of inadequacy.

This is a relatable and sad thing to realize about a character, but it also has the unpleasant effect of making events that were played for laughs earlier in the show somewhat tragic in hindsight.  Seeing the way she interacted with the Princess Alliance, you could see how she would have come to a very soul-crushing misunderstanding:  That, among other people, she was someone whose presence was… tolerated- at times even appreciated- but never seemed to be enjoyed by anyone. She was the friend everyone sought out when they needed her help, then forgot about.  

This wasn’t the case, of course, and clarifying her value to the group was what ultimately helped her escape the vines in season four, but from her perspective that was how it appeared, and likely how all her previous interactions with other people had gone before that. Some people complained about how easily Entrapta was able to believe that the princesses had left her behind, but it’s the same reason Hordak was so easily able to believe that Entrapta had betrayed him: In the eyes of someone who hates themselves, it’s only a matter of time before others abandon them.  

That said, it also goes to show why Hordak became so special to her.  For the first time in her life, she had a friend who joined her in her workspace, instead of leaving her to a task after giving it to her.  Someone able to converse equally with her about subjects she was interested in.  The elements of herself that made it so difficult to draw closer to others were the very same elements that caused her to get so close to him.  Her intelligence and hyper-focus upon science made her the intellectual peer of a space-faring alien, her lack of awareness of social subtext helped her to see beyond the barriers he put up to keep other people away, and her past experience with failure and rejection helped her to empathize with his pain.

It’s perfectly pleasant to find someone who accepts you and enjoys your company despite not understanding the idiosyncratic elements of your personality, but that pales in comparison to how it feels to find someone who accepts you precisely because they understand those elements.

***Hordak***

Hordak didn’t really have ‘peers’, per se, for most of his life.  We don’t know the level of autonomy the average clone has in the Horde… but I feel comfortable assuming that the level isn’t very high.  Thus, his circumstance differs quite a bit from Entrapta, in that, rather than trying to form bonds with others, and feeling like he failed, for much of his life he never had the chance to try to form them in the first place.

He is, at first, deeply dismissive of the people of Etheria, whom he regards as primitives who are beneath his acknowledgment.  Much of this, as with much of everything that dictates how he treats others, is born of projection… dude has some pretty major self-loathing issues… but regardless of cause, it results in a kind of self-imposed isolation.

Unlike Entrapta, who knew, on some level, that her lack of ability to bond with others troubled her, Hordak kept most of his emotions bottled up... Locked so deeply inside him that not even he really bothered to try to understand them.  That was where her disposition and his meshed perfectly for him.  Because Entrapta was defined by her curiosity, and her lackluster awareness of his attempts to keep her at bay, she was able to metaphorically crack him open, forcing him to vocalize and confront his own motivations.

Sometimes you need someone to just… like... grab you with their hair, push you up against a vat, and demand you tell them everything, man.

I’ve already discussed Hordak fairly extensively in my first blog blurb thingy, and while I repeat myself by accident quite frequently, I’m loathe to repeat myself on purpose.  I just wanted to take the opportunity to marvel at how well their personalities fit together.  Perhaps I’m just high on this feeling: I’ve never actually shipped something a creator so clearly intended to be there, before!

*** In Conclusion***

We’re all born imperfect, and we’ll all die imperfect.  Our imperfections are similar, but never uniform.  Each of us bears jagged cuts and missing sections of many shapes and sizes.  Humans are social creatures, and it’s in our nature to constantly seek one another out.  We keep trying to find people who are strong where we are weak; someone whose missing sections happen to lie in a pattern compatible with our own.

We’ll resonate with many in our lifetime.  Sometimes, the melody will be harmonious, and guide all involved higher and higher into the light of self actualization. Other times the sound will be discordant, and pull us down into self destruction.  Sadly, from our perspective in the middle, it will always be difficult to tell which is which.

I love the relationship between Entrapta and Hordak because it’s a dynamic that elevates both of them.  Not in a moral sense, but in a personal one.  In a series defined by toxic and uneven relationships that wear others down and tear them apart, these two have a dynamic that shelters and reinforces them.  Giving them an opportunity to be glad they were born the way they were, instead of cursing their misfortune.

It’s the kind of relationship that makes me muse about how imperfection really is beautiful.  It’s because we’re imperfect that we never stop trying to harmonize with other people, and if there’s one theme I can’t help but feel that the show itself is building toward, it’s this: Two in harmony surpass one in perfection.  

*** So hey!  Thanks for reading all of that!  Sorry if it was a bit of a mess.  Saying nothing with a great deal of words is a talent of mine, but I really do love these guys, and if you love ‘em too, don’t let anyone grind you down over it!

Let me know if you enjoyed my work, though!  If so, I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on other things, since I’ll be stuck with this series on my brain until I see how my new obsession plays out.  In the meantime take care of yourselves! If you do heavy lifting, make sure to do so with your knees, not your back.  Tell someone who makes your day a little brighter how much you appreciate them.  Then, take some time to savor the greatest of all winter beverages: hot apple cider.

#entrapdak #liking things #Entrapta #hordak #you try killing 8 hours at this job

[fayewonglibrary]

Faye Wong's metamorphosis (2002)

When discussing singers, we always immediately think of their representative songs, their singing style, and their status. These points are not only determined by the direction chosen by the record company but also by the singer's own conditions.

But when Faye Wong is mentioned, I want to make a more appropriate analysis of her.  It is difficult to find only one or two words that can summarize Faye Wong. From Wang Jingwen to Faye Wong, with the return of individuality and independence, coupled with the combination of traditional and avant-garde music, Faye Wong today has been forged and Faye Wong today is still changing.

It is rumored that next year’s new album will be a “concept" album. When it comes to concept albums, I can't help but be reminded of "Fuzao" which was met with mixed reviews at the time but now it is considered as Faye Wong's classic. For fans, the acceptance of different music concepts requires a process. To this day, many people still cannot accept such an alternative Faye Wong. For this reason, ever since "Fuzao", Faye Wong's fans have split into two groups. One group strongly supports the "Sky" album and was delighted to hear Faye Wong perform songs such as "Red Bean". The other group advocated "Fuzao" and were brought to tears by "Fable". Zhang Yadong once said that it is difficult to produce an album for Faye Wong because there are too many surface issues to take care of. Because of this, "Fable" had to treat the first five songs as a unit and then include "Love Letter to Myself" which is like adding on to a delicacy made by a gourmet chef. Some people like the main dish and some like the side dish.

Simply, every evolution of Faye Wong can be regarded as a swing between mainstream and alternative, which is also in line with the law of circular development. With each reincarnation, Faye Wong obtains the maturity of a metamorphosis by becoming more refined and more atmospheric. Faye Wong is a comprehensive contradiction. And it is Faye Wong's natural sound quality, extraordinary singing skills and amazing music comprehension that dominates all of this, all of which are important, winning Faye Wong the right to freedom in the music kingdom.

Under Faye Wong's near-perfect vocal control, her excellent singing skills are like a martial arts master in Jin Yong's writings. He doesn't need to raise his breath or adjust his breath, and his smile is invisible. This is why so many people like Faye Wong's songs. Because they will feel a kind of heartfelt shock. Faye Wong's gentle sighing can touch the most sensitive nerve in the listener's heart. Some netizens describe Faye Wong's singing as "natural without decoration". 

There have been too many comments about Faye Wong’s growth in music. Here I just want to highlight a few songs representing Faye Wong's different musical styles. 　　

1. "Faye’s Rouge":  R&B Faye Wong. R&B is not a new genre of music in foreign countries, but in the Hong Kong and Taiwan music industries at that time, it was undoubtedly the beginning of the trend. Today, R&B is about body language and a way for many singers to move their hips to a strong rhythm. It was refreshing to experience Faye Wong's style of R&B. It is worth recommending the chorus of this song.

2. "I’m Willing": Affectionate Faye Wong.  I always believed that the simplest orchestration is actually the most suitable for Faye Wong. With a simple orchestration, Faye Wong’s subtle and affectionate lethality is fully utilized. Faye Wong’s voice is naturally suitable for performing songs like "I'm Willing" and "Reserved". The simplicity and transparent sound quality make it easy to grasp a hold of people's fragile emotions. Similar songs include "Devotion",  “I Only Want to Keep A Promise to You”, and so on. 　　

3, "Exit": Rap-style Faye Wong. In the “Please Myself” album, Faye Wong's future music path was revealed. But the rap style was never revisited, so  "Exit" is a rarity in Faye Wong's albums. In 1994, at that time, it might have been odd to hear rap style songs, but it is popular now.

4. "Sky": Undoubtedly the classic, ethereal model, mainstream masterpiece of Faye Wong. A nearly perfect song that takes full advantage of Faye Wong's tone and breath control. The sound engineer must have had a fever. Some musicians have commented on Faye Wong's "long breath" and this song is an example.  Speaking of the use of breath, I cannot fail to mention the song “Miss You Night and Day" which was released earlier than "Sky”. I don’t know if you have heard the live version. The ending note of the word “you" is inhuman, it’s almost beyond human ability. And furthermore, Faye Wong changes the key midway. Please note - try it yourself and you will know how difficult it is.  I have always had a question about Faye Wong’s album production for the past two years. Why didn’t they use Faye Wong’s long-lasting breath strengths when choosing songs? It can only be heard in "Fly" in 1998 and "New Tenant" in 2000. 　　

5. "Fracture": Psychedelic Faye Wong. Faye Wong’s proficiency in the use of breath makes her very familiar with the performance of such genres. I personally think that Faye Wong’s psychedelic style began with the "Mystery” album which had a touch of psychedelic color. As for "Fracture", although the lyrics are amazing, the expression of the song is also profound. This song is actually a very difficult song because the singing is extremely important and it cannot be too fast or too slow. To sing the lyrics indifferently, but also let the listener enjoy it, Faye Wong achieved it. 

6. "Anesthesia":  Decadent Faye Wong.  Faye Wong's 1997 album was filled with decadence, from makeup to song selection. "Anesthesia" is undoubtedly a classic of decadent style. From then on, we will hear a languid detachment in Faye Wong’s singing from time to time. This may be related to the singer’s mood and feelings for Dou Wei at that time. Having fallen into a state of stalemate of not advancing or retreating, the singer's helplessness is subtly revealed through her singing. This decadence and languidness reached its peak with "Can’t Wake Up" in 1998. 　　

7, "Bored":  Rock and roll Faye Wong . Faye Wong's rock style is a kind of soft rock without deafening heavy metal. But she uses a rock voice to interpret a kind of doubt and rebellion. "You're Happy, So I'm Happy" on the same album is also the embodiment of rock style. "Wings of Light" in 2001 was more of a punk style.

8. "Red Bean":  Rational Faye Wong. In the middle stage of her career, Faye Wong's expression of love songs was obviously very different from her early days. It went from affectionate to rational. Whether it was "I Don't Want To Be Like This Either", "Mortal World", "Red Bean" or "The Moon at that Moment", you couldn’t find this feeling in her early days. Faye Wong's early interpretation of love songs was a very pure, very true infatuation. It was replaced by a touch of heartbreak and rationality. If Faye Wong’s early love songs were expressing girlish feelings, then Faye Wong at this time had undoubtedly experienced emotional ups and downs and lamented fate. She had not given up on love and she had a rational attitude towards these feelings, but she was not without complexity. In her singing method, Faye Wong began to use the stagnant sound in her throat, which was obviously disappointing for those who appreciated Faye Wong’s pure sound quality. However, songs like "Red Bean" can no longer be performed in the original way. When Faye Wong always lost some people, she gained the love of others. The record company did not intend to plug "Red Bean" but because the fans on the Internet responded strongly, the company made a temporary MV and it immediately became a hit song. 　　

9. "Cambrian Era": Elegant Faye Wong. Faye Wong's music style is actually traceable. When she makes a certain style of album, look back on her previous album and you will find the shadow of this style. In "Sing and Play", Faye Wong began to play with the opera genre on “Face”, which attracted attention. After laying the groundwork, "Fable" began to brew. Faye Wong sang pop music with an operatic vocal method. Such an attempt was not only a great challenge to the singer's singing skills, but she was also the only one in the Chinese music industry to attempt this. You can find the fusion of classical and pop music abroad, usually in the form of duets. For example, Celine Dion’s collaboration with Julio Iglesias achieved success. Faye Wong did it all by herself in "Face". In songs such as "Asura", Faye Wong started to try a direct fusion of two completely different styles of music. Faye Wong used her years of music skills to try to blur the boundaries between the two. This attempt is undoubtedly an attack on the standard. Of course, this will be criticized by some. But Faye Wong's courage and musical achievements will be cemented in the history of Chinese pop music. "Faye Wong 2001" seems to be a mainstream album, but it actually contains the latest achievements of Faye Wong's fusion of two forms of music.  “Wandering Red Dancing Shoes” is more like an exquisite opera story. Faye Wong 2001 is far more calm than the Faye Wong in "Fable", and has a more mature grasp on the song style. But for those who only listen to pop music, when listening to this song from a different angle, perhaps it is too artistic. 　　

10. "One Way Street": Faye Wong, the bard poet. Faye Wong has displayed excellent control over rhythm, intensity, and tone. From the early "Undercurrent" and "Cold War" to today's "One Way Street", Faye Wong has always embodied a kind of poetic feeling in many songs.  I have seen reports that Faye Wong is not very satisfied with the collaboration with Wu Bai. In fact, this is caused by the difference in music concept and style of the two artists. After listening to Wu Bai’s “The Person Who Weeps Bitterly" and "Wanderer’s Love Song", you will know that Wu Bai’s style is more focused on the direct expression of emotions and giving people a feeling of joy. Whereas Faye Wong is more restrained and more focused on the atmosphere of song expression and pays more attention to perception.  Therefore, if "One Way Street" was expressed by Wu Bai it may have been a heavy outburst of anger and rawness. But when interpreted by Faye Wong, it is calm and carefree.

When we explore Faye Wong’s music, we find the development and the growth process of Faye Wong’s mind. The latest Faye Wong is always the best because she has the enterprising spirit of continuously learning and integrating in her music. The media, the public, not to mention music fans, always anticipate her next album in advance. 

------------------------------------------------------------------  

SOURCE: NETEASE // TRANSLATED BY: FAYE WONG FUZAO

#2002

[doctorhoe]

Thoughts on River?

Complicated.

1. First of all

For this to make sense you need to know that when I first got into Doctor Who, I didn't watch the episodes in chronological order. That was because it was a friend of mine who first introduced me to the show, and the first ever episode she watched with me was Time Of The Angels/Flesh And Stone. That also means that I didn't know anything about the library, which did influence my view at first, I think.

So, after my very first 'encounter' I was pretty neutral. I liked the mystery that surrounded her but I had problems imagining the Doctor and River actually becoming a couple. I simply didn't care for that part of the character, I was more into the whole 'who did she kill?' thing. Around the time Doctor Who had first started to devour my life, I began to get more and more into her relationship with the Doctor aswell. I was really hyped at first. People had told be about it and the whole concept sounded amazing.

The problems started to arise when I actually watched through Eleven's seasons. There were holes were the actual relationship should have been, things being implied that never paid off. I just hadn't really realise that because, until then I had always assumed, that all those things missing were merely parts of the story I hadn't seen yet.

But the truth was that they just weren't there.

2. So, where does that leave us?

I do not like River Song. But I wanted to like her. And part of me still does. She had some great moments and is played by an amazing actress. My problem is that I never felt like I could actually tell who she was as a person. Her entire personality was built around a concept and while that can work, from a writer's perspective it just is not advisable when it comes to love interests. Romance is something that needs to be character driven. This is something I sincerely believe as both a writer and a consumer of media.

River's concept was great but therein lies the problem: Because her character was always put back, behind that amazing mystery. It's almost comical how much River's existence revolves around the Doctor and the wedding/murder mystery. She literally would not exist if it wasn't for that.

And remember, that plot was the one that originally interested me. Why did she kill him?

3. Moffat's answer: She is a psychopath.

The answer to all questions, apparently! Don't question her actions — she is a psychopath! Don't ask why she fell in love with him all of a sudden! She is a psychopath! Non of her actions make any sense but that's ok — she is a psychopath, alright?

In short: She falls in love with the Doctor, because she is told that she will fall in love with the Doctor. Great. Oh, and speaking of Let's Kill Hitler. That was the point when I officially gave up all hope.

4. River's character is a big Meh.

River's character is entirely based on tropes. Now, I'd actually advise untrained writers (such as myself) to sometimes use tropes as an inspiration. But a) you will eventually need to move on from that trope and built an actual character where it merely functions as the basis and b) Moffat is not an inexperienced writer.

River is the Femme Fatale and the Tragic Romance trope shoehorned into each other and while I actually like the latter, in combination these were unbearable. The Femme Fatale trope stems from a time when women's sexuality was still viewed as sinful, so the only female characters that were allowed to own their sexuality were evil ones. That whole sassy and sexy behaviour, that people tell me is so very Feminist™️ comes from a sexist trope. So while I can't deny that Alex Kingston looks awesome making a Dalek beg for mercy, kissing the Doctor to poison him and flirting with the people around her, all that comes from the trope she is built on and it shows! Moreover, it doesn't go with the kind of love tropes Moffat uses to bring Eleven and River forward, so you can see her switch between the two sides of her. And it doesn't feel natural.

I hate to compare her to Rose but: Throughout series one, Rose is characterized as a very caring person. But one of her main flaws is that there is sometimes a hunch of pity for the people she cares for, the belief that they can't help themselves. Gwyneth remarks that, although Rose deeply cares for her, she still thinks Gwyneth is stupid. This is a character flaw that is established in the very first episode. So when Rose safes her father in Father's Day or when she gets mad at Mickey for going out with someone else even though she left him, when she bluntly tells him that there is "nothing left for her" at home, we are not really surprised. Still, she is there for people, she cares for them. But that doesn't erase her selfishness and vice versa — her sometimes egotistical ways do not taint her. She is caring and selfish both at the same time. Two characteristics that seem like they couldn't work together — empathy and compassion paired with selfishness — actually make for an interesting and (even though I hate that word) complex character.

River, on the other hand, is always just switching between being The Woman Who Loves The Doctor and being The Perfect Psychopath. There is no nuance. She fits the trope of the Femme Fatale so perfectly, it's almost laughable (sexy, cunning, uses her sexuality to try and kill someone. Also, notice how she is always flirtatious in her Kind Of Evil Mayhaps?? Moments?)

5. River Song's relationship with The Doctor is a big Yikes.

A few weeks ago I watched a video on YouTube that talked about Doctor Who. In that video, the romantic relationship between the Doctor and Rose is painted as the worst part of season 1 because of the age gap between the two. Now, I'd of course argue that Rose is not only over 18 but also never forced into anything. The relationship is shown to be healthy. But that's not my problem. My problem is how in the same video, Moffat is praised for writing a "complex and nuanced love story".

Funnily enough, he, who said it probably thought he was making a compliment here. But what he really did was just summing up what is inherently wrong about the relationship: It isn't romantic — it's complex. But a love story doesn't need to be complex — I'd actually argue that the simpler the better. The only complex thing there should be in a written relationship are the characters.

It isn't even complex, it's just needlessly complicated. We are given clues, hints at a relationship, even after their supposed wedding, so we don't realise that any actual information about their romance is missing. Never (until The Husband Of River Song) are we shown an intimate, romantic moment that isn't in any way compromised by either the Mystery Plot™️ or his knowledge that she is going to die.

(Now, I have no idea where that "nuanced" comes from because all of the relationship is black and white: She hates him; she loves him suddenly. She is the woman who kills him! Why did she do that? Oh, she was forced. She never even falls in love, she just accepts that she will.)

6. The relationship is tainted from the very beginning.

The Doctor knowing that and how she is going to die, like many things Moffat does, sounds amazing on paper. In reality it prohibited any actual healthy relationship from ever developing. Whenever the Doctor is with her, he is secretly suffering because he knows what will happen. And that is not a good thing. When you are so focused on making things "complex" you may forget how actual healthy relationships work: Both parties in them need to he happy. Love and devotion aren't enough.

Not only that but the Doctor as a character cares about a lot of people. He loves a lot. So, creating a relationship between the Doctor and another character is difficult, as you have to truly make their relationship stand out. When RTD did that with the Doctor and Rose, it took him essentially two whole seasons, in which Rose was constantly present as a main character. Moffat took a half baked, cool sounding concept and gave River cameo appearances.

They also constantly have to force themselves on each other because of their time line thing (— something that, again, sounds cool in theory and is hindering to the relationship in practice). The scene when River first kisses him and he is very obviously uncomfortable and doesn't know how to react is just sad. Not tragic, not romantic, just sad. Communication is literally impossible because they are never on the same page! Please, tell me, how is it so hard to grasp that romantic relationships are supposed to be romantic?

7. Also River is supposed to be bi.

I do no longer identify as bi. But when I first got into Doctor Who, I did. And I never felt represented by the hints that were giving about River's supposed bisexuality. I was starving for bisexual content at the time, yet most of those hints flew over my head. Jokes are not how you write representation, unless you are writing a comedy show! That is, however, all I'm going to say about this, as I am planning on making a post on that topic (cheap representation in the Moffat era — literally all lgbt characters that aren't Bill).

So, all in all, I don't like River because she represents everything that is wrong with the Moffat seasons: Character arcs that are concept driven, the sole usage of tropes when it comes to the writing of female characters, cheap representation and a misunderstanding how relationships (should) work.

#river song #moffat salt #bla. #irrelevant posting #asks #dw #doctor who

[justhereforfanfiction]

Lost - Logan x MC

Angst, approximately 2, 500 words.

Hi. This is my first ever fanfiction, so any feedback is welcome! Although I haven't posted any fanfictions on there other than this one, I will likely branch out from Choices on Wattpad and if you are interested in that, maybe you could look at my account? It's @ GalaxyGirl20671! Again, feedback including constructive criticism is welcome, and I hope you like it! I think it helps 'set the mood' if you do listen to the song, but in no way do you have to! I hope you enjoy. 😊

I know I didn't use every lyric but that's because I didn't want to use repeated lines in case it became repetitive.

Song - Lost by Freya Ridings

*I know I use 'Ellie' in this instance but it just represents the MC - to me, it feels a bit detached to use 'Y/N' - but feel free to self-insert if you wish! :)*

 'Standing on the platform, watching you go...'

Ellie stood at the turn - in at the end of her block, watching as a sleek, black-striped yellow sports car slid out of its slot into the street. Almost as easy as it had come into her life, she supposed, on that less-than-fateful day. But she knew that that was not the case, just as she knew the boy whose spark plug necklace was slipped under her t-shirt, guarding her rapidly beating heart.

'It's like no other pain I've ever known'

That same heart ached at even the concept of him leaving her side, yet somehow there the reality was painted, harsh and monochrome against the bold, colourful canvas of what had been her hopes and dreams for the two of them. Although with him, those dreams could have been driving around the city or sat in some reincarnation of his loft eating takeout from Kelso's, and it would still make her feel as though she was graduating from a hundred- no, a thousand - Langstons. Her sense of loss was so strong it manifested itself as physical pain - a common symptom of undergoing stress, she seemed to remember from one of their late-night 'study sessions', the knot in her stomach tightening at the fond, soon-to-be-bittersweet memory.

'To love someone so much, to have no control...'

Ellie could still feel her whole body pulse gently, perhaps not entirely from her emotions (although those threatened to overwhelm her), but from the intensity and fierceness of their last embrace before he left. That had been out of her hands, he had wanted to keep her safe - but her father pulling a gun on him only pushed the situation further out of her grasp. It seemed she had come full circle - from her cop father controlling her life to her breaking free, her forgiving him again, and back to him commanding the one thing she loved beside him; the boy with the car. Couldn't she have one untarnished goodbye out of the many to remember him by, without someone accusing them of something? Ellie's dad had only been trying to protect her, and she knew that - but her first everything had been putting HER first as well, being noble for Gods' sake! Even if it didn't feel like it to her...

'You said "I wanna see the world", and I said "Go"'

The look on his face had told Ellie one thing, yet his mouth spoke another. He had known she had plans for the future, and to him, he was getting in the way of those. With his words, he gently retracted himself from her life. He had been 'just some kid you caused trouble with in high school' to her father undoubtedly, but in Ellie's heart, she knew he was so much more. However, while he was saying that, his arms drew her in and she had melted into his touch. The sound of his car engine seemed to call out decidedly that his words had signified his true intentions.

'I think I'm lost, without you'

Without him, Ellie didn't know who she should be anymore. He was the one who brought her into this life, who brought out this side of her. Every time she had been brave, or confident, or even remotely bold, it had been because of him, directly or otherwise? Whoever thought she'd dance at a secret warehouse rave? Or pass her driving test? Or even talk to Ingrid as an equal in any way other than academics? Going back to her old self felt as difficult as trying to separate water from the sand without filter paper. "Be the real you. the one that was always waiting to come out" he had said. She wanted to so badly, but how could she do that when so much of that person was based on him? It was just like Colt had said - every time she gets behind the wheel she will remember them and the year she had spent.

'I just feel crushed without you'

Ellie's emotions weighed down on her like the heavens on Atlas the Titans' shoulders. Whenever they had been driving or executing one of Kanaeko's master plans with the rest of the MPC, she had enjoyed - no, loved - his company, yet now she realised that once the others were gone he had been the one she needed the most of all of them. And now he was about to be gone, leaving her with a stolen car that Toby wasn't here to patch up, and the memories of fleeting touches long since past.

'I've been strong for so long, I never thought

how much I needed you'

Even when he had left after teaching her to fight, Ellie had not felt it with the same note of finality that this moment held. She had always thought there was a possibility - however small - of seeing him one last time. And now, even though she wished it desperately, Ellie knew he wasn't coming back. This time, too much was on the line.

'Strangers rushing past, just trying to get home.'

In the not-so-far distance, Ellie could hear the steady stream of LA traffic that the boy she loved would soon enter. She wondered - would they know a wanted street racer was cruising down the freeway amongst them? That that drive was breaking two hearts and would damage at least one more before the night was out? Nobody knew where he was going, however, not even Ellie. Her best guess was back to Detroit, but Ellie guessed that not even he knew where he would wind up tomorrow morning. Even that one suggestion could have been some sort of plot to make sure she didn't worry about him (although she would nonetheless) or found where he was. He knew her better than anyone, after all. She would only have agreed to Mona's terms if he had reiterated them.

'But you were the only safe haven that I've known'

Those words were true enough. Despite her father claiming to support her in everything she did, the one thing Ellie never knew she wanted had been right under her nose, kept away from her by the one who 'only wanted her to be happy'. Sure, Ellie understood that Grand Theft Auto wasn't exactly a conventional - or indeed safe- pastime, but not teaching her to drive only meant that once Ellie wanted to learn, she was dangerously inexperienced anyway! And look where that got her. With her driving license, of course (since Ellie, as her dad loved to brag, "succeeded in everything she put her mind to"), but with her friends a now orphaned teen with what seemed to be a world (or at least city) domination problem, a hardened criminal currently in hospital, soon to be jail with a bullet through her side because of her, and two mechanic - slash racers on the run, and a boyfriend (well, would-be, since they never defined the relationship, but an ex now involuntarily)being forced by her dad to leave the country at gunpoint.

The boyfriend who had taught her how to drive. Who had cared about her over the safety of his crew, or even being put in jail. Who had guided her through her first... everything, really. First kiss, first car, first heist - whenever Ellie needed him, he was there. And most importantly, she could say next to anything around him and he would listen and give advice without judgement. Even though she had missed the comfort of her bed whilst residing in his loft, that boy was - and Ellie had a feeling always would be - where her heart lived.

'Hits me at full speed, 

Feels like I can't breathe 

And nobody knows'

As soon as the key had turned in the ignition, the Devore roaring to life, Ellie's breath had been knocked out of her as fast as if her car could have accelerated from 0 to 100 in a nanosecond. All she wanted to do was scream and howl at the sky, to God, to anyone who would listen to try and get them to rewrite fate so that they could be together. She wanted to cry to Riya, but she knew that her best friend no matter how much they had in common would just take her to get ice cream and tell her 'these things heal in time'. She wanted to collapse at her mothers' feet as she frequently did in her dreams, but the tightness of the heirloom bracelet at her wrist reminded Ellie that that was impossible.

Most of all, however, she wanted her fathers' understanding; that she loved and had lost just as he had all those years ago. She remembered when her dad had met him for the first time properly, the anger he had wielded towards the boy who had put her in so much danger - who had saved her from it just as many times. The disbelief on his face as she explained that she loved this 'bad boy', this 'adrenaline junkie'  as she was sure her father addressed him in his mind. How the initial shock had moulded into fury at whatever 'trick' he was sure this criminal must have worked on his daughter. No, Ellie was sure he wouldn't understand for at least the next week or so.

'This pain inside me

My world is crumbling

I should have never

Let you go'

The first tear of what was to be many rolled down Ellie's already mascara-striped face as she fell to her knees. Her dad looked at her in surprise as she screamed in the middle of the street, and could see an identical tear roll down the face of the boy inciting it as he drove past the old man, wincing in guilt as the sound of his ride or die's anguish reached his ears. Had it maybe been the wrong thing to do? Had he maybe... underestimated the intensity of the teenagers' emotions? Undoubtedly, but he had to protect his daughter from going down the wrong path.

Ellie's jaw tightened as her father dared to look vaguely upset at the situation. He was the one worsening it after all. It was almost shameful of him to have judged her (literal) partner in crime so quickly. After all, when had he ever hurt her with bad intentions at heart? Ellie realised that her anger was not directed towards her father, but rather towards herself for allowing this to happen. She couldn't have stopped him leaving, but she could have made sure they were farther out of her dads' line of sight so they would have a chance of a 'proper' goodbye, whatever that was;  the one year had spent with him and the crew had felt far more meaningful than any of the 18 she had gone through alone, to the point where the mere thought of goodbye was heartbreaking.  And she had simply let him be treated in that way by her kin?

'I've been strong for so long, I never thought

How much I love you'

Earlier in the evening, once she had dispelled all of her nervous energy, her mind had been solely focused on bringing Shaw and The Brotherhood down. But once that had come to pass, her emotions had hit her like a ton of bricks. The Mercy Park Crew had no reason to stick around now Teppei was dead; it was time to find a new gang. For Colt and Mona, leaving had not been a choice. The latter's injury and the formers' determination to build his name in LA's criminal underworld saw to that. Saying goodbye to each of them had been no easy task, and she had half expected him to have skipped town already, to save them both the heartbreak of saying goodbye. But that had not been the case, as he had stepped out of the darkness to say one final farewell. 

Tears had soaked Ellie's skin at the words he spoke, as they did now as he drove away. Her guard had been up during the heist, channelling her anger and determination to have Jason put behind bars, along with Detectives Wallace and Hester. But when she was around the crew, those she considered close enough to be family, Ellie had broken down. She had been fierce and brave then; that had been to cover up her paralysing fear of losing them again. Of losing herself again. His goodbye had hurt the most, like a slap to the face, short and painful but with lasting effects.

Throughout the brief conversation, their relationship had played through her mind; not just from her perspective, but what it must have been like for him.  How on that day, what seemed to be casual flirting and general friendliness must have been tiptoeing through a minefield for him. A single wrong move and the whole crew could be placed at risk. The initial shock and rush when driving from the cops leading to the beginning of their relationship. How in each moment Ellie fell deeper in love with him, he was doing the same, only that feeling of freefalling was paired with the guilt of tricking her, and the fear of letting her in at the risk of his emotions and her safety - concerns which were not calmed by certain complications they had run into along the way. This myriad of memories only emphasised the emptiness Ellie felt in her heart now.

'Standing on the platform, watching you go.

You said, "I wanna see the world" and I said "Go"'

As Ellie felt the tarmac of the sidewalk dig into her knees and tears roll down her face, she watched as the car she knew so well turned into the next street. When the car swung around, she caught a glimpse of its driver, his eyes trained on hers, smiling weakly through tear-filled eyes. Regret was written undeniably in his gaze, but he was trying to put on a brave face for her to remember him by. Trademark. A thought that once would have put a grin on Ellie's face now caused her to sob in sorrow, grieving the little moments that comfortably passed between them that she was sure could not be replicated with anyone else. She shot him back a brief smile, equally bittersweet in the less than perfect moment, and the last words he said to her echoed in her mind.

"Give 'em hell, troublemaker"

His car finally moved out of sight, and Ellie suddenly felt the repressed need to call out for him spring out in full force; now that her father had walked inside she felt less pressured to avoid the elephant in the room, at least out loud.

"Logan..." she choked out to no one in particular, as she rubbed her road marked knees the way he would have done and slowly got up.

Later, after she had deleted their messages from her phone and laid in her bed in silence, she took off the necklace from around her neck and placed it on the adjourned pillow. "Logan." Ellie whispered to herself as if in the affirmation that he had been real.

She had been lucky to know him. Too bad there wasn't a next time to be ready for.

#choices game #give 'em hell #troublemaker #logan angst #logan #ROD #rideordie #loganxmc #LoganxEllie #boyxgirl #angst #dad #Devore GT #ride or die #play choices #choices #choices stories you play #choices stories we play #choicesstoriesyouplay #colt kaneko #colt #mona #heist #car #song fic #songfic #first fic #rod logan #choices fanfiction #logan rod x mc

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 128

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 30 - “Amazing Power! Precure’s Great Transformation!!” Date watched: 9 June 2019 Original air date: 3 September 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/jfdQJOk Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Gohyaan forgot to look at the schedule   

When we left off, Gohyaan had kidnapped Flappi and Choppi and retreated to Dark Fall, leaving Saki, Mai, Moop, and Foop in shock. We meet up with them the next day at school, as Saki and Mai are extremely dejected. However, after school they vow to search for their missing partners. They search the beach, as well as the Sky Tree, but come up with no leads. However, Miss Shitataare is still fuming over Gohyaan stealing her thunder, so she pays the girls a visit and coyly leads them to Gohyaan’s hideout. Although initially taken aback by the intrusion, he quickly slips back into taunting Saki and Mai by showing them how he’s tortured Flappi and Choppi.

Then he throws the spirits at their feet, saying he’s gotten all the information he can from them. Saki and Mai scream at Gohyaan that they’ll never forgive him. He brushes this off, because he’s not interested in their forgiveness, and asks what they will do instead, daring them to transform, but the Flower and Bird spirits are too weak to transform Saki and Mai into Precure. Moop and Foop try to apologize to their seniors but Gohyaan takes the chance to capture them instead, and then prepares to destroy Saki and Mai with a gigantic energy ball. The girls bravely stare imminent death in the face and vow that they’ll never give up, because they know if they remain strong in spirit, their wishes will always be granted! It’s a powerful speech, but Gohyaan still isn’t impressed, dismissing their chatter as cliched. Saki and Mai reiterate that the two of them are friends with each other, with Flappi and Choppi, and with Moop and Foop, and that all of their friends are precious to them and they will protect the fairies with their lives! Just as Gohyaan is about to strike the killing blow, Moop and Foop are empowered by the outpouring of love and break free of their restraints, and they fly back to Saki, Mai, Flappi, and Choppi, and encase all of them in glowing light.

Flappi and Choppi are healed and re-energized, and Moop and Foop transfer their powers of Moon and Wind into them. The two larger fairies suddenly transform into their alternate modes, but these aren’t the Mix Communes. Instead they turn into new forms: the Crystal Communes! A new power is being born! Saki and Mai are confused about the change but with no time to worry about such things, they let the spirits guide them into transforming and lo and behold, when they transform this time, they emerge not as Cure Bloom and Cure Egret, but in all new forms.... Cure Bright and Cure Windy, the precures of the Moon and Wind!

The girls don’t have much time to marvel over their new appearances before Gohyaan sets about trying to destroy them again (rude). However, they find that these new forms come with greater power and abilities than they’ve ever experienced, and they manage to gain the upper hand in the battle! Moop and Foop chip in again and give the duo the Spiral Rings, but this time the center emblem is in the shape of a five-pointed star rather than a heart. Gohyaan taunts that he’s going to show the girls a sliver of his true power, and it is strong, but they remain resolute, and with the Spiral Rings equipped, now their attacks are even stronger, even  faster, even more dangerous to the beings of darkness than ever, so they overpower the imp and perform their new finisher: Precure Spiral Star Splash!

Unfortunately, he gets away before we can see the full effect of the attack, but the finisher was powerful enough to bring down Gohyaan’s entire hideout, so the girls flee back through the portal in the ceiling they came in by, suggesting Miss Shitataare left them the escape route. She’s a curious one. Anyway, Saki and Mai regroup with all their fairy partners back at the Sky Tree and the mascots thank the girls for saving them. Saki and Mai push back, though, saying they powered up because everyone’s feelings came together as one to produce a miracle, and with that the episode ends on a beautiful sunset atop the hill.

(okay there’s also some jokes about how Saki and Mai still haven’t finished their summer homework, but given the circumstances, how could they?)

Where do I start with this episode? The epic conclusion to the dramatic cliffhanger from last week, culminating in Saki and Mai receiving a powerup and becoming Cures Bright and Windy! This is one of the defining moments of the show. Although the concept of multiple forms would be revisited in a few different ways in the subsequent years, Splash Star is still the only show where the girls have two separate transformations with different names. Cure Bright, obviously, represents the Moon, while Cure Windy’s motif is pretty self-explanatory. They showcase greater ability than they had as Bloom and Egret, being able to control light and summon strong gusts of wind. Their spirit power is strong and they withstand a flood thrown at them by Gohyaan. With the Spiral Rings their power is even further amplified and they are able to send Gohyaan running for the hills even with his great strength. As the representation of the bond between the girls and fairies, and what’s possible when they join their individual strengths together, it’s beautiful.

On the villain side, the level of treachery Miss Shitataare demonstrates is almost amazing! She is so determined to be Akudaikaan’s right hand, and in denial about her own failures, that on the cusp of a victory for Dark Fall, she brings their greatest enemy into the fold just to sabotage Gohyaann. Her actions bring the girls and their fairies so close to the edge that they unlock an all-new power, which will definitely come back to haunt her soon. Animosity between villains is nothing new in superhero shows, but infighting to the degree seen here is a rarity. I’m impressed. I kind of think I might have been reading her character wrong all this time. I initially thought of her as being similar to Poisony from the first season, who was fairly good at using disguises and sneaking into places to lay traps for the Precures, but she’s really nothing like that. While she uses disguises, they don’t often serve any purpose to her plots. Miss Shitataare cares only for herself and her well-being, she’s very strong but she doesn’t have a lot of foresight. If she did, she would realize that helping the girls win this time just to spite Gohyaan would definitely come back to bite her.

Finally, this is the last episode in which the current ending theme, “'Smiling is Victory' so GO!” by Mayumi Goji plays. I have failed to talk about it for the last 6 months, and this is my last chance, so let’s dig into it.

It’s a bit more melodic than some previous tunes, though it still has that upbeat cheering going on. The lyrics are about how the future is bright even if the present is rocky, so press on and be happy. The visuals show Saki and Mai, separately, engaged in their favorite pastimes: softball and drawing. At sunset, they stand apart from each other and timidly reach out to hold hands, before running home. That night, they each look at the stars from their homes as the lyrics talk about the possibility of never being happy again, and how life is a roller coaster of emotions. Then a meteor shower starts as the lyrics turn more positive. The next day, the two are sitting under the Sky Tree, basking in nature’s beauty. Next we see them running along the beach, turn to each other, and slowly grasp hands again, this time their fingers intertwined, and they stare at each other with huge smiles on their faces.

Then they go back to playing on the beach as the sun shines on a bright friendship and future.

Depending on your read of the song and visuals, it is either about two strangers becoming friends, or it’s super gay. I like the SakiMai ship but I’m not going to weigh in on this matter any further than that. It’s a nice, mid-beat (is that a term?) song with some striking visuals, I think the most striking of any of the FW trio ending songs, and what replaces it is the start of a franchise staple.

Next time, the status quo returns, and we get some of the hardest content to translate to a non-Japanese audience: manzai comedy. Look forward to it, maybe.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 5

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Futari wa Precure Splash Star #FWPCSS30 #PCD128

[saltisnacks]

My open letter to DreamWorks

To DreamWorks Animation, LLC.,

You forgot your audience. Plain and simple. We are an eclectic group of individuals that came together to form your fan base. And, you left most of us devastated and hurting. 

That’s blatantly reflected in the Rotten Tomato score of 8% for season eight. There is a petition of over 28.5k signatures on change.org, and it’s still climbing.

This show is listed at TV-Y7. You could have fooled me. You showed a melting corpse to children. That's horrifying beyond words. There are no believable excuses for that. None. Children too young to understand the concept of death should not be exposed to this, and it left parents scrambling to make excuses. It never should have been sent to air. Period. Shame on you. 

How Lotor is treated sends a bad message. 

    • Victims of abuse don’t get their redemption. 

• Victims of abuse can't escape from it.

    • Victims of abuse are doomed to repeat the cycle. 

    • Victims of abuse don't find love and their happy ending.

But, his parents can get their forgiveness for destroying the universe for 10,000 years of genocide and death.

Hunk, the gentle giant, is also betrayed in character. Throughout the series he was shown to be a brilliant engineer. And, he loses that growth to become a glorified chef. That was never his passion. That was a hobby.

Lance loses Allura. Then he loses his drive. He gives up being a pilot to become a farmer and a motivational speaker. He’s left with a reminder of what he has lost on his face.

Coran loses Allura, too. The person he had sworn to protect. And, he didn’t even get to say goodbye in the end.

Keith started off alone until Shiro takes him under his wing. Then, he finds friendship and family in the other paladins and Coran. He reunites with his mother. Only to lose all of that in season eight. His friendship with Shiro erased. He's alone during ‘Launch Date.’ The wolf does not count. Krolia wasn’t even there.

I’ve seen parents commenting that their child(ren) are afraid to tell their friends they love them because of the erasure of Keith and Shiro's close bond. If you say anything, you’ll lose that friend. What a message for children.

By the way, why was he sensitive to quintessence? There’s a plot hole. I know a show with limited episodes can’t cover all plotlines. However, there are too many that leave the show hanging. Among the few are:

    • Who made the cave drawings?

    • Why was Honerva interested enough in Shiro to clone him?

    • What were the clones for anyway?

    • Shiro's family.

    • Shiro and the white lion.

    • Keith's Galra traits.

    • What did Matt see in the cell?

    • Lance’s sword.

    • Keith's wolf.

    • What were the marks on Lance's face, except a tragic daily reminder of what he's lost?

There are so many more. 

And now to Allura.

She was a w.o.c. with a strong personality. A wonderfully written main character that was latched onto by the fandom. The heart of Voltron. However, she is turned into a self-sacrificing trope who consistently loses.

    • She loses her home world.

    • She loses her father's AI.

    • She loses the Castle of Lions.

    • She loses her crown for Shiro.

    • And ultimately, she loses her life.

Again, parents were left grasping for explanations for this. Did you think of the children watching this show at all? There has not been a main character p.o.c. movie or show with a happy ending geared for children since "The Princess and the Frog," and that was released in 2009. That I'm aware of anyway, because those types of stories are still shadowed and avoided by the entertainment industry.

You made Honerva too powerful. It would have been believable for her alone to be able to fix the damage she caused. Or, the lions could have done something. Allura did not have to make that sacrifice. There were other options, but you chose this one for the tragedy aspect. 

The fanfiction rewrites started the very night season eight was released.

Fans should not have to fix a show. That is not how it’s supposed to work. Granted not everyone can be happy with how a show ends, but this ending was atrocious.

You turned season eight into a story of loss. Almost every character loses something by the end. This was not a show where tragedy should have reigned. It was about family, love, and the bonds of friendship that overcame any obstacle. The show forgot that and left us stunned.

And finally to Shiro. 

Every aspect you built up of this character was obliterated in season eight. As soon as he was acknowledged as being a gay man, you sought to destroy him in every way possible.

His PTSD was ignored. That is not something that disappears overnight. Especially since it was shown previously to affect him. The chanting in that arena should have sent him running or trembling in terror. My uncle, to this day, still has issues with fireworks and loud noises due to Vietnam.

His disability. You took his prosthesis from something amazing to a joke. He fought Sendak in a hard battle, trading blow for blow. He uses a gun against Zethrid during “The Grudge.” He previously takes hit after hit only to be knocked down by one punch in season 8. With the way Shiro was written, he would have continued to serve, but instead you imply that he retires. I guess disabled veterans don’t matter to you either.

His relationships with the other characters. All we got were barking orders and “Paladins.” Homosexual men can have relationships with heterosexual males. There was no cause for this except blatant homophobia. It was completely erased, especially the one with Keith.

The beautifully written partnership that was a backbone of the entire series. That was admitted could be taken platonically or romantically. He would have fought to save Keith, no question, but you left him frozen with the Pikachu meme face. You don’t write something so profound like that only for it to disappear into nowhere.

Then you try to cover yourselves for the Adam fiasco by tacking on that ending. Just no.

Shiro was already a wonderful representative for the LGTBQ community. He didn’t need to get married to be happy. Especially to an unnamed in the series (only in closed captioning and audio description for the blind) character who doesn’t even have a consistent appearance in the entire season. That doesn’t even have more than five lines, and even those appear edited and added due to found evidence in the subtitles. We were promised that there wouldn't be a shoved in relationship just for the sake of romance, and yet, here we are.

The edits are obvious. Glaring. You tried to erase his sexuality, but then tried to fix those erasures. It was done horribly.

And now the fandom is sinking even further into the mire you landed it in. In order to “fix it,” fans are writing stories of divorce, adultery, and infidelity. That makes Voltron even worse.

You gave into the antis. You didn’t show them that threats don’t succeed. You validated them. Now they'll turn around and destroy something else they sink their teeth into because they think and know they can.

However, the final strike to Voltron was the recent treatment of its voice actors. You left them alone without a statement to face angry upset fans. That was beyond cruel. Beyond understanding. They did not deserve that. Shame on you again.

This is hurting your brand. This is damaging your reputation. You are losing fans and followers daily. I feel sorry for Netflix and HotTopic because this was not their fault.

You can fix this. All of this. All you need to do is say something. Do something. Even if it is quietly removing the epilogue (which we know you can do since you fixed the Adam audio error) and leave it open ended.

Let us hope Allura can return somehow.

You may remain silent, but we won't be.

This is my letter, but the chance of it remaining unread and deleted are high. At least I have it off my chest and planted at your feet.

#voltron #vld #dreamworks #allura #lance #hunk #coran #keith #lotor #takashi shirogane

[tobiblack]

The secret tower endures with the child of wisdom

Hikaku had lived through the Warring States, a lifetime of the feud between Uchiha and Senju, and watching it end. He’d lived through the founding of the first great hidden shinobi village, and two wars, seen the third Hokage take the hat. He’d thought that by this point in his life, there was nothing that could shake him that hadn’t already happened.

He’d just never counted on the fact that Kagami might actually succeed in getting Tobirama Senju’s attention. Or apparently anything involved with that hot mess.

Somewhere, Izuna was laughing at him.

1/2

Hikaku had been peacefully enjoying a cup of tea when his wife threw open their door with an uncharacteristic sharpness normally reserved for Council meetings that ran late because of obtuse Hyuuga. There had been no Council meeting today, which left him a very short list of other causes for his lovely wife’s mood.

One in particular, because Sumiko’s son was just as shameless as his mother.

She’d come back pregnant from a mission, and had refused to bow to their Elders about revealing who the father was, and it had only been Madara stepping in for his second cousin that had let her keep that secret. It was only the fact that Sumiko had no interest in clan politics or leading the clan that had kept her from establishing herself as the closest blood tie to their last clan head as the grand-daughter of Madara’s grand-aunt when they’d been deciding whether to keep the tradition of leader-by-strength or fall back into leader-by-blood.

No one had acknowledged Izuna’s bastard as the rightful heir by blood, afraid that the madness that had claimed Madara would show itself in the child and lead further ruin to the clan.

Instead, they’d turned to him and his wife, the strongest left in the clan without Madara’s bloodline, to lead, but Sumiko’s line still represented a special headache. A special status that left them only answerable to the clan head, even if his wife had never enlightened them to the fact as to not upset the Elders further.

As it was, they were still politely ignoring how one of the Hatake now lived on the edge of their compound with Sumiko, with the end of the war and Team Tobirama moving in together being more important to focus on.

Chikako was still upset with Sasuke just letting his heir move out of his compound because it hadn’t given her precedent to deny Kagami, because he’d escaped the compound as soon as he could when they’d tried to sequester him over his newly-received Mangekyou and had since refused to come back.

Which was made more frustrating since the rest of the team kept running interference – particularly the Shimura – and Sumiko had made her opinion clear about how unless her son proved an “actual” danger, she wasn’t going to keep him inside the compound just because they wanted him to be there.

Then there was how she had come very close to accidentally putting him into Tsukiyomi when as they had been having dinner, they’d been interrupted with news of how Kagami had had the Nidaime’s teleportation seal tattooed on his skin. Like they hadn’t all been ignoring his crush for years now, because yes, they all had a bit of a Thing for Tobirama, but the most forward anyone got was asking for a spar. Kagami had all but shouted how much he cared for Tobirama with that tattoo, made worse by how the whole clan all knew he’d gained Mangekyou from believing the Nidaime was dead.

He put his tea down to pour her a cup of sake, “What did he do this time?”

Her eyes were blood-red, nostrils flaring as she tried to find words.

Hikaku didn’t rush his wife, even if he had the sinking feeling the longer it took her that Kagami had managed to find the one thing worse than the whole tattoo thing, and he was increasingly not wanting to know.

She downed her cup before answering, “Akane’s boy was over by Training Ground Nine when he saw Kagami chasing the Nidaime, red silk in hand.”

He immediately regretted taking a sip of his tea, as it went down the wrong pipe and he spent a minute just clearing his lungs.

“W-what?”

“He’s apparently decided to battle-marry, and frankly there’s nothing I can do to oppose it because he technically has been courting the Nidaime the last couple of years even if we’ve previously considered it one-sided. Not to mention that the only way Kagami will capture the Nidaime is if the man allows it, and everyone knows that, which means the clan will consider the battle-marriage binding. Particularly if he wears the silk tomorrow.”

He didn’t have anything to say to that.

Chikako passed him the sake bottle without a word after pouring herself another cup, eyes caught on the hint of red silk beneath the long sleeve of his right arm, “Drink up, husband. Tomorrow we will deal with this, for now let’s just get drunk.”

~

2/2

#you can guess who Chikako is pregnant with #:3

 It was still dark when something woke Hikaku from where he was tangled up with his wife, a brief moment left to remember how they’d kept drinking until very late, reminiscing on how the Senju were full of deadly pretty people and how there had been bets about their feud one day just ending because of a battle-marriage, before he processed that it was the Nidaime politely standing outside the door.

If perhaps this was the first time this had happened, maybe he would have scrambled up and greeted their revered leader. It wasn’t though, the Nidaime had visited several times before – almost always concerning something with Kagami.

They politely didn’t mention the years he’d been banned by Madara from ever stepping foot in the compound, or how it took the Uzumaki princess a year to create a work-around to Madara's spiteful blood-seal so he didn’t set off every trap built into the ground and walls of their compound. Even if Chikako had had to personally ask her to do so because seals weren’t a Uchiha talent but Madara had grasped the concepts enough to create a ticking time bomb not quite specific enough to differentiate between Tobirama and any Senju period.

Because it was Tobirama – and because this was most assuredly to do with Kagami – Hikaku almost buried his face in his wife’s hair and pretended like his instincts were screaming about the very dangerous shinobi that wouldn’t be stalled for more than a few seconds by the door if he truly wanted inside. He didn’t want to know either way if Tobirama had allowed himself to be caught and was now married into the clan – because by the Sage and his sons, Sumiko and Kagami were already special cases in the clan hierarchy, and as it was, he pretended his wife didn’t go drink tea with the Shodaime’s sons about the headaches involved with special cases in their clans, and now, Tobirama would no longer be those boy’s problem but theirs – or if he’d escaped Kagami and was now requesting – demanding, it was all the same thing with the annulment of an instigated battle-marriage – that Kagami cease and desist before he made him.

Chikako was merciless though, tugging on his ear until he moved away, “Get up and answer the door, I think I have to puke.”

Groaning lowly, he got up and straightened his sleep yukata as much as he could considering there was going to be no hiding that he’d gotten massively drunk, passed out, and had just woken up. Then he slid open the door, and blankly looked at the man who-

Hikaku blinked a couple of times in a lack of comprehension at how Tobirama did and did not look like a man who’d just been battle-married.

There were marks on his neck and upper shoulders and chest where his shirt was slipping and kisses had been sucked into his skin. He was wearing one of Kagami’s shirts – Uchiha fan surely prominent on the back. His hair was going in every which direction, falling into his eyes without his happuri – and this had to be the first time he’d ever seen him without it, in the entire he’d known Tobirama.

He looked content in a way that said he’d found happiness after a long struggle to get there.

He did not look like he’d been ravaged within an inch of his life, like was typical of any Uchiha who married of their own choice, and not for obligation or an alliance. He very distinctly remembered Izuna asking if he’d been beset by a wild animal after he’d married Chikako.

He also remembered how Chikako had chased the little fucker down, making him climb a tree where he’d called on Madara for help, and only got thrown into the pond for his trouble.

Tobirama spoke while he was still remembering fondly of how Izuna had given him a wide berth for a week after that dunking and following lecture about how it was beyond rude to mock a couple together for love about their passion.

“Hikaku-san, Kagami told me that any Uchiha that battle-marries should inform the head of their clan within twenty-four hours of the marriage. As he is currently completely exhausted in our room with our sprog, I took it upon myself to inform you of both.”

While he was glad that Kagami had absorbed something about proper battle-marriage procedure, because the sooner the marriage was known to the clan, the higher the chances the bride wouldn’t be accidentally killed if they weren’t from an ally, he felt like he should still make sure there was no doubt to how binding the marriage was, Kagami didn’t have the best track record about this stuff.

Sumiko may not have told him to be sure he went to her for permission and that he didn’t marry on a whim.

Then he spotted the red silk knotted against Tobirama’s skin just as he processed Tobirama saying something about a sprog. And if he was remembering right, sprog was what the Senju called children-

Tobirama’s gaze drifted to behind him, to where Chikako had come up behind him, “What’s this about you and Kagami having a kid, Tobirama?”

“Only that it appears our children will grow up together, and that a congratulations is in order, Chikako-san.”

Hikaku’s mind stalled, and he didn’t hear anything else that was said between his wife and their new clansman as he focused entirely on his chakra sense, and looking at his wife with it even after the other man had left.

She flicked him on the forehead to get his attention, hand resting on her flat belly, “It appears we’re going to be parents, Hikaku. He estimated that I’m just a little over a month along, but a medic would give a better guess. And you heard right, somehow – I’ll get the details of how from him later when the news goes beyond his team, us, and Lady Mito – he’s going to have a kid with Kagami.”

He kissed her, then held her close, “I can’t wait for our child, Chikako.”

It took a couple more seconds before it processed that Kagami was going to have a kid too.

“Oh my Sage, he’s multiplying. I was kidding when I cursed him years ago with kids just like him, but, oh my Sage, I don’t think I can live through a second coming of him as a kid. And- and it’s going to be smart, fucking hell, it won’t be fooled by the stupid shit Izuna used to convince him of.”    

#illusion cast upon the Space-Between-Doors 'verse #Tobi_Black #Alternate Universe - pre-Canon #Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence #Alternate Universe - Tobirama survives #I apparently am very attached to the whole 'Uchiha bride-nap/battle-marry' AU #and added onto the idea #Hikaku Uchiha #Tobirama Senju #Kagami Uchiha #Kagami/Tobirama