#despite the episodes its been the most controllable its been in years i give a lot of credit to my cocktail of meds

[meenawrites]

So.. I finished Alchemy of Souls

Guys, the amount of tears I just shed in front of my entire family in the last episode of part 2 is crazy.

They were just sitting there like, you good? It's fiction as I'm sobbing my eyes out.

Anyway.

I have many thoughts. So many. And I lowkey want to make a separate post for each of them.

But for now I do want to leave some of my impressions about the finale: (spoilers ahead obviously)

I thought it was pretty well done. I expected to be a bit more shocked about the whole Jin Buyeon is Jin Seol-ran plotline but it honestly made sense to me and I feel like it was actually foreshadowed pretty well for the most part, even in season 1.

Also they definitely got me good with the deaths of Park Jin, Maidservant Kim, and Jin Hogyeong (if that's how you spell her name). Like that's when I started crying tbh. (I could care less about Mama Jin tbh, she sucks, but that deserves its own post). And I'm glad that them actually being alive didn't feel like a cop out to me. They established early on that Jin Seol-ran knew what would happen and used that to their advantage so it was believable and didn't feel like a Deus Ex Machina move for them to be saved. Well, maybe one of them should have died (cough–Mama Jin–cough). But it's fine.

I do feel like the last two episodes were kind of rushed though. I don't know if they had budgeting constraints or if Netflix didn't give them more than ten episodes, but I think that they should have had at least 12. Two more episodes would have allowed for more expansion on the climax and allowed them to up the drama more, which I think would have done well for the series over all, and would have been a better payoff.

I think the time could have been used well to flesh out some of the side characters arcs more. I feel like Danggu and Jin Choyeon were kind of pushed off to the side this season, and especially in the latter half, but I would have liked to see more of them and their relationships not only with each other but with Jang Uk and Naksu/Jin Buyeon.

For all intents and purposes, Naksu/Jin Buyeon lived as Jin Choyeon's sister for three years, and we can see that despite everything that happened three years prior, Choyeon did treat her as her sister even knowing the soul was Naksu's and cared about her. I think that could've and should've been expanded upon, her choosing to care about Naksu/Jin Buyeon or how that came to be. Also, after Naksu regained her memory AND found out Jin Mu had been for sure controlling her at the end of Part 1, I would have loved to see the conversation between her and Choyeon about what she did, an apology and an explanation that she would never have done that if she were sane of mind. What I said about Choyeon applies to Naksu as well because she lived three years as Choyeon's sister, and we can tell she cares about her, so I would have loved to see more of her feelings towards her, especially upon remembering all that had transpired in part 1.

When it comes to Danggu, I mean, he's one of Uk's best friends, and he was left out of the loop a lot when it came to anything Naksu-related. I would have liked him to find out or for Uk to tell him at some point and see how he makes peace with that. Because Danggu and Mudeok were friends in part 1 and he supported her (erroneously) in her supposed romance with Seo Yul. But then she killed his fiance's father and tried to attack him. I can't imagine the sense of betrayal he felt, but also finding out that it wasn't her fault and how he could come to terms with that would have been great to see. I also think his whole experience/trauma from part 1 was kind of glossed over. Like his main thing this season was his broken heart after Choyeon didn't end up marrying him, and I think that was making his feelings a bit too one-dimensional there. They do talk about how he feels slightly uncomfortable/doesn't know what to do with Jang Uk at the beginning of the show, but once Seo Yul comes back, that's kind of forgotten about and the three of them just start hanging out again no problem. I would've like to see a bit more about him struggling with becoming Leader of Songrim as well and how he adapted to that amidst his heartbreak for both his love and his friend who he doesn't even know how to act around anymore, and even towards Naksu/Mudeok who kind of ruined his future and that of his best friend but also being intuitive enough (because he is and he has one of the best hearts we've seen in the show) to realize that there's more to the story than her just going on a murder spree.

I've seen some talk about people saying they didn't like the actress for season 2 as much as season 1 (forgive me, I forgot their names), but I think both brought something good to the table.

Season 1 actress for Mudeok was really good. Her facial expressions were spot on and her chemistry with Lee Jaewook and the other cast members was really good. I think she definitely had great stage presence and made the show popular in the first place. I just don't agree that season 2 actress was worse.

I think season 2 actress definitely put in the work and embodied who Naksu/Jin Buyeon was for the majority of the series. There were times where she made expressions that perfectly resembled/echoed Naksu/Mudeok's that really got me like yes they are the same person even if she doesn't remember. She may have been cuter than we were used to with out sharp-tongued and emotion-resistant Mudeok, but I think Naksu needed that. As Mudeok and before then she didn't have the luxury to be more emotional and girly, it's only now in this body that she does, and I'm glad she had the opportunity to express that side of herself that had never seen the light of day.

We did get a glimpse of that side of her at the end of part 1 where she's playing around with makeup and what might make her look pretty, and it really spoke to all that she had missed out on and had to give up in order to survive. So yeah despite all the angst, I'm glad Naksu/Jin Buyeon had that opportunity through season 2 actress who played it really well while keeping in line with the essence of Naksu/Mudeok.

This whole thing about Naksu being the shadow to Jang Uk's light and if light exists then it needs a shadow broke my heart you guys, it was so perfect. And the fact that they were each other's light and shadow at different points but were also wholly necessary to each other in that was beautiful. I want to talk more about this in a separate post, so I'll table this metaphor for now.

Shout out to Crown Prince Go Won, a great character this whole season in terms of both comedic relief and massive character growth. So good.

Uk's arc was fantastic too but again want to save that for a full post.

Those are my out of order first thoughts about part 2, but I have SO MUCH MORE to discuss, so I will come back for sure. I just needed to scream to the world for a bit (virtually of course).

Question though for all of you more knowledgeable in the k-drama world: is there going to be a season 3?

#alchemy of souls #alchemy of souls part 2 #alchemy of souls light and shadow #Jang Uk #Naksu #Mudeok #Cho Yeong #Jin Buyeon #park dang gu #Seo Yul #jin cho yeon #kdrama #Finale thoughts #Meena's posts

[bestworstcase]

been thinking a lot lately on yang’s arc in v4 and specifically the advice tai gives regarding her semblance in 4.9 + its payoff during the fight with adam in v6

what strikes me about tai’s role throughout v4 is that he never quite gets it right. the porridge is too hot, the bed is too firm—and tai is too focused on the past to meet yang at the emotional level she needs. so while he does try his best to support her, what he accomplishes is really getting yang back to “functional” rather than facilitating genuine healing or emotional growth. i think tai does an okay job of getting yang over the immediate hurdle of acute post-traumatic depression but he does that in a way that actually inhibits her long-term recovery—

which is WHY the recovery yang made with tai’s guidance and his analysis of her weaknesses happens in “two steps forward, two steps back,” an episode whose title works on two levels: weiss and yang make important progress, ruby and blake run into serious unforeseen obstacles; but also all four of the girls begin their portion of the episode making progress toward their goals, and all four are interrupted by a symbolic or literal obstacle. weiss gets whitley; blake gets ilia and sun’s injury; ruby gets the fork in the road.

and yang gets tai’s advice.

now the interesting thing about the secondary meaning is that, while the two literal obstacles are confronted right away, the symbolic ones just get glossed over. they’re treated like fleeting annoyances at worst, and maybe even ultimately beneficial. weiss channels her irritation with whitley to bring her summoning ability to fruition at last; yang takes what her dad says to heart and becomes a better fighter for it—BUT THEN, much later, the narrative forces both of them to revisit these conclusions, to question the preconceived notions they once accepted.

take weiss, for example:

v1-3: establish that weiss wants to, in effect, rescue her family from her father; she enters the story as an arrogant, bigoted, sheltered perfectionist with no people skills, chooses to do better, and flourishes with the support of people who care about her.

v4: jacques forces weiss to return home and tries his damnedest to get her under control again, with whitley seeming to act as his loyal pawn; weiss sees her brother as a mere extension of jacques and reacts to everything he does with hostility and distrust until she escapes.

v5-6: weiss reunites with her team and again flourishes with their support, but can’t yet escape her father’s shadow; most of her character arc during this leg of the story is defined by the looming threat of returning to atlas again.

v7-8: weiss is able to confront her father with her friends at her side, breaking the last thread of emotional control he had over her; only then is she able to reconsider her perception of whitley, who she comes to see not as an extension of her father but as an abused thirteen-year-old boy whose nasty behavior is exactly the same as her own nasty behavior back when she arrived at beacon. this realization allows her to make an emotional connection with her brother, and by giving him the same grace she was given by her team, by offering him the same chance to get better, she’s able to save not just herself but her whole family from her father’s abuse.

leaving in v4 was the right thing for weiss to do and really the only option she had, but her incorrect perception of whitley is an emotional obstacle she needs to confront and overcome in order to truly heal and grow into the person she wants to be. yeah? so weiss’s portion of 4.9 involves her making important progress towards a necessary short-term goal and making a critical mistake, in treating whitley as a mini-jacques, that becomes the fulcrum of her emotional arc several volumes later. 

so. back to yang:

there are, i think, three specific moments prior to the training scene whose primary narrative purpose is to illustrate that—despite his earnest effort—taiyang’s support is inadequate, and more importantly, how and why he’s falling short. these are:

#1: excitedly surprising her with the prosthetic arm.

this scene establishes a really significant piece of contextual information about yang’s recovery that i think tends to get overlooked, which is that yang had no idea that she was getting a state-of-the-art custom-engineered prosthetic until it was almost literally dropped into her lap by her dad, who DID know and has been eagerly anticipating her reaction for months without letting her know that getting a replacement arm in the near future was even a possibility.

think about this from yang’s perspective. she’s a fairly sheltered kid, grew up in a secluded corner of a small island, doesn’t know a lot of amputees. she must know, in the abstract, that advanced prosthetics are available, but she has little if any personal frame of reference for that knowledge. if she was hospitalized after the fall of beacon, it doesn’t seem to have been for very long—she’s home by the time ruby wakes up a few days later. most, if not the entirety of her recovery happens at home, marinating in the background radiation of global chaos and her own freshly-exacerbated abandonment issues. global comms are down, supply lines are under pressure, and physical mail is as unreliable as it has always been.

so... she’d better get used to having only one arm pronto, right? because that’s how it’s going to be for the indefinite future, right? all the adults in her life have bigger problems to deal with. maybe once things are less of a mess she can work on getting a replacement arm, but... who knows how long that will take.

hence: those months tai spent knowing she would get this amazing prosthetic and feeling so excited for her? yang spent those months concentrating on accepting the loss of her arm, figuring out how to live without it, focusing on being okay with not having a replacement. and... while that grieving process was emotionally necessary, the goal she had in mind was getting to “i have one arm and that’s okay”, so upon being gifted the prosthetic she didn’t feel excited or happy—she felt blindsided. it was confusing and contrary to what she thought her recovery would look like, and it was given to her with this clear unspoken expectation of enthusiasm for her that made it feel really scary.

yang says it herself in the next episode: she’s been working so hard to accept what she lost, but she feels like everyone else wants her to just be okay, and the arm being sprung on her felt like being asked to pop on a replacement and act like this horrible traumatic injury never happened. that’s why it’s so hard for her to try it on. she’s not ready, she’s not fine, and “surprise! here’s a new arm!” feels invalidating.

if taiyang had told her, months ago, hey, general ironwood says you fought admirably and he wants to honor that, so he asked some of his top scientists to design a prosthetic for you, what do you think?—if yang had been invited into this process of creating the new arm, if she’d been given time well in advance of it arriving to express the anxiety and mixed-up feelings she has about the idea of replacing what she lost, then actually putting the arm on wouldn’t have been the huge emotional stumbling block that it became.

#2: the dropped glass, and tai saying nothing

anyway, the prosthetic scene then becomes a montage of yang doing stuff around the house—showing some of the ways she’s adapted to normal day-to-day stuff with just one arm, underscoring the point outlined above—ending on a beat of yang having a flashback in the kitchen. a glass slips out of her hand and shatters, the sound triggers a flashback, she stumbles back into the cabinets in terror and freezes for a moment before pounding a fist on the counter in an effort to ground herself.

rwby makes a very deliberate point of showing that tai sees this happen and responds to it by quietly turning around and walking away before yang even realizes that he’s there. right? not because he doesn’t get that his daughter is hurting—he’s visibly distraught—but because either he doesn’t know how to help her or he thinks that giving her privacy and pretending he didn’t see anything is the best thing he can do for her.

to me that feels like it’s coming from a similar place as making a surprise gift out of the prosthetic, in that i think it speaks to a failure to engage with the emotional trauma of what yang went through. tai focuses on the missing arm, and on making sure that yang gets the tools and training she needs to bounce back from the physical injury, but he pretty consistently treats her emotional suffering like a minor side effect, something that is understandable and sympathetic while she’s missing her arm but which becomes “moping” once she’s got a viable replacement ready to go.

like... yang is right? i think tai did kind of have this idea in his head that yang was miserable because she didn’t have her arm and therefore once she got the replacement she’d bounce right back—when the emotional core of yang’s suffering was really the helplessness, the vulnerability, the fear of not being good enough and the pain of having been left behind, all engendered by the loss of her arm but in no way fixed by replacing it.

and i think this is the moment where the long-term harm starts to really crystallize, because—well, think about this: what is yang’s biggest emotional problem in v1-3? what anxieties does she articulate during the mountain glenn arc in v2? she feels rootless. she doesn’t really want anything, doesn’t really have a quantifiable goal for herself, and while she tries to deal with that by being carefree and going with the flow, deep down she worries that’s not enough.

is that still yang’s biggest emotional problem?

nope.

what’s the emotional turning point for yang in v4? what gets her over the emotional hurdle of trying on the prosthetic for the first time? she overhears tai implying that he’s not out looking for ruby because he has to stay home and take care of yang. and after that? yang is one hundred percent focused on getting back into fighting condition so she can go find ruby. she tracks down her mom not for her own sake, not to get the answers she’s craved all her life, but because raven can give her a shortcut to get to ruby faster. she white-knuckles her way back to “functional,” and then throws herself heart and soul into Being There For Ruby. 

which is to say: her biggest emotional problem since v4 has been neglecting her own needs for the sake of people she loves. her arc in v4 isn’t a straightforward recovery arc; it’s an arc of both physical recovery and insidious emotional damage, wherein yang isn’t okay, but she gets it into her head that not being okay is actively endangering her sister, so she forces herself to “be okay” way before she’s ready. that’s a self-sacrificing tendency we saw some inklings of in v1-3, but it gets SO MUCH WORSE starting in v4—and while this certainly isn’t an outcome tai intended, his failure to engage with the emotional side of yang’s trauma absolutely enabled it, by fostering an environment where yang was encouraged, maybe even expected to sacrifice emotional healing in order to get back into fighting shape as fast as possible.

all of which is encapsulated perfectly in these two moments, of tai surprising yang with the arm and being taken aback when she’s not happy about it, then later seeing his daughter’s traumatic flashback and walking away.

bringing us to:

#3: “whenever you’re ready to stop moping”

this scene in 4.4, wherein tai evidently decides that what yang needs is some tough love to get her out of her weird little funk about the arm.

and—like, it’s a complicated scene, because tai adopts this harsh “tough love” tone in a really shocking departure from his previous treatment of yang, but on the other hand yang is given the space to articulate the emotional junk that is preventing her from trying on the arm, making this conversation something of an improvement over the festering silence we saw in 4.3.

what strikes me most about it, though, is that tai’s new “tough love” approach isn’t what ultimately makes this talk a positive experience for yang—it’s oobleck and port. tai and yang get into something of a spat about whether she’s old enough to be spoken to like an adult, tai insults her and makes a jab at her missing arm, shocking port and oobleck but also breaking the tension when yang takes it in the spirit he intended—and then! port asks her why she hasn’t tried on the arm yet, oobleck jumps in to emphasize the question, and yang answers that she’s scared, that she feels like she’s being pressured to be okay when she isn’t.

at which point taiyang says this: “you’re right. it’s not coming back. but that doesn’t have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be; you’re yang xiao long, my sunny little dragon. you can do whatever you put your mind to. so whenever you’re ready to stop moping and get back out there, i’ll be there for you.”—and yang doesn’t know how to answer that. she just stammers uncomfortably...

...until port tells her, “fear is like any other emotion; it comes and goes. it’s all in how you handle it. why, even i find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time,” and oobleck lets yang in on the “secret” that port’s scared of mice and yang relaxes as the conversation swings onto that subject instead.

see the difference? how yang’s teachers non-judgmentally raise the question of what’s holding her back, in contrast to the assumptions tai made about how yang would feel about getting the prosthetic, and how by asking they created the space for yang to express how she really felt, to show real emotional vulnerability she couldn’t before? and how tai’s answer—which acknowledged what she’d said but was ultimately dismissive of her feelings—made her emotionally lock up again, until port and oobleck jumped in to validate her fear, remind her that being afraid now doesn’t mean she’ll be afraid forever, and take the pressure off by going into this bit about port’s phobia of mice?

her professors succeed where tai has been stumbling. yang says she’s scared; tai’s answer is “that doesn’t matter, you can get back out there!” but port and oobleck’s answer is “it’s normal to feel afraid, and it’s important not to let our fears control us.” they meet yang on the level she really needs, accepting “i’m scared, i don’t feel ready” as a perfectly legitimate answer to the question they asked where tai recognizes that she feels that way but seems to see it more as yang just psyching herself out.

so yang gets these two contradictory messages—the harmful one from tai, the healthy one from from port and oobleck—and, although the healthy one sort of “wins” in the moment and she’s able to relax and enjoy herself for a while, ultimately it’s the harmful message that sticks with her and gets reinforced by all her subsequent training with tai.

OKAY. SO. WITH THAT CONTEXT,

yang’s portion of 4.9 largely involves tai imparting advice about what he sees as her biggest weakness: she’s predictable, stubborn, and relies too much on being able to tank her way through most of a fight before using her semblance as a finisher. and... while it’s not bad advice by any means—it boils down to “remember you’ve got more than just raw strength in your toolkit”—much like the way tai handles yang’s recovery, it’s not quite right for yang...

...because it’s not about yang, really. it’s about raven. what tai is responding to in this scene is SPECIFICALLY things he saw in the vytal tournament matches that reminded him of raven, and his advice comes from a place of fear that yang might get stuck in the same harmful patterns he watched raven fall into years ago—but he’s over-identifying yang with raven in a way that, i think, leads him to miss the mark on what yang’s weakness really is. 

laying aside the fall of beacon and yang’s altercation with adam—because she made really the only possible choice in that situation and also that isn’t what tai is talking about in this scene anyway—and focusing only on the fights tai actually witnessed, i.e. the tournament matches: there is a problem, or it might be more accurate to say a danger? in the way yang utilizes her semblance throughout v1-3, somewhat exemplified in the tournament matches, but it’s not the problem tai thinks she has.

tai’s perspective is that yang, like raven, thinks “strength is all that matters in a fight” and doesn’t consider alternative strategies, leading to a fighting style that is over-reliant on using her semblance as a finisher.

but what we really see from yang throughout the beacon arc is that she’s pretty cavalier about taking hits, because she knows she can dish it back twice as hard. yang approaches combat with this underlying mindset that it doesn’t really matter if she gets her ass kicked a little—maybe even that it’s good if she gets her ass kicked a little—because then she can bait her opponent out into over-extending themself and decimate them once they think she’s down for the count. that’s the dangerous tendency that comes out during the tournament matches—the 2v2 and 1v1 in particular. beacon era yang has a fighting style oriented around tanking so much damage that she can convincingly trick her opponents into thinking they’ve beaten her, then punishing them for it when they drop their guard.

it’s cunning. it’s inventive. and it works!

it’s also really fucking dangerous, because it gets yang into the habit of not keeping her guard up, not fighting defensively, not treating her protective aura like the valuable resource it is.

so, while tai offers some good general advice, in the process he overlooks the truly important piece of, hey, you wouldn’t tolerate this level of recklessness from any of your teammates, so stop tolerating it in yourself. stop fighting like you’re expendable. you don’t have to take damage for your semblance to be valuable, and that shouldn’t be your first strategy in every fight.

yang takes the general advice tai gives her to heart, and that shows in how she handles herself in v5 and onwards: she fights more defensively, gets more deliberate in how and when she applies her semblance, and makes an effort to think before she punches when the situation calls for it, all of which makes her a better fighter than she used to be...

...but, crucially, she doesn’t address the underlying mindset, the emotional habits that led her to develop that beacon-era fighting style in the first place. she’s still not taking care of herself, still sacrificing herself—it’s just transmuted into neglecting her emotional needs for the sake of her friends.

(possibly worth noting, also, is that the altercation with adam during the fall of beacon is NOT an example of this strategy—it’s yang panicking and leaping to her partner’s defense because holy fuck that guy stabbed blake, and she’s defeated not because of a strategic error but because she’s simply outmatched. i think that’s part of what makes adam so terrifying afterwards—it’s not just the dismemberment, it’s that he cuts off her arm with his first swing, before yang can even touch him, before yang can soak up any damage while her semblance makes her stronger. like, a lot of yang’s identity is wrapped up in being this scrappy underdog who takes everything her opponent dishes out and then hurls it back in their face—this kind of retributive moment where they think she’s down and then she pops back up and proves them wrong. i think, in v1-3, that gives yang this sense of power, of security—the teenager-ish illusion of invincibility turned up to eleven—and adam strips that away from her specifically by ending the fight on the first swing. losing her arm is traumatic in and of itself, but it happening like this—in a way that also just shattered a core belief yang had about herself—i think really intensified the feelings of powerlessness and loss of identity that we see yang struggling with in v4.)

anyway,

so far we’ve gotten, i think, three major beats of payoff for all of this:

first: the talk weiss and yang have in v5, which on its face is about yang’s resentment of blake for running away but also offers a really important illustration of where yang’s head is at vis-a-vis the importance of her own feelings: she expresses anger at blake for leaving, for not letting yang be there for her—and then that anger twists inside out and becomes what if i needed her here for me?, and she just. crumples. and—well, throughout v5 and onwards, yang tries so hard to be there for her teammates. this conversation with weiss is the only time she’s able to admit that she really desperately needs them to be there for her, too, and it’s obvious that she really didn’t want to admit that, that it slipped out because she was too upset to hold it back.

that’s the narrative signal that all is not well, that the recovery arc isn’t done yet.

second: the fight against adam in v6, which yang wins by deploying her beacon-era strategy of baiting adam into over-extending and then demolishing him with her semblance—sort of. there are two differences from beacon-era yang’s style that i think are important to note: 1. she doesn’t start using this tactic until after blake tells her how adam’s semblance works, and 2. after that point, yang not only continues to fight defensively but becomes very careful about how she attacks adam, minimizing the amount of power he’s able to charge up by blocking her attacks. this is a much more careful, much more tactical, and much safer approach to the old strategy, which demonstrates how yang has grown and improved as a fighter...

...but it also involves yang blowing all of her remaining aura on that final punch, which underscores that “safer” does not mean safe and yang took a massive risk when she decided to handle the fight this way. it paid off because she took steps to mitigate the risks to herself, but... if she’d had just a little less aura, or if adam had been able to juice his semblance just a little bit more, she would’ve lost that fight and maybe gotten killed.

in other words, one purpose of the adam fight is to show that, while tai gave her useful advice that yang incorporated to improve as a fighter generally, because he couldn’t see her real problem clearly enough to speak to it directly, the problem is still there. yang is more judicious about when she uses this strategy and more careful and tactical about how, but she is very much still willing to fling herself into the line of fire and gamble on being able to tank her way through defeat to hit her opponents when they think she’s down.

her aura breaking after she tanked that hit and smashed adam is basically a narrative warning bell that says yeah this problem has gotten subtler but it hasn’t gone away.

and third: yang’s final act in v8 is throwing herself between ruby and neo, who one-shots her aura and flings her into the void to her apparent death. sacrificing yourself for someone else, using yourself as bait, gambling on your ability to tank things you have no right to survive—it doesn’t matter how smart or careful you are when you do it, sooner or later it’s going to catch up with you and you’ll get hit in a way you can’t just power through. that’s the crucial flaw that tai failed to speak to back in v4, the crucial flaw that yang was therefore never able to confront in v5-v8, and the crucial flaw that finally came due in v8.

given that v9 is going to revolve around the question of identity... well. yang’s always had this self-sacrificial streak; in v1-3 it manifested mainly in her fighting style, her neglected defense—and then she lost her arm and recovered in an environment that encouraged her to neglect her emotional healing in favor of getting back onto the battlefield, which led to an arc of yang growing as a fighter while the emotional trauma and dangerous self-sacrificial tendencies festered and got harder to see—until she hit critical mass and the act of self-sacrifice essentially got her killed, except instead of dying she got tossed into a bizarre magical land where she’s not going to be able to hide her feelings because the island responds to emotion.

basically, yang’s physical recovery/emotional damage arc in v4 is setup for the identity arc yang will have in v9, with her stuff in v5-8 quietly unfolding and revealing the long-term harm that was inadvertently done to her in v4; showing that the narratives she internalized about herself (that she’s too stubborn, that she relies too much on strength, that she needs to be smarter) weren’t really accurate, and that while the training she received from her dad truly did help her become a better fighter, it didn’t help her at all as a person, as someone who was suffering and needed emotional support, and in fact only exacerbated her real problem, which is that deep down she doesn’t think she’s as important or valuable or worthy of protection as the people she loves.

...

ALSO, i suspect that ultimately this is going to turn out to be another variation on the broader theme of the younger generation overcoming and learning from the mistakes of their predecessors—what little we know of tai suggests quite strongly that he is also a man who deals with his emotional problems by stuffing them into a little box and trying not to think about them, and while he appears to be the most functional member of team STRQ that is... not a high bar to clear. he passes this onto yang by handling her recovery the way he does, because that’s his normal, and he inadvertently enables her self-sacrificing tendencies in the process—

but unlike tai, yang has a team that isn’t falling apart, friends who love her and will be there for her when she finally accepts that she needs support and it’s okay for her to ask for support, so. the things she’s repressing are going to come out, and she’s going to heal instead of calcifying as she is now.

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

Episode 2: Games and Questions 💬

Cover edited by me

This episode is where the drama begins! It picks up on Elsa's decisions made at the end of Frozen 2 and also on Anna's willingness to befriend anyone without knowing who they really are.

The episode picks up where the previous one left off, when Elsa arrives and extinguishes the fire. Disa is amazed upon seeing Elsa's powers in action for the first time. When Disa came to visit first, when they were little, Anna told her about Elsa's powers, making her the first to know about Elsa's powers. They thankfully see some of the artifacts and books are still fine despite the fire.

After setting off the fire Elsa takes Anna out of the room to talk about what just happened. Elsa tells Anna off gently for allowing anyone to the archive. Then suddenly a Sankerhus fellow pops in to ask something from Anna and Anna acts as if she knows who he is. After the stranger leaves Elsa is quick to point out that Anna doesn't know who he is. To prove her point she asks about his last name. Anna makes up a name hesitantly but Elsa again notices she's lying. Familiar? That's because it's a reference to Kristoff asking about Hans' last name to which Anna replied “Of the Southern Isles ”. Anna gives in and says she's just doing what Elsa told her to do and to let Elsa trust her as she knows what she's doing. Elsa does make a point that the castle feels like a never ending banquet given a while other kingdom is mixed in with Arendelle. But then my favourite part of the episode, Anna can see Elsa misses being Queen! Anna tells Elsa, “Come on Elsa, admit you miss this”, and Elsa replies “You know I actually do”. For a fan who was a little down when Elsa stepped down as Queen (but isn't much anymore - a coming post explains why) and who hates seeing people say Elsa hated being Queen etc, I am really happy they showed this side of Elsa. It's not that Elsa didn't want it to be Queen but rather she didn't expect to be Queen so soon. Not only because of her parents deaths but mostly because she had to focus on controlling her powers and most of all her fear. Her part in "For the first time in forever" says it all. She always feared hurting innocent people with these dangerous powers and to rule hiding them would be hard given you meet and greet a lot of people. Elsa stepped down because she couldn't rule and look after the forest at the same time and she knew Anna would do great as Queen and it would reward her for having saved Elsa, Northuldra and Arendelle. So you ask why does Northuldra need protecting now? Well it's been trapped years under mist so it needs support in regaining its strength and now that more magic is revealed to the world, she knows it can attract people who want to study it, use it, control it, kill it, etc, as she suspects Disa doing here. I didn't for a minute expect Elsa to ever recall her days as Queen, but deep down inside I did want it to happen. It puts a close to those who think she didn't like being Queen or didn't love Arendelle. Elsa continues to say she's just so used to doing this alone. By that she means she knew what decisions were to be made and how to do them. She never needs help with Queenly pressures. She's not saying Anna isn't a good ruler or she isn't capable of making good decisions but rather saying that she misses it, but despite that she gave Anna the crown for a reason and trusts her to do what's best for Arendelle. So if you can't tell already I really loved this conversation between them.

I don't know how this story will turn out but I don't expect Anna stepping down or anything as big or important as that anyway because those things wouldn't be in the podcast I don't think.

Moving on, Disa barges in and then Olaf takes her to dinner. Olaf is so Olaf here. I love it. At the dinner table Anna suggests playing a game where you ask Questions related to your partner's Question. Kristoff and Sven go first, again voice actors are doing a great job at capturing the characters and original voice actors essence. Elsa and Disa are up next and this is when the tables turn and my second favourite moment on the episode begins! Disa asks Elsa why she wanted to see Arendelle's material and Disa asks why she left Arendelle. Elsa asks back why she's so interested in Arendelle to which Disa replies, why aren't you Queen of Arendelle. Elsa asks what she's getting at. As tensions rise, thunders rage and rain pours. Kristoff asks if Elsa's been in touch with Gale today, to which she replies not lately. The episode ends there with tensions rising between a former and current Queen suspecting each other.

So what we can make out here is Elsa suspects Disa of stealing Arendelle's knowledge of magic and using it for her own good. Disa however seems to be accusing Elsa of treason or betraying her own kingdom.. I'm not too sure but I think she's trying to show Elsa's disloyalty to her kingdom. Disa is intrigued by Elsa's magic and the forest's too.. I have a feeling Disa will take some of what is saved from the fire and use it to experiment with her science skills which will cause some kind of chaos but that's just a guess. I could be completely wrong about Disa going full villain.

I predict that Disa is the one causing chaos in the enchanted forest with the machines. The machines are all scientific but they're built with copper which Wolfgang is obsessed with. It could be that Weselton's copper is advanced. She doesn't like magic, she fears it, finds it strange and hence studies it to see if this is a threat or a gift to society. So perhaps she's experimenting in the forest. But I could be totally wrong. But Wolfagang seems like a weird yet innocent man who is genuinely trying to rectify his uncle's actions.

On another note as much as I wanted and some have theorized I don't think Hans is Wolfgang. His voice is different, and he's so crazy about copper and has two pet magpies that apparently can talk plus he knits. He definitely sounds like the nephew of the Duke. I mean would Hans go all out with the magpies and obsession with copper? But I do hope he appears at some point. If not in this season, then the next otherwise than save it for the movie as I do have a bit of hope for his appearance in Frozen 3, but that's for another post.

These episodes have actually been more fun than I imagined. It's interesting, it's fun, it references the two movies, the voice actors nail the original voice actors*. If the story goes down well in the other episodes, then Disney is pulling it off with the podcasts, if not then Disney should reconsider what part of the story they tell through podcasts. I'm excited to see how these will lead up to Frozen 3. I'm not too focused on the supposed theme of Science Vs Nature because story wise it's going great so far. I like a bit of drama because out of that you get reveals which play a part in the story.

But here are the downers to it so far. It seems like it's focused on Disa and Wolfagang while the main characters just play other supporting roles in their journey. When it was being promoted, it was about Elsa, Anna and the lot so it was kinda misleading.

But then again, I think perhaps this event might change Elsa and Anna's perspective on strangers, royal or not. I think they are showing Elsa and Anna learning to trust the right way. And maybe this might help with Hans' redemption if he reappears in Frozen 3. Because if Wolfagang is a genuinely nice man, it may make Elsa and Anna slightly open to forgiving past enemies. I think that's why the Duke's nephew was introduced here and why they could be saving Hans for the movie.

* If you didn't know already, the original cast aren't voicing this I'm assuming because of prep for Frozen 3 or perhaps to give a different feel to the podcasts then the movies. So a new cast is voicing them.

When the other episodes release we'll get further information on what Frozen 3 could be about and where the story is heading.

#disney frozen #frozen #frozen 2 #frozen 3 #elsa #anna #kristoff #sven #Olaf #frozen podcast #frozen forces of nature #forces of nature #frozen: forces of nature

[lovemishjen]

I have been trying to understand why I was so disappointed with the Supernatural finale. After all, being a writer myself, I wouldn’t like anyone telling me how to write the climax to my story, and therefore, I more than the average viewer should have been able to respect the freedom of the writers and showrunners to take their story to what they believed to be the right conclusion.

The problem, I realized is that every story has a structure that it has to follow to get it to make sense, even the ones that are not overtly formulaic.

So I looked at a few beloved older shows that I watched through the seasons and understand what made their endings more palatable.

The Mentalist – Like supernatural, The Mentalist is not a show about romance; it is a police procedural show, with a murder solved by the team in each episode, and more importantly it is about Jane’s obsession and quest for revenge from the serial killer Red John and finally the journey towards Jane’s catharsis. But as the characters evolved, Jane and Lisbon’s equation changed from friendship to something more, very organically I would say, and the show ends with them together and even expecting a baby – a satisfying happy ending that works thanks to not just Jane’s character growth but Lisbon’s as well.

House MD – Again, not a show about romance or even friendships. It’s a hospital show and a ‘medical procedural’, that unlike Grey’s Anatomy and similar shows, is almost fully focused on the titular character. The showrunners have spoken about how House and Wilson were inspired by Conan Doyle’s Holmes and Watson. During all the ups and downs over the seasons, their friendship remains the heart of the series, and while the pairing was wildly popular in the fandom, with slash fiction being written prolifically even now, ten years after the show ended, the showrunners chose to keep the relationship platonic. As the characters were introduced as canonically straight, the writers probably did not dare take a wild leap to sexual intimacy on the show, despite the immense popularity of the pairing. However, we see the characters falling out and getting back together, thereby strengthening their bond, and the protagonist, a self-professed selfish and ‘bastard’ character, giving up on everything that meant anything to him, and driving off into the sunset with his best friend aka the person who is most important to him, again satisfying though bittersweet.

Elementary – Yet another police procedural. Most people read Sherlock and Joan’s relationship as platonic, a change from the shipping heavy pairings. Here too, the show ends with the two friends taking steps to becoming platonic-life partners after all the turmoil and physical dangers they faced over the series.

Now, in Supernatural, the story demanded a happy or at least a bittersweet ending. Why? Because of the death, resurrection, pain, literal hellfire, loss of loved ones that Sam and Dean went through, only a happy ending makes sense, and heaven, that is canonically in the control of manipulative angels is not a happy ending at all, unlike say ‘The Good Place’.

If I were to take the story to its logical conclusion, the finale would have both brothers taking the call to be semi-retired. Sam and Eileen would probably set up a Hunters Headquarters in the Men of Letters bunker. Dean would either start a Roadhouse-style bar named after Ellen and Jo or an Auto restoration business for classic cars named after Bobby. A full blown romantic relationship between Dean and Cas wouldn’t work so late in the game. So, again a platonic life partner setup, that’s open for interpretation, with Dean, Cas and Jack buying a farm where Claire and the rest of the found family frequently visit them. 

So the brothers would find stability and “the peace when you’re done” that we were promised. Dean and Cas, as both soldiers with a fair amount of PTSD, would help each other on the path to healing. Sam would never get out of hunting as he wanted at the start, but a semi-retired approach would give that to him partially, and let him indulge in research that makes sense for his academic type personality. 

The final shot would be of the brothers in the backyard of dean’s farm, drinking beer, finally at peace, not just with the world, but with each other, as having their own support system in the form of found family, and their own space would let them get over the annoyance of constantly living in each other’s pockets, forever on the road, with no control over their destiny and mistrustful of each other. We were so robbed of this – a logical, meaningful bittersweet ending that made sense for these beloved characters.

#spn #spn meta #destiel #sam and dean #dean and cas #sam and eileen #destiel meta #spn finale

[eaeulfl]

Spoiler for those who haven’t finished season 4 part 3/the last two episodes

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I just finished the last episode and my mind is a hot mess.

I’m probably going to miss some things but here are some of the stuff I have an opinion about:

1. Regarding armin/erwin my thoughts remain unchanged. Despite feeling strongly about it, I gave the series the benefit of the doubt when erwin got killed. I wanted to see if I was wrong. I would’ve been happy about it. In the end armin turned out to be as effective of a commander as a ten year old. The fact of the matter is that he couldn’t do much in the end. He had a number of breakdowns, he wasn’t able to control or utilize the colossal titan as well as bertholdt could in the past, he slipped up that time he was doing a little pep talk with yelena in the background, his biggest plan all along was always to “talk it out first” but that failed too, etc. Eren still did what he wanted and people still died. Except for blowing up the dock and when he tried to sacrifice himself so that falco wouldn’t get eaten by Connie’s mom, I don’t recall any other accomplishments that were of substance in season 4. It’s also possible that I’m just forgetting things because my mind is still racing right now and I’m still going through it emotionally, but for now my thoughts are unchanged. Can you imagine what it would have been like had erwin lived instead?

2. Connecting from the thought above, we can’t change that erwin died, but after finishing the series I can finally conclude that jean should’ve been the next commander. At the very least, he should have been made a vice commander. First of all it’s not impossible that floch survived all of that, but it’s pretty convenient that he did so he could shoot at the fuel tank in order to create a situation where the rumbling would catch up to them. In this situation it was also pretty convenient that Levi had been injured so badly he couldn’t be the one to fight, so as the commander hange decided she had to go, which was apparently a suicide mission because of the temperature around the colossals. I’m going to keep it 100% real here and say the circumstances leading up to this point of armin getting handed the commander’s seat were pretty convenient. Levi whose instincts were so great he managed to remain more or less unscathed for most of the series including when he had to fight kenny, he really didn’t see zeke using the lightning spear coming? And even then he couldn’t dodge it? Despite years of remaining unscathed under different circumstances that were just as if not more horrible? Levi who, along with mikasa, was the first to notice and to react to the replica of the beast titan throwing its shots at them? I just found it a bit hard to believe. And Hange said in the end, “The position calls for a certain quality― a mindset of continuously pursuing understanding”, and I admit armin did have this, but are we really going to ignore what hange also said earlier in the series just so it fits the current narrative? In season 3 when they were arguing about who to give the injection to, hange held mikasa back saying armin was indeed exceptional, but that he lacked the leadership and experience that erwin had. At least from my pov, armin didn’t really change much from the second half of season 1 to season 4. Jean on the other hand, has proven himself numerous times in this regard. He’s a quick thinker, reliable, practical, and passionate - all the qualities of a good leader. No doubt jean isn’t perfect, but imo he’s definitely more suitable. Let’s also not forget jean too has his moments of “pursuing understanding”. There are probably more than I can think of at the moment, but the ones that come to mind immediately are that scene at the end of season 1 which has really stuck with me ever since, when he asked armin if abandoning your humanity was the only way to win, and if eren did become that monster would that really be a victory for humanity, and then that other time when they were in the cell and jean asked mikasa and armin if eren hurting them had some sort of meaning behind it. I wouldn’t say jean is the smartest or the wisest character in the series, but he’s not brainless. Far from it. For some reason, and I’m guessing maybe because he can be short tempered at times, more often than not people don’t really talk about his quick thinking or about the important questions that he’s asked.

3. This is totally unrelated to the series and it’s about naruto so if you’re not into that or if you haven’t seen naruto just skip this part because spoilers.

Before eren’s intentions were made clear I already kind of guessed how it would play out because it’s reminiscent of how itachi wanted sasuke to be the one to kill him so that sasuke would be a hero of the leaf despite being an uchiha. Eren saw the crew as the people most important to him, and for itachi sasuke was even more precious than konoha itself. Eren committed genocide, itachi massacred his entire clan and more. Eren hurt the crew and especially mikasa and armin on purpose, itachi hurt sasuke on purpose. There was of course a huge difference between their executions, and imo itachi played his part much much more skillfully than eren did and for far longer, but it’s an interesting parallel.

4. I found the ending a bit weird. I can kind of roll with it but compared to the majority of the series and how it built itself up up until that point, it honestly feels off. I understand why people thought it was a bad ending, but I also don’t think the author deserved hate for it. And I mean like, there are some really angry people. In most situations, and I’m generalizing here, it’s alright to have opinions and it’s alright to feel a certain way but to direct those feelings towards the author himself is taking it a bit far. It’s his freedom to write whatever. Let’s be happy we even got anything from him. Without the author there would’ve been nothing at all. I know from personal experience it can be overwhelming at times, but it’s going to be ok.

5. I don’t have a particular attachment towards zeke but I felt sorry seeing everything that he had gone through. I’m mentioning this only because I’ve never really talked about it I think. I’ve talked about some of the other characters but not so much about zeke’s past from what I can remember. Grisha and Dina were terrible parents, and him calling Tom ksaver “father” was really sad. I know he’s not the only one and I really don’t even like him all that much but he really had it rough.

6. I felt that the love interests weren’t written very well. I get mikasa cause she’s been obsessed with eren from the start, but we really only started to see eren’s supposed “interest” in her in season 4, and only in glimpses. There really isn’t a lot of material to fall back on. I always felt he saw her as more of a sister? Of course he’s shouted at her before that he wasn’t her little brother or something along that line, but I always felt he just saw her as family. The only thing I can think of from earlier seasons to support this pair is that time when eren first wrapped the scarf around her and he was blushing. I always saw that as more of like, he was kind of embarrassed to do something like that because for him the act was a bit intimate and they weren’t too familiar with each other, but I guess you could also see it as him blushing because he had a small crush on her. On top of this they lived together in the same house and grisha has referred to mikasa as his daughter, so I just found it a bit weird. Obviously they’re not actually siblings but they were kind of raised as brother and sister for some time, so. A bit weird from my perspective. What’s more is the dynamic itself doesn’t seem to be very healthy. But I’m not mad at people who ship them. That kind of romance is definitely possible, and they’re technically not related, so it’s whatever I guess. They were also very young still so in an ideal world I imagine their dynamic might’ve been able to change for the better as they matured. On the other hand armin and Annie I found even weirder. It just felt too sudden. I get that armin ate bertholdt so that could’ve contributed, and I get that Annie literally only had armin and hitch as company most of the time for literal years, but it’s still weird for me. Like good for them but I wish it could’ve been a bit more fleshed out.

7. I’ve said this before but I didn’t appreciate the parallels drawn between Erwin and Armin. They are entirely separate characters with entirely different motives. Connecting to what I said at point 1 armin was never able to “replace” erwin. Of course the same can be said for erwin, he was never going to be another armin. I feel the same way about the parallels drawn between Sasha and gabi. Again two entirely separate characters with entirely different motives. I can appreciate parallels but only if they’re written well. These just felt like forced propaganda.

There’s more but for now I’ll stop here cause this is getting a bit long and I’m really tired

#shingeki no kyojin #armin arlert #Erwin Smith #yelena #eren jaeger #connie springer #jean kirschtein #floch forster #levi ackerman #hange zoe #zeke jaeger #mikasa ackerman #grisha jaeger #dina fritz #tom ksaver #annie leonhart #sasha braus #gabi braun #bertholdt hoover

[daydreamtofiction]

Hello! Firstly, I wanted to say just how much I adore your writing style. There's just something ever so beautiful about the way it flows. And speaking of flow... I wondered if had any tips for making a story flow better, I've so many ideas but I just can't seem to figure out how to put them all together in a coherent way. Thank you!

Firstly, thank you so much.

This is such a good question but it’s one I’m having a really hard time coming up with practical advice for! I’ll try my best, but I’m sorry in advance if this isn’t helpful.

As always, I like to start with the disclaimer that I’m 29, I’ve been writing since I was a child, went to university at 18 for an undergrad in creative writing and got my masters in creative writing at 23. I’ve also had another 6 years since graduating in which I’ve been incredibly privileged to be mentored and supported by some amazing people and organisations in the literary space. So I’ve got a lot of years worth of practice and development under my belt. I’m not saying anyone needs degrees or training or anything to become a good writer, because you don’t, I’m just trying to emphasise how time is truly the best aid for anyone looking to hone their craft. And there’s never a set formula you can follow when it comes to improving your writing.

Funnily enough, I enjoy creating fics so much on this platform because it allows me to be a little more lax with my writing. Some things I’ve published under this alias would never fly with an editor and would probably be torn apart in developmental feedback. I don’t edit and redraft as much as I do with my irl work, I’m not as economical with my words and I try not to overthink things too much. So first and foremost, I’d say go easy on yourself. You write your fics for you, and you write them for free! Fanfic readers, on a whole, consume works that range drastically in author skill level. And for the most part, they will still enjoy and appreciate a fic despite its flaws.

That being said, let me try and actually answer your question lol.

When you say ‘flow’, I’m not sure if you mean the narrative or the actual writing itself. So I’ll give separate advice for both.

The narrative

Some good ways to make a narrative flow better is to think about pace, character and storyline.

Think about a TV show, I’ll use Fleabag season 2 as an example since it’s fresh in my mind from my priest fic. The basic premise is Fleabag meets a priest, fancies him, they hook up, but in the end he chooses God. If that’s all the story was, the show would be an episode long. What makes it so much more compelling is all the little ‘side quests’ she takes, the exploration of herself and other relationships, the time they take to allow that tension to build, little scenes that have no bearing on the main plot but add meat onto the bones of the story.

This helps control the pace; makes it feel more substantial and gives the readers time to bond with your characters and become invested in the story. It also stops you and your readers becoming fatigued by the main plot. Think about your day; you got up, went to school/work/wherever, came home and went to bed. But that wasn’t the extent of your day. You also might have noticed some new freckles while washing your face that morning, had an interesting interaction with a shopkeeper while buying your lunch, you might have found yourself dwelling on something that happened years ago which affected your mood, it might have rained when you weren’t expecting it to. All those little things are what make the journey from A to B truly flow.

So don’t be scared to divert from the main storyline with extra scenes, or create secondary plots that run alongside the main narrative. Not only will it help with the pace, but it will also force you to create more well-rounded characters. A well-rounded character is another great way to make a story flow, because they feel more real and less like a device.

Having lots of ideas and no idea how to make them flow is a problem I think many writers have. My advice for that is to not attempt to squeeze everything into one story just because you’re overwhelmed with a plethora of ideas. I know it can be hard when you’ve thought of a great plot point or scene but you just can’t make it fit, or you can’t figure out where in the story all of your ideas should go. That’s why it’s good to create a rough outline of your story in advance (either mentally or written out), piece together where all of these ideas might go before you start to write your story.

You can keep a note of your ideas in a separate folder/journal/document, that way you won’t feel as compelled to fit everything in one fic, because you’ll have this great selection of ideas you didn’t use that can be utilised in other projects.

If you’re still struggling to make your ideas flow into one coherent narrative, then it could be a sign that the story you’re wanting to write isn’t a fully developed concept yet. It might be worth taking some time to read other books/fics you like, watch tv/films and take note of how they’re structured, even daydreaming about your ideas can be useful, as the more you play them out, the more you may begin to notice how your mind naturally puts them together.

The writing itself

Read 👏 your 👏 work 👏 aloud 👏. It’s easier to detect issues in the flow of your writing when you speak it out loud - if you trip over your sentences, then you can almost guarantee a reader will. Pay attention to where you naturally take pause, that’s usually indicative of a comma being required or a sentence running on too long.

Be mindful of your story reading like ‘and then they did this, then they did that, then they went here’. Not everyone writes in a flowery way, but it should still have texture, some light and shade. Similarly, make sure you’re not repeating yourself. Nothing interrupts the flow of a paragraph like seeing the same words or descriptions over and over again.

Also, I know I said I’m less economical with language here than I am in my real life work. But I still advise trying to lessen unnecessary words/sentences. Give readers credit that they can fill in blanks themselves. Do you need to tell them the character is holding the phone in their left hand specifically, or can you just say they’re holding their phone? Do you really need to describe a characters appearance top to bottom, or can you just pick out a few defining features? Do they need to be described at all? Could you take a sentence like ‘I walked over to the table and picked up the camera, then I turned around and took a picture of the flowers in the vase.’ And turn it into ‘I took the camera off the table and snapped a picture of the flowers.’ It’s only a small difference, but in terms of flow, the key is making it require as little effort as possible to absorb.

I also just realised you could be asking about dialogue, which is its own challenge entirely. But I did give this advice to another person asking how to make dialogue sound more natural.

I really hope this helps! Sorry I went on a bit lmao.

#writing advice #writing advice with daydreamtofiction

[battlekidx2]

Amphibia - All In Thoughts

I love Amphibia. The amount of hype I had coming into this episode was unreal and I have to say it didn’t disappoint. You could see the love and care that the crew put into every second of this episode and I was left breathless. I started watching Amphibia at the start of the pandemic and it’s been a very important show for me over the past few years. I’m really glad that I’ve had the chance to watch this show since before season 2 started airing and that I’m going to be able to watch it come to completion. I’d like to dive right into my thoughts because there are a lot.

I want to start with Sasha because I really thought her part of the episode was masterfully handled and the perfect completion to her arc.

Sasha has been consistently well written since the very beginning and they have yet to disappoint. And in my opinion Sasha is the best written character. Her arc really came full circle in this episode in so many ways.

The decision to have Sasha be the one to fight Marcy was brilliant and it draws interesting parallels between the two. The core is a collection of minds that couldn’t let go. They couldn’t abandon their control over Amphibia or those closest to them (namely Andrias) and they are confronted by Sasha who has learned to grow past that need for control and power.

The battle between Sasha and Darcy was incredible. The animation, music, lighting, and dialogue all hit home how important this fight is for Sasha’s character. Sasha teeters between crippling guilt and unbridled rage throughout the fight which clashes with Darcy’s overconfidence. Their respective weapons of choice and fighting styles, Darcy’s fluidity vs Sasha’s brutality, convey this contrast well. All the people who worked on this fight scene were clearly having the time of their lives.

Sasha’s unyielding determination has always been her strongest asset and that moment where she got back up despite her very serious injuries so that she could save Marcy, defeat the core, and protect those she cares about was such a powerful moment. It harkened back to the Third Temple and the little girl who stood up for two kids she didn’t know that ultimately set her on this path and brought her to this moment. Her determination that had lost its innocence and would hurt those around her earlier in the series has regained its selflessness and is bolstered by the experience, maturity, and love that she has now. It is ultimately what saves the people she cares about most as well as the world.

I really loved the culmination of Sasha’s arc in this episode where she rejects Darcy’s comparison between them and frees Marcy while saying the incredibly powerful line “I’m not that person anymore.” Sasha has been struggling with accepting that she’s really changed and that she’s deserving of this third chance she’s been given throughout the entire season up to this point. She’s been struggling under her own guilt and self loathing but at this moment she’s accepting that she’s changed and is a better person. That she won’t backslide and will fight to be better every day. It’s just like Anne said “It’s not who we were that matters Sash. It’s who we are now that counts.”

I don’t know if I managed to put into words how powerful this scene is and how well it encapsulates Sasha’s growth as a person so I’m going to put the clip here so you can see for yourself. This scene is a distillation of what makes Sasha such a great character.

I also love how she’s the one who takes Marcy’s hand and lets her know they forgave her. A lot of people who were getting mad at Sasha for being upset with Marcy last episode were sort of missing the point. Sasha in the first two seasons isn’t known for her forgiveness and her being upset with Marcy was setting up the completion of her arc over the series. It was the last step Sasha needed to make to become who she was always meant to be. 

Sasha is the one who reaches out her hand, even before Marcy is awake to ask for forgiveness, and gives it to her. This is a completely different Sasha from the one we first saw in Prison Break. The one who was obsessed with control, power, and manipulation and it really is a testament to how much she’s grown that this was the end of her arc. Not the big flashy fight with Andrias but a personal fight between her and the core away from prying eyes that ended with her saving and holding Marcy and ultimately forgiving her.

It also makes it clear that Sasha wasn’t sure that she had changed herself and part of her hesitance to forgive was projection onto Marcy. It's important that her verbally confirming to herself and Darcy that she’s not that person anymore is closely followed by her forgiving Marcy. These acts were intertwined for Sasha. One couldn’t happen without the other.

I’m a sucker for Grime and Sasha’s relationship and Grime sacrificing his arm to save her life was emotional. Their dynamic has been a rollercoaster where they both initially brought out the worst in each other but through their genuine care for one another they ultimately brought out the best in each other as well. Seeing how they filled in the holes in each other’s life has been moving. 

Sasha clearly hasn’t had a stable home life and Grime provided that consistent parental presence and support that she lacked. Meanwhile Sasha managed to worm her way under Grime’s tough exterior and open him up to connection and life outside of power and battle. 

This sacrifice and her pointed remark that she’s “not that person anymore” is even more meaningful in the context of Sasha’s entire arc. She spent so long not really knowing who she wants to be but desperately trying to cling onto how things were. In season 2 so much of her arc is punctuated with loss because of this. When Percy and Braddock leave her because she pushed them too far in Barrel’s Warhammer it starts a chain event where all she does is lose things one after another. She loses Percy and Braddock, she loses Anne, and she loses Marcy all because of the path she had chosen.

But Grime stays by her side through everything. He almost leaves in Turning Point but he comes back when she needs him most and voices that she’s the most important person in his life right now. That while his sister may have power and an army she doesn’t have his Lieutenant. She doesn’t have Sasha. He’s a constant pillar of support for her and was integral to her finding her way.

And because of her newfound conviction and the confirmation of Grime’s unconditional support she was able to gain so much on her journey of self betterment. She’s rebuilt a genuine and deep relationship with Anne, she’s gained real trust and companionship, she’s learning to forgive herself and others, she’s learning self-love, and she’s finally able to use her strengths for the good of everyone around her, not just herself.

This section of the episode had no shortage of powerful moments but the rest of the episode hit just as hard. Anne’s arc and battle this episode was also incredibly executed. It was just as emotional as it was visually stunning. I think I want to start with the flashback and the “who am I?” essay she was given.

Amphibia always excels at using its flashbacks to amplify the storytelling to the fullest and this one was no exception. This flashback really explored something that had been hinted at since the beginning, that Anne had always been the one in Marcy and Sasha’s shadow. The one others thought didn’t have greatness in her future. Sasha and Marcy were at the top of Amphibia within months of getting there but Anne slowly built her way up in this world. She put in the work and grew as a person and because of that she made allies all over. Her strengths weren’t as flashy or eye turning as Sasha and Marcy’s but that didn’t mean they were any less important.

Anne didn’t immediately burn brightly like Sasha and Marcy but she grew to be a light for so many people. And it’s because she didn’t burn brightly and intensely right away that she didn’t sputter out as violently. Sasha and Marcy’s respective power and influence came crashing down so quickly. They didn’t have the solid, steady group of allies that Anne had built for herself. They didn’t know who they wanted to be and kept doubling down on their flaws that held them back from growing into who they were meant to become. 

In their world Anne didn’t have the self respect to capitalize on her own strengths and her self doubt clouded and hid aspects of herself that ended up inspiring others. It’s through meeting the Plantars and living in Wartwood that she has been able to grow into the true warrior and leader that she is today. She confronted her flaws and learned from them. Her growth was gradual and because of this it was easy for others on the outside looking in to overlook entirely which was their mistake.

Anne was underestimated by Andrias, the core, and many other foes that she came across but she always stepped up to the plate and grew as a result. Andrias says as much when he finally comes face to face with Anne once again. “Y’know I think I finally figured out why the stones picked you as their champion Boonchuy. From the moment you walked into my throne room I underestimated you. A scruffy little girl with one shoe and leaves in her hair, yet underneath it all a true warrior. Such a brilliant deception.” And it was this moment of respect that made me sit back and think back on how far Anne has come. 

Her rematch with Andrias was also breathtaking. The scale, power, and stakes were all captured masterfully. Just like the fight between Darcy and Sasha this one portrays how Anne and Andrias are narrative foils. Andrias is a dark mirror of Anne. He shut himself off from connection and love after betrayals from his closest friends whereas Anne never stopped caring for others in spite of those same betrayals. Andrias is the embodiment of all the regrets Anne could have had whereas Anne is the embodiment of what Andrias could have been.

I will never get over the fact that Anne gets her second wind in the fight by her parents and the Plantars blaring her favorite song while chanting her name. I love that scene and it’s funny how accurate that actually is. Anne is relatable even in the middle of a fight for the fate of earth.

The animation, music, and transitions between the two fights were all amazing. The transition has got to be the best in the entire show. (You know the transition I’m talking about)

The visual parallels between their first fight in True Colors and their fight in this episode are great and the two images above are of my favorite one.

Marcy’s arc also comes to a powerful conclusion within her mindscape. She is given the perfect world where nothing will go wrong and Sasha and Anne want exactly what she wants. But this isn’t reality and those aren’t her Anne and Sasha. The fact that it's them saying “whatever you want Mar Mar. We only want what you want” is what makes Marcy realize all of this is fake is a testament to her growth. 

In season two Marcy was dead set on convincing herself that she made the right choice. That what she did was for all of them, not just herself, before she is forced to confront the reality that her choice was selfish. She did it to run away from her problems. She forced this choice onto Sasha and Anne and while they did grow and make irreplaceable connections that doesn’t make what she did right. (once again her choice was understandable but it wasn’t right)

“The real Anne and Sasha don’t want what I want and it hurts but forcing them to follow my dreams is wrong. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

The tragedy of Marcy is her loneliness and how it drew her to this fantasy in the first place but also how that fantasy came crashing down in the most horrible way possible. Andrias stabs her in the back (literally), she and Sasha and Anne all end up separated, and she ends up being possessed by the core. It was one horrible trauma after the next and she is forced to realize the perfect fantasy doesn’t exist and it never did. That running from her problems doesn’t solve anything and actually makes the inevitable moment where she must confront her actions all the more painful for both herself and those around her. 

I adore the moment that Marcy slaps Aldrich’s hand away (this moment was very dramatic but also kind of funny. He’s being all intense and trying to make her become one with their hive mind and she just straight up slaps away his giant hand) and rejects being assimilated into the core with another powerful line “No. Only a coward would hide away in this place. Well, I reject this sick fantasy and I reject you!”

He tries once more to keep her there by reminding her of what awaits her once she leaves. All that is there for her is rejection. She’ll still have to move and she’ll still have to face her friends, but she’s done running. She believes in her friends and the memories they have together. They become her tether as her world is enveloped into darkness as Aldrich tries to break her and assimilate her into the core. It’s her memories that help her hold on even away from Sasha and Anne in this moment just like they would be there for her if she moved away.

The reconciliation between the three may be my favorite scene in the show. I know I’ve said that about more than one scene already but that’s just a testament to how amazing this episode is. Sasha forgives Marcy, Marcy apologizes for what she did, and Anne reaffirms that things have irrevocably changed between the three of them but no matter what they will always mean so much to each other. They have changed because of each other and even if they grow apart nothing can take that from them. That message is so touching. Nothing is permanent but that doesn’t mean that it was pointless.

I love how the photo of the three girls is important even now and how it means something completely different to each of them. It’s outgrown the meaning it once had. The first time the audience sees that photo is in the opening where it’s stuck in a branch in the rain while lightning strikes. It’s the first hint that we get that Anne’s friendships back home weren’t as sunshine and rainbows as it initially seemed. The dynamic of the people in that photo wasn’t the healthiest despite the genuine care they clearly had for each other. That first sighting and these last ones show their respective growth.

When Sasha sees the photo in this episode she deflates. Looking at it reminds her of the old her and she’s not proud of who she was. It also reminds her of the doubt she has that she’s actually changed. It’s no longer the tether for her that it was at the beginning. She doesn’t carry it around like she used to because she is no longer dead set on returning to the way things were. She knows that can’t happen and doesn’t want it to. She wants to be better, different.

For Anne this photo is a reminder of how far they have all come. That who they were isn’t what matters but who they are now and that is punctuated by her leaving the photo inside her locker. It is always where she can find it just like the memories that they have made but they have all outgrown that old dynamic and left it behind. 

For Marcy that photo is a tether. A light in the dark. She now knows that she can’t keep holding onto the past and Sasha and Anne but that doesn’t mean that what they had can’t help her through the dark times. She may leave them behind to move when she goes back to reality but those memories will always be with her. That love and care will never leave.

I also want to talk about Andrias, Leif’s letter, and his final choice. Leif’s letter was all about trying to ensure that Andrias knows that she loved him and that she wants him to keep his heart open to other people so he doesn’t miss out on the connections and love he could have. And it’s so tragic because like Andrias said “It’s too late”. He’s done too many horrible, irreversible things and shut himself off for too long for any of that to be a reality. All he can do at this point is accept his defeat and take himself off the board. 

The flashbacks we got of him and Marcy also show that he really did care for her but once again that betrayal made it so that he tried to fight against it. Marcy wormed her way into his heart (like she did his pocket) but he wouldn’t let himself fully accept that he cared about her. He finds work arounds to keep her alive while also doing his duty. He was torn between the two sides of himself but when push comes to shove he sacrifices her to keep the core happy and stay on his mission. He recognizes this. He knows that he’s betrayed the only person who found a way into his heart after all these years and that he can’t undo any of it. He’s a cautionary tale to every one of the calamity trio, not just Anne. 

His breakdown and final moments in the fight were so amazingly voice acted and directed. He goes from sobbing uncontrollably at finally getting the closure he needed after so long to calm resignation when he opens his suit to allow Anne to perform the final blow. He’s revealed to be a cyborg when he’s torn apart by Anne’s final attack. He’s literally lost parts of himself to make sure he lived long enough to see this day until very little of the original Andrias remained. What little was left of the real him comes out when he asks Anne to save Marcy as he lies in pieces.

He seems to still be alive since he was in the castle at the end of the episode so he could play a part in the trio saving Amphibia and it would be fitting that he lives to see Leif’s terrible vision for the future come true.

I can’t believe that the episode once again ended on a massive cliffhanger. The Amphibia crew really wants to kill me with anticipation with how they’re going. They also want to see how emotional they can make their fans because they came out of the gate swinging with The Beginning of the End and have not let up for a second since. I don’t know if I’m going to make it through The Hardest Thing. The title alone is making me emotional. I can’t wait to see the end of this amazing series and I have full faith in the Amphibia crew to tug at my heartstrings and leave me with a goodbye I will never forget.

The only thing I am on the fence about is how quickly everyone bounces back after the battle, especially Marcy bouncing back so quickly after she reconciles with Sasha and Anne (I loved everything about her part of the episode up until this point) because she brushed everything that happened off very quickly.

Marcy’s arc is so deeply intertwined with trauma and breaking the fantasy that it felt a bit odd to have her go back to acting just fine, even changing into her old season 2 outfit, so quickly. I’m on the fence because while this turn was jarring within this episode there is still one more episode that could cover this issue. I have faith this will be touched upon in the next episode because of how amazing this finale has been so far so I will just wait and see.

That and Sasha and Grime definitely needed a hospital but instead just got a group hug. Not complaining because they deserved that group hug. I mostly just found it funny by that point and there has been no shortage of amazing fanart that has pointed this out as well. (These artists draw so quickly it’s insane) Sasha and Grime were practically dying before this group hug so seeing them up and about so soon and acting fine was a bit strange to say the least.

Extra thoughts

I loved that the thing that spurs the Plantars into taking on the Herons is their desire to protect the Boonchuys. They really became family during their time on earth. The Plantars gaining that closure by defeating the birds that took Polly and Sprig’s parents from them to save their surrogate family was such a nice moment.

Keith David’s voice acting was amazing. Actually all the voice acting in this episode was amazing.

The music was so good! TJ Hill keeps outdoing himself every episode and I really hope they release the score at some point.

The fights were incredible. The animation was so smooth and you could see how much fun the team was having with certain parts. The scythe animation and Darcy’s fighting style were particularly phenomenal.

I would talk about Sprig’s arc, which I really enjoyed in this episode especially with how it mirrored the calamity trios, but it felt more like set up for The Hardest Thing than a culmination of a character arc like we had with Sasha, Anne, Marcy, and Andrias so I’m going to wait for next week to go more in depth.

Whoever was animating Darcy’s hands was having the time of their life this episode.

Mrs. Boonchuy giving Sasha a hug was my favorite small detail of the episode. 

Sasha looked so tired and done this episode and she needs to go to the hospital and have a long overdue nap.

I feel really bad for Matt Braly and the Amphibia crew for the All In leak from Xfinity. They really didn’t deserve this to happen twice and to their biggest episodes too. 

This is the first time in years that I watched cable and other than the ads recycling during every ad break it wasn’t that bad (that Owl House ad was not good) and I’m glad I did it to support the show. 

#amphibia #all in #sasha waybright #anne boonchuy #Marcy wu #andrias #sprig #darcy

[saint-bestial]

@ygoc-week - Day 6

(sooo i know free day is tomorrow's prompt but i didn't really have anything for today's. so i'm gonna do free day today and AU tomorrow if that's ok ;-;)

doing a general lore dump today!! i love rambling about Sylvester, so i thought it'd be fun to talk about a bunch of stuff i couldn't fit elsewhere. i need a bit of a break since i've been drawing nonstop all week. this isn't exhaustive by any means but i know for a fact it'll get long. Sylvester has been in development for like 2 years now and it shows.

i tried to organize everything in rough categories under the cut:

As a Signer Dragon:

like the rest of the Signer Dragons, Sylvester was created by the Crimson Dragon to serve it and the Signers. he participated in the Signer Wars of the past, fighting Earthbound Immortals by air and sea.

his main ability was producing electricity. the orange markings that ran down the sides of his body and tail gave off devastating electric shocks. additionally, he could fire great bolts of lightning from his mouth. he had a high degree of control over the strength of his electricity, but he could overwhelm his natural resistance and injure himself if not careful.

at first, Sylvester served faithfully like the other dragons. but he soon grew resentful of the cycle of war. his only purpose was to serve the Signers, fight, and then lie in wait until the next Signers were born thousands of years later. he desired more out of his life than simply being used as a weapon.

the Earthbound Immortals, feeding off his negative emotions, approached him with a deal. if he agreed to turn on the Crimson Dragon and help them defeat it, its death would break the cycle of war, thus freeing him from servitude. of course, this would mean sacrificing humanity's existence, but he valued humans very little. he was apathetic at best toward them. so he agreed.

when the Signer War 5,000 years prior to 5Ds began, Sylvester turned on his fellow dragons as planned. he received additional power from the Earthbound Immortals, making him even harder to stop. he mortally wounded Life Stream Dragon and facilitated Ancient Fairy Dragon's capture by Uru. it took both Stardust and Black Rose Dragon to finally subdue him, but a final burst of energy allowed him to break free.

actively dying, Sylvester soared toward the Crimson Dragon to engage with it directly. discharging at full power, he flew into its body as a last ditch effort. he was incinerated instantly by the sacred flames. ultimately, the plan failed and the Signers won the war once again.

Relationship to the other Signer Dragons:

Sylvester's mind may have long forgotten his feud with his brethren, but his soul has not. he feels an ancient anger rising in him if they're summoned in a duel against him. in turn, they become similarly aggressive.

he is capable of understanding Signer Dragon speech during duels, and can respond in dragon tongue. this is done unconsciously, the language is embedded so deeply in him that he can't speak in it at will.

Identity and Body:

Sylvester identifies as nonhuman. he comes to strongly believe he deserves dignity regardless of his species, and that he shouldn't need to act human to be respected.

he has a complicated relationship with the body he inhabits. he frequently suffers from phantom limbs and the sensation of being suffocated, crushed, or otherwise attacked by his own skin. most of the scars on his forearms come from him gouging/biting at his skin during episodes where he can't recognize his own body.

despite all the grief his human body gives him, Sylvester refuses to give it up. it's what allowed him to meet Kiryu and experience a taste of a real life. he wouldn't change anything even though he's been through so much pain.

his attachment to his Signer Dragon self is really weird. he doesn't directly remember anything he did, he only knows what others have told him about himself. and while he wishes he could remember, at the same time he's glad he can't. because if he remembered it would change him. he would become someone else. and deep down he doesn't want that, he wants to be who he is now and free himself from all the expectations and preconceptions heaped onto him. and that's the real reason the Dark Signers can't bring him back to his full dragon form.

he can and does talk when he has to, but it's not his preferred method of communicating. his voice is low and rough sounding.

due to being a duel spirit, the process of becoming a Dark Signer produced strange effects on his body. he gained longer, sharper teeth, which he kept even after proper resurrection. notably, he would temporarily grow scales, fins, or even small extra limbs for brief periods of time. they would simply disintegrate, though. despite not needing to eat, he became constantly hungry for raw meat and fish.

after being revived after the Dark Signer arc, he would sometimes experience digestive issues after eating non-meat foods. the issue comes and goes, tending to occur more often in periods of high stress.

if Sylvester's soul were to be removed or partly removed from his body, his eyes would change from orange with a soft glow to blue. the host body has blue eyes, which are overwritten when Sylvester is inside.

On Death:

Sylvester has died three times. Once as a dragon, again as a human, and lastly as a Dark Signer. he's terrified of dying again because he's afraid of being brought back. there's always some god deciding he isn't done.

mostly, though, he fears being separated from Kiryu. he even briefly researches complete fusion at some point, an act that would ensure they can never be apart from each other even in death. ultimately, he decides against this. (this process would combine them into a single consciousness to create an entirely new self, it wouldn't be like a judai and yubel thing)

Care:

he prefers to shower or bathe at least once a day. being dirty just makes the body more unbearable to be in than it already is. he's pretty good about his personal hygiene.

prone to getting depressed if he hasn't been near the ocean in a while. becomes a big problem when he lives permanently in Satisfaction Town. when Sylvester starts getting apathetic and laying around the house, Kiryu knows he should schedule a beach trip soon.

he enjoys physical activity like climbing, running on all fours, etc. he needs enrichment or else he'll get bored.

likes to have small, dark, enclosed spaces to hide. closets are typically best for this.

needs things to chew on

Affection and Intimacy:

after Sylvester and Kiryu become a thing, Sylvester is very physically affectionate toward him at least in private. he's like a cat, rubbing his face on him and laying all over him. a really big cat.

he nibbles too, but he's careful with his fangs.

he reeeally likes to lay on top of Kiryu while Kiryu talks to him and pets him. one of the most effective ways to get him to relax.

Sylvester also likes to show his affection in more practical ways like doing favors and such. care is kind of a big thing for him. he'll brush out Kiryu's hair and help him wash it once it starts getting long. bc good god Kiryu doesn't take care of it and it gets so bad.

doesn't really care for PDA. he's too anxious in public settings to focus on it.

Stuff he likes:

cats!!! he loves cats!!! he likes to collect cat-related objects!!! he's been carrying around an old cat plush he found since he was a kid!!!

speaking of which. he loves plushies. so much. there are so many on the bed.

anything to do with the ocean. fish, birds, water, beaches, anything. he also really loves to eat fish.

there is a part of him that will crave violence always. hey man you can't shove a giant predatory creature into a human body and expect him to not want to do predatory creature things. if someone is an ass to Kiryu he will look at him with sad puppy eyes like Can I Maul Them.

his animals :) besides all the stray cats that hang out he ends up getting some chickens and even a horse. the horse's name is Tempest and he's a black and white paint horse. eventually he gets himself a fish tank too.

DRAGONS

Dueling:

to Sylvester dueling is more like a mechanism for survival than a fun hobby. he learned how to do it in Satellite because it was a way to avoid a physical altercation in some situations. he prefers to win as quickly as possible.

his first deck before he got his current one was composed of dragon cards.

in terms of skill, he's about equal to Kiryu. they've both won and lost duels against each other.

Sylvester's salvaged dragon card slowly heals post Crash Town arc. it appears less decayed visually until fully recovering and gaining a new effect. it is distinctly different from how he looked as a Signer Dragon, combining its design with new elements. it represents Sylvester making peace with himself and his place in the world.

#yugioh oc week 23 #yugioh oc #yugioh 5ds #oc: sylvester sauvage #scheduling this to post so i hope it goes out on time augh

[ginnyn]

So, Donbros vs Zenkai. It wasn't what I was expecting, but at the same time that doesn't mean it was "bad". It wasn't a traditional VS movie, but it was a VS movie at the end.

What I call a traditional VS movie changes around time but is usually an Extended Episode of a Super Sentai with the team of last year been there as special guests. Sometimes they have interactions, sometimes they don't, but at least some sort of pairing happens in the battle, which is at the end fan service part of this whole thing. And, in all honestly, who watches Super Sentai VS movies not for the fanservice? (Magi vs Deka have Wolzard and DekaMaster pointing each other with their swords for a solid minute only because they need to fulfill their fanservice quota).

Donbros vs Zenkai don't do that. I truly don't know why, honestly. The teams been too different do not feel to me like a good excuse, but whatever the reason, they decided the VS of the title is going to be something different this time.

Both parts, the Zenkai part and the Donbros part have basically the same plot: The Tsuika (Both also happen to be Gold) go mad with greed and power thanks to a... reference to them in the show. In the case of the Pirates, Kachiwa Mochi World was the enemy from the episode No. 9-kai! World Pirates, Pleasant Twokai!, the episode in which the whole Pirate Family is properly introduced, while Don 20: High Nose Elegy, the episode from where the Donbros part takes most of its cues, its the episode in which Jirou transform himself for the first time into Don Torabolt (You know, the real Jirou). The VS now means how the same plot is radically interpreted different by the different series, just based into their themes and the characters.

The Pirate Family goes full on fascist dictatorship, basically conquering the world just to satisfy their own desires and abusing of the Kachiwa Mochi World power, despite they are also affected. They establish one single type of Kachiwa Mochi can be prepared, and there before everyone must conform to this new status quo. And the Zenkaiger cannot live in a world in which uniformity is the status quo.

Because this is the same thing the Tojitendo did. Anyone who didn't conform to their standard was lesser and conforming to those standards for them is extremely difficult, to the point of impossible. Heck, the fact Hakaizer was coerced into working for Zocks is another reference to the Tojitendo, who did the same.

But that´s the point, controlling others thru cruelty, and the Zenkaiger, especially the Kikainoids are acutely aware of that. That's why the plan end up been introducing actual diversity (In Kachiwa Mochi, but still), which introduced kindness back to the people, which introduced a bit of rebellion into the system, and, you know, they are the kind of people who are going to rebel, even if they know the consequences. Why? Because they cannot not do that. Conforming or trying to do it, it will be concede that they are not worth how they are and they know that's wrong. So never again.

This is why the Zenkaiger are evergreen for stories, because there always bullies who want to impose their only way of life, and the Zenkaiger who will say no, as many times as needed.

The Donbros meanwhile are very comfortable in their status quo. Of course, they don't live in a comically oppressive robo/pirate dictatorship, but at the same time they aren't the ones to stop and truly think much about what its happening. Jirou, trying to keep his grip on the Donbros, have got into giving them gifts, since now somehow he has ton of money. The idea is to keep them happy and obedient by giving them what they think they desire, and since neither of them are truly that introspective they haven't caught up to that yet.

The Sono Trio have though.

The three of them serve as comparison points for the story, showing how much uglier and cruel and self important and sad their personalities have become, continually calling them out and trying to confront them so they could see the problem, but, as the series have shown time and time again, the Donbros will prefer to keep a blind eye to the truth unless they are forced into watch it. So Tarou has to come back.

Tarou, as a good red, has the ability to make people confront the truth and help them change, on purpose or not and, as an extreme circumstance, only a tragedy was able to make them realize their own faults and back to the road of their actual happiness.

I hope you already noted, one the main differences between Zenkaiger and Donbros is from where the conflict actually comes from: For the Zenkaiger is always from outside, a world so hostile which hates them just for existing and the continuous fight to demonstrate to that world, or at least to themselves, that the world is wrong and they have value, while for the Donbros is from inside, personalities with that one fatal flaw which handicap their capability to see the forest from the trees, unless they are confronted with extreme circumstances, which sometimes are literal tragedies.

So, this is Donbros vs Zenkai, two series which you give them basically the same plot idea and end up doing something completely different. But, at the same time, both are Super Sentai, so both end in the same place anyway: In the Toei Barren Lands, doing a roll call with a ton of explosions.

I really love this movie, despite is not what I was expecting, to put it mildly. Yeah, the fanservice side (The main dish of a normal VS movie) is lacking, but they just did some of the best two episodes of their respective series back to back, so, if you love either series (Or both like I do), you own to yourself to watch it.

#avataro sentai donbrothers #avataro sentai donbrothers vs zenkaiger #kikai sentai zenkaiger

[toku-explained]

The Fire Alchemist

Hagane wo tsugu mono: Garo is back, along with Dougai Ryuga, this with season is I believe the character, beside Zaruba, with the most appearances, if he wasn't already. It's been over 5 years since his last appearance, and 10 years since his debut but the man who restored Garo's shine is here again. So HAGANE, despite its status as the generic armour worn by nameless Makai Knughts has appeared all of twice in the franchise, once in the Makai Senki finale, where we saw legions, and one in Honoo no Kokuin, used briefly by Marcelo, and been depicted a little in side media, Raiga is seen donning one in PGARO Saeijima Kouga, and I believe Akatsuki is implied to have acquired one in Yoseki no Wana. Nameless Knights have frequently appeared, but until now one has not been a main character. PS: Official Subs on youtube.

A Horror using LCD advert boards as a gate is interrupted in hunting by Ryuga and Zaruba (back to the classic design it seems), after a fight it tries to flee to the gate, but Ryuga destroys it, forcing the Horror, Chaurus to fight, he destroys it by summoning his armour, for he is Ougon Kishi GARO Sho. On his way out he is approached by Makai Priest Koyori, who delivers Orders from Mutsugi, her Priest superior, requesting his help, as the Gate of Destruction is opening, she wants him to accompany her to CREACITY. A Gate of Destruction is apparently a particularly ancient gate, able to increase people's Ingatestone so they fall, they know it is opening as Horrors have been appearing more and more, from people who shouldn't have been at risk, Zaruba agrees there is a darkness in the air. The city is lively, and while Koyori confirms they have a Makai Knight in town, she doesn't discuss him further, instead sharing how she wants to protect her home. A construction foreman is hung out to dry by his boss after their attempt to skirt regulations was discovered, and in that moment of despair and rage is seduced by a Horror, murdering the boss and a henchman with a hammer, the last man flees. Ryuga and Zaruba sense the Horror and rush into action to Koyori's amazement. Ryuga interrupts as the Horror has the man cornered, fighting the Hammer wielding form of Regrege while trying to protect the man, he is saved by Koyori arriving, though her hand-to-hand strike doesn't achieve what she hoped, she still helps Ryuga keep the Horror off balance until it flees then takes care of the man as Ryuga chases. Ryuga's chase is interrupted by a Makai Knight in Hagane Armour, who manages to destroy the Hammer then cut down the Horror. The Makai Knight is annoyed to see Ryuga in his territory, even when Koyori turns up, leaving while snapping not to get in his way. Koyori explains he is Shirahane Souma, Makai Knight for CREACITY.

Blazar: The 3rd Wave Kaiju, observed by cameras on the dark side of the moon, has been dubbed Vallaron, and is placing organic bombs with the aim of causing explosions large enough to disrupt the lunar orbit and send it in to earth. On hearing if this development Dobashi burns Emi's father's journal. Haruno has been relieved of duty to make up for SKaRD disobeying orders, and they are now expected to take the rushed to completion Earth Garon Mod.4 to fight Vallaron. Anri and Teruaki will pilot, with Gento and Yasunobu controlling the Mod.3 unit. With 24 hours before they are mission ready, Gento gives everyone 18 hours leave. While the others have moments relating to their focus episodes, Gento tries one last attempt to have Haruno talk, and Emi discussed with Earth-kun how they still don't know what the V99 Kaiju's motive is, leading it to reveal it does know but program blocks prevent it discussing it, but in the name of friendship it gives her an encrypted SD card with the data. After talking with his family, Gento returns to duty while Jun is asleep. Earth Garon deploys, and as it approaches the moon Dobashi intrudes in CCP to watch the mission up close, and Emi starts trying to look at the data in Mopy. Earth Garon is hit by a bomb explosion point blank, knocking out everyone except Gento, including Earth-kun, and he has to strongly request Blazar's help, while Dobashi's men come to stop Emi just as she gains access to the files. Blazar struggles with Varallon until another string of explosions knocks down the immobile Earth Garon and knocks the moon out of orbit, Blazar grabs Earth Garon and leaves it to drift back to earth, then puts massive effort into trying push the moon back. Recognising the exertion is knocking it out, Blazar says a goodbye to Gento and returns him to the cockpit before freezing as well, the moon back in its proper place, but Varallon was blasted free and is now en route to earth. Dobashi orders it be destroyed before making planet fall, but with only Gento conscious aboard an immobile Earth Garon, and Blazar's body drifting near the moon, is there any true hope.

Gotchard: Minato has disappeared and nobody at school remembers him. Greyon tells the Abyssal Sisters that the dolls are only suited to creating Malgam, leaving other stuff to Minato. Renge is basically giving up before the Malgam appears and captures both her and Sabimaru, then snatched Kudoh next to Ichinose, who with Gotchard Daybreak manages to fight it off using JungleJan and RaiDenji. When his counterpart offers him the Gotcha Igniter Ichinose refuses, knowing he should create his own power, he is told he'll have to create it from the treasured item he first created with Alchemy, and lent Daybreak's TimeLord to go back. He finds himself in the Ouroboros Realm 10 years ago, and is shocked to find his younger self there playing with Hopper1 and SteamLiner, and witnesses the Chemies create for him the item, a replica of his father's goggles. While he was warned not to interact with himself, Ichinose accidentally does so and plays while trying to make a plan, TimeLord comes under strain after the interaction. Hopper1 suddenly detects a presence, Greyon and the Abyssal Sisters arriving looking for Kudoh Fuga, they find his book which includes the plans for the key to the door of darkness. SaboNeedle attempts to drive them off, but encased in golf by Greyon. Fuga arrives, Greyon informing him he's already altered the assemblies' memories to believe him a traitor who stole the Chemies. Working in sync with UFO-X, X-Wizard and X Fortress, Fuga incapacitates the sisters and struggles with Fuga, who starts gathering the Chemies in one place, young Hotaro tries to shield his friends, and ours in turn shields both him and the Chemies. The distraction gives Fuga the edge he needs to drive Greyon away. When the dust settles young Hotaro gives the goggles as thanks, and when Ichinose is gone Fuga thanks the boy for his courage, secretly erasing his memories while hoping he keeps the memories if his friends in his heart. Returned to the present, Gotchard Daybreak tells Ichinose that in 5 years Greyon will have nearly wiped out humanity and Chemies alike, as such, to Alchemise his Gotcha Igniter, Ichinose infuses his wish of a world where Chemies and Humans can have peace. When he confronts the Malgam and becomes Fire Gotchard, Gotchard Daybreak notices the form is distinct from the one he created, feeling his counterpart has changed the course of their fate. Fire Gotchard saves everyone and completely defeats the Malgam to save NemineMoon. Gotchard Daybreak, seeing TimeLord cannot keep him there any longer, gives some last encouragement, Ichinose realising his word choice reveals him as his future self too late. Renge and Sabimaru are now motivated to help despite the lack of the Academy, while Minato assures Greyon he will deal with his errant pupil.

Kingohger: While Yanma is forcing Racles to sort gears, he suggests the others kings should try and awaken their sealed royal powers, sealed by the original 6 kings 2000 years ago along as Shugoddom's Ohger Crown was. Yanma starts studying his ear piercing, about the only thing the previous N'Kosopa king left when he abandoned the nation, Himeno's crown, Kaguragi's amulet and Rita's glove chain, and Racles suggests they decide a leader, to Yanma's irritation. Dugded decides it's time to put Tikyu in the collection, sending the Jesters to clear things out. The Kings gather for a competition to decide the leader, despite Gira arguing they don't really need one, Racles acting as judge, but it soon devolves into a full on fight to Gira's horror, and when he asks Yanks for help he just uses the now unlocked power to blast the Shugods and Shugoddom with lightning from God Tonbo, laughing as he declares himself on top. Gira was blasted down to the city, finding the people also fighting, only now realising Hilbill has controlled practically everyone. Kaguragi, immune, distracts her enough for Gira to rush to Yanma as Dugded starts preserving citizens in amber, Gira slugs Yanma and reminds him of his duty of protection, as Hilbill self hypnotises herself into believing herself invincible and grows giant. Now aware and properly able to use his kingly power, Gira and Yanma form King-Ohger and successfully destroy Hilbill. Later, Yanma asks Racles how he felt when he was ruling the world, Racles admitting that despite all his goals he felt on top of the world and drank on power, even revelling in Yanma's seeming death. Realising now he isn't so different from Racles, Yanma goes to everyone to request a resigning to the Six Kingdom Alliance, one establishing everyone as equal and imposing a duty to stop any of the kings if they are endangering the people. Suzume visits Racles in his cell to tell him of this, realising he suggested finding a leader to make them realise this, as he explains the 6 powers were originally one, and the original kings split them in the hopes that they would only be awoken again when their successors united as one in purpose for the good of their people.

#toku explained #ohsama sentai kingohger #ultraman blazar #kamen rider gotchard #garo hagane wo tsugu mono

[koropukgoro]

hello!!! do you have any tiny spike rambles? also how does everyone on the bebop interact with spike once they get used to him being tiny?

I HAVE... A LOT. A LOT OF THOUIGHTS AND RAMBLES AND HONESTLY ITS ALL JUMBLED INTO MY HEAD and i have a friend i ramble with... together...its silly! I have a lot of writing ideas too its just a matter of like, getting energy and finding out how to formulate it with proper intrigue. ALSO! i wanna draw more, but man, drawing is tough.

Sort of revolves around Spike. Obviously, but like, I am insane, and really want to contemplate things realistically to his character. I really really like Cowboy Bebop and I really like the relationships the characters have with each other and situations and how they reflect on them and waghghghgh <- is insane

But also I guess I just want it to feel like an actual canonical episode kinda like this COULD happen this is how they COULD react to it. Very silly for such a silly gt scenario I KNOW but I am insane. Established. Plus Spike as a character and how he struggles with his past and his stubborness vs his false easy-breezy attitude and taking what life gives him its so epic Ilove internal character conflict and how it affects his relationships with others. ANYWAYS, how does that all affect Spike w the process of shrinking? well he's very much terrified of what has happened. It's absolutely terrifying, being suddenly in a world that's familar yet very very alien--everything is HUGE but not really because its him who's SMALL. He doesnt deny it once he puts two and two together but he also struggles very much with interacting with it... Things are meant to work in specific ways in his brain, and now thats all jumbled and just torn through like paper. He is also a guy who's extremely stubborn and doesn't like to elaborate on his actions a lot so he of course refuses to fucking let anyone know he's terrified or upset as long as he can help it but when he's faced with the reality of it and his fragility/vulnerability it freaks him out and he really can't control that cuz it's small prey animal instincts kicking his ass.

With Ein I think its waaay easier to just..comprehend and accept. Ein is a short dog. At most in comparison he is the size of the Bebop to Spike. That's a size he deals with everyday and can comprehend easily he's been around gigantic ships and skyscrapers and so on he likes being in the air on his swordfish it's actually established he likes being in high places in the show too so its not like Ein's size is too bad for him. Just big...and awkward...gigantic dog... Spike finds that Ein is actually the one he confides to the most in this situation cuz Ein is something his brain can comprehend. Ein isn't really engulfing his entire vision or actively butting into his way. Concerned yes but not overbearingly so... Ein knows and senses Spike's feelings the best too cuz dogs are naturally very attune to that, and Ein is a very smart dog.

With Jet it's a bit more complicated. Jet has been his partner for 3 years and while he hasn't been the most transparent with Jet about everything they HAVE shared heart to hearts, near death experiences, trauma bonding, etc. They are close...closer than they appear to people. They've dressed each other's wounds and seen each other be vulnerable for the most part; Jet is very much a friend and an ally and most importantly a rock in Spike's life. Cue being shrunken against his will and being completely out of control of the situation, Spike probably finds Jet really really intimidating despite all prior logical knowledge of his relationship with Jet. It's 100% because Jet is fucking huge to him and like, in general, when you are the size of a pencap (spike is like 2 inches / 4 cms I like them funny guys itty bitty) every person Spike is going to struggle to look at because they are literally bigger than his eyes can comprehend its like looking from the foot of a fucking mountain like he is seeing something he *shouldn't* because humans aren't meant to be so fucking small. It's absolutely toying with his brain. Makes him feel powerless... kind of like the fight with Tongpu in Spaceland being almost whimsical in nature and making him contemplate his mortality; he feels uncanny and eerie in his own skin and surrounded by absolutely terriffying posibilities cuz he's very small. Maybe the same feelings he gets when he tries to remember things like his eye surgery it's all scratching deep in his brain and its something he wants to shut out but he physically cannot because he has to confront it or he dies. At least that's what his brain is telling him.....because Jet is very much a gentle giant and absolutely concerned for Spike when he's like this most of all because he is SMALL!!! and they dont know WHY!!! they are both freaked out by it in different ways and Jet almost has a hard time really interacting with Spike at first cuz he guy is very small and avoiding eye contact and even trying to avoid *him* and hard to read tiny face and his tiny little voice and like he's seen Spike antsy and annoyed and a little freaked/panicked before but this is a whole new level of that you know

sees that i have rambled 2 much. a

#txt #itsgothgirlthyme #cowboy bebop gt #EXPLODES VIOLENTLY

[lickthecowhappy]

Playlist Analysis: #8 - Two Men In Love

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#8. Two Men Man-Shaped Beings In Love – The Irrepressibles 

This is an Aziraphale song.

Overview:

Heads up: this is a long one. I don’t blame you if you don’t get through it, but I think you’ll enjoy it. 

One of the most important things about this song that I will refer to many times is “The Heartbeat.” Throughout most of the song there is a percussive beat present that sounds like a heartbeat. At times it is soft and slow, sometimes it’s too quiet to hear, or it speeds up and gets louder. This signals levels of emotional arousal, especially when compared with general musical harmony, discordance, volume, and emotions expressed by the vocals. If you are reading this without listening to the songs, this is the one I feel most strongly that listening to the music itself is equally as important as analyzing the lyrics. I would absolutely love to hear more analysis of this from someone with more musical education.

To accurately understand my analysis of this song you need to understand my opinions/assumptions on what’s happening at the end of episode 6. I don’t believe that Aziraphale was mind controlled but I do believe he was manipulated. Despite manipulation to ply him, Aziraphale knows they are still in danger being together as angel and demon and he believes that two angels in love is the only chance they have for peace. That bringing Crowley to heaven to be reinstated as an angel* won’t change anything about who Crowley is fundamentally, it’s just a matter of citizenship. During Companion to Owls when Aziraphale said, “I know the angel you were,” he believed that Crowley was still the same being inside despite the change in teams, and Aziraphale still believes that about him. Crowley is only Evil™ because it’s been a requirement to his survival after being cast out. Crowley doesn’t understand this is how he feels. All Aziraphale’s language is too coded because he knows they are still not safe despite the last few years of non-interference and despite seeing Gabriel and Beelzebub go off together. 

Crowley has asked Aziraphale to run away from their home (the world) three times in order to take whatever small amount of time they have left to be together while it all burns down. Every time Aziraphale chooses to fight instead because he was created to be a guardian. If he’s running things with Crowley by his side they could not only be together openly, they would have the authority to protect their home and all its inhabitants.

Placement for this song was tricky because it represents the entirety of the final minutes of episode 6. It begins when Aziraphale interrupts Crowley’s rambling start of a confession and it ends with the smile in the elevator. I ended up putting it where I did because I had two Crowley songs back to back and I needed to sandwich an Aziraphale in there.

*I also believe that restoring Crowley’s angelic status would never have happened.

Lyrics:

If I asked you now Will you be my prince? Will you lay down your armor And be with me forever?

The Heartbeat is audible.

It’s steady, but it’s there in Aziraphale’s ears. He’s excited but composed. 

Let me rephrase the above verse: If I asked you now Will you be my angel? Will you take down the defenses you’ve developed And be with me forever?

Aziraphale is (misguidedly) asking Crowley to take down the protective barriers he’s rightfully made for himself and switch teams for Their safety. 

When you open me All the power in me moves How you want to see All the depths of me real When you open me All the power in me moves

The Heartbeat is still audible.

Crowley knows Aziraphale better than any other being. He sees Aziraphale’s true self. Crowley can open him like a book and read every page. I dare say he could recite much of it from memory. During the trial in s1e6 Crowley played his part perfectly, only really giving him extra confidence. When the two are synced up, Aziraphale’s heart is stirred. I can even hear this in a literal way, that Aziraphale is more powerful when they are fully “Them” like in s2e1 performing the half-miracle each. Crowley is still hostile to Gabriel at that moment, but he is much more desperate to protect than he is keen for revenge.

I feel real

The Heartbeat is present but softening.

When Aziraphale knows Crowley is seeing him for who he is, he feels real. Not ethereal. Real like humans are real, with free-will and the ability to grow and change and make mistakes and for those mistakes to be forgiven. Able to be what he knows himself to be, unbound by Heaven, not fitting the mold of Goodness™ he’s about to have to stuff himself back into. He needs Crowley by his side in Heaven in order to have the courage to be who he really is and fight for what he knows is really truly right. 

The Heartbeat softens to become inaudible before the next verse.

I love you Love you I love you Love you

The Heartbeat has been replaced by a soft, slow melody. This represents calmness, earnestness, self-assuredness, and tenderness, delicacy.

This is Aziraphale losing himself in the fantasy he’s trying to sell to Crowley. He has let himself believe that this is their ticket out of danger. This is Aziraphale saying “I love you” in his mind trying desperately to get his coded message across, knowing he can’t say it directly. Even saying it to himself the way one might finally admit it in words when they’ve finally let themselves give in to emotions they thought they could never be allowed to have. 

[Here the words have stopped, the soft, serene music becomes sharp and discordant, borderline unpleasant before returning to some level of gentleness.]

Everything is going wrong. Crowley is angry and he isn’t willing to hear an argument. He hears that Aziraphale is once again abandoning “their side” and his emotional reaction prevents him from decoding the offer of battle for which Aziraphale is trying to recruit him. And at the worst possible time, Crowley begins to confess his tender, fragile feelings, out loud, probably in full view of the Metatron. 

When I look into your eyes There's a danger inside When I see the edge I can never hide

The Heartbeat has returned. The music is gentle but uneasy. It evokes a sense of concern.

Crowley avoids eye contact for most of the confession but Aziraphale can barely look away from those yellow eyes he loves so much. He only looks away from them to look out the window (to his sinister side) where he KNOWS danger is waiting and watching. He understands where Crowley is going with this and shakes his head no, but Crowley is so uneasy and nervous and emotional, he misses all of Aziraphale’s body language that is very clearly (to the audience, at least) screaming that they are not safe. Aziraphale knows the danger is real, it is currently present, it is watching, and they can not hide from it. Not now, not ever.

See me Running, running, running, running, running Running, running, running, running, running Running, running, running, running, running To you, from you, to you

The Heartbeat is still present as before but begins to speed up with every line in an increasingly faster time signature into and almost stabbing piano notes throughout this verse.

Aziraphale wants to run to Crowley. He does it all the time, figuratively and sometimes literally. But he also runs away from him. Pushing him away to keep him out of harm’s way or staying at arm’s length because of the danger Aziraphale could bring down upon him. But no matter what, he can’t stay away. Aziraphale will always run towards Crowley in the end.

There's a strange love inside It's getting louder louder louder louder louder There's a danger I can't hide Who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

The Heartbeat continues at this fast, strong pace but is slightly drowned out by the choral music and peals of stringed instruments.

Crowley has finally said all the things they have both been thinking for years (though really, for all his hemming and hawing and stuttering, he hasn’t said anything other than, let’s run away from the broken system like we just saw Gabriel and Beelzebub do). Aziraphale is feeling that strange love I talked about in Love Like You. He’s heard the love Crowley is trying to express and that strange love of his is getting louder, crashing in his head. But he can’t seem to communicate the danger to Crowley. Can’t communicate that they can’t hide, that even if they did run they wouldn’t be free, they’d be looking over their shoulders constantly. But Crowley is done; the shades on, the walls up. Aziraphale’s love for Crowley is a part of who he is now and he will be incomplete without him. Aziraphale is desperate and resorts to begging and petulance while his feelings continue to crash in his head.

I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love Ooh, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love Love, love, love

The Heartbeat is fast and loud. The music is swelling and grand but still there’s something wrong with it. A discordance? Like all the different instruments are playing slightly different parts of the same song. They momentarily seem to sync up but again become discordant with crashing symbols, strange vocals, and errant trills.

Aziraphale is screaming "I'm in love" in his head but he can’t say it. This is a declaration to himself. He’s never been more sure of it before. It’s on repeat over and over and over. 35 “I’m in love”s. THIRTY FIVE! There are hurtful words exchanged and weaponized nightingales and the kiss is a full 17 seconds of desperation and pain and regret and all the while I think they both have this phrase crashing over and over in their heads in some way. But neither can express it properly and Crowley leaves and Aziraphale is left alone to processes what the fuck just happened and how it all could have gone so wrong so quickly, while Crowley is out by the Bentley probably doing the exact same thing. 

[There is a brief, echoing melodic refrain here before the beat and tone suddenly shift in a jarring way. A way that feels like it’s a totally different song for a moment.]

The Heartbeat is still fast and strong.

Aziraphale has had only seconds to taste his lips and process what just happened when the Metatron comes back in the shop and he has to compose himself immediately. Based on blocking, I don’t think the Metatron saw the kiss, but he walks in fully knowing that Crowley isn’t going. But then, he knew that before he offered it anyway, didn't he? Aziraphale walks to the window and sees that Crowley is still there. He tries to leverage the bookshop to get out of the job but the Metatron has that covered. 

Gonna build you up, gonna help you believe, sonny Gonna build you up, gonna help you believe, sonny

The Heartbeat is fast and strong and pounding and very present alongside the spoken vocals and minimal music.

Aziraphale almost rejects the offer but takes one last look out the window and knows he has to fight. He sees Crowley out there and knows without any doubt how they both feel, despite the pain they just caused each other. He knows he has no choice but to fight for it, even if it means that Crowley believes that Aziraphale has rejected him. He resolves to protect Crowley and make sure that one day Crowley believes in him and the only way he knows he has the authority to do it is as Supreme Archangel. Aziraphale loves being rescued by Crowley but now he knows he has to do this on his own. So he accepts and goes with the Metatron and doesn’t take anything else with him.

There's a strange love inside It's getting louder louder louder louder louder There's a danger I can't hide Oh, it's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

The Heartbeat remains fast and sharp but begins to be drowned out by music which is still crashing but now harmonious and confident.

This is a confident version of the previous instance of this verse. Aziraphale’s resolve is growing. He’s psyching himself up. That kiss was a desperate, frustrated temptation but it turned into an inspiration to protect what Aziraphale loves. He knows it’s dangerous, and Crowley won’t be by his side this time. He has no choice but to become the soldier he was created to be. To protect his love and his home. His courage is being bolstered by the love he now has no question is there and is mutual. It’s who he is and it's what he was created for.

I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love, I'm in love I'm in love

The strong Heartbeat and confident, harmonious, powerful, joyous music continues.

Aziraphale’s body language and facial expressions as he ascends in the elevator tell such a story. At the start he’s breathing heavy and setting his jaw with a barely brave face and by the time the images blur, he’s standing more confidently with his war face on. He’s going to burn the system to the ground. 

(Also this brings us to 52 “I’m in love”s, if I counted right.)

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#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #brain rot #music analysis #i spent a normal amount of time on this #therapy for good omens 2 #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #ineffable divorce

[sonia-kate]

Racules Did Nothing Wrong (up to 38th ep) Part 1

Alright, let's do this one last time

Episode 1

Grudge with Yanma

Given Racules' shocked reaction to Gira awakening God Kuwagata, we can assume he wasn't aware that Gira has Kuwagon's soul within him (it's been heavily hinted at, so we can safely assume it to be the case here until stated otherwise on the show), so it was a valid assumption that God Kuwagata would awaken when the 5 kings join forces, just like in the Legend of King-Ohger

Now we know that Yanma managed to fill Shugods and OhgerCaliburs with electronics, managing to establish connection between them which resulted in the latter serving a purpose of remote controlers for the former. He failed to establish such connection with God Kabuto and failed to have the God Kuwagata running. Given that no one by then knew that the reason for God Kuwagata's slumber is lack of his power source (the soul), the reason remained a mistery

Now, thanks to Yanma, all the other Shugods were running and other kings could transform and he didn't take part in a procedure that bore a possibility of awakening God Kuwagata. It's pretty easy to see how Racules could have perceived it as Yanma being the reason why he and his country left weaker against the threat of Bugnarok compared to other countries

On top of that we have glipses of their relationship that gives me salty ex-boyfriends vibes, where they used to work closely together but now they hold major grudge against each other (I wonder what happened between them? Hopefully we'll learn more about that)

Not joining the battle to defend Shugoddom

As mentioned in the paragraph above, Racules couldn't have transformed into KuwagataOhger nor could he use God Kuwagata to help, because Kuwagon was still unable to move and only Gira (as he is the one who possesses Kuwagon's soul) could have awakened Kuwagon. As we know from Racules' special which took place between episodes 2 and 3, King-Ohger ZERO also wasn't operational by the time of episode 1

Despite that (and despite what Rita's manga wants us to think), he still dispatched Shugoddom's army to help fight the Sanagim. Without the powers, he would be no better than a random soldier and as a king, he is needed to remain safe to be able to fullfill duties that, unlike fighting, can't be fullfilled by anyone else

Racules' death would result in a vaccum of power on the possition of Shugoddom's king, which would most likely result in in-fighting for this possition or be taken by someone from the close surroundings of the late king, like Douga or Boshimar (friendly reminder that this is Kamejim, though no one, including Racules, knew that back then, so we can't count it into his reasoning at the time). Sure, they may be aware of king's duties and be able to fullfill them, but they still lack the experience and the presence of Racules, who's been doing it for years. After all, it's part of king's duty to maintain people's morale with their charisma and as we know, Racules is an expert with PR, which may not be necessarily true for Douga or Boshimar. Plus, death of Racules would definitely diminish the morale of the whole population. Also, seeing how all the other kings can transform while yours cannot, would be another major blow to morale of people of Shugoddom

During a time of Bugnarok invasion, we can't allow ourselves for creating more turmoils within the nation. But that's not all. Racules is the only one that would be able to operate King-Ohger ZERO once its development would have completed, as well as he is the only one aware of the threat from the space, looming over the whole planet. Since by then we aren't aware of Gira and his powers, summoning of God Kuwagata or God Kuwagata ZERO to form King-Ohger as well as preparing for inevitable advent of Dugded, it all lies on Racules' shoulders and thus he can't die, not yet. He's still needed and has so much responsibilities to get hold of

"People are tools, I am the country"

To do their job, soldiers need their weapons to fight and protect. Builders need hammers, measures and so on. Farmers need plows, hoes, scythes etc. Each occupation has different set of tasks and they have specific sets of tools that allow them to do their job. King's job is to rule the country, to organise, make decisions and ensure that people have everything they need to live. Of course, he can't do everything in the country by himself - that's what the people themselves are for. Only reason why rulers have the power is because the people under them give it to them. King without his subjects is no one and he can't do anything, or rather not much and not very effectively, much like a soldier, a builder or a farmer who try to do their job bare-handed

Also, when a king it killed, his country falls into shambles, just look what happened when Kaguragi stripped Racules of his power in episode 18. Shugoddom fell into hands of Bugnarok, just like that. Also, since it's the king who makes decisions for the country both in terms of internal as well as external politics, every weakness can be exploited against the country they're ruling. A ruler coordinates what people should do so their joined efforts result in benefit for this country

He can't just do things because it would feel good at the very speciffic moment for those few people, he needs to think on the macro scale of things, taking into consideration all the potential consequences that his decisions will have on the whole nation and on the future. That's why the ruler can't just do what he likes, he needs to do what is necessary for the country even if he personally doesn't like it much (Here, look at episode 28, where kings swap bodies and they rule each other's countries the way they like it, without putting much thought into potential consequences of their actions)

King can't let his personally feelings get in the way of the wellbeing of the whole country he's ruling. He can't show his weaknesses or they may become weaknesses of the whole country. The whole country relies on him and thus he can feel the responsibility of all his decisions on his shoulders. A single human shouldn't be tasked with ruling so much all by himself, thus a king needs to transcend the human limitations. King is merely a vessel through which the will of the whole nation is expressed. King himself is merely a tool serving something bigger than himself or anyone else - his nation

And so, during Bugnarok invasion, Racules dispatched his soldiers to help defend the country and its people, while he himself remained in the castle, awaiting a moment where he'll be more useful (ZERO's activation, arrival of Dugded) (compare with episode 23, where Gira sits through the battle in the castle, because he's the only one who'll be able to activate it once it's finally fixed)

#king ohger #kingohger #ohsama sentai king ohger #ohsama sentai kingohger #racules hastie #super sentai #shugoddom #racles hastie #racules husty #racles husty #yanma gust #yanma gast #gira hastie #gira husty #racules did nothing wrong

[twotommyolivers]

Mirror Mirror, Miraculous Multiverse

Because I don't expect anyone under 30 to know anything historic, I assume anyone in that demo who has watched the Ladybug Paris Special is going to be one of today's lucky 10,000 who is going to learn about an important part of science fiction history. I assume y'all have watched recent movies so I ain't explaining the multiverse, but I will tell you about Star Trek and arguably the keystone to the "parallel/multiple universe" trope in modern fiction

You've probably had some of the original Star Trek come across your dash but in case you don't watch 55-year-old TV series: The original Star Trek was a weekly drama about the adventures of Captain James Kirk, the half-Vulcan Spock, and everyone else about the starship Enterprise. The Enterprise is part of Starfleet and is governed by the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet is basically the Navy or Coast Guard for the Federation, it is involved in military affairs, but its primary concerns are providing aid and support to Federation posts, as well as ethnography of small-a alien worlds. The Enterprise in particular is tasked with surveying the universe (even the opening concedes they're supposed to "seek out new life and new civilizations") so most of the episodes are about Kirk and crew stumbling on weird phenomena and trying to get out of it in one piece. It's very fun and quite progressive both in content and in crew in front of and behind the camera.

(Pictured: Captain Kirk, then Mister Spock)

The one episode relevant to this post is called "Mirror, Mirror." The episode begins with Kirk and crew (without Spock) trying to negotiate an agreement to get space fuel from a planet of peaceniks. Since Starfleet is still a military body, the people on the planet refuse to make a deal. Kirk still wants to negotiate but knows this round of talks is over, so his crew beam up back to the Enterprise. However, Space Weather happens and the crew is greeted by the now-infamous Bearded Spock.

(Pictured: Spock with a goatee)

The Space Weather has transported our heroes to the Enterprise of a mirror universe, one of many Imperial Starships controlled by the Terran Empire. They have also transported the mirror counterparts of Kirk & Co into the "normal" universe. In the Mirror universe, talks also broke down with the peaceful planet, but Mirror Kirk was going to blow them up. In fact, the entire Empire is built on violence, theft, and betrayal; rank and power is earned by force instead of merit (a famous line in the episode "You die, and we all move up in rank") and the crux of the episode is the Regular Crew trying to save this one planet from being murdered as well as upend the schemes of the Empire as well as Mirror Kirk and anyone on board with a lust for power.

"Mirror, Mirror" and the stories it inspired is what the Paris Special is built on. It's a universe where everything is the same but the characters are polar opposites morally (a "dark reflection," if you will). I think this is vital to keep in mind if you're wanting to speculate or write fiction, and feel free to give facial hair where it normally doesn't belong :P

N.B. I want to note that both regular Spock and Mirror Spock are vital to the episode even though they stay in their respective universes and didn't get swapped in the Space Weather. Vulcans are trained on a strict philosophy of stoicism and logic, and while Spock is half-Vulcan, it is this side that dominates the episode. Regular Spock is able to quickly sus out the Mirror counterparts and detain them immediately. Mirror Spock, also figures out there's been a switch but eventually helps the crew for two reasons: one is they show him compassion, and the other is that despite being a member of the Empire, he is playing a very long game to ensure his survival, knowing that the Empire will eventually fall (albeit in 200 years). Regular Kirk gives Mirror Spock the ability to potentially expedite the fall before heading back to his home universe.

In other words, the episode shows through both versions of Spock that Good defeating Evil is not only logical but inevitable.

#miraculous ladybug #ml paris special #star trek tos #mirror mirror #Gabriel should've had a beard imo

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

now that revice is almost over, what are your feelings on it overall? a lot of people in the fandom seem to dislike it-- but based on your revice posts, you presumably like it to some extent. what do you think are its highlights, and are there some criticisms that you've seen of the writing and agree with (disregarding the terrible casting of vice)?

Hello! I've really enjoyed Revice! There are some episodes and arcs that I liked more than others, of course, and parts of the show that I've rolled my eyes at, but for the most part it's been a show that I've had a lot of fun with.

As a show I feel like Revice has suffered more than most from Toei's oppressive editorial policies, combined with their over-reliance on fan opinion polls but unwillingness to actually trust their fans. (See George, for example: fans like George, so he has to be a good guy, despite the fact that fans are clearly enjoying him as a sketchy weirdo.) It seems apparent to me that Kinoshita had a fairly clear idea at the beginning of the show about who these characters were supposed to be and how their stories should play out, which was then repeatedly disrupted, sometimes severely, by the competing demands of toy sales, over-weighted fan polls, and (supposedly) talent agencies (with a sprinkling of other actor commitments).

But! At the same time! I've been very invested in most (if not absolutely all) of the characters, and George has remained a favorite of mine even through the worst thicks and thins of revision, in part because of Hamao's ability to mug for the camera. I have enjoyed the story, even if sometimes it got very stupid. And the side content for the show (The Mystery, Vail, currently Girls Remix) has been absolutely delightful, the most fun I think I've had with side minis since Shinobi. Having the entire Igarashi family as the central element of the show was a wonderful idea, and I hope in the future we see more Riders with parents who are both present and awesome.

Also. Hiromi. *dreamy sigh*

And one last note! Rider is Toei's big cash cow, so I doubt this is more than a fevered daydream of mine, but in the future I would love to see the franchise pivot to half-year shows. I feel like plots and character arcs might function better if the writers weren't forced to stretch everything over the course of a whole damn year, and it'd give cast and crew some breathing room. More editorial control to the writer would be good too, but that's even more of a pipe dream given Toei and Bandai's wild toy schedules--I don't think they'll ever give me another Amazons.

#anonamouse

[kendo413]

Life is strange: true colors

None of my friends in real life have played any LIS game, so i will be sharing my thoughts on LIS TC with the Void. If only so it's out of my brain.

I am also someone who has no interest in BTS or LIS 2. I believe everything I need to know about Rachel Amber is in the first game and am not going to play a prequel that just reaffirms that she is complex and mysterious. From what i can tell, everyone's opinions in the first game are all a little bit true and I'm good, thank you. So keep in mind that I've only played the original and can only compare to the original, so I'm probably incorrect.

Also, spoilers if you haven't played it yet. I just played it yesterday because it was on sale. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given it a chance.

Alex gets control of her powers way too quickly.

Hours after arriving in Haven, she has an episode, and then when faced with equally intense emotion, she can deal with it despite herself being in a terrifying position. When Max needed her powers the most, they failed her, and I think there should have been more of a learning curve for Alex. Alex hid away from herself for years, so she is effectively in the same boat as Max. Yeah, she had known her powers for longer, was aware, and tried to manage, but to pull out actively using them so effectively was abrupt.

I apparently beat the game in <10 hours.

Super glad i waited for it to be on sale. I know I missed some collectibles, but dang.

Not a ton of story to play through

I'm replaying now to try and find things i missed, and I know this has a looser timeline than LIS, but I was expecting... more. More plot points, maybe more stakes to deal with. Honestly, the threats to Steph/Ryan could have come sooner so there could be more development there. Maybe Alex pulls back from them for safety. Maybe we find out more about the Big Evil Plot, which I'm still not super clear on what the vote was for. Maybe Alex loses some grip on her control without their stability/support.

Again, it's unfair for me to compare to LIS which was released episode by episode, so they absolutely needed to have distinct and compelling plot points to bring you back. Here, it's split into chapters more like a movie rather than a comic book that you can abandon at any time, if that makes sense.

It was easy to leave Haven

Nobody in that town is shown to give a single f about Alex outside of Bench Girl and text messages. Alex lost her brother, but they all leaned on Alex to fix them or listen to their drama. I get its part of the story, part of who Alex has always tried to be since her mom died. Also, there's helping people with their problems to manage your own problems, and then there is telling the guy who cut the rope you forgive him. Forgiving him was wild to me.

Leaving with Steph was even easier.

Steph is the only one who looked at Alex and said, "Holy shit, you need a doctor," without an ulterior motive. Ryan turned on Alex. Eleanor basically called Alex crazy. Pike and Charlotte were my own fault for not being able to side with Alex, but damn. Even if Steph had been platonic and offered Alex to run away with her, I'd have chosen that.

Also, she is super adorable in her flirting and internal gay panic over being flirted with. And the larp stuff was dope - witch Steph was extra adorable.

Their dad...

...did not need to be in the mine. That felt excessive. I don't remember if there was any notion of Gabe looking for their dad and following the trail to Haven in his effects, hence why I'm starting over to actually read (not skim) over his effects. It felt kind of cheap. What Jed did was awful enough without trying to make the situation more significant in that Haven was nearly the end of her whole family line. If nothing else game decision-wise happened with Eleanor, that would be a good enough reason for her to think Alex is cracked.

Excessive development in texts.

If the events take place over the course of 2 weeks, we get to experience like 3 days, give or take. I would have loved more of the little bullshit scenes that develop relationships instead of having to dice through texts. They don't have to be the intense "i will fix your crippling emotional state" things. Honestly, some of that, like the opportunity to neutralize Charlotte's anger, were overstepping or uninteresting to me.

It would have been great to see where Steph's loyalty had developed beyond being the only one who cared that Alex clearly didn't throw herself down a mineshaft. Maybe play through jam sessions and trade stories beyond Gabe's influence on their lives. Honestly, puzzling out the jukebox song was so much fun, and I wanted more of that.

Charlotte

I don't understand what it is like to lose a lover, especially not like that. Grief does messed up things in the mind, so i can see why she's turning that rage all over the place. I get the hatred towards her kid - ethan was told not to go in the mines, Alex warned them, and they reiterated not to go to the mines. He went to the mines anyway, and Gabe died. Yes, typhon was evil corpo jerkbags and didn't heed a warning, but if he had stayed home, no one would have died. No one would have been the wiser about Jed and typhon.

I am so glad the game didn't make me take her rage away. Anger is one of the stages of grief, and she seems to let go of some of it if you leave her alone. I saw a few reddit threads where folks call her terrible for hating her child, but by her own admission, she also hasn't allowed herself to express her feelings/grief. Bottled rage like that is toxic, and she knows it's awful to have those thoughts, but. Yeah. I feel like I'm getting circular and have been in several spots in here.

This got long, but my ramblings are over. I just needed to get that out of my head. In conclusion: the locals kinda suck(except for Riley), corpo scum is always corpo scum no matter how idyllic the setting, Steph is amazing, and in my game, they run off to Salem together.

If anyone does read this and knows of good fic on ao3 to link for Steph/Alex, I'd love a rec.

#life is strange: true colors #my thougts #nonsensical ramblings