#hello yes i love noir aesthetics we all know this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

iamnumeronine · 2 years

Text

(여자)아이들 WORLD TOUR CONCERT [JUST ME ( ) IDLE] in MNL (part 1)

I’m back! Which means na I got to tick off one of my bucket list this 2022 and that is to watch a KPOP FCKING CONCERT ON A FACE TO FACE SETUP! Yes! You heard it right! I just came from GIDLE’s 1st World Tour JUST ME ( ) IDLE in Manila! Though I’ve watched na several cons this year, this is my first time sa mosh pit and FCKING ROYALTY HELLO SESSION! So before we get into that, let me just say a few couple of things about the whole concert:

Concert Experience with Pulp *slash* CUBE

Venue: 7/10 - New Frontier Theater, i was really disappointed nung announcement kase it was a small venue and to think na sobrang hyped ang GIDLE year so i really thought the venue wouldn’t be able to cater us. But apparently, wrong timing siguro yung con for most of the fans kase biglaan and hindi nakapag ipon yung iba so ayun di sya na sold out. Though di naman ramdam kase the venue feels so full pa din and damnnnn ang dami pala namin sa royalty hello 🧸 but during the concert proper, damn, sobrang lapit lang namin sa stage, you can really feel na it’s an intimate concert kase yung feeling na abot kamay mo yung mga artist, sobrang elating 😭 like, my position was in the right side, then like mga 4 to 5 rows of people in front of me but i got to move forward and centerish towards the end na din gawa ng forces of nature HAHA. But the sad part is nasira pala ang aircon during the con so it was VERYYYYY HOT! Like sobrang maraming nag give up sa pit gawa ng nakakasuffocate talaga. Even yung IDLE init na init akala nga namin mag stop si Shuhua baby haha. So kaya medyo half half ako na i-rate ng lower kasi ang lapit talaga but yeah. I give it what it deserves.

Audio: 9/10 - As usual, eto naman bentahe ni NFT, ang ganda nung audio! Very clear sya for me (i was in hello royalty) kaya rinig na rinig ko lahat ng sinasabi. Factor na din siguro n nasa side namin yung speaker sa right so kahit MENT, rinig ko lahat ng sinasabi nila. And the music was so clear parang naka FLAC lahat lossless basta! Ang ganda 💗 i gave it a 9 just because walang live band but live band recording lang :3

Visuals: 7.5/10 - I understand na part si cube ng production kasi underwhelming yung stage setup. Like stage lang and a gigantic LED na hindi AMOLED screen (feels like a screen projection only or something like that). Talagang talent and energy lang ng girls yung puhunan. I expected kase na may parang may takeoff platform din sila pero they just walked to the side sa labas pasok nila sa stage and backstage. Though i would give the visualizer a 100/10 kasi ang aesthetically pleasing sa eyes and very well synchronized sa choreography. Too bad i wasnt able to get the birds eye view for the whole stage sa pictures but it was really nice in actual. Especially sa HWAA 😭

Lights: 9/10 - same sa visuals, aesthetically pleasing and synchronized sa music yung lights direction. I love it, except sa sobrang liwanag ng IDLE sa stage kase ang puti nila sobra!

Overall Production: 8.5/10 - goods na din for a solo concert but we all know naman na GIDLE deserves better right? Hoping we can have a full arena concert next time para bigger stages and gimmicks pa 💗 just like yung Seoul concert nila which i hope na sana may Concert finale sila so I can try going hihi 💗

Now, let’s go to the concert proper…

Start pa lang sobrang amazing ang VCR nila, swag kung swag. And the message, jusko GENIUS talaga. All album titles were mentioned:

I made ROMANCE (Minnie)

I am FANTASY (Miyeon)

I never die ACTION (Shuhua)

I burn DRAMA (Yuqi)

I trust NOIR (Soyeon)

“So, how do I LOOK?”

And then OH MY GOD intro, napa OH MY GOD TALAGA AKO! Grabe ang impact, i got chills listening to Minnie’s voice singing “눈부신 하늘에 시선을 가린 채 네 품 안에 안기네” like sobrang same sa recorded voice sobrang surreal tlaga. And then the girls started singing one by one! Soyeon’s just full of swag. And i was so stunned for like first 30 seconds of the show kase bukod sa i wanted to film the opener, shet na starstruck ako sa kanila. Ang daming cellphone na humarang sa face ko so tinaas ko talaga yung kamay ko. I tried my very best to raise my hands and watch at the same time coz i wanna see them and damn, they look the sane nung sa pictures lang. parang silang mga barbie and gosh! Sobrang live yung boses , dont fight me coz i heard it loud and clear, hindi ko pa nga mabosesan si Yuqi kase ang tinis ng bose nya compared dun sa speaking voice nya. I mean, ang hindi sya yung low low na ineexpect ko mase shet iba yung singing voice ni yuqi sa OMG, waaaah and then i knew, they were singing live talaga. Then pati si miyeon, di ko rin masyado mabosesan shuta ang ganda nung boses, parang may honey and higher sya sa usual na naririnig ko. Iba talaga yung live vocals omg! Si shuhua din jusko nastarstruck ako sa batang yun kase sobrang puti mamee! Parang bondpaper! And then yun n nga, OH MY GOD, SHE SHOWED ME ALL THE STARS AH! THEY LITERALLY SHOWED ME THE STARS KASI ANG SURREAL NILA huhuhuhu

I didnt film everything kasi i wanna stare and memorize their features kase sobrang lapit nila! All the time i was staring intently talaga kay Yuqi kase i can’t believe na she was that PRETTY as in sobrang hindi ako nag kamali ng bias! And miyeon too! Sobrang ganda nya and potek super friendly. She was also always sa side namin with yuqi and shuhua tapos mahilig mag fanservice. I really love her singing voice. I just voice recorded a portion of villain dies and focused on looking at them. It’s really hard to take them all at once! Di pa din ako makapaniwala na andyan sila sa harap ko huhuhuhu. And ang hirap sumiksik halos wala akong makita kaya sumisilip lang ako sa mga braso nila. Sabi ko, mapapagod din kayo hahahaha.

But then LATATA came in and i knew it in myself na i couldn’t let it pass kase it’s their DEBUT single, and buti na lang hindi ako nagsisi! Grabe talaga! Again, recorded a portion of it and enjoyed until the 여자아이들 자기 소개 💗

Look at them… ❤️‍🔥

First one to introduce herself was Minnie (우리 hype girl) she keeps on jumping hahaha so cute!

Next one was our Princess Cho Miyeon! Oh gosh she was very beautiful as in! I spent a good time staring at her coz she’s so pretty! I was like Soyeon to her hahaha!

Up next was captain Soyeon! Oh my gad dang she was so pretty and cool! Umaapaw yung angas! Tapos she did a sexy introduction. Jusko mentor soyeon! Pinapanood lang kita dati sa MMTG pero goshhh.. i’ll dwell later sa pag fangirl per member hihi.

Syempre, next yung ultimate bias ko na si Song Yuqi! Jusko kang bata ka! She was about to say something pa eh kaso nag start na ang crowd sa project, happy birthday Yuqi hahah! Tapos biglang after sabi nya she has nothing to say na i love you and thank you whahahahah napakahyper na bata!

Of course last but not the least si boss baby Yeh Shuhua GRABE SOBRANG PUTI UP UNTIL NOW DI PA DIN AKO MAKARECOVER SA SOBRANG PUTI PARANG PUTO SEKO AWWWWWW

They performed blow your mind, senorita (sobrang cute nung fu fu fu fu fu fu fu, yuqi even let the crowd do it and she danced cutely while we were singing hihi). For the 2nd ment, parang dun ata nasira yung aircon kase sobrang init na init sila, shuhua even went down so the girls were still entertaining pa the crowd, mostly done by yuqi. They speak in ENGLISH by the way! Kaya ang saya kase no need for interpreters! Ramdam mo talaga yung effort nila to communicate with us 😭 tsaka hindi sila awkward pakinggan.

Next was Dumdi dumdi — party song kase kaya di ko na film lahat (esp. yuyeon’s fanservice). Ang ganda din ng choreo nila here pre chorus. Ang saya, super hyped yung crowd and i cant stop myself from dancing! I kept in jumoing nga sa spot ko kaya nainis siguro yung nasa paligid ko hahahahahaha im so sorry pero u need to enjoy the con guys! Learn how to enjoy the moment! As in THE MOMENT! Yung euphoria caused by the concert is unforgettable! Hindi man sila vivid memories but the feeling will stay in your heart i swear!

Last song before the costume change was Luv U, and another hyper song! Jusko party party mode lang talaga!

Moving on to the 2nd Quarter (yes… it’s that long!, basing on the costume change), eto yung most awaited ko kase eto yung I BURN phase. The holy trinity HANN (alone in winter), HANN and HWAA plus MOON jusko, eto yung dream kong mapanood from GIDLE. Tomboy era kasi ako talaga nag start mag hard stan and I think i really missed such a good era (IBURN ITRUST). And you know what’s the best part in this quarter? THE FUCKING MIC IS ON! Like the vocals are really loud compared sa previous, and mas na distinguish ko na sila kase i think nung una naninibago talaga ako sa actual voice nila huhu. The videos don’t even give justice sa live perf! You should definitely check and watch it upfront!

❤️‍🔥Just look at the fcking stage!❤️‍🔥

Moon final pose

One of my tiny regrets is hindi ko na film yung ALREADY and LIAR with their mic stands kase i was resting for HWAA kase sobrang sakit na ng arms ko, literal gusto ko ng sumuko that time! Pero thank you at may mga taong nakapag video ng better huhu i love u guys💗 TAPOS gusto kong umiyak, sa MOON putek ang tagal kong inantay to pati sa HWAA can i say one PUTANGINA? KASE NAMANNNNN SA YOUTUBE LANG YUN DATI TAPOS NGAYON LIVE NA HUHUHU. Definitely best part of the concert for me!

❤️‍🔥Before pala mag start sa HWAA, may another MENT sila, we were asked what song yung favorite namin. Yuqi asked us and she went near sa area namin. So I took off my mask and said “HWAAAAAAAA” and PUTANGINA i think we had a one on one moment Kase she mouthed HWAA din and i said okay (thumbs up) then she nodded and then sinabi nya sa mic HWAA! AHHHHH di ko na film pero sobrang vivid sa memory ko hindi talaga sya imagination huhuhuhu ILOVEYOU WOOGI! ❤️‍🔥 huhuhu

Tapos somewhere sa ment, they asked naman anong gusto namin iperform ni Minnie! (I think eto na yung solo perfs nila during ment), the crowd was shouting Dahlia minnie sang it. Tapos si Yuqi EDI SHEMPRE MAHAL TAYO NI LORD, SHE SANG A PORTION OF GIANT! AAAAAAAAH! jusko dreams come true talaga 😭😭😭 then miyeon sang Drive followed by Soyeon’s beam beam. Nag rap rap beat box pa nga si yuqi ayieeeee. Yun lang di nagperform si Shushu kaya medyo nanghinayang ako dun. Sobrang cute kase ng boses nya talaga. After Hwaa (di pa nga ako nakarecover) biglang LION NAMAN OMG! PUTEK WHEN I SAY MIC IS ON MIC IS FUCKING ON! Goosebumps especially sa high note ni Minnie! Grabe! Saludo ako sayo Kim Minnie!

(여자)아이들은 너무 사랑해요! 내일 하구 하루 하루가 정말 사랑할거에요~ 💗

We’re on the 3rd Quarter and there’s another VCR (same with earlier). Sinabi pala ni minnie before mag start sa HWAA na halfway na kami. IMAGINE HALFWAY PA LANG YON! at that poiint, mga 30% na lang energy ko. Feeling ko talaga susuko na ako gagu hahahaha. Buti na lang may katabi akong friend na lets me lean every single now and then grabe. Sumuko na nga yung isa naming friend kase sobrang suffocating and inet. Jusko.

Never stop me yung song GAGI lumapit sa amin si YUQI huhuhu best spot talaga side namin for fanservice ni Yuqi, glad i chose that spot 😭 sobrang hype na naman kami, party mode on ulet! Yung katabi kong si Yannie nahawa ako makipag party na lang all the way hahaha. Yung in ear din pala ni shuhua tumalsik!

Also, etong quarter na ‘to yung PARTY SONGS TALAGA oh literal di ako makasigaw kase i’m catching up for breath and sobrang ngalay na ang ate mo. Ginamit ko na din yung nevie bong ko hahaha kase hassle kanina eh. So ayun. Grabe yung sa UH OH lakas talaga ng dating as ever. And then MY BAG STARTED! YUNG ATE MO YUQI MAY PA PRACTICE NG PAG TWERK SA AUDIENCE! HAHAHAH NAPAKA HYPER TALAGA SIS!

My Bag practice with GIDLE and Nevies

Super lit nung performance. Again wasnt able to film to (and wasnt intending to in the first place) pero i just had to shoot the iconic twerks ng idle hahahah and my GIANT DOG moment with YUQI🖤 popstars was performed next and i took it as another chance to dance and jump (kaya nagkasprain ako gagu haha) but mostly, to recharge my arms strength sa filming ng SONG OF THE YEAR ‘TOMBOY’!

I’m gonna continue this blog on another post coz the mobile app had a 10photo cap and yeah, that suvks @tumblr!

Till then yeorobun! 💗

#GIDLEinMNL2022 #GIDLE #GIDLE_WORLDTOUR_JUSTMEIDLE

0 notes

immaturityofthomasastruc · 3 years

Text

IOTA Reviews: Truth

Hey. Hey guys. Remember when I said I was feeling optimistic about this season? God, that was funny, wasn't it?

Let's just... Let's just get into the actual first episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Truth.

We start off with Gabriel repairing the damaged Peacock Miraculous, which also restores Duusu's sanity, before he quickly gives it a test run by transforming with both it and the Butterfly Miraculous.

And good lord, the result looks atrocious. This is the design for the new and improved Hawkmoth? First off, the peacock feather eyepatch looks stupid. Is he trying to be the Phantom of the Opera? When Mayura had the same thing, it didn't completely cover her eye and matched her color scheme. It just doesn't match with this new design here. Other than the feather, the peacock aesthetic is barely visible here. The most we get is a peacock feather pattern on the back of his jacket. And then there's the popped collar and coattails, which only look more ridiculous than menacing. What made the original Hawkmoth design work was how sleek it was. It was simplistic, which reflected Gabriel's no-nonense personality. This just looks gaudy and unnecessary. How was this right after the amazing suit the animators gave Dragonbug?

So after Gabriel designs another stupid looking outfit, we cut to Marinette, who's still trying to figure out how the Miracle Ball works. She accidentally opens it, letting the Kwamis out, who wreak havoc on her room because Marinette suffering is going to be a big part of this episode. This just raises the question: Why can't Marinette simply order them back into the box like Su-Han did, or rather, is going to do? It's still not established what gives the Guardians authority over the Kwamis in the first place.

Two of the Kwamis accidentally start a video chat with her friends, leading to some more Unfunny Marinette Slapstick. But Alya thinks something's up with her friend.

youtube

Has Marinette even told Alya she's already in a relationship? Like, at all? It feels like all Alya is there for now is to remind the audience that Marinette and Adrien are “meant to be”, even if they're both in relationships right now. It's either that, or teasing Marinette over her crush and doing nothing to help her anxiety.

Marinette accidentally ends the call, before Luka calls to thank her for the pictures of Adrien one of the Kwamis accidentally sent him. Yeah, even though he barely appears in this episode (barring his scenes at Cat Noir), they're going to talk about Adrien a lot. Marinette continues to stammer around Luka (once again making fun of people who have speech issues), but Luka, being the ray of sunshine in any abysmal episode he's in, is completely understanding of it. He also sets up a pretty funny joke.

Apparently, Marinette missed her last date with Luka yesterday to see a movie that was re-released, Crocodile Heart, that was actually Jagged Stone's first movie. I wonder if it's connected to Crocodile Dundee.

While walking to the movie, Luka and Marinette play a game finishing the lyrics of a Jagged Stone song, establishing the former as a huge fan of the rock star. Before we can actually get an on-screen kiss for Lukanette, Mr. Pigeon attacks yet again, because I guess he's the first villain Hawkmoth wants to use in his new form.

Cat Noir sneaks up on Ladybug, causing her to accidentally throw him off a building before catching him, chastising him for the stupid jokes, yet Ladybug has to apologize for missing patrol with her partner, who casually acknowledges her new status as Guardian before the two go and fight Mr. Pigeon.

By the time they defeat him, the movie ends as Marinette gets back, disappointing Luka. We then get a montage of Marinette bailing on Luka multiple times to stop Akumas and Sentimonsters. To his credit, Luka is seriously torn up by all the times Marinette leaves him, showing he isn't just a calm soul.

After Marinette gets back, Luka takes her underneath a bridge to listen to the echoing sound of the water. Luka says that he never knew his father, and he would always go here to relax whenever he got stressed. He uses this to segue into asking Marinette where she constantly disappears to. He doesn't pressure her or anything like Alya, and he even says that if she still loves Adrien, he'll understand. He only asks for the truth. Unfortunately, Marinette can't tell him the truth, which just breaks the poor boy's heart.

Hawkmoth, now calling himself Shadowmoth, sends out an Akuma and an Amok for Luka at the same time, corrupting a guitar pick signed by Jagged Stone that Marinette gave him. And again, to Luka's credit, he fights back against Shadowmoth's influence at first, saying he trusts Marinette, but the temptation of knowing the truth is too good to pass up. He tells Marinette to run before being akumatized into Truth, assisted by the Sentimonster Pharro.

Truth's design is... pretty forgettable. The guitar pick being prominent around his neck is a nice touch, but it's just a generic black bodysuit with light blue highlights, and he has a third eye instead of a visible mouth. Pharro is also pretty boring, just a giant eye that freezes people in place so Truth can use his powers to make them tell the truth.

So Truth goes back to where everyone else was hanging out before he was akumatized and asks Alya to tell him the truth about Marinette.

Yeah, he's right, Alya. That's what you believe. We're supposed to treat Alya saying Marinette loves Adrien as an unbiased source. Truth asks Rose, Mylene, Tom, and Sabine what Marinette's secret is in this episode, and they all say she's in love with Adrien. That isn't actually the truth. It's like asking an atheist if there is a God. You know what they believe is the truth, but you don't know if that answer is actually the truth. Why not have them reveal other secrets about Marinette, giving the audience subtle character details? Like the writers could make someone say stuff like she still sleeps with a nightlight on, or that she secretly gets cookies from another bakery.

You know what also would have worked? Instead, have Truth catch Marinette before she transforms into Ladybug, ask who she actually loved, and then she'll blurt out Adrien's name, shocking both her and Luka. This could also make Ladybug's confidence in herself waver throughout the episode, wondering if she actually loved Luka at all. That would have been much better drama than what we're going to get instead.

Ladybug charges in to stop Truth, but is zapped by his truth ray, meaning she'll be forced to tell the truth when asked any question. Before she can admit her identity, Cat Noir saves her by retreating with her into the Seine, before reassuring Ladybug that he wouldn't force her to tell the truth by force. It's a nice bit that does show he respects Ladybug's secret, a far cry from his behavior in episodes like “Syren” and “Frozer”. Truth turns his attention to his mother Anarka, and asks who his father is.

youtube

Yes. Seriously. This is happening. Luka's father is actually Jagged Stone. I have... mixed feelings regarding this development, but my biggest question is, well... they're doing this now? They couldn't save this for another episode? I mean, was focusing on Luka and Marinette's relationship (something that had been established since Season 2) not good enough of a plot for the writers? Why shoehorn in this plot development? Why not save this part as a teaser for a future episode? You know, have Luka walk home, and remember what he made his mother say as Truth, setting up an episode focusing on his relationship with Jagged Stone.

But no! Instead, we're just supposed to go along with the plot taking a detour. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't want Jagged Stone to appear in this episode.

Truth heads over to the hotel where Jagged Stone lives and asks him if he's actually his father, the latter admitting that Anarka was right. Truth naturally isn't happy.

Well, to be fair, it's still a better title than his first drafts, like “It's Not My Fault the Condom Broke”, or “Up Yours, I'm Not Paying the Child Support, Bitch”.

Honestly, I can get what the writers are going for, and I like the idea of them trying to give some depth to a character who was mostly used for comic relief in earlier episodes. The problem is, as much as they want to portray Jagged as regretful for walking out on his family, it still doesn't excuse him for never even bothering to check in on his children and their mother while writing a song about it. He doesn't even bother to give some money to the person he knocked up.

I'm not saying a conflicted relationship like this can't work in animation (a decent example being Steven Universe slowly growing to resent his mother for her time as Pink Diamond and believing his birth was an excuse for her to avoid responsibility), but you need to put more emotion into this. I don't come from a broken home, but if it turned out my dad was, let's say, “Weird Al” Yankovic, even if I enjoy his music, I wouldn't be happy that he decided to come back now of all times without so much as a “hello”.

Truth goes to Marinette's house/bakery, and starts looking for Marinette's diary to find out her secrets. It's almost like the minor plotline that he has a deadbeat dad was only there to eat up airtime. Ladybug is still affected by Truth's powers, and not long after she summons her Lucky Charm, Cat Noir is zapped too, so he starts asking questions that basically amount to complimenting certain qualities he and Ladybug have. When Ladybug asks him what he thinks about her being Guardian, Cat Noir says nothing's changed between them. It's a nice strategy, very reminiscent of when they had to talk in rhyme when fighting Frightengale. I'm also glad they aren't trying to play up Cat Noir not feeling as important immediately now that his partner has access to top secret information.

Cat Noir Cataclysms Pharro, but rather than destroying the Sentimonster, it causes it to go out of control, accidentally paralyzing Truth with some manipulation from her and Cat Noir. Ladybug then de-evilizes both the Akuma and Amok, defeating Truth.

Marinette struggles to find the words to explain things to Luka, but he says that he'll be waiting for her when she's ready. While walking back to his houseboat, Luka runs into Jagged Stone, who promises to write a song together with him. Because I guess Shadowmoth was kind enough of him to not erase that part of his memory. And of course, Luka just accepts this despite the fact that Jagged was absent from his entire life.

So according to this show, you shouldn't bother to give mean people a second chance, but it's okay to give your deadbeat dad a second chance without harboring any negative feelings? I'm sorry, but I just don't see the point of shoving in this subplot if you're barely going to do anything with it before coming to a resolution. If there was more detail put into it, like if Luka just angrily lashed out at Jagged for abandoning his mom, I would have been more open to it. But in the end, this major character revelation is nothing more than filler the episode doesn't need.

We cut to what I'm surprised doesn't happen at the end of every episode given how much crap she gets, Marinette crying in her bed, saying it's too dangerous to have a boyfriend thanks to Shadowmoth. One of the Kwamis apparently doesn't know what crying is, so Marinette asks them to give her a hug, and the showrunners really need to find another song to play at the end, because the upbeat song playing doesn't go with Marinette crying at all. Imagine if this song played at the end of Deep Space Nine's “In the Pale Moonlight” when Captain Sisko confessed to basically being an accessory to the murder of an alien ambassador. It'd be tonally jarring, wouldn't it?

Even the ending image doesn't feature Luka and Marinette together. Instead, he's hugging it out with Deadbeat Stone like everything's okay.

So yeah, that's how the episode ends. In case you couldn't tell, I thought it was awful.

Remember in my New York Special review, where I theorized that Astruc rewrote it to focus more on Adrienette to stop people from shipping Lukanette? I have another theory that I also want to be taken with a grain of salt. I think this episode might have also been rewritten a little to follow up on that. I mean, why else would Astruc spend two seasons building up Luka's relationship with Marinette only to rip it away the episode after they officially get together? It would also explain why it feels like there's two separate episodes going on with how shoehorned in Jagged Stone is.

But other than that, this episode managed to screw up the one thing I was actually looking forward to about this season, seeing Marinette together with Luka. Even if they were going to break up, I was hoping there would at least be a character arc for Marinette where she realizes what she truly wants in a relationship isn't with Luka, leading into a relationship with Adrien where she feels more confident in herself. I was at least hoping their relationship would last more than A SINGLE EPISODE.

In fact, remember that tweet Astruc made soon after the New York Special, defending Marinette and Adrien essentially cheating on Luka and Kagami respectively?

What exactly was so complicated about Season 4 when you're immediately going to break up a couple you spent two seasons building up? Astruc's predictions are about as accurate as Uri Geller.

And then there's the fact that all everyone talks about this episode is Adrien. Marinette's wall is covered with pictures of him, Alya thinks her friend's abnormal behavior is because Adrien's in the room with her, Luka somehow knows Marinette loves Adrien and is actually cool with it, and everyone else thinks that it's her biggest secret. How convenient is it that all of this happens when barring his scenes as Cat Noir, Adrien doesn't appear in this episode barring a five second cameo?

When I was writing this episode, I saw a tweet Astruc made addressing a question someone posed, asking why Adrien didn't get as much screentime in the recent Shanghai Special. He said that “history does not revolve around him”.

youtube

For the love of God, writers, just give Marinette a plotline that doesn't revolve around her feelings for Adrien for once. People already started to get sick of it halfway through last season. Either have her confess and make the Love Square canon, or stop letting it dominate the main story for once. Why can't the writers just let her move on from Adrien for more than a single episode? Give her a goddamn break already.

I once again have to ask: what was the point of building up a relationship between Luka and Marinette since Season 2, if you're just going to break them up the second they get together? Why make a big deal about Marinette's conflicted feelings for both Adrien and Luka if you're just going to ignore her feelings for the latter in favor of the former? And remember, chronologically, this was right after the end of Chloe's “damnation arc”, another plotline that had been built up since Season 2 only to be aborted in favor of “sUbVeRtInG tHe AuDiEnCe'S eXpEcTaTiOnS”. It feels like the writers are trying to punish people for getting emotionally invested in any storyline that doesn't relate to the holy pairing that is the Love Square.

This episode is just frustrating to watch. Part of me knew Marinette and Luka were going to break up, but I didn't think it would be this bad, and it would be so soon. I'm glad they're on somewhat good terms, and I liked the buildup to Luka realizing Marinette might not trust him, but the timing of this episode is what baffles me the most. Is it any wonder I think Astruc may have rewritten this episode?

If any Lukanette shippers need to recover, I'd recommend checking out @mc-lukanette. They have some wholesome one-shots and fix-it fics for some of the weaker episodes of the series. In fact, she already wrote a fix-it to this abysmal episode that’s so much better than what we got.

141 notes · View notes

algernoninwonderland · 3 years

Note

Hello, I was wondering how you feel about the "Cat Blanc" ML episode? It thought it strange for reasons I can't really articulate so I was hoping to read your thoughts. I am not that good at analysis but I love your episode reviews. They are very insightful and usual help me understand why I liked/didn't like a certain episode.

A belated review/analysis of Chat Blanc! Here we go!

So, Chat Blanc… It wasn't all that great, now, was it?

The good:

Gabriel's motives are made crystal clear once more, which makes his pushing them to their very limits all the more shocking. The Agreste family vault looks impressive, almost church-like, it's some pretty strong imagery. Not outstandingly original but pretty good stuff nevertheless.

Angry Rose is funny.

Marinette's “Know what I won't take for an answer?” and a smash cut to Nathalie's “No.” That's good comedy.

Ladybug goofing around in the Burrow. It's harmless, she's a kid, these different points in time look interesting.

Chat Blanc's future looks eery and white and blue and it really works, we rarely see post-apocalyptic landscapes like this one, usually it's all muddy and dark and this isn't the case here. I appreciate that. The first wide shot in which the camera spins around Montparnasse tower is great.

Chat Blanc's animation is really creepy and for the most part, it's intentional.

if you’re a sucker for mid 2000s evil sadboys aesthetics, you’ll love this.

Have a montage of Adrienette being sickeningly cute.

I’m watching this in French and let me tell you, Benjamin Bollen might have to work with terrible lines but he’s doing a damn fine job with them

That shot in which the debris and Ladybug break the water’s surface, the bubbles and all… It looks great. I don’t know who is in charge of this but it looked genuinely great.

Chat Noir’s akumatisation and his trying to control his power and not hurt anybody is pretty great, as a concept.

The final scene is a nice parallel to the one earlier in the episode. Repetition with variation is an easy way to make me like things and it works nicely.

The bad:

The Girl Squad bullying Marinette is… Eh.

Stalkerish obsessed Marinette is a joke that overstayed its welcome by that point. Had this been an early season 2 joke, it would have worked. It's a late season 3 joke, it's honestly a bit creepy at this point.

That reveal is fanfic-worthy. It feels really light, and not as big a deal as would have been the case if that episode had any consequences. You can already tell this'll be retconned by the end of the episode.

Bunnyx's burrow. It's unimpressive. It's neither bizarre enough nor flashy enough to really work for me. And that TARDIS joke made me roll my eyes.

If you hate mid 2000s evil sadboys aesthetics, you’ll hate this.

They re-use the same two cars for Ladybug to jump on and it’s pretty obvious. There are smart ways of recycling assets. This isn’t one of them.

Wow, that’s a terrible first kiss, the shot is… Pretty bad.

Gabriel being an asshole and breaking Adrienette up for the stupidest, most selfish reasons feels unfair and that’s the point… But also that scene at the bakery is pretty lame, it doesn’t flow very well, the characters are oddly static and not expressive enough for it to be striking, the lighting doesn’t work with the mood of the scene at all. It feels abrupt, yes, but also cheap.

“It was our love that did this to the world milady.” What a stupid, edgy line.

Bad low-res textures being stretched are clearly visible in quite an awful lot of shots.

Wow. Destroyed Paris is the exact same city as usual, just as empty, only this time they replaced the sky with a “water surface” animation loop. It’s… Underwhelming. You had a great concept and this is what you do with it?

Can you believe they made destruction on a cosmic scale look so bland? How do you mess up that bad?

That confrontation between Hawk Moth and our heroes. This should be season finale material. It’s considerably cheapened.

The ugly:

With the few exceptions listed above, the rendering is not good at all, the lighting is flat and inexpressive which could give everything a kind of otherworldly feel if only used in some sequences (and that would be clever!)… Only it's off, all of the time. Chat Blanc is the only character that looks okay in his timeline.

The animation is off when it shouldn't be, outside of the exception listed earlier. Everything is much too stiff, characters' expressions are off, the timing is off. It's a shame, really. The action sequences are decently boarded but look pretty bad.

“Just because I know her secret identity doesn't mean she has to know about mine.” That's a terrible line. And we're supposed to be rooting for that kid. That's not how healthy relationships work, the episode never addresses that because Adrien is perfect, he's just sad and understandably troubled by these revelations.

Do you remember when Gabriel was shown to care for his son, the complex character drama that could have arisen from that? Well it sure as hell ain’t there.

That Guy boarded that episode. He has a weird, err, fixation on a 14yo girl’s butt and makes sure to include a shot in which it is shoved at the viewers’ faces. Seriously? What is wrong with you? If you so badly want to sexualise characters, it’s not like there aren’t any adults in Miraculous.

Perfectly good ideas are skimmed over in a matter of seconds because this episode is only 22 minutes long. The audience is bombarded with pretty major turning points in a matter of seconds and can barely process any of them.

If the point of your episode is, “it’s better if it doesn’t exist” then you obviously shouldn’t be making this episode… Right? Seems pretty obvious to me, but apparently it isn’t since Chat Blanc exists.

That end card has Hawk Moth look like he’s rolling his eyes and so was I by the end of this episode. The overwhelming feeling of all of this for nothing but the reassertion that these two are “made for each other” which, yawn.

Perfectly good ideas wasted on an episode with mediocre writing and bad animation and rendering.

It's a pretty forgettable episode, funnily enough, I had to rewatch it to be able to write this review.

Hope this helped, Anon! Thanks for the compliment!

#ml #miraculous #ml critical #ml criticism #chat blanc #ml salt #ml writers salt #ml canon salt #ml season 3 #ml season 3 spoilers #i guess

64 notes · View notes

jenmyeons · 4 years

Text

Favorite Fics 2019

hi hello it’s me your local mess. ok so this hit me on my way to work the other day and since it’s friday i feel like today is a good day to hopefully make someone’s day/night/weekend a little brighter?

i love reading fanfics. periodt. there are lots of incredible writers out there on this site and other platforms who take time to write beautiful fics about the real people and characters and their emotional support kpop ladies and gentlemen to show their love and appreciation so i want to dedicate this to my favorite fics of this year. these fanfics are of varying lengths and genres but they all have two things in common 1) they were posted this year 2) i love them.

(most of these are exo but i have some other groups sprinkled in there too)

other favorite fics of mine can be found under my fic recs tag!

A Decade of Midnights by @chogi-wae

queen of noir! grumpy chenneth! sexy detectives! murder mystery! do i even have to say anything else? oh yes! we also get coroner!baekhyun

ps: jae has a sequel started for this with two parts already having me at the edge of my seat. i love all of jae’s writing but this one takes the cake

Enough by @yeoldontknow

anything kat touches turns golden and holy mother of everything that is self-love and reflection. this is a fic for all us sexy ladies with a body that doesn’t conform to what society has decided is “beautiful”. i can’t call myself plus size in any way but i do not have a flat tummy or legs for days or perky titties. quite the opposite; i’m a short lady with love handles, saggy tits and stomach rolls (yes we’re going tmi here but it’s important ok). park chanyeol is the opposite of that and he’s the best fucking man ever in this fic. he’s a muscle man but he’s a man with the biggest heart and he says “you have a cute butt” which is enough reason for you to read this. when i feel bad about myself, i think about enough and i become a little happier

Empty Vessels

another yeoldontknow masterpiece! i stand by the statement that this is the best fic i have ever read. probably read this five times already and i think about it almost daily. junmyeon is a witch from salem and that’s only one of the many reasons for you to check this out and hopefully fall in love with it as much as i have. it’ll rip your heart out and stomp on it. dub me professional empty vessels promoter already kat!!

Dichotomy by @kyungseokie

dia hurts you in the best possible way with this fic. bawl my eyes out every damn time i read this because fucking hell this is emotional investment and hearts broken and everything hurts and this is not your average love triangle where one guy is obviously worse than the other. NO! this can go either way and you just want everyone to be happy and baekhyun needs a hug!

Teacher’s Pet by @suhoerections

teacher junmyeon getting called daddy “threatening” to bend you over his desk and fuck you hard is a lot for a suhoe stan such as myself to think about but i’m not mad, just jorny.

Clouded by @mayrubyy

uhm yes do you want to cry some more? this is an emotional rollercoaster, you have been warned! this fic has great potential and it’s maya’s child and when the next part is posted you know shit will go down and ashjgff i have no words only love for both the author aka my baby and the fic itself🥺💖

Familiar Stranger by @myforeverforlife

love love love love LOVE familiar stranger! a beautiful story about reader losing all memories of the last five years due to an accident which includes her entire life with fiancé kim jongdae. dae is an angel, we all know that, but he’s somehow even more angelic as the most patient person ever in familiar stranger. this hits right in the feels (can you tell i love to read angst ahjdsf) and it’s not your usual wham bam thank you ma’am all-memories-recovered-in-five-seconds kind of situation either and i’m praying for another update of this because this is not just one of the best fics of this year but one of my favorites period.

Sunny Side Up by @dreaminghaos

i love everything fee writes with a burning passion y’all

this fic is everything everything everything!!! i can’t get enough of this fic and i probably never will get enough of it either because i love this pairing and i’m in love with struggling writer!jeonghan

Magnetic by @softyexo

did anyone say ceo!myeon? this is a recent love of mine. i read it just the other day and have been thinking about it non-stop since. absolutely in love with oc’s and junmyeon’s dynamic in this one and it feeds all my lovesickness for this man made of pure husband material. thanks for coming to this ted talk.

Hold on to silence by @dropsofletters

amazing! show stopping! incredibly unique! absolutely astonishing! idiots in love! omg i LOVE this one! yixing as chanhun’s manager is everything i didn’t know i needed and holy crap this is such a lovely story please read it and experience the feels™

Neon Moon by @kyungseokie

they were roleplaying! ROLEPLAYING!

Trauma by @baekwell--tart

dad and secret mafia man!byun falls in love with his babysitter after being an absolute asshole to her and oh my god i am so invested in this masterpiece. whenever bella updates trauma i yell. i’ve re-read this many times already and i continue to find new reasons why i love this story with my whole entire being

Mr. Byun

bella once again proving that she writes the most amazing bbh fics. angst and smut combined i swear i was a whole lot worked up with all the spice in this one and then i cried like a baby when it ended. have i told you that i’m a very emotionally stable person?🤡

Bedazzling Heart of Gold by @baekonsforbreakfast

i love this song! baekhyun gets dumped and falls in love with oc who runs one of the biggest hostess bars in all of sk and holy crap you just love everyone in this fic. even that one character who you feel like you should hate but kind of still empathize with on a deeply emotional level. no? just me? ok then. i love you belle and i hope you know how much i enjoy your writing💗

Mr. Muscles by @chogi-wae

short and sweet drabble about oc biting jun’s bicep. no but for real i’ve read this one countless times and i just love a domestic jun so go ahead and read duality and dyson as well because nobody writes cute domestic fluff like jae ilysm

Money Makes Her Smile by @ninibears-erigom

mrs gom has written one of the dirtiest but also loveliest smut series of 2019. jongdae’s part was posted yesterday and holy fuck i have never read better jongdae smut ever i think

Business Before Pleasure by @pcychedelic

actor minseok! i repeat: actor minseok!

they get down and dirty in like the second chapter and i’m in love. not because of the obvious spiciness but because the amazing portrayal of minseok in this fic. love a strong female character? then you will love oc too!

High Voltage by @skyesins

SIN! THIS IS SIN! I LOVED EVERY SINGLE PART OF THIS FIC AND PART TWO IS EVEN BETTER!

there’s also the original ofc version on asian fanfics for those who aren’t into reader inserts and it’s just as good!

Literally every single aesthetic that @kpop-daze has written but some favorites include exo as broken love / exo as ephemeral tenderness / exo as fleeting heartbreak

Unfitting by @heechulhamster

SOLDIER MINSEOK SOLDIER MINSEOK SOLDIER MINSEOK that is all

no wait... this has real descendants of the sun vibes and i love it so much can i have a soldier!xiu por favor

Fire and Frost by @writing-exo-things

queen of drabbles! i love every single one of them but this one is next level™ i cried like a baby this is truly amazing!!!

Take Care by @omyeol

g o d i felt this fic on a deeply spiritual and emotional level

False Hope by @pastel-kpop

i hate you and i love you for writing this it still hurts reading this like YES MAKE ME HURT AYESHA THEY ARE IDIOTS

Mocha by @stainandscribble

the whole café series is lovely but mocha and espresso really stuck out to me i’m so soft for the whole aesthetic of these!

ever imagined that jackson wang is your date to your brother’s wedding? well @softseunies did and it turned out fucking amazing! what i love the most is that it’s very open for interpretation and of course jackson is always a mood when will he be my date and mayhaps potential bf at the wedding of the brother i don’t have?

little forest by @myforeverforlife

I LOVE THIS! DO YOU HEAR ME?! L O V E THIS!

not his to love by @boogerines

can you hear me sobbing? this hurts so much let me go back to crying over this again after i re-read this for the nth time

this blurb right here is adorable @sprinklesofktrash did that!

wild valley by @fairyyeols

wild valley is that bitch™ and that’s all i have to say i live and breathe for this installation of exo customs my favorite, in fact

blossoms in the wind by @marshmallow-phd

don’t @ me but this goblin!au with junmyeon as the goblin and baekhyun as the grim reaper is more intriguing than the drama and that’s saying a lot but i cry with every new chapter ohmygoddddd

wrong number by @yeoldotcom

i’m a hoe for fake texts and zee makes the best ones🥺🥺🥺🥺

also love love love bf!jun in food buddies

break up with me by @exoangst

don’t mind me i’m just crying in a corner as i read this for the millionth time and cry over how well written oc is and how fucking amazing that breakup scene is like has anyone done it like that before? maybe, idk but this is the only one that counts

#fic recs #2019 favorites #here it is!#I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH YOU'RE ALL AMAZING AND I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT #got carried away as usual but i love to support content creators on this hellsite #maybe i'll do this for other things as well?#drama recs anyone?

360 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 4 years

Text

March 23rd-March 29th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 23rd, 2020 to March 29th, 2020. The chat focused on Puppeteer by Eightfish.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Puppeteer by Eightfish~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 29th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

eli [a winged tale]

Ooh exciting! I’ll try and get to this soon!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yes yes, I had started reading this last week, want to continue and get in on this convo!!

Joichi / Sarah

Oh I'll take a look at reading Puppeteer!

shadowhood

Ditto. Time for another art binge

eli [a winged tale]

1) I love the colours and lighting! As for the story, the banter really drew me in and when J offered freedom, that was my hook 2) My favourite moment was when J tore Eli out of his body! That was a very striking moment. 3) I really like J and Sam They’re both characters with a strong voice and motivation. 4) I enjoy the friendship chat between Sam and Eli. They really ground the whole college experience and the comic world for me. 5) Let me find it! 6) I think the themes of feeling lost in life or directionless after regimented high school are very relatable. It’s one thing to know where you wanna go and want to be but often we feel we’re just floating in reality. 7) I love the aesthetics! Very unique style yet also clear in storytelling! 8) I would say the strengths tie into the fast pace and great characters. I’m not sure where we’re headed in the comic but I’m sure we will get to know why beings like J and the Ocean lady exist and what roles Eli/Sam would play in the story great work Eightfish!

Love this shot! Great paneling!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

The artwork is so beautiful!

shadowhood

Yeah, the flow of motion is amazing here that's really good gesture drawing

Feather J. Fern

I have to say I love the way you do the limited palette for the first few pages, it's really cool!

mathtans

Oh! From setup to where some f/f romance is implied. I shall read more. (Nice when the ships are verging on canon, if not there...)

Wonder if J is going to set things up such that Eli has to possess one of them.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Aaa, thank you all for the compliments about my art, eli, sssfrs, shadow, feather. I'm really trying to make this thing look good and I'm glad you guys like it.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

It looks really good!!

eli [a winged tale]

Love it Eightfish! Can’t wait for more!

RebelVampire

What I liked about the beginning is just kind of how jarring it is (in a good way). You get thrown right into a semi-tense/suspicious interaction, and it really kind of sets that tone for the rest of the comic. Which is actually what I like about the story all together. There's always this kind of laid back atmosphere to it where you're never really sure if you should be concerned or not. So it's got this right beat where you aren't always screaming but also aren't ever able to fully relax cause it feels like danger is around the corner. Coincidentally, the beginning is also probably my favorite moment in the comic as well, just cause again, I really love the tone here. My favorite character at the moment is probably J cause I can't figure J out and would like to know more about J. Cause J is just like this chaotic entity who I can't decide is good or evil and it's a complicated mess that I love. As for favorite interactions, definitely Eli and J. I like they're kind of friends, kind or enemies, kind of maybe sort of abusive relationship, maybe kind of sort of cut from the same fabric. There's a lot of levels to their relationship, so I do like seeing where it's going to go.

What I like about the art is just the overall style combined with the color experimentation. I think this in of itself really helps with the tone I keep mentioning, because it'll go from normal colors to suddenly very jarring, dark contrasts. So again, there's always this hint that something just isn't ever right in the world. I also think these features are the comic's strength, since it's a very interesting style that draws the eye.

Lastly for today, themes. I really like that the comic kind of explores ambition vs. lack of ambition. As someone who is more similar to Eli and would be kind of happy to just be people watching mush sometimes, I really relate. However, there are deep questions about whether this is good, whether ambition is better or whether ambition can go too far. So it's kind of good to see this explored and just kind of show that inevitably, people are different and not everyone has the same sorts of drives (or drives at all).

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh my god, you have no idea how happy I am to read that. Everything you said was exactly what I was going for and this is very validating

(also, can we just appreciate Rebel for a moment. They take the time to write these in depth analyses of every comic here and I always enjoy reading them. Even if I knew rebel was going to be the only one in this book club I would still be jumping to sign up.) (Not that I don't appreciate everyone else, those comments were lovely as well haha. So interesting to to read eli's thoughts on the characters and what will happen next)(edited)

BriDanann

Also!! Eightfish!! Your comic is so freaking gorgeous! I absolutely love the color scheme and the surrealist feel the art gives off. It really feels like it's otherworldly, but also familiar. Kind of how old Noir movies felt! I've only read the beginning so far and I am loving the tone.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Will Eli actually be satisfied with his decision to just float around away from responsibility in the long term, or do you think that will change? Additionally, what do you think caused Eli to run away from life so much?

10. Do you think Sam will ever come to accept Eli’s decisions, and how will the situation change the two’s relationship? What will Eli teach Sam about trying to fix everything, and how will the two change each other through their interactions?

11. What do you think J ultimately wants in life, and what does that have to do with giving Eli powers? Why is Sam so convinced that J is a demon? In general, do you think Eli, Sam, and Lily can put a stop to J’s mayhem?

12. How do you interpret the story’s title in terms of its significance to the events of the comic? Also, what significance do you think it has towards the theme of beliefs and how beliefs go stronger the more people believe in them?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

(This week is kinda kicking my ass but I have finished the read and will find time for some comments in the next day or two. Just putting that out there.)

Okay, just a couple quick thoughts in case anyone else wants to react to them... I think Eli felt like there wasn't much of anything left to him. Didn't seem like he had family checking up on him, and major events like breaking your arm are the sorts of times you learn who's rallying around you. Sam distancing herself was probably the last straw.

I wonder a bit whether Vanessa (the one massively possessed by J, only name dropped in the author notes if memory serves) had a similar path. Or whether she's just off the deep end (maybe she pushed J into the arm breaking on some level).

Also think that Lily's pleased to have someone who can finally do something about the visions she's presumably been having all her life (unless it's a puberty awakening thing), though it does seem like her romance with Sam goes deeper than that. I wonder about her romantic history (but then I wonder about that with all f/f ships). And could Sam be bi? Or is she not straight, and part of that is what pulled her from Eli?

As I say, couple quick thoughts.

RebelVampire

@mathtans Those are some good points about Eli's family. I have to say I did kind of where they were at, cause at the very least I do get the impression Eli doesn't feel like they can be relied on. But I do think isolation is playing a big role in Eli's decision making right now.

Do I think Eli will actually be satisfied with his decision? Yes and no. I kind of feel like Eli would be fine with it overall but that inevitably extenuating circumstances will ruin the whole thing. Otherwise I honestly think Eli might be content if people around would accept it. As for why Eli is causing to run away from life, probably social pressure and isolation. It's hard to deal with life if you have no one around you, and also hard to deal with society when you really just don't have ambitions, cause society is very much about ambition. As for Sam, I think this is also a yes and a no. I think Sam will blame herself for Eli's choices as she comes to understand them more, but at the same time learn to let Eli live as Eli sees fit. I do think Sam will learn a valuable lesson though that not everything she thinks is broken is, and even if it is, sometimes people have to learn for themselves. So I think it'll bring Eli and Sam closer.

As for what J wants, I think it's probably friends. I think J fell in with Eli because they're both just kind of lonely souls. And while Eli expresses this in further isolation, J acts out and does everything possible to get attention. I do think the group will put a stop to J's shenanigans though, but I'm also feeling that it won't be a defeating of the villain (but this may be wishful thinking cause I do sympathize with J). I kind of get the feeling the title is meant to reflect both literally that J is turning people into puppets but also the complicated relationship people have with the concept of control. Like Sam for example. Sam clearly wants to fix and "control" things to suit them to how she wants. Also, in the Eli/J relationship, there's a question of who controls who to a degree. As for its connection to belief, I think I'd argue the strong our beliefs are in something, the more those beliefs have control of our lives. And I think that's something we once again see with J a lot in that J is literally controlling people while people seem convinced they control themselves.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh Rebel, mathtans, your comments make me just want to just spoil the entire story and blurt out everything right here. It's been so good seeing that so much of my intent was coming through.

@mathtans Sam is indeed not straight. I wonder what made you see her as bisexual specifically?(edited)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I don’t think Sam had any malicious intent in keeping her distance from Eli, nor was it a case of “I’ve got a girlfriend now so I don’t need to talk to my other friends”. To me, Sam very much sees herself as the only one with the power to protect people, and because of that she feels it’s her duty to control what people get involved, where everyone goes, etc. Sam can keep this city under control, and thus she must. And, yeah, I agree with @RebelVampire that control is one of the main themes of the comic in general. Like J is constantly egging Eli on to control others, and one of their main points is that ordinary people often are looking to delegate control to someone else. And this current segment is the perfect lesson on how it doesn’t have to be one person in control - Eli and Sam can both be in control at once.(edited)

One thing I feel like should be mentioned though - the factor of Eli potentially being nb factoring into his decision? Like, when he first becomes a puppetmaster, one of the first things Eli says is “how come I still look like me” (i.e., rather than androgynous like J?), and one of the things Eli does to practice out shape shifting is try on dresses.

mathtans

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh, nothing specifically made me see Sam as bisexual, but nothing made me see her as exclusively lesbian either. I've learned not to take that stuff for granted and wait for it be be spelled out (I'm also not the most observant though). In fact I have a f/f relationship in my writing where one of them is stated bisexual.

Also, good point snuffy on the androgynous aspect, never occurred to me there.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

Okay, let's address some questions to the best of my abilities. ^.^ Regarding the start, as was mentioned, the muted colours and dark character seemed to fit the tone. I thought the cutaway was a time skip but it made sense when we came back later.

My favourite moment was actually when Sam and Lily spent the night in Eli's apartment. Aside from helping to confirm the f/f relation (a personal taste), it was subtle (like, just a friend wouldn't necessarily go along with things for that time) versus making out or something (which wouldn't fit the tone). And at the same time, it showed that Eli was separating himself from his past life, not even going back to check in... Sam honestly seems to be his only tie. (And I kinda wonder where his original body is, if it even exists?)

Favourite character is tough. Honestly, maybe Lily because she seems so innocent, having been drawn into things... and I wonder if J ever approached her to get to Sam? Or has the focus always been on Eli? It's not that I dislike the other characters, it's more that one of their flaws seems to be a lack of communication. The sort of thing that makes me sigh, even though it fits with what we've seen and is helping motivate the plot.

That said, yeah the Sam and Eli interactions are really good, right from the moment of "don't touch me" and Sam totally respected that as they got caught up. They obviously do care for each other in the friend way. (I wonder if Eli wanted more? Could that be why he shifted female, to be closer to Sam?)

I'm not good with art or themes. -.- The way the being in the harbour was drawn was good though from what I recall, helped to show the scope of the supernatural too. I guess a theme of belonging? Or friendship?

I haven't said much about J yet, but I think that is a something I like and a strength, the plotting... trying to guess the next move. And maybe they want to become as popular as the larger demon? Definitely drives the other characters forwards. And reminds me of Rebel's comment about ambition being a theme... makes sense in retrospect. (And yes, much appreciation to Rebel. ^.- )

9. I think Eli will eventually be satisfied, though I think he's realizing that he's becoming a bit of a pawn in a larger game, not having considered the scope of his transformation. And I already mentioned about his family. And Rebel made good points there too.

I think Sam's starting to accept the change, though not necessarily the reason for it (and I'm not sure she or we truly know what that is). What with her trusting him to possess. In fact, another reason why Eli might have done this was to be of more use to Sam, though that may not have been a conscious decision. The dynamic will be interesting.

Here I'm diverging from Rebel in that I think J wants to be recognized as a more important demon (though that's similar to having friends, it doesn't need to be). Maybe others have tried to take over beings like Sam without success? Or like Ocean Lady are so far above that they don't care? Maybe there's a clue somewhere in why Vanessa isn't enough for J lately.

That's a really interesting point in terms of the title... at first I figured it was the idea of Eli jumping into bodies. But of course, he's not really into that, and it's more J... who is perhaps puppeteering even beyond that, pulling the strings of people that aren't possessed. (There was mention of squid too, I wonder if the tentacles of a squid could be like the strings on a puppet?) Anyhue.

Will be interesting to see Lily's reaction to what's going on, as I have a suspicion that she'll show up... and perhaps blame herself for not being there when Eli was (even though Eli was brought in later). Or she could misinterpret the situation and think Eli's gone evil! Who knows. (How long has she been going out with Lily again?)

I think that's all for now. Best with it!

shadowhood

Yoooo sorry for the late response. Alright I'll try to answer the prompts as succinctly as I can. 1. The art style is very aesthetically pleasing! I love how you use mainly black against a lot of other bright colours like tan/light blue/gold; it gives it almost a Grecian vase vibe!

2. I have two actually!

The first one because it hit a really close hit to home. I loved seeing a real, down to earth conversation between friends and it felt...real. Seeing concerned friends talking about an abusive relationship and not....exploding is very refreshing.

The second one because I absolutely love that last panel, where J plays around with her words and follows through with a similar action. It felt like she was toying with Sam and it reminded me of the scene in Aladdin, where Jafar was toying with Aladdin with his words. Probably my favourite villain scene of J.

3. Funnily enough, I really like Sam. She's that one friend who's shown to be concerned for Eli, but she knows that she can't force him out of the abusive relationship. She respects his boundaries and is overall a good friend. That's rare and usually underappreciated in real life.

4. The interactions between Sam and Eli were the best for me, because they were very heartwarming and the care they show for each other resonates with me

5. The two moments I mentioned were my top favourites, actually!

6. The idea that you can't save everyone is one I really like. Sometimes you have to let the person you love make difficult and maybe even foolhardy decisions in life, but that's to let them grow up and mature.

7. Like I said earlier, it reminded me of Grecian vase paintings, which I love! Another thing I love about it is how free the gesture drawings are; drawings such as the hand drawings are testament to that

8. I think the strongest part of Puppeteer is its use of motion; my eye is always drawn to the line of action and it almost felt like a film at some parts. The story is heavily action oriented, which I like

shadowhood

9. Honestly, I don't know. Like @mathtans said, he doesn't seem to have family who check up on him, but he DOES have friends who do! Maybe someday he'll want to change, he'll see that he stayed stagnant while his friends keep on progressing in life. Either he'll go deeper into his isolation or he ultimately decides that this isn't for him. 10. I think it's a sad case where she's going to have to learn to let Eli make his mistakes and grow up. If she's constantly there to fix or solve everything for him, both characters suffer in that no one will learn everything. But hopefully, like other people have said, it brings them closer. 11. From what she's said, I think she wants control and power. But if you want a more indepth answer, I think she wants absolute control and worship from individuals. She wants to be put on a pedestal (wanting to be higher than other people?) and she wants that rush of feeling, that feeling of being dedicated to. But seeing @RebelVampire 's answer, maybe it's a twisted form of trying to keep people from leaving her, similar to how abusers try to keep their victims close. Heck, she could even develop a form of Lima syndrome and sympathize with the victim. I think Sam's and co. can put a stop to it, but ultimately, it's up to ELI himself to do so. 12. I agree with @RebelVampire on this one; Puppeteer can be a reference to how much we let others and their beliefs control us, and how the characters each covet control in some shape or form. Maybe Eli feels like he's lost control of his life and is trying to escape responsibility in a desperate effort to regain it?

13. I'm really looking forward to how this whole Eli/J relationship will affect Eli and his relationship with his friends. I'm also wondering what J's character development would be, if any; would she start sympathizing more with Eli? Learn something new from Eli? Or even become increasingly antagonistic towards Eli? 14. @Eightfish (Puppeteer) I really look forward to reading more from your webcomic, your art and conversation exchanges between your characters are top notch! Keep up the good work

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to in regards to the comic is finding out more about J I think. I'm interested to learn more about the driving force behind J's actions and how those might cause the characters to rethink what J is. As for final words, I really just still enjoyed the atmosphere. So few comics can nail it, but this one really managed to capture that feeling of dread that really keeps you reading. So I can wait to see that be used more throughout the comic.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Thanks @mathtans , @shadowhood , @snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) for the recent long comments you've posted! It was wonderful reading what you thought about character motivations and themes. And I'm glad so many people said they were looking forward to learning more about J, because that's what I'm most looking forward to writing as well.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Puppeteer this week! Please also give a special thank you to Eightfish for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Puppeteer, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620

Eightfish’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/eightfish

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #puppeteer #eightfish

1 note · View note

postmastered · 5 years

Text

borb still cant title fics

Cole walked off down the road from his house, which was a striking pale blue in the ocean of light grays and the occasional beige that was his neighborhood. There was one house that he liked in particular other than his, and he passed by it every day. He looked around the street as he walked, watching the other pedestrians to see if there was anything new about them today. He saw a gir-whoops, he shouldn't assume-someone with long brown hair and a blue and red letterman, which wasn't an aesthetic he would indulge in himself, but he could appreciate. They seemed to be heading to the same place as he was.

He turned at a corner and disappeared from view, going through a shortcut he knew would get him to his high school faster. Then again, what's wrong with taking the backstreets? He stepped out of the shadows and saw his high school out in the distance. He saw a stray black cat rummaging around in a garbage can.

"Well, time for round three. Wish me luck."

The cat looked at him for a second before running off. He sighed and walked over to Madison West High School, wishing to actually have at least one friend this year.

Lucky for him, that was going to come true.

He was walking down the halls to get to his first period, not paying much attention to his surroundings, having been here for 2 years already. In his mindless wandering, he managed to bump into somebody. Great. The kid was tall and lanky, and he looked awfully formal for a high school kid.

He had bright orange hair and a green tie. He had a satchel with him that seemed to carry a lot of his stuff, which was mainly blank sheets of paper and a sign up sheet for the science club and the math club. Cole decided to be a good Samaritan and pick up some of his papers. He stood and held the a hand out to help the guy up. He accepted it, and stood.

Cole took in his full height. Almost six feet. The guy withdrew his hand from Cole's and they both stood there, Cole staring in awe at this dude's height. He spoke after a few seconds of bewildered staring.

"Are you a senior?" The guy was shocked, to say the least.

"No, I am not. I can see why you would think so. I'm Charles. Charles J. Todd. Sophomore." He straightened his tie and fixed his glasses.

"Oh. Well, I'm Cole. Cole Noir. Junior. So where are you headed, Charles?" He started to walk off in the same direction as before after he bumped into Charles.

"Mr. Pitch's room. It's my first period."

"Oh, same, dude. Pitch's cool. His class is... uh..."

"Pre-Calculus?"

"Yes!" He snapped his fingers and did finger guns at Charles. The other boy was bewildered, but charmed. He let out an amused huff and kept walking next to Cole. "So do you have any other friends?"

He paused for a moment. "Can't say I do. You're first place."

"That's awfully melancholy."

"Dude, have you seen me?"

Charles laughed and responded to his question. "I'm afraid you have a point."

“'Course I do. Anyway, we're here." Charles turned to look at the door Cole pointed to. It was a regular door, just like all the others, but it had a handmade sign labeled "Mr. Pitch's Class" with a little "Welcome!" beneath it written in permanent Marker. Well then. This'll be an experience.

Cole opened the door for him. "Ladies first." Charles rolled his eyes and walked in to see not that many kids calmly chattering among each other. Cole walked in behind him and surveyed the room. Mr. Pitch saw them and practically jumped over. He was around 5' 3'', almost the same height as Cole. He had dark skin and chocolate brown eyes, and he had a short beard that seemed to have been trimmed over a million times. He wore a light blue button up and slacks along with his lanyard. His voice was terribly cheerful.

"Hello, hello, hello! Cole! My dearest student, how are you?" He couldn't seem to sit still and was constantly shifting around and fidgeting with his shirt's cuffs.

"I'm doin' alright, Pitch. How've the kids been treating you?"

"Oh! Leo and Andrew? They've been great! Little angels, they are." He stood in front of Cole for a moment, smiling from ear to ear.

Cole sighed, knowing him well enough to know what he wanted from him. He opened his arms, and Mr. Pitch almost tackled him in a hug. Cole wore an amused expression on his face.

"Love you too, Pitch." Said man pulled away and turned to Charles.

"Well, hello to you too! I'm Mr. Pitch, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year!" He held out a hand for Charles to shake and had a bright smile on his face.

From what Charles just saw a moment ago, he knew he much preferred hugs, but he seemed to respect his boundaries. Charles took his hand and Pitch shook it vigorously. "Um, I'm Charles. Todd. I'm a sophomore."

''It's absolutely spectacular to meet you, Charles!" Pitch let go of his hand. "But wait, you're a sophomore? Then why are you in Pre-Calculus already?"

"The guy's advanced, Pitch." Cole spoke up after being silent and watching the interaction.

"How... did you know that?" Charles looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Saw the papers in your bag. You're a smart kid."

"Well... Thank you, Cole." He had a small smile on his face, glad he got a compliment from someone who he hadn't known for very long. Cole scratched the back of his neck, seemingly not used to receiving such gratitude from anyone who wasn't his mom.

"Thanks, bud. Uh, anyway, Pitch, what are we doin' in class today?" Pitch quickly explained the basis of the first class and then told them they could sit where ever they wanted. Charles briskly walked toward the front row, where he sat right dead center in the middle. Cole was going to take his spot in the back like every other year and be ignored, but hey, Charles was cool, so he'd chill with him. First period went by quickly, and they were walking into their fourth period class when they saw something new compared to the rest of their, to Charles, incredibly easy and mildly interesting classes, to Cole, stupidly boring classes. There were these two kids, one that had short blonde hair up to her shoulders and...

The letterman shmuck from that morning. They were having a heated debate about something or other, and letterman practically shouted "WATER ISN'T WET, ASH!" Cole couldn't help but snicker. Charles rolled his eyes at their tomfoolery until he heard letterman's shout. He briskly walked over, clearly familiar with this discussion. This caught Cole's attention. He cleared his throat, getting the attention of the two students. "I'll have to agree with the one who shouted, water is not wet. Ash, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect, you're wrong. Water is not wet, but water is not dry either. It is merely water."

"Shut it, Specs."

"Alright."

"Wait, really? That was eas-"

"Unless you manage to "shut it" yourself." He had a smug look on his face and he pushed up his glasses. He turned to Mx. Letterman. "I'll have to agree with you..." He gestured for them to say their name.

"Skylar. Skylar Adams."

"Well I'll have to agree with you, Skylar." Skylar was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the teacher, Ms. Torres.

"Everyone settle down, I got a class to teach!" Couple kids laughed, but the rest sat down and their day went on. Lunch rolled around, and Charles didn't know where to sit. Most tables were circular with a bunch of kids sitting at them and chatting about separate topics. Cole was sat at a table in the corner, alone. He looked around at the sea of teenagers and saw a certain redhead standing there like an idiot. He looked like a lighthouse, but if a lighthouse could be very anxious. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but it beats sitting alone for a full year. He whistled loudly to try and grab his attention, waving his arm frantically. Charles quickly understood, walking over and sitting next to him.

"You looked like a lamp post over there, dude." He elbowed Charles' arm, going back to eating his lunch.

"My apologies, Cole. I usually have no clue as to where to sit so I stand dumbfounded for a small amount of time before eventually looking for somewhere to sit." Said boy turned to Charles slowly, a look of disappointment on his face. "...What?"

"You are a walking Wikipedia article."

Charles rolled his eyes, but the look on his face was fond. "Ha-ha, like I haven't heard that one before." The two kept chattering about whatever crossed their minds, getting to know each other better. Little did Cole know, someone was watching him with bewilderment and wonder from the center of the cafeteria. Who it is, well, that remains a mystery for now. Lunch was fun, Cole learning that Charles had asthma, and Charles learning that Cole had anxiety. Charles asked him about that, because he seemed to be very forward with Charles. He said he was going to try and actually talk to people, going against his own judgement. And he liked Charles. Charles seemed cool to him. Cole seemed cool to Charles as well.

They went by the rest of their day, and then that lead them to where they were now. Standing in front of the school. Waiting to be picked up by their parents. In the rain. Most students had left by now, and Charles and Cole were both getting drenched in rainwater. Why did Charles need to forget his umbrella today? Cole seemed to actually like the rain quite a bit, smiling and looking around. Both of the boys' attention was quickly robbed by someone running toward them, calling Charles' name and holding an umbrella. Charles squinted, trying to figure out who it was before realizing.

"Kat! Oh, thank Tesla you're here. My books almost got soaked." Kat looked sheepish, shrugging and pulling Charles in for a tight hug quickly.

"K-Kat... I can't breathe." Said parent quickly drew back, apologizing. They managed to get a bit of their shirt wet, but they didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, who's your friend here?" They took notice of Cole, walking towards him a bit. Charles shuffled after, crouching under the umbrella.

"Uh... Hi. I'm Cole." He waved meekly at them, Charles standing next to Kat with a fond look on his face.

"Well it's absolutely wonderful to meet you, Cole. How about you stay over for dinner at our place? I can call your parents to pick you up once we're done." Charles was shocked at this, quickly going on a rant about how "I just met him! I can't have him at my house so soon!" before he was interrupted by Cole, who had already texted his mom about their situation and got a reply pretty quickly that it was okay.

"Yeah, sure. I can stay over for a bit. Texted my mom." Cole pocketed his phone, running a hand through his already soaked hair to try and fix it, to no avail.

"Uh... But wouldn't your mother be worried?" Charles was still extremely confused as to why Cole agreed.

"Nah, she works late today, she won't be able to pick me up, so staying with you guys seems like the best option." He shrugged and that was the end of it.

"I suppose that makes the most logical sense. Well, follow us, then. Our house isn't very far." Charles got the umbrella from Kat, and because he was the tallest, he could cover both of the other two very well. Once they got to the house, Cole looked around at the massive amounts of pets they had. That's weird. They had a bird screeching "Sparrow" over and over again. There was a hamster named James running on a wheel and next to his cage was a snake in a terrarium named Luka. Their names were written on little signs outside of their respective homes. While Kat got to work on the food, Cole and Charles hung out in his room and Charles talked about the things he liked and Cole talked some more about his family. They came down for dinner, your standard spaghetti and meatballs, and talked about each other.

"Y'Know, Cole, you can come here whenever you like." Kat mentioned in between bites.

"I suppose it would be satisfactory if he'd come here more often, yes." Unlike Kat, Charles stopped eating to speak, then went back to his food.

"This means I can show up uninvited whenever I want." Cole smiled a bit, brushing his bangs away from his face.

"Cole, no." Charles deadpanned while Kat was almost splitting their sides with laughter. The night went great, and Cole walked home alone, making sure to avoid his daytime route for fear of potential danger. He eventually got to his house where his mom still hadn't arrived. He walked in, setting his stuff down on the sofa and leaving food for his mom. He took a shower, cold, because he's a weirdo, and went back down, sitting on the sofa and flipping through channels. He stayed there, watching an array of different shows until late 10 pm. He went up, leaving the paperwork his mom needed to fill out along with the leftovers and slipping into his bed, retiring for the night.

ok so thats it, i spent a long time on this, uhhh hope you like i guess

#cole noir #charles jeremiah todd #skylar adams #adam adams #kat todd #tw food #yo if people like these and i make a taglist for my dumb ocs that'd be sick yall

3 notes · View notes

onsometime · 6 years

Link

By Hoai-Tran Bui

The first thing you notice about Blade Runner 2049 is how stark it is. Opening in a desolate, grey field where Ryan Gosling‘s Officer K confronts Dave Bautista‘s Sapper Morton, the world of the Blade Runner sequel steadily unfolds into the cyberpunk mecca that we were first introduced to back in 1982.

It’s clear that director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins don’t want to ape the neon-drenched griminess of the original, instead delivering an oppressive urban labyrinth that parallels the dense claustrophobia of modern Hong Kong high rises. Only one-third of the way through the film do we see hints of a vibrant neonscape cutting through the smog and rain that covers the futuristic Los Angeles. And with that neon: holograms of dancing women in anime-inspired outfits, cute Hello Kitty-style machines, Chinese characters and Japanese kanji galore.

It amounts to a stunning, dissonant image in one of the most gorgeously shot movies of the year, and not an unfamiliar one: science-fiction movies have long borrowed East Asian imagery as a visual shorthand to portray a more globalized society. It has roots in none other than the original Blade Runner, which drew from the burgeoning Tokyo and Hong Kong metropolises of the time, as well as the rapid globalization in the ’80s. With the massive cultural influence that China, South Korea, and Japan wield today, it’s no huge leap to assume that in the near future, every city would be a cultural melting pot with East Asian influences run amok. But in Blade Runner 2049, it feels less like a nod to those influences so much as it feels like window dressing.

When East Met West: The Rise of Cyberpunk

Los Angeles is known as one of the United States’ most colorful cultural melting pots, housing a Chinatown that had become so synonymous with the gritty underbelly of the city that it inspired the title for one of Hollywood’s most famous film noirs. From that Chinatown spawned the makings of the classic cyberpunk aesthetic — Ridley Scott’s Blade Runnertook that Chinatown-set, gritty neo-noir aesthetic and ran with it.

With 1982’s Blade Runner and William Gibson’s seminal 1984 novel Neuromancer came the birth of cyberpunk, a sci-fi genre heavily influenced by Japan’s technological boom of the 1980s and Tokyo’s rapidly rising metropolis. After visiting Japan, Gibson once said:

Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The Japanese themselves knew it and delighted in it. I remember my first glimpse of Shibuya, when one of the young Tokyo journalists who had taken me there, his face drenched with the light of a thousand media-suns – all that towering, animated crawl of commercial information – said, ‘You see? You see? It is Blade Runner town.’ And it was. It so evidently was.

Cyberpunk blew up in the ’90s, and you could see it in everything from The Matrix, to Total Recall, to anime itself. Ghost in the Shell, Akira, and more all depicted a futuristic, grimy vision of Neo-Tokyo whose visuals can be traced back to Blade Runner and Neuromancer. It’s a cyclical nature of inspiration, see — from Tokyo to America, back to Tokyo again.

“The work that has influenced me the most in my anime profession would be, of course, Blade Runner,” Cowboy Bebopand Samurai Champloo director Shinichiro Watanabe said in an interview about his Blade Runner anime short. There’s been a cross-pollination of ideas and influence between the two countries for years — just look to “god of manga” and Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka’s influences in Disney’s Bambi, and Disney’s subsequent “plagiarizing” of Tezuka’s Kimba the White Lion for their ’90s film The Lion King.

These sci-fi films depict a future where cultural boundaries don’t exist. One of the tenets of sci-fi is its potential to predict innovations or technologies within our reach. At the rate that the world is globalizing — on a political, cultural, and social media level — the vision that Villeneuve has for Los Angeles in 2049 is probably not far off. But amidst all Chinese or Japanese slogans and imagery draped over skyscrapers, where are all the East Asian people?

The ‘Firefly’ Effect

Firefly was an ambitious, witty, and wonderful sci-fi series that was gone too soon. But it’s been long enough since the series was unceremoniously cancelled by Fox that I can say this: Firefly has a race problem. While it was inspired for showrunner Joss Whedon to give his western space opera a Chinese twist, there aren’t many (or any) Chinese characters in the series to back up this piece of world-building.

Chinese culture in Firefly is so ubiquitous that all the characters curse, write, and read in Chinese. Yes, I know the Chinese curses were a clever way for Whedon to bypass prime time TV censors, and yes, I know that in the Fireflymythology, China and the United States are the two remaining superpowers. But for all the Chinese spoken in the show, for all the Chinese-inspired design and fashion in the series, there was barely a Chinese character to be seen. There is approximately one documented minor character of Asian descent in the series, and a few extras who were spotted. It’s odd to have Chinese culture be so dominant, and not have one Chinese character establish a presence.

Blade Runner 2049 runs into these same pitfalls. While the Asian-influenced imagery remains further in the background than it did in the original Blade Runner, where the sequel goes wrong is the utter lack of Asian characters. I spotted maybe two extras of Asian descent — one in the false memory that Carla Juri’s Dr. Ana Stelline was creating, another in a fleeting shot behind Officer K when he’s approached by Replicant prostitutes. And the one character with an Asian-inspired name — Robin Wright’s Lt. Joshi has a traditionally Indian surname — is most assuredly not.

So if East or South Asian culture or language is so powerful, who is it for?

Angelica Jade Bastien at Vulture makes an interesting point about sci-fi’s tendency to depict a post-racial world in which the white characters — often dehumanized and oppressed — exist in a strange space between the Asian-inspired landscapes and the allegories for minority oppression which they are acting out. “Science fiction has long had an uncomfortable relationship with Asian cultures, which are mined to create visual splendor in order to communicate otherness,” Bastien writes. “[R]ace is relegated to inspiration, coloring the towering cityscapes of these worlds, while the white characters toil under the hardships that brown and black people experience acutely in real life.”

Like Bastien notes, sci-fi stories don’t reckon with real-life minority narratives, instead preferring to turn them into allegory. This is an effective technique, no doubt, but assumes that this futuristic world we’re introduced to is a post-racial society in which culture has become so globalized that racial and cultural borders don’t exist — but these societies are still predominantly white.

Living in a Material But Not a Post-Racial World

One of the best depictions I’ve seen of a cross-cultural future was in Disney’s Big Hero 6, an often overlooked superhero-lite movie released in 2014. The protagonist, Hiro, is a half-Japanese, half-American boy genius living in the somewhat clunkily-named San Fransokyo — an amalgam of San Francisco and Tokyo.

But less than a clumsy merger of the San Francisco skyline with Japanese-inspired artifacts, Big Hero 6 creates a rich world in which the two cities comfortably mesh the old with the new, much like the neon-drenched Tokyo that became an inspiration for many a cyberpunk metropolis in the ’80s.

At the time of the movie’s release, The New Yorker‘s Roland Kelts called the elegant-yet-eclectic design of San Fransokyo a “marvel of architectural alchemy”:

“Shibuya skyscrapers with pulsing video screens hug San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica Pyramid. Victorian Mission duplexes line hilly San Fransokyo neighborhoods, aglow from the pink-white light of Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom below. Trains from the Yamanote and Chuo lines, two of Tokyo’s central and most popular railways, stream by on elevated tracks. The sprawling Yokohama Bay Bridge connects the financial district to San Francisco’s East Bay, which may well be home to Oaksaka and Berkyoto in this Japanamerican universe.”

As much as I point to Blade Runner 2049 as one of the perpetrators of the problem of choosing “costume” over “collaboration” (see: this Vulture roundtable discussion on where the line of cultural appropriation should be drawn), the original Blade Runner managed to avoid this stumbling block. Perhaps it was because its neo-noir style was as much ingrained in the Chinatown of Los Angeles as it was inspired by the Hong Kong skyscrapers, or perhaps it was because Rick Deckard negotiated with as many Asian noodle sellers and seedy pawn shop owners as he interacted with those of other ethnicities. Whatever the case, this is one of the few places where the sequel falls short of the original.

Still, there are other films that sit uncomfortably on the periphery. Ghost in the Shell divorced itself of any cultural context completely by moving the setting from a futuristic Tokyo to the ambiguous New Port City — though that setting still retained its cyberpunk East Asian influences. This means that the 2017 Ghost in the Shell tangled entangles itself with its own representation and diversity problems — there are a few Asian characters and one of the two recognizable actors featured (Rila Fukushima) is a geisha robot. In Ghost in the Shell, the vague nods to all cultures only make the film feel more hollow and aimless — a shell, you might even say.

A Future to Look Forward To

Blade Runner 2049‘s missteps with race don’t detract from the powerful story it tells about the will to live, and love. Rather, Villeneuve’s film becomes an interesting confluence of issues that have been simmering beneath the surface of sci-fi for a long time now.

It only becomes noticeable when held up to the original film, whose influences become all the more stronger even as Blade Runner 2049 becomes less about any cultural inspiration than it is about an all-encompassing message about humanity. Blade Runner 2049 comes at a time when Tokyo is no longer than awe-inspiring cultural metropolis that spawned so many cyberpunk stories and movies. It comes at a time when the future looks less like the colorful, grimy neon lights of Blade Runner and more like the dense, smog-filled labyrinths. So the story it tells is no longer one that is rooted in our current paranoias and beliefs, but rather a universal story about the abstract concepts that Villeneuve comes to again and again: cycles of brutality, and cycles of empathy.

I wish I could say I had a better conclusion — but then again, who does?

#blade-runner #sci-fi

17 notes · View notes