Tumgik
#i know its the scene in reverse but it still works imo
crehador · 5 months
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translation issues aside, the story of reverse 1999 is really surprisingly good for a gacha. i'm vibing with the characters and setting, and the STRUCTURE of the currently released chapters is just downright excellent
major spoilers for chapters 1 through 4 below the cut
introducing us to the world through regulus was such a good call for chapter one, it's all new to her just like it's all new to the player. we get a chance to learn through her eyes
another reason this works so well imo is it paints vertin, in regulus's eyes, as this hyper-competent character with her own agenda and agency (only to reveal bit by bit that she's in a much more difficult position than it may seem at first, and in so many ways is still just a hurt kid trying to right the wrongs she's seen in this world, desperate not to lose more people)
then we move on to chapter 2, where we see schneider's tragedy unfold and meet some major players like arcana. schneider's story even on its own is pretty damn good, but the way vertin acts and reacts in chapter 2 is full of perfect little hints to what kind of past trauma might have shaped her
THEN CHAPTER 3. THE TRAUMA. i loved schneider's story, but i think this is where we really dive into the meat of the overarching plot. and it is such a perfect dive
like after the events of chapter 2, it does more or less make sense that vertin is being treated for Something. right away chapter 3 gives off a bit of a foreboding feeling because vertin's in the hands of the foundation now, which we as a player knows she doesn't trust, and it's deliberately made ambiguous what she's being treated for and exactly when she'll be released
but at this point, to me at least, it still seemed... possible that she really was just being treated for damage from chapter 2
THEN THE HORRORS UNFOLD vertin's past is shown to us throughout this chapter, and bit by bit it dawns that the foundation is capable of much more heinous acts than we already expected. when we meet the ring and isabella, a feeling of dread sets in right away. because they're clearly important to vertin, but where are they in the present? it's not hard to figure out she lost them (which adds so much dimension to her reactions to everything with schneider)
when the escape plan is coming together, with those side looks at what constantine is scheming, the inevitable dread gets heavier and heavier. like even knowing exactly what would happen, that the kids would be deliberately funneled into the storm just so vertin would see them die and feel responsible because it was her plan that led them there... seeing it actually happen was still a major gut punch, very effective
vertin's naivete in this past is such a haunting thing to see as well, there are moments where the text even shines a light on "will they realize this is going TOO smoothly for them?" and no! no they do not!! because they are 12-year-old kids who haven't lost all hope in the world!!!
seeing these grand scenes unfold with chess (and later go) on the screen was visually very cool as well, imo. might feel a bit gimmicky but it's a gimmick i enjoyed
anyway so then we get to chapter 4, and by then the sense of dread surrounding the foundation has fully set in. so it's almost unsurprising (yet still HORRIFYING) when you realize holy shit the foundation is keeping vertin hostage in a medically induced coma!! treatment for trauma my ass!!!
i feel like chapter 4 was the perfect place to end this arc as well, it was like an extended prologue. a lot of the tension/excitement for me came from the realization that vertin doesn't yet have a place to belong, it's not like "manus bad, foundation good" and that's that
looking at it through the lense of arknights, it would be like if doctor didn't have rhodes island at the start. all these factions around vertin, with their own agendas, and she doesn't have her own "home" yet
we get there, at the end of chapter 4. but of course it's not perfect, the terms of her operating her own team are very conditional, and there are loads of unanswered questions for the future
but it's a nice little set-up for future events, for vertin building this team (family) of arcanists who have some measure of freedom. the tension is still there, the foundation is still scheming, and some new mysterious organization is getting ready to enter the chat...?
all in all just, imo, an excellently structured story so far. it's a shame the translation detracts so much from it, i do think some powerful moments suffered from that. but the actual story is really quite strong, and vertin and her circle are all quite captivating to me so far
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imperiuswrecked · 11 months
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Nine and ten for choosing the violence ask game!! Also curious about two lol.
Namor Comics
9. worst part of canon
That Namor's side/pov is never taken into consideration and is blamed or made to be the scape goat for the Avengers or [insert team/character]. Like constantly. Doesn't matter the circumstances, doesn’t matter how many times Namor helps, all previous character interactions/dynamics are totally forgotten because Namor is a Total Bitch and he isn't a Real Hero (unless he puts aside his own concerns and only helps the humans or mutants) and he did morally questionable things and we are still blaming him for the Phoenix fiasco but others get to move past it. So Namor looking out for his people is so selfish, and he deserves all the punishment he gets but Marvel brushes over the way they use Namor, the Atlanteans, and Atlantis as constant cannon fodder. Imo Namor is justified in telling a lot of characters to go fuck themselves when they ask him for help.
10. worst part of fanon
The way fans seem to think Namor is some hyper aggressive sex fiend rapist and his entire life & personality revolves around either Sue (comics) or Shuri (mcu).
You know how in canon works many female characters are used for the main male character? Like they have nothing beyond being the romance and every thought/action ever written for them all has to do with the end result of tying them to the main male character? It's like that in reverse for Namor but its all fanon, the fans believe every scene, every comic panel, every waking moment of his life is devoted to getting with Sue or Shuri and completely ignore his history, his drives, his agency, his own supporting characters and love interests. Every single ship joke ever made is unoriginal and boring. There's never anything interesting for Namor in these ships, because it's not about him, it's about the woman being seduced by the exotic underwater king. If I see another Hades & Persephone comparison I'm gonna snap. 😤
Bonus
2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom
I will die on the hill that with Namor/Doom I could never believe Namor tops because it's Doom. I'm never going to accept that Namor isn't the bottom in that relationship because imo Victor Von Doom never bottoms, ever. For everyone else Namor is a Switch.
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ilsrevent · 6 months
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i just watched saw x and i come humbly to you, thee eminent saw scholar on this app as i am very curious and interested as to your thoughts on it (if you want to share)!
hiii anon i hope you had fun!! you’re also v kind to say that i’m literally just some guy But i am more than happy to chatter! i would love to hear your thoughts as well if you’d like to share them <3
SAW X SPOILERS BELOW
okay so first of all: i had fun! i enjoyed it! i think overall they did a good job! loved being able to see amanda interact with john, loved the gore and the silly traps (the thing with using valentina’s guts as a rope? obsessed), loved to see people encouraging each other and trying to work together in the saw trap. overall i think it’s a solid entry in the franchise and tbh renewed my interest in them doing more films
the beginning of it very much didn’t feel like a saw movie and it was certainly a departure from the typical saw formula but i don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing? i Love the typical saw formula but i also respect them for making a movie that Wasn’t that but still felt like it fit into the franchise. imo saw has always been at its best when it’s character driven so i think the slower, more drama-style start to the film was really refreshing. i also think it was just exciting for tobin bell to actually get a chance to do some Acting, which he did marvellously. i don’t Care for john but i do think it was interesting to be inside his head a little
now amanda. oooooh amanda. my poor little meow meow my sweet cheese my rotten soldier. the way shawnee plays her and her mix of Silliness and Fear and Misery and Devotion is just so compelling to me and i am so so glad this film made such an effort to empathise with her. many thoughts about how many small things in the film act as callbacks to her trauma - obviously the parallel with gabriela, but also the shackle round the ankle, even picking up valentina’s guts reminded me of her sifting through the stomach of the guy to get the key for the reverse bear trap… smth smth even if you escape the trap you are still in the trap you are always going to be in the trap
now. i feel like it would be remiss of me to not mention that i do have thoughts about the racist implications of a Lot of what was going on. first of all we don’t need to be using the yellow mexican filter it’s 2023. second of all. look we know john has always targeted the poor and marginalised and desperate this has been clear from the first film, but it felt particularly uncomfortable here to me, especially because i feel like the film positions john and cecilia (both white) as these two masterminds duking it out meanwhile the rest of the hispanic cast are essentially pawns in their overarching narrative. “they also participated in the scam” yeah but there’s a very blatant class and motivation disparity between cecilia (and parker) and diego/mateo/gabriela/valentina. this Could be saying smth about white exploitation of poor POC but i’m not sure if it effectively serves that purpose as written. now john kramer wouldn’t care about this but john is also not a real person, it’s a story written by people that maybe should’ve considered the implications of a film mostly focused on a powerful white men brutalising POC. anyway. i’m not a racial scholar i’m just saying words recreationally
my other major critiques are that the twist was Very Weak (you’re telling me john kramer had this all planned out beforehand? i for one am Shocked) and the credits scene was cheap nostalgia bait (they have no reason to be in the bathroom!). yes i still cheered and clapped in the theatre but also. Come On
anyway that’s it from me on what’s top of mind rn but please feel free to drop me an ask or a dm, would love to chat further about it! like i said at the beginning overall i did really enjoy it and i do think we are So Fucking Back in a way we haven’t been since saw VII and i’m excited to see where things go!
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clood · 3 months
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ao3 wrapped [writers edition]
MUAHAHAH time to be super annoying >:3c [copies and pastes the ones i've answered via ask]
1. How many words have you written this year? me: sees this question and immediately whips out the phone calculator this year i wrote 39,118 words! nowhere near as much as the freakish anomaly that was 2022, but still nothing to sneeze at ;) this is also not counting a SECRET WORK that i cannot reveal yet... that puts me at 41,208 heehee
2.How many works did you publish this year?
a nice, even 10!
3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?
because of the nature of the reverse bang and getting to create a fic for someone else's art, i am very proud of both rose-tinted and play pretend. particularly play pretend, because i think i achieved the princess bride vibe i was going for.
then of course i am so proud of myself for venturing into the one piece world with i'll leave it to you, which i don't consider to be good very at all but it marks the point where i took a little leap and shared something in a new space! growth!
4. What work of yours has the most hits?
only human, no contest. such is the nature of multichapter and big bang works xD
5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?
i'll leave it to you was so unexpected! with hxh being a relatively quieter fandom, i had no idea i would get as much engagement on a silly little oneshot in the one piece fandom as i did. bizarre.
goes to show that metrics like kudos and comments and hits are all fake and you should just write what makes you happy.
6. Favorite title you used
not so bad (after all) is such a good, classic something (something else) ao3 title xD
7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?
y'all. i'm being so for real when i tell you i am SHOCKED AND AMAZED at the fact that i did not use one single song lyric this year. what happened.
8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?
LEOPIKA!!! you can tell i was in a leorio phase this year
9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?
LEOPIKAAAA!!! see above ;)
10. What work was the quickest to write?
the figurine disaster came so quick because it was so fucking funny in my head xD
11. What work took you the longest to write?
longest because of its length would obvi be only human. longest in terms of the emotional toll it took for me to figure out what the hell i was doing is nearly a tie between not so bad (after all) and play pretend.
12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?
hmmm only the one that's been sitting in my wips for nearly 3 years now. librarian/florist au i will destroy you.
13. What’s your longest work of the year?
my longest work this year is my hxhbb fic, only human, which sits at 16,724 words.
14. What’s your shortest work of the year?
omg so fun. conversely, my shortest work this year is the figurine disaster, a fic written for the greed island challenge server i help shal and liv run! this one has 1,221 words.
15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?
please see question 12 orz
16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?
y'all i am so shit at tagging things on ao3. tie between fluff and missing scene, which only have 2 works each xD
17. Your favorite character to write this year?
LEORIO!!!!! i had so much fun with leorio this year, i'm so glad i found my rhythm with him this year because every fic with him has been so much fun to think about.
18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?
oof i think i butchered melody, tbh. not so bad (after all) was SO HARD to write because i didn't know who the hell melody was deep inside the way i felt i did leorio, so it feels really unbalanced imo. however, i am still proud of that work and i think the one person it was written for enjoyed it, so that's all that matters!
19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?
leozep... more zosan... shuggy... i read this question wrong and therefore will not choose one
20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?
through sheer force of will in editing, i suppose only human.
through the absolute giddiness of entering a new fandom, i'll leave it to you.
21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?
495. fic with most kudos was full bloom, merokomu fans have good taste
22. Which work has the most comments?
only human, as my only multichapter fic this year
23. Did you do any collaborative works this year?
if reverse bb fics count, then yes: rose-tinted and play pretend. otherwise, not this year!
24. Did you write any gifts this year?
yes!!!!! rose-tinted, play pretend, whisper in the wind, girl stuff, full bloom, and housewarming! 60% of this year's fics were gifted!
25. Did you receive any gifts this year?
YES SOBS. my dear sweet selkie wrote me THREE gifts this year and then some friends in the greed island server came together with gifts!!! for mods!! where Fathomless_Crazy wrote Paint This Paling Town and i wept about it
26. What’s your most common category?
M/M lmao with gen in second place
27. What do you listen to while writing?
i think this year i was a total weirdo and sat in silence. i do have a tunes for typing playlist though with no words to distract me that's just a mix of classical, videogame and anime soundtracks, and some random lofi
28. Favorite work you wrote this year?
maybe rose-tinted? or honestly the figurine disaster was kind of funny. although i did really have fun with i'll leave it to you. GAH.
29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?
oh christ. after brief reflection, i think the following chunk from my most recent fic and foray into the one piece fandom, i'll leave it to you, wins. the drama!! the angst!!
The reality is, Sanji has no idea what he’s doing, or even if he’s helping Zoro or just making everything worse. His hands, his goddamn fucking hands still tremble, and no amount of nicotine can help him now and—god fucking dammit Zoro is just bleeding through all the bandages Sanji is wrapping around him, staining a silk tiger crimson. So he keeps wrapping. There is nothing left for him to do but use up all the goddamn bandages he has. Sanji isn’t a god-fearing man, but as he works he is praying to whatever gods favor Wano—or don't, given what he’s seen of this desolate country—that he isn’t paralyzing or killing Zoro as he works.
30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?
probably that i didn't do very much of it this year! i don't know where all the time went... through this it was a pleasant surprise to find that over half of my fics this year were gifts, so that's fun!
PHEW. now i cast the plague upon ye and tag everyone in the world who sees this to do it too :)
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caesarflickermans · 9 months
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What's your opinons about Effie Trinket characterization :
In the books :
In the movies :
Do you think Effie was oblivious about her privilege?
Do you like Elizabeth Banks portrayal of Effie?
Thank you :)
@curiousnonny
In the books: Effie is the first insight into the Capitol we get as readers, and, to me, seems to be (initially) presented as the stereotypical depiction of the usual Capitol person: Well-off, ignorant, self-absorbed. On my latest re-read Katniss' inner thoughts on Effie stand out significantly compared to the movie version, whereupon Effie is described rather unpleasantly at times and being the bottom of some jabs Katniss (mentally) throws her way.
In the movies: The movie version is a bit different. Effie--especially in the latter movies--is a much more sympathetic character. We do not laugh about her, but with her, and I take it that, among others, the popularity of Effie on screen was a reason as to why she re-appeared in the Mockingjay movies.
Book/movie comparison in privileges: Albeit I began my journey in the THG fandom as an Effie fan (I roleplayed her waay back when the first movie released!), I enjoy the book depiction of hers much more. Because when we come to her realising her privileges, the final description of Effie in the Mockingjay books seems to have gotten it. Surely, it's no pleasant journey, yet Effie has been subjected to a treatment of how the Capitol treats its enemies. Having played a role prior in a different, adjacent kind of punishment system, the book version gave a round end to her journey: One of realising, truly realising, the wrongs of the Capitol.
I cannot extend the same to the Effie in the Mockingjay movies. Not only does she have thin loyalty to the rebellion and a disinterest in helping until Plutarch entices her to, but she returns to her previously exaggerated outfits without the remorse that book Effie has carried.
Meaning, despite receiving more screen time than book time, Effie seems less in-depth in her actual rebellious journey. She was interesting in Catching Fire, but her alliance with the rebellion was uncaring at best, and I feel as if this character became the comedic relief in an otherwise bleak war story. While that's fun, it just doesn't do her character journey the justice she should have been given.
Former Effie fan: Having started my journey as an Effie, Hayffie, and Elizabeth Banks fan, I've done a full 180 on most of those aspects. I don't care for Effie as much as I used to, albeit she's still a great character, I do not like Hayffie, nor do I like Elizabeth Banks. I know this is an insanely unpopular opinion in this fandom (I literally was criticised recently in my tierlist ranking for having placed Effie in "average" (!!)). Hayffie is another topic, so I won't go in depth, but I feel like the movies + the RP circles I've been in do not appropriately consider the oppressor/oppressed undertones that need to be a vital discussion of any potential romance plot of theirs, which imo only works as a slow burn. Unsurprisingly, I didn't like the out of nowhere kiss scene.
Elizabeth Banks: As to Elizabeth Banks, I don't think she can per se be faulted for the scripts she was given. However, being so intrinsically tied to the movie version of Effie that I dislike, I cannot help but feel like she is somewhat responsible for making Effie so bland in the movies. Having been at the pulse of the Hayffie fandom back in 2012, I've witnessed every blurb she said about Hayffie and Woody down to naming another character of hers Mrs. Abernathy and cannot help but feel like we would judge this very differently were the roles reversed. Yes, Woody also said some things here and there, but never in the same intensity.
Elizabeth Banks also gives me white (rich) feminism vibes.
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aspoonfuloffiction · 2 years
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ohhh please do elaborate and compare Bridgerton s2 with OTWTTW!
This is my favorite ask I’ve ever been asked. And also my least favorite. I’ve been working on it for 2 days and basically reread the book twice…its a bit long😂😂. Sorry!!
So the very easy low hanging fruit of a jilted wedding obviously. But that’s too easy there’s so much more to talk to about.
Let’s go in order from least to most eyebrow raising: (if you don’t want to walk through my red string conspiracy theory feel free to skip to the end lol)
 The casting announcement for Simone Ashley came from a line from OTWTTW about how “Kate had never suffered fools, gladly or otherwise”
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Both Lucy and Kate initiate(pre-marital) sex with both women solely here for a good time. No intention of letting one night of 0 inhibitions ruin their carefully created plans for the future but also without telling their partners that this is a no strings attached one time thing.
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I already talked about the hearts and flowers ball and a passage from OTWTTW But acting like a regency man whore amidst a dance was actually Gregory’s thing. No gloves? Too close? Grasping fingers instead of grazing hands? Attention garnering looks? All from in Julia Quinn’s penned version of Lucy and Gregory’s “life altering dance”. Book!Anthony’s go to move was bickering while dancing. Low whispers sure. But risking propriety? Not as much.
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Kate like her mother in law before her apparently is not sold by Gregory’s feelings. And certainly not his decision to marry what she thinks to be the wrong girl. And is regularly telling Gregory to take his time to be sure…while also taking his being still single as a personal challenge.
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Younger sisters apparently know best because if you sub in Daphne for Hyacinth a lot of the scenes in OTWTTW begin to sound familiar. This one is funny to me Hyacinth immediately clocking the girl her older brother was talking to as sister in law material all the way from a distance even before either had acknowledged their feelings to each other? Hmmm…
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Shooting lessons- Guns? Not mentioned once in TVWLM but a major throughline in OTWTTW. I didn’t even know Kate could shoot…but Lucy evidently shoots so well she’s offering Gregory shooting lessons. (PS I would have liked to see a reversal on the man from behind cliché don’t be shy Julia)
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Denied attraction and almost kisses in a dark library because obviously he’s reassuring himself he’s into her sister by blood or otherwise…I mean at least Gregory refrained from breathing at or on Lucy
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Compromised in the orangery at Aubrey Hall- a totally normal daily occurrence? Evidently this happens a lot.
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And the bee scene in the show played to show Anthony’s anxiety and Kate’s ability to talk him down? Well…kinda sounds like the time Gregory, never really trusting his ability to aim, thought he shot Lucy cause she’s covered in her Uncle’s blood and he was having a panic attack. Feel free to sub in the words “I am unharmed” for “I’m not hurt”
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Also some other coincidental similarities that didn’t make my list:
Men saying they’re humbled by the love they have for a woman
Alter-side revelations for the third point of the triangle. Sidenote if the Edwina/Kate/Anthony triangle is like either of the triangles its actually more like Haselby/Gregory/Lucy IMO than the one with Hermione.
A family conspiracy keeping our heroines from actually letting themselves be happy.
Kate bounced back from the carriage accident pretty easily…you know who canonically was in a coma though? Lucy.
One would have been a coincidence maybe even 3 but the sheer number of these had me putting my book down. These coincidences are too coincidental CVD…but like I said if they were going to squish the Bridgerton stories together I’m glad it was my two favorites😂
If this is how we tell the younger Bridgertons stories then can season 3 be a mix of AOFAG and IIHK? Let Benedict help Sophie find diamonds and not pester her into being a mistress.
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brxkxnhxxrtsclxb · 13 days
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Boruto Two Blue Vortex - Chapter 3
chapter 1 review here
chapter 2 review here
lmfaooo how do i even begin this ?? right. from the beginning. sigh. let’s go
LONG POST + SPOILERS AHEAD
for starters: why is himawari on the cover ?? baby girl didn’t even do anything😭 i really thought she would but all she did was make a guest appearance T_T
okay !! chapter opens up with a fight between code and boruto. it’s mainly just a fight to sprinkle in boruto’s new rasengan. we basically see code trying to get a hit at boruto, but boruto moves…
more fighting panels. code is confident boruto’s jutsu won’t work because it’s implied from the previous chapter they had an encounter during the time skip and code wiped the floor with him… boruto tells code he’s halfway to killing him and uses his jutsu on code’s arm
boruto insists on giving one last chance to lead him to ten tails or he can die there. code dares him to try… okay so i don’t understand why the writers are like trying to make boruto an edge lord and give all this “i can just kill you”, “oh killing you is easy” talk… but not do it ??
anyway, code tells him to stop dodging and he realizes that’s not what boruto is doing. he even realizes it’s not genjutsu or shadow clones
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okay, this part specifically stood out to me. clearly code knows what genjutsu and shadow clones are. i’m sure he found this out since he is a kara member and all that and kara was ran by jigen / isshiki, but it would be nice to know how exactly he learned this. it implies he knows more than we know about him. i hope i worded that right >.<
boruto appears before code and then hits him with the rasengan and sends him flying
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LMFAOO EIDA ROASTED BORUTO TALKING ABOUT WHAT A BASIC JUTSU😭😭 i’m sorry for laughing, but girl you have no room to talk. you can’t even fight. NEXT !!
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daemon says how boruto is the one making the entire earth tremble and using the planetary’s spin for his jutsu. these panels were added to basically explain what the jutsu does. i do find it weird that no one else felt the planet tremble ?? just daemon ??
we then see boruto is surprised that code is still standing. that’s crazy. i hope we get an explanation as to why code is able to withstand uzuhiko since boruto expected him to have just dropped dead, but like a cockroach, code’s STILL HOLDING ON. wtfff ??
code feels something spinning within him, so he wonders what it is. he then collapses to the ground and he demands boruto to tell him what he did to him. boruto explains uzuhiko and how it uses a planet’s chakra, its rotation and how it’s slowly killing him. then we get to the interesting part of the chapter imo
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boruto tells code uzuhiko’s “flaw”, which is: it’s reversible. understandable. we’ve seen boruto trying to get code to cooperate and prevent the worst possible future, so by telling him he can still live, maybe he’ll get his cooperation. it’s also interesting that boruto is trying to make a deal with him despite being the enemy. this alone tells us boruto isn’t the edgelord everyone was hyping him up to be. he isn’t like sasuke like many want him to be. he’s still just boruto and i love that he is still his own character
sadly this moment gets interrupted by kawaki arriving at the scene. i will say this appears to be done on purpose to leave the readers wondering what the writers are planning to do with code. yes, we know he’s the enemy and suppose to be the villain but we have the main character wanting him to work with them. it appears boruto doesn’t have any ill will towards code which makes sense considering the fact code is affected by omnipotence and his grudge has been transferred onto boruto instead of kawaki
so we have kawaki and boruto have reunited and team 10, namely shikadai in this chapter, are obviously affected by omnipotence. boruto again states he’s trying to make a deal. code is quietly trying to make an exit, but kawaki destroys his claw marks, preventing him from leaving. kawaki is ready to kill both code and boruto, but a new claw grime is summoned and code manages to escape through it thanks to kawaki being distracted. everyone is sent to go after the claw grimes while kawaki stays behind with boruto
moving onto the next scene, sarada is checking on soegi and learns how ten tails grows into a tree after devouring an otsutsuki and how they devour on instinct. to their shock the people who have turned into trees are still alive
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we’re back to kawaki and boruto. kawaki is standing on business of getting rid of the threat that boruto is due to momoshiki only for boruto be informed about code’s whereabouts. there we see bug has been devoured by a claw grime and is a tree. code checks on ten tails and the toad confirms it to boruto, ending the chapter
… alright that’s THAT review. i honestly don’t think this chapter needed a full review since it was merely done to show off boruto’s new jutsu but whatever. the key points were: uzuhiko is reversible, the ten tails devours on instinct and turns people into trees since ten tails turns into a divine tree, the people who have been turned into trees are still alive. that’s it
i added a personal note at the bottom since this is my opinion on the overall chapter
personal note: i won’t lie, i’m kind of annoyed this chapter was more so a waste to show off a new jutsu. the key points about the claw grimes turning those they devour into trees was really said in one page ._. kinda felt like all those pages to show off a jutsu were a waste but whatever
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oviids · 3 years
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pls share some of your spn fic recs 🥺🥺
ok, a few things first:
followers and mutuals who do not have supernatural brainworms, kindly avert your eyes
i don’t normally rec or even read much fanfic any more but this is a CRISIS ok (cont.)
there is so. much. content for deancas out there and i have incredibly high standards, several ancient ao3 bookmarks, can speedread, and want to spare you guys the experience of wading through it all.
i also have a section for spn femslash since I was pretty into that back in the day (sadly a lot less fan content for this :/)
I don’t really like au’s or pure smut (I honestly usually just skim or skip those scenes) so if you’re mainly looking for that kind of thing this probably won’t be very helpful to you. jsyk.
i’m not great at describing stuff but i’ll do my best, i’ll also try and add tw’s when neccesary.
i wil try and keep updating this with any other decent fics i find, feel free to rec stuff too since i’m like 7 years behind.(edit 1/25/21) this is getting looooong so i’m going to start making another list on my spn blog rather than update this one
(edit 1/3/21) since this has gotten pretty long i’ve added rating/approximate word counts and marked my particular favorites with an asterisk.
Dean/Cas fic:
So Says The Sword*** - explicit/85k. FUCK its good...au/time travel where dean is not pulled out of hell by cas and says yes to becoming the michael sword. honestly could serve as an alternative to actually watching the show, if you want to get into dean/cas without actually doing that to yourself.
Fata morgana.*  - teen/6k, pst s9 finale. very bela centric and i love it, she finds cas looking for dean in hell.
Redemption Road -misc/600+k. an incredibly long fic from a collaborative writing group back in the day. canon divergent from the end of s6 on, has a cool take on godstiel and the leviathans, as well as the lovecratian mythos connection. ngl when i reread it i only made it about 28% in but imo the casual reader can actually stop around there, the rest concerns a lovecraftian apocalypse that is still good (i think i don’t remember it very well) but not required to enjoy the first half. if you prefer i have an ebook version i can send you on gdrive.
Someone Who's Feeling For Me* - mature/45k, s12. they run into lisa braeden and dean thinks cas is into her while cas thinks dean still likes her. treats lisa way better than the show ever did and the miscommunication is pretty funny rather than annoying.
a turn of the earth - mature/95k. time travel fic where cas from s10 keeps showing up in deans life from a few years before s1 to right before the hellhounds take his soul.  slow burn, good character study, and at one point cas punches the dad in the face and it rules.
On the Wings of War - teen/85k, canon divergent s5. dean accidentally becomes the Horseman of War. plays fun, fast and loose with biblical lore, michael has some rights.
Named - mature/95k, alternate s5. EXTREMELY blasphemous in a fun sexy way. manages to predict metatron almost to a T. there’s one major character death and its literally jesus christ, everyone is very sad about it and it sets the rest of the story rolling. an alternate interpretation of cas’ mission to raise dean from hell which had me on the floor. ngl its kind of misogynistic at points, but its from 2010 and tracks with late oughts-2010 spn (sorry anna the author did you dirty here:/).
The Girlfriend Experience - explicit/15k. uhhh i don’t normally rec or even read smutty stuff unless someone i know is specifically asking for it but this has stuff like sam trying to be a good ally and dean thinking holding hands with cas is ‘kinda gay :/’ minutes after having gay sex with him.
i crippled your heart a hundred times - explicit/19k, s8. cas confesses his feelings and dean spends a long time getting his head out of his ass about it. truly hits different after the actual confession, despite being written six years early it feels like its actually what could have gone down more or less if the writers weren’t talentless demons who hate us.
My Roots Take Flight** - mature/125k. reverse au where cas is a hunter and dean’s an angel...OR IS IT???? an alternate retelling of s4. tw for briefly being set in a psychiatric hospital/the hospital being mentioned somewhat frequently throughout the fic, plus more references to torture in hell and heaven than usual.
The One Thing You Can't Lose* - teen/4k.you know those posts about how cas is a super-strong super-tough ancient warrior but he just lets dean tug him around because he likes it? thats it thats the fic.
Hands, From Which All Things Are Built - teen/14k, post s8′s ‘goodbye stranger.’ cas is on the run with the angel tablet but keeps in touch with sam and dean by text, he and dean still manage to be terrible at Actual communication.
Autrement, Danger - or, The Account of an Exceedingly Long Day - mature/30k, post s11. a monster that takes the appearance of your soulmate leads to some wild miscommunications and dealing with years of repression, also dean gets to see cas’ true form which is always cool. tw for non-graphic mentions of underage sexual assault/sex work.
Down to Agincourt - mature/explicit/900++++k, endverse continuation. endverse!cas survives his encounter with lucifer and discovers another time-displaced dean from s7. i’ve only read the two of four parts but its really good, veeeeery slow burn, has a lot of fun oc’s and takes a rather surprising but (imo) entertaining and intriguing turn into Hellenic history and mythology. usual tw’s for endverse/endverse!cas but nothing graphic, it’s actually pretty light-hearted (relatively speaking of course).
Nothing Equals the Splendor** - explicit/8k, THEE finale fix it fic you’ve been waiting for! posits that the entire final episode was just a (very bad and lame) djinn’s vision.
like moses and batman and james dean - explicit/31k, post s8. explores dean’s trauma and internalized homophoba from his technically canon experience with sex work and its impact on his relationship with cas. the sex work itself isn’t really shown in any detail but it’s still a relatively heavy fic.
Crazy Diamonds - explicit/25k, s4/alternate s14. fresh-out-of-hell dean and dean from 10 years in the future are displaced from time and sent to each other’s present.
where the weeds take root - explicit/30k. au where the men of letters kick them out of the bunker and they accidentally move out into the country, get over their codependence and semi retire. featuring chicken coop building, sam volunteering at a dog shelter, gardening, and blissfully mundane domesticity.
No Resting Place - teen/6k. djinn dream fic, switches back and forth between cas’ dream of being married to dean and retired from hunting to the aftermath when he wakes up. tw for brief mention of suicide since, y’know, djinn dream.
any port in a storm - mature/52k. post s8 finale. cas and dean have to pose as a couple going through a rough patch for a case and actually deal with their emotional baggage, cas struggles with being human and metatron is up to stuff.
all this and heaven too* - explicit/7k. in the author’s own words ‘...a love letter to every trans person who ever projected onto Dean Winchester.’ absolutely unzipped me emotionally and theologically, its just. so good. tw for very brief mentions of internalized transphobia/dysphoria.
Because it is* - mature/6k, finale fix it. killing chuck does not bring back anyone back and the winchesters spend a very long time dealing with what they’ve lost, cas and dean SOMEHOW still manage to have signifigant communication issues even after the confession. tw for suicidal thoughts/brief attempt.
Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit* - teen/4k, s6. when cas fell for dean it automatically soulbonded/angel married them, shenanigans ensue when dean finds out during the angel’s civil war. funny and actually written back when s6 was airing so cas is still (or at least pretending to be) kind of an OP asshole which is fun.
Rinse, Repeat - teen/3k, s8. angsty character study of cas as he’s reprogrammed and trained to kill dean. not really dean/cas since its just cas’ pov of canon events but its beautifully written and ends with him snapping out of it through the power of love (also now a canon event!).
Emergence - explicit/59k, canon divergent after s11. dean meets a hunter he only recognizes as their friend claire novak’s missing father, but soon realizes he might be the answer behind the mysterious void in his memories and feelings (aka everyone’s memories of cas are completely wiped away for three years).
Cuckoo And Nest - explicit/10k, early established relationship/character study, cas tries to figure out how he fits into dean’s life and space in the bunker.
Build a Home* - teen/20k, canon divergent s12. sam and eileen are cute and turn the bunker into men of letters/hunters hq and everyone but cas moves in, mutual miscommunication issues and pining ensues.
Down in the River - teen/5k, early s8, cas prays to dean in purgatory while sam and dean try to figure out a way to get him out.
Teaching Poetry to Fish* - mature/52k, ?? BC through the entire series/canon divergent s14 and 15. retelling of crucial scenes throughout the shows timeline from cas’ pov, feat. actual fish and poetry.
the minor fall, the major lift - gen/4k, post confession/finale fixit. dean goes into the empty to save cas and runs into several old friends (and enemies).
With the Kisses of His Mouth* - teen/3k, gen later seasons. dean and cas keep kissing by accident.
Remaining Grace - explicit/109k, alternate s6. au where cas asks dean for help with raphael and dean, of course, does. tw for temporary major character death/semi-graphic depictions of alcohol withdrawal.
The face of heaven.* - teen/10k, au, dean is a regular guy and cas is a fallen star (think ‘stardust’, kinda).
Stories Are Made of Mistakes*  - teen/5k. newly human cas has trouble getting used to a human body and humanity in general, but still figures out that he and dean are A Thing before dean does.
Hurry Up And Wait - mature/21k, canon divergent s12. a fairyland and quite possibly LOTR related case comes up and dean goes full fanboy, mary is introduced to the wonders of the peter jackson adaptions, many references and comparisons (including between cas and dean’s ‘friendship’ and arwen/aragon). also charle is still alive and has just been doing fairy stuff this whole time.
There Are Many Things - explicit/28k, s9. cas is extremely lonely/touch-starved and trying to figure out this whole human thing, as well as where he and dean stand after being kicked out of the bunker.
It's A Long Life to Always Be Longing - teen/40k, post s11 finale. amara helps dean by putting him in a magical coma so he can finally get some much needed rest and show him possible futures for him, sam and cas. meanwhile sam and cas go on a roadtrip (or several) to find componets for a spell to wake dean up. really good sam and cas friendship, they actually talk about their shared lucifer trauma and stuff.
Non-Photo Blue - gen/2k, s4/5/alternate s5. fifty moments from cas’ memories of dean.
Tall Grass - explicit/57k, canon divergent post series. cas becomes the ultimate plant dad. feat the wayward sisters gang, cathartic character growth, fun oc’s, domesticity, and lots of actual botanical info-dumping.
on vessels - no rating/gen/2k. established dean/cas, cas tells dean about how he used to imagine what it would be like to have him as his vessel.
search for tomorrow on every shore* - teen/11k, post-finale (extremely derogatory). some angels in jack’s new heaven act out and dean gets temporarily resurrected in 2003 and runs into his younger self.
Architecture of the Minotaur’s Heart - explicit/45k, very canon divergent post s1. dean’s new house seems to have a life and mind of its own, while in his dreams he sees glimpses of a world and apocalypse that never came to be and an angel that looks strangely like his mysterious neighbor, cas. loosely inspired by the book house of leaves (which i highly recommend for fans of weird horror).
The Distance Of The Setting Sun - explicit/17k, post s5. established dean/cas relationship, team free will finally takes advantage of cas’ abilities to go on vacation around the world.
diamond star halo - teen/5k, s11. dean lets cas use him as a temporary vessel while he recovers from rowena’s spell, sam is a long-suffering third-wheel.
Make Known** - teen/16k, s6/7. dean struggles to understand how cas could have become his enemy and whether he ever truly knew him in the first place.
blunt little instrument* - mature/1.4k, post finale. dean finally confronts his father in heaven, very cathartic.
my heart a compass*** - teen/10k, post confession. the empty forces cas to re-experience his most regretted moments while dean tries to snap him out of it and bring him home.
A Crash Course in Someone Else's History - teen/11k, s6. cas from the very start of s4 is brought forward in time by s6!cas to distract the brothers from his and crowley’s plans.
The Cuckoo Father - mature/8k, s7 au. the woman who found cas in the river post-leviathans does not marry him bc he was sent to her by god or whatever, but actually identifies him as jimmy novak and sends him back to claire and amelia.
The Dead Dean Clause* - teen/5k, post alt s5 ending. team free will celebrates surviving taking down lucifer by getting blitzed, cas lies to a cop and gets an impromptu driving lesson. title/description sound dark i know but it’s actually very funny and light.
Suck It, Judy Garland - mature/20k, s12 (after the ‘i love you...i love all of you’ episode). cas and sam have to pretend to be a couple for a case and dean is NOT happy about it.
By Daylight and In Dream - teen/16k, s5. pre-dean/cas, dean invites cas to use his dreams to hide from the other angels. tw for very brief mention of a memory/dream of alastair sexually assaulting dean.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - mature/22k, post-canon. an actually happy (if sometimes bittersweet) heaven endgame written several years ago, though some details are rather eerily similar to the show’s ending.
heaven is a place on earth* - teen/2k. dean’s pov of some of the times cas left him behind throughout the show, and one alternate ending where he finally gets to stay.
I Cleanse The Mirror - teen/20k, alternate s6. dean’s body is stolen by an ancient elemental and his soul has to hitch a ride in cas’ vessel.
an exploration of gender; angelic*** - mature/4k. *oscar isaac voice* lets get into angel gender politics!! aka cas is trans.
Zenith - explicit/33k, s9. after 9x06 an angry witch curses cas with the ability to see supernatural beings and human souls.
La cucina. - gen/3k, alt s9. dean goes wild helping a newly-human cas find out what kinds of food he likes, or the early s9 domesticity we deserved!
Dean Winchester, Cocksucker at Rest***** - teen/7k, post-finale. john and mary finally come over for dinner and john reacts to dean/cas in a rather predictable fashion. SOOOOOOOOO good omg, its so funny and a little sad and very very cathartic. part of a series that has a few other really good short fics.
The Way You Didn't Go - teen/5k, s15. coda to 15.09, dean has nightmares about the moc!cas timeline.
On Drowning - teen/28k. dean saves cas after he nearly drowns, they both try and deal with the physical/mental fallout (aka the fic where thee iconic “you only touch me when you think I’m dead or dying” originates). tw for realistic depictions of drowning/triage/misc medical information.
The Thirty-Six Questions That Lead to Love* - mature/13k. claire has dean and cas pretend to be her gay dads for a case and they play the titular 36 question game, get mistaken for swingers, and birdwatch, among other things.
Assorted F/F stuff:
Deep Breaths* - mary/ellen, au where mary said no to azazel’s deal and let john stay dead, still becomes a milf.
Like Rebel Diamonds - krissy/claire, they become hunter gf’s on the hunt for cas to kick his ass for taking jimmy. not-so-stealth dean/cas as well.
To Ash and Bone - anna/ruby, same author as the previous fic (p much all of her stuff is good from what i recall). au where ruby is a witch and helps anna when she’s cursed.
Holy Clockwork Angels - jo/ruby, STEAMPUNK au with very cool worldbuiilding.
At Day's End - jo/anna (my fucking KINGDOM for more jo/anna content, the dean/cas parallels are allllll there), au where they are both at the camp in the endverse and gfs.
these posts - ok so not actually a fic but i’m now obsessed with this hannah/meg dynamic.
Tagelied - mary/ellen, the true story of how ellen got into hunting before angels interfered.
Hell's Bells** - meg/abaddon, alternate s8/9 where meg survives crowley’s attack with sam’s help and teams up with abaddon (who she has a sk year old crush on) to take back hell.
The Ecstasy of the Rose - anna/ruby, anna travels back in time to escape heaven and becomes a signifigant part of ruby’s old human life.
Angel Underground - anna/jo, kind of an urban fantasy au with a very intriguing premise (sadly its very short, i’d love to see more if this ‘verse).
Clover, Flame - billie/mary, billie was always the reaper that showed up to take mary after her death(s) over the years.
Drag Me To Heaven - anna/ruby, a variant on the ‘last night on earth’ thing with dean.
Come Home* - jo/anna, canon-divergent au where anna is the new waitress at the roadhouse and helps jo set up a (probably not really) haunted house for halloween.
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moldy-mold · 3 years
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August Blog My life is out of my hands.
I’m embarrassed at how often I tell people “depends on the schedule” when I’m trying to make plans. When I can eat, when I can spend time with friends. I can’t even go to the grocery store or do laundry when I want to. My life is determined every Sunday when my bosses send out the schedules for the upcoming week. However, if I wanted to, I can make it all finally stop...
“It didn’t feel daring, it just felt like the right thing to do for myself. I feel the best when I am in control of my life.”
I was talking to someone who just quit their job and this is what they said. That really resonated with me.
After a year of failure, I am going to leave my design degree behind me to pursue something else entirely. I kept holding on because I didn’t want to “waste” what I learned in college. I may be a creative person, but I don’t need a creative job. I hate doing portfolio and I always have because the projects I actually loved were never “useful” enough to be put on display. Maybe that’s why I keep failing to get a job (that isn’t min wage). Maybe a design job is no longer applicable to the Moldy that exists at this very moment.
I don’t know if I’ll succeed where I’m headed, but I think it’s time I try. I remember being so optimistic at the beginning of the year! Now I’m just exhausted. There’s only so much I can take. T_T
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Daily Routine August 2021 ver. My days are split between 4 routines. I no longer have a concept of weekdays or weekends because work days are scattered and change every week. Hours change too, but this is an average.
cafe days 10:00 am: wake up, read webtoons, skincare, brush teeth 11:00 am: yoga, water plants, make breakfast 12:00 pm: check email/social media 1:00pm: zestiria/drawing, freelance/commission 3:00 pm: make lunch, get ready for work 4:00 pm: work 10:00 pm: get home, shower 10:30 pm: eat dinner, watch chinese drama 11:00 pm: get ready for bed 11:30 pm: read webtoons/zestiria 2:00 am: sleep
office days 7:30 am: wake up, skincare, brush teeth 8:00 am: eat breakfast, check email/social media 9:00 am: work 3:00 pm: get home, eat lunch, water plants 4:00 pm: work out 5:00 pm: shower 6:00 pm: zestiria/drawing 8:00 pm: eat dinner 9:00 pm: get ready for bed 10:00 pm: zestiria/read webtoons 11:00 pm: watch anime with friends 1:00 am: sleep
rest days 11:00 am: wake up, read webtoons, skincare, brush teeth 12:00 pm: yoga, water plants, make breakfast, check email/social media 1:00 pm: walk in the park, think about my life and my choices 3:00 pm: stretching, shower, eat lunch 4:00 pm: zestiria/drawing/clean apartment 8:00 pm: eat dinner 9:00 pm: get ready for bed 10:00 pm: journal/read webtoons/zestiria 2:00 am: sleep
game days (once a week) 10:30: wake up, read webtoons, skincare, brush teeth 11:00 am: yoga, water plants, make breakfast 12:00 pm: go out and grab boba tea of choice 1:00 pm: tales of xillia 2 lunch and snacking all happen at some point during game hours 8:00 pm: shower 8:30 pm: eat dinner, watch a movie 11:00 pm: get ready for bed 11:30 pm: read webtoons/journal 2:00 am: sleep
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Gaming My roommate and I started Tales of Xillia 2, my final Tales game. I find it to be a rather unusual Tales game because it doesn’t feel like I’m on a journey with a story unfolding. It’s more like I’m going through a chain of related side quests put together into a game. I like Ludger though, very relatable lol.
Now that I’ve finished Xenoblade, my new solo game is Zestiria NG+. With Berseria’s lore still fresh in my mind, I was curious about the connections between the two games. I’ll have to say that it is very satisfying to reverse-find the references made in Bersy. This time around, my best performing character is Mikleo. Human character of choice is Rose - I played Sorey the first time. You know, this game is pretty short for a Tales game imo. Like, once you do the trials, it’s not that much more until the game ends, especially if you’re not doing all the side content. I am doing them though since I am interested in the lore for research.
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Finished Watching...
Demonslayer: Mugen Train ◆◆◇ How could they do that to me?
Tales of the Abyss Anime ◆◆◆ I felt like I watched a speed-run but they did a pretty good job.
Mystic Pop-Up Bar (kdrama) ◆◇◇ It was alright.
Perfect Blue ◆◆◆ Not for the faint of heart. I was definitely triggered by some scenes, but I really liked its execution and themes.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness ◆◇◇ Pros: it was very Resident Evil. Cons: it was very Resident Evil.
Masters of the Universe: Revelations ◆◆◇ I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I am a fan of Skeletor now lol.
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Projects I’m working on a Tales comic series (again) but it’s more Webtoons format instead of 4koma like I usually do. It will probably look best on Tumblr thanks to how vertical it is but I’ll have to settle for whatever it turns out to be for other platforms. I won’t reveal too much - it is my personal take on what happens to Rokurou post-game. Although I’ve been struggling to find time/energy, I hope I finish this one too.
Happy that people read Undercover! and liked it. It’s definitely... niche. So I didn’t expect it to do well. But hey, I can say I finished something for once.
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As usual, thanks for being here.
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itonje · 3 years
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I'm not a fan of Miller's book, either. Seriously, what is it with writers pinning women against each other? It's even more confusing when it's a female writer doing it.
If it was just Perse and Pasipäe, okay. If you want to give Circe a bad home life, fine. But Miller does it constantly. Athena was done especially dirty imo. I know she can be pretty petty herself (ex: Arachne, and even then, the reason for turning her into a spider tends to vary), but the way she was portrayed was just so grating. So eager for a champion, I was almost convinced Miller had conflated her with Ares. I don't think the exiled nymphs are even given names, let alone distinguishing personalities, and can we stop dunking on Helen? The Iliad makes it pretty clear that she loved Menelaus and didn't think highly of Paris.
And tbh, the story kinda felt a little repetitive at times, too: Circe meets someone, they get mad at her or leave her, she'll occasionally sleep with someone, rinse and repeat. And granted, she's a pretty minor character in the myths already, but I feel like it would've benefited the story more if she had been given more freedom, that she wasn't restricted to just her island. At the very least, how awesome it would've been if Circe had essentially started her own coven before passing on the role as the head witch of Aiaia to Penelope.
Also, can we stop having sexual assault scenes if the story isn't about that? At least it gives Circe a reason to turn men into literal pigs, but still.
I also don't think it's ever really explained why Circe has a mortal voice, even though she has full Titan blood. She just does. Granted, Perse is a minor nymph, but then what about the rest of her children? I'd get it if it was meant to be an allegory for disabilities, but it just felt like it was added on for the sake of making Circe more of an outcast than she already was.
And this is really more of a nitpick, but for a book that focuses so heavily on witchcraft, it's strange that Hecate wasn't even mentioned. In some versions, she's even Circe's mother. It's also really weird how homosexuality seems to be something that was so uncommon in Ancient Greece as far as these books are concerned, even though we know from history and myth that it wasn't. So yeah, Circe x Penelope would've been pretty awesome!
Blegh, sorry for the rant! I just have alot of thoughts about this book right now! ^^"
ATHENA WAS DONE SO SO DIRTY...it makes no sense even in the telegony itself its her who urges circe to tell telegonus about odyessus. wouldn't it have been more interesting for athena to assist circe in raising telegonus? wouldn't it have been more tragic for telegonus to go kill odyessus at athena's urging of him to go meet him? and then yadda yadda athena and circe can have a falling out then or something yadda yadda i don't know again, i know the gods are written in very specific ways here for the ultimate theme of the book here but like this book is so hard on athena it's so weird when i think that honestly there could have been more interesting for her and circe to work together...
ALSO YEAH MADELINE MILLER HAS A HELEN PROBLEM...i think it was fairer in the song of achilles and i rationalized the helen weirdness in that one by going 'well they're achilles and patroclus of course they won't have choice opinions on helen if from their perspective she's the one that led them into this war' but come on..not in circe too..leave her alone...
and i agree the book really did feel repetitive, but if you're asking me i wish there was more exploration to the episodes circe does get-especially the stint at crete, i wish we had seen more of circe and ariadne's and even her and pasiphae's relationship so bad. they get one conversation where they talk and it was so good but it ends so soon. honestly i feel a lot of the conversations in the book are repetitive as well- someone talking to someone, they reveal something about something else, the first someone is surprised!
also yeah the assault is um. i did not think we needed that scene as explicit as it was but i get that that's routine in these sorts of books at this point...now i will say i don't think a book has to be about that sort of stuff if a book includes them but i do think it should be addressed with care and i dunno if that book does that....
ALSO YEAH...the mortal's voice thing is an epithet given to her in the odyssey without much preamble as to what implications that has or to where she got it from and i don't think the author really had to explain it to make the story work but it would...have been nice to see her come up with an interpretation of what exactly that means for circe
and no i don't think it's a nitpick, i feel the same way irt to the book and witchcraft but the witch i feel like got REALLY shifted was medea. i think there could have been sooo many good parallels with medea and circe here-while circe is hated by her divine family, medea is a darling of helios (and in a fair amount of medea myths she returns to colchis where she's presumably forgiven by aeetes, including that variant where she kills perses to reinstate her father on the throne. i wish that had been mentioned in circe; at least then perses would have a point). while circe becomes a mortal at the end of her story in circe, medea in euripides' medea becomes a goddess herself or close to it while also becoming more monstrous in the process. while circe is constantly accused of caring too much for mortals medea has a fair disregard for the lives of other people (maybe due to her powers to reverse mortality). there could have literally been so much said here not just about divinity and mortality but the boundaries that both circe and medea would cross for the sake of their love oh my god i have no idea why not only her episode in the book was so short but there was very little follow up to what happened with her story afterward ugauwerwherhe
also yeah irt to homosexuality i think it was implied? telegonus was gay which is chill but also come on...give us the iconic greek myth ladies wlw romances.....
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sweetescapeartist · 3 years
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MY DBS MANGA CHAPTER 70 REVIEW
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We learn in the last chapter that the Cerealian Dragon's name is Toronbo when Granolah speaks Namekian. Toronbo grants Granolah's wish but can't make Granolah stronger than the gods.
Here's the confusion I have... Goku is a mortal beyond GoDs so making Granolah the strongest mortal is making him stronger than gods. If you wanna say Beerus has been training and is now stronger than Goku, there's still a problem. It was said that Goku and Vegeta were stronger than some GoDs right before the ToP (but that might be anime only, so maybe it doesn't apply here). So Granolah is stronger than GoDs no matter what. If the gods that Toronbo is speaking of are the Angels, then that means Granolah is Ultra Instinct level of power since Goku is the lowest in Angel tier. But whatever. Bottom line is Granolah is temporarily stronger than Goku who may or may not be stronger than Beerus.
Granolah gets his wish granted and the cost is shortening his life... cool. Not much to say except let's see how its executed.
(I recently read that in DBXV2, during the Infinite History Saga, Videl is enchanted with Towa's Dark Magic spell by Dabura shaving off her life but granting her greater power. So granting power at the cost of lifespan has been done in DB before. Not in canon but in the games.)
Also, Granolah's life being shortened to 3 yrs got me thinking... Currently it's almost AGE 781 in the DBS manga timeline. Goku leaves to train Uub in AGE 784. We got 3 yrs left. The original manga shows Bulma said she hadn't seen Goku in 5 yrs. How I see DBS is that it is an alternate timeline that just happens to have a similar outcome to the EoZ.
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So... why is Vegeta learing from Beerus again if Beerus isn't that strong now? Is Vegeta being like Krillin and continuing his learning from a master weaker than him, but gaining wisdom & knowledge? I-is Vegeta becoming Krillin 2.0?! (More like dollar-store Krillin)
I do think beerus got stronger tho. He seems very confident that Vegeta can get stronger from learning from him. Beerus probably saw Goku get UI then decide to train aftet the ToP
Anyways, Beerus is teaching us about hakai/destruction energy. Its erasing something from existence, not just destroying it (we already knew that). But, Vegeta quickly figures out how to do it anyways. By destroying a tiny pebble...
A tangent again but I personally think Piccolo is capable of easily learning Hakai energy. Think about it. Piccolo can create clothing out of nothing, why could he not do the reverse?
Goku is uninterested in what Beerus & Vegeta are doing. I dont know about you, but it sounds like Goku thinks that he's above Beerus in strength. Beerus & Vegeta aren't considered a challenge to him in any way. Goku sees UI as more important & better than anything Beerus has to teach, and Goku is right. Plus Goku learned Hakai on his own while Vegeta needs Beerus to teach him. It's a waste of Goku's time to learn it again.
(God Comics is funny. I imagine Toribot writes them)
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Goku says "Let's see which one of us can be the strongest in the universe!" Really, Goku...? At present time, Goku is the strongest mortal in the universe already. He should know that. Then Vegeta for some reason thinks he will become the strongest in the universe. The last time manga Vegeta was the strongest mortal in the universe was... never. He's always behind Goku or whatever new opponent arises. This scene is meant to be comedic that they're arguing over who will be the greatest but it's not funny to me. And yet Vegeta fans still hold on for hope.
But why is Goku concerned about being the strongest between him & Vegeta? Goku is far above Vegeta. They're not rivals at this point. Also, Goku was the strongest in the universe until just a few moments ago. Goku should be saying "I knew bein' the strongest wouldn't last for too long. Roshi did tell me there will always be somebody stronger out there. Hehe! This is gettin' me excited! I can't wait to meet 'em!" (This would alsp parallel Monaito giving Granolah the same advice Goku already knows.)
Also, I guess Broly isn't that strong after all. Bye Broly, you served your purpose. And to think that Goku had said that he thinks Broly is stronger than Beerus...
Oh yeah. So Vegeta destroys a pebble. Impressive? Goku kinda gives a compliment or he is practically saying "Good job Vegeta! You're doing great following in my footsteps!" Seriously, this would be so much better and cooler if this seperate paths of training began right after the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 tournament. That would be the perfect spot to have them train under Beerus & Whis. [Vegeta using Hakai against Merged Zamasu, Goku able to fight Merged Zamasu temporarily because he is getting better at letting his body move on its own, Toppo & Vegeta using Hakai against each other as Goku & Jiren use power above GoDs. That would work so much better.]
Then Vegeta says he's gonna destroy bigger things soon... is that supposed to be more impressive? Its not. But this it to build up Vegeta even though there is nothing amazing about anything he is doing at the moment. Maybe later tho.
So Cerealians can't grow beards. Also I guess Granolah's race don't age? His hair grew when his lifespan was shortened but he has no wrinkles. It seems that they age more gracefully than Saiyans. If he has some wrinkles he would have looked cooler imo. Or those lines under the eyes at the very least. If the wish shortened his life & made his hair grow, it should have also showed that he aged. (Here's an edit I made of "Grampa Granolah." You're welcome)
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And remember Vegeta destroying a pebble? Granolah can suddenly destroy big rocks! Cool right?! No? Its not cool? Showing Granolah destroy a much larger object right afterwards kinda belittles Vegeta's accomplishment.
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Oatmil is surprised by a boulder exploding. This means one of 2 things. Oatmil is stupid & never saw an Granolah explode a boulder. Or it's implying that the boulder exploding is some technique Oatmil doesn't know of. Idk how he can tell its any different from just blowing up a rock with ki. I think it's supposed to be destruction energy. If it is then, ok. If getting his wish was so easy, then why can't he suddenly learn destruction as well?
Yay! Monaito! (This really should be a Namekian focused arc)
Granolah reminds me of Zamasu with his attitude a bit. Monaito tells him somebody stronger will definetly appear. Granolah has become like Vegeta and is over confident, so he is destined to get humbled. And think about this. Goku can probably train a bit and surpass Granolah within a week.
Granolah can now sense ki. Meaning he can have the destruction technique or UI, because why not?
Monaito blames himself for Granolah's actions. Its not your fault Monaito! You did nothing wrong! Dont be so hard on yourself.
Whis being a creep and peeping on people lol.
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Granolah's hair growing was pointless because he cuts it off soon after. Nothing changed visually. This kinda reminds me of how Moro lost his arm. Goku gave him a senzu, Moro grew it back, & then Moro broke his arm when attacking Goku. Then Moro tore his arm off & reattached his old one. There was no need for Moro to grow his arm back then tear it off. Similarly, there is no need for Granolah to have grown long hair then cut it off.
Maki still brings a smile to my face. She & Gas stand out the most out of the Heeters. Maki's personality is kinda like Zangya combined with a teasing Bulma. Gas reminds me of a Krillin/Piccolo fusion with dreadlocks. I also ship Maki x Gas cause they're short and look cute together. (please don't be siblings so I can draw them together🤞)
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Granolah fights Oil & Maki. I'm not impressed. They seem like they could be defeated by Chaoitzu (he's stronger than Raditz and probably Nappa now too). Granolah's movements could be seen as UI. If it is or isn't UI, it doesn't matter. Showing off that kind of power is like Goku using Ultra Instinct during a rematch with Nam or King Chappa. Its not effective storytelling. There had to be a better way of showing Granolah's new strength than making him fight opponents that give him zero challenge.
The art is good as usual and the panel flow is nice. Toyotaro is improving at creating the illusion of motion. The environment being used in the fight was smart and a good visual. Toyo still uses a ton of panels almost every page tho. But he's still a better artist than I am.
Granolah appears to have used Hakai again. Not the explosive variant but the sand variant (yes I think there are 2 ways of using Hakai).
The "Sand Variant" that Beerus & Goku (& maybe Granolah) have used.
The "Explosive Variant" Beerus & Vegeta (& maybe Granolah) have used.
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Maki thinks the "Hakai" is magic so that's interesting. I would say I'd like for the next enemy to be a magic user but, we know how Moro turned out... 😓
Maki has "ki claws" & I like the idea but it would be better if she had used it against an enemy she can defeat. It doesn't make her look useful in this fight. Gas seems confident when he is about to fight Granolah, but Elec stops him. Gas would've gotten beaten but it make ya wonder what Gas can do.
Granolah appears to be a person that is easily manipulated and persuaded. He even gave information they weren't even asking for. He'll probably be easily convinced and manipulated by Freeza/the Hedters or quickly have a truce with Goku.
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The Heeters plan to go to Planet Cereal to get the Dragon Balls. As I suspected, the Cerealian Dragon Balls were created so that it would be easy for wishes to be granted. Gathering 2 Dragon Balls on a nearby planet instead of gathering 7 on New Namek or Earth. Plus these new Dragon Balls ensures no interaction between Earthlings & Granolah/the Heeters. A perfect way to write Gohan & company out of the story... *sigh* 😔😒
We learn Cerealians live for 2 centuries. How's that compare to other races in Universe 7? Freeza & King Cold apparently can live more than 200 yrs, But that may be because they are mutants. Namekians can live for like 500 yrs & its possible for them to reincarnate themselves too. So in a way, Namekians can live forever. Saiyans stay youthful & live to be in their 80's, but rapidly age when they reach their 60's or 70's. Average Earthlings appear live to be in their 80's or 90's but some are over 100 yrs old (Dr. Briefs, Panchy, & Ox King are in their 90's in GT) and others can increase their lifespan through elixers or the Paradise Herb. Just some thoughts of mine.
Maki says "If he ices Freeza..." Ha, an ice pun. Elec wants to defeat Freeza so he can control his army. Its revealed they wanna kill Granolah & that they worked with Freeza to destroy his planet & race. Well... that more than likely means they're gonna die by Granolah's hand or Freeza's. This info is also an attempt to make the reader more sympathetic for Granolah. Granolah is too bland (pun intended) so I don't feel any more sympathy than I already had for him. Elec plans to make Goku & Vegeta fight Granolah since Granolah hates Saiyans. Smart but we all kinda expected it. Not bad writing tho.
The final panel talks about fate bringing the 3 (Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah) together. Sounds like a repeat of the Broly movie.
We've had 4 chapters in this arc & not 1 panel of Freeza... If Freeza doesnt appear & do something in the next chapter then I will be disappointed in the writing. Showing Freeza here and there would give tension and build up until we get the encounter with him. We also have no idea who Oatmil is. Is he an A.I. or a person? Not that big of a deal yet, but I would like to find out soon. Either show Freeza or tell us more about Oatmil next chapter pleaae
This chapter was like oatmeal (the food not the character) without butter, brown sugar, milk, & honey or raisins. Not bad, but not very good either. 
So here's my thoughts on the things that could or could not happen in this arc.
Goku vs Granolah. I don't care for the fight because the power is at a point that it doesnt make sense for enemies to get to without cheating somehow. The fight will look cool but I have no interest in it.
Vegeta vs Granolah will have Vegeta being stomped as always and Vegeta fans will make excuses & complain how it's not fair. A lot of Vegeta fans often make fun of Yamcha & Krillin for getting beat up even though those 2 bravely fight opponents leagues stronger than they are. Vegeta has gotten stomped by opponents more times than Krillin & Yamcha combined but the fans gotta deflect somehow. I don't care to hear or see the complaining again.
The interaction and dialogue between Granolah & Vegeta is going to be more interesting than their fight. But I worry because Toyo isn't the best at writing dialogue.
I have no reason to care about power growth, certain interactions, or Goku & Vegeta's training.
What I am curious about/want to see?
Monaito's well being. I want him to reunite with other Namekians. But I think he's been set up to die.
Lore about the dragon gods & Namekian lore we probably wont get.
I want Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, & others will be involved. Piccolo because of the Namekian & wosh granting dragon lore. Gohan because his interaction with Granolah eould be interesting since Gohan is half Saiyan & views himself as an Earthling. Krillin & other Earthlings because they can bring tensions where characters like Goku & Vegeta can't. Those 2 are too strong for there to be any real tension. However Earthlings aren't all powerful so them using wits to survive is more exciting. But I doubt any of their involvement.
How long a Cerealian year is? Is it shorter than a Namekian year? How much time will pass for the Cerealian Dragon Balls to be active? How much stronger than Granolah will Goku get? Hopefully the answers aren't lazy...
Will Beerus finally fight somebody? There are 6 mortals that are near or above his power (Goku, Granolah, Vegeta, Broly, Freeza, Gohan).
Who's the villian of the next arc & what explanation is going to be given for them having power on the level of Angels? Angel tier fights don't sound interesting to me anymore. After those kinds of battles, Goku will have no challengers left.
Will Goku disappear to train or something so the story can TRY to match up with the EoZ?
Will Goten, Trunks, & Marron hit their growth spurts within 3 yrs?
Will we get spin-off manga about other characters? PLEASE!? 🙏
Also DBS moved too quickly when it comes to power. Now we're at the point that Goku & Vegeta need to stop being involved in fights for there to be any actual threat or tension. The Buu saga took place in AGE  774. After training for 4 years of peace, Goku thought SS3 & fusion was his limits as a Saiyan and he was right. Well, kinda... Goku was introduced to god ki near the end of AGE 778. Then in AGE 781, Goku masters Ultra Instinct... He mastered an Angel technique in 2 year or 2.5 yrs. That was waaaay too fast. As a result the storytelling & writing are suffering from this rushed progress. Now we're gonna have an Angel tier opponent? According to the pattern of DBS, Goku's gonna end up surpassing the Angels within 2 or 3 yrs after learning god ki. Thats not impressive for Goku, that's terrible writing. And no, Goku getting this strong so fast is not a benefit to Saiyans either. It just shows us that without god ki, Saiyans ain't all that powerful unless they're the legendary Saiyan like Broly. Saiyans didn't even have a concept of training until Goku was trained by Earthlings. Gohan, Freeza, 17, & I'm pretty sure Piccolo as well have all surpassed SS3 without the help of god ki. God ki makes Saiyans look like they have limits. With god ki, the writing is broken....
I got off topic again... Anyways that's the end of my review.
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pertinax--loculos · 2 years
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(Belated) Weekly Update 14/11
Last week's goal: Assess what changes can/need to be made to the first half; rewrite Sc1 Completed the reverse outline and did a bit of the assessment; didn't do the rewrite (see below) Goal for this week: Write 10k words
Summary ATN So, I think I am going to let this draft rest for a little while. It's less because I actually want to and more because I've been utterly consumed by other WIP ideas, but I'm leaving off it for the time being. Possibly at the start of December I'll get back into hardcore rearranging and whatnot, but right now it all seems a little too intimidating and I'm at a point where it does make sense to step away from it for a little while, so I'm gonna take advantage of that. ^_^ Hoping to come back to it refreshed and raring to go!
Those Aforementioned Other WIPs Aka the bane of my existence right now. >.<
So obviously I have D&D. It's been simmering in the back of my mind since I was about halfway through drafting ATN, and I've been slowly developing it and doing bits of outlining and teeny little excerpts as they came to me, and everything was going great. And then. And then.
Fucking PS comes along and basically sledgehammers its way into my life.
Look: I made a list of pros and cons for each:
D&D:
single POV
fairly straightforward story
climax came to me early
somewhat marketable?
familiar with characters (basically a mash-up of other story ideas)
lots of worldbuilding but again, mostly familiar
requires a decent whack of research, though I know I won't have to search too hard for the info I need
heavy themes that I still feel although I can do justice
requires me to write car races from the POV of the driver, which I've only done a couple times before
outline is being a little tricky -- could potentially get a little long, and there's certain Reveals I wanna make at certain times but I'm not sure they work
PS
multi-POV, dual timeline
I think it needs three POVs to work, but I can't decide on who should be the third POV
outline seems to be working; changed midpoint to climax
couple of plot things annoying me -- not really making sense/could be solved easily
lots of worldbuilding that I've already spent a ton of time researching and will need to do more
couple of thematic elements that may result in it sorta 'saying' the opposite to what I want it to say
requires a lot of research into something that is very unscientific (cons: wildly contradictory information available; pros: I can just make it up if I want)
requires me to pull off a very specific form of unreliable narrator, something I've never attempted
not at all marketable
IMO the inspiration for this is very obvious
characters mostly unfamiliar (still cribbed from other WIPs mostly but much less developed)
Now, to me these lists made it pretty clear that D&D would be the easier, more sensible choice overall... so I've started drafting PS. 😅
I'm still a little fuzzy on a few plot things for PS, so I've been drafting out of order (assisted by the fact it's got dual timelines, so I can draft it out of order out of order, if you know what I mean. :P) And essentially my new plan is thus:
I'm going to spend this week working on the outline for PS, and drafting what scenes come to me -- hoping to get a fair few of them done (even if they never actually make it into the WIP), hence the 10k wordcount goal for this week. If, throughout the course of this week, I figure out the Plot Annoyances and/or find a really good voice for the two main POV characters, then I'll continue on with it! If not, then next week I'll do the same thing for D&D, and then look at both of them again and make a decision then.
I just think it's pointless to turn away from PS right now seeing as it's literally consuming my life. Guys, it has a pinterest board and a playlist, neither of which I usually make for WIPs. I fucking started using milanote (which I hate on principle, simply cuz so many authortubers hock it, and I am genuinely devastated to report that it works really well for what I'm using it for goddammit) in order to figure out some things. So while I've got this intense focus and ideas flowing, I figure I may as well take advantage of it.
So that's where we're at! If anybody's made it this far -- thanks, you flatter me. 😂 Also, feel free to ask questions about either of these projects; honestly the more I'm forced to think about both of them the better, and oftentimes other people think of things that would, just, never cross my mind in a million years. :D
Hope everybody else's November is going grand! I know I've been a bit MIA (which I will likely address in a separate post, seeing as this one is already hellaciously long), but I'm hoping to catch up on drafts and tag games etc in some form or another sometime over the next few days. ^_^
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pilferingapples · 3 years
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Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme: BBC les mis
oooof I know this puts me at odds with a lot of my saltmates on this but: the Barricade Sequence was Good Actually? 
I don’t mean it was the Best Ever adaptation of the book’s barricade sequence (although,sorry, it is  the best version of that in an English-language non-musical adaptation as far as I can tell, and I have seen  A Few).  But it’s not really trying to be that--no adaptation with only three of the nine people who are supposed to anchor the scene can really go for the full Chanvrerie epic--it’s trying to be a different thing,and I think it does a pretty good job of what it sets out to do. 
Rambling!
At a guess from having watched it all way too many times, and based on Davies’ comments in interviews, I think the BBC approach was to try to make LM “realistic”. 
Now, I think this is a common approach in more recent adaptations, and I think it is, in general, a huge  mistake in adapting LM.  The novel’s not realistic, at all-- it’s Romantic, capital R , with visions and implied ghosts and explicit divine intervention and emotions that are meant to be clear from mental equivalent of the cheap seats in the back of the theater.  It’s got Love at First sight, fer cryin’ out loud!  I’ve seen several adaptations try to calm it down and make it realistic and it just does not work, the story fights realism on a fundamental, structural level. 
And the barricades are , very intentionally, the  Grand Mythic scene*, directly meant to be Epic, full of grand idealism and the sense of gods and giants and impossible feats.  It really really  doesn’t  work as Realism. 
And yet!! somehow! this is the one bit that imo really works, on its own terms! 
I think it may be because combat is one of the few places that modern-approach directors will actually accept a degree of heightened reality; the weirdness of combat and emergency situations is well known enough to make that a “realistic” approach.  So even though this adaptation was never going to give us Enjolras standing unmarked at the end of combat, or the full force of the Quel Horizon speech, or Prouvaire’s final prophetic cry of defiance or “your friends have just shot you” --we still get a setting-fitting version  of Five Less One More, and of OFPD, and some really sincere and emotionally raw moments between characters , and even Enjolras talking about love at the top of the barricade.   
The series even goes on the side of a bit of idealism itself, really -- Le Cabuc is cut out, the non-student fighters are given more agency and sense of self-organization than Hugo really hands them, and Hugo’s focus on the costs to surrounding residents of having a barricade spring up in a neighborhood are  pretty well minimized.  And then there’s the whole thing with Not!Feuilly Despiat which, geez, that is so  good and so idealistic and Mythic and on-theme for the story even on a novel level, that’s a whole extra post but geez--  Anyway,for some reason, this  is the point where the show decided to play gentle with the take on the characters and imo it works! 
Also: while we’ve only got three named Amis,  and Not!Feuilly Despiat , and all four of them get their own solid arcs here .  Courfeyrac goes from an uncertain, inexperienced fighter who seems to fear he’s only been playing with revolution to finding an absolutely hardcore level of commitment and an absolutely heroic final scene,  Grantaire gets his whole conversion arc, Enjolras visibly moves from immediate pragmatic focus  to a longer, wider view that’s more explicitly about love for people and faith in the ones who’ll come next-- it’s all there, it all works.  It’s not Hugo’s barricade, of course it’s not, but what it is works on its own terms. 
(and seriously I gotta write about the Despiat thing some other time)
 * I’m talking about Mythic here in that very specific Hugolian/preface to Cromwell sense; it’s not about other scenes not being Fantastic and Iconic but about some Hugo-specific takes on what being Mythic and Epic means
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yourdorkiness · 3 years
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My Opinions On Jujutsu Kaisen That Literally Nobody Asked For
I finished binging the Jujutsu Kaisen manga in 48 hours. I am having some expresso, because I’m depresso.
Here’s a Sad Stitch to show you how I feel.
(And of course, warnings for discussion/ranting/kinda meta on the Jujutsu Kaisen manga below the cut, so please read at your own discretion!)
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Sukuna is truly a Bastard™, along with Mahito. 
I just- *cries in Shibuya Arc aka PAIN*
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*Pulls out megaphone* Nanamin. 
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That’s all folks. Thanks for reading, have a nice day!
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(Just kidding!)
Ugh, NANAMIN 👏 WHAT 👏 A 👏 MAN 😭 😭 😭 😭 I became a certified Nanami stan once I saw the tired business man aesthetic (plus, his words about how work is shit? Truer words have never been spoken), and his little speech about adults and responsibility, how children no matter their circumstances are still children, and should be given the opportunity to act as such. Because, YES, FINALLY, A RESPONSIBLE ADULT WITH THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL aka the voice of Kenjiro Tsuda
Anyways, I love how the Jujutsu Kaisen manga shows that adults can handle things, and that is A-OKAY!!! If Jujutsu Tech follows the Japanese school system, Yuji is a first year in high school, so he’s probably 15 or 16 years old, way too early to go through Shibuya level of trauma (though, I think anybody is too young to have to go through what happened to Yuji in Shibuya). 
Children should have the privilege to be children. That doesn’t mean coddling, it means that children should have plenty of time to experience new things, enjoy being a child, and I’m so happy Nanami says this! 
In conclusion, Nanami deserves happiness and a vacation to Kuantan 🥺
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YOSHINO JUNPEI!!! He and his mom deserve happiness, they’re both precious beans. I didn’t even realize Junpei was dead until 5+ chapters later. But it was too late, for I had already gotten attached!!! *cue curse worthy screeching* 
I was so excited for Junpei to join Jujutsu Tech, too! I had this whole headcanon of Junpei being HAPPY again, talking about movies with Yuji, interacting with the other first years, him seeing Panda for the first time!!! The thing was, back then, it wasn’t headcanon! I thought it was going to be facts, until Gege said ‘lol, you thought, peasant’, before spitting on any hope of mine for a happy Junpei.
(On a completely different tangent, I would be SO psyched if I got to meet a talking panda, we could act out all of “Kung Fu Panda” together, especially the chopstick scene, and maybe we could go to a zoo, just to mess with the zookeepers about a honest to god PANDA walking on its hind legs around the zoo)
‘If Junpei had lived’ is a phrase I think about a lot, and I think that is why the “Young Fish and Reverse Punishment” arc  was so crucial to the story and yet so tragic. 
Junpei has so much potential to be happy, and then he didn’t get the happiness he deserves. It really sets the tone, the high stakes to the whole manga, for we see the amount of damage a curse inflicts on somebody who could be in a situation like Junpei. 
As the readers, we understand the reasoning behind Junpei’s ideology, sympathizing with him as we see what horrible torment he has to go through. That very first scene of this arc, where the bullies made him eat the cockroach and BURNED HIM WITH A LIT CIGARETTE, and the teacher who saw all of this happening, JUST TURNS AWAY!!! It was haunting. But finally, finally, we get a light at the tunnel for Junpei in the form of our lord and saviour, the cinnamon roll of cinnamon rolls, Itadori Yuji. HERE is a person who is able to connect with Junpei, who wouldn’t dismiss how Junpei’s circumstances or feelings. and then Junpei dies.
(look at this cute face, how could you Mahito?!)
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Also, the symbolism in the opening? The Junpei fish ENLARGING??? HNKDJSFLJDSF JUNPEI NOOO-
Also ALSO (sorry this is the last ‘also’), did we ever learn if Junpei was a sorcerer, or was he a window that possessed enough talent to summon a shikigami? I at first thought Junpei was a window, since he was able to see Mahito, and was hoping that we’d get a more detailed explanation of what windows actually do. (Do they just wander around Tokyo, or wherever they live, and act all ‘La Dee Da, just living my regular, normal life, oOOHHH is that a special grade? Tell that to the sorcerers, maybe I’ll get a bonus!’ Is their life basically a demented version of Pokemon Go? I have so many questions-)
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All the villains were well written, and had super cool character designs. My top three villains other than Sukuna, my top three villains are Geto, and Mahito.
Geto’s backstory in the Hidden Inventory arc was so incredibly written, I especially liked the way Gege wrote how Getou’s righteous ideals gradually deteriorating throughout the Hidden Inventory arc as he realizes the depth of the curses of humanity, the dark hatred the “weak” hold towards things they have no understanding of. (i.e. Riko’s death by the Star Religious Group, Haibara’s death, and finally the villagers ignorant treatment and abuse towards Geto’s twins, Mimiko and Nanako, beating and imprisoning them for “causing” the deaths of the villagers) Geto’s chilling charisma and the reasoning behind his actions as a villain makes him a top tier villain in my eyes. 
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As for Mahito, I love to hate him, and that why I think he is a great antagonist. I guess I’ve just been seeing a lot of villains that because of their tragic backstories, the readers or characters sympathize with them and rationalising their actions, turning the villain into a flaky antihero of lesser impact. It’s very refreshing to have a villain who is just pure evil. 
I think that Mahito fulfilled his purpose as an antagonist very well; his twisted ideals on the worth of human life foiling Itadori’s own ideals of giving others a “proper death”, the curse making Yuji continuously adapt both physically and mentally to defeat him. Physically, by learning new spells and techniques to defeat Mahito, such as the Black Flash (and possibly his own cursed technique! The weird “Past That Never Happened” in the fights with Choso and Todo), or mentally, by questioning his ideals, such as what exactly is a “proper death”, after Yuji had to kill the transfigured humans. 
(Ew look at this worm.)
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Some Honorable Mentions of Good Villains IMO: Jogo, because I find his ideals of curses, who stem from the true emotions of hatred and fear, being superior yet suppressed by the emotionally faceted humans is definitely fascinating, and eerily reminds me of Geto’s hatred towards non sorcerers.  Dagon was pretty cute in his Cursed Womb stage, and I really liked Hanami because the eldritch environmentalist aesthetic is pretty coolio  👌 .
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How do Inumaki children learn to speak if all the adults barely talk, only saying inane words like “salmon” and NOT ACTUALLY meaning “salmon, the fish” but an adult secret code for a definition that you might not even know?? Or do the adults just charmspeak the kids, like “SPEAK small child, and have full language comprehension, O tiny ball of pudge!” and boom! Babies talking in complete sentences, maybe understanding weird adult customs. Will the child know when then adult actually mean salmon, the fish, and not the code word salmon?
Let’s assume that Inumaki clan children from learning to speak to four or six years old will be able to speak normally until the clan technique sets in (because that’s when the jjk wiki says cursed techniques kick in). How do you explain to a toddler: “Hey sweetie, happy birthday, have a present! Oh, by the way, those cool tattoos of yours mean that you can’t talk normally to anybody anymore, EVER. Only using these specific words as code to mean these specific meanings, restricting any chance of normal interactions with non-sorcerers if by some inane chance you DON’T want to become a child soldier jujutsu sorcerer. Welp, guess you have to become a jujutsu sorcerer now! Make sure to restrict your choice of words, you could kill somebody! Have fun playing with your Legos honey, welcome to adult life.” Like, EXCUSE ME? 
You can’t tell mw a four year old is expected to understand that (or didn’t kill somebody by accident via cursed speech. That MUST have happened at least once). 
This is all an elaborate way of saying please give us Inumaki backstory, I’m very curious.
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Anyways, thank you for reading my post, and I hope you have a nice day!
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letteredlettered · 3 years
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hi! ive been following your writing for a few years now and i drop by periodically to check if you have anything new posted, and im really surprised that you seem to be enjoying the untamed? im curious what you think about the show - its story and characters, the acting, the production, etc. idk if you know, but the untamed is the most successful example of a current trend in chinese entertainment, where popular online novels centered around a gay romance is adapted into a 'safe' drama.
continued:
due to the many explicit and implicit restrictions imposed on creative media in china, many crucial plot points have to be changed (often badly) or removed, including the nature of the relationship between the main characters. the untamed is considered the most loyal adaptation so far, but like all other works in the genre, it received criticism for weak acting and queerbaiting. that's why im really curious about what you think of the show as it is, as itself, free from its context.
if you're interested, you could also check out guardian! it features much better performance and chemistry by the leads imo, but the story was heavily botched bc the original incorporates and reinvents a lot of classic chinese folklore beautifully and stuff like that is considered disrespectful and not-pc. i think it's really sad how so many great pieces of writing with complex world-building and plotlines are simplified into... idek what to call them, but just, less than what they are.
im sorry this turned into a rant. as a mainland chinese person with oh so many frustrations about our current society, it's hard to comprehensively describe my feelings about the untamed's popularity. it's the first mainland chinese show/movie to gain this much organic interest abroad so i should be glad? but, but. anyway, yes, im sorry.
There’s no need to apologize for ranting, but I admit to some confusion as to whether you want your question addressed or the rant. Because I’m me and tend to be thorough, I’ll address everything, in reverse order.
First of all, I’m sorry that this show is sad to you. I’m sorry that the popularity of it is difficult. I’m also deeply sympathetic to your frustrations about your society, as I too am deeply frustrated by my own.
Secondly, yes, I’m aware of the context of The Untamed. I’m aware that the book it’s based on is a BL novel, and that, in order to align with Chinese politics, overt queerness was erased from the adaptation. I’m aware of the censure laws of gay media in China. I’m also aware that some aspects of necromancy and morality were adjusted to make the show more palatable for general audiences, but I’m fuzzier on those details. Lastly, I’m aware that the popularity of the show calls attention to certain things, such as fanfic, and that attention results in more censorship,
The fact of this erasure and this censure provokes a lot of questions: by consuming this product, which contains erasure and censure, do we engage in the erasure and censure? By posting gifs and writing fanfic and talking about this product, do we increase its popularity, thereby encouraging additional erasure and censure? By increasing the popularity of this product, do we diminish the popularity of the original gay morally gray canon, thereby decreasing representation? Do we discourage other authors in China from writing explicitly gay morally gray material? In short, are we allowed to enjoy this media?
I don’t know the answer to these questions. However, I do know that boycott is a very effective tool when it can inflict economic pain on the producer, or when it can exert pressure on an entity to change. That said, I feel like a lot of the calls to boycott certain media these days are a lot like telling people to stop driving their cars to stop climate change: it’s suggesting that individuals can solve the problem, which presupposes individuals are the problem, and therefore fails to address the scope of the problem, or present the possibility of a real solution. Not watching The Untamed isn’t going to change laws about portrayals of homosexuality onscreen in China, partly because the laws in China are a much bigger problem.
The other part of it is that The Untamed is coded queer, so if you run a successful boycott against it, you end up with . . . less queer TV. I know a whole lot less about China than I do about the Hays Code, but if you had told gay people during the Golden Age of Hollywood that they couldn’t enjoy movies that were coded queer because they weren’t explicitly queer, they’d have said you were crazy. In fact, many people will tell you that media that was coded queer was a big reason we got more explicit queer stuff later. And as I’m sure you’re aware, the US is still fighting that battle . . . partly because it wants to sell movies to China.
So then there’s a question about whether me, an American in the US, liking something coded queer from China but not explicitly queer--does that encourage Chinese censorship? Should I only support texts that are explicitly queer? But the answer is the same--it’s not addressing the scope of the problem, and by supporting texts that are coded queer, you could be paving the way in the future for something brighter.
But you weren’t talking about boycott! You were talking about your discomfort with the popularity with this show, which I accept. I understand feeling uncomfortable. I can only hope it makes you a bit more comfortable to know that plenty of fans are deeply aware of the context and do wrestle with the question of what liking this show means in the context of a society that would never allow aspects of the original to be portrayed onscreen.
Thirdly, I’m not against trying Guardian at some point, but by comparing the acting and chemistry of the leads to The Untamed, I feel like you prove our tastes are very different in these regards. I love the acting of the leads in The Untamed; I found their chemistry off the charts. It’s okay you don’t feel the same.
Lastly, you asked my opinion of The Untamed: its story and characters, the acting, the production, sans context of the canon upon which its based and censorship laws in China.
a. I love the overall story, but the plot has deep plot holes. Quite a few segments do not actually make sense to me, because the plot is so haywire. However, I’ve never cared that much about plot, except when it gets in the way of characters and themes, and for the most part, this plot serves its characters and themes, except when the parts they leave out are so confusing that I cannot follow the story. As for the story, it feels like it’s built for me, because ultimately it’s about moral decisions and how to make them; it’s about guilt and paying for mistakes; it’s about learning, changing your mind, and remaking yourself. Really, I’m not sure there are many stories I love more--except they killed my favorite character, and I almost quit. So, that certainly put a damper on things.
b. I love the characters most of all, although the villains are really two-dimensional. However, large parts of the plot are not Hero vs Villain, they’re Hero vs Society, and then some Hero vs Himself in a way that suggests the Hero is no longer a hero. I could talk about the characters forever, but suffice it to say I think they’re really strong. Also, the relationships are really exquisite, particularly when it comes to family dynamics. Unfortunately, they killed my favorite character off. Also unfortunately, there are six women in this show, only two of them are main characters, and every single one of them dies. It disgusts me.
c. I think the two leads are exceptional, in particular Xiao Zhan . . . when he’s not being too broad, which he is quite a bit. However, I do wonder how much of this is direction and production style, because in many instances, he’s quite subtle, and the choices he makes are astounding. Then there are times where it’s like they needed more footage, or wanted to drive home a point, and he turns on the extra, and it’s awful. It could just be him, but I actually feel it’s the case with most of the actors, which does make me think it’s a directing issue. Meng Ziyi never really has that problem though, because she is the most perfect of all. But then take He Peng, who I actually thought could be incredible, but every scene was just SO BROAD that I began to feel sorry for the poor dude having to act that part. But there is nothing to be said for Wang Zhuo Cheng, who really is just terrible, which is sad, because it’s a great part.
d. Production-wise, it’s really hit and miss. So much of the locations are truly beautiful. A lot of the costumes are too, unless the shot is too close. I actually don’t mind the wigs; I love the long hair. The CGI is terrible. And then while a lot of the shots are beautiful, some of them are awkward, and the pacing is really difficult, imo. It really seems like they wanted to drag it out, and there are so, so many scenes where I’m sort of embarrassed that we’re in the same scene or that we’re still looking at someone’s face, or that everyone is just standing there waiting for the shot to finally end.
I will say that film is a language that does differ from culture to culture. It could be that both the broadness of the acting and the awkwardness of the editing are my cultural lens based on American and a lot of western film. When I watched older Hollywood films, the acting is a lot more broad and maybe a little less “true” feeling, but I understand that it’s not the case everyone in the past was a bad actor. It was just a different style, so I’m not sure I’m equipped with the cultural knowledge of Chinese acting, cinematography, and editing to be able to really judge the value of these things.
I do know how I feel, which is that the editing is the biggest hurdle for me while watching the show. However, I feel that the beauty of it makes up for a lot, and the strength of the characters and themes really carries it.
I hope I addressed your points adequately, and I wish you well.
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itsclydebitches · 3 years
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vader was a middleaged men on life support for years who had 2 kids while ben was still young part of the new generation and haad no kids his death makes han and leias deaths for nothing and palpatine wins by causing deaths of every gen of skywalkers star wars is meant to be about hope and is focused on skywalker family so a hopeful ending would be a full reversal of anidala where anidala ended with tragedy reylo ( where ben and rey met while ben is in dark) would have a HEA 5/?
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Hey there! Forgive me, but I’m only going to respond to this final bit. As much as I enjoy Star Wars, I really don’t know the franchise well enough to do a deep dive into its problems. Especially not the most recent trilogy which, outside of the potential in The Force Awakens, I didn’t enjoy and only bothered to watch once. However, as a cursory response, I have to say that I in no way agree that “the only difference” between Zuko and Kylo is that one exists in kids media, nor that Kylo’s hypothetical redemption would have “rivaled” Zuko’s. 
Again, taking the time to work through both ATLA and the most recent trilogy is far too large a project for one ask response, but some crucial differences we should keep in mind include: 
ATLA may have been aimed at kids, but it in no way shied away from tough material. We begin this story post-genocide of the Air Nomads and Azula for all purposes killed Aang if Katara hadn’t been able to use the spirit water, to name just two examples. I in no way believe that Zuko would have been killing people left and right (as Kylo did) if ATLA’s rating went up. That’s not his character. 
Zuko was sent on a quest to capture the Avatar. Kidnapping isn’t great by any means, but it’s a far cry from conquering large portions of the galaxy like Kylo did. Manipulation aside, Kylo still had free will and far more support than Zuko ever got (loving parents, Jedi teachers, etc.) His agency, even taking Snoke into account, makes him far closer to Ozai imo.
Zuko was a kid when all this went down. Just sixteen years old. Aang’s “Well, you’re just a teenager” is supposed to hit hard. Meanwhile, Kylo was in his early twenties when he succumbed to the dark side. He was a full-fledged adult when he made those decisions. 
Any generalization of “villains with sad backstories deserve redemption” here overlooks precisely how horrific Kylo’s actions were. He slaughtered all his fellow students. Murdered his father in cold blood. Tortured Rey. Conquered huge swaths of the galaxy. I’m not saying a villain with his history can’t be redeemed, but I am saying that a redemption like that needs a TON more time than one or two films can give it. Zuko’s worked because a) Zuko was an abused child who hadn’t done such comparatively horrible things and b) he had 61 episodes to undergo that redemption starting from episode one. A hopeful story doesn’t equal an automatic redemption (especially when Star Wars already has the foundation of the villain, Vader, sacrificing himself to re-join the Light). We can’t take the last half hour of a film, already trying to cover a whole cast, and go, “The villain who did the most heinous shit possible is Good Again in the span on a few scenes.” 
Frankly, I think there’s incredibly little to link the two characters. Zuko wasn’t even a full-fledged villain, but rather an antagonist. He’s a well-rounded, complex character whose redemption is a masterpiece. Kylo? Who was he other than an angsty murderer fascinated with Rey? No idea. If I’m honest, I hated every moment he was on screen. For a whole trilogy I watched him doing nothing but heinous acts without any compelling motivation and then suddenly I’m supposed to root for a Kylo/Rey kiss after he, you know, spent all this time hunting her down, killing/wounding her friends, torturing her, insulting her, generally being creepy towards her... because they have a “unique bond”? Absolutely not. I think the trilogy as a whole is a hot mess, but I likewise don’t think shoe-horning in a “redemption” arc for the guy who had a loving family, access to the best training in the Light side of the Force, and still chose to cast all that aside to do as much damage to the galaxy as possible is going to fix things. 
I mean, if we want a hopeful character who redeems themselves by rejecting the evil influence around them to demonstrate that strength of character outweighs manipulation, brainwashing, or even outright fate... Finn is right there. 
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