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arcane-ish · 2 years

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Re: Progress & Viktor and Jayce are neither mad nor evil

@arcane-temp-fandomblog @fleursdusang

A bunch of minor thoughts:

1.) I would argue that "listen to the strange otherworldly spinny thingie you don't understand" is a little bit insane ;) But of course that doesn't happen that early in the story.

2.) I think City of Progress has to be seen in context of the world around them where their comparison are things like "ancient egypt world" or "tribal Viking society" or "half theocracy half monarchy" I think it can still be believable that just because they aren't progressive within our eyes doesn't mean that they aren't progressive within their setting.

3.) "If it was, people in the undercity wouldn't side or tolerate Silco and his idea of independent Zaun." You are not wrong, but at the same time I think that's a very simplistic way of seeing it. For one 1.) we don't know how many people other than Silco and Sevika really believe in an independent Zaun 2.) we don't know how much they really tolerate him versus they don't have much of a choice 3.) just because people feel that way it isn't really proof it's great (or even that the alternative is worse). Lots of terrible ideas exist and are popular. Like you could similarly say "well, lots of people are really racist so there must be something to it, otherwise it wouldn't be as popular" or "well conspiracy theories are really popular, there must be something to it or otherwise people wouldn't flock to it".

4.) While I personally don't think that that this is a conversation the show is having (and it might never have it), I think in general "you are just standing in the way of progress because you want to preserve an immoral status quo" vs "move fast and break thing can often be an incredibly shitty and dangerous attitude to have".

My main association with "move fast and break things" are the modern tech giants (because it is a defined intentional strategy in modern tech, rapid prototyping, fail fast etc). And the main example given is usually tech people introducing things to society without sensible protections (think introducing a medicine without testing and then figuring out "ooops it kills people"). One genre being all the "disruptive technologies" like uber and amazon with again the idea "oh the taxi people and the small business owners just want to preserve their shitty and unjust status quo" to which the answer is => well yeah, but the ones replacing them are ALSO shit and often shit in an extremely large scale insidious way (ie amazon workers peeing into bottles).

Now Jayce and Viktor aren't really an example of that because they aren't really motivated that much by profit (though I would argue there are tech people where this relationship isn't as cleanly clear either with other motives such as dick measuring or "just see what happens" also figuring in).

The other frequent example if facebook going into places and being all "wheeeeeee, connecting people" and some people going "errrr, you promote the spreading of conspiracy theories and the organizing of lynch mobs".

I actually think that the more measured discussion of progress actually plays out in Zaun where Silco is the source of progress and change and the change is seen in a lot more mixed way. Where "the old ways" of Vander are being held up by a lot of characters and are also to some extent drawn in an idealized "cozy" way by the show itself.

Now the "bad" of Silco's ways of course is a lot more about capitalism rather than so much technology. But it's still him introducing a new element to the system and us seeing some sort of decay because of it (the recent post about how Viktor's childhood playing place got polluted and ugly, the Shimmer addicts and Ekko's complaint about how they came to be).

My view in this case is to think it's more nuanced/maybe a bit drinking the capitalism kool-aid in the way of "Vander's way of life was probably unsustainable/an illusion (even if you don't care about enforcers [who supposedly were rather inactive under his reign] or as freedom as an abstract concept)" and "you can't really blame Silco for singlehandedly causing capitalism" and "that's just kind of life and fate". But there's definitely people who come away from the show reading it as a one note "Silco is evil and poisoned/ruined Zaun".

Anyway, point being that "change/progress leaves people like the Shimmer addicts in the dirt" is a story that does exist within the Acane framework and so speculation could be that Jayce and Viktor have the potential to end up as the clichee of the ivory tower scientist who introduce things without really considering what effect it has on the people (we do have Silco saying the hexgates increase inequality between Piltover and Zaun and we do have this thread of Jayce being an ivory tower politician [same for Heimerdinger]).

5.) For what it's worth, my theory would be that Viktor's biggest character flaw in season 1 particularly Act 2 and beyond is lack of communication/too much secrecy. Plenty of it is understandable (it is understandable that he wants to save his own life, and this effort of his likely really is under concrete from Heimerdinger if he wasn't secretive), but at the same time, you can still see the point where it might bite him the ass (not telling people about the illness sooner, not telling Jayce about Singed, not telling Sky about the experiments)/lead to outcomes that go against his interest.

(in that I actually see some minor parallels between him and Silco since I would argue that Silco's core flaws in regards to pursuing his own goals are also tied up in lack of trust in others, but of course Silco is a much more extreme case. As Viktor does work with others/communicate with others/connect with others/confide in others, he just sometimes is a bit slow with it sometimes)

(I'm sure others see his biggest flaw more in his lack of confidence/standing up for himself, I can see that too if I read Sky's death as his biggest problem/lowest moment, and it might have been fixed if he had openly defending his right to his experiments which also in a roundabout way would have led to his experiments not being a secret and hence Skye not walking into them by accident)

(okay so maybe his real biggest flaw of Viktor is not locking the damn door better)

#arcane #jayce #viktor

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fanficmaniatic · 3 years

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The "Anti-Chat" Theory.

(Which is also why Chat Blanc 2.0 wont work and why Ladybug needs to be akumatized).

This is a turducken on my thoughts for S4 and the future of the show so just roll with it.

So, Season 4 has been wild so far, and if clues given by the writers and people involved in show are any indication, this is only the beginning, we are in for a bumpy ride and things are just going to keep getting worse.

In all the discourse revolving season 4 something that we are all mentioning is how “Chat Blanc” is still a thing and there is no guarantee it won’t happen again. If anything it now seems more likely Chat Noir will get akumatized considering the imminent Ladynoir fallout, and how Adrien is still living with his Father, as his isolation keeps getting worse. And though I am always In for some good Character angst, and I feel like it is necessary for Adrien to know about Chat Blanc, and/or for Chat Blanc to reappear, I don’t think Chat Blanc 2.0 is something Adrien nor the show needs right know.

This theory has many parts, I promise it all ties neatly at the end.

First things first, I may be a little biased, Chat Blanc is an episode I really enjoy. I love Time Travel shenanigans, and I was dying to see Adrien finally find out about his father. The heavy consequences of the episode were obviously erased, but the impact of it all still remains trough Marinette, whom we see in the episode ‘Sentibbubler’ is having nightmares about the whole thing. But still, I love the episode, and I really don’t want an “Stormy Weather 2”… which is an episode I heavily dislike, compared to THE BEST formulaic episode of the Whole show, a.k.a “Stormy Weather” a.k.a My favorite episode. So yeah, this whole first point is just me REALLY not wanting an episode called “Chat Blanc 2.0” But there is more to it, and is the fact that I don’t see how it could work out.

“Chat Blanc 2.0” is unnecessary, and the reason why is that bringing him back wouldn’t actually do anything besides perhaps bringing Ladynoir further apart. Ladybug still CAN’T know Chat noir’s identity, (Let’s be honest and admit that’s prolly s4 finale OR happening during s5) so the show would go out of its way to make his dialogue as plain as possible without mentioning his father being hawkmoth. And yes, I do realize that Chat has been bottling his emotions and it all is likely to come out during THE ladynoir fall out… But people are ignoring the elephant in the room which is that Chat Noir DOES NOT fight Ladybug.

I promise this is relevant.

Chat Noir, unless mind controlled, would never attack Ladybug. The most clear example of this is in “Gamer 2.0” when he straight up says “I could never bring myself to fight you” as he sacrifices himself for her, that added to their classic “Is us against the world, My Lady” every season finale, and Marinette’s “In case something happens to me” In ‘Optygami’, it all could pretty well be a foreshadowing of a Ladynoir fight, where Ladybug is akumatized, and Chat has to willingly fight her. Yes, one could argue that he did fight her during ‘Chat Blanc’, but it could also be read as more of him trying to make her listen.

Where am I going with this? Chat Blanc 2.0 would be unable to bring the nuance the story needs right now. Chat Blanc still wouldn’t fight his father, because I doubt they won’t leave that for season 5. Chat Blanc still doesn’t have a motive to actually fight Ladybug. But the most important part is… What would happen at the end? What would be the change? What conversation are we having? What would be different than what we got in the original Chat Blanc?

To be fair, maybe I am wrong, maybe it can work out, this is just a theory. Maybe all the things I crossed out as impossible will actually happen, but I have been watching the show for 6 years, and If I have learned something about it, is that it is a slow burn, in ALL the aspects.

So yes, I believe Ladybug/Marinette needs to be akumatized, but I also think that Adrien has to learn about Chat Blanc, and that Chat Blanc needs to reappear, having a bigger Role than just a nightmare. So… how does that tie with everything I just said? Easy, the “Anti- Chat” Theory’

So you probably remember “Anti-Bug”, one of the best episodes from season 1, where Chole tries to help Ladybug, she doesn’t listen, and Chloe ends up being akumatized into “Ladybug but evil” … In theory, that is the deal, and is no wonder I am picking Felix Graham De Vanily to fill this role.

From an animation perspective, Felix is the obvious choice, he is identical to Adrien, and if following Anti-bug’s logic in costume desing, that would mean they can reuse Chat Blanc model with no alteration needed.

Now, How would this work? By giving Ladybug a jump scare. She thinks she has to live one of her worst nightmares again, to then find out “Oh… This is not Chat Noir” while still creating enough tension, by looking scared and distraught, that she HAS to tell him that she is scared of him being akumatized WITHOUT actually needing to mention the alternative timeline. This gives Chat noir the chance to lash out, once he realizes this is part of why ladybug is keeping him away, which can lead to Ladybug’s future akumatization.

Why this way? And please hear me out. Chat Noir NEEDS to let his emotions out, and I don’t think lashing out at ladybug is the best way but I see it as necessary. Adrien needs to take on more responsibility while being Chat, but he also needs to learn how to healthy express his emotions, because he is not allowed to do that in his current situation. Ladybug being akumatized because she feels guilty about Chat Noir allows Adrien to do BOTH. Because to save Ladybug he would have to realize “My emotions are valid, and is okey to let them out, but the way I did it was not the right one”, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to apologize because this whole thing is not miscommunication… is a misunderstanding of their partners character. Ladybug needs to relay more on Chat and Chat needs to take on more responsibility… it won’t happen if Ladybug is the one that needs to save Chat Noir.

Adrien needs to realize that he needs to save himself, and that there’s people outside of his father that care for him. Ladybug is this figure that he looks up to and Admires, and is from a side of his life that his father has no control over, (At least from his perspective). So if she forgives him, if they are able to fix their relationship he will realize that things can get better.

Now, going back to Anti-Chat… his deal is way bigger than just bringing The Ladynoir fight… Is about setting up seasons 6 and 7.

What do we know so far? The Love Square and Gabriel’s Hawkmoth is going to come to an end by season 5. Which has left many fans wondering “Then what is happening on seasons 6 and 7?” And the best answer we have so far is in the episode “Timetagger” where Bunnix reveals that there is a whole team of miraculous holders fighting the Hawkmoth of the future, which is by the same episode confirmed to not be Gabriel Agreste. Besides this, I think it is safe to assume that the specials are quietly setting up themes that could come back In seasons 6 and 7.

Now, when speaking about characters that could be future villains the fandom seems to have its collective mind set on two individuals: Lila Rossi, and Felix Graham De Vanily.

Besides ‘Rocketear’, (E17), ‘Wishmaker’ (E18), and the special ’Shadow Moth’s last attack’ (Eps 25&26) we don’t know the names of the episodes of the second half of the season, which is really uncommon for miraculous ladybug, and the reason they gave us as to why is “You would know who is akumatized based on the names”… Which AGAIN, is really uncommon for ML. If you have been in this fandom for a long time you’ll realize that most people working in the show don’t really seem to care about spoilers. Now, this is kinda a conspiracy theory, but If you saw that there was an episode called “Anti-Chat” would you have assume it was any one other than Felix?…. No, right? That’s what I though. Miraculous has proven that it is good at subverting expectations, so when they are pointing at something (like a Chat Blanc 2.0 episode) it may not be as we want or suspected it to be. So I think an Anti-Chat episode makes a lot of sense.

Now, Why am I saying that this can set up future season? Buckle up, pals, here we go. What do we know about Felix?

He is evil, or at the very least seems to be ill-intentioned, if his attitude and look at the end of his episode is anything to go by.

He is after jewelry. Which, yeah, was only shown in that one episode he appeared, but this could pretty much be a foreshadowing of him later on going after the miraculous.

We know that he is bound to appear 3 more times

For this theory to work, I need it to happen in episode 22… Yes, the feared 100th episode of the show. It is not as important why Felix is akumatized, but what is happening WHILE he is akumatized.

Besides what has already been discussed, with Ladybug being scared, Ladynoir should not be able to work together. They are tumbling on each other because Chat Noir feels like she doesn’t trust him, but Ladybug NEEDS his reassurance right now, which he wont give.

This, is directly parallel with what is happening between Anti-Chat and Shadow Moth. Because Felix, even though he wants the miraculous, he won’t let himself be bossed around. He is demanding things from SM, and like in Robustus, Anti-Chat tries to, not just take Ladybug’s and Chat noir’s Miraculous, he wants to destroy Hawkmoth too. Which will lead to Shadow Moth being the reason he gets de-akumatized, instead Ladybug and Chat Noir saving him... bringing more fuel to the Ladynoir fire.

Now, Why should Felix have an attitude with Shadow Moth? Well, my friends… Do you remember, years ago, when the producers of the show said “The peacock miraculous holder will make Hawkmoth look like a baby”…. That’s not Mayura. Nathalie is a great miraculous holder, and she is really clever. But instead of making Gabriel look like a baby, she makes him look smart because he has someone like her on his team. What I am saying with this is that Felix, will suspect/ figure out Gabriel is Hawkmoth at the en of Anti-Chat, and that he will get the peacock miraculous during “The Last attack of Shadow Moth.” Thus, setting up a villain for future seasons.

This makes Felix 3 appearances be: In episode 22 (Anti-Chat), In episode 26 (SM last attack, part 2), and during S5’s finale. Felix situation will be much like Lila’s during s1 and s2 where she was introduced at the end of the first but not used until the end of the second.

Conclusion:

Felix Graham de Vanily has the potential to be a future villain and bring the Ladynoir conflict to finally surface.

And to clarify, The Ladynoir conflict, just like this Felix theory, is not something that will, nor can get resolved in one episode. If anything the fight will be around the end of season 4, and it will get resolved during season 5.

But again, this is just a theory, and I will probably be death wrong, but who knows?

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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After spending over 30 years in the world of makeup design for film and television, Douglas Noe landed in the time-defying, creative playground of Marvel Studios' Loki. Serving as the Disney+ show's makeup department head, Noe not only designed the characters' individual looks, but continued to be Tom Hiddleston's makeup artist. Noe has worked on Hiddleston's Loki since 2012's The Avengers, carefully evolving the God of Mischief's look over time.

Loki isn't the first time Noe has spearheaded a makeup department for a Marvel Cinematic Universe production. Previously, Noe served as the makeup department head for Thor: The Dark World's additional photography -- making up approximately 20% of the film's final looks. He's also no stranger to the magic of prosthetic work and the intricate details needed for Marvel's epic adventures, having a creative hand in bringing both Captain Marvel's Skrulls and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Kree to life on-screen. In the industry, Noe is also known for specializing in palettes for actors of color and has worked on stars like Jackie Chan.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Noe discussed what it was like bringing The Avengers-era God of Mischief into Loki and his approach to doing makeup on a production stuffed with special effects. He also shared which MCU stars have graced his chair and his advice for makeup departments looking for practical ways to de-center whiteness.

Loki's Makeup Evolution

CBR: One thing that I noticed -- which I'm excited to pick your brain about -- when we first see Loki, he has a really pale complexion. His hair is greasy. As he evolves, his skin gets a warmer look. Was that an intentional progression from when we first see him as a villain-ish and how he grows within the MCU?

Douglas Noe: Yes, that's a very astute observation. Of course, at the beginning of The Avengers, he's kind of a wreck, isn't he? And as he settles and normalizes, his pallor then indeed calms down. It was very nuanced. It was only a matter of maybe one or two shades difference, but you definitely caught something most people have not.

That was 10 years ago, but it was a very minor detail we decided would be important as the narrative and the dialogue and the intellect of that character evolved into the storyline. It became important to kind of mainstream and refine his appearance.

Since Loki kicks off from that earlier version of Loki, did you think about bringing any more of that paleness to his look? How did you decide on how you wanted to show him from Loki's time period/first episode?

Oh, that's a good question. The truth is, from the end of The Avengers also shot again in Avengers: Endgame, we change nothing.

We did exactly what we did on Endgame that we did for The Avengers. And in turn, that's how we started the Loki series. It was that that look from Endgame, which, of course, is the look from The Avengers. No alterations were made, other than -- and I can already tell we're not getting anything past you -- we did warm him up. We did bring some more flesh into him... The truth is, that was Tom's idea. I get it because it was an unspoken understanding between us that there's greater accessibility to Loki if he looks more like most people. Now, those are my words. Not his. But, he definitely wanted us to warm it up just a skosh.

How Loki's SFX Affected Its Makeup Design

With Loki, there's a ton of visual effects. With makeup, it's so dependent on lighting -- it can change everything. What was the biggest challenge about working on a show like this that has so many special effects being added in post?

What you just said, it's working on a show like this. Marvel gets it and they do it right. There's almost an aspect where we lean into these kinds of things. And we change nothing to take into account the constantly evolving and changing lighting effects. The approach was to keep everybody natural, or naturally beautiful. Whatever happened happened. [We] knew Marvel is going to give it the once over once it's all done. And if there was anything to address that did happen because of lighting, it would have happened in post.

But, to my knowledge, nothing was addressed. We just accepted that. At certain times, people would be pink because of the light. They would be blue because of the light or purple and we accepted that and didn't try to make any attempts to balance it or right it in any way. We leaned into it and accepted it made it part of the story. It was its own character, if you will.

Sylvie's Makeup Was Always Meant To Be "Natural"

Building off what you said about a natural look for Loki's actors, did you always know you wanted Sylvie's makeup to have a natural look?

Absolutely, absolutely. The approach there was less is more. We didn't want to bury her in beauty makeup. It would have been very easy to do, because Sophia Di Martino is gorgeous, of course. But, the idea was let's do just enough to keep her naturally beautiful.

Practical Ways To De-Center Whiteness In Makeup Rooms

You designed Hunter B-15's look, and you're well known in the industry for specializing in makeup palettes for people of color. Since you've been in the industry for so long, what are some practical things that people within the makeup department, or its heads, can do to make it less white-centered?

That's a great question. Get out of the way. You have room for everybody, especially with today's explosion of content. But I would say to those who are going to hold tightly that they may as well just squeeze it out of their hands, "Just understand color theory." And, have it in your head that if somebody wants someone to do their makeup that closer represents how they look, get out of the way. It really is that simple. As you said, I've made it a specialty, a rite of passage to learn the ins and outs of all color tones. For me, I bring that to the table, so I don't have to get out of the way; but I know enough to know when it is time.

I have an anecdote that relates. I just did the Netflix series [True Story] with Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes for eight episodes. And Tawny Newsome [who portrays Billie in the upcoming series] was our leading lady, a beautiful African American woman. I could have done a bang-up job, but that wasn't the right decision to make. She needed a female makeup artist because it was a modern beauty glam look we were going to do on her. Now I do get modern beauty glam very well, but I wanted somebody that would do it great. So I got out of the way.

What's one, nitty-gritty thing that helped in expanding your understanding of color theory? Any books or makeup brands?

Oh, well, I could talk about makeup brands all day long. But, again, go back to the color theory. Get a color wheel from an art store. If you don't know how to mix colors, how to make primary and secondary colors to get tertiary colors, get a color wheel and be a sponge. I'm, what, 36 years in this career? 31 in film. I've never stopped learning. I'm never closed off to garnering new info. And when I don't, again, I get out of my way. I'm not up to snuff on this contemporary modern book with the square eyebrows, so I hired somebody that was.

But, getting back to your point, there are so many books. I have countless books on this very topic. I would say, "Be patient, learn color theory. And accept that, especially now, we're in an era where you may just have to get out of the way. And let it be what the person in the chair wants it to be." Because, ultimately, that's who we're there for, the actors.

You've been working in Marvel's world for a long time. What's one Marvel character that you would love to do their makeup or prosthetics?

I've never thought about it because, to be honest with you, I feel like I won the lottery. When we started with doing Loki on The Avengers, we didn't know what was gonna happen. I'm trying to think, hmm. On Captain Marvel, I was doing Skrulls -- that was fun. I did some work on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when they had a couple of episodes with Kree.

They were so cool.

Right? I'm trying to think -- I did mention to somebody before that on The Avengers I was given the choice: [Jeremy] Renner or [Mark] Ruffalo or this new guy called Tom Hiddleston. The makeup was described to me and I was told that Hulk was going to beat him up a little bit and we were going to do a little something-something and they asked, "What do you want to do?" And I said, "I want to do a little something-something." So, I landed with Tom.

I'd have to really think, "Who would I like?" I've done Lizzie Olsen's makeup for the Tom Hiddleston film I Saw the Light. I've done Idris Elba's makeup a couple of times for a couple of Marvel films, but also for a movie called Takers. And I worked with him on a movie called The Reaping. He's a gem, of course... I'm really happy with who sits in my chair at the beginning of every day on these things. I've never thought past that. I garner so much pleasure and we have so much joy together. I'm happy where I'm at... I'm happy with Loki. I love Loki.

Well, Loki is coming back for Season 2, so you never know who will pop in the chair.

I've heard we're coming back, but that's all I've heard. That's all I know. And that's truly wonderful for me because ignorance is bliss. Whatever they dream up, I'm always eager to jump in and be a part of it.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer's "Hush" Monsters Were Hand-Painted

Digging way back into your history, you were once a makeup designer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is one of my favorite shows! What's one thing about that era of monster-makeup that you don't think gets enough credit for doing?

I always refer to Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Buffy the Weekend Slayer because we would get off on Saturday morning as the sun was coming up and have to be back to work a couple of hours before the sun came up on Monday... What you see is what you get. You had to be on your game. We were real craftspeople back then and there was no margin for error. The words that go with CGI simply didn't exist in 1999. You really had to be on point with makeup.

I would say what's lost now is the notion that makeup always has to be perfect. We know now it doesn't have to be perfect because we can fix it in post. I think a lot of people would say that helps us, but I think it handicaps those of us that are able to deliver the product without a computer's touch.

I remember I did one of the gentlemen on Buffy's episode, "Hush." My boss, Todd McIntosh, was saying, "You got to do the back of the neck... You never know what's gonna happen. You have to make sure that the back of the neck has makeup on." And, sure enough, the camera goes by and they were supposed to leave the frame, but the camera follows them. We just had to be on point and I think now many artists who came into the business with CGI, don't understand what it's like to be grinding your teeth and clenching your fists on set, hoping it looks okay because there's nothing left to fix it for you.

#Douglas Noe #makeup #Loki #Tom Hiddleston

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shieldofrohan · 3 years

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One doesn't have to go through GRRM's excerpts and interviews to figure out that he was favouring one sister over the other . It also makes me fear that he might not give a happy ending to Sansa because she harboured antagonistic relationship with his faves ( not being the perfect big sister and not sleeping with Tyrion) . I wouldn't be surprised if he makes Sansa apologize to Arya in ADOS and tell Tyrion how he was a good husband ( just like they made her do in the show) .

Hello Anon,

I once said that Martin = Ned about this favoring the one sister thing. And I think I was right.

So yes it is obvious but as the author he has every right to love one of his character more than the others. I don’t think that he owes us sth. What bothers me is that this favorism hurts the story but we have to deal with it.

BUT I have to say that I disagree with you. I never believed that Martin hates Sansa. And I don’t believe that he is writing a bad ending for her. I think when he was writing Sansa having antagonistic relationships with his faves, he wasn’t trying to make Sansa the villain. Him putting her in the opposite position of Arya, Tyrion, Ned etc was just another POV trap.

I certainly believe that Martin wanted readers to HATE/DISLIKE Sansa and I am sorry but no one can change my mind. It is obvious in his writing that he wanted “simple” readers to root for Arya/Ned/Tyrion.

BUT this doesn’t mean that he was actually saying Tyrion and others were right/good while Sansa was being wrong/bad.

What I am trying to say is that, Martin’s writing and intentions are complicated and I believe that at some point things got of his hands a little.

Martin totally wanted to make Arya/Ned/Tyrion “look” more sympathetic and he totally wanted his readers side with them while making Sansa look like the problem in these characters’ stories. But this is a POV trap to a certain degree.

Let’s face it, Martin loves playing with readers’ expectations; so him creating an UNSYMPATHETIC girly girl who “creates” problems for fan-favorite characters and writing her as the winner of the story is his way of irritating his simple-readers.

I think unseasoned (I am not sure about this choice of word- I hope it manages to tell what I am trying to say. LOL) and regular YA fantasy genre fans who are only able to enjoy the surface of the text easily fell into this POV trap.

When we look at the Sansa-haters in the fandom we can see that they are local af with their tropes-based basic and boring theories. These fans still read this series like they are reading a simple YA book with mean sister/girl who is antagonizing the ugly duckling/ ugly but good man will end up alone and ugly. But Asoiaf is more nuanced than that.

So I believe that Martin wanted these surface-readers to fall into this POV trap. And he did all he could to make Sansa look less sympathetic one. Martin didn’t want “these" readers to root for Sansa at all. He wanted them to dislike her. This was his plan. Because he wanted to catch them off guard with Sansa.

I believe that he wanted people to like her slowly. I hate to say this (UGH) but he might have wanted to create what he created with Jaime/Theon like characters with Sansa. He was probably like: “Oh, you didn’t like her… watch me challenge you in this and watch her rising while your faves are falling down.”

THE FCKING PROBLEM IS: This PoV trap or whatever was so UNNECESSARY and at some point he failed. Because unlike Theon/Jaime/Sandor, Sansa has done nothing wrong and she never deserved the dislike in the first place.

I can see that he wanted to make her unsympathetic one but his way of doing this didn’t do the job well. I can accept that at certain degree he was challenging readers to dig deeper, but it is also obvious that HE believes Sansa needs to redeem herself a little too. That’s where you can see that he lost the control of his own story and how he fell into a trap too.

He shamelessly admits Sansa had a part in her father’s death without giving a defense or a criticism to Ned’s parenting.

And I know that he defends his characters when he likes:

He defended Cat when people said she was whining all the time (the question was about Cat and SANSA but his answer was only about Cat… so no defense for Sansa huh?) or when they accused her mistreating Jon (and again he didn’t criticize Ned’s part in this whole Cat-Jon drama).

He defended Dany about causing a massacre in Astapor by telling that she is still young and needs experience and she had "noble intentions” (even though she actually had very selfish intentions and he literally minified her actions… the white old American in him makes him clueless sometimes: LOOK at FIRE AND BLOOD book.)

I mean, he created a POV trap with Sansa BUT he also failed to realize what he actually wrote because he himself believes Sansa needs to learn better and redeem herself. BUT the text screams SANSA HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND OTHERS SHOULD BEG FOR HER FORGIVENESS.

Now let’s go back to your ask.

I don’t think that Martin will write a miserable ending for her. I think she will have a happy-ish ending (my fear is what is happy according to Martin.. he can be edgy: "tHEre wAS nO HappY EnDiNg FoR fRODO!!" smh…)

But yeah he might write her being sorry about whole Arya thing… But I hope that both sisters will apologize to each other…

About Tyrion, I don’t know. Sometimes she hates Tyrion, sometimes she says he is a better husband option than poor Robin…

If he writes her apologizing Tyrion, I would hate it but I hope he won’t forget that Sansa is not Martin himself. But I think there is a possibility of Sansa being nice to her abusers (Tyrion or Sandor if they ever meet) to show that how good she is. And I think he might do this to make her more likable in the eyes of these basic readers…

BUT I trust Martin (to certain degree). AND I am sure that he won’t write her a bad ending.

Thanks for the ask.

#ask #answered #reply #anon #mine #asoiaf #grrm critical #i guess #sansa stark #sansa stark defence squad #I still trust the old man.... gods help me

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luninosity · 3 years

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Catching up on @evanstanweek ficlets again! Here’s Day 3, prompt: on set.

Read at AO3 here - 2,336 words of on-set love confessions, set during The First Avenger - or read on tumblr below!

Sebastian’s watching Chris. He often is, can’t seem to help the track of his gaze—can’t pull away from the magnet-tug that’s Chris Evans’ loud laugh and gesturing hands and philosopher’s eyes, and if he’s honest he doesn’t want to. Right now the low hazy grey lighting of the broken bar sits on Chris’s shoulders and turns him into a grieving supersoldier: a man hollowed out by loss, left with a gaping hole right through his chest.

Chris is so good. So brilliant at emotion, at getting character. So thoughtful and so generous with his feelings, the kind of bravery that holds nothing back. He is Steve Rogers, through and through: a hero, shining blue and gold.

Sebastian’s not that brave. Not that brilliant. Good at angst and pain, or dry humor, or intensity, maybe; but he’s in character for it. He does love people and stories, and he thinks he’s funny, sometimes, and he thinks he might want to be a writer, sometimes, and he can shove an entire pizza slice in his mouth when he’s comfortable around friends, but.

It takes him a while. Exhaling. Stepping out. Speaking up. He wouldn’t say he’s shy, because he isn’t, not once he knows people. He’s just…not Chris Evans, who wears joys and vulnerabilities openly, with pride, unafraid.

Sebastian looks at Chris, and aches with emotion, and says nothing, every day and every minute on this film so far.

He’s technically done for the day, though he’s not at all done on this film; he’s spent the morning running around with Howling Commandos and being a young and terrified sergeant thrown into war. They’d filmed Bucky’s fall from the train the day before; Sebastian had honestly loved it. The emotion’d been easy: love and loyalty, throwing himself in to fight alongside the other half of his heart, the moment of sheer shock, a small but gloriously physical drop onto thick mats. They’d let him do that one, because it wasn’t a long fall and they needed to see his face. He hoped it’d been good; everyone seemed pleased, at least.

He shifts weight, wishes he had a pillar or a wall to lean on. He watches Chris some more.

They’d caught the stunned disbelief on Chris’s—Steve’s—face at the fall, yesterday. Chris is so incredible at nuance, at blazing emotions, even in a few-seconds-long shot. Sebastian had said, after, “That felt really good, that last take?” and had meant, I think you’re a genius, I think I want to work right next to you forever, I think I love you.

Chris had gotten kind of pink-cheeked because Chris is too damn self-deprecating, and had said, “Oh—um, thanks, man, you too, I mean it felt good to me too, I mean we’re fuckin’ awesome, obviously,” and had nudged Sebastian’s shoulder, somewhere between a punch and a quick resting of a hand. “Craft services? They got blueberry bagels, someone said.”

Chris, bagel-focused, clearly had not heard Sebastian’s internal monologue. And if he had, wouldn’t reciprocate.

Which is fine, of course. Chris never needs to know, and Sebastian’s ridiculous emotions will calm the hell down and go away. Any day now. Sometime. Soon.

But he’s watching Chris, and Chris is pretending to try to get drunk, pain visibly shredding him inside; Chris is Steve and Steve can’t believe it and has to believe it and wants to scream, to shout, to punch a hole through the world—

The scene’s fantastic, of course.

They get it in maybe three takes, rapid-fire, Chris laying out his heart for the watchers. His voice cracks; it’s getting rougher, the third time.

They do it a couple times more for different close-ups. Sebastian takes a step closer, between takes. His boots—he’s changed; they’re his own boots—are louder than he’d recalled that morning; Chris looks over at the sound.

And maybe Chris looks surprised, or relieved, or grateful, for a split second; maybe it’s all in Sebastian’s head, though, because the next second they’re right back into it, capturing Steve’s heartbreak.

It’s a wrap for the scene, eventually. And Chris is done for a few hours too, though he’ll need to stick around; he’s got some close-ups to do inside a mock airplane, being bounced around, for what’ll be the big final self-sacrifice. Sebastian loves the heroism and pain of it; he’s always loved good writing, and he’s got a good feeling about this script and about this universe, which he’s a tiny part of now.

Chris doesn’t get up right away. Just scrubs both hands over his face, shoulders slumped. Hayley Atwell’s gone off to talk to the director; Joe’s nodding, listening to her. Nobody’s checking on Chris.

And that’s wrong, that’s wrong and not good and not right—Chris has just been hurting, the way that Chris hurts for the world, and Chris should never be hurting, not while Sebastian’s alive—

Sebastian’s legs move before his brain makes a conscious decision. He’s picking his way across artistic rubble and taking a few running steps and putting a hand on Chris’s shoulder. “Hey.”

Chris actually jumps a little, which isn’t the best start. “Oh! Uh, hey, hi, did you, um…have a question? About Steve and Bucky, or somethin’?” The Boston comes out extra-strong; it does that when Chris is feeling a lot, or tipsy, or simply exaggerating to make someone laugh.

“No,” Sebastian says. “Or, well, yeah, we might want to talk about some of those flashback sequences, so we’re on the same page with emotion and all, but.” He licks his lips, realizes he’s doing it—a nervous habit, one he’s had for years—and stops. He can taste chapstick on his tongue. “I just. Wanted to. I don’t know. Are you…I mean, that looked like a lot.”

“You…” Chris trails off. He’s looking at Sebastian’s face with astonishing intent; Sebastian would say even desperation, but that’d be ludicrous. Chris doesn’t have any reason to feel desperate about him.

He tries, “I know you, um, like tea? Not coffee? We could go grab, um, tea. If you want.”

“Tea,” Chris says, a little blankly. “But you like coffee.”

Sebastian’s starting to get kind of worried, here. “I do, but you gave it up? We could maybe head back to your trailer, and you can, um, relax for a minute, and I can…try to make tea?”

Chris stares at him some more.

“Or not,” Sebastian throws in helplessly.

“Yes,” Chris says. “Yes, yeah, yes—you—fuck. Okay. Jesus, Chris, get it together,” and he even shakes his head like a puppy flinging off water, and Sebastian kind of wants to grin and also scratch his tummy.

Well. Maybe not scratch. He can think of better things to do with Chris’s stomach. Mostly involving his tongue.

And he should absolutely not be thinking of that when Chris needs his help. He sticks out a hand. “To the end of the line? Or at least your trailer.”

Chris looks at the hand, and then takes it, hauling himself up out of the chair. His fingers are large and strong and a little cold, and they squeeze Sebastian’s for just a little too long, as if wanting to hold on.

No. Must be Sebastian’s heart thinking that. Wanting what he can’t have.

He walks with Chris through behind-the-scenes set-ups and teardowns, props and people rushing to and fro, the corners of trailers and the shouts of movie-making going on. The sun’s warm, if light; the ground’s hard beneath his boots. He keeps stealing glances at Chris, who doesn’t seem too talkative. Sebastian’s poor overworked heart wants to take each sensation, each sight and taste and scent of this backstage moment, and fold them up safe deep inside.

Chris is letting him help. That feels like sunshine.

Chris’s trailer’s simple, unpretentious, unfussy; script copies and notes lie scattered around, and he’s got some weights, and some Disney-movie DVDs. Sebastian smiles, because that’s so very Chris: delight in the magic, always.

Chris, still in costume, sits down on his sofa. He breathes out, and looks up. “Thanks.”

“For what? How do I make tea with this?” He’s poking Chris’s electric kettle. He does sort of know how it works, in theory. His mother has an old-fashioned kettle; he’s got fancy coffee-making machinery; he should be able to combine all this knowledge. “Where is your tea?”

“Seb,” Chris says. “I—hang on, does anyone actually call you Seb?”

“Um. Not really? You can. I don’t mind.” He doesn’t. Chris uses last names often, an affectionate Boston-bro shorthand for friendship; Sebastian’s somehow always been Sebastian or Seb, in Chris’s voice. He’s wondered why, though he’s thought maybe Chris just doesn’t feel that close to him. Not deserving of the bro-status.

“You don’t mind, or you don’t like it, and you’re being nice about it?”

“I don’t mind,” Sebastian says, too quickly. “I like it.”

“Sebastian,” Chris says.

“Really,” Sebastian says. “Either. Whatever.”

“Jesus,” Chris says, face back in his hands. “I’m sorry. I just…just tell me if I’m sayin’ something stupid, okay? Please.”

“But you’re not!” Sebastian comes back over to the couch. That damn magnet again. Tugging his bones. “You’re not, it’s fine, we’re good, Chris. I swear. Really.”

Chris doesn’t look up, so Sebastian drops to both knees, right there at Chris’s feet, and tries not to think of all the times he’s wanted to do exactly that. It’s easier not to think of it, right now, because he’s genuinely concerned.

He peeks up at Chris’s face. “Hey. Kinda worried here. Not about you, I mean, about your kettle, it’s got all these buttons, it’s like a rocket ship, I’m afraid if I touch the wrong thing it’ll explode.”

Chris snorts, almost a laugh, and then does look up. His eyes go right to Sebastian’s, so close and so blue; and then all at once he’s moving, leaning forward, one hand reaching out and cradling Sebastian’s head, and then—

They’re kissing. Oh, god, they’re kissing, Sebastian on his knees in front of Chris and Chris bending down to claim him, hand in Sebastian’s hair—

Chris kisses like reprieve, like the release of storms, like the dive into a heated pool on a chilly day: wholehearted, devoted, anxious to lick and taste and plunge into every part of Sebastian’s mouth. Sebastian, who’s been kissed before, has in fact never been kissed before, because no other kiss has ever been a kiss, compared to this.

His knees dimly register the hardness of the trailer floor, and his neck’s at kind of an awkward angle, and Chris is still mostly in the Captain America suit. None of that matters. Nothing else matters at all, because Chris wants him and Sebastian’s whole self yearns for Chris, and Chris’s tongue and taste and tug at Sebastian’s hair are all white-hot gloriously perfect.

Chris pulls back almost as abruptly. They’re both breathless; Chris whispers, “Oh, fuck…” and takes his hand out of Sebastian’s hair, but then touches Sebastian’s cheek, cups his face, as if unable to stop touching. “I…fuck…I didn’t…I’m so fucking sorry, I just…”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why’re you sorry?” Sebastian tips his head into Chris’s hand. “I’m not.”

“You’re…not.”

“Chris,” Sebastian says, and then runs out of words. He hopes Chris can see it, can read it, in his eyes. On his face. “Yes.”

“Yeah?” Chris reaches out with the other hand too: framing Sebastian’s face now, tender and awestruck. “You mean that.”

“I mean it,” Sebastian says. “But—”

“Oh god,” Chris says, “I’ve fucked this up, haven’t I—”

“No! No, just…are you okay? I mean, from earlier.” Somewhere amid the kissing his hands’ve ended up on Chris’s thighs; apparently they just want to be there, and now rub along Chris’s legs, soothing and caressing and learning all at once. “I mean, I wanted to—”

“To help,” Chris groans. “You came over to help—because you’re the sweetest fucking person I know, god, you’re perfect, Seb, the nicest and the warmest and the best—and I fucking, Jesus, practically mauled you—”

Sebastian cuts that anguished recrimination off by diving forward and getting his mouth back on Chris’s. After some in-depth affirmation, he breathes against Chris’s lips, “Don’t think you’re doing any mauling I don’t like.”

Chris’s eyebrows go up.

“Really,” Sebastian tells him.

“Huh,” Chris says. “Huh. Okay. You—okay.”

“No,” Sebastian says patiently. “Are you okay?”

Chris stares at him, and then bursts out laughing. Mid-laughter, scoops Sebastian off the floor. Flops them both down across the sofa, holding on. “God, you’re incredible.”

“The best, you said.”

“And I mean it. You just make it all…feel better, kind of?” Chris strokes a hand down Sebastian’s back, over his t-shirt. “That’s what it was, earlier. Like…being Steve, losing Bucky, but that’s you, and all at once I was thinking about losing you, and I just felt like…like someone’d dropped me off a train, y’know? Like I’d never get up again.”

“I’m here.” Sebastian wriggles against him. They fit together: bodies pressed close, every piece of them learning each other. He’s half atop Chris, but with one of Chris’s legs tangled through his. “I’m here.”

“I know.” Chris rubs his back again. “And you were there, too. You were right there and I could look up and find you, and it was like I could remember how to breathe. And then you were here, asking about tea and looking at me like—and I just had to kiss you. I want to kiss you. Seb. Sebastian. God, I fuckin’ want—everything. I know it might get complicated, I know we’re in the middle of making a movie, but I can’t not want everything. Together. With you.”

“Well,” Sebastian says, “good to know,” and stretches to kiss Chris again. It’s that simple, if not easy: the future’ll change, but it does that anyway, sprawling out in all sorts of directions. And he thinks it’ll be a good direction, with Chris at his side. “Because I want everything with you too.”

#evanstan #evanstan week #evanstan week 2021 #my fic #chris evans #sebastian stan #such fluff #love confessions

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wendibird · 4 years

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SPN 15X17 Observations

Well, watching this week went pretty smoothly (and I was actually able to get my little bluetooth keyboard thing to talk to my tablet so I was able to watch on my big TV screen and type up notes fairly easily. :)

And just to clarify, sometimes my notes as I took them were VERY brief, and in some cases I’ve gone back and added in a few details or explanations to make clear what I meant by what at the time.

I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t always remember to take notes, especially if Important Things are happening. (Do people even like the notes section? Or would you just prefer reading my odd takes on everything after the fact?)

Anyway, here’s what I have for 15X17 “Unity”. Well, I do have more thoughts drifting around, but I’m always concerned that I’m going on too long as it is. *LOL* (Under the cut for length and spoiler aversion)

Okay, going in I’ve heard rumors that this is a “Sam Heavy” episode, so we’ll see. *fingers crossed*

- wow, is Chuck starting in on this world already?

- Silent treatment.

- I wonder if she’s guessed.

- fuck you Dean!

(but I’m not surprised. it just confirms what I’d already suspected about how Dean really feels about Jack.)

Commercial Thoughts:

Yeah, so, I’m firmly in Sam and Cas’ camp here. Jack may not be family to Dean, but he is to them. He’s their Son.

I also think that though he hasn’t talked about it, Sam regrets his part in the Drama Coffin plan involving Jack last season. Think it’s one of those cases where he realized too late he was on the wrong side, and he doesn’t want to be there again.

As for Dean… I get that he wants to see the people he cares most about make it out of this. (Sam and Cas.) And I get he’s doing the tunnel vision thing. I think he knows that Sam’s right but he won’t let himself admit it.

- Wow….. The fanangels are kinda creepy.

- They’ve lost all their nuance with Chuck. Or my theory is right and Chuck has actually shifted darkside.

- Oh wow…. Amara is really going to bat here.

Commercial Thoughts:

Still not sure how much she’s (Amara) really guessed. She’s acting as though the whole “trapping him” idea is still a go, but what she’d said to Dean, as pointedly as she did, it seemed like maybe she suspected what was really going on and was still trying to give him the option to go a different way.

And even if this is Chuck having shifted dark, it could still be written with more nuance than this crappy villain schtick.

I mean, even in S11 when he’s all but given up on humanity and existence and was going to let Amara win, it was written with there being a depth to him about it.

- Don’t know if Dean’s trying to convince himself that he doesn’t care as deeply to make this easier or what.

- HOw is ADAM still alive?! And she’s an angel?

- Interesting behavior for an angel. *LOL*

- “Then he moved on to our sons.” Hints of Cain and Abel?

- Okay, so the angel kept him alive. (Sure, I can buy that.)

- Pretty Crystals!

- He’s (Dean) heard those lines before. And Dean’s feeling uneasy about it.

- Amethyst! (Sorry, always had a thing for Amethyst and it’s my birthstone)

- (oh, okay, all of them)

- Ewww….. Open heart surgery

- Rib!

- Dean doesn’t like being rail-roaded.

- Talk time.

- I don’t like this…… (Jack using the rib and starting the suicide-bomb process.)

Commercial Thoughts:

Okay, so, what Dean said, I’m glad he said it. And I have been getting hints of that feeling from him the whole season, about feeling disconnected because of what they found out about Chuck and their lives. I just… I still think he’s willfully blinding himself to what’s really going on. That even this version of “Free Will” is a script that he’s following. (Well, I think he’s starting to have misgivings about that.)

- Uh-oh! Ideas!

- I love two researching nerds!

- Were we supposed to understand the Latin? *LOL* I caught “Mortem” in there a few times.

- Yey door!

- “your internal compass is functioning perfectly”

- I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!

- Who dat?

- Dead someone or other

- W section.

- Reapers maybe?

- Who’s thinning the ranks?

- Empty!Meg!

- Sam is good! (At bluffing the hell out of an ancient cosmic being.)

- IT’S A LITTLE LATE TO STOP IT!!!!

Commercial Thoughts:

*FREAKING OUT!!!*

Jack already started it! OG!Adam said that once started the reaction couldn’t be stopped.

Okay, deeper thoughts. Everyone’s playing chess. Still. The game is just bigger.

OG!Adam wants God dead because of stuff that happened. And Billy is following his plan? (Did I get that right?) The plan will make Billy the next God. (Not surprised there honestly.) Her world will be a lot more “orderly” no doubt.

The Empty just wants to sleep. (Honestly, can relate.)

But everyone’s just using them all as gamepieces again. Dean’s getting that feel from things OG!Adam and Whatserfaceangel said. Sam knows now too. They’re still stuck in someone else’s story. They’re still not gaining true “Free Will”. I’m hoping that the route they take will actually get them off this train track.

- DUDE - WHAT (was in reference to Dean pulling a gun on Sam)

- Go Sam! He’s not letting this one go. (Referring to my feelings on Sam feeling bad about Jack and the Drama Coffin thing from way before, and him NOT settling for Dean’s plan this time, him sticking to his guns and saying what he feels and taking action.)

- Chuck played her (Amara) too.

- Not again! (Oh Jack, will this forever be your fate?)

- FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!

Holy shit! That episode!

Okay, it actually did a good job of wrapping up a lot of ideas. Like, big-picture ideas that have been themes throughout the run of the show.

Also, apparently this was the only world where Cas and the Winchesters broke the mold? Didn’t play by their roles?

Also, minor point but it made me happy: Chuck pointed out how it’s Sam who needed to find things out. Sam who kept digging. I made mention of it last episode how Billy kept going to Dean, because he was easier for her to manipulate. But Sam asks more questions. I think part of it is what Cas said about his internal compass. I think another part is his experiences. He’s been the brunt of the cosmic plot-lines a LOT of the time. So he does keep asking questions because of all the times he hadn’t and things went badly. (Like end of S4 with killing Lilith.)

And let me be clear, it’s not that I think Dean is dumb. He isn’t. And he and Sam both make decisions a lot based on their feelings. (Sometimes it’s all you have to go on.) But he’s shown a tendency in the past several years especially to be more likely to make them based on anger. And he doesn’t get called on it often. And I don’t know if this is TOO meta (is that even a thing with this show anymore? *LMAO*) but I feel like part of that is written into the script. Of their world. Even when Dean’s wrong he’s often proven “right” by the narrative. He very rarely is made to face up to his mistakes. (Not saying he never is. But it definitely doesn’t seem to happen as often.) And I’m wondering, is that because up till now, he was Chuck’s favorite? We saw that Chuck can manipulate a LOT of things. And events, and even some people.

How often have we noticed and commented on how the Narrative backs Dean up so much of the time, even when he might be in the wrong? Or even just questionable? Or morally grey? How much of that is possibly now supposed to be due to Chuck’s meddling? Because I’ve also seen it mentioned (and have also noticed) that although Sam winds up the “wrong one” a lot via the narrative, he’s actually HAD to learn and grow because of that. But because Dean is rarely shown as wrong, he hasn’t had to, and his character has stagnated a lot in the last several seasons. Of course, in reality, that’s due to the writing/show-running/powers-that-be making those decisions, but in-show could it possibly be something to do with Chuck? Maybe at first because he liked Dean more? But as time grew on, and he kept trying to set up his Cain and Abel plot with them, maybe it was to reinforce Dean’s self-image that he’s Right?

And also by contrast, we had the end of last season where so many of Sam’s decisions which had been made with best intentions and best information/resources at the time wound up blowing-up in his face. As if to say "Ha-HAH! That's what you get for thinking you could lead people! That's what you get for thinking you could save Jack! That's what you get for thinking someone like Nick could be redeemed! That's what you get for talking your brother out of the Drama-Coffin plan!" It felt like it was specifically intended to make him severely doubt his own judgement. And it worked. After all that shit went down, one thing after another, culminating with their mother's death, he didn't trust himself. He didn't believe in himself. So he put all his trust in Dean. And Dean was full of RAGE. (I don't blame him. His Mom has been a keystone of his life, even when she wasn't there.) But Sam didn't give the objections he normally would have to Dean's plan to box-up Jack. Even though it was CLEAR how much he didn't like it. How wrong it felt to him.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, I think Chuck has been nudging and manipulating a LOT of things in order to get the Winchesters to behave how he wants them to.

IDK. My head is hurting from some of these meta thoughts. *LOL*

SO! Back to what happened in the actual episode.

I thought the format was interesting, focusing in on the different POV characters for their spans of the story until it all came together. (Wondering if this is going to continue into the next episode…)

I liked that we got a lot of reveals about what is (possibly) really going on, in regards to the grand schemas. Because there are several at play here. But now we're at least getting glimpses of them.

Even though we didn't see Billy, I thought the reveal about her plans were interesting, but definitely fit with her character as established so far. I know a lot of people are saying she's gotten drunk with her power or she's "turning evil" but I don't think that's the case. It's true that she hasn't told them everything about her plans, but that's because she's also using them as pieces in her game. But her goal is the same as it's always been since we first met her. She has ALWAYS been about the Natural Order. She never liked how the Winchesters (or anyone else) flaunted death again and again. So once she's in charge? Everyone and everything goes where they belong. The demons stay in hell, the angels stay in heaven, souls go where they're meant to, people from other universes go back (even if there's no universe to go back TO. Tough shit, they'd be dead anyway according to her) and those who have already died and been resurrected? They go back to wherever they should be. (At least, I THINK that was the implication made, with Sam asking Dean if he'd be willing to trade HIM to take-out Chuck. Sam was definitely realizing a LOT when Empty!Meg told him what Billy's plan was.)

This isn't her turning Evil like has been done with Chuck. It's more, her becoming a more extreme version of what she already was. When she got her promotion, she found out a LOT more things. Including this option of events for taking Chuck out and putting things back to how they belong. And it even started with Dean's aborted Drama Coffin plan. Which eventually fails, because Sam, but it then leads to Jack sacrificing his soul to take out AU Michael, which eventually leads to Mary's Death and Chuck's opportunity to manipulate things more and so on and so forth until we wind up here.

(Also, just wanna say, absolutely LOVED Rachel as the Empty again!)

And also, having just watched that scene again, can I just say again how awesome Sam is? He straight-up told the Empty that even if he WAS lying, their best bet is to let him go with the book. And it couldn't really argue with that because he was right! (Well, if it had killed him then and there, Dean probably wouldn't have known right away and probably would have been able to carry out the plan. So there is that. Buuuuut none of them knew that either at the time.)

And in general, I love how Sam just would NOT give up. This is the Sam Winchester I've come to love. He could feel in his bones that this plan was wrong so he was doing everything he could to not only stop it, but to find some other way to get what they truly wanted.

I also loved his and Cas' interactions. They were supportive of each other and both were trying to find a way to save their son. (Dean has officially forfeited his Dad-Card in my book. Hell, in his book too.) Also, I remember hearing someone from production, or who was maybe on set or something mentioning something about the Holy Grail in this episode? Well, in that scene where Sam and Cas are looking through those old crates and trunks and boxes, when Cas finds the key Sam is holding this really old looking chalice. Wonder if that's supposed to be what that is. *LOL* I mean, the Spear of Destiny (or at least, the head of the spear) was there in the Bunker, so why not I guess? *LOL*

We didn't get a lot of Sam and Jack interaction, but I liked what little we had. Sam made it clear to Jack that he wants to save him. (I'm really hoping we get SOMETHING more of them in the next episode or two but... yeah. Not a lot of time left.)

I could go on for some length about my feelings on Dean and how he's been this season. But I don't want this to turn into a fully anti-Dean rant. I will say though that I'd definitely gotten the impression before this that Dean has different categories of people he cares about, and in his mind, he also has them ranked according to how expendable they are. And I'm not just talking about Jack here, though he is a major part of it. But at the end of the episode when he and Sam are having it out, Dean says he's basically willing to sacrifice EVERYONE to get what he wants.

(I don't think he's actually willing to sacrifice Sam for it though. And yes, I know, he was waving a gun in Sam's face. But I don't believe for a moment he had any intention of killing his brother. Not when Sam asking point blanc if Dean is willing to trade him for killing Chuck, and that seems to be what causes Dean to start listening to what Sam's saying. Also, in the past, Dean hasn't been above threatening people to get what he wants. Like with Kaia. Also in S8's "Trail and Error" when he and Sam were talking about taking out the hellhound, Dean pretty much said if Sam even tries to get close to it, Dean would shoot him in the leg. Now, we never got to see if he actually would have or not, but regardless, it was a case of Dean being willing to hurt Sam a little in order to protect him from something he saw as a bigger threat. In that case it had been taking on the trials. In this case, it would have been to win their shot at freedom. At least in Dean's mind. Not saying I approve! Just, I think that's where his mindset was.)

And this is a far cry from the Dean who, just a few years ago was willing to be a kamikaze bomb in order to save the world. And yes, Dean has mentioned "Saving the world" this season too. And I'm sure he means that too. But when he was at his most emotional, what he was talking about wasn't saving the world and everyone in it. It was freeing him and Sam from being Chuck's entertainment. And he's willing to sacrifice nearly anyone to accomplish that. At least, he was up til now. I hope that they're going to give him a change of heart before the end because I really REALLY would like the show to end with me not despising Dean and what he's become. Yes, I'm a Sam-girl, but I do care about Dean too.

Also, I feel bad for Amara and what wound up happening with her. Like many other characters, she fell victim to Chuck's manipulations, and now I'm guessing he's even stronger than before. But also, Chuck wasn't the only one manipulating her. And maybe if they, (Dean especially, since she had a soft-spot for him) had actually been trying to find another way earlier, she wouldn't have fallen to despair when finding out the truth.

Aaaaaanyway, I think I've rambled enough about this episode as it is. Thank you to whoever actually bothers to read all of this. *LOL*

#spn 15x17 spoilers #spn season 15 spoilers #episode review #my thoughts #tangents: i tend to live in them #sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #jack kline #the darkness/amara #god/chuck #i think your internal compass is functioning perfectly #sam is jack's dad #castiel is jack's dad

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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You know what I think is funny, fandom loves to throw "the animation and writing teams don't work together" as a reason we can't read into different things happening onscreen (Which regardless, that's really stupid, since acting/animation/intonation of the lines/etc can impact the way the story is perceived). But they're also the same ones talking about how the animation is showing the little love things between Blake and Yang and other small tells we see that shows the team hasn't changed much.

This is a problem with all analysis and something that everyone is inclined to do (simply because we all have our opinions and we all want to be right lol). At its most basic, it’s pointing to certain events in a story as proof of an argument while simultaneously ignoring other events that disprove it. We see this all the time when people discuss characters they like/don’t like: you’ll either get a list of all the good qualities or a list of all the bad, with the “analysis” refusing to engage with that other list. Once you move past that roadblock - once you train yourself to consider everything in the text, even when it’s frustrating - you get more complex readings. The stuff that says, “Yes, on the surface it looks like this character has all these bad qualities too but we need to take context into account as well. Like the fact that when they did this Bad Thing someone was blackmailing them into it whereas they did this Good Thing of their own accord.” Or, “Yes, this character has a mix of Good and Bad qualities so maybe we should be acknowledging a more nuanced reading of their morality rather than insisting ‘They’re the devil’ or ‘uwu they’re a baby who did no wrong’” The purpose of analysis is for the text to drive your argument, not for your argument to drive the reading of the text. When something doesn’t fit well you need to take that into account and re-evaluate your thesis. You don’t ignore/twist that wrinkle in an effort to maintain the argument you first started out with. Which is why you analyze the text first and come up with the thesis second.

Now yes, apply all this to the animation issues. We cannot simultaneously say, “Aspects of the animation prove that Blake/Yang is becoming a thing” as well as, “It doesn’t matter if we saw Clover wink at Qrow. That’s meaningless.” Authorial intent does have some bearing on how we read this, in that we’ve gotten confirmation that some animation choices - like Oscar running down the hall before punching Neo - were mistakes, but in order for that to fully drive our reading of the show as a whole we’d need confirmation regarding every single piece of animation. Did you mean for Ren to look sad in that scene? Were Blake and Weiss supposed to exchange that glance? Is it a mistake that this character rolled their eyes or was that, unlike some other things, intentional? Unless we get a comprehensive list of every animation choice - which we will literally never have for obvious reasons - analysis must function under near absolutes: either the animation has meaning or it doesn’t. Pick one and stick to it (though preferably pick the former because, as you say, of course our visuals impact the reading of the show. They were always supposed to!) You cannot say that the animation choice is full of meaning when Ren and Nora cast loving glances because you adore them as a ship, but then claim that the animation choice to have Yang, Weiss, and Blake draw their weapons on Qrow is meaningless because you don’t like the idea of the girls doing something awful and having to grapple with that. Anything else is just the behavior of the first paragraph, emphasizing the things you like because they support the arguments you also like, while failing to either a) acknowledge these other aspects at all or b) explain how they don’t actually undermine your argument like they appear to at first glance. That’s why I acknowledge the ramifications of Ironwood shooting Oscar. It doesn’t matter how much I hate it, it exists in the text and needs to be taken into account (work a). It’s likewise why I explain in detail why arguments about the Ace Ops losing aren’t persuasive. They initially look persuasive, but poke at them a bit and you’ll see all the holes (work b).

For the record, this stuff is really hard. There’s a reason why we take classes in analysis. There’s a reason why you study for 6+ years before you’re considered good enough to start publishing papers. These trends - particularly ignoring parts of the text or trying desperately to twist them into something that fits your original argument, rather than revising the argument to fit the evidence - are all mistakes that everyone makes when they first start analyzing things. I did! And those mistakes will seem very persuasive to others who don’t practice analysis enough to recognize when they - or others - are repeating those trends. Which is how you end up with posts arguing non-persuasive or even nonsensical things but are praised extensively. You have to learn how to spot those mistakes and learning how to avoid them is even harder. It’s not just a skill but a kind of mental fortitude. In order to produce persuasive and compelling analysis you have to be willing to potentially chuck your argument in the bin at any given moment. It’s a lot like science that way. Oh, something just disproved our theory? That sucks but we can’t ignore this new evidence just because we spent years chasing something else. We can’t allow personal desires to overcome facts. (Though that’s not to say the chase was wasted. The mere act of working through “wrong” arguments is an important part of hitting on the “right” ones.)

For the record, this kind of difficulty with critical thought/rhetoric is the same reason why dangerous bigotry like “Getting vaccines will give your child autism” or “Accepting trans people will lead to women getting attacked in bathrooms” take off. Those are both arguments, but the people consuming them often don’t know how to work through the evidence provided to decide if that argument is persuasive - or even know to look for evidence at all. They stop after reading the statement, taking it as an automatic fact, just like a newbie writer in their Freshman high school course may write out a thesis and think that’s it. What do you mean I have to prove it? What do you mean my proof is subjective, unsubstantiated, and is ignoring other pieces of evidence? It’s not proof at all? Oh... It gets particularly difficult when you chuck in the sheer complexities of most political situations and add in a dash of learning that the mere existence of some evidence (“evidence”) doesn’t automatically outweigh all the rest. A perfect example being:

Don’t be that woman. But all that takes time to learn and it requires the ability to admit you were wrong. Sometimes about small things (“Oh yeah, I forgot that happened!”) as well as about incredibly massive things (“Shit. I’ve been basing my identity around this inaccurate concept and using it to hurt many, many people...”) Both of which are needed to create compassionate human beings who, by default, are not born knowing All The Things Ever. Thus, this is why analyzing “stupid” shows like RWBY isn’t the useless activity that many would prefer to paint it as. If you can learn how to critically engage with what people say about your favorite show, you’re developing the same skills needed to critically engage with, say, what the president is currently tweeting about...

ANYWAY, that’s a bit more of a deep dive than the ask probably meant to produce. But here we are :D

#rwby #rwde #mymetas #Anonymous

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linkspooky · 5 years

Text

Shigaraki’s Self Perception

So a lot of people are taking Shigaraki’s flashback for his word, and using it as proof that Shigaraki was a genuinely destructive child who wished for or even enjoyed his family’s destruction. While yes there are cases of abused children who are pushed to a breaking point and resort to murder to escape their abusive situations, I think it’s important to address Shigaraki’s flashback with nuance for what is clearly an emotionally confused and traumatizing situation.

People forget that for a long time this has been the narrative set for Shigaraki. That he’s only capable of destruction, and that he must have wanted it to be that way to have been born with such a quirk. It’s a narrative that other people (Chisaki, All for One, Redestro) attempt to force onto Shigaraki, but also one Shigaraki has accepted for himself.

Narrative identity. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The theory of narrative identity postulates that individuals form an identity by integrating their life experiences into an internalized, evolving story of the self that provides the individual with a sense of unity and purpose in life.

Basically, it’s interpreting a series of events connected to each other as if they are flowing in a story. It’s basically the way you see the story of your life, Shigaraki is a unique case where he defines himself as a villain and an antagonist. Shigaraki fully embraces the fact that he’s a negative, and destructive person in ways most people would avoid. However, as stories are made up fiction just because they are Shigaraki’s perceptions does not make them 1:1 with reality. Shigaraki’s narrative is a false one he’s embraced, and understanding that can help us understand how Shigaraki sees the world.

1. Tenko Shimura is not an Omniscient Narrator

A common mistake that people make in writing and reading child characters is that they assume that they have the same thinking and reasoning capacity as adults. This is because most people cannot remember being teenagers, let alone children. A lot of people assume children are intentionally choosing to be bad or unreasonable, when really they just cannot reason or communicate the same way that adults can and the adults aren’t trying to bridge the gap in any significant capacity.

And it’s clear that Horikoshi is writing these child characters with the intention to actually portray them as children as accurately as he can, because he even mentions this directly in the text of the narration. That kids think differently than most adults expect them too.

So before going into Tenko’s perceptions of the events of the last two chapters, let’s briefly touch upon child psychology. Jean Piaget’s stages of development, is a psychological a study of cognitive development that divides a child’s brain developing into four stages sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Tenko is about five years old at the time of his most formative trauma, which puts him in the preoperatonal stage. While children begin to speak, think and interact with the world Piaget noted they do not yet think logically the same way adults do.

Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people, which he termed egocentrism. [x]

Because they do not understand concrete logic yet, children instead depend on perception of the environment around them. That’s why children are influenced so much in their formative years by the houses they grow up in, because they simply don’t have the capacity for thinking things through with internal logic yet.

From the age of about 4 years until 7 most children go through the Intuitive period. This is characterized by egocentric, perception-dominated and intuitive thought which is prone to errors in classification (Lefrancois, 1995).

So let’s touch on these two concepts perception-dominated and egocentrism briefly before I use them to explain how Shimura Tenko sees the world.

Egocentrism is the inability to understand that other people have different perspectives, thoughts, feelings and mental states. There’s a difference between an adult being egocentric and simply not caring to understand other people as three dimmensional individually operating entities with their own thoughts and feelings, and children lacking that capability because their brains are literally not developed enough to perceive it. This is something proven with literal experiments, a child cannot imagine a mountain from another person’s point of view on the opposite side of the mountain because they can only imagine seeing the mountain from the angle they are currently standing at.

A child is led to believe that everyone thinks as they do, and that the whole world shares their feelings and desires. Therefore the child assumes automatically that they are the omnipotent narrator, because everybody thinks the same way they do. This is perception-dominated they define the world entirely by what they observe in their own perception, without reasoning through it.

Let’s just use a quick example. Let’s say you are an adult and somebody tells you that you’re bad at math. As an adult you can think of evidence inside your own head to compare what somebody else tells you to be the truth, against your own personal truth and experiences. Well, I got an A in calculus so I don’t think I’m bad at math therefore that person must be saying something false. You reason through this conclusion by comparing it against your own self image and you also understand the difference between how other people perceive you and how you perceive yourself. For children it’s not nearly as distinct, and their perception is much more messy and lacking in this ability to think through and reason. If a child is continually told something, because all of their views are based off of perception rather than evidence based reasoning and logic a child will come to believe it.

"Realism" is the child's notion that their own perspective is objective and absolute. The child thinks from one perspective and regards this reality as absolute.

So, children will make the mistake of assuming there is an absolute reality out of something that is their own personal perception. Just as a quick example, let’s say that they go to greet the mail man, and the mail man doesn’t say hi back. A child will jump to the assumption (the mail man hates me now because he’s ignoring me) based off of what is only their own personal perception. Whereas an adult might consider, oh the mail man is tired today, or maybe they didn’t hear me, because they consider the perceptions of other people as well.

So you cannot trust Shimura Tenko’s assessment of his own memories, not because they’ve been manipulated in some way, but because the narrative of them has been manipulated and Shigaraki does not even allow himself the nuance that he was just a child, and children think differently from adults.

So Shimura Tenko, is at the same time more perceptive of his environment than the adults realize, but also less perceptive than we as the readers give him credit. Kids are sneakier than you expect, but also more simple. He’s perceptive in the fact that he understands that there is something wrong in the household, and that he is being unfairly blamed and made the scapegoat and the other adults are not really doing anything about it.

Tenko however, does not understand basically anything about the nuance of abuse or even what the adults are thinking. All he knows is what he perceives of what the adults are thinking. He only understands his own emotions, and his own reactions to how other people treat him.

Which is why Shimura views the way the adults treat him as rejection. We know that it’s mainly the father of the household trying to control everybody, and the mother, and two in-laws for their own reasons don’t stand up to him the way that they should for reasons we are not quite given, but I assume it has to do with Kotaro being the patriarch of the household and probably bringing in most of the money and defining the rules.

Shimura does not understand any of this, he feels tension from the environment and feels that he is being persecuted but cannot understand the reason behind his persecution.

He probably does not even understand that Nana blamed him for sneaking into the study because she was too afraid that she would get hit, because Tenko cannot perceive people’s internal emotions he can only read their outside actions.

So Tenko is in a situation where he is abused, and rather than either standing up to the abuser, everyone else in his family who Tenko understands to be otherwise very kind and gentle people to him, seem to be siding with the abuser, the person hurting him rather than him. As they tell him to stop crying rather than trying to stop the person making him cry. That sends a message that he was wrong for crying in the first place. They give justification for the way the abuser acts instead of stopping the abuse, therefore saying that Tenko is being rightly punished for provoking the abuser.

Tenko’s perception is then that Tenko himself is the bad child, and that he really is the one causing all the trouble in the household and he deserves to be punished. This is an assumption a lot of abused children make. That it’s their fault they are the one being abused.

Tenko believes that the adults were right, that he was a bad child and that was why they always took his father’s side, rather than trying to defend him. He then takes the leap of assuming that he must have been bad from the beginning and secretly have wanted what was obviously a freak accident.

This is narrative justifying what is otherwise a situation that Tenko had little to no control over. It’s like saying that a city was destroyed by an earth quake because god was punishing them for being sinful. It’s using bias and retrospect, to retroactively give cause and purpose to what was otherwise a random tragedy.

This is not only what Shigaraki has been told all his life but also what he believes. That he wants to be this way, that he wants to destroy things. That he was this rotten all along.

This is future Shigaraki narrating his own bias on his past memories, and it’s clearly and deliberately different from the series of events we are so graphically shown, which is Tenko panicking and apologizing with clearly no idea with what is happening.

A lot of people are asking why we were shown this in such graphic detail when we literally already know what happened to his family and were told several times. Well, here is why. Manga and comics are a storytelling medium that use sequential art and text, the art is contradicting the text and this is purposeful.

Even the one person Tenko might have intentionally killed here is what happened.

Tenko begs his father for help, because despite being on the receiving end of the abuse Tenko still perceives that they are family. Remember Tenko has always blamed himself for provoking Kotaro, not Kotaro for taking out his own personal issues on his son.

While his son is crying and begging for help, rather than try to calm him down Kotaro’s first action is to literally try to stab him with a garden tool.

And then, and only then do we see Shimura move from asking for help to attacking the person in front of him. It is self defense at that point. Not only does Tenko literally have no idea what’s going on because of his childlike perceptions, he only understands that someone is trying to kill him, and that his father who he’s begging for help isn’t going to help him. I wouldn’t even say it’s lashing out the way Shigaraki describes it, like he purposefully killed him with cold blooded hatred and intent to murder because his father attacked him and tried to kill him first.

And here we get narrative again. “I must have wanted this to happen” and “this only happened because I was a bad child and a curse on this household” Tenko takes all the blame on himself for destroying things, when several things were out of his control. It’s literally a reckoning three generations ago of bad and selfish decisions made by adults and forced onto him. Of Nana’s decision to abandon her child. Of Kotaro’s decision on how to run his household and take his issues out on a literal child rather than try to face his own pain. But Tenko does not understand that and in an attempt to give reason and agency to random trauma he takes the blame on himself instead. Because blaming yourself makes you feel less powerless in a way.

Tenko never wants to be a crying victim begging for help again because the most traumatizing moment in his life was knowing that nobody would help him when he needed it. So he absolutely refuses to see himself as a victim in anyway, and not only that but the environment around Shigaraki has been telling him over and over again this is the case.

Like, Shigaraki clearly did not commit genuine cold blooded murder on his father. Even though it was literally a case of self defense not only does Shigaraki apologize to his father’s hand years later, over and over again, but he also carries Kotaro’s hand directly on his face. It’s exactly the opposite, Shigaraki feels so much guilt over what happened that he literally not only repeats his father’s worse punishment on him (a slap to the face) symbolically but he’s still apologizing to him.

This is something that Shigaraki’s environment, but also All For One tries to convince him of again and again. That he is an unfeeling and hollow person. That he must have been a bad and destructive child to control his household like this.

It’s also something that Shigaraki embraces about himself as a coping mechanism. That he really must enjoy all this destruction. That he must have wanted to be this way for things to turn out this way. That he really is not capable of being anything else.

It’s how Shigaraki has survived until this point, but it’s a mindset that ultimately harms him in the end. Shigaraki cannot grasp a future, he cannot grasp an end goal. He defines himself as someone who only intends entirely to destroy and keep lashing out, but he’s so reckless that he has literally zero self value in himself and barely protects himself when he’s fighting.

In other words he’s going to end up like Deku. He’s just going to break himself in needless self destruction if he keeps on this path. Not because of what Re-destro says that Shigaraki has to justify his actions and become some kind of weird terrorist who believes in his cause with cult like dedication but rather Shigaraki is still letting other people completely define how he is. In order to gain self esteem, and self worth, he has to take the next step in defining himself and what he wants and that means rejecting what other people define him as fully.

This is something All For One intentionally did, he raised Shigaraki to exist to hate All Might and carry on All for One’s Legacy. Of course All for One would influence him not to develop any desires of his own besides existing to do what All for One intends of him. And the number one way to stop that is to stunt Shigaraki to the point that he cannot define himself, and his own wants and needs as an individual.

But, Shigaraki in his interactions of the league has obviously developed into his own person with his own way of doing things outside of All for One’s intentions for him, my argument is not that Shigaraki is entirely manipulated by All for One and has no free will but rather that Shigaraki perceives himself as only existing that way and needs to change his perception to truly reach the next step in his development as an individual.

Okay, and one last note to the people pointing out that Shigaraki is laughing in response to this situation and therefore some part of him must be genuinely enjoying this.

People don’t seem to understand trauma response unless it’s presented in the most conventional way possible, ie someone crying and begging for help. Sometimes people laugh when they’re going insane rather than cry, it’s just a different way of coping.

2. Eri

We were also shown how children see and justify their own abuse with Eri, who is around the exact same age as Shigaraki. People might argue that Eri’s abuse was more extreme, but one it’s not a compettition, and two Shigaraki was kidnapped by All for One afterwards and grew up in a mad scientist’s basement. To cap this off let me show you that Eri had the exact same limited perception of reality that Tenko did.

If somebody else tried to save her, and Chisaki killed them Eri automatically understood that it was her fault that Chisaki killed them. Because she cannot perceive Chisaki as an individual who intends harm towards her, she only understands her own perception of reality and her own ego.

Eri genuinely believes what Chisaki tells her, because children base their entire reality out of what they perceive around them. She has no kind of logic that can question it, and until somebody else tells her otherwise she accepts what Chisaki says is true. That she’s to blame, that she’s the one forcing him to act this way.

Tenko and Eri are both raised in environments where they are never made safe or protected. Tenko’s father literally tries to murder him when Tenko is begging for his help. Chisaki aims for her on purpose and says he can just rebuild her. They view themselves as expendable, because that is how they were treated and in general exhibit low self regard.

So we show them exhibit the same symptoms. The both of them not wanting to be saved. The both of them taking personal blame for the harm that others cause around them.

As Chisaki said, it is easier to take the pain on yourself, then to accept the idea that bad things just sometimes happen, because people are bad, or sometimes for no reason at all as freak accidents. It’s actually way easier for Eri to genuinely believe that she is cursed because she takes agency in that, then to realize all the adults in her life have failed her because then she is reduced to a crying child. Children who are victims of abuse use narrative as a way of grasping at agency in any way they can.

And, Eri genuinely cannot perceive anything than the reality that she knows until other people come into her life and show her another way. She genuinely believes the same way Tenko did that on some level to have developed such a quirk she must have wanted it.

She doesn’t believe that it’s a kindhearted quirk until someone tells her it.

People want to intentionally misunderstand this because Tenko does not present himself as a traditional victim. He’s not a crying girl begging for help, and telling others not to get hurt for her sake the same way Eri was, even though Eri displays the exact same unhealthy ways of thinking that Tenko did.

So Tenko’s narrations cannot be taken as objective, because they are just not. Tenko uses narrative the same way other characters do, he just uses the opposite narrative of others he chooses to see himself as villain in his own fate rather than victim.

#shigaraki tomura #mha meta #shigaraki meta #league of villains #tenko shimura #my hero academia meta #boku no her academia meta #bnha meta #league of villains meta #eri #shigaraki and eri #meta

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missing-my-griffin · 5 years

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I would love your insight because you’re smart and you seem like a pretty positive person. I’m a bit confused as to why E/cho wouldn’t see how Bellamy is in love with Clarke??? She’s a spy, right? Also, are we to believe he’s going to keep E in the dark even after sacrificing everything for Clarke for the 2nd time? Wouldn’t that make him feel guilty? It feels OOC. I wasn’t expecting canon bellarke, but it feels OOC for b/e to still together. It makes E look stupid and B look...a tiny bit mean.

Well firstly you telling me I’m smart and positive actually made me smile like an idiot so thank you!!

What a loaded question. I have two theories regarding Echo. First one is: Grounder culture is brutal, it’s about survival, it’s about war and strategy. She is a war spy. I imagine in that kind of medieval culture (which grounder culture is closest to), romantic love rarely results in fake alliances, or like.. messy war stuff. “Love is weakness.”, after all. Family love is the only important thing: and Echo’s got that figured out. Mushy romanctic love drama that weighs the tides in the big leagues?? I expect it doesn’t happen often. So she’s not trained in that. This explains why she doesn’t get it “as a spy”. Bc once it transcends “in love” and goes to “love”, it’s family, and again, that Echo gets. She knows how incredibly important Clarke is to Bellamy. She just doesn’t understand the nuance. And also: echo never reads people! She reads actions. Once Ryker was in she trusted him blindly, no suspicions, and once he showed he can’t be trusted fully, he was expendable, useless, a danger even. Eliminated. Echo’s never been anticipating people’s actions or intentions, she waits until they do something and then she assumes that’s what they are and continue to be until they prove her otherwise. Clarke leaves Bellamy behind and sides with the enemy? Clarke is a risk and must die. Clarke sacrifices it all to save Bellamy? Clarke is family. done.

So as to why she doesn’t get it as a person with eyes and a brain… which is also the second theory: she is extremely trusting. she’s the kind of person who’s incredibly straight forward with HER emotional relationships, there’s no ulterior motives. So she probably thinks of Bellamy as her boyfriend it’s as simple as that. Sure, his behaviour towards her has changed since they’ve been off the ring because she’s become more closed off, but it has nothing to do with Clarke because she’s like a sister to him, right?

Like… she feels secure in their relationship because the only thing she was insecure about beforehand was Octavia. She never suspected Clarke to be an issue, because she never knew about his feelings and their history- why? BECAUSE HE BASICALLY LIED TO HER. Why would E think that there have been more than friendshippy feelings? because I mean they’d been dating for a while and Clarke had been dead for a while before that and none of her family or Bellamy ever talked about anything “in love” related. (Even while Echo wasn’t in the picture romantically.) That’s very strange. Also Echo still treats Bellamy like her leader.. like she did Roan. And she doesn’t second guess or distrusts her “leaders”. And she’s also accepted Clarke as her leader. Clarke and Bellamy. Co leaders, like siblings. Of course they care about each other? Nothing strange going on at all.

Which brings me to my actual point: Bellamy isn’t a tiny bit mean. BELLAMY IS A TERRIBLE, LYING, EMOTIONALLY CHEATING BOYFRIEND WHO ABUSES ECHO’S BLIND TRUST. Dont get me wrong he’s still my favorite, and I get it… but oh boy does he need to step up his game!

Bellamy never told his gf about the girl he once loved, probably because even when dead he loved Clarke more than Echo, which sucks, so he couldn’t be open about it because it made him feel so guilty. Which.. he feels guilty ALL THE TIME. Dude is so pained. When he patted Echo’s back looking at Clarke, when he exploded at Clarke about how his family is all that matters to him bc he felt as though he betrayed them for Clarke, when he fiddled with Echo’s sword at the campfire in Season 5.. he hasn’t kissed Echo during a reunion since the beginning of S5.

When he snapped at Echo because he was jealous of the Doctor with Clarke, when she cried and opened up and he looked at her with pity in his eyes, and guilt, and this stupid sense of responsibility. When the only time he kissed her was out of said pity because she needed someone. When he had that look on his face in the rover reunion scene in season 5.

Bellamy is a fucking mess omg. He is constantly on edge, like he seems absolutely unhinged, strung out, confused, in love, in pain. He’s in control half the time and losing it the other half. “We kill them all.” A petty, spiteful, angry “Maybe you haven’t noticed, Clarke, but I don’t need you anymore” Then, screaming at her not to leave him, because nothing makes sense without her, he’s an empty shell without her, has been for 6 years. And you know who helped him?? ECHO. Echo, who’s a good person (as long as youre on her side..), who “was good for him”. Echo, who he doesn’t really love. But I think he wants to. I think this is where the bad boyfriend stuff comes from. He loves Clarke and is constantly torn between being super scared of that and losing himself in it, and then there’s Echo who’s loyal and nice and safe.

Lastly… I also expected a Becho breakup, but only in an A season bc B seasons are always so action loaded.. if that had happened, it would have gone “By the way let’s break up”, in between fighting and surviving and shit. Breaking someone’s heart sucks, and Bellamy owes Echo honesty and sincerity, so he put it off. And also… he probably doesn’t rly want to break up bc he wants to do right by her or whatever. His guilt is actually a factor I think as to why he HASNT broken up with her… he’s never loved Echo like she deserved to be loved, Clarke was always the one even when dead, so he feels like he owes a huge debt to Echo bc she loved HIM like HE deserved, and now he tries to repay her by living a lie. It’s twisted and stupid lol

But I know a breakup is coming. Because Echo deserves better than Bellamy. Bc he doesn’t love her, never has, never will. He has feelings for her.. but he doesn’t love her. I’m sorry. It’s obvious to even the most casual viewer, two of which have expressed their pity for E without me saying anything. And Bellamy, the damn main character, deserves a love story too.

Ps this shot through my head while writing this so I made a thing for mrs Echo the blind one lol:

#bellarke #the 100 #ask #answered #thanks:)#sorry this took like 8 years so answer...#sry also that ive been gone #ive got a lotta reasons #but i doubt anyone would rly care SO #lets just say im back #bitches #lol #<3 #ask me stuff im bellarke starved...

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booasaur · 5 years

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Update: Delle seyah and Dutch kissed and I love them. But now Delle seyah murdered pawter in cold blood and I hate her??? She is actually like full out evil??? She's definitely a character I'd abhor at this point in time and I'm not sure if she actually ever is redeemed or just keeps being an evil murder queen whose intentions eventually line up w Dutch & co's... but I'm shocked that she got a happy ending after this evil shit lol. Like wow. Way for the writers to break byg all things considered

Yeahhh. So you’ve arrived there. Yeah, she’s FULL evil. I totally understand what you mean about hating her, I very predictably tend to go for the nice, boring, responsible good characters, always. Superman, Cap, Amy Santiago, hell, Elizabeth was my favorite Wakefield twin! I was never the type of person who’d be like, oh, these queer-coded villains are my thing.

But I don’t know why, Delle Seyah somehow is my Exception. I’ve actually wondered about this for a while, what makes her different. It’s not because she’s queer or a WOC, that doesn’t sway me automatically. I’ve been discussing it with a like-minded friend and we have some theories:

First, I’m still easily led by the narrative, I’ll go where it wants me to. And it’s the show that seems to still like her. Dutch, the lead, never stopped being my actual fave and if Delle Seyah had seriously gone against her, I’d side with Dutch, but the show doesn’t ever really make me choose. Yeah, season 3 has a whole building war with them on opposite sides but the fact that they give us that much of Delle Seyah’s point of view and sympathetically, that’s not trying to get us to hate her.

Secondly, Delle Seyah’s actions are shown to be exactly as bad and hurtful as they are. She’s set up in contrast to the good guy leads who care about feelings and not hurting people and the greater good and helping strangers and all that. In a setting like this, I need that. OUAT always had a lot of trouble with this, they wanted the cartoon villain with no nuance and then also a sob story to justify them but ended up being so messy. A lot of other media does that too, like The 100 with that massacre in mid-season 3. In an effort to shock the audience with atrocities and then continue without dealing with the fallout, they minimize what happened. But we know what Delle Seyah did was bad and Johnny continues to remember it, as he should! Even when she’s included with the others because of aligned motives, we never forget who and what she is.

And then, you have to remember, watching this in real time, we had years to process all this. The wait between season 2 and 3, 10 months. And we never thought she’d survive. You’re watching now knowing she got her happy ending, imagine thinking at any point for three seasons that she could die. Possibly more likelihood of a death near the season finale because of how TV works, but you know how it is with f/f characters, and a villainous QWOC at that? Surviving every ep was a victory. We never thought she was getting away with anything in the long run.

And lastly, nobody on the show is perfect. Everyone’s done crappy things. It’s far more about trying to do better and be better and that’s kind of…enough? There’s no line crossed that people can’t come back from. People don’t have to suffer the same amount of pain they caused to continue to exist freely and do better from now on. It’s not redemption through punishment.

It’s a little hard to talk about more than three seasons’ worth of plot without spoiling too much, but she does go through her growth. To the point of being an actual good person, well, not really. There is some suffering in there, she does go through some things, but nothing that’d make up for full on murdering a character. She just begins to care about more than herself. And that seems to be enough. The people who die in this show don’t do so because they deserved it, it isn’t to redeem themselves. As long as you’re alive you can do better and once the other characters are okay with that, we are too.

#sorry for going on and on #but I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this!#replies #sent on 20191008 #Anonymous #killjoys #delle seyah kendry

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murasaki-murasame · 5 years

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Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 14: “That’s A Secret”

Me before this episode: “I’m a big strong adult who can DEFINITELY deal with watching Momiji’s backstory and the grave visit get animated in the same episode :)”

Me two seconds into this episode: *insert sad cat picture here*

Anyway this episode is dead even though it killed me and now I’m typing this from beyond the grave.

Thoughts under the cut.

Right off the bat, this episode actually gave us a new set of OP and ED themes, which I’d been curious about for a while. They hadn’t said anything about it for the longest time, and then they just announced it a day or two ago, lol.

The new OP is really going to need some time to grow on me. I can’t help but feel like it should have been swapped with the first OP, since this is where things keep getting heavier. I know there’s some people who disliked how slow and mellow the first OP was, but I loved it, and this super energetic one is kind of hard to get used to.

But the new ED is absolutely AMAZING and I love it. The song feels very similar in tone to the first ED, which is nice because that was also a really nice song, but the visuals are a real departure from basically everything else in the show. From what I’ve seen people seem a bit divided on how they feel about that as an artistic choice, but I love it. I really like how it seemed to be real footage of figurines and dioramas mixed with digital backgrounds and effects. Which reminded me a bit of some visual tricks used in Sarazanmai last season [fun fact that I definitely haven’t just been waiting for an excuse to bring up: the person who did the zodiac animal character designs for this series, Kayoko Ishikawa, is also the person who did the character animation designs in Sarazanmai!]. Though I think my favourite part is the very first shot of Tohru.

Anyway, even though I knew exactly what was coming with this episode, and it was more or less exactly what I expected, it still managed to take me by surprise with just how emotional it was.

For the record, this adapted chapters 23 and 24 of the manga, which were also adapted into episode 15 of the 2001 series. Which also means that the reboot’s just gotten to the end of volume 4 of the manga. I still think we’re looking at about 70 episodes total for the reboot, give or take.

It’s pretty interesting to compare this to the 2001 version, since it’s technically a less drastic difference than the Valentine’s episode, but it still highlights how the 2001 anime made the conscious choice to remove any foreshadowing or character development that hadn’t been resolved in the manga by about volume 8 or so, which is what was out when the 2001 anime was made. From what I remember of the 2001 anime version of this material, they did a really good job with the Momiji side of things, since they kept it pretty 1:1 with the manga, but their version of the grave visit chapter really suffered because so much of Kyo’s character development and depth got taken out across the entire original adaptation, which in particular really took out a whole layer of foreshadowing from this part. It was still fine, from what I remember, but it lacked the sense of mystery and intrigue that the reboot version has, and the whole scene with Kyo and Tohru at the very end of the episode was entirely removed in the 2001 version.

It’s a much less noticeable change than how the 2001 anime had to basically remove a whole chapter or so of content for their Valentine’s day episode since that part of the manga was so heavy with foreshadowing, but at least if you know where things go with the story in the long run, you can really notice all the intentional set-up going on in this episode.

I’m really excited for anime-only people to eventually figure out what’s going on and what exactly this episode is hinting at, especially since more people seem to be starting to develop theories about what they think’s up with Kyo and Yuki’s backstories and how they tie into Tohru and her mother. So I wonder how they’ll all feel about this when they can look back on it later.

I’m definitely biased since I’ve read the manga, and I’ve seen a lot of anime-only people still make largely incorrect guesses about what’s going on after this episode, but wow does a lot of this foreshadowing seem super obvious in hindsight, lol. It’s not a bad thing, but when you know what’s going on, you can really tell how heavily they’re hinting at stuff. In particular the bit with Yuki at the end made it seem really obvious that he’s the one who gave Tohru the hat, but I feel like that’s something that anime-only people might end up forgetting about compared to all the stuff going on with Kyo.

And on the note of that whole final scene, I loved the abrupt cut to the new ED. It was such a neat shift from how every episode thus far has ended with a relatively mellow and slow lead-in to the ED theme. And most [but not all] of the previous episodes had ended with fun and light-hearted scenes. So having this sudden and relatively surprising admission of guilt from Kyo and an abrupt cut to a new ED theme was really neat.

But of course, the True MVP [tm] of this episode was Momiji, our resident precious bunny boy. I’ve been bracing myself for this exact episode for weeks now, but oh man it still hurts so much. I know the reboot’s been really good with it’s dramatic moments, but I wasn’t expecting how intense and visceral everything about his backstory would be. I had to check back at how the manga presented it, and even though it’s mostly the same, the reboot’s a lot more explicit about showing that Momiji’s mother started engaging in self-harm after he was born. In the manga there’s one panel that shows her vaguely laying on the ground with one of her arms tied in bandages, but that’s about it. And in the manga, the bit with Momiji and his dad didn’t really have a clear setting, but the reboot makes it very clear that they’re at the hospital after his mother hurt herself. Which made it hurt all the more.

I also feel like they were a little more visually explicit with Tohru’s flashbacks to her mother’s death and her going to the hospital. That was also presented as a set of small and relatively vague panels in the manga, but the reboot went all in on making sure you knew exactly what was going on. Like always, I think both approaches work well for their different mediums, but I appreciate the reboot’s commitment to giving every scene a sense of time and place, especially when it comes to flashbacks. It gives it a very different feel to the manga at times, which helps it feel fresh and interesting.

Momiji’s backstory is pretty interesting and noteworthy, since even though we’ve already had tragic backstories in this series before, this is basically the first time where the series really starts to specifically explore and develop this theme of parent/child bonds, and how the curse plays into all that. I think that the way the manga handles the theme of being born ‘with a curse’ and how that impacts your relationship with your parents is actually my number one favourite thing about it, and something that I think it does almost perfectly. It’s a big part of why it means so much to me as a story. It’s not really something you see explored often in media, especially not with this level of nuance, and from as many different angles as this series looks at it from as it goes on.

Trust me when I say that I have A LOT I want to say about this whole theme of the story, and this is definitely where it first becomes a big part of it all, but specifically I’m waiting for the Kyo arc to happen later in this season before I really let loose all my thoughts on it. Pretty much like 90% of the main cast have different sorts of messy relationships with their families, and with the state of their bodies, but Kyo’s story is the one that speaks to me the most. Going by when I think the reboot will get to that part, I’ll probably spend most of my post on the season 1 finale talking about that, which would be a pretty fitting place to do it.

Though on the topic of Momiji, I do want to say that the scene where Tohru hugs him and they both cry together is one of the most memorable and hard-hitting parts of the manga. It’s such an raw and emotional example of the sort of acceptance and love that Tohru represents to the Somas. With how many examples we get across the whole story of the zodiac animal forms being a curse that the characters are hurt by, and which cut them off from other people, the image of Tohru hugging Momiji’s bunny form, and Momiji letting himself cry in his bunny form and be hugged by her, really just goes to show why Tohru is such a pivotal character in all this, and why she in particular is the one who manages to get through to the Somas so well.

Also, before I forget, people are talking about the whole debacle with his accent again, and my two cents on the matter are that he definitely comes across like he’s either a native German speaker, or he’s intentionally acting like one, and I tend to lean toward the former. Especially early on, he uses German very fluently and frequently, and there’s a whole running gag of him misspeaking simple phrases in Japanese, so either he’s genuinely more comfortable with German and not fully fluent in Japanese yet, or he’s trying to come across that way intentionally. It’s also worth noting that Momiji even says in this episode that his little sister ‘isn’t very good at speaking Japanese yet’. Basically I don’t think we’re really meant to question the in-universe logistics of whether or not it’d actually make sense for Momiji or his sister to speak German as their first language when it seems like they were both born and raised in Japan, lol. [And on the note of his sister, the short moment of her looking back at him while her mother pulls her away is another one of those little details that make it clear they’re setting up for way later scenes]

Anyway, this was an incredible episode, and it makes me really happy that they’re committing to adapting the entire thing, so all of the foreshadowing in this episode will be followed up on and developed.

#murasaki rambles #fruits basket

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vanaera · 4 years

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Aera!!!! HHA2 was awesome .. i just kept wishing it wouldn’t end fast while I was reading it .. there’re so much I wanna talk about. I’ve said that b4 but I’m gonna say it again. The characters are amazing! There’re specific and consistent which made them seem so real 2 me. Like i can guess their mbti if I think about it lol. And yeah don’t think I didn’t catch that daffodils rings ref. I smiled so big hehe. I totally like the development and how things are going. 1

You’re really taking ur time with progressing their relationship and I’m here for it. Cuz like in my humble opinion, in a story like e2l, reasons matters right? I know emotions are unpredictable and and fickle? If I can say it. But to me, there’s still should reasons at least even if it’s unexplainable at the moment, and to form even a deeper bond with someone there got to be somethings you know what I mean? I hope so lol TT. what I want to say is that you’re story is meeting what I think of 2

In this matter. Doesn’t mean I won’t like it if it ain’t that though. And your story got many great things going on. I love how you make your characters discuss issues and have these conversations with deep ideas. One of my favorites were when Yoongi told the oc about the shadow theory “I forgot its name lol maybe it’s the map of soul?” that basically when you hate someone, a lot of times it’s not got what they do but cuz your kinda projecting your own shadows into them.3

My sis studies literature so she studied this theory and she told me about it days b4 I read HHT2. We got to discuss it and see how bts took this theory as a concept in their latest album:). So When I read that conversation in ur story between Yoongi and oc I was so highly entertained you can’t imagine lol. It felt like I was talking with someone about something that i didn’t expect them to know about but turns out they completely know about it. I love oc’s wild imagination and I just love every thing. Sorry this was so long :p . The chapter was so good that I lost it. No complains tho. Srry that I’m all over the place too lol and thank you for real, HHA2 was a joyful ride. Its so entertaining and well written. - Aseel

Hi Aseel!!! I’m glad you enjoyed The Heart Holiday and thank you so much for this very, very sweet review 🥺 I’m happy you noticed that about my characterization for THH!Yoongi and OC. I really love making distinct characters. This is one of the reasons I enjoy writing romance. I love playing with characterizations. The small nuances and details that are solely unique to a person, which is also ironically wonderful can be related to by a lot of readers. I prefer this over cardboard cut-outs of protagonists bc more specific characterization gives us more depth of the character, their desires, their fears, and what should they learn to develop and become someone who they need to be. And I'm so so glad I succeeded in making them feel real when you told me you can guess their MBTIs (which also you should send me bc I’m very curious what you think of them!) And yeah! I have to do the Daffodil Rings reference! (There is actually an intention behind this but I cannot tell it yet bc THH is not yet done 😆).

You're right. Stories, especially with an e2l trope do really feed on progress because you're going to grow something from one end of a spectrum into another that's completely opposite of it. You're going to change a worldview and that takes a lot to change. Otherwise if rushed, it just feels there's not much character development in the characters if it would just take them, i.e. one, singular short statement/scene to resolve their issues with one another. This is the reason why I swore to myself to never rush writing these 2 characters even if THH was originally supposed to be a oneshot. After all, it feels more rewarding finishing reading/writing something knowing you've come a long way to get to the end of the character's journey, in the same way the character has grown a lot from their initial position in the story.

And oh yes, I HAVE to include THH!Yoongi and OC's deep discussions in the story bc otherwise, THH will have no thesis - it's very point : Can you really love someone you hate? Enemies-to-lovers tropes have dominated the conventional formula of every romcom film/book 2 characters can't stand each other. At some point they reconcile. Then conflict. Then they get together. However, I've never encountered something that really explains why do so many literary pieces/film/media, etc. associate hate with love? And this is where I decided I want to talk about it in an e2l story itself. It kinda was meta (especially at the scene where Yoongi asks OC what she thinks about this trope when their own story is living out this trope asjskfkd) but I'm glad it came out to be that way bc I don't know how to deliver my intended thesis statement otherwise. I'm so so SO happy you noticed this bc all of my writings have their own thesis and this is my first time to have someone recognize it EYE-😳🤯💓💖💞

Damn, I didn't know you studied about the persona! Psychology has long fascinated me! I love doing character analyses of different stories, novels, and films. I love picking apart each desire, need, and fear to further understand the whole picture of the character. So there's no other way for me to translate my love for this field far better than analyzing other's characters but to pick apart my own characters. So yeah, I really enjoyed learning and sharing what I've learned and thought of the persona through my own characters.

Sorry this got so long, too. I'm just blown away of how you managed to get all the beneath-the-surface workings of The Heart Holidays. You make me so happy knowing all the effort I put into subtexts are not for naught. I'm so proud I have a smart reader like you who appreciates them 🥺. Thank you so much for giving the time to leave a LOT of love to feed my writer soul. I am so so grateful to have you read my works 💕💓💗

#aera blushes #reviews #the heart holiday feedback #the heart holiday #Aseel #i love you 🥺#thank you so much for making my day #if you want to talk about anything in the future #just feel free to hit me up #i may not know everything #but I love and am so willing to listen #your feedback made me feel so nostalgic of what I used to feel 10 yrs ago when I read novels and form bonds with the writer and #their fictional characters bc it's difficult finding real life intimacy #behind the cut: thh

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toraonice · 7 years

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I don't think you're homophobic, a bad person, or any of that and am sorry you're getting outright hate BUT I think you're missing a lot of the point. I am not going to presume that you aren't LGBT, but I am unsure if you understand how LGBT people are irritated at how het pairings as "overt" as v*****ri are typically accepted as they are (/cont)

(cont) yet so many gay pairings portrayed in the same vein are “ambiguous” or argue that it isn’t canon. The “they’re DEEPER than romantic love” is also hurtful as people aren’t discriminated against for friendships and erases what makes them so special to LGBT fans.

(cont 3/3) Essentially, I think although you have good intentions in trying to be objective, with what I said in mind when you add separate commentary such as pointing out that soulmates can be platonic or the late night drama thing it does deeply hurt people, because it sounds like you’re trying to downplay them—intentionally or otherwise

Hello! First of all, thank you for making a concrete example and articulating your point logically!

I’m taking this occasion to write a long reply that encompasses my view of Victor and Yuuri’s relationship also with regard to heterocentricity. It’s long, but hopefully it’s exhaustive…

I think some people may be a bit wary about this topic and interpret my words in a negative way. For example, by saying that their bond is “deeper than romantic love” I am not trying to say that romantic love is a bad thing or that they cannot be or become lovers. I actually see it as something positive, not negative. There are people who know each other, start dating, have a passionate love story and then break up within a year. I believe that, since the bond between Victor and Yuuri is not limited to romantic love (which can be included) but also includes respect, friendship and other feelings, this makes their relationship deeper than two people only bound by romantic feelings.

Also, when I said that soulmates can be platonic and that the Japanese Monday dramas are not necessarily centered on love stories, I was trying to be fair to all interpretations. I don’t mean “so this proves that Victor and Yuuri cannot be in a romantic relationship”; it just isn’t something that proves either theory.

Regarding Japanese dramas.. Not sure how many people are familiar with it, but in the 2nd Tiger & Bunny movie there is a scene with the 2 protagonists on the roof of a building that is commonly referred to by fans as “gekku” (the same kind of drama as the scene of Victor and Yuuri at the airport). Usually this kind of scenes, in the TV dramas, feature a man and a woman, but when “gekku” is used to describe something unrelated to dramas, like scenes from an anime, it often includes a slightly humorous nuance, very similar to when two people are fighting and someone tells them “you look like a married couple”. (The scene itself is usually serious and when fans use “gekku” they don’t mean to make fun of it, but at the same time they don’t seriously mean to imply that the characters are romantically involved)

I agree on the fact that if Victor and Yuuri had been a man and a woman everyone and their dog would think that they’re in love with each other, while part of the reason some people are skeptical about it is that they are both men. I myself don’t really it like when, especially in series where the sexuality of characters is not clear, two characters of opposite sexes are seen as more likely to fall in love with each other than characters of the same sex. This happens because some people think that unless a character is declared as homosexual they must be heterosexual because “that is the standard” (these people in many cases are not even trying to be homophobic, they just do not realize that what they are implying is heterocentric). I don’t think that there is a standard, and of course there are many more possibilities than just “heterosexual” and “homosexual”, therefore if a character’s sexuality is unconfirmed I am usually open to any possibility.

I will stray a little from YOI. I was an enthusiastic X-Files fan at the time the series was still airing and the protagonists weren’t officially lovers yet (yeah it’s a long time ago but I might not be as old as this makes you think lol). I was also a member of the official forum and identified myself as “intellishipper”, fans who shipped the protagonists but didn’t necessarily want them to become romantically involved in the series unless it was relevant to the story (normal “shippers” just wanted them to get together). This is because I liked X-Files for what it was — a sci-fi thriller drama — and I didn’t want it to suddenly become a love story or focus too much on the romantic relationship of the characters. In fact, to this day I still don’t really like how their romantic relationship was handled in the series… (even though I’m a shipper!) X-Files taught me that sometimes, even if the characters you ship officially get together, depending on how it’s portrayed it might be disappointing, and in that case maybe it’s better that everything is left vague and that you keep on fantasizing on your own… (Sorry if someone disagrees about the protagonists’ relationship in X-Files, this is just my opinion)

The reason of this digression is to explain that the way I view Victor and Yuuri’s relationship and its portrayal within the series is very similar to my experience with X-Files. I personally like them together, but since the series is fundamentally a sport anime about figure skating, to me it’s fine if they don’t confirm whether they are romantically involved or not, because either way there are enough hints to be perfectly able to perceive them as in love with each other even if it’s not stated out loud. At the same time, I respect people who want them to officially get together and people who prefer to see their relationship as platonic too, because in the end everything is open to interpretations and therefore I don’t think it’s correct to force one interpretation on others.

I understand that people who see this anime as important for the LGBT+ community would prefer that they are confirmed as lovers because we would have a “regular” (non-BL) anime featuring an official homosexual couple with a strong, healthy relationship, which would be a step forward in the portrayal of LGBT characters in Japanese anime too. However, exactly because it’s a Japanese anime, as I tried to explain in a previous post a few months ago, the local cultural background is an obstacle to that, therefore I wouldn’t be surprised if even in future works they never confirm anything. Also, what Yamamoto said about “relationships without a name” too makes me think that maybe she doesn’t find it important to give a name to their relationship but she just wants to portray a very strong bond between two characters which viewers can interpret how they prefer. Kubo too made a few tweets last August that suggest how one of the reasons they didn’t use a man and a woman is that they did not want people to automatically interpret their relationship as romantic “just because they’re a man and a woman”. If you read that negatively you might think “does she mean that if they are both guys they cannot be seen as romantically involved?”. I don’t know what she meant in detail of course, because I’m not inside her mind, but I also think it can be interpreted in a positive way: if the characters are a man and a woman people will see them as automatically in love only because of their genders, regardless of the deepness of their relationship; however, if they are guys the average viewer cannot apply their heterocentric point of view to them and they will only see them as in love because their relationship really suggests that.

By the way, I still think that YOI, even without confirming anything, is an important step forward for the portrayal of LGBT+ characters in Japanese anime because it shows two male characters having an intimate relationship (however you want to interpret it) without their surroundings going “eww gross” or making jokes about them. In the series, no one says anything or questions Yuuri’s sexuality when he decides to interpret the role of a woman in his early version of Eros, no one ever makes fun of Yuuri and Victor’s relationship, no one looks grossed out when they see them with wedding rings (Phichit even congratulates them for their “wedding”). As Kubo said, within the world of YOI no one is discriminated for what (or who) they like. Everything is just portrayed as normal. In a way, the fact that any possibility is viewed as normal might also be the reason why they don’t feel the need to declare anyone’s sexuality or whether they are romantically involved or not, also because in the end whether Yuuri and Victor are engaged or not, or are having sex or not, is not really relevant to their performance as figure skaters. The aspects of their relationship that are relevant to the story are what has already been shown to us.

To sum it up… I understand the various points of views, including the fact that a part of the fans would prefer to see Victor and Yuuri in a confirmed romantic relationship (be it because of their personal liking or because they would like more outspoken LGBT+ representation), but as long as the creators don’t confirm anything I will stay open to any possibility. I’m sorry if some of the things I said were taken the wrong way and I hope that what I wrote above was enough to explain that they weren’t meant as something offensive or negative but were just my attempt to be unbiased toward any possible interpretation. I myself am generally annoyed by the heterocentric view of the world (which in Japan is oh so popular..) and to me whether a pairing is het or homo makes no difference, therefore in my mind Victor and Yuuri in their current stage are very much like Mulder and Scully when their romantic relationship wasn’t confirmed in the series: no matter how you look at them they must be in love with each other, but it’s not confirmed, therefore fans who think their relationship is platonic have the right to think so (in the X-Files fandom too there were fans who didn’t ship them or were indifferent, but this didn’t stop the creators from making them a couple later on).

As a translator, I’m striving to be unbiased toward any interpretation and therefore to translate official material so that the original meaning/nuance is preserved and in English it doesn’t end up sounding more/less suggestive than it was in Japanese. Since they are very different languages, sometimes it’s hard to keep the exact same nuances as the original text, and of course if you ask 10 people to translate a line they will translate it in 10 different ways, but I’m trying to be careful especially with parts that might be easily misread (I mean, it’s useless that I translate something as sounding shippy when the original doesn’t… If the original does, of course I would keep that nuance).

In any case, if anyone ever thinks that one of my translations doesn’t sound right or that something I said sounds homophobic or hurtful, please let me know and I will explain more in detail what I meant. I always try to write my opinion without being offensive to anyone, but sometimes it’s impossible to write something so that all the people who read it will interpret it the exact same way, especially when talking about topics where readers have contrastive views. I respect all opinions (people who like Victuuri, people who dislike Victuuri, people who are indifferent, etc) and I just wish for everyone to live in peace without attacking each other.

Final notes:

1) Sorry for mentioning series unrelated to YOI, but since X-Files contains a het pairing I thought it would make a good comparison to show that my view of YOI isn’t influenced by the fact that Victor and Yuuri are both guys.

2) I was trying to be very neutral when I wrote my short review of the original drama at the YOI event, but to be honest some parts sounded just like a BL drama and it would take a genius to manage to “no homo” all of that… Of course the scriptwriter made it so that if you want to see their relationship as platonic you can still justify everything with “they were drunk”, but yeah…

3) Adding sources: 1) “What Yamamoto said” comes from the May Febri interview which I’m currently translating; 2) Kubo’s tweets from last August are something that wasn’t explicitly related to YOI but were definitely referring to YOI; 3) What Kubo said about no one being discriminated in YOI’s world is also a tweet from the end of last year, I made a post about it too.

#victor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #essay #long post is long #my opinion

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mild-lunacy · 7 years

Text

The Primary Lens for Mofftiss Intent

MOFFAT: You’re talking about ‘The Gay Thing’, I think. Well, I - I... that joke exists... But the joke exists only because if two blokes did move in together in modern London, and... hung around and all, people would say, ‘You’re a couple’. That’s quite sweet, if they say it in a total non-judgemental way. ‘Oh, you’re together? Yeah, I should think that’s the case’. Um... In terms of the many... fantasies that have been unleashed on the internet... Um. Fine? Uh... You’re allowed to make it any way you like. Yes, Mark?

GATISS: Just - stop it!

MOFFAT: Um, the thing about Sherlock Holmes is, you’ve understood nothing if you haven’t understood that sex, for him, is thinking. Right? That’s where he’s dislocated, that’s the problem. He’s like a genetic experiment where they’ve wired up someone’s libido to the brain, instead. So he doesn’t really think in those terms. He thinks... all he has to do is solve stuff. Um... So, it’s not - it’s not that kind of a relationship. Uh... I don’t - it can be in your mind or anyone (else’s...) But the reality is (...) No, but the, uh... You know, it’s kind of limiting - why do we have to make it sex? You know, there are love stories that are sex scenes. Love is a bigger subject. And it’s certainly a love story. But it’s not a sex scene - I don’t think. But if other people want to make it that, they’re very, very welcomed.

GATISS: It’s also back to the whole thing about... why characters are compelling. And in the end, the ambiguity is what’s interesting, and not the solution. If you just say it... I mean, it’s obviously much more fun for people to assume and for them both to get slightly affronted, but they not really see the obvious, which is - they are (!!!) - they love each other. But not in a sexual way... Series 4, Series 4!

- Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Q&A at Clapham Picturehouse, 2011

In retrospect, I think a lot of things resolve for me if I take Moffat and Gatiss at face value, here.

I know a lot of people are understandably upset by seeing this interview going around again, but their apparent honesty struck me as being particularly clear. I think if you don’t insist that Moffat really means that he’s aiming for canon Johnlock when he says it’s a love story but not a ‘sex scene’, and you simply accept that Gatiss genuinely thinks that it’s ‘the ambiguity is what’s interesting’, you come to a very simple conclusion, and it’s not that Moffat and Gatiss always intended to have canon Johnlock. This is not a receipt or any kind of proof of initial romantic intent for John and Sherlock in the show, as people have suggested even post-S4. Once you stop fighting it, it actually seems odd to me to see it that way, because both Moffat and Gatiss are explicitly saying the opposite... it’s just that the opposite of canon Johnlock, for them, is not a total ‘no homo’, per se. It’s more nuanced and ambiguous: quite self-consciously so. It also uses fundamentally different assumptions or axioms than fandom does.

Another way to put it is that I think it’s that they always intended to queerbait, if you take the definition of queerbaiting to mean a combination of using sexuality as a ‘recurring joke’ (for any reason), or ‘denying the assumptions’ of romantic interest ‘without modifying the character’s behavior’. In other words, if you focus on impact and results, it obviously is.

However, it’s not queerbaiting if you take it to mean specifically an intentional marketing scheme ‘to attract/appeal to the queer market’. That’s when you start talking about the Authorial Intent and/or what the creators are trying to actually communicate to the audience with the work. Here’s where the quote seems most useful, particularly if you use it as a lens to understand the waterfall ending of TAB.

They’ve actually explicitly illustrated their intent with the ending. Right after TAB aired, @therealmartinsgrrrl wrote a meta saying that the waterfall scene was the key to the entire series, and I didn’t realize then just how true that is. This is the moment we know, and that Sherlock himself knows, as she described: There are two of them. There have always been. It’s not Moriarty. It’s not Sherlock’s fear that wins. There’s no room for anyone else. Sherlock sees that alone doesn’t protect him, once and for all, and the whole episode resolves just as TFP does: John and Sherlock in their traditional roles, 1895 overlapping the present day. We assumed that there was somewhere yet to go after that scene, but there wasn’t; we just had to get John caught up, which happened at the end of TLD. Why? Because it’s a love story, but ‘not a sex scene’.

We have the last hurrah of the classic set up with a character (here, Moriarty) making it a bit of a joke for the last time, suggesting that John and Sherlock are together, because John is just... always there. ‘It’s certainly a love story’, and I’d say that’s clear as day. That’s part one, and it’s Moffat.

Part two is Gatiss: as he said, he thinks it’s fun for people to ‘assume and for them both to get slightly affronted’, which they do. This is the most explicit that gets in the whole show: both Sherlock and John get affronted, with Sherlock saying it’s ‘offensive’ and impertinent, even though he’s almost always silent on the subject, to the point that I’ve written recently about how suggestive that is, even if the idea is probably just that Sherlock’s simply silent on the subject of his feelings and/or romantic entanglement (even or especially to John). So as I’ve said earlier, Sherlock’s response here with that one word alone is a huge clue that they’re going to keep their private lives private on the show. The ambiguity is there, and it’s there intentionally, because the love itself is there, but at the same time (as Series 4 clearly suggests), their love isn’t meant to be sexual.

As I’ve written at length recently, I think the ‘Chekhov’s gun’ theory that ultimately forms the foundation of TJLC depends on conflating Sherlock’s sexuality and his history and self-perception as a ‘high-functioning sociopath’. The show did resolve that in TAB and TFP, but we obviously have certain aspects focused on (the false persona, the relevant history with Eurus that created it, the connection with John which shattered it), and certain aspects being subsumed by the other facets. The merely romantic gets dismissed in favor of the epic (’don’t you read The Strand?’) That line sets up and echoes the focus on ‘the legend’ of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in Mary’s final monologue in TFP. Essentially, I believe that all the romantic suggestions and questions raised in the three prior seasons about Sherlock’s love life (including Mind Palace!John’s asking about Irene Adler in the greenhouse) can be seen to resolve at the waterfall scene. This is the final time the question or insinuation about John and Sherlock is raised, and it’s put to rest and resolved through their untouchable union (of the same unbreakable ‘family’ type we see reinforced in TFP, I think).

Both Moffat and Gatiss agree-- and explicitly say-- that John and Sherlock love each other, but not in ‘a sexual way’, all the way back in Series 1, and Gatiss further says that they don’t ‘see the obvious’ until Series 4. The obvious doesn’t have to be intended to mean that it is sexual after all. It could be that they don’t see what it really means and just how much they love each other (even nonsexually!) until Series 4. That is, I do think that the end of HLV already shows that the confessions in TSoT (and everything earlier in HLV) wasn’t enough, and at the tarmac the misunderstanding and that somewhat awkward distance between them remains. They don’t see the obvious bond they have regardless of anything, the truth beneath the dismissals or denials of insinuations like Moriarty’s. And I think the truth is supposed to be that it ‘doesn’t matter’, as Mary says in TFP, ‘cause of who they are together: the indelible and unbreakable duo.

Of course that doesn’t mean I’m happy about all this, or that I think the execution or the way the text of BBC Sherlock was made (even TAB!) actually communicated this apparent intent. Certain things just exist regardless of intent, and they snowball-- such as all the parallels between John and Sherlock’s relationship and the use of romantic mirrors for almost identical dialogue with Molly and Mary, as I’ve said. That’s the ‘ambiguity’ without the solution that Gatiss seems to think is part of what’s interesting about the dynamic. Then there’s stuff that’s a lot more blatantly ‘flirting with the homoeroticism in Sherlock’, as Gatiss said in 2010, like many scenes in ASiB and TSoT in particular. There’s no heteronormative way to read John’s reaction to Irene at Battersea, as I’ve written about many times, or his reactions to the pregnancy deduction at the wedding. A lot of that’s subtext because it’s about acting, but acting is certainly part of the text, and I don’t think either Ben C or Martin Freeman are rogue agents somehow. So that’s certainly textual.

My point is simply that Moffat and Gatiss declared their intentions in 2011, and have more or less stuck by their guns the entire time.

#sherlock meta #tjlc #steven moffat #mark gatiss #johnlock feels #sherlock special #narrative #queerlock #queer issues

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kirukirice · 7 years

Text

Among the Crows: Chapter 51 - First Blood

I’m thinking that if chapters are going to be longer it would be better not to post the whole thing here since ‘keep reading’ doesn’t work on mobile. What do yall think?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter uvu

–> Full text here on Ao3!

Dinner at Ukai’s was always scrumptious and plentiful.

Blending together the nuances of Kara and human cuisine, his dishes often resulted in pleasing combinations of flavours that suited everyone’s palate. Today, the table was spread with a heaping serving of twelve-herb grilled pork, a huge bowl of fresh greens from the market, a pot of savoury potato and vegetable soup, and a tall bottle of aged apple cider.

Ukai liked to start off his meals with soup. He loudly slurped down the creamy broth and the softened tubers altogether, draining his bowl cleanly to the last drop. Afterwards, he carved out a thick cut of meat from the bone and sliced it effortlessly into large chunks to chew on. Finally, he washed it all down with a mouthful of cider.

Hinata and Kageyama scarfed down their food with gusto like ravenous hyenas – it didn’t matter what it was they put in their mouths, for it was all delicious – and burned their tongues on the piping hot soup. They never did learn to slow down and cool off their food.

Daichi ate modestly and alternated eating meat with vegetables, sometimes taking a swig of soup in between when he needed more flavour. He often reminded the kids to eat their greens and helped them cut up their steaks when it got too tough to chew.

Oikawa behaved like a proper gentleman as he ate. He made no uncouth clinks or clangs with his cutlery, carefully portioned his food into bite-sized mouthfuls, and chewed with his mouth closed. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin to banish any stray droplets from his flawless appearance, and finished his plate of whatever food he had taken.

Iwa-chan sat on the floor beside Oikawa in beast form, decimating a whole pork leg with his crushing jaws and making a whole lot of cracking noises in the process. He gobbled the leg up in a matter of minutes, and cleanly licked his paws and fur clean of grease when he was done.

“Oh, right. Is Suga not eating?” asked Oikawa when he noticed the Kara’s absence.

“No, he’s on a strictly fluid diet.” Ukai replied while chewing.

“Ah, that’s a shame,” he sighed regretfully, ignoring Daichi’s dagger-like glares. “I wanted to chat a little more with him.”

“Is the food to your liking? Nothing fancy, I’m afraid.” The Kara asked.

“Certainly. Your cooking is exquisite - nothing like the food you get in this town.”

“Ah, I’m an alright cook. We get the ingredients fresh, that’s why.”

Hinata forked a piece of meat and quietly hovered it below the table. Iwa-chan noticed, and snatched it up in one well-aimed bite.

“You humble yourself. Most restaurateurs here can’t hold a candle to you.”

Tickled, the boy lowered down another piece.

“I’ll set up my own diner when I get sick of birds, then,” Ukai laughed, “It’ll be much more profitable, for sure.”

And another.

“So, how did you become a doctor?” Oikawa asked.

And another.

“Long story. My folks were doctors, so I carried on the family trade.”

And another, until Kageyama ratted them out.

“Daichi, Hinata’s feeding the dog his food,” he complained.

Daichi looked over at Iwa-chan, whose canine expression was remorseless.

“Hinata, finish your share before you give it away, okay?” he said, then cut another chunk of meat and placed it on the boy’s plate.

“Okay. He likes it, though.” Hinata grinned happily and swung his legs. Oikawa ruffled the pup’s head and chided, “Let the growing kid have his food, Iwa-chan. You’ll get fat at this rate.”

“Oikawa, what is Iwa-chan, anyway?” Ukai asked the man.

“He’s a kind of werewolf.” Oikawa said, and then winked at Hinata.

Skeptical, the man took a few extra bites on his food. “Werewolf? Huh. I’ve never seen one, but the books don’t draw them like that.”

The mage shrugged and continued scratching Iwa-chan’s chin lazily. The hound obliged to his master’s whim, giving in to his sweet spot. “He’s a rare kind. Not every member of a race is the same, after all. Just like a grey Kara, yes?”

“Of course.” Ukai shrugged back. Except that he didn’t recall werewolves having black, leathery wings. “Do all mages have familiars like you do?”

“No, only beast tamers do. There are many kinds of mages, you see, not only those who command familiars.”

Hinata then asked, “Like what? Can they shoot lightning out of their hands?”

Oikawa laughed gaily and smoothed back his fringe. “No, silly! In theory we could, but that level of magic is too powerful for mortals to control.”

“So they’d fry themselves if they tried?” The child giggled at the thought, and the man grinned and booped his nose.

“Even the Grand Invoker himself couldn’t, you know. And he could do almost anything! You’d have to be a god, for sure.”

“Hey, we know someone who can.” Kageyama said, and Oikawa looked at him with interest. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to this crow yet.

“Oh? And who is that?” he asked.

“He’s called Nishinoya.”

“Yeah, he’s a really short deity.” Hinata added.

Suddenly, a booming roll of thunder roared off in the distance, and everyone stared out the window at once.

“Is that him?” asked the mage, amused.

“Must be. I’m only telling the truth, so don’t get mad!” Hinata yelled upwards, and Daichi covered the boy’s mouth with a sigh. “Don’t say that, or we’re gonna have to pay him a visit again.” He wondered if he had to re-explain the word ‘blasphemy’ to him.

And of course, Ukai hadn’t been briefed about their encounter with the short Tengu, so they had to tell the both of them the whole tale. Hinata and Kageyama were rather enthusiastic to do most of the talking, so Daichi let them and occasionally stepped in to clarify. They started right from when Daichi fell down the cliff, and acted out their utter surprise when they first met the deity. But right when they were getting to the interesting bits, a faint chime of a bell came from the bedroom, and Daichi excused himself from the table to answer it.

“He’s better trained than you.” Oikawa remarked snarkily to Iwa-chan, who rolled his eyes.

Entering through the curtains, Daichi looked at Suga with a smile and said, “You called?”

The Kara seemed more tired than usual, but it couldn't be helped. Having to drink honeyed tea alone for the past few days didn't give him a lot of energy to work with.

"Sorry," Suga spoke quietly, "You haven't finished your dinner, right?"

"It's alright." Daichi replied. He noticed the empty glass, and took it. "I'll get you some more water. Anything else?"

He shook his head.

Returning with a full glass, Daichi set it back down and asked for Suga's wrist. His skin felt cold, but his pulse was normal. His forehead felt fine, too, but it looked like he was shivering a little every now and then.

“Do feel uncomfortable? Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little,” replied Suga.

“I’ll see if there are more blankets.” Daichi said and closed the windows, shutting out the draft. The sky was almost pitch black by now as the rumbling clouds clustered together in a island of grey. They weren’t a by-product of Nishinoya’s wrath, to be sure - just nature’s.

Alas, though towels were in abundant supply, there weren’t any more blankets to be found. Fortunately, Ukai had a much better solution. From the crowded shed he picked up a small round ball of black feathers from a pile of similar-looking ones. The creature retained its fuzzy, globular shape as he held it, and it fit snugly in his palm like a lump of coal.

“This little buddy here’s a coalbird. It’s obvious why they’re called that – c’mon, just look at it – and also because they’re naturally very warm.” he explained to Daichi and Suga.

Nudging the top of its head with his finger, Ukai woke the bird. It gave the tiniest of sneezes upon being disturbed, and then chirped angrily at him and tried to fly off—but the man held it fast between his cupped hands.

“Hey, hey, sorry to wake you, bud. I just need a quick favour.” said Ukai to the bird.

It tweeted once in a questioning tone and calmed down.

“Could you sleep here with this man for a while?”

The coalbird looked at Suga, blinking rapidly and cocking its head this way and that. It then chirruped something lengthy back at Ukai which sounded like a very unthreatening interrogation. Every single time Daichi observed Ukai conversing with a bird, it was like watching him talk to himself like a madman.

“Yes, yes, you don’t have to worry. All you have to do is sit under that nice, comfy blanket, and be yourself. Just get your friend to replace you when you’re done.”

As if in agreement it wiggled its short tail, then hopped out of his hands and walked slowly up to Suga’s chest.

Suga watched it intently and a small rush of delight came over him. “It’s so tiny,” he whispered, and the bird tried saying something to Suga. When he didn’t respond, the bird repeated its chirp twice, then looked confusedly up at Ukai. The doctor shrugged at the coalbird and translated its words for him.

“She’s asking you if you’ve cleaned your feathers already. She’s very particular about hygiene.”

Suga nodded and replied to the coalbird, “Yes, Daichi helped me earlier.”

Satisfied with his answer, it nestled on top of his chest and poked its walnut-sized head out from under the blanket. It closed its beady yellow eyes and rested its head on him, a movement so insignificant that he barely felt it. Its little body radiated warmth like a portable heater, and soon it felt all cozy and warm underneath the sheets. Suga dared not touch it - though he very much yearned to as he found it immeasurably adorable. It was so small, soft, and light that it seemed like the slightest nudge would bruise it, much like a strawberry.

“You can’t understand what it’s saying? I thought all Karas could.” Daichi asked and Suga shook his head, his gaze transfixed on the bird.

“It’s just like any other language. You have to learn it.” Ukai said. “I think they’ll get along fine anyway, even if they don’t understand each other.”

Smiling, Suga closed his eyes alongside the bird and sighed peacefully, “She’s so warm.”

“See?” the blonde grinned and gestured at the heart-warming scene, “No problem.”

And having one less thing to worry about was important, for tonight it seemed like trouble would stir at a moment’s notice. The brewing storm hit the house shortly after dinner, and the rain began pouring down heavily in droves. Thunder crackled across the sky, and lightning split the heavens into brilliant white fissures. Soon, Oikawa foretold, the Carcamas would take advantage of the confusion and darkness of this wretched night and strike. Iwa-chan had already sensed a large gathering of beings within Kabeki Forest, but that was the only point of certainty.

Lying in wait in the cold and wet, Daichi, Oikawa, and Iwa-chan hid themselves behind the barricaded fence that was erected a few metres away from the house. The rest took shelter inside and turned out all the lights except for the oil lamps hanging from the front porch, making the entrance look like a shining lighthouse in the middle of a sea of black.

Just what the mage wanted.

“You really don’t have to do anything, Daichi. We’ll take care of it.” Oikawa yelled over while taking cover from the rain underneath Iwa-chan. The hound was wholly focused on detecting the enemy, his ears swivelling about as he sat unperturbed by the rain pelting his coat.

“I’m not going to sit around and do nothing when I can defend this place.” Daichi replied and docked his arrow. The hood pulled over his brows kept the water out and his sight clear.

“With that thing? In this weather?” Oikawa scoffed.

Level-headed, Daichi cricked his neck and loosened his shoulders. “Don’t worry about me.”

The mage snorted, unconvinced, and took out his whip. “Suit yourself. Just don’t get in my way.”

“Silence.” Iwa-chan commanded with his deep voice and got off his hind legs. “They’re making a move.”

The two humans tensed up at once and peered out from cover. They could barely see or hear anything through the blasted torrent.

“How many of them are there?” Oikawa asked and squinted his eyes.

“I’m not sure. Twenty, maybe thirty,” he replied. Daichi gulped and clutched his bow tightly. That number was far above their estimates.

Then, Iwa-chan’s ears pointed at attention and his eyes glowed red. “Something’s coming.”

Far off in the fields, he heard the swift thumping of a heart that drew closer and closer.

“One.” he murmured, and took a step forward.

“Only one?” The hunter said, and stood up to draw his bow.

Oikawa frowned and stood as well. “Stand down. Iwa-chan’s got this.”

“Why don’t we save the best for last?” Daichi replied calmly and took aim. The mage couldn’t argue with that. He clicked his tongue and sulked on top of the fence, and Iwa-chan took that as confirmation to yield. A job was still a job, however, and he would assist where Daichi was lacking.

“It’s halfway through the field and straight ahead. When will you shoot?” the hound asked.

“A hundred metres.” Daichi said, accepting his help. He could almost make out a moving object in the blurring rain, and he adjusted his arm.

“Understood. At this speed, about fifteen seconds until it arrives.”

Daichi breathed out and closed his eyes briefly.

He couldn’t kill the lynx back then in the forest, but this time would be different.

“Ten seconds.”

A wide open field was child’s play to someone like him. All the times he skipped school really paid off.

“Five.”

What was a little rain and wind but distractions in the hunt?

“Four.”

He even had someone telling him where the target was.

“Three.”

All he had to do was pull back the string—

“Two.”

Take a good, hard look at the cat’s eyes—

“One.”

And let his arrow fly.

The spear sliced through the air with a short whistle, and after a few seconds of suspense, the strangled cry of a Carcama sounded off in the distance.

“It’s dead.” Iwa-chan reported after a moment, no longer hearing the beating of its heart. Yet another soul bound for the underworld, he thought.

“Are there more?” asked Daichi, already ready for the next one. But Iwa-chan shook his head and jogged off beyond the fence. Dragging the heavy carcass into the compound between his jaws, he dropped it off between the two men with a muddy splash and spat out the foul-tasting blood. There, they saw the Carcama’s ghastly face which was locked in eternal surprise, undoubtedly at the arrow that drove itself right between its eyes. The arrowhead emerged from the base of its skull, and whatever brain matter that had burst from the hole had long been washed away.

“Well, well, that was a clean kill.” Oikawa remarked, seemingly unimpressed.

“They’re retreating,” Iwa-chan said with a flick of his tail, “I can’t detect them anymore.”

Pulling out the arrow with a hard tug, Daichi frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Carcamas don’t attack one by one, and they won’t just leave their friend here.”

“But that was the case last night, and so were the attacks from before. This strange behaviour must have an explanation.” Oikawa said and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, toying with an idea in his mind. “Let’s discuss that indoors, shall we? My socks are getting all soggy.”

No one argued with that.

Once inside, Ukai had many towels but no clues to give.

“I don’t know what to say. They should have destroyed this place a long time ago, but they haven’t. They’ve just come and gone in different places, picking people at random to maul.”

“But is it really, as you say, random?” Oikawa suggested while drying off his wet hair. With just his undershirt and long pants on, the mage’s appearance was a departure from his usually prim and proper self; but still no fault could be found in his enduring charisma.

Hinata took joy in chasing Iwa-chan around with a dry towel, and Kageyama had turned in for the day. The fireplace smouldered with a fresh log that was just beginning to catch the continuing flame.

“What do you mean?” the Kara asked and lit up a cigarette. He looked like he needed three of those.

“Well, what if all they’re doing is in preparation for something bigger?”

Daichi raised an eyebrow. “You mean, they’re planning for a huge attack?”

“They’re not that smart,” Ukai frowned, brushing off the idea.

Oikawa pointed a tentative finger upwards and leaned onto the dining table. “Let’s not jump to conclusions, gentlemen. They have, despite their odd behaviour, been moving in a definite direction. If we were to plot out their attacks and apply logic to the situation—“ he took out a rolled-up map of the town from inside his coat, “—we can see what they’re trying to do.”

Ukai spread the parchment out onto the table and took a closer look at the crosses marked onto it. Then, he realized what Oikawa was trying to say. Every single attack had happened on the outskirts of town, and the crosses were forming what resembled a ring around the entire settlement. The only spot where a glaring space was left was the clinic, right on the other side of town where the first kill occurred.

“Are you saying… they’re testing us?” Ukai concluded.

“Either that, or they’re just playing with you. Cats, am I right?” Oikawa replied jokingly, then waltzed around the table as he spoke. “Every assault so far has been simple. One or two Carcamas sneak into a house in the middle of the night – they did it once during the day, actually – then kill a few people, and leave without the villagers putting up much of a fight.”

Ukai looked up grimly, his palms flat on the map. “Yes. We haven’t managed to take down a single Carcama, and they always run away after making a kill. They don’t eat the bodies.”

Oikawa continued, “It makes sense to say that they’ve been poking around to see where town’s defences are at. They could have come all at once, but they decided to cover their bases and gauge the strength of their enemies. But, even if we don’t know what their real strategy is, we can be sure that they’re not here for food or for fun. So, it can only be—“

“For territory.” Daichi finished his sentence.

“Bingo.” He snapped his fingers. “You’re smarter than you look.”

The doctor combed through his hair and puffed out a long breath of smoke. He left his unruly fringe hanging over his face, and then stubbed out his cigarette on the table. “Fine. Let’s say they are here to take over. Then, what’s causing them to do so? A human settlement isn’t a home for Carcamas.” he murmured.

“You’re asking the right questions, doctor.” Oikawa smiled and tapped his fingers on the table. “That brings us back to their unnaturally organized behaviour.”

Oikawa then caught Hinata in his tracks and pinched his cheeks, stopping the assault on his poor puppy.

“Someone - or something - is leading them,” declared the mage.

“And now that they know there’s someone capable of stopping them, they won’t sit idly by.”

But who could lead a battalion of bloodthirsty cats?

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