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rappaccini · 16 days

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.......... kingdom of the planet of the apes thoughts

noa

great new protagonist. excited to see how he evolves as a character. he's definitely The New Caesar, but his gentler personality is a welcome change.

damn somebody else CAN actually hit the andy serkis notes for playing an ape. props to this actor.

glad he isn't caesar's descendant and that his clan's totally apart from caesar's tribe. thank you for expanding the world instead of star warsing it. -- and for calling out the obsession with nostalgia via proximus.

his arc was great. questioning the state of things and wanting something better should hopefully spell good things for the development of the ape society in the reboots. more on that in a sec.

that or he's about to have one hell of a disillusionment arc.

these movies keep coming up with clever ways to distinguish their ape characters. the bald spot, green eyes and armband being his thing are his.

his tribe and their eagle culture is fascinating. the concept of apes using abandoned skyscrapers as towers for bird husbandry comes from a history channel documentary i remember watching as a kid and i love seeing it pop up here.

even the eagle song, which could've been so cheesy, works in context.

even his name is so well thought-out. noa as in noah, who guides people through a flood; which noa does at the climax. and noa as in 'no', the first word an ape spoke out loud in the first trilogy, which is paralleled when mae shouts his name- the first word a human speaks in the second trilogy.

.... anaya and soona were certainly there.

the soona romance felt out of nowhere. like oh ok so the one girl in the friend group is the future gf. we're doing that. fine.

and all that just so her designated bf can emotionally cheat on her with a human for two more movies. girl. get out of there now.

yes i think noa and mae had chemistry. pota is a franchise that simply does interspecies romance. a lot. you just have to roll with it if you're gonna be here.

i was wondering when that would make it to the movies again, and it seems like they're trying to see how much they can get away with.

like it's 100% intentional that they have young adults who aren't married and have no kids as the pro and deuteragonist in this trilogy. they know about the chemistry. they animated him checking her out like that on purpose. they made them co-leads for a reason. they did a parallel to the "NO" scene in rise with mae calling noa's name. they gave mae a beat of jealousy when she learned about him and soona. he's catching her on horseback and giving her a token of clothing from his clan. he's unable to choose between his childhood sweetheart and the girl he's been traveling with for weeks. there's a layer of innuendo in the climb to access the military silo that had me cackling.

they know what they're doing.

it's probably not gonna be a literal ship, more like a symbolic one. i don't want them to kiss or fuck or say i love you i want them to stare at each other, obsess over each other, debate the nature of humanity and sentience, touch foreheads, save each other, try to kill each other and die in each other's arms. they're gonna make their symbolic breakup everybody's problem.

general worldbuilding thoughts

maybe it's just that i've been getting back into fantasy but there's a very... familiar vibe to the rhythms of the story. a noble prince, a fat goofy monk and a belle dam sans merci setting off to fight an evil king. but it's apes!

damn we're really so desperate for gay rep that we're taking raka saying "he was my village" about a guy he was close to and running with it huh

(👀 at noa and mae encountering another unconventional couple. it just keeps stacking up.)

okay. then we have to talk about how the only possibly queer character is the guy who can't even admit that he's gay even though none of the characters should have a problem with it, who drowns halfway through the movie. and is played by the only person of color in the main cast. oh so i guess these apes aren't that different huh.

no this is such a gripe i have with pota reboot worldbuilding. the apes are starting a new civilization... and building it like humans. everyone's straight, even though bonobos are famously up for anything and even chimps, orangutans and gorillas have been known to get gay. apparently monogomous mates are a thing even though apes don't do that. all power is held by male characters, even though bonobos are matriarchal, orangutans wouldn't give a shit either way and female chimps may not lead their troops but they sure as shit don't hide at home with the babies. yeah okay ~they don't have to behave like their species~ but... isn't that a missed opportunity? if you're going to build a new society based on a species of animal, wouldn't it be more interesting to build it around how those animals behave? or at least do something different than the same system we have?

at least this reboot doesn't fridge any of the female characters. was sure noa's mom and soona were toast. still think they won't make it to the end of this trilogy but they got through part 1.

.... so are gibbons evolved too. i think raka mentioned gibbons. wtf would that be like. skinny little dudes with big voices. can we meet some.

mae

a great deuteragonist. another gripe i had about the caesar trilogy was how male-centric it was. no seriously i was sitting in the theater ten years ago watching dawn, thinking, those humans could've sent a team of women up to restart the dam and this whole mess could've been different because koba's specifically triggered by the presence of men. because men were the people abusing him. (and because bonobos follow the females in the group)

not a coincidence that when the apes adopt a human into their tribe, it's a little girl.

so kotpota having a female deuteragonist was very needed and even something as small as noa's mom being a leader figure was too. the bar's in hell. don't love soona being The Designated Girlfriend, and mae only interacting with guys though. please let her interact with women.

seeing kingdom actually use that angle, of apes being calmer and more accepting of women than men, and having mae exploit that with those puppy eyes? oh that was smart. even if they didn't realize they were writing it that way i'll take it.

another smart detail: the bunker being in the plains. humans were grassland apes. makes sense that would be where they'd continue to exist, and where the other species would avoid.

adding onto that: humans are good swimmers compared to other primates. wish more was done with that given how much of the story revolves around being near water. i'm just saying i wish we got a scene where mae casually swims across the river while raka and noa are like. trying to inch their way over a fallen tree or something. different apes are good at different things. let's see more of that.

anyway love the mae twist. love that she isn't an astronaut-- but is setting in motion events that will lead to their return. and that there are pockets of intelligent humans out there.

extremely funny that she keeps accumulating dirt and has the rattiest side braid. this girl simply does not bathe.

i am staring hard at the implications behind mae always wearing eagle clan blue after she accepts noa's mom's blanket. it's the blanket, then the shirt, then the poncho. hm.

i'm wondering if there are in fact cultures where humans and apes are living together peacefully. or if this is the story of how one is created.

regardless it looks like the conflict's going to shape up to be humans trying to reclaim earth and apes fighting to maintain their new lead. cool.

still annoying that even in the apocalypse women have tweezed eyebrows and hairless armpits. okay.

i'm so curious about mae. how much of her backstory was true and how much was a lie. her group being massacred was clearly true, but her mother being dead may not be. she's clearly isolated from the bunker civilization given that she isn't allowed inside, so is she just... alone. unable to go home again. do they think she's contaminated. is she going to be stuck outside alone in a hostile world for years until the next movie comes out. what's going on there.

anyway the foiling of her and noa is great. smart but naive rule-following son of the chief who's never had a hard day in his life, vs bitter manipulative grimy girl who grew up in constant fear. that's juicy. he can fix her! she can make him worse!

she's clearly not evil. she's just been through some shit. you can see the wheels turning in her head as she realizes raka and noa are genuinely kind, and where her fears about apes are coming from when she literally watches them hunt other humans for sport, had her group murdered by them last week and just narrowly escaped being killed by them. her paranoia and bitterness is actually justified. when she lies to noa, it's because she has good reason to fear him and her distrust of him is well-founded. when she blows up the dam to destroy the weapons inside the vault, it was the right move because proximus absolutely would have used them to enslave more apes. and when she conceals that she has the gun, i don't blame her. (also worth noting that she takes the smallest one in the locker and leaves the rest)

... love that she's the one who made the choice for noa about ~which girl will you choose to kill~. nah bitch. she's choosing YOU.

and she WAS honest to noa about what she wanted from the bunker. dude's not gonna get what a hard drive is, so "book that lets us speak" WAS accurate.

(... very clever of the movie to have noa and co pick up a book of abcs, aka, a book that teaches you how to translate letters into sounds, and see images of apes in cages. the misunderstanding makes sense: he thinks she was here for that. and symbolically, she kind of is.)

the mission she's on IS that serious. fuck yeah getting the satellites working so we can speak to other survivors is worth taking all those risks.

.... and fuck yeah it's gonna lead to some conflict. gonna be interesting to see what mae does when that breaks out.

if she's getting a redemption arc, i love it. if she's about to turn into a tragic villain, i love it.

she's the koba of this trilogy.

(... and since koba was gay as hell for caesar. you know that that means.)

proximus

great villain. great personality. great example of the apes getting in on serfdom and organized religion. he's got an immortan joe flavoring that's exciting.

i know i'm the only person who gives a shit about this but noa should absolutely have been a bonobo and proximus should've been a chimp. putting aside that we're really doing that Good Chimp Evil Bonobo shit again... the softboy from a pacifistic clan being a bonobo just makes more sense because bonobos are the peaceful apes. like yeah ~they don't have to be exactly like the species they're based on~ but when are we gonna get a good bonobo depiction. why is every bonobo an evil wannabe dictator.

and the violent caesar wannabe being a literal chimp and using that heritage to try to claim an inherent connection to the ape messiah feels like a missed opportunity.

especially when you consider that the bronze age apes are already starting to take after humans in their social structure: the apes, all on their own, just invented organized religion, monks, animal husbandry, kingdoms, patriarchy and raiding parties that capture and forcibly convert other tribes to make them into slave labor.

... odds are speciesism is next. it's already there with the humans. how long's it gonna take before they start insisting that certain apes can only serve certain roles in society. we already have it as a given that the chimp Must Be The Protagonist and the bonobo Must Be The Antagonist, that the always-male gorilla's the enforcer, and that the orangutan's always a chill smart guy. what happens if someone doesn't fit that caste system, or if the system fragments into tribes that don't mix species. probably not anything good.

... at what point are we gonna talk about how humans are apes too. it's not the 60s anymore, let's go into that.

or how we really needed to expand the 'proximus wants to be like humans and that's why he's bad' theme to 'any ape that becomes as evolved socially as humans will end up emulating human civilization in all its best and worst ways because humanity isn't the problem, power is'

i hope we still get there. the reboot spent an entire trilogy building up how human apes are and how apelike humans are; let's see the lines start to blur.

anyway frank gallagher being his human advisor was fun. proximus has a real king louie vibe that's funny and eerie.

did proximus and frank gallagher explore each others bodies

of course this fucker's obsessed with the roman empire.

.... still think there's a missed opportunity. like. think about it: proximus wants to be human and is obsessed with evolution and speeding ahead through it by any means necessary. and with bringing an intelligent female human to his court alive and mostly unharmed, and keeping her in a gilded cage. and his manservant's warning said human female captive that whatever the fuck proximus wants with her, it might be worse than death.

all i'm saying is, when proximus literally pulled a 'bathe her and bring her to me' and had her eating at his table as he was breathing down her neck right in front of the guy who has a crush on her who he's trying to break the spirit of, talking about speedrunning evolution and how superior he thinks humans are, preening about how he's made himself a kingdom, sneering about how interesting it is when humans and apes pair up, and. uh. the innuendo in him saying he wants to speed up evolution by forcing his way into an enclosed chamber that's important to mae that she desperately wants to keep him away from that she insists is only for humans (... which she will let a different ape into anyway later that night by clinging to noa as he... you know. gets her there. as they're soaking wet.)

look i was waiting for him to drop the bombshell that he's looking for a human queen and has decided that he wants mae.

you know what that implies.

i wish they'd gone there. it's not even new territory for this franchise!

it would've given mae a visceral reason to snap necks and blow shit up that the audience would understand a lot easier than amorphous ~mistrust of the apes~ -- you really needed a concrete example of what mae personally is afraid of, and this was the best opportunity to give her that while disrupting as little of the story as possible. it would've taken one line of dialogue and maybe one gesture from him to pull that off.

it hammers in that proximus really does want to repeat the worst aspects of human civilization. which contrasts him to noa, a chance to do things differently. the law is wrong, and whatnot. what's the point of starting over if you're going to do it all the same.

it gives proximus another level of menace. fast way to switch the audience's perception from 'he's a dick but he's fun to watch' to 'oh yeah this guy needs to die.'

and since you're clearly playing with interspecies relationships, you gotta establish that they're going to start happening. this would've been a good opportunity to say "yes, we're going there" and show the audience what a bad one would look like, so they can recognize that the good one is different.

predictions.

... ok so beneath the planet of the apes is next, right? and then conquest to close out the middle chapter trilogy?

my wild guess is they'll focus on mae and her bunker people to contrast noa and his clan, and they'll have a female human antagonist to balance out the male bonobo. possibly dichen lachman's character.

maybe they'll drop a male human love interest in for mae to balance things out. another layer of plausible deniability. also it would be extremely funny if he and soona met and were like 'wait a damn minute'

… if they’re really doing a beauty and the beast, what if he’s the gaston figure

and to really drive the foils home, this time noa's gonna have trust issues and instigate the shady fuckup that results in the climax.

and then in the third, there'll be another war that the apes, in some form, will win. and noa and mae will either be trying to prevent it or leading their factions into a death spiral. fun either way.

they won't ever Go There with them being a couple. like no way would they have the balls to do it, and soona being the out-of-nowhere gf for noa pretty much confirms it. unless she's fridged. (man i hope she dumps him)

but their dynamic's got that vibe for a reason. i wouldn't be shocked if they ride that ambiguity through the trilogy and then have their historical interpretations in poto 7-9 be assumed to have been a couple, the same way caesar's been reinterpreted-- either the story of a human-ape relationship that made it possible for their species to live together, or a cautionary tale about Why We Do Not Mix. or springing some indication that the first human-ape hybrid came from them after the credits roll on the third movie, assuming they survive it. which i doubt.

part of me really fucking wonders if the twist for this reboot's going to be that apes and humans DO find a way to live together and noa and mae do succeed at getting their respective factions to live together. maybe it will be some romeo and juliet/uniting the tribes through symbolic marriage shit. feels like the fullest encapsulation of the do-things-differently theme they're playing with in kotpota.

or maybe they'll kill each other. which would also be fun but in a tragedy rubberneck way.

either way i'm excited. i missed these movies!

#planet of the apes

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pashminalamb · 1 year

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OMG 4TH EDITION? HELL YEAH! I can't wait for april! i would be lying if i said i wasnt hoping for a chigiri one (which im gonna check for again bc eyes), BUT BACHI HAS MY HEART MAN <3 super excited for the 4th edition!

aside from that, how was your day today? good, bad? if it was bad, i hope i can make a little bit better! idk how, but have another virtual hug! and sakuras! 🌸🌸🌸

just curious, but whos your least favorite blue lock character? i know your favorite is olive man, but least favorite? 👀

i pray that you get rich overnight (like billion because taxes and crap) so you can buy the pink-est (did you see what i did to the text :0 I DIDNT KNOW YOU COULD DO THIS), most PASTEL AND AESTHETIC mansion ever and then just set up an aesthetic room for your writing like please? if you have one show? i would love to see if you have an area thats dedicated to your writing!

i would say more but head empty rn 😭 and since youre on break i dont wanna talk just about your works! theres more to a writer than just their writing afterall. tell me more about yourself if you wanna! i would love to listen read! <3

i hope you have a WONDERFUL day as well as enjoy the weather that may or may not be horrible where you are (hopefully it's good)! byebye!!

- 🌸 anon

I actually did want to write for Chigiri but 3 characters is my limit n if i push it, I tend to get extremely exhausted. fourth edition will be uploaded on my ao3 account (link attached to my pinned post) noa is one of my fav - poor baby has a tragic backstory that it makes me wanna cry, he worked so hard to get here n i'm so proud of him because of it Now that i think about it... Barou was supposed to be in the list for your words, my hurt too (might make a 5th edition or something cause of this)

My day has been good so far ; I finished reading 'my in laws are obsessed with me' the webtoon n i'm reading a new manga ... *sending a hug back* you’re so sweet! *sending you a bouquet* 💐

Olive man 😭 that’s a good one 🥹😂

Least favorite? Easy. Everyone in blue lock since they’re stupidly high egoists. But the ones I don’t like are - Itoshi brothers n Kaiser cause of their over the top god / superiority / king complex. I can still tolerate them in comparison to these two (don’t like the most) : Adam Blake n Chris Prince. Adam wants to have sex with women in kimonos (my attraction towards him died along with this) n Chris needs to be less of a camera whore

Aw, you’re so sweet mon ange <3 it’s good to know there’s another pink fanatic out there o^^o

Pinkest n most aesthetic mansion where my followers, moots n I will stay (yes I just picked up the grand Budapest hotel … think about it -it’s a safe haven for introverts n there are a lot of mountains as well as a little far from the city) my aesthetic writing room is the library - I’ve always wanted a library that the beast gave Belle in beauty and the beast 🥹

Hm… about myself - idk what to say, but there’s an about me page under “Isabelle” on my pinned post :x apart from that,

I listen to a lot of Lana del ray’s music, my aesthetics are conquette, princesscore n angelcore. I don’t have a particularly fav manga, anime or movie cause there are too many to name, I like spicy food n tiramisu. Hbu? <3

Weather is alright - feeling a lil sleepy (•_•) 💤

Hope you’re having a good day / evening / night 🤍

#belle.☏#.lost sheep : 🌸

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kirabani · 9 months

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My One Piece theories

SPOILER WARNINGS FOR WANO and maybe more. I've reached episode 1056, and a friend told me to toss out my weird theories before I get as far as the "Huge episode" 1071. I've been right about a few things allready. So, Let's toss out the rest!

Makino was pregnant with Shanks. Not really a new or revolutionary theory. But anyhow!

Blackblackbeard is three people. In some way or form. Triplets? Split Personality? Oda has drawn him with 3 different noses, they reffered to him as "They" and his flag has 3 faces. An old a fun theory!

Shanks is a celestial dragon decent, og otherkin decent.

Is the origin of Devil fruit is on Laugh Tale? Shanks and his Crew knows they can't have devil fruit powers to get there.

I think most, if not the entirety of One Pieces plot is about freedom and imagination. Based on Odas obsession with animation, cartoons, and pirates, things are allready like taken straight out of Looney Tunes, and I'm certain it's just gonna get loonier as the closer we get to the end. As someone who grew up a fan of Looney Tunes, it's clear as day he took inspiration from the genre. Laugh Tale? The Entirety of One Piece is one big Laugh Tale. Oda doesn't want to do a single thing if it's not fun and make people smile. Luffy has been the representation of freedom, imagination and WILL since the beginning. Which brings me to my next theory,

Luffy doesn't have a gummy fruit. Details about Joyboy; Luffy has been a walking reincarnation of Freedom, imagination and loony shenanigans, and is the real representation for "You can do Anything and Everything you set your mind to." Only your own mind and fantasy is your limit! These things was what made me idolize him to begin with, growing up with him. Oda want him to make us smile. Since I first saw luffy, I always thought what if his fruit is about being a cartoon, who is freer that a cartoon?! And Since he bends away from damage like Buggs Bunny, and so forth. I couldn't believe such a heavy guarded fruit was a rubber fruit. JoyBoy; When I heard the name, I was in Awe! My sister grew up on Jamaica. And joyboy is a smaller carribian god for well, Joy! Who spreads laughter and joy to the beat of the drums. I believe the Joyboy before Luffy had the "gumgum fruit" aswell. - And I just got to Jimbei's fight against Who's-Who and went back to add details to this part! Boy do I now know that Luffy/ The gumgum fruit has the power of Sun God Nika. He practically Said Joyboy!! Inbefore luffy gets set on fire and turns into a dancing god.

Enies lobby needs to or will be plugged. The Swirls rule the planet, it's in everything we see. Just like the real world, with the golden spiral. We see it everywhere in nature, and some people say it's the key to the universe. Is it the key to One Piece? When I saw Enies Lobby I thought "That drain needs to be plugged". What happens if we plug it? Where does it go? Maybe if we plug it, all water will be raised up to the Red Line. And This theory goes hand in hand with;

The boat that Joyboy left with the fishmen is a Noas Ark. I believed for the longest time that they will plug enies lobby, fill the Noas Ark left by Joyboy and take all the people up to the Red Line for a Full Out War. OR, They use it to save the People, and the Pirates go to war on Marie Jois, now that the waterlevel can reach it. I'm guessing Joyboy knew alot in the void centuary, and made the boat for when the day would finally come when they needed to save everyone from the water. Water 7 comes to mind.

The 100 year void centuary was spend making the Red Line And that we are on a journey to make the world into One Piece again. Remove the Red Line, that they built to controll the world. They are currently building Another Line, so. Again with the spirals. The Golden Spirals. Spirals everywhere. In the eyebrows, the fruits, everywhere! Oda himself said it, if the earth stops there will be tidalwaves. Is this significant for what will happens if they remove the Red Line, or plugg Enies Lobby? Or how it was Before the Red Line?

The Egg on Rogers ship is a Dragon. An older theory was that The egg could be the one piece. The one piece is a dragon and whoever controls it will gain a powerful weapon. This was debunked, since Roger left Laugh Tale with the Egg. My theory is that the egg is a Dragon, and it is Uranus, the ancient weapon. I also had a theory that the middle name D stands for Dragon. So that those blessed with the will of D can controll dragons. But Monkey D. Dragon, Monkey Dragon Dragon? Sound a little too dumb to me. But Maybe. But Luffy understands the sea kings, just like Roger, and that could mean he can understand beasts/dragons.

And what is the One Piece? I've speculated a 1000 times like everyone else, is it the entry mountain to the Grand Line, is it A mirror of the truth, or Freedom perhaps? Oda promised it wouldn't be the journey along the way and the friends you made. But I belive it is Funny. Laugh Tale- They Laughed. I believe it is funny and dumb. Just like everything else!

#one piece #That took a long time to translate into english from my ugly norwegian notes jeez #one piece spoiler #spoiler #one piece theory #kirabani #excuse my bad english translate pls #I hope i didnt forget anything #one piece theories

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many-gay-magpies · 2 years

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sorry i’m so late 😭 i’ve been meaning to get to this for a while. irl stuff has gotten hectic to say the least unfortunately, but i am here now!

now i’m thinking abt the vamps doing ~mild crime~ to get around after they escape the orphanage and i Love it. jakah would be a Stellar pickpocket and i think noa too, he can move in darkness, steal smth, and not be seen at all. jaan can just generally beat up people who get too suspicious, jino lights campfires for them when they can’t get shelter and have to sleep outside (yes ik vampires can’t feel cold and see well in the dark but idc), shion with his mind-control powers (which are . barely mentioned in the webtoon or webnovel??? cuttoons my beloved) persuading people to let them stay in their homes for a night, solon staging wolf attacks so the livestock disappearances aren’t suspicious. maybe noa got so good at sleeping upside down and climbing stuff bc they’d regularly break into barns and things to get shelter for a bit and he would hide from the owners in the rafters. just . the group as a bunch of little ruffians committing their little crimes

“when you get your memories back, we’ll celebrate all your birthdays” OW. MY HEART. PAIN. sooha being the one to metaphorically slap the brothers awake (or physically, she’d slap them anyway!) from their “plan” of just getting through immortal life is so great to me. just imagining her like “wait so y’all have never tried laser tag?” and they’re like “no wtf. what is that.” and she’d be like “oh right y’all were literally born a million years ago.” “actually it’s just a few hundr-“ “ANYWAYS WERE GOING TO LASER TAG THIS WEEKEND BC CLEARLY YOURE NOT USING YOUR IMMORTALITY WISELY” and dragging them to fun, stupid little things because what good is an immortal life if you don’t fill it with happy memories unique to every time period you’ve lived?

- vrvr anon

ahh its np!! life happens, but like you said, youre here now! [and as a bonus i waited (see: forgot) to answer this for three days to even the field a bit LMAO]

BUT ANYWAYS yes. crime. who doesnt love a bit of crime here and there? for legal reasons this is speaking strictly in a fictional sense YES pickpockets jakah and noa! people at decelis THINK their brothers call them the "terror twins" (despite them not being twins) because of how deadly they are on the nightball field, but REALLY its because of how they used to tagteam pickpocketing from the upper class when they were fresh out of the orphanage. JAAN BEATING UP PEOPLE THAT GET TOO SUSPICIOUS YES GO VIOLENCE. maybe a particularily large asshole is threatening to out them as vampires and jaan is just like *cracks knuckles* "well ig its about time to pull out the big guns" meanwhile shion next to him is like "...you know i can just erase that guy's memories right-" "nOPE IM DEAF NOW CANT HEAR YOU. GONNA BEAT THIS GUY UP NOW" (IF the memory-wiping is something shion can even DO that early on—it would be interesting if it isnt, and instead its a more specialized skill he develops over time, because then their only resort at the start really WOULD be jaan beating people into submission to keep them from telling)

i can totally see shion using his mind-control to coerce people into giving them shelter-- and then when the brothers leave he tells them "just remember, we were never here, alright?" so that the host forgets and cant tell the orphanage anything if they come calling. theyd absolutely sneak into barns for shelter/rest, and now im thinking about them getting really familiar and friendly with farm animals because of it, and really having a soft spot for them even far into the future—like the school goes on a farm field trip or something and heli is, like, REALLY good with the chickens and the farmers are impressed and asking him stuff like "oh have you been on a farm before?" and he has to physically stop himself from blurting out "yeah when my brothers and i used to sneak into peoples' barns to sleep as kids (their early vampire days probably seem like a childhood to them, in a way) i got really good at calming down the animals" (which. also now that i think about it adds a small level of angst to them killing and eating the livestock on some of those farms. but we dont need to talk about that <3). i also absolutely agree with noa get at good at climbing because of climbing in the rafters of barns, and solon staging wolf attacks to make the livestock disappearances less suspicious—they probably wouldnt have to do it that often, either, because an entire cow (if they knew how to properly drain it) would probably sustain them all for a while. little ruffians committing their little crimes!

NO BCS NOW I HAVE EVEN MORE FEELINGS ABOUT THE BOYS' IMMORTALITY AND ABOUT SOOHA TEACHING THEM TO (METAPHORICALLY) LIVE AGAIN. because now im just thinking, the vampires' lives (that they can remember) basically consist of just the orphanage, the escape, and then running—and nothing else for a long, long time. they had to run for so long with the threat of the orphanage hanging over their heads that it just became the norm to them. the threat's still there today—it will never completely be gone, and so, the running will never stop. it's all they know. then sooha comes along, and her existence—her new, bright presence in their once-closed circle—kicks them into realizing that theyve been existing rather than actually living their (non-) lives for the past several centuries. after sooha HERSELF realizes this, she gets a bit aggressively sad/indignant for them and everything theyve missed—have they ever even BEEN to a modern movie theater?! to a water park? to an arcade?? have they been on a road trip, an actual road trip, meant for sight-seeing and experiencing things rather than endlessly running from whatever's behind you? when they go into town on the weekends, is it to have fun, or is it just performative; just to seem like all the other kids at decelis? did they even do that before she showed up? i just have a lot of feelings okay (and so does sooha)

however now this brings a happier scenario to mind—wherein sooha is giving the boys this big impassioned speech, making them realize how much theyve missed while thinking that running was all their lives would ever amount to, and then right at the end of it she yells, full of anger and pain for them, maybe a little teary-eyed; "just because you died doesn't mean you can't live!!"

silence. they all sit there blinking as the realization of what sooha just said sinks in— sooha herself equally dumbfounded. then, the entire atmosphere diffuses as they just burst out laughing; the full-bodied, hysterical sort of laughter that's been pent up for a while, making them fall out of their chairs or off their beds and struggle to breathe (or, well, in sooha's case anyway). they exhaust themselves laughing and then, when they FINALLY catch their breath (both metaphorical and literal), theyre in cozy enough states of mind to have a serious, but significantly more comfortable conversation about everything, and about the plans theyre going to make for all the activities they've missed that sooha is going to introduce them to. i like the idea of them maybe making a pact to do one new thing every weekend, whether it's going to the movies, going to a karaoke bar, or just having a sleepover as a way to teach the boys how to enjoy life again, and also give them some good-old friend group bonding time :)

#asks #anon 📝#vrvr anon #dark moon universe #dark moon nonsense #dark moon

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jakka-ningen · 2 years

Text

This is my second post in the "jakka-ningen reads Zeta Define" series, covering volume 2. I have a lot more to say this volume, as there are lots of divergences from the anime from this point out.

Right from the beginning of volume 2, we have Char showing off in the Gundam Mk-II. Bright is impressed with his ability to adapt to a new suit right away, to which one of the bridge crew responds...

Guy: He's just the showy sort, that Red-- (realizes what he's saying, to whom) re, re...

Bright: ...?

"Quattro" is a master of disguise, truly.

While convincing Bright to captain the Argama, he just takes more and more stabs at trying to figure out the secrets of Quattro Bajeena, and the crew is like, "iono, it's a mystery."

Fa's parents apparently work for the colony construction company. This is a little interesting, because that was the cover Amuro's dad was using while working on the Gundam.

Henken: Hey, Bright is real curious about you.

Char: Yeah, he knows me. I'll figure out something or other to do about it.

Henken: See that you do. I'll leave it to you, then!

...Does literally everyone know? I figured everyone kind of knew, and were just humoring Char, but it seems that Char himself is aware that everyone knows. I thought Char believed that he was being Very Sneaky. The idea that everyone knows behind his back is immensely funnier. But, oh well.

Char: [...], Kamille-kun.

Kamille: Why not just call me by my full name? You've already researched me and found out who my parents are, I'm sure.

Roberto: As expected from a Newtype, what good intuition!

Kamille: Don't call me that, either!

We get some cuteness from angry Kamille here after all. I was wondering if his personality would be completely docile now. I'm pleased. You still have to punch Char in the face later, so keep up being angry, kid!

After telling Fa that he can't find out about her parents’ whereabouts or well-being because the security of their workplace is too tough to crack, Char asks Kamille if he wants to know about his parents.

"I'm fine without knowing. Parents like those can end up however they end up..." Kamille's discomfort with his parents survived, anyhow.

Awkward flirting is awkward here with Reccoa and "Quattro."

Char: Kamille seems like the type to get nervous easily. Could you keep an eye on him?

Reccoa: Sure. But, you know, it's been half a year since we met. You should keep an eye on me, too, Taii.

Char: *flicks her forehead*

Reccoa: Geez!

You might just want to give up on him right now, Reccoa, lol.

This Reccoa is such a good big sister to Kamille. I can't imagine this Reccoa going off with Scirocco later. This Reccoa seems cool. I'm gonna feel doubly betrayed when she switches sides.

Char, alone, thinking: I took down six battleships at Loum, but couldn't sink the White Base. Its crew were also said to just be a bunch of conscripts. ... It's only natural that Bright Noa is suspicious of the Red Comet.

What I really want, and what no adaptation will give me, is Char actually considering the fact that he was fighting children the whole time lol. This is as close as we've gotten to that.

Me, browsing Twitter all month last month: Why are so many people shipping Char and Bright?? What in the text even supports that??

Zeta Define: Yo.

After all, they get riveting dialogue, like...

Char: Yes, Bright. I am a CHAR.

Bright: Wat.

(That's not how it went. lol)

Char: Did my sister tell you anything?

Bright: She said you're a demon child (literal).

(Context: it's a phrase that means "a child not resembling their parents")

I forget how that line was officially translated. I think they went with "disgrace."

Char: (in uncharacteristically fancy Japanese, probably because he's literally thinking about when he was a political bouya) She may be my own sister, but that's difficult to hear. (Back to normal Japanese) But it's true that the person I was back then was someone she could think about that way.

Without being able to ignore the question of whether Degwin Zabi had assassinated our father before, under the pretense of acting accordance with my father's ideals, establishing a dictatorship, there was no way I could have forgiven the Zabi family.

However, when I encountered the White Base and Gundam, I was forced to change my plans.

After the war, thanks to remaining away from the Earth Sphere for a bit, I was able to clear my head and reassess myself. I realized how petty I had been up to that point.

Bright: So what is it you're trying to do now?

Char: The Zabi family, which, rather than being destroyed, is being bound by an armistice agreement, and the Earth Federation, who were forced into war by the Zabi family... Between that Federation and all Spacenoids, a feeling of distrust has been born.

The actual situation and the goals of the AEUG are exactly as you discussed with [Blex]. (In other words, he's assuring Bright that the AEUG isn't a cover operation for his personal agenda.)

I want to act on behalf of the Spacenoids, who have come to be despised, not in order to gain power or set up a dictatorship, but in service of my father's ideals, realizing political autonomy for all Spacenoids.

Bright: Are those your true feelings on the matter?

Char: If they weren't, I wouldn't be talking to you like this. *DRAMATICALLY REMOVES SUNGLASSES* (lol)

As the rival who formerly caused the White Base so much distress, I believe I understand your competence better than anyone else. Right now I'm not fighting for my personal grudges, but for all Spacenoids. It's my hope that we can both throw away our differences in the past and fully cooperate.

Bright: I'll believe in you, based on those words.

Char: *surprised Pikachu face*

Char: If you agree that easily, I'm the one who will have a hard time believing you.

At this point, Bright is like, "It's not like we didn't have our own circumstances behind the scenes of the OYW. ... Hearing you talk like this reminds me of how hard-headed I was back then."

Somewhere, Amuro gets a sudden chill down his spine.

"Char probably rethought his whole life while at Axis" is one of the conclusions I had come to, but which wasn't spelled out anywhere. The manga seems to agree with me.

Meanwhile, at the docking bay, Astionage calls out Kamille as having stolen his dad's files on the Gundam for his own reading pleasure (explaining how he was able to pilot it), and he denies it, flustered.

Kamille, why are you denying it? You didn't want them calling you "Newtype" in the last chapter. Just tell them you had prior knowledge; they don't care if you stole from your dad, lol.

AAAAAH! So cute!! They're taking about specs and how they feel about the handling of the various suits, and we get this scene:

Char: <something or other about the Mk-II>

Kamille: In that way, as well, you're saying the Rick Dias is the better machine?

Char: You're actually pretty proud of the Mk-II, aren't you? You said that you hate your parents, but really, you respect them in your own way.

Kamille: (uncomfortable) That's not really what I meant...

Char: It's not a bad thing, to be proud of your parents. You should be more honest about your feelings.

Kamille: 😕

Honestly, there's a lot more "time" felt between Kamille coming aboard the Argama and when his parents are held captive. He's already being treated as a member of the crew. He's accepted that position emotionally, as well. The adults treat him as a peer. It's a very different vibe from the anime.

Char: <discussing tactics> ...But I only ever faced one pilot who could pull that off.

Kamille: Did you defeat him?

Char: If I had been shot down by him wouldn't be alive. However, I wasn't able to win against him.

[...]

Kamille: I don't even believe there *was* such a pilot.

Char: There are many unimaginable things in this world that actually exist.

(lol)

[...]

Char: Do you think you can utilize 100% of the Mk-II's capabilities?

Kamille: Quattro-taii, I'm not... I'm not even a pilot, so...

Char: Oh... That's right...

(He forgot.)

Although I said that it felt like more time had passed aboard the Argama, it feels just as fast as it did in the anime on the Titans' side. Kamille's parents are called in by Bask. He tells them that Kamille is the AEUG's hostage, which, regardless of the actual facts, considering he's a minor, is kind of true. It's not not true.

Freaking, his mom is like, "sorry our son caused all that trouble the other day." His dad seems concerned about getting in trouble, himself. What are your priorities here?? Are you just going to defer to Bask because he's your superior without considering what's going on with your kid?? Franklin and Hilda Bidan might not be able to do a lot directly to help their son, but I feel like they should be doing something. Aaaaaaah

Aaaaah, I hate it. I hate it here. I agree with Kamille. About them in general. 🙃

Bask is being pretty clever here. He's telling Kamille's parents that Bright, who had been working with the AEUG all along in secret, stole their son as a hostage. The AEUG's goal in this scenario would be to try and get the Bidans, who designed the Mk-II, to supply them with information on how to develop and manufacture more Mk-II units.

After this discussion with the Bidans, Bask calls up Jamitov, and they discuss how they had lured the AEUG over by leaking information on the Mk-II tests. They intended to sortie against them and then follow them back to their warship. However, they seem to have underestimated the ability of Reccoa & co's sabotage, as well as the pilots' skill.

Still, the fact that they got the AEUG to show up and instigate a fight inside a "civilian" colony is enough to use as propaganda against the AEUG as terrorists. (Remember that Green Oasis is still crawling with civilians, which is why the citizens hated the Titans to begin with, for overrunning a civilian colony with dangerous test sites.)

(Around that time, on Earth, at an airport)

Mirai, to her children: Here you go! These are your tickets!

Hathaway: Mom, our names are wrong on these.

Mirai: Quiet down now. It's fine.

Hathaway: We can't go back to our old house anymore?

Mirai: That's right... I had a really bad feeling about it, so...

MIRAI YASHIMA: STEALTH NEWTYPE

Mirai gets the actually useful powers. Amuro gets OP beastmode, but only when he's paying attention to what's around him, Char gets tactical genius and the ability to sense hostility, Sayla gets a headache whenever her brother is nearby, and Mirai can sense her husband in space and tell when danger is on the horizon.

I know which one I'd choose, as a non-combatant, lol.

We're back on the Argama, and I think Kitazume must have really liked when both Amuro and Kamille had those moments of yelling at people to use their own words instead of someone else's, lol.

"Quattro" is like, "Reccoa, thanks for looking after Kamille, he's calmed down a lot! Could you also convince him of something for me?"

So, Reccoa goes to see Kamille, who's trying to do something requiring security clearance he doesn't have, and is like, "well, if your status aboard the Argama was a little higher, you'd have access to that." Kamille asks what she means, and she says that he could, for instance, become a pilot for them.

Kamille: That's crazy!

Reccoa: You can keep a secret, right?

Kamille: Y-- yeah...

Reccoa: Quattro-taii said that, "Kamille has such a good intuition for piloting mobile suits that he could even become a pilot who surpasses Amuro Ray."

Kamille: He must've been joking. He didn't say anything like that to me directly.

Reccoa: He seems not to have told you because you need to grow a bit first. I'm also hopeful that I can see your actual performance with my own eyes.

Kamille: 😳

Reccoa: You seem to have piloted the Mk-II on Green Noa 1 to protect Bright-taisa, but were you really satisfied (just piloting to that extent)?

Kamille: Huh?

Reccoa: Even while we're sitting here, there are people out there being targeted by the Titans. Just because those people aren't in front of you right now, can you say that you don't feel anything for them?

Kamille: Well, I've never even tried thinking about it from that angle...

Reccoa: Kamille! You have the strength to protect others the way you protected Bright-taisa! I wouldn't say this to someone who doesn't have that sort of ability.

This is so manipulative. Kamille is going to be so pissed at both Reccoa and "Quattro" if he finds out about it.

This is an interesting potential method for the manga to rile up the protagonist, who started off a lot more docile in the beginning. I also think it's a different take on Char, who, for all of his manipulativeness in First, felt like a straightforward guy in the Zeta anime.

It's funny that he's going this far to convince a teenager, but Kamille is a strong Newtype, so... Anyway, a bunch of adults manipulating a kid like this is a very direct way to criticize our "good guys."

We're back with the Titans, and... I really don't care about them. I'm sorry. Jerid gets told off by Raira Raira. It goes about the same way it did in the anime, as far as I can tell while skimming.

As an aside, I fully realize that Raira’s name has a different, standard romanization. I just don't care. Tomino named a character "Raira Raira," and I will never recover. All I can think of is this song, every time: YOUTUBE LINK, BECAUSE THE RIGHTSHOLDERS HAVE DECIDED NOT TO LET ME EMBED THE VIDEO LIKE A REASONABLE PERSON. ANYWAY, THE BLUE HEARTS ARE GREAT AND YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THEM.

Reccoa and Char discuss their mental manipulation of a 17 year old kid.

Reccoa: I don't mind going on dangerous infiltration missions, but I don't like the idea of swaying the heart of an innocent boy, dragging him into a war.

Char: We can't let Titans do whatever they want to the Earth. You should be aware that we can't afford to lose. Don't cling to to your personal feelings on the matter, Reccoa.

Reccoa: Yes sir...

Well, Reccoa feels bad about it. Char is a pragmatist. But, based on an earlier discussion between them, it's obvious Reccoa is doing this for him, not for the AEUG.

There's an incoming fleet of enemy MS immediately after this scene. Char stops Blex in the middle of giving sortie orders, and Blex is like, "sure, you're good at war; let's hear your opinion," to which Char is like, "let's send the kid (who still hasn't agreed to be a pilot) out to fight them." Everyone else is like, "what the hell, man, that's one hell of an interview process," to which Char responds, "It's to see if he really is a Newtype."

Char. WTH. If he's not...?

I know you know he is, but. Seriously.

Bright: I agree with Quattro.

DO YOU NOW!?

Bright: I sense something in Kamille that points to Amuro Ray.

...Bright... Your judgment is both good and terrible...

While the adults are fighting, Kamille barges in and tells them to stop arguing.

Kamille: I've never thought that I might be a Newtype. But I can't forgive the Titans. I'm not saying I'm capable of piloting it well, but please lend me the Mk-II!

Compared to Amuro, whose line was something like, "I'm not saying I'm capable of it, but I'll do it," while spitefully looking at 19 year-old Bright, Kamille is very shounen protagonist here. I think the parallel in lines is intentional.

Still, I prefer "repeatedly steals the Gundam; insists he isn't interested in the politics of war; just kind of fell into his position as pilot" Kamille. As a former terrible kid, I love terrible kids, lol.

Either way, my opinion isn’t important. What’s important is that older brother Char looks proud. (lol)

There's a minor kerfuffle where the bridge crew is like, "this kid won't fit into an adult size normal suit. We can't, in good faith, send him out without one." (I imagine Char is wondering, "why not; I did that all the time when I was only a little older...")

It turns out, Reccoa has a suit that "a certain person" ordered for her, but she was mistakenly sent a men's suit, made for her height, instead of a woman's one.

Kamille is momentarily... jealous? of whoever "a certain person" is, but Reccoa bulldozes past that point and warns him that the enemy won't go easy on him because he's a kid. Kamille is like, "I'm no longer a child!" (I suppose we all feel that way at 17...)

Reccoa tells him to come back safely with her suit, which is cute. She may be trying to charm a kid using femininity, but I can't actually hate her.

We go over to the Titans again, and I'm gonna go off-topic for a hot moment here and talk about the Zeta anime, because this dialogue between Jerid and Raira Raira has reminded me of something.

Raira is set up as a member of the regular EFSF (as opposed to Titans), and, at least in the TV version, as she died, she talked about the difference between Oldtypes and Newtypes. She described the antipathy felt by Oldtypes towards Newtypes as being a subconscious and automatic response to realizing that your way of thinking is outdated.

This is interesting specifically because she was in a position where she was mentoring Jerid the whole time. "There's a difference between compensating and coping." She was someone who was portrayed as flexible in her thinking, which a trait Tomino generally reserved for Spacenoids, meanwhile having most Earthnoids be more rigid and likely to play things safe.

So for her to think this, to my mind, sets apart Newtypes on another level even from Spacenoids in general, in terms of their way of thinking (not just their space psychic powers). And (if I'm allowed to think metatextually about Tomino's goals as a writer) also might be a warning to progressively-minded adults that the future really does belong to the next generation.

...I really can't tell if I'm analyzing Gundam from a neutral(ish) perspective or just making things up that agree with my own sensibilities sometimes. It may just be that Tomino is good at writing lines that get people thinking, but don't commit to actually explaining anything.

...But anyway, that long aside is over. Let's get back to summarizing this manga! (lol)

Things are looking bad for the Mont Blanc, which, if you recall, gets blown up during a fight much later in the plot of the anime. The captain erases the main databanks in the ship's computers so the enemy won't get specs on their suits if they're captured. He has the crew evacuate and starts a countdown to self-destruct the ship. As he’s doing this, Raira manages to infiltrate the bridge and holds them at gunpoint.

The Mont Blanc captain gets in a good line against Raira here: "Without even knowing the true nature of the Titans, dogs like you who wag their tails obediently could never understand (the value of the AEUG)!"

As an adult, hearing that kind of thing makes me think they have both swallowed propoganda, however. Maybe I'm too jaded for shounen stories, in general, actually, lol.

Kamille shows up with his own gun and holds up Raira. For her part, Raira is surprised the AEUG would go so far as to employ children. As she throws away her gun, Kamille is distracted by the fact that her normal suit is from the EFSF and not Titans, and she takes advantage of his momentary confusion to kick the gun out of his hands.

While Kamille is sent floating around by his inertia in zero-gravity, Raira retreats, saying, "Kid! Next time we meet, you'd better shoot me quickly without hesitating!"

Kamille thinks, "She could have shot me then. What's she doing letting me go!?"

Meanwhile, Raira's inner dialogue: "Shooting a kid would leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Anyway, the crew of the Mont Blanc continues evacuating. Char grabs Kamille and they're probably headed back into MS fights.

After regrouping, Raira and Jerid have a chat, where instead of Jerid being like, "I must kill that teenager and avenge my pride," we get "I must recapture the Mk-II and avenge my pride," which is slightly less unsavory, lol.

As they get back to the battle, Char's like, "Kamille, you deliberately disobeyed me," and Kamille is like, "I have no memory of joining the military. Or are you going to hold a civilian to military standards?"

You should really have a long chat with Amuro when we get to that part of the plot, Kamille, lol.

I like that anime Kamille was like, "I don't care about this war, Titans, the AEUG, or any of that! Char Aznable can suck it; our situations with our parents are totally different; I just wanted a normal, loving family!" And he was sort of half-willingly made a pilot because what else is he good at and where else is he gonna go? And then got slapped around for not following military protocol.

Meanwhile, manga Kamille is smiling, being like, "golly gee willikers, you're not going to hold me to military regulations, are you, Lt. Quattro?" (lol)

We move over to the Titans' side, where Raira Raira is taking a shower, with that little face syphon thing protecting her from inhaling water. I'm guessing it also supplies oxygen when the water is sucked out of the shower.

As the fanservice continues, we get her inner monologue on the unfair tactics used by the Titans. She specifically notes that war necessitates a divorce from morals to some extent, and that soldiers just do what the "erai-san-tachi" tell them to do. (That's like, "bigwigs," but the phrasing here in Japanese is odd. It makes it obvious that she doesn't respect them, or that she thinks they're full of themselves.)

Apparently Raira joined the EFSF specifically because she couldn't forgive Zeon for the OYW. We don't get to see Earthnoids who are upset about that very often in the anime, which I feel is a bit of an oversight. After all, from the average Earthling's perspective, there was vague unrest in space, then suddenly colonies started falling out of the sky. I'd be pretty upset, too.

Jerid comes in, and he and Raira have the same discussion they did in the anime, where Jerid asks for mentoring and says he wants to be in charge of Titans one day. The only difference here seems to be that Raira trusts him not to turn around enough to take off her robe and go about getting dressed with him in the room. That, and she also brings up the fact that they've most likely been fighting the toughest members of the AEUG. ("That red MS is definitely their ace.") Jerid has done well just to stay alive, by that reasoning.

Blex, Bright, Char, and the Mont Blanc's captain (whose name I have forgotten, lol) sit around discussing whether Kamille is a Newtype. Despite the kid not actually engaging in combat, the Mont Blanc captain thinks he qualifies because he knew to go rescue the MB's crew from Raira.

Honestly, this makes me think that any number of coincidences could stand as proof of psychic space powers to these people.

While they move on to discussing tactics, Kamille is in his room considering his own mortality and whether or not he could shoot another living person. Fa walks in, and apparently she's decided to take the Fraw Bow approach to wartime fashion by grabbing an oversized uniform and turning it into a dress.

Fa: Why didn't you tell me you were going out to fight?! I was worried for you!!

Kamille: Do I have to tell you every time I do anything?

Fa: You're not even a soldier! There's no reason for you to be in a MS fight! You're going out of your way to endanger yourself...!

Kamille: Did you forget what they did to you at their headquarters?!

Fa: !!

Kamille joined the AEUG to protect Fa's honor. That's... This is a very different Kamille Bidan, lol.

Of course, he immediately says, "even if it wasn't you and Capt. Bright," but I'm not sure I believe him. If he really is that easily moved to help others, then this truly isn't even close to the same character.

Manga Kamille is very much a "hero" type. Comparatively, anime Kamille had to come around to hating the Titans enough to want to keep fighting them. He was very human, and he was very much a kid.

He learned about their punitive measures against Fa's family, he witnessed a failed colony drop, he learned about the Colony 30 incident, he saw them firsthand try to gas a colony, he saw what they did to Jaburo, to Hong Kong, to Four, to Rosammy... He went through a lot, and each incremental step convinced him a little more that he had to keep fighting. It also ate away at him, that there's not much he could do other than fight.

I love Kamille. I'm worried that the version in this manga will be less fully realized in favor of focusing on the adults.

Anyway, we move on to a scene where two said adults, Bright and Char, discuss Kamille, Newtypes, and the disappearance of Amuro Ray.

Bright: Why are you so particular about recruiting Kamille, Quattro-taii?

Char: Because I can feel the limits of my own abilities.

Bright: Limits... You mean, as a Newtype?

Char: I don't mind if you think of it in that sense. To be honest, with the way Amuro Ray was fighting at the end of the OYW, there wasn't much I could do against him. If the Titans were to have a powerful Newtype like Amuro Ray amongst them...

Bright: That's why you're trying to convince Kamille.

Char: That's right. For the AEUG, which has less overall battle strength than the Titans, to win, we need pilots with strong Newtype abilities... (Note that this might not be plural, but... I think he might already be thinking of convincing Amuro later.)

Bright: Still, the Federation military is outwardly denying the existence of Newtypes. So, hopefully your fears are unfounded.

Char: I hope so, but... I've also received intelligence that there's been ongoing research in artificially creating Newtypes (within the Federation).

Bright: I didn't know anything about that.

Char: Since they've gone to the trouble to hide the existence of the Newtype, Amuro Ray, we can't assume they're actually denying the existence of Newtypes (internally within the organization). As the former commander of the White Base, do you know anything about what happened to Amuro after that, Bright-taisa?

Bright: I wasn't made aware of anything. If only we were able to get Amuro to join the AEUG...

Char: Gaining his cooperation after he finds out I've joined is another matter entirely, though.

Bright: Is there some issue between you and Amuro (which would get in the way of that?)

Char: Well, I mean...

BRIGHT! Just because you're inexplicably cool with him, why are you assuming any other WB member would feel the same?? Especially Amuro, even if you don't consider the situation with Lalah.

Bright: Was there something between you two, other than what happened on the battleground?

So, my knowledge of kanji is quite poor, and I often have to look words up. I just. Let me stress the importance of using multiple dictionaries. Not only do you get more accurate results, you also get more hilarious results.

The word Bright uses, asking if there's "something" between Char and Amuro... Google thinks this is a good guess at what it could mean...

それは、それは、ごちそうさまでした。

(Thank you for the feast.)

...Anyway, even the English word has an innocuous meaning, so let's set that aside for now (lol).

Char: That's a personal matter.

Yes, especially depending on which reading of that word we're using here.

Bright makes a suspicious face. Char's like, "I'm saying we can't count on his involvement." Bright says that there is one thing he's aware of, and the scene cuts out to the Titans' side of the plot.

Kakricorn has Emma hold the elevator for him. They discuss an upcoming deployment, which Kakricorn is excited about. "I'll finally be able to bury that eyesore, Bright."

Emma asks him why he's acting like this, and Kakricorn replies that it's normal to be fired up during an all-out war. Emma insists that they're not past the point where the two sides could talk things out.

Kakricorn: Someone like you, recommended to this unit by the upper branches, could never understand how I feel.

Emma: What do you mean?

Kakricorn: I'm being made to take the blame for the theft of the Mk-II. There's nothing left for me after that. If I don't prove myself during this operation, I may even be demoted from Titans. That's why, no matter what I'm ordered to do, I'll prove that I can do it.

These kinds of worries didn't make sense to me as a child. "Why not get another job, then?" But in specializations like military work, or in civilian sectors where everyone knows everyone else, reputation is more important than ability.

...This is the second time I've sympathized with Kakricorn while reading this manga. Am I going to end up being a Kakricorn fan??

Franklin Bidan shows up, demanding to know why he's being forcibly taken aboard the Alexandria. He asks to speak with Bask immediately, but is told that Bask will inform him of the details later.

Overhearing this, Emma asks Kakricorn about what's going on. Kakricorn informs her about Franklin's status as an MS engineer and that he's the father of the "brat who stole the Mk-II."

A grunt reports to Bask that Kamille's dad is aboard the Alexandria and his mom is on the Sichuan. Emma, noticing that Bask is nearby, anyway, decides to ask him for a heart-to-heart.

Emma: There are those amongst the Titans who misunderstand the way we should be doing things. We've been exercising excessive authority since the other day. I thought I might ask you if you could to stop them directly (from continuing in this way).

Bask: You're the one who's got the wrong idea about the Titans, Emma-chuui. Titans is an organization where anything is permitted as long as it doesn't go against direct orders. That's why we've been given certain privileges (within the EFF).

Bask asks if this is about Kakricorn, and Emma reluctantly admits that yes, it is. Bask defends Kakricorn's actions, stating that Kakricorn saw through Bright's lack of loyalty. "If he'd just killed him, the AEUG wouldn't have gotten him!!"

Bask declares that "In order to save something much larger, sometimes smaller sacrifices are necessary," and states that they're trying to protect none other than the Earth itself. Emma is forced to agree to this, as Bask's underling. But she's definitely not happy about it.

Meanwhile, the Titans say they're protecting the Earth, the AEUG say they're protecting the Earth... One means "the government/citizens" and the other means "the planet," I suppose.

This adaptation actually hasn't gotten into the whole "the AEUG think everyone should emigrate to space" thing, though. So far we've only heard about their objectives with regards to protecting the rights of current Spacenoids.

Onboard the Bosnia, Jamaican explains their next mission, and Jerid suggests Raira be in charge of the MS squadron. When asked why he thinks so, as she's not Titans, Jerid points out that she's more qualified than him by far.

Later, one of her peers from the normal EFSF asks her how she managed to get "that greenhorn" (Jerid) under her thumb, and she responds with what I think is a double-entendre. (lol)

The volume ends with Paptimus Scirocco, of all people, looking out over the Earth Sphere.

Scirocco: It's been five years since I was in the Earth Sphere. The Earth is as breathtaking as ever, but something seems to have changed since before I departed, hasn't it?

I wrote significantly more about volume 2, but there were also significantly more changes. Having learned that Char is meant to be the protagonist, I understand why we have a much more straightforward Kamille. However, I still prefer my terrible boy from the anime, lol.

I'll get to volume 3 at some point~ I have to go buy it first, lol. I read the first two volumes in a single week, but I'm not sure I'll keep up that pace going forward.

#mobile suit gundam #zeta gundam #zeta gundam define #jakka-ningen summarizes zgd #gundam #zgd volume 2

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luv-leni · 3 years

Text

T1419 as vampires

Authors note: Happy spooky season!!

Warnings: mentions of blood, darker themes, kinda sad in some parts but it’s not too bad

Enjoy!!

Noa

Power hungry

The years of being a vampire have dulled the effect of human activities and joys so now he strives to get that feeling back

So he’s a high ranking official

Maybe a politician or a CEO or smth

This boy wants money and the best things that money can buy

Because of all of his money he gets access to the blood he needs no questions asked

His assistants or whatever think it’s kinda weird but are way too scared to say anything

He also wants to change the world he just can’t decide if he wants it to be for better or worse

Has become a little entitled but not completely

He’s still impressionable and the right person could set him on the right track

Sian

Office worker

He works in a big corporation but is pretty low in the work hierarchy

He’s probably an accountant or some kind of finance worker

Maybe a finance worker at a big hospital

It’s a big and private place so nobody really notices him

Or that he’s been working there a very long time

He usually hides his face pretty well and doesn’t seem to have any friends

Anyone who has seen his face is stunned by how cool he looks

He is so cold and pretty it seems unnatural

Because it is 😛

Kevin

Okay hear me out

Vampire athlete

Kevin is a young vamp in sports

Maybe he plays basketball or track

And he is super admired

He uses his vamp skills to excel at his sport

Yeah it's cheating but he’s cute so 😶

Nobody ever suspects anything is off because Kevin is very good at keeping his secret

Only a few designated people know about it

And he has no problem eating getting rid of anybody threatening to leak his secret

He probably mixes blood in with sports drinks so he can drink them during games

Gunwoo

BOXER VAMPIRE

He is a phenomenal fighter

He uses his supernatural skills to advance like Kevin

However gunwoo isn’t as sneaky

So some people have started to suspect that he’s cheating

But nobody can figure out how

Boy is definitely strong tho

People who don’t think he’s cheating just think he’s a beast

His fights will make record books

Leo

Teachers assistant vampire

He works in a college and has for a while

He got turned after he had gotten the job and couldn’t find a reason to change careers

There is something very clearly strange about him

He doesn’t seem to have any friends and nobody knows where he came from

His appearance is pretty off putting too

He mainly works with night classes for obvious reasons

Any student who has worked one on one with him will say that, while he’s charming, he’s got a strange air to him

Nobody has ever gotten close enough to figure out what exactly he is(yet😉)

Model vampire

After he turned he just gained the most gorgeous physical attributes

He’s tall and has beautiful eyes u could get lost in

stop simping for on em

Anyway he’s so beautiful and alluring that modeling agencies scouted him out immediately

He makes bank from it too

Other than modeling he keeps a pretty low profile

He doesn’t go out much and his home is situated in a beautiful forest far off from the rest of the world

And he’s a vegan vamp so he only drinks animal blood

Probably hunts bears like in twilight 😭

He plans to spend eternity in his quaint little home

Zero

I think as a vampire zero would keep a pretty low profile

He doesn’t want to get caught and has no desire to do anything crazy with his newfound powers

So he works as a night shift guard or something similar

He works in a hospital so it gives him perfect access to blood and requires minimal effort on his part

He rarely comes around the hospital during the day

He prefers to hang out at home instead of going out

Some of the patients who are there overnight try to befriend him

It kinda works :/

He’s happy to not be alone all the time but he doesn’t want to be caught

So if he gets too close to somebody he’ll gradually stop visiting them

Very angst 😣

Kairi

Sad :(((

Poor bby doesn’t want to be a vampire!! he wants to be normal :((((

Kairi wants to make connections with people and enjoy the sunlight

He wants to do human things :(

But now he can’t and it’s really damaged his morale

He goes through life pretty down for a few years after he’s turned only drinking enough blood to keep him alive

Then he finds his thing

The thing that clicks for him that brightens up his world again

Maybe it’s a good cause (or maybe it’s u 🤭)

Either way he has found his joy again!!

And he’s never, ever letting it go 😃

Kio

High school student vamp!

But he’s experienced and knows how to stay under the radar

He got turned freshman year and is now a senior

He volunteers in the school's infirmary and helps out whenever he can

He’s pretty charming so he’s probably convinced a couple of people to willingly give him blood in exchange for things like doing their homework

He is super smart and admired by many people

He uses makeup to make his complexion more human-like

Overall he blends in with society quite well

He’s got no idea what he’s gonna do when he graduates though

#fanfic #t1419 #t1419 imagines #t1419 reactions #t1419 angst

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whalesfallmoved · 3 years

Text

hand over wound (1/??)

half an excuse to play around with form, style, and the second person pov. this isn’t what I typically write, so I’m ahhhhh about it all around. alas, FHR lives rent free in my head right now. only read over it a few times for mistakes, so apologies for any typos.

pairing: ricardo ortega/f!sidestep, pre-heartbreak rating: t word count: 2175 warnings: mentions of blood, injury. typical canon content.

[read on AO3.]

You’re in an apartment that isn’t yours with a man you shouldn’t trust and a gut bleeding out over his nice, expensive bathroom, and that doesn’t sound like the start of a bad joke so much as the start of the end of your life.

(If you could call it a life, if you could call it anything more than all your stolen seconds ticking down to this moment. Torn stitches— fucking stupid, stupid mistake, this is how they’re going to get you—)

(He’ll take you to a hospital and they’ll look and they’ll know and he’ll know and and and)

Fuck.

Two choices:

One. You can suck it up, ask for a first aid kit—he’ll have one, twice as nice as the one you’ve got and he doesn’t even need it—all those Ranger benefits he keeps trying to entice you with, go team! Maybe even some halfway decent painkillers.

You lock yourself in the bathroom, stitch yourself up clean enough to get out of here without bleeding on his floor, too. You can meet his questions with a hard laugh and a fuck off I’m fine go finish making the food I’m starving.

(and why the fuck did you come here why did you let yourself get swayed by his fast grins and his bright eyes? He isn’t your friend, he isn’t, even if he thinks he is.)

Fuck.

Two. You make a run for it. More questions. Potential for passing out in a dark alley. Vulnerable and wounded until you can get back to your own shitty place and hope to god Ortega doesn’t think to follow you. Which he will, you know he will, and you’re fast but he’s always been faster, just as quick on the draw with a mind of static to take your edge.

You pull the tight undershirt up higher, flinching at the sight of your own skin, focus on the blood rolling sluggish and hot instead of the flinty orange patterns. The wound’s deep and fresh and curled like a crooked smile.

Black clothes help. Red splatters vibrantly on the white marble counter, onto the floor, sticks to the soles of your feet (bare, shoes kicked off at the door.) You’ll have to clean that up. How the hell will you do that? With his goddamn bleach white towels?

God— fucking— fuck.

Okay. You can do this. You just ask. Ask for the first aid kit. Slam the door in his face. Or run.

You want to run. Feel that rabbit-heart drive bursting up under the skin to book it and maybe that’s what you need to do. Yes. That’s what you need to do. Leave Ortega the mess—you’ve saved his ass enough times you won’t feel bad about it, or at least not so bad you’ll apologize for it later (you never apologize, even when you maybe should) and—

A knock, and you jump, gasp. “Still alive in there?” He asks, that same smile-lilt to his voice. He’s teasing you, a little, but there’s an edge of concern too.

(shitshitshitshitshitshitfuck)

“Just give me a second.” You bite out, trying to sound put upon rather than panicked.

Shirt tugged down—fuck, that hurts—and your teeth sink into soft cheeks, hard enough to sting.

A pause. You wait for the sound of footsteps to move away from the door. Silence, instead.

Exhale.

“—Hey, are you alright?”

Goddamnit.

“I’m fine,” you drop to your knees and your side screams and the blood gets stickier, you can feel the fabric dragging with every move. Throw open the cabinets. Maybe he was organized for once in his life and put the first aid kit in here (fat chance) and nothing, nothing, just bare bones cleaning supplies.

Frustration and pain build up, you slam the cabinet with a teeth-clenched groan and the knock comes again, more insistent this time, hard knuckles on hard wood— can’t you just fuck off can’t you leave me alone why did i come here—

“Noa. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. God, what do you want?” You snarl, voice raising to a pitch.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.” Your hand clutches at your side and comes away red, smeary. You have to do something, you have to move. Think. You can’t stay here.

He’s not going to let you go. You should’ve just run while you had the chance, now he’s just outside the door waiting, on alert, knows you better than anyone (which isn’t saying much but it’s saying enough) and knows enough to not let you just snarl your way out of this.

Shaky inhale. “Maybe.”

“Okay,” he breathes—relief? you don’t know and it chafes, what’s there to be relieved about?—gives a softer laugh, “no big deal. Just open the door.”

You don’t want to do that. You really, really don’t want to do that. He’s going to want to help, he’s going to want to see, the way you’ve helped him before.

(warm brown skin interrupted by mods and scar tissue and the expanse of his back, defined muscle rippling under your fingertips— stay still, you snap, smacking his shoulder, and he laughs— ouch, watch it, I’m wounded— and that’s your own fault you idiot, needle/thread, and you lay his stitches so much neater than your own.)

“I… can’t.”

“...You can’t?”

“No.”

“Is it that bad?” His voice takes on a new edge, sharper now, the kind of break down the door, get the job done edge that comes with being a Ranger, you suppose. Not quite hard, still light enough to pass for his brand of charm-sly soothing, but you know better than to fall for that.

“I’m fine. Can you just…” you push up onto your feet, choking down another groan, pain splitting through your side like a disc-saw, “can you just get the first aid kit?”

You think you hear a faint curse, and then: “yeah, be right back.”

In the space between, panic sets in.

Panic’s a cold emotion, and it’s a sick kind of luxury. You never got to panic before, riding it out out out all silent scream while everyone else’s thoughts and feelings stuck to your teeth, wormed down to the base of your spine. With Ortega you’re alone in your head and the only thing left to do is wait. Fists clench, ease the shaking.

A few minutes pass, tick-tick-tick, and he’s at the door again, knock softer this time, and please, please, please leave me alone you want to say but you don’t, you just press your palm (red-stark) to your side, and maybe— maybe if you slam it open, it’ll knock him back long enough to give you a head start. You just have to get out—

“Noa.” He knocks again, and you think you hear his breath hitch, maybe, and you want to know what he’s thinking, you want to know so badly but it’s just deafening silence outside the door.

“Yeah… yeah.”

One hand to your pulsing gut, one hand shaking, the knob unlocks with a soft click, and you’re stumbling back into the bathroom, and he’s there, filling the doorway, eyes soft-hard and brow furrowed. His eyes flick over the counter, the floor (blood splatters, streaks of it) and he lets out another quiet string of curses, “what the hell happened—?”

He’s moving forward, and you stumble back till your knees hit the toilet.

You both still. Freeze. He’s got you cornered, and he knows it, he must know it, fuckfuckfuck— breathe, you have to breathe.

“You didn’t tell me you were hurt.” He murmurs, softer than before, one hand curled around the green-white first aid kit. Bandages. Stitches. Alcohol.

Maybe you could grab it. Run? No, that’s stupid— he’ll just grab you, shove you back, ask for answers you can’t and won’t give.

Fuck.

Again, you say: “I’m fine,” and feel your lips curl back, a snarl fit for a dog in a ring.

“Yeah, you look it,” he shakes his head, tries to smile, like he isn’t surprised but he wishes it were different, and he’s not going to get mad at you, not yet, we all get hurt in this business but it still can’t be different, it can’t be, asshole, so stop asking, “c’mon, let’s… go in the living room, and I’ll—”

“No,” you snap hard, working around the toilet toward the counter. A little more room that way, and you won’t sit, even though you’re starting to feel it, the shakes and the dizziness. Drip, drip, drip, and your hand curls tighter over your stomach.

“No?” He blinks, more confused than offended.

(you have such a delicate touch, he scoffs as you wrap pristine white bandages over the stitched gash, rough but slow, and you roll your eyes don’t get fucking shanked next time then, and he gasps, mock-offense, brown eyes sparkling, searching your mask for expression he won’t find but you’re smiling, you’re smiling because he’s beautiful.)

“Just give it to me. I can deal with it myself.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” It is.

“Sure it isn’t.”

“It’s just a flesh wound, alright? Someone got a lucky scratch in that last fight. Didn’t think it’d open again. But it’s not that bad.”

“Well, I’m still not going to leave you here to stitch yourself up.”

Fucking— always so stubborn, why won’t he quit?

“Either give it or I leave. Take your pick.”

He stills, watching you, and you wonder how you look to him.

Like a scared animal? Wounded little monster he found and picked up for some fucking reason? What does he want with you? What is he thinking?

His eyes trail over you, clothes all black and layered, baggy enough to hide everything,

“You’re kidding.” He wants you to be kidding.

“Do I look like it?” You tilt your head back, challenging, stilling up—shoulders stiffen, legs numb, prepared to run or to fight. Like he’s not blocking the only exit, like he’s not the one person in the world you can’t outmaneuver—Sidestep brought down by a head full of silence and a pretty fucking face.

They would laugh at you. They will if this escalates, if he sees. He’s got all his good intentions, it’ll be the death of you. He’ll be the death of you.

“So what’s it gonna be?” It’s supposed to sound like a sneer-snarl but it comes out weak, the razor edge of fear sliding just under your tongue.

But he must miss it. Or chalk it up to something else. “You’re being ridiculous,” he shakes his head, “it’s really not an issue.”

Ortega, always believing the best of you. That you don’t want to inconvenience him.

He wants to stay.

(you’ve never had anyone who wants to stay before.)

“I just wanna do it myself, fucks sake.” You burst, cutting him off at the finish line, and now you’re up on your feet, reaching with your free hand for the kit, ripping it from his hand.

“Just...” what was the line? “Just go finish making the food, alright? I’m starving.” and he lets you take it, lets you slam it down on the counter. You drop your blood-wet palm and clench it, as if to say see I’m fine it’s not that bad and his eyes drift over you again, harder than before, and he’s annoyed, well that’s too bad.

“Can I at least…”

“No.”

Jaw clenches. Works. Ortega never knows when to not push, when to not be that wonder boy so full of heart, head first into the action, and you’re small potatoes so what the fuck is he doing here, really, with you? There’s a dozen other vigilantes in Los Diablos that would probably work with him, that would fall for his knockout smile twice as fast and twice as hard.

(oh, you’ve fallen alright, but he doesn’t need to know that.)

But he knows you. He does. More and less than he thinks he does. And he knows you’re not bluffing. You’ll leave.

Shoulders still raised, jaw still stubborn, he slowly nods and steps back. You feel relief unshutter in your chest. “Alright,” he sighs, slumps.

Does he want you to stay? Or does he just want to make sure you don’t pass out in some grimy back alley to get picked over?

It doesn’t really matter.

(why is he letting this go that easily?)

“If you say it’s not that bad, I’ll believe you,” he nods, and it feels like a lie, sticks around in your skin the way lying does when someone lies with their mouth but not with their thoughts. “Just let me know if I can do anything, alright?” Smile, again, he’s always smiling except when he isn’t, effortlessly charming.

“...Okay.” You mutter. There isn’t anything he can do, and you both know you won’t ask.

You stand off, not flinching and not moving as he steps back, hands twitching at his sides—to raise them in surrender or grab you, you don’t know, so as soon as he’s through the door you grab it, slam it closed, lock it fast.

Safe. Or as safe as you can be.

Fuck.

#ricardo ortega #fhr #mywriting #hand over wound*#also known as: I wrote this instead of an essay #did I proof read it? no.#*forgot the ao3 link mndfgnmf whoops

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cosmiccstuff · 4 years

Photo

“Ten years after the canonical events of Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel Pines are reunited with their great uncles for one last adventure across the world. Joined by Pacifica, now a close friend of the twins and romantic partner to one of them, as well as Mr. Mahina, a hearty boat captain who has been travelling with the Stans for a few years, the Pines family must solve the world’s mysteries that nobody else would dare to decipher, make sure the dangers of the past are no longer there to harm them, and kick complete ass while doing so.”

hi my name is zachariah and I made a cringe au for my cringe middle school interest... its not really an au its kinda just a theoretical gravity falls season 3 so um. yeah I have been working on these for like a month and im just glad to post it at this point sjhfjdsjf

more notes under the cut!! also reblogs not likes uwu

-since I know thisll never exist and therefore I can do what I want, this would definitely not be a Y-7 show on disney (fuck disney actually alternate universe me is helping alex hirsch steal back the rights to this show) and since theyre all older I think this’d be pg-13 or maybe even MA just because I want mabel to say fuck lmao

-when I say “pacifica is dating one of the twins” I mean shes dating mabel (even all these years later, mabifica still fucking rules), I’m just theoretically straight-baiting people lol (though, dipper and pacifica dated 2 summers after the OG GF summer, if that makes u feel any better, its just that it didnt work out and also shes a lesbian now so... lol)

-the twins went to college!!! mabel is an animation student at my shitty parody of calarts, and dipper is a journalism student (he specifically does supernatural journalism which would be an important part of the series) at west coast tech. also pacifica goes to the same school as mabel and is a fashion design student (I have a drawing of dipper in drag bc of her if anyone wants it lol). their schools are miraculously in the same general area so they share an apartment!! more on this later if I end up continuing this

-themes of this series/season/au/whatever would b like. generational trauma, recovery from abuse (every single one of the main characters have been through some form of abuse besides *maybe* dipper and mabel which in itself is even debatable), self redemption/self forgiveness and like. maybe even some coping with loss thrown in there. also found family DUH what else would I do

-noa/mr. mahina (and his dog scuttles) are new!!! so he originally wasnt gonna be a main character or anything but I got,, really really attached to him and ended up making him into an actual full-blown well rounded character so here we are! uhh what else can I say about him,, hes 63 (4-5 years younger than the twins, this takes place in the summer and his birthday is in december so idk) and hes just an old artsy himbo who loves his dog. absolutely no secrets or backstory here :) nope not at all :)

-samuel is dippers best friend, I wanted to incorporate him more but the boat was getting crowded and hes the least connected to the entire family as a whole so hes less relevant sadly :( he and dipper met in Jew Club™ and then ended up being roommates their first year and it just spiraled from there, if this were a real thing id make it so he facetimes the twins a lot and maybe even gets to visit bc I really love him and think he works well with them all

-ford is super depressed uh,, I guess not entirely but he REALLY spends a ton of time moping about how he basically fucked up his entire family for generations and the fact that he ruined a ton of shit so um. yeah. hes my fave though so expect some good shit >:) also hes gay as hell lemme clear that up lol

-can you think of some reasons for stans memory loss issues besides old age?? :)

-finally; you dont get to know anything about mary. does her name sound even remotely similar to any other name though? shrug. I dont know.

regardless of how many notes this gets expect me to make more because I have SOOOOO much content I have been wanting to upload but I havent been able to because I havent posted any of these so :)

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whenitsdarkweilluminate · 4 years

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Moscow 2009 – Grand Final

Host: Russia Slogan: [none] Participants: 42 Voting method: 12-point system (50/50 system - combined; televoting only for the semi-finals) Format: 2 Semi-Finals / Grand Final = the top 10 of semi 1 & 2 + the Big 4 + host Winner: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale Country: Norway Points: 387 (78.7% of highest score possible) Language: English

General Overview: The 2009 contest is indicative of Eurovision's technological progress. Moscow constructed the most elaborate stage set-up thus far. The artists are engulfed by a sea of LED screens, which comprises an extra wide backdrop, the usual glass floor, and an array of overheard blocks that can be placed in various desired positions. The platform itself is comfortably wide. It's less limiting than the circles of '07/'08. Indeed, Ukraine's staging this year requires the space lol. Russia didn't skimp on the extravagance – the voting is even commenced by ISS astronauts! Meanwhile, the Cirque du Soleil opening features acrobatic stunts, trapeze spots, people jumping on and off a vertical wall, and a woman inside a de-layering Russian doll. This transitions into Dima Bilan's flashy entrance. He descends to the stage via wires, where he infamously loses a battle with his coat (it gets stuck in the wires). Dima then walks in one spot as the background transitions around him. It's probably a conveyor belt. He also jumps through a “brick” wall three times. This eventually leads to a reprisal of “Believe”. The interval act is mesmerizing. It involves performers dancing in shallow water on Plexiglas platforms suspended above the audience, accompanied by tribal music. The platforms later lower so the audience can touch the bottom of it. The presenters are comedian/TV personality Ivan Urgant and Russia's 2000 representative Alsou. She isn't “going solo” this time! (I'll see myself out). They are a welcome relief compared to that semi-final host. The intermission host has a couple of funny moments too. She gathers some of this year's artists to perform a folk version of “Not Gonna Get Us” by t.A.T.u., which I thought was amusing. The postcards are creative too. They consist of 3-D pop-out books which feature various landmarks from each country. The vignettes conclude with model Ksenia Sukhinova (Miss World 2008) wearing an animated hat of said landmarks, in a different hair style each time. Notably, Armenia and Azerbaijan had a dispute over a particular monument used in Armenia's postcard. So the 2009 Grand Final officially launches the 50/50 voting system, where the returning juries and the televote are given equal weight. Both methods have their biases (juries favour technical songwriting and televoters favour their neighbours), so this system balances it out. Incidentally, the ballads (Iceland, the UK, France, Israel, and Malta) were significantly boosted by the juries; as were Denmark and Germany. On the flipside, Albania was the most damaged by them. Suffice to say, 2009 is not a suspenseful vote reveal. Norway held an approximate 2:1 lead for the entirety. In regards to the satellite feeds, some notable moments include Malta's rave scene backdrop, Russia's spokesperson being in the actual arena, the Slovenian guy taking a moment of silence, and Norway being called last (cute). Lys Assia appears once again, to present the winner's award alongside Dima Bilan. Overall, the 2009 entries are divisive. There's 6 different songs that I wanted to rank #1. While the semi-finals contain some truly horrendous offerings, although thankfully they all DNQ-ed. Moreover, the auto-qualifiers aren't that objectionable (none are in my bottom 10), and the GF is noticeably absent of novelty entries (aside from Germany I guess).

Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love Not a great opener. Israel: Noa and Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way - France: Patricia Kaas - Et s'il fallait le faire France recruits successful recording artist Patricia Kaas, which results in their highest placement since the famous ballads of '01/'02. Both of those entries aimed for towering vocal climaxes, whereas “Et s'il” is stuck in limbo. The piano and accordion notes follow a claustrophobic pattern. They strengthen as the song progresses, slowly enclosing Patricia into a trap, as her unwavering voice intensifies. The song concludes with the instrumental winning the battle, as Patricia does a little dance. The minimalist staging reinforces the message. And the instrumental sounds characteristically French. In the song, Patricia promises complete devotion even if it means self-destruction by sacrificing everything. Literally until she's reduced to “a shadow that follows you”. It's tragic. The anticlimactic structure feels incomplete, but it's also the point. Sweden: Malena Ernman - La voix - Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena - Portugal: Flor-de-Lis - Todas as ruas do amor - Iceland: Yohanna - Is It True? - Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night - Armenia: Inga and Anush - Jan Jan - Russia: Anastasia Prikhodko - Mamo Russia takes advantage of their own stage design here, with the placement of the mobile LED blocks. The screen behind Anastasia depicts her face gradually morphing into old age. She becomes quite tearful in her elder years. The image is... unsettling. Meanwhile on stage, Anastasia expresses emotional outbursts of devastation, especially at the end. It's her reaction to being dumped, as she recalls her mother's warnings about love. The verses contain intriguing instrumentation, and the chorus melody jumps out effectively. Anastasia gives a moving performance, but this entry is a little too hysterical and bleak for me. Her vocals sound flat in the chorus as well and her dress looks like a bath towel lol. Azerbaijan: AySel and Arash - Always - Bosnia & Herzegovina: Regina - Bistra voda - Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova - Malta: Chiara - What If We There's nothing outstandingly awful in this Grand Final, but something needs to be ranked last. Estonia: Urban Symphony - Rändajad - Denmark: Brinck - Believe Again - Germany: Alex Swings Oscar Sings! - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang Germany submits another retro entry. This time it's a homage to the American burlesque scene, completed by special guest Dita von Teese. This definitely belongs in the 2000s decade. The song pairs early 20th century brass with a more modern throbbing beat. Oscar serves horny charisma in shiny silver pants, while Dita knows how to pose seductively. The black-and-white aesthetic helps the illusion. And the bouncy melody is enjoyable. But the lyrics are too silly (ie. the “hee dee hi ho”s and the “gucci bang bang”s). The concept borders on novelty. It's a guilty pleasure though. Turkey: Hadise - Düm Tek Tek - Albania: Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams - Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (winner review below) Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) There's an intermission preceding Ukraine in both the Semi-Final and the Grand Final, presumably to set up the elaborate stage. Romania: Elena - The Balkan Girls - United Kingdom: Jade Ewen - It's My Time 2009 sees the UK shockingly place in the top 5, following a string of floundering results. “It's My Time” turned out to be an outlier, however, considering what lies ahead. The song was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren (which probably explains the result), and it's sung by future Sugbabe Jade Ewen. ALW even “plays” the piano on stage. Unsurprisingly, the self-empowerment theme and the arrangement channel Broadway/West End showtunes. “It's My Time” is a methodically paced ballad where Jade claims her personal moment. Her vocal gymnastics ensure that the spotlight is on her. And the staging is classy. It's a respectable entry, but it's not a very interesting one. Oops moment: Jade gets too close to a violinist and the bow bumps her microphone lol. Finland: Waldo's People - Lose Control - Spain: Soraya Arnelas - La noche es para mí Spain deserved better. Of course the juries ranked “La noche” last, but the televoters weren't that generous either. The song is a burst of frantic, joyous energy from beginning to end. The chorus contains strong hooks – ie. the “take me”/“shake me” bit and the “la no...che es pa...ra mi!” pauses. The string-heavy instrumental is rambunctious and punchy. And Soraya is an enthusiastic performer. There's even a magic trick where she “disappears”. It's so random that I love it. That said, the choreo/camera work combination is dizzying and the lyrics are problematic (ie. “It doesn't matter if you want or not”). The Winner: Norway achieves their third win, breaking an 8-year streak of first timers. Moreover, “Fairytale” is the biggest landslide victory of the 12-point era. It also obliterated the points record, a distinction it retained until the tabulation change in 2016. And it earned “douze points” from 16 different countries (roughly 39%). “Fairytale” certainly belongs in the pantheon of legendary Eurovision moments. Which begs the question: is it “deserving” of that accolade? In my view, the answer is yes. Firstly, the violin riff is instantly recognizable, and it creates an electrifying, “arena-filling” effect. It's the most valuable aspect. The song also smartly begins and ends with it. Furthermore, the melody is incredibly catchy. The bursting chorus is encompassing, where Rybak projects turmoil while the stomping piano set the pace. The surge in the second verse (“HIGH ABOVE”) is particularly effective too. “Fairytale” is a pop version of Norwegian folk influences – fiddles and folklore both have connections to the country's culture. And the song captures the essence of fairy tales themselves. The female “da da da” backing and the twinkles are cutesy. Normally I'd find that grating, but it makes sense. The lyrics, meanwhile, are fairly straightforward. Rybak is bound to a fantasy – a lover from the past. It conveys a nostalgic theme; as do the stomping piano notes and the old timey outfits. And finally, the staging is charming. The three male backing dancers are a delight, with the body flips and the hand/foot jumps. Rybak also exudes confident (albeit smug) stage presence, as he bows his violin with enthusiasm. The positives vastly outweigh the nitpicks with this entry, though. Verdict: “S” Tier. Probably my favourite male winner ever. My Ranking: Grand Final: 01. Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale 02. Iceland: Yohanna - Is It True? 03. Estonia: Urban Symphony - Rändajad 04. Azerbaijan: AySel and Arash - Always 05. Turkey: Hadise - Düm Tek Tek 06. Armenia: Inga and Anush - Jan Jan 07. Albania: Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams 08. Portugal: Flor-de-Lis - Todas as ruas do amor 09. Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova 10. Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) 11. France: Patricia Kaas - Et s'il fallait le faire 12. Denmark: Brinck - Believe Again 13. Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena 14. Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night 15. Spain: Soraya Arnelas - La noche es para mí 16. Finland: Waldo's People - Lose Control 17. Romania: Elena - The Balkan Girls 18. United Kingdom: Jade Ewen - It's My Time 19. Russia: Anastasia Prikhodko - Mamo 20. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Regina - Bistra voda 21. Israel: Noa and Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way 22. Germany: Alex Swings Oscar Sings! - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang 23. Sweden: Malena Ernman - La voix 24. Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love 25. Malta: Chiara - What If We Full Ranking: 01. Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale 02. Iceland: Yohanna - Is It True? 03. Estonia: Urban Symphony - Rändajad 04. Azerbaijan: AySel and Arash - Always 05. Turkey: Hadise - Düm Tek Tek 06. Armenia: Inga and Anush - Jan Jan 07. Albania: Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams 08. Portugal: Flor-de-Lis - Todas as ruas do amor 09. Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova 10. Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) 11. France: Patricia Kaas - Et s'il fallait le faire 12. Denmark: Brinck - Believe Again 13. Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena 14. Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night 15. Spain: Soraya Arnelas - La noche es para mí 16. Finland: Waldo's People - Lose Control 17. Romania: Elena - The Balkan Girls 18. Switzerland: Lovebugs - The Highest Heights 19. Montenegro: Andrea Demirović - Just Get Out of My Life 20. United Kingdom: Jade Ewen - It's My Time 21. Ireland: Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy - Et Cetera 22. Andorra: Susanne Georgi - La teva decisió (Get a Life) 23. Cyprus: Christina Metaxa - Firefly 24. Slovenia: Quartissimo feat. Martina - Love Symphony 25. Russia: Anastasia Prikhodko - Mamo 26. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Regina - Bistra voda 27. Slovakia: Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková - Leť tmou 28. Israel: Noa and Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way 29. Germany: Alex Swings Oscar Sings! - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang 30. Sweden: Malena Ernman - La voix 31. Belarus: Petr Elfimov - Eyes That Never Lie 32. Serbia: Marko Kon and Milaan - Cipela 33. Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love 34. Malta: Chiara - What If We 35. F.Y.R. Macedonia: Next Time - Nešto što kje ostane 36. Poland: Lidia Kopania - I Don't Wanna Leave 37. Hungary: Zoli Ádok - Dance with Me 38. Netherlands: The Toppers - Shine 39. Bulgaria: Krassimir Avramov - Illusion 40. Belgium: Copycat - Copycat 41. Czech Republic: Gipsy.cz - Aven Romale 42. Latvia: Intars Busulis - Probka

#eurovision #eurovision 2009 #eurovision song contest

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kaialone · 4 years

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Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: Link’s Journey Begins

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the cutscene at the start of the game that first introduces Link.

You can also watch this cutscene for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

Character in this part who had their name changed between versions:

Cirokuni = Alfonzo.

At Niko’s House:

Niko:

どうだい？わしの作った「実録！神と魔王の大バトル！」は？

So, what do you think of my creation? "True Story! The Great Battle of the God and the Demon King!" (1)

Well? Do I know how to tell a story or what?

I call it "Spirits and Demons...at War!"

Niko:

こいつは数年に一度の傑作...いや大傑作だよ！

This is something like you only see once every few years - it's a masterpiece... no, a great masterpiece!

I only do this show once a year, you know!

It's a blasted masterpiece! A...a...a blasterpiece!

Niko:

なんだまた寝ちまったのかい？リンク

What's this? Did you fall asleep again, Link?

What's this? You fell asleep during my magnum opus?

Niko:

やれやれ...

一緒に住んでるお前だから最新作をタダで見られるんだよ？

わかってんのかい？

Good grief...

You know, because you're living with me, you actually get to see my latest works for free.

You understand?

I can't believe this! You know, Link...

A lot of people would love to be in your position.

As my roommate, you get to see my work for free!

Niko:

わしももう歳だこれが遺作になるかもしれない

少しは真面目に年寄りの作品を味わって欲しいもんだよ...

I'm already pretty old, so this might end up being a posthumous piece.

I really wish you'd at least try a little to appreciate your elder's work...

Plus, I'm not getting any younger here.

This story might be the only thing that proves I existed.

Can't you pay attention for one minute...

And listen to an old man's final creation?

Niko:

聞いてんのかい？リンク

Are you listening, Link?

Are you listening to me, Link?

Link:

ながいよ / あきたよ

It's so long... / I'm bored...

Sort of. / Zzzz...

Niko:

そうかいそうかいそりゃすまなかったねぇ

Alright, alright, I get it. Sorry 'bout that, then.

OK, OK, I can take a hint. Sorry for boring you.

Niko:

おやお前の師匠が来たようだ

久し振りだねシロクニ

Oh, looks like your teacher's here.

Long time no see, Cirokuni.

Look, here comes your mentor.

Hello there, Alfonzo!

Alfonzo:

呆れたもんだなまだここにいたのか...

You gotta be kiddin’ me. You're still here?

Why are you still here, Link?

Alfonzo:

ん？寝ぼけてるのかよ？リンク！

Hm? Are you even awake? Link!

Come on now--wipe the sleep out of your eyes!

Alfonzo:

起きろリンク！

Wake up, Link!

Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!

Alfonzo:

今日は大事な謁見の日だ分かってんのか？

Today's the day of your important audience, don't you know?

Today is a very important day, you know!

It's your audience with the princess!

Link:

なにそれ？/ わすれてた

What's that? / I forgot

What?! / Uh, right.

Alfonzo:

なんと情けねぇそんなだからいつまでたっても半人前なんだよ

This is just pathetic. If you keep this up, you're gonna be a rookie forever.

Don't tell me you forgot!

You won't amount to much if you don't pay attention.

Alfonzo:

お前は今日正式な機関士になるために城へ行くんだろ！？

ゼルダ姫さまに任命して頂く大事な日じゃねぇか！

You're supposed to go to the castle today, so you can become an official engineer!

You know? That important day where Her Highness Princess Zelda is gonna appoint you as one?!

Don't you want your engineer certificate?

Well, the graduation ceremony is at the castle.

Princess Zelda herself is going to do the honors!

Alfonzo:

俺は先に駅で待ってるが寝ぼけたままで来られるか？

迷子になるといけねえから一応言っておくぞ...

駅は道沿いに上の方だわかってな？早く来いよ

I'm gonna be waitin' up ahead by the station, if you can manage to get there half-asleep.

Just so you don't get yourself lost, I'm gonna tell you this once...

The station is along the road. Got it? Then get movin’.

I'm heading to the station now, so meet me there.

Remember, the station is up the road. Don't get lost!

Got it? Good! Then get a move on!

Alfonzo:

ニコじいお邪魔さんです

Pardon me, Old Man Niko.

See you later, Niko.

Translation Note:

The title Niko gave his story is done in a dramatized style, similar to anime episode titles and the like, particularly ones from 90s shōnen.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The localization in this cutscene is pretty faithful, so this section won’t be all too long. But there are still a few things I want to point out.

First of all, something you will probably notice from this point on is that the English version will sometimes take about two text boxes to say something the Japanese version did in just one.

This is because in Japanese, you can write more words with less characters, due to how the writing system works.

When it comes to English localizations of Japanese games, an additional hurdle is having to work with limited text space that was originally tailored to Japanese writing.

Typically, the older a game is, the bigger this problem will be.

So, localization choices can’t just be based around being accurate, but also what they will be able to even fit.

In the Japanese version, Niko says that his picture story is "something like you only see once every few years” , but in the English version, he instead says “I only do this show once a year, you know!“.

So in Japanese, Niko uses a figure of speech to describe how great his creation is, while in English he says he only does one show like this per year.

I think this is probably a minor translation error, rather than a deliberate change.

And technically, you do see Niko doing another picture story show like this during the credits, which suggests it’s an at least somewhat common thing for him to do.

Something that might be hard to spot in this cutscene in particular is that we got a slightly different characterization for Alfonzo in Japanese.

It only comes up at the very end here, but the idea with him is basically that he talks in a very informal, gruff manner, but completely changes his tone when addressing someone with authority, switching to a far more polite, formal speaking style.

In this cutscene here we see him chew out Link in an especially harsh manner, but then he politely says goodbye to Niko, which makes for a stark contrast.

This gives us a bit of an early glimpse into this character, whom you might first expect to be a simple tough guy, but then shows that he has a more cultivated side as well.

I feel this kinda hints at his past, which we learn about later, and contrasts his character a bit with his ancestor Gonzo, who’s a nice guy, but not formal at all.

But in this case here there is only one line that shows off this contrast, so it’s easy to miss in any case, and it’s a bit harder to get across when writing in English, too.

Overall, the localization in this cutscene is great.

The two points I mentioned aside, it makes sure to include the information that is conveyed in the original version, even if it does it slightly differently.

The writing of the characters’ dialogue feels natural and clever, exactly what you would want from something like this.

A specific example I want to highlight are the lines: “It’s a blasted masterpiece! A…a…a blasterpiece!”

I find this bit to be a nice example of retaining the overall feeling of a portion of text, while still changing it in some form.

The line “it’s a masterpiece… no, a great masterpiece!” from my translation is technically closer to the original, but it also doesn’t get across how the slight escalation of Niko’s description can come across as humorous in Japanese.

So taking the funny escalation of “masterpiece” -> “great masterpiece”, and coming up with the equivalent “blasted masterpiece” -> “blasterpiece” is quite smart, I feel.

And with that, this part concludes. Feel free to check out the next one!

< Previous Part | Start | Next Part >

#legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #spirit tracks #tloz #legend of zelda spirit tracks #legend of zelda translations #spirit tracks translations #my translations #spirit tracks comparisons

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puppyluver256 · 5 years

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Underworld Ultimatum: The Quest for the Hottest Hades

So I mentioned in a previous big text post that I have some Very Strong Opinions on the interpretation of Greek god Hades shown in Disney’s Hercules film, and now I’m gonna talk about those opinions dammit! But let’s make it a little interesting. I always believe that if you can’t say something nice you shouldn’t say anything at all, so I’m also going to use this as an opportunity to talk about a Hades that I do enjoy. It’s a competition, babey! The Underworld Ultimatum! Or, if you’re preferring to reference a property one of these guys is in, the Hades Cup! (though to be fair this is less of a true competition and more of me showing why I like one and not the other)

First off, it’s the guy who inspired this, give it up foooor...

Disney’s Hades!

First of all, the guy’s design might’ve seemed cool back in the day, but looking back on him he’s kinda bland. Grey toga with accents of other greys, blue deathly pallor, nasty teeth... The flame hair is a pretty good concept, but considering the ancient Greek idea of the underworld probably wasn’t fire-themed I don’t know if it was an appropriate choice. ❌

Speaking of that flame hair, he commits the crime of “blue fire is totally cooler than red fire you guys what is physics?” nonsense. Anyone who puts even the tiniest bit of research in knows that, disregarding chemical compounds that affect flame color, blue flames are hotter than red/orange/yellow flames. Yeah, from an artistic perspective it seems counterintuitive, and blue flames work better with his standard palette, but even with that in consideration they couldn’t’ve made it so his flames turned white when he got angry rather than orange? Lazy... ❌

This is a problem with the Hercules film overall, but this feels like a christianized take on the ancient Grecian pantheon, with a much less horny Zeus in the place of the christian god and Hercules as sort of a Jesus figure. In line with this, Hades is portrayed as an equivalent to Satan and thus is shown to be undeniably evil. This is inaccurate to the actual mythology of Hades, where (and someone with a better scope of Greek mythology can either back me up or refute me on this) he was just a dude who ran the underworld and had no real malicious intent. But of course, a character is themed around death, they have to be a completely irredeemable villain. ❌

AND continuing the villain thing! He ugly, at least according to western society standards and especially compared to the hero and leading lady who are conventionally attractive by those same standards. This is continuing a long Disney tradition that a villain should be ugly. He’s evil, thus he doesn’t get to visit the dentist. ❌

His goals are basically just the same as every other villain, take over the world with some big strong brutes that are locked away by a supposedly benevolent horndog. Well, specifically Olympus, but considering that’s where the gods live and his brief rule subjugates the GODS, if he’d been in the head for longer he’d basically rule the world. Boring, bland, think of something else for once. Or at least have a good reason other than “I’m the villain, world domination for me!” ❌

There’s no real satisfying tension between him as a villain and the hero! His initial direct action against Hercules happens when he’s an infant (speaking of, dude actively tries to kill an infant), and then the next direct interaction between them is like nearly 20 years later and Herc has no knowledge of who this guy is and how big of a threat he’s been this whole time. Call me crazy, but I feel a villain is more effective when the protag is aware of the threat they pose for longer than just “oh he showed up today and apparently he’s been trying to kill me since I was a baby and now he’s got my girl??? guess he’s a bad guy” ❌

Following this point, there’s no satisfying confrontation between Hades and Herc that works to finish off the conflict between them. The major battle that Herc has against him is mainly against the titans, and iirc the only thing that he does to him in the “grabbing Meg’s soul from the soul pool brb” section is punch him in the face. I don’t remember any direct action that Herc does to cause Hades to fall into his soul pool. ❌

He’s voiced by James Woods, who is a major jerk. I’m not going into detail here as this is already long-winded enough, and Google is free. ❌

He’s got Cerberus, as any good interpretation of Hades should. That’s a plus! ✅ Though this Cerberus seems to be based on the “generic mean dog breed” aesthetic, and also I hated fighting this guy in Kingdom Hearts (the original, not the final mix with updated controls, OOF), which leads me toooo...

The guy THEN proceeds to smear his presence all over nearly every Kingdom Hearts game! Like, you’re not needed! Get out! Leave some room for better Disney villains!!! ❌

So nine bads, one good, and that “good” only comes from me liking dogs.

Next up, we have a more recent contender to the Hades mythos in modern media. Showing up outta nowhere in the first entry into a classic series for 21 years, let’s bring our hands together fooooor...

Kid Icarus Uprising’s Hades!

First off...look at this man. Look at this man! Hell yeah that is my aesthetic! Look at all the chaotic colors, the wild anime-esque hair, aaaaa! Amazing design! I would ask someone to get me the name of Uprising’s character designer so I can shake their hand and tell ‘em they did a wonderful job on the Hades look, but they’re probably Japanese and I don’t know a lick of it. Maybe someone at NoA could pass on my compliments... ✅

He does have a flame head form at some point with blue flames, but it doesn’t become red to show his anger so there’s no more of a violation of physics then the rest of his insides are. ✅ And that’s the real problem I have with Disney’s Hades for this particular point, if you’re going to violate physics at least have some damn fun with it instead of just thinking that cooler fire is hotter just because it’s made of warmer colors.

While this Hades is also irredeemably evil, there’s no weird christ-washing of Greek mythology going on here, because the Japanese generally don’t do that sort of thing when throwing a bunch of other culture’s mythologies together. Sure, Kid Icarus includes a lot of Greek mythology elements (Medusa, Thanatos, Pandora, arguably Palutena being based on Athena, among others), but it also incorporates a lot of original elements, such as the Forces of Nature who are not based on any specific Greek gods, the Chaos Kin, the Aurum, freaking space pirates?! And in regards to the Aurum, this Hades is able to put differences aside in order to help the other factions around at the time defeat the Aurum so there’s that! ...though he’s not exactly the best team player, hehehe... ✅

While he does show up out of nowhere after the defeat of the initially perceived villain, Medusa, once he debuts Hades is a constant presence. He’s almost always poking his head into the dialogue to taunt Pit, make some quip or joke, flirt with a female character, give a dastardly threat. Everyone’s always aware of exactly what kind of threat he poses! Good villain writing! ✅

But yeah, speaking of that, he does do the whole “initial villain wasn’t the real villain SURPRISE BITCH” thing that I’m not that fond of. Call it lingering resentment from Twilight Princess where Zant was basically thrown away in favor of bringing Ganondorf back. ❌

This Hades also doesn’t seem to have a Cerberus. Twinbellows is a Thing, yes, but they never show up in the same instance in time. The real Twinbellows is dealt with in the first chapter of Uprising, and the fake version of Twinbellows that shows up in chapter 9 is dealt with LONG before Hades reveals himself. ❌

His goal is to use the souls of everyone and everything that’s died to increase the ranks of his army and in the process throw off the natural order of things, which honestly makes sense as a goal for a malevolent death god. It’s helped by the fact that there’s really no one “good” faction in this game, everyone has their own self interests and Palutena’s just the one that’s most kind to humanity and Pit, who is the protag we experience the game’s events through and thus passes on a little of his bias. ✅

Oh, you want satisfying hero/villain confrontation? The boss battle against him takes up a whole chapter and oooohhhh boy is it a good’un. Do yourself a favor and look up the battle on YouTube, or to avoid a lot of spoilers and gain a lot of context, do yourself an even bigger favor and look up Chuggaconroy’s whole Uprising playthrough. The man goes into detail about everything of this game, not just its characters and basic gameplay. ✅

He eats Pit at one point, and then that whole chapter takes place in his innards. Ew. Gross. ❌

He’s voiced by S. Scott Bollock in the English dub and Hōchū Ōtsuka in the Japanese original. I don’t know whether either of ‘em are jerks, but I doubt they’re as bad as James Woods soooooo... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Setting aside cameos like being a spirit in Smash Ultimate, this Hades has only had a significant appearance in a single piece of media. Even though it’s a tad bittersweet, he doesn’t overstay his welcome, unlike another Hades. ✅

That’s 7 goods, 3 bads, and a shrug. The winner is clear! KI Hades is the victor! Or at least it’s obvious that I prefer him over the Disney version. Rant over, thanks for sticking through my ramblin’ goofballery. It was fun at least, right? I had fun. :D

#disney #disney hercules #disney hades #kid icarus #ki hades #jess discusses character stuff #and how differently two different sets of people can interpret the same core concepts

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millepara · 5 years

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aikatsu friends episode 76 spoilers (the end*)

me beginning to spiral as I walked home from the grocery store: what if the reason Wakaba’s the only one not in the on parade preview is bc she dies in aifriends. they already showed an onscreen death this season, it wouldnt be that much more of a stretch for them to pull a minky momo and kill her off in tonights ep. what if Wakaba dies

...anyway I’m mostly ready to say goodbye to aifriends...... for a little over a week until aiparade starts, that is.

pajamas!! is this a giant idol slumber party?? ohh it is!!!

I didn’t realize Reflect Moon were the only ones who knew about Tamaki and Hariu..... I can’t believe we’re also getting an onscreen proposal in aifriends ;;

HAHA Chiharu and Ken stalking them is so absurd.... like presumably Tamaki and Hariu were on a date or something before this, and went to the seaside afterward?? and Chiharu and Ken were tailing them the whole time? did they know he was going to propose and they wanted to see it or is it something they always do for Tamaki’s dates? god I wish we’d gotten more time with Ken/Chiharu(/Noa), they’re all disasters

HAH!! she rejected him!! oh wait no it’s the OP that means this is what this whole ep’s gonna be about isn’t it....... argh

ugh I knew it.... it’s turned into this whole false choice thing about how Tamaki can’t marry him bc she wants to do her job. which thanks to her success w managing PP and HC is now Ultimate Manager of Every Idol at Star Harmony. anyway here’s how the rest of the ep will go: they separately try to convince Tamaki that she can do her job while being married and Hariu that he needs to propose again. at some point he expresses something like “I don’t mind if you continue to work after we marry.” I suffer.

but I must be strong so I can meet Yurika-sama again,,... let’s finish the ep

wow Never Mind they are instead saying that they’ll help take on Tamaki’s workload.... so that she has more time to exist in the state of being married, presumably?? hhhhghh

was watching this all worth it to see mobsters Mirai and Hibiki burst through the door of Penguin Cafe? ...perhaps

Mirai, Hibiki: please kidnap me ,

at least we get to see HC’s Cure Power Girlies one more time.

Hibiki can drive.........

WHAAAAHAAH HIBIKI CUTE

LOOK AT THAT!!! CUTE!!!! Mirai is cute too

;; I kind of hoped they would leave the ferris wheel gondola by leaping out in midair!! or something like that. aifriends chooses this single moment to be uncharacteristically realistic

and so Tamaki and Hariu are engaged at the top of the super-romantic ferris wheel. hooray or whatever. more importantly Alicia and Karen ring those wedding bells that ring every time a Friends unit is formed, enforcing the idea that making a Friends unit is exactly the same as getting married

Hariu’s hedgehog friend is carrying Tamaki’s veil..... that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. it was all worth it for this moment. this is the pinnacle of both aifriends and humanity

AHHHH a four-person Hitori ja nai!! I am SO much more excited about this than I was about last week’s stage!! ohh man I didn’t expect to get to see an anime performance of my fav version of this song (º̩̩́⌣º̩̩̀ʃƪ) ahhh it’s so cute!! ahhh this neon aura when the light dims is so cute!! I can’t believe this is like the 2nd? 3rd? 4p performance in all of aifriends......

and now PP is doing another song (after getting the bouquet confirming that they’re the next to get married)....... I want to say “what is it” but it’s probably in the title, right? minna minna? it’d be cool to see a new song done with all jeweling dresses.

school dresses...... (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) I Can’t Wait To See Minna Minna In The Lowest-Ranking Coords In The Show

oh, it’s Aikatsu Friends. that makes more sense. I wish I hadn’t gotten myself excited about the possibility of a new song in all jeweling dresses, but that’s my own fault.

is this it? the final montage?? oh hey I Believe released a movie ft. those coords in the ED!! finally we have a context for that critically important image!!

KAREN IN TWINTAILS!!! another amazing gift immediately before the end... thank you aikatsu......

there’s Wakaba. she’s still safe. still alive. but for how long......

if this were a normal series end, I’d have some kind of reflection about the series or some kind of emotion here, but aiparade feels like another aifriends season at this point more than anything, so... ?? maybe I’m just kind of dismayed about the actual plotline of this ep and it’s hard for me to process anything as a result. maybe I’m just excited about Raki! because I am that.

so.... that’s all!! catch me sobbing desperately about Ichigo two saturday mornings from now.

#*of wakaba only

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kihocrystal · 6 years

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Winter 2018 Final Impressions

I’m a month late, as usual (whoops!), but here’s my final thoughts on the animes I watched this past season!

The “reviews” will be in alphabetical order!

3-gatsu no Lion S2 - 9.0 / 10 (A)

This second season of 3-gatsu was great! It’s just… a really great drama show about fighting depression (& a bunch of other character storylines)!

First off... THE BULLYING ARC WAS REALLY GOOD

extremely complicated, emotionally complex… this arc brings all sorts of emotions & angles into the forefront

multiple perspectives too: Hina’s, Rei’s, the bullied girl’s, the bully’s, the teachers’, and Akari too!

The art style can pull off both thick-outlined / bright colored style and watercolor-esque style incredibly well

it really is beautiful how it can visually portray both light-hearted and emotionally intense scenes

This season continues to show how good it is at character development for characters both main & supporting!

We get to see Rei moving through the ranks as a shogi player

and also moving through the ranks of conquering his depression! He’s improved more than ever before!

We get to learn about the white-haired master player (Souya); I liked how he has his own quicks and challenges he has in his daily life

Along with the other head shogi guy (Yanagihara)! (& how he shoulders his legacy for his friends)

Even the last episode offered some perspective from the foster mom about Rei & her kids

this show is just… really good at making normally-hated characters sympathetic, hot damn

Aside from bullying arc, this season also showed Hina preparing for the transition to high school

The finale episode was nice and sweet, with Hina saying goodbye to Takahashi and even getting a haircut!

This continues to be one of the best drama anime in recent years! Not to mention SHAFT’s best show since Madoka Magica :3

Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Z - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+)

And so ends the G series of Cardfight Vanguard… this final season I’ll say though is kind of a mixed bag

The plot had interesting ideas and moments at times, but the execution and pacing left a bit to be desired

though I will say it was definitely better than last season (CFV G NEXT)

This season didn’t waste any time getting to the main plot, as Chrono has to face off against a Diffrider right away

the diffrider stuff is continued from last season, but for the most part, it’s a new plot kicking off!

The rollout of all the new Diffrider Apostles (& them showing their strength) definitely made them look like powerful foes

not to mention the Zeroth Dragons, which were also shown to be powerful and very risky to use

Also knowing that anyone in the main cast could end up being The Vessel added some intrigue as well

the reveal that Kazuma would be the vessel definitely was a well executed twist imo~

However the pacing in places felt a bit too fast for me… the Relics subplot felt like it wrapped up too quickly, for example

the final fight against Gyze also kinda felt rushed… Gyze didn’t even have any dying words after his defeat :/

As a final season specifically, I feel like it kinda pales in comparison to Stride Gate, unfortunately

The cast was also kinda hit and miss in terms of how well they were utilized in the plot

some of the apostles definitely had more screen time than others (gredora only got like… two episodes)

plus gastille (the supposed apostle leader) got beaten sooner than like 3 other ones???

some villains carry over from last season too, such as Noa (Chaos Breaker) and the red-head punk kid

I liked all the new villains this season, personality-wise! (Also Yukari Tamura in there is a plus)

also no Am and Luna this season, really…

the previously established OG cast were integrated fine, for the most part

including Aichi and Kai getting the kill against Chaos Breaker Dragon

but the final episodes kinda just shoe-horn in a bunch of cameos that just didn’t feel natural :/

it just felt like “OH SHIT, this is the last season actually! Quick, throw in a bunch of cameos!”

this also applies to G characters, which makes less utilized characters (like Am & Luna, as mentioned before) look out of place :(

Sure, I’m saying a bunch of negative stuff right now, but I REALLY LOVE THIS CAST… I JUST WANT THE BEST FOR THEM

It’s the main reason I love CFV G, after all~

This season was definitely an improvement over NEXT for sure! The plot was interesting, I just wish the conclusion was better

The final episode basically just felt like an OVA, really… aside from the last scene, it didn’t really feel like an epilogue at all

I guess it just bums me out bc the original series got a good epilogue episode, so I know they could do it here, too…

In any case, I’M GONNA MISS THIS CAST, BIG TIME ;A;

In any case, this was a decent season to end the G series with! Not the strongest, but not the weakest either.

I’m gonna look back on my time with CFV G fondly for sure, if for nothing else than the great ensemble cast :’)

It’s gonna be weird going back to the OG cast for sure… I arguably liked the G cast better than the OG one :’D

Osomatsu-san S2 - 8.0 / 10 (B)

The consensus among fans seems to be that this season wasn’t as good as the first season

As for me, I… probably agree with that (though I still enjoyed this season!)

As with most comedy anime, whether the jokes land is pretty subjective. I feel like I didn’t laugh as hard this season? IDK

There were more “seasonal/holiday”-based episodes this time around (i.e. summer, new year’s, etc.)

What stays the same though is that this show is at its best when featuring the main brothers themselves

Skits involving the side characters (like Iyami, Dayon, etc.) didn’t make me laugh much…

I will say though that I enjoyed the second half of the season more than the first half~

Enough about the negatives, let’s talk about this season’s memorable skits / episodes!

The premiere was really good, as it poked fun at the huge popularity the show unexpectedly got xD

plus a bunch of references that *aren’t* gonna get them removed from streaming sites this time!

Jyushimatsu getting an “apprentice” with a little kid was also pretty funny~

The Karamatsu taxi skit, the spooky inn, & all the characters being stuck on an island were also good skits!

Ep. 18 (Iyami, Alone in the Wind) was also a crowd favorite, since it brought the feels for a change :’)

The finale 2-parter pulled a bait-and-switch yet again!

Part 1 was actually pretty serious, but the actual finale just has them trying to break out of hell xD

OH YEAH, I still really like the live-action stuff they do during the ending sequences

the first half’s ED was my favorite (the stop-motion of the brothers riding in the car)

I don’t have much to say about comedies generally, but Osomatsu-san is still my favorite in recent years ^^

Even though this season didn’t hit as hard as S1, it still provided some fun laughs~

Pop Team Epic - 7.5 / 10 (C+)

What can I really say about this show? It kind of defies description ^^;

Ok, yeah, it’s a sketch comedy, but it’s a really… crazy and random sketch comedy

The jokes are hit and miss (and in my experience was a bit more… miss than hit)

I never really laughed out loud at this show either

but then again, the humor here is more “being confused at what’s going on, but going along with it anyway”

There’s also a lot of modern anime references, so you might not get those jokes if you don’t follow most recent anime

Each episode has a long skit in it, plus a bunch of bite-size skits

I personally preferred the short skits over the long ones

There were a couple song parodies which I enjoyed (including the Earth Wind & Fire parody)

Also, this series definitely benefits from having an English simuldub! Some skits I found funnier in English!

OH YEAH, the voice actors (in both languages) change every episode, with female and male VAs in each episode

that enhanced the enjoyability of the sketches too, since I liked hearing favorite VAs do silly dialogue and performances!

I wouldn’t say this ranks among my favorite anime comedies, but it’s definitely unlike any other I’ve seen! ^^;

Your mileage will *definitely* vary with this one, so give it a try and see if it’s for you!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) - 8.5 - 9 / 10 (A-)

This was a very enjoyable fantasy drama show! Some people feel this show was overhyped, but I still thought it was really good!

I really liked the cast overall, especially Chise

She has really good character development throughout the show! She really becomes more strong and confident!

Seeing the fantastical world through her eyes was interesting as well!

Especially since those mystical elements were also responsible for her terrible childhood…

Elias was also an interesting guy… he and Chise have an interesting relationship together

Their relationship definitely has aspects that are unhealthy, but they do grow closer to each other by the end

If people can’t get past the whole premise of “him buying Chise to be his bride” though, I totally understand ^^;

They help each other learn too, which I liked to see

The supporting cast was also enjoyable! Not much to say about them individually though

The dragon keeper was nice and we got to learn about Elias’ origins through him

The dragons in general were great! Especially the old one that turned into a tree :’)

He gives Chise some good sage advice, even after death :’)

Angelica, Silky, and Stella (among others, like the other anti-hero duo) were good support characters too~

I liked Stella’s role of “normal girl who learns of the supernatural’s existence”

Cartaphilus was an… okay villain, I guess (though his methods were quite creepy indeed, which added some intrigue)

Some character designs are a bit questionable though… like who approved the vampire’s design? ^^;

Another large appeal of this was the world building of the fantastical elements!

I liked seeing all the different types of locales & supernatural creatures, both good and bad

As a low-fantasy show, this show does a Dang Good Job with the fantasy!

Chise learning more about herself and gaining confidence through these experiences were a highlight as well

I enjoyed each story arc as well, even though most of them were more explorative and introspective

This show can be dang beautiful sometimes, through both its art/animation and its stories (Thanks, Studio WIT!)

Some were better than others, but they all deliver either a heartwarming (or a dark) story

Some favorites of mine were the dragon-based ones, and the vampire loving the old man

The finale was good too! It’s unknown whether this conclusion is anime-original or not, but it was definitely a good S1 ending~

If you love low-fantasy shows, this is definitely one to check out!

Violet Evergarden - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 (A-)

Best *new* anime (that I watched) of this past season, hands down~

Though to be fair, I still need to watch A Place Farther than the Universe… and Yuru Camp… and After the Rain…

Going into this season, this show was hyped and back and somehow… a lot of people were *disappointed* with this show?

I think it had to do with expecting a different show than what we got; as for me, I knew it’d be an episodic drama the whole time :P

But yes, this show has a (mostly) episodic plot with an overarching character arc. If that’s too slow for you, then you probably won’t like this show.

In any case, back to the positives! The first one being how good this show looks visually… as expected from KyoAni~

there’s so much detail in the backgrounds and the character elements (especially the lighting on objects like Violet’s metal hands)

this aspect is one thing *everyone* agrees on regardless, so… yeah, this show’s really pretty!

The main star (and focus) of this show was Violet herself… you can really see how she changes for the better from beginning to end

You get to see how “robot-like” she was at the start of the show, but she slowly learns about dealing with emotions of others… and herself

This character arc is definitely the “main” plot of the show, along with her coming to terms with Gilbert’s death and her war killings

The episodic plots were good in their own right, too!

Ranging from Violet’s start as a Memoir Doll to the different clients she works with, they all teach her something along the way

These sometimes focus on the side characters working at the Doll Agency too, so we get to learn more about them as well

The one that comes to mind first is Iris’ episode, where she (messily) reconnects with a former lover

Not all of them get a full episode in the spotlight, but they do get some focus scenes from time to time

Violet’s clientele episodes were the most memorable out of this lot IMO

ESPECIALLY EPISODE 10… that was the BIGGEST feels trip

I knew exactly how the episode was going to end, but I still teared up at that ending!

The finale was action packed, but also was a beautiful way to show how far Violet has come

I know some people’s issue with this show is that “it doesn’t know what show it wants to be” re: the action stuff, but I was fine with it personally

in any case, it was a pretty good book-end for Violet’s development, since she finally understands (a least a little) what “I love you” means :’)

I understand certain people’s gripes with this show, but this really is a great little drama show that *will* deliver the feels~

P.S. I also watched Fate/Extra: Last Encore this season. It hasn’t technically ended yet, so I can’t give final impressions on it right now. However, my current score for it is a 7.5/10 (C+).

#3 gatsu no lion #march comes in like a lion #cardfight!! vanguard #cardfight vanguard g #cardfight vanguard gz #osomatsu san #pop team epic #mahoutsukai no yome #the ancient magus bride #violet evergarden #Final Impressions

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