#it's looking like 6 chapters including this . this one is mostly exposition

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Have you been asked yet to rank Trust eps? Cos I'm asking! But your the criteria for ranking I leave to you to decide.

Ahahahaha I’ll have you know I put way too much thought into this. :-D

Ok so first of all, there is no such thing as a bad episode of Trust. The whole thing is really tightly written, every character and plot thread has a purpose, and even the episodes that I haven’t watched over and over again are important to the overall story. And a lot of the impact of the show comes from things that are cumulative over multiple episodes.

That being said, I do have favorites. Since the definitive ranking of Primo’s outfits has already been taken care of, here is my ranking from least to most favorite based on some nebulous criteria of artistic/narrative effectiveness and emotional impact, my judgement of which is obviously highly subjective and also correct.

Under the cut because this got ummm unbelievably, ridiculously long.

10. The House of Getty (episode 1)

Sorry Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, the pilot is my least favorite episode. Still think it was the wrong choice to open with a flashy (and, I can tell, expensive) sequence showcasing the death of a character we literally never see again. And, look, I’m an impatient viewer. If I don’t get someone to root for/emotionally identify with/otherwise catch my interest early on in a narrative, I’ll tune out. And Old Paul is not only unlikeable--far from a mortal sin in dramatic storytelling--he’s boring. I don’t care about any of his rich people problems, and I’m not the kind of viewer who can be kept engaged just by hating someone and watching them be terrible.

Some of the secondary characters in the Getty household do have interesting plotlines, but we don’t get to learn very much about them in the first episode. And I do think things get interesting once Little Paul shows up (although I maintain that the whole episode is more interesting if we understand what the stakes are for Paul getting the money), but if I had started watching this show with no context I wouldn’t have made it past Old Paul’s pre-coital erotica listening routine.

If this had been anything other than the first episode I might not have ranked it last, but extra penalty points for leading with your least interesting characters.

9. Lone Star (episode 2)

This episode is, I think, saddled by the fact that it has to do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of exposition and setup. It mostly works because Chace is an entertaining narrator, and once we get to Italy with Gail I think things zip along at a pretty good pace. Opens with an attempted rape to show how Bad the Bad Guys are, which is...not my favorite trope.

Once again, I think a lot of the information in this episode would have worked better if episode 3 had been episode 1. (We’d already know who Berto was when Chace meets him; we’d already know about the box of guns in the apartment; we’d know when certain characters are lying.) This whole show runs on the suspense of the audience being the only party who knows what’s going on with all the characters at once; I think trading mystery for suspense here was the wrong move. I also can’t help thinking there was pressure to front-load the well-known American actors in the beginning of the show at the expense of the strongest narrative choices.

Imo the best thing about this episode is the sort of...multiple competing images of Paul that emerge. His mom sees him as an innocent victim who couldn’t possibly have planned any of this. Chace sees him as a spoiled rich kid trying to swindle his granddad. Neither one of them has the complete truth.

Next we get into some episodes that are certainly not bad, but their greatness is more on the level of some bangin’ individual scenes than a whole package.

8. John, Chapter 11 (episode 6)

Again, this isn’t a bad episode. The main reason I put it near the end of the list is that the first time through I got sort of impatient during the first half. We, the audience, by virtue of our extra-textual knowledge, know that Paul can’t be dead, and we spend about half the episode before we know what really happened to him, which felt a bit too long to me.

This episode does have some fantastic individual scenes including: Leo talking Primo down in the farmhouse, Leo and Paul’s conversation about Angelo’s death, Gail being an absolute badass, and the meeting between Salvatore and Old Paul. A lot of these scenes are essential on a thematic level, but I don’t think the episode as a whole is the most streamlined.

7. Consequences (episode 10)

I debated for a while where to put this episode because the overall feeling of 57 Chekov’s guns going off in the space of one episode is SO satisfying, and the resolutions of some of the individual plotlines are delicious. Ultimately I would have liked more space for Paul and Gail and less Old Paul being grumpy about his substitute child museum’s mediocrity (although the scene with the bad reviews is hilarious). Once again I feel like the show creators felt they had to pull the focus back to Old Paul to wrap things up and I just. don’t care.

That being said. The resolution of Primo’s storyline? SO SATISFYING. And tbh I don’t dislike the scenes that exist with Paul and Gail; even the happy scenes have this poignant tone to them. I think they were trying to deal with the fact that his irl story is just...incredibly fucking tragic, and you can see a bit of the strain showing.

6. Kodachrome (episode 7)

I know episode 7 is not one of your personal favorites, but it’s the one where I think jumping between multiple plotlines/sets of characters is used to the most satisfying dramatic effect. It has this sense of dramatic irony that feels like some Shakespearean family tragedy. The whole episode, we are hoping that Paul Jr. will finally do the thing we want him to do, which is stand up to his father. And he does it--but at the absolute worst, most selfish and destructive moment possible.

Paul Jr. may be the literal worst, but I do have compassion for him in the flashbacks, mostly because it seems painfully apparent that no matter what he does, he will never be able to please his father. But he doesn’t seem to realize this, and he keeps trying, even as it’s destroying him and his relationship with his family. Credit to Michael Esper for his performance for making me feel a smidgen of compassion for this bastard.

I think the other thing this episode shows is how both of Paul’s parents keep putting him, a child, into roles and circumstances that he shouldn’t really be in. He’s wandering around through what seem like very much adult environments with his dad and Talitha in Morocco. In the Trust version of events he’s there when Talitha ODs and is the one trying to revive her while his dad is having a breakdown in the corner. Gail seems like the more responsible parent but there’s something about her bringing Paul as her “date” on a night out, and the understanding that this is a thing that happens regularly...to me the disturbing part is not so much bringing a young kid to a party with adults but the unspoken expectation that Little Paul will fill the void of companionship that his father has left empty. (Gettys expecting Little Paul to step in to cover for the failings of his father is a repeated theme, and it even plays into the ear thing. His family has failed to pay the ransom, so this is now a problem he has to solve himself.) Combine this all with Leonardo going, um, excuse me but what the actual fuck is wrong with your family? and I think it makes a very effective episode. And the last couple minutes had me yelling NOOOOOOOO GODDAMMIT because you can see what’s going to happen and you’re just watching it unfolding like a car wreck. Also has one of my hands-down favorite scenes, of Paul and Primo in the car waiting for the ransom.

5. White Car in a Snowstorm (episode 9)

The ~ D R A M A !!! ~ This episode is an opera. I mean this whole show is dramatique but episode 9 really leans into the vivid imagery--that snowy highway in the mountains above the sea, the all-white ransom exchange, Paul clinging to the pole at the shuttered Getty gas station, some Very Serious Mobsters throwing the ransom money around like idiots in a moment where you’re encouraged to be happy along with them.

This is also one of my favorite episodes for Primo and for Primo and Paul’s weird sometimes-alliance. Primo walking away from Salvatore to go tell Paul “they always pay in the end”? Primo and Paul teaming up to argue with Salvatore about why Paul shouldn’t die? Primo being all threateny to the doctor treating Paul because somewhere deep down he is worried (that’s my take and you’ll never convince me otherwise)? Primo dressing up to fake-scab on a postal strike in order to find a misplaced severed ear? All gold.

Fun fact: the letter Gail writes to President Nixon did happen in real life, but as far as I can tell the phone call did not. The real details of who convinced Old Paul to finally pay (some) of the ransom are considerably less cinematic. They’re the same amount of sexist though!

Ok now we are getting to the top tier...

4. That’s All Folks! (episode 4)

This is definitely the episode that took me from “ok this is fun” to “oh holy shit I’m invested now.” It’s the episode where we get introduced to most of the Calabrian characters and their world. It’s also the episode where we start to realize that Primo is not just a fun antagonist but is really a parallel protagonist to Little Paul, with his own set of relationships and motivations that we start to see from his POV. (I’d argue that, with the exception of his very first scene, we’ve mostly seen Primo through other characters’ gaze up until episode 4, and this is the point where we start watching him as like, the character whose pursuit of a goal we’re following over the course of the scene.)

This episode ranks high for capturing so much of the weird mix of tones that makes Trust work. It can be very funny. (I never fail to fuckin lose it when Fifty is on the phone with Gail the first time and when he’s talking to the thoroughly unimpressed newspaper switchboard operator.) It has this weird unexpected intimacy between characters you wouldn’t think would connect with each other. (Primo and Paul, Paul and Angelo; in retrospect the arc of the relationship between Primo and Leo gets started in that scene in Salvatore’s kitchen.) And it has one of the show’s absolute best record-scratch tone shifts when Primo gets the ransom offer. I remember saying “oh FUCK” out loud the first time I watched the end of that episode, when Primo comes back to the house, visibly drunk and clearly furious. We’ve seen him be violent plenty before now in the show, but always in a controlled, calculated way. This is the first time we see his potential for out-of-control rage-fueled violence and he’s terrifying!

3. La Dolce Vita (episode 3)

I stand by my claim that this episode (with a few minor continuity adjustments) should have been the pilot. Can you imagine a title card that’s like “Rome 1973” and then away we go with Paul snorting coke and taking racy photos and jumping on cops and fucking his girlfriend in what is definitely not proper museum etiquette, and then the smash cut to Primo intimidating and robbing and murdering people? And that’s the opening of the whole show? And you’re like how are these characters connected and then they meet each other and it’s the fucking sunflower field scene??

Anyway aside from the fact that I think knowing the information in this episode would have made episodes 1 and 2 more interesting...it’s just a great fucking episode. It’s kinetic and propulsive and funny and tense and violent and features Primo’s sniper skills and his ass in those cornflower blue trousers. I rest my case.

2. Silenzio (episode 5)

I’ll be honest, I went back and forth on the top two a bunch. Silenzio is definitely my personal favorite episode, and I’d argue that it’s the best written, in terms of what it accomplishes narratively, which is to keep you emotionally invested in both Paul and Angelo trying to escape with their lives, and Primo and Leonardo hunting them down. That’s so fucking hard!! And yes some of it is great acting but it starts from the foundation of the writing. It’s just such a perfect little self-contained horror movie, and it has this profound sense of fatalism to it, because you know from the beginning (if only by virtue of only being halfway through the series) that Paul is not going to escape, and you sort of know that there is only one way this will end for Angelo. And yet they escape by the skin of their teeth so! many! times!

It’s also the episode where you see how much power the ‘Ndrangheta has over people’s lives in this community: Salvatore is like God, calling his servants to him with the church bells. Combine that with the visuals of two characters running for their lives mostly on foot through this unforgiving landscape, and you really get the sense of this environment as a harsh place where most people have a very constrained set of choices, and the claustrophobia of that. You get the sense in this episode that everyone is trapped in these expectations of violence and duty and honor. Angelo did what anyone with compassion would do, and saved Paul from what seemed like certain death, and he’s doomed for it. At the same time Primo is doing exactly what anyone would expect him to do in response to a subordinate who disobeyed him. In some ways the end of the episode feels inevitable, unsurprising, and yet they do SUCH a good job of winding up the tension until the literal last seconds of the episode, and then releasing it with a big dramatic bang. It’s so good!!

1. In the Name of the Father (episode 8)

Ok I’ll be honest the ONLY reason In the Name of the Father edged out Silenzio for the top spot is that it is really clear they pulled out all the stops in terms of making this episode feel extra heightened in a show where everything is already heightened. Like, the cinematography is different? They still use handheld a lot but I swear there are more still shots and more extreme, editorial camera angles like that shot of Francesco looking upward in church where the camera is looking down from above him. I can’t tell if they actually tweaked the color grading or if the bright white and blood red just stand out against the Calabrian color palette which is mostly earth tones, browns and greens and blues.

There are just. So many layers to this episode. The imagery! The literal sacrificial lamb at the beginning, Francesco being guided by Leonardo through an act of violence against an animal, something that I’m sure they don’t even see as violence but just part of farm life, part of survival and in this case part of a celebration, but something that fathers teach their sons how to do as part of becoming a man in this world. Paul as the metaphorical sacrificial lamb later, drawing parallels to Jesus (the lamb of God), Isaac (a father sacrificing his son), any number of martyred saints, pick your Catholic imagery. The blood of the lamb on the tree stump and Paul’s blood on the stone. The communion wafer (the body and blood of Christ) and Francesco at the end with Paul’s blood and a literal piece of his body held in his hands the same way.

And then there is like, the suspense of watching everyone marking time through the steps of this community ritual that’s supposed to be a joyful, communal celebration, while we know that there is a secret ticking away under the surface. The slow unfolding of the lie told to one person spreading to everyone in the village, and then the knowledge that Salvatore knows spreading to all the people who’ll be in trouble for that. The relationship arcs between the main Calabrian characters...not resolving, but sliding into place for the final act. Primo finally being done with Salvatore. Primo and Leo’s alliance being cemented and Leo physically stepping between Primo and Salvatore, to protect Primo. (No one ever protects Primo!! Still not over it!!!!) The confirmation celebration as a mirror of the Getty party in episode 1, the parallels drawn between the 3 Pauls and Salvatore-Primo-Francesco and how Primo reacts to being passed over as heir vs. how Paul Jr. reacts. Little Paul having two whole minutes of screen time and managing to break your heart with them. Regina! Just...Regina’s whole everything. The music going all-instrumental for an episode and having this haunting, dreamlike but still tense quality to it. And the fact that we never cut away from Calabria to another plotline gives the whole episode this hypnotic, all-encompassing quality. It’s just. SO GOOD!!!!

#fadagaski #asks answered #trust fx #long post #so so long omg #i can't believe how long i spent writing this but HERE IT IS #trust alternate watch order

[turtle-paced]

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

Well, not quite on the long weekend, but here’s the recap anyway.

Book 1, Chapter 6 - Imprisoned

(0:55) Previously, on Avatar, the Water Tribes know what it’s like to be stuck at the ass end of the world slowly dying, but Katara’s hope is actually inspiring and she and Sokka found the Avatar for a reason. It’s going to be a Katara-centric episode. The group is still heading to the North Pole, while Zuko continues chasing them.

(1:45) We’re out of the snow! It’s still winter (seeing as the next episode is titled ‘The Winter Solstice’), but yeah. No snow. At the very least, this area’s warm enough that snow isn’t an all-winter condition.

(2:02) This is what I mean by the show bringing up supplies when they’re an issue. Note that Sokka doesn’t actually know what any of these nuts are. He hasn’t spent enough time in the Earth Kingdom to know what’s edible.

(2:48) The character contrast in two nutshells. Aang and Katara run towards the loud booming noises in the forest, Sokka advises hanging back (but goes with the majority). Then, when they find Haru, Aang and Katara want to make friends, but Sokka says he looks dangerous so they should be cautious. It’s a joke, mostly at Sokka’s expense, but it’s also consistent characterisation that helps give Sokka an important role in the team even when he’s outshone by ridiculous amounts in the direct combat department. He thinks very differently in some ways to his sister and his friends. This is sometimes unhelpful and sometimes downright necessary for the characters collectively to succeed. Today is an unhelpful day.

(2:56) Upon seeing Katara, the practicing earthbender drops everything and runs, going so far as to block pursuit. No questions, no chances, just immediate flight. Weird reaction, hey?

(3:06) Aang says that Haru must be running somewhere. Like a village. Which should have a market. Like I said back in episode one, every main character is smart. Showing it in these tiny, low-stakes, incidental conversations makes it believeable when they do big, dramatic smart things.

(3:21) Pan over this Earth Kingdom village. It’s pretty different to Kyoshi Island, and honestly looks a fair bit more prosperous. Earthbending means this village has got a very neat-looking mine and that building a wall around town isn’t a big deal. Interestingly, most building here are made of wood, or at least significantly involve wood in their construction (lintels, structural beams, doors, floors, I think even the rooftops).

(3:40) We get Haru’s name here as Katara spots him and follows him into his mother’s store.

(3:55) As soon as Aang says ‘earthbending’, Haru’s mother slams the doors and windows closed. Until now, the gAang has only travelled in free territory. Scared, paranoid territory, but free territory. This episode is a quick and brutal look at life in an occupied Earth Kingdom village. There’s a lot of fear here.

(4:09) Right on cue, Fire Nation soldiers drop by. The taxes they’re collecting are extortionate and their schedule for payment is arbitrary. The occupying force is taking financially and using this as a terror tactic. This becomes more explicit as the soldier says “we wouldn’t want an accident, would we?” and creates a fireball in his hands.

(4:58) Love the worldbuilding on this show. Why’s the Fire Nation here? Sokka asks, and Haru’s mother has an answer. Turns out all those coal-fired ships the Fire Nation uses? They need coal. The village is being exploited for its natural resources, too.

(5:09) Katara asks why Haru doesn’t help fight back, as he so clearly wants to. Especially since it means not bending, which she says is part of who she is. Haru’s mother explains that Haru would be arrested and taken from the village for earthbending (hold on to the information that the walls and mine are clearly products of earthbending), just like Haru’s father was. So let’s add some deeply personal and cultural oppression to the list of things going on here.

It’s also a tough lesson that resisting the Fire Nation in places like this isn’t as simple as saying “fight back.” There are serious risks involved.

(5:43) More panning over Earth Kingdom scenery. Vegetable patches and a silo can be seen. Little visual touches to remind the viewer that these background characters were in this place before the story arrived there, and will continue on offscreen once the story leaves. It helps make the world feel real.

(6:08) Katara and Haru go off and bond. Katara apologises for accidentally bringing up any hurt related to Haru’s father, ‘cause she’s a good, considerate person.

(6:18) Haru tells Katara how brave his father was to resist the Fire Nation invasion, against what odds. After which Haru’s father was taken away, and his family haven’t seen him since. The only way Haru can feel close to his father is by practicing earthbending, which also puts him in danger.

The entire backstory here gets into the big issues - invasion, mass internment, cultural oppression - by linking it with the much smaller slice of life. Just Haru, missing his father.

(6:48) Katara gives the exposition on her necklace, the last memento she has of her mother. The conversation leaves off pretty brutally as well. “It’s not enough, is it?” “No.” And that’s it. There’s only acknowledgement of their mutual pains, not closure. There’s not enough. There’s a hole there that cannot be filled.

(7:05) As Katara and Haru head back, they pass the mine collapsing. What happens when an earthbender-produced mine has to operate without earthbenders? It seems very likely to me that earthbending is a major part of mining safety and maintenance in Avatar world, and the removal of earthbenders from town would logically result in more mine collapses and accidents.

(7:32) Haru bravely earthbends to rescue the old man from the mine collapse.

(7:59) One of the really nice things about Aang? He’s impressed by Katara’s accomplishments, even one as small as inspiring Haru to his own little rebellion.

(8:12) Sokka brings up that point from back in 1.04 that if they hang around a village (especially an occupied village) they’re going to be in trouble. They have to keep moving. Continuity! Learning the lessons of previous episodes!

(8:41) Fire Nation soldiers show up in the dead of night to arrest Haru for earthbending, on the information of the old Earth Kingdom man Haru saved. Informants and midnight arrests - it’s a freaking scary depiction of life under occupation. Not to mention the moral texture it brings to the series. The Fire Nation is inarguably wrong and oppressive. But that doesn’t make the people of the Earth Kingdom saints. Individuals have a range of responses to the Fire Nation, and here we see it’s up to and including willing collaboration with their oppressors. We’re never going to see this old man again. He never gets any on-screen comeuppance. He never gets told he was wrong. This is just a lesson for the main characters.

The show’s worked up to this idea, with the hostility of the Kyoshi Islanders and Bumi placing the gAang under arrest. Now it’s serious. The characters can’t assume that Earth Kingdom people will be on their side.

And this ultimately leads up to the point that this conflict isn’t about one nation being inherently bad and the others being inherently good. 

(8:56) Love to see some mundane uses of bending - in this case, Katara doesn’t bother actually pumping water, she just yanks it out of the pump.

(9:23) And a nice thing about Sokka - when he sees Katara is upset, he moves to comfort her physically. However, also notice what Sokka actually says. Part of his idea of comforting Katara is working on solutions to the external problem, working out what happened and what they might be able to do about it. It’s very pragmatic and not very touchy-feely. While it comes with the best of intentions, and Katara doesn’t even have to ask for Sokka’s support and assistance, you can see where Katara might want a friend who’s a little more emotionally supportive. Different people fill different roles.

(9:31) But on to the main event! Katara’s got a plan to break Haru out of Fire Nation prison. Thus far Katara’s been strong and capable, and particularly impressive in how she’s dealt with a grief-stricken Aang. This marks her first opportunity to take up the foremost heroic role in an episode. She’s making the plans, she’s driving the action, she’s saving the day. It starts with her getting arrested for earthbending.

(9:49) A team plan! Katara had the basic idea of using airbending to simulate earthbending, but it looks to me like Sokka did the actual engineering of finding the vents that connect, while Aang’s going to be doing the actual bending. This is also a classic example of how Sokka’s character development is going to go over the course of the series and the reason he’s such an important part of the team. He puts the details into the big ideas.

(9:55) And here’s Aang’s fun-loving, lighthearted nature shown as a flaw rather than a virtue (in a fairly comedic, low-ish stakes kind of way) before the serious long-term implications become most apparent in season three. He’s goofing off and not taking responsibility for his part in this plan. Later, when Aang doesn’t want to find a firebending teacher and doesn’t want to think about how he’s planning to deal with Ozai, that’s perfectly believeable. We’ve seen him skip out on small details, so we can believe Aang would skip out on the big ones.

Furthermore, in character and plot terms, the character trait that’s a minor hiccup in the plan this episode causes serious problems later, and yet remains an important strength in other episodes (and across those episodes in how Aang actually keeps moving forward). There’s nuance there in Aang’s character, and nuance in the plots that recognise that things aren’t usually as simple as ‘this character trait good, that character trait bad’.

(10:18) This entire scene gives me the giggles so bad, starting with this Fire Nation soldier’s bemused reaction. Earthbending style.

(11:17) The group exchanges a bunch of anxious looks. Despite the comic nature of the faked fight, they did just arrange for Katara to get arrested by the Fire Nation and hauled off to a prison for dissidents. This is serious stuff.

(11:30) Cut to a port, and Katara on a boat. Nobody seems surprised that the prison is offshore.

(12:15) Cameo from George Takei here, hamming it up.

(12:41) The faux affability of the welcoming is shown by the Warden’s willingness to use fire on a prisoner when the prisoner simply coughs. Followed by condemning the man to a week of solitary imprisonment. Also worth noting that the Warden is completely unfazed by the presence of a young teenager amongst the prisoners.

(13:05) The Warden helpfully points out that the rig is made entirely of metal, which earthbenders cannot affect with their powers. (At this point in the series.) It brings a pretty significant limitation of earthbending to the table in a series set just as their world’s industrial revolution is going global.

It’s also a good indication of how hard imprisoning a bender is. This rig must be absolutely brutal to live on, for the guards as well as the prisoners. It couldn’t have been cheap to build, either. I’ll come back to the topic of criminal justice and bending ability later in the series, but for now just keep in mind that prison for benders a) requires cruel conditions and b) is logistically burdensome to say the least.

(13:16) The Warden also describes earthbending as ‘brutish savagery’, so here’s some fire supremacy for you all! Again, the big thing - the Fire Nation taking over the world and thinking that’s okay - is reflected in the little thing, a Fire Nation character casually dismisssing any worth in earthbending (when we just a few minutes ago heard Haru speak about how important it was to his family bonds).

(13:47) Katara looks over the prisoners and sees a lot of people in absolute despair. Keep an eye out for female prisoners. I keep raising this background detail thing because it tells you how the writers and animators are thinking about the “normal” state of the world.

(13:52) A nice touch from a design standpoint is that Haru is about the only person wearing a deep, living green, rather than the prisoner brown/grey/very dried-out green combination.

(14:11) Haru did at least succeed in finding his father, Tyro.

(14:29) This exchange does nicely to set up Tyro as a kind individual whose sense of humour has not been totally eradicated by the situation he’s in.

(14:52) Tyro tells Katara that there’s no escape plan, only a survival plan.

(14:58) There are some female prisoners in this shot! Which is evidence of female earthbenders, even though we still don’t see very many in the rest of the series.

(15:14) Much like in town, Katara is reminded that things aren’t necessarily so simple as “fight back”. She’s talking to people who have been dealing with the Fire Nation, unsuccessfully, for years. What does fighting back look like to these people, after all this time? What do they stand to lose?

(15:21) I do love this exchange. Tyro says, “I’m sorry, but we’re powerless,” and Katara replies, “We’ll see about that.” What she wants and what she aims to achieve is to give the prisoners here their power back. She’s trying to help them to help themselves. Even though this speech doesn’t work. Very eloquent for an impromptu speech, too.

(16:44) Aang and Sokka arrive to provide backup.

(17:01) Katara refuses to leave the prison until she’s accomplished her objective. She emphasises that it’s the people she’s not giving up on. For all her character development over the series, this trait stays exactly the same, arguably the very core of her character.

(17:30) We get the split in group opinion again. Katara and Aang want to stay and help, Sokka wants to leave. Outvoted, and aware that he’s not going to overcome Katara’s stubbornness on this point, Sokka says they’d better hide.

(17:48) Two guards report an Appa sighting to the Warden. This is actually a really good drawback to the convenience of having a flying bison, narratively - he’s just not all that inconspicuous.

(18:06) The Warden throws a man overboard for questioning whether the difference between a flying bison or a flying buffalo is all that pertinent. Love this show. I’m also getting serious “do the tides command this ship?” vibe. Only less competent. Though the Warden does have the competence to get the core point that there’s something amiss, and orders a full search of the rig.

(18:42) Aang wishes he knew how to make a hurricane, because then the Warden would run away and the party could just take his keys. Now this is what people mean when they call Aang naive. Note that this wishful thinking from Aang doesn’t involve direct confrontation with the Warden. He wants the problem to go away. It’s not an issue with Aang’s intellect, it’s an issue with Aang’s psychology.

(18:53) Sokka wants to give the earthbenders some literal power. Some literal substance they can bend so that they can free themselves.

(19:08) It’s Aang who points out that earthbenders are able to bend coal, and the Fire Nation keeps coal on the rig. Naive, not stupid!

(19:22) Like I said, Sokka doesn’t often lead the way or deal with the party’s biggest ideas, but he is absolutely unmatched when it comes to making their goals into workable plans. As Katara asks Sokka “are you sure this is going to work?” we can be sure that the details here were Sokka’s doing. Moreover, he’s applied knowledge of vents he picked up earlier in the episode.

It’s also worth noting that Sokka was against staying to rescue the earthbenders and still put his all into coming up with a plan once he was outvoted. He works with Katara and Aang in good faith so that the disagreement doesn’t wreck their teamwork.

(20:02) Once again, Aang provides the muscle as he airbends some staggering quantities of coal onto the deck.

(20:22) Again, quite realistically, the earthbenders are hesitant to take the opportunity Katara’s just provided. The Warden underlines the point that it’s Katara’s inspirational words versus years of oppression and despair. Sure, that is the problem here. Katara tries, and she’s mocked by the villain for trying.

(20:59) But as the lump of coal crashes into the back of the Warden’s head, the show says that Katara was right and the Warden was wrong. Katara’s faith was not misplaced and her words and actions did make a difference here. Even if it sounded silly to start with.

(21:09) Love that the coal actually ignites when hit by fireblasts.

(21:25) Yes, we did see a female earthbender prisoner fighting back there! And I’m still pretty sure that this is one of the vanishingly few occasions we’ll see female earthbenders active in the background of the series.

(21:57) The earthbenders prioritise getting off the rig.

(22:05) Here’s Katara again. This is the first we see her actively participating in this skirmish. She hasn’t actually done much fighting - the point here was always what she could do to empower others to fight. She’s still got her necklace at this point. Notice also Aang’s creative use of airbending to propel small pieces of coal at the Fire Nation soldiers.

(22:33) The earthbenders steal a Fire Nation ship and head back to the mainland. Katara’s lost her necklace in this shot. Haru and Tyro spell out the effect of Katara’s actions.

(23:04) Tyro declares his intention to take back all their villages, which tells us that the prisoners were not from just one place. They must have been brought in from several towns and villages in the general area. Looks like the gAang’s leaving some insurgents behind them, right in Ozai’s coal supply.

(23:26) Haru thanks Katara for her help with that small thing of returning his dad for him, and wishes he could do the same for her. She also realises that she’s lost her mother’s necklace at this point.

(23:35) And who should pick it up but Zuko, who we haven’t seen for almost two whole episodes. Presumably he’s followed a report of Avatar-based shenanigans, and he’s got real sharp eyes to pick out the one Water Tribe thing in all this.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

[futures-tense]

tagged by the lovely @a-beautiful-struggle-of-life

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

43 sfkjdhgs

2. What's your total AO3 word count

89,343

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

like,,, 3 i think

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

Let Me Have Your Back

Friends Don’t Look At Friends That Way

Since I Wasn’t Born Perfect

In Case You Don’t Live Forever

but let’s not pretend

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

um, probably Sick of Losing Soulmates

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I don’t know,,,, a lot of my fics are hurt/comfort so they end on a good note

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written? 

I only really write crossovers for like 911 and ls but not anything else

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

Nah babe thats not for me

9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Every single one because they all make me 🥰

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic? 

YES only once and it was so funny because they said that i “wasn’t confident in my writing abilities” because I said I hadn’t been sure where the fic was headed IN THE TAGS i was like babe what??? anyway-

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I really hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

mm, I dunno, I wouldn’t be opposed to it as long as they credited me

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have yeah 🥰

14. What's your all time favourite ship? to write for? 

Tarlos and Buddie are just so easy for me to write for its mostly whatever ships im most invested in at the moment

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? 

Yeah and I’m kind of sad about it; its a cute WIP

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue I think

17. What are your writing weaknesses? 

Exposition ksdjhfk

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

I do it a lot, like I do it with Eddie interacting with his family (including chris) and I do it with Enzo and TK and Carlos and his friends (also Carlos and Mateo and Tommy interactions)

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for? 

I want to say,,,, Newsies,,, but idk but I do think thats what it was because that was my first serious hyperfixation

20. What's your favourite fic you've written?

OH let me TELL you,,,, its mostly all of them BUT;

what I really wanted was a father

When the Dust Settles (where are you?)

How Do We Win

and last but not least 36 Questions-- which, no, she’s not done yet but I’ve already read through chapter 3 and i’m excited to so

Imma tag a few of my favorite writers: @ravens-words, @aliceschuyler, @lire-casander, @marjansmarwani

#my fics #ask games

[mamthew]

Thoughts on Great Ace Attorney: Adventures

I finished the first of the Great Ace Attorney games last night and have some thoughts I want to write out. I'll be mostly avoiding spoilers, and I mark the ones I do have.

I approached this game with the thought that this - a new AA game with completely new characters, set in an entirely different time period - would be the first entirely functional jumping-on-point the series has had since the original back in 2001. For that reason, I critiqued the game mostly through that lens: how much of this game would show newcomers the best of what the series has to offer without requiring information it doesn't provide? GAA fits the latter wonderfully. There's no Phoenix or Apollo or Athena, only minor references to other games that don't detract from this game's story in any way. Players don't need to understand spirit channeling or magician heredity or Larry Butz. This is a game a newcomer can approach and play without any long exposition on who has what relationship with whom. However, this game simply doesn't show newcomers the best of what the series has to offer. GAA has five cases, and of those five I would consider two of them to have a satisfying resolution. Obviously, that's pretty subjective, but at the very least, Ace Attorney is known for its villains and this game has maybe one. And that one villain...doesn't get a freakout. Two of the cases feel like attempts to redo and fix the two most poorly executed cases in AA2, and they definitely succeed at doing that, but it means that the cases don't have satisfying conclusions by design. The gimmick of this game, too, feels less satisfying than previous gimmicks. The testimonies place multiple characters on the stands at once, and in theory that means the player must be scanning the other characters' faces for reactions to what is being said, but in practice the game simply makes a loud sound and gives you an icon telling you exactly which character made that sound. It's considerably less satisfying than scanning for subtle body language hints as Apollo or using your evidence to break through people's walls as Phoenix. It's too simple, and that, combined with the mostly uninteresting solutions to the cases, makes finishing each case not feel like an achievement. This is also the first game in the series to spend a lot of time setting up plot points for future games. Every other Ace Attorney game is self-contained; it's useful to know the previous games, but every mystery brought up in a game will be solved by the end of that game. I can think of at least ten questions off the top of my head that are introduced in this game but aren't given any resolution specifically so that those mysteries can carry forward into the sequel. This probably is less of an issue in this format, where both games are in one collection, so I can just move on to the next one as soon as I'm done with this one, but it makes GAA feel like a less cohesive title. I've played five cases of this game and could tell you almost nothing about the prosecutor. There isn't a single other AA game where that's the case. Obviously, this is just a different storytelling philosophy than the series has had in the past, but it's one at odds with the game's own theming. The character of Sherlock Holmes is very important to the plot of this game, which is delightful, and makes sense given just how much influence Holmes mysteries have had on the series as a whole. But each of Doyle's stories about Holmes was self-contained, which was why the character held such mass appeal. The writers of this game are laying claim to a pedigree from which they are simultaneously distancing themselves. Hell, in the past I've turned on old AA games on a whim and replayed old chapters out of order because generally each mystery stands on its own. I would not do that with this game. There's no reason to replay case 3, for instance, without just replaying the entire game. Case 4 spends more time dealing with the fallout of cases 2 and 3 than it does investigating its own mystery. And it looks like this trend will be continuing. I watched the opening cutscene of the second game, and its first case seems to be about answering the questions left unanswered from the first case of the previous game. That

leaves me excited to play the case and learn the answers to those questions, but it also means the tutorial case for GAA isn't resolved by the end of the game. That's ludicrous when compared to any other game in the series. The closest comparison I have is the first case of AA4, in which the victim's identity, the murderer's motive, and both their relationships to the defendant are left hanging, but that's all resolved in case 4, and the act of solving the murder itself was satisfying enough that I didn't find myself worrying about those answers until I was meant to. By the end of GAA, I only know one of those details about the first case, and I spent most of the game waiting for those answers to come. Hell, in case 4, two characters I'd never seen before or since stage a conversation in front of the protagonist, and I can only assume they'll be important again in the second game. Their character models honestly shouldn't even have been in this game. The pacing is also oddly quick, even with an extra case. We only see the prosecutor's gimmick in action once, another character out-mia-fey's mia fey with the level of disrespect in their death, and while the main themes of the series get a lot of lip-service in this game, it mostly doesn't feel earned, except in the last case. To dip my toe into spoilers for the next paragraph:

-

-

Every AA game deals heavily with the theme of belief in one's client. The Japanese justice system is pretty fucked, so the games talk a lot about how a defense attorney must fully trust in their client's innocence, because literally no one else will. It's a pretty powerful motif, especially when you consider the real-world implications. In Ace Attorney, trusting in your client's innocence includes being willing to take risks by pointing out evidence that seems to hurt your client's case, because getting a fuller understanding of the truth is the only way to find the real culprit, in the end. In GAA, the protagonist's ability to trust in his clients is dashed with his very first case, so early he never had a chance to understand the importance of that trust. So his journey of trying to learn how to trust in his clients feels unearned for returning players and will probably feel entirely confusing and out-of-place for first-time players.

-

-

Okay, that's the end of those spoilers

None of this is to say this is a bad game. It's much better than 5 or 6, and it's still probably the best jumping-on point since 1. If anyone asked me where to start the series, I'd still tell them to play the original trilogy, but this isn't a terrible place to start either. I love the characters a lot, their take on Sherlock Holmes is delightful, and the use of the turn-of-the-century time period is great. You even defend an actual historical Japanese novelist from the time, which is really a treat.

But I worry that unless the second game is a considerable jump in quality, that this side story simply won't have the staying power of the original trilogy, 4, or investigations. I've been mad for a really long time that we only got this game 6 years after the first one released and 4 years after the second, but after having played this I'm at least glad it released packed in with the sequel, or I'd've probably been considerably more disappointed with it than I already am. Then there are other issues that come with the collection format meaning we essentially have a second tutorial halfway through the game.

In any case, once I've finished the second game I'll probably write some thoughts on that, too, and possibly rank the series.

#ace attorney #great ace attorney

[airdropababy]

A Guide To The Wayward Guide Podcast: Chapter 5

Previous Chapter Guides: Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 Chapter length: ~16 minutes Release Dates:

Podcast: November 13th, 2020

YouTube: January 8th, 2021

Who Do We Hear From? Established Characters: Odie, Ags, Aubrey, Olivia, Riley, Vern, Helen, Jeremiah, Barney, Rita, Sybilus, Jewel, Donny, Truman, Ellis, and The Mayor

Guest Voices: None this week! Episode Transcript Link: Chapter 5 Placement in Continuity: Takes place mostly at the town election, between Artemis being chased in the beginning of Episode 5 and when she wakes up the next morning in the same episode.

Chapter Breakdown: Intro: Opens with Paul doing the intro again, this time imitating Artemis before finally saying “Psych! It’s me, Paul!”. She interrupts to have him explain why he’s taking the lead on this episode. They explain that Artemis tripped and fell the night before the town council election and was out of commission for the town election. She hit her head, skinned her knee, ruined her jeans, and broke the digital recorder when she fell. After the Theme Song: All about the election. Starts with a clip of Artemis getting Odie's take on the election the day before, then goes into Paul's coverage from town hall from 3:45 AM to 9AM on Election Day. Madison is no where to be seen and Riley talks about Madison shooting at a big dog the night before. Truman wins the seat and immediately calls for a vote for Miner Mole to start drilling.

Artemis interviewed Odie Dodie the day before the election, just after Madison entered the election.

Odie confirms there has never been so much campaign material before.

It seems everyone intends to vote in person from a lack of mail-in ballots, according to Odie.

Paul’s morning coverage goes into all the eccentric rules Connor Creek has for their local elections. Paul speaks with:

Ags provides most of the exposition about the town election rules

Olivia is looking for Riley to get her keys to open both of their stores and notes she and Riley don’t see eye-to-eye on the issues.

Vern comments on how the early election days help make it so the shopkeepers can still tend to their businesses for the most part.

Barney rants about how he expects business to be booming for him because elections get people interested in history.

Jeremiah chimes in, trying to relate elections to religion.

Donny thinks he’s speed dating.

Jewel has dressed up like an adult man to vote while underage and is caught by Aubrey.

Madison is nowhere to be seen and Paul notes that if she wasn’t on the ballot, you wouldn’t know she was running at all. While Truman was making a show just shy of active campaigning at a voting site. Then Paul covers the caucusing that Connor Creek does- which is not about WHO they vote for but HOW they vote. Around 6:30 AM, before the caucusing finished, Helen called Rita away from the council with “a situation”. The actual voting took roughly 30 minutes. Paul finds Riley and interviews her:

She has a massive hangover but still came

She dismissively remembers Madison shooting at a “big dog” or wild animal the previous night

Truman wins the council seat:

She gives her speech about wishing her father could see her entrusted with the town’s future, mentioned “the way forward is together”

She calls immediately for a vote to ease regulations to allow Miner Mole to start drilling. It passes.

The whole election was over before 9 AM, when Ags was looking for the mysteriously absent Odie to deliver the paper as soon as it’s printed with the results.

Artemis admits that her fall the night before and the incident Madison and Riley had with a “big dog” were the same event. And that as rumors spread at the election, “werewolf mania” had set into the town by the time she woke up the next day. Next Time: Ellis narrates his own investigation: The Ellis Files.

What Do We Learn About Connor Creek?

Odie was not seen alive on Election Day.

This is the first time the podcast has fully acknowledged that The Mayor is a dog.

The Mayor has been in her role for a decade, despite those with dog allergies campaigning hard for the roadside kitten.

The Mayor was re-elected and changed her stance on climate control.

Ags seems to be the one making sure everyone sticks to the rules.

Donny considered Paul a match when he thought they were speed dating.

Donny kisses with his eyes open.

Rita mentions a precedent for Henry raiding her formaldehyde to get buzzed.

98% of eligible voters showed up for the election in person.

The Connor Creek Constitutional Charter (or C4 as Ags calls it) has some really weird rules for elections:

They start at 3:45 AM

The Mayor gives opening remarks

They caucus on odd issues including but not limited to:

Ink color

Paper or plastic ballots

Voting oldest to youngest

Playing music during voting

Use of “I voted” stickers or pins

Voting with your dominant hand or non-dominant.

The political parties in Connor Creek:

The Conservatitve Conservation Party of Connor Creek (Represented by Olivia with 14 delegates)

The Liberal Use of Federal Filibuster Party of Connor Creek (Represented by Vern with 16 delegates)

The EggCeptional Independent Party of Connor Creek (Represented by Barney with 1 delegate. He is within his rights)

Sheriff Reynolds victory t-shirts were printed in the time between her stepping into the election and losing.

When Sybilus struggled to announce the results through his stutter, Aubrey patronizingly took over for him.

What Do We Learn About Artemis and Paul?

Paul sends in a tape for SNL every year and never hears back.

Artemis confirms her fondness for the same inspirational quotes twitter account from Episode 5.

No pun name introduction for Paul this week, as he just pretended to be Artemis instead.

#wayward guide #wayward guide for the untrained eye #tin can bros #tab #a guide to the wayward guide podcast #chapter 5 #sorry for the delay in getting these chapters out #this one was rough and still the formatting is bad #is it actually helpful to anyone? #is it understandable?

[nobodywritesthings]

Some more random bits of trivia about With Great Power

Part 1

Might as well just… put this here.  Spoilers below!  I ended up talking a lot about the villain side of things.

All for One uses a quirk he refers to as “Clothing Swap” to replace Izuku’s hero gear in Chapter 1.  For some random reason, I made a description of the quirk that ended up in my notes, though it never became relevant again.  Here it is: Clothing Swap: The target may have any article(s) considered to be “worn” swapped with any other article(s) the user has seen them wear previously. The user may choose themselves as a target. The swap may be uneven - a hat can be swapped for a full outfit, leading to someone really overdressed, or a full outfit for a hat, leading to the opposite - but “nothing” is not an option for either side of the swap. Objects in pockets or similar places of holding may be transferred into similar places in the new outfit, if available; otherwise they will stay with the clothing they were originally in. See that part about the user needing to see the target wearing the clothes previously?  All for One’s been stalking, and Izuku would’ve been able to guess almost immediately if he heard the details of that quirk.

Speaking of my notes, I tend to name the random fic ideas I write down in order to keep them easy to reference in my notes (or head).  I don’t always use those names for the finished product.  I liked the reference to the quote, “With great power comes great responsibility”, that I ended up going with for WGP’s story/chapter titles; but I actually came up with that theme after the majority of the fic was done.  For most of the writing process, I kept it filed under “Kingmaker AU”.

All for One’s threats to Izuku in the first chapter were something of a bluff.  If Izuku refused to listen, All for One would’ve been in quite a pinch - he certainly didn’t want to kill or Noumufy Izuku, and he had the feeling that “lock him in a vault and make him listen” wouldn’t work any better here than it did with his brother.  He did have other plans in case getting Izuku to agree to parley failed, but he was massively relieved when it worked.  (Izuku’s threat in Chapter 10, on the other hand, was definitely not a bluff.)

Gigantomachia saw the resemblance between Izuku and All for One the moment Izuku opened his mouth - not just in the contents of Izuku’s self-introduction, but Izuku’s voice itself.  As seen in canon, he has a very dramatic emotional reaction to hearing All for One’s voice; and while Izuku’s isn’t an obvious match, he could hear similar notes.  This was helped by the fact that Izuku was very tired and decided to start making threats, and was consciously using All for One as a model for those.  Gigantomachia’s easy initial acceptance of Izuku was mostly down to this (”He speaks with the voice of my Master”).  Of course, Izuku’s speech about not proving himself to everyone who asked did make something of an impression on its own merits.

As for the rest of the villains, Shigaraki and Kurogiri were the only ones close enough to All for One to notice Izuku’s resemblance to him (or care; if Dabi had any suspicions, he kept them to himself).  It took a few days after Izuku was left with the dictatorship for Shigaraki.  Kurogiri, on the other hand, noticed years ago - but decided it wasn’t his place to wonder about it, so he didn’t.

None of the villains guessed that Izuku was a close relative of All for One’s.  They all thought, at best, that he was some distant relative who All for One had taken an interest in and who happened to suit his plans.  They were immensely surprised by All for One’s choice of successor.

Shigaraki and Kurogiri got emails after All for One disappeared, too, not just Izuku.  All for One drafted them beforehand, as well as a few alternate versions for theoretical scenarios that didn’t happen.  Shigaraki’s gave him some sarcastic advice on how to make nice with the new Overlord, which worked surprisingly well.  Kurogiri’s included advice on Izuku’s preferred coffee brands, which also worked surprisingly well.

All for One had discussed a few things with Gigantomachia beforehand and so didn’t bother with an email - namely along the lines of, “I’m planning to make someone else the Supreme Overlord in my place.  Do what you want, but your life will be short and painful if he doesn’t stay in one piece.”

Shigaraki and Kurogiri spent most of their free time after All for One disappeared trying to track him down.  Izuku won their loyalty over time - or more accurately, having gainful employment and being surrounded by decent people while trying his best to behave himself helped Shigaraki feel less inclined toward villainy, and Kurogiri appreciated being given a fair chance at all.  However, Shigaraki in particular had many questions for All for One, and Kurogiri followed his lead.  Gigantomachia them helped out for a while, until…

Gigantomachia saw Izuku’s “father’s” signature, and realized he might’ve accidentally stumbled upon a secret that All for One would be happy to kill half of Japan over.  He smartly refrained from telling the other two, and pulled back somewhat on his assistance in their search.

When Gigantomachia met “Hisashi” in person for that trip to America, he sent a panicked text to Shigaraki that he wasn’t offering any more help and that they should stop going behind Izuku’s back if they truly valued their lives and limbs intact.  This sparked their decision to bring their research to Aizawa while Izuku was away.  Yagi’s assumption that they were afraid of Izuku’s reaction was entirely legitimate, but that wasn’t the full reason for their choice of timing.

One more note about Gigantomachia: When Izuku had his panic attack in Chapter 5, the reason Yagi showed up was because Gigantomachia made a beeline for his office and told him that the Supreme Overlord needed his help.  Yagi ran.

I honestly didn’t expect for the villains to take up so much of the fic (or this trivia).  I also was hoping to have more of Aizawa and Class 1-A in the story.  But since criminal rehabilitation ended up being such a focus, the villains ended up being particularly relevant.  I’m still a tiny bit annoyed about it.

How much did Inko know about Hisashi?  He tried to give her a similar story to the one he gave Izuku once he returned.  However, she knew him and his views well enough that she managed to get out of him that he wasn’t “working with villains” entirely under duress, and that he had done a few things to earn the enmity of “people who were after him”.  She was surprised when Izuku made All for One tell her the truth about his villain identity, but less than Izuku expected.

I don’t usually have soundtracks for my writing - I’ll put on whatever music I feel like listening to, or even nothing, depending on my mood.  However, for Chapter 10, I wrote most of it while listening to “Devastation and Reform” by Relient K on repeat.  I think it fits the self-inflicted tragedy that is All for One’s existence pretty well, and helped me capture the right tone for his side of the story.

Alright, a cheerier note is in order.  Originally, Chapter 6 (now the Social Media Chapter) was an utter slog of exposition that made me despair.  I ended up scrapping it and rewriting it as a social media interlude that communicated the stuff I wanted it to communicate, but I ended up cutting along with it a draft of the scene Hatsume’s video refers to.  Y’know, the one where Izuku sets an attempted assassin on fire.  It was indeed accidental - she was hounding Izuku to let her make the perfect Supreme Overlord outfit, and had shoved an ordinary-looking watch at him when the assassins showed up.  He threw the watch at one of them and it exploded.  Hatsume got yelled at by a tired Izuku afterward for endangering the paperwork he’d have to fill out all over again.

In the Discord conversation where I mentioned the initial concept of this fic, someone proposed a scenario in which Izuku starts crying in the middle of the UN because some representative was being an asshole about how Japan was being handled, and then everyone else would jump in to go, “Nice going, Rick, you ruined a perfectly good Supreme Overlord, now he has anxiety.”  I therefore decided that I would indeed make Izuku cry at the UN.  This was how the UN chapter came to exist.  Of course, in my version, the tears were because of the support Izuku got, and the good guy was named Rick.

Izuku setting someone on fire was also a concept I got from my favorite Discord server.  Several other people had Izuku setting people on fire in their stories.  I decided to join them.

Finally… you know how I abbreviated “Supreme Overlord” to “S.O.”?  Yes, I’m aware that the abbreviation usually stands for “Significant Other”, and I decided to go with it because I thought it was funny.  And a good way to embarrass Izuku even further.

I think that got all the major trivia and a few minor bits too.  Though I probably can dig out other things from my brain if people have questions; my askbox is open.  Otherwise, I’ve got a new prospective writing project in the concept stage, so I’ll switching mental gears off of WGP, I think.

#wgp #bnha fic #my fic

[wolfqueen-is-here]

Rating ASoIaF POVs

Don’t come at me, these are my personal likes and dislikes (also I’m bored and I had a bizarre fandom encounter yesterday which made me almost consider being too old for Tumblr :P).

If you want to give me yours, I’ll be more than happy to read them!

The order is number of chapters in all the books combined, not my personal favourites. To make it more fun, I’ll also rate them in a scale from 1 to 10 (my least favourite POVs to my best-loved ones).

Here we go!

TYRION - 6/10

Even though he’s not my favourite character (and that’s a huge understatement), I enjoy his chapters in both AGoT and ACoK. I feel kind of “whatever” towards his ASoS chapters, but the real deal-breaker are those from ADwD. It took me nearly two years to finish that book, simply because whenever I stumbled upon his POV, I went into a coma. For me personally it presents his least likeable portrayal, least insightful journey, least understandable motivations. Moreover, he used to constantly objectify women, while judging them by THEIR potential willingness to overcome their prejudice towards him in order to sleep with him. Like get over yourself, ma boy.

JON - 8/10

He started out as an underdog, his chapters in GoT were kind of boring and whiny, nothing ever happened. But boy oh boy, I can’t get enough of him since he ventured out and started hanging out with the wildlings; and his Lord Commander chapters? Probably my favourite ones in ADwD.

ARYA - 8/10

I preferred her hanging out in Westeros, I feel like crossing the sea slowed down her story a bit. Other than that: great read!

DAENERYS - 8/10

People often complain that her chapters were kind of a bore, but for me it was quite the opposite. For a long time she was our only window into Essos, she’s also quite observant and resourceful, so maybe she’ll help Tyrion’s POV become interesting again once they finally meet.

CATELYN - 10+/10

I ofter say that Sansa’s chapters are my favourite, but if I really had to make a choice, it’d be Cat. Her POV is captivating from the very beginning, and she takes us on such a journey! She’s our first window into the Vale, into Renly’s camp (where we meet Brienne and the Tyrells), into Riverrun and the Twins! We follow Robb through her eyes, we mourn Ned with her... She never stops being an interesting character with an eventful background, thrown into situations we wouldn’t be able to witness, weren’t it for her POV. You may like her, you may dislike her, but I’d say that the importance of her chapters is indisputable.

SANSA - 10/10

What can I say? I like her insight, she’s one of the most observant POV characters in the books (maybe because she doesn’t really have her own agenda - not in a bad way, she’s a child and a captive), which makes her less self-absorbed (especially in the later chapters). Yes, her first chapters in AGoT were a bit dull, and that’s why I’d choose Cat’s POV over hers in general.

BRAN - 7/10

I know it’s the weirdest thing to say about one of the most supernatural POVs, but I kinda preferred his Winterfell chapters? He proved to be a great leader (and I’m sure he will be a good king), but some of his later chapters blurred for me into a tight knot of “I’m going north, but sometimes I warg into Summer and hunt”. I hope we explore more of his abilities in TWoW, that’s something I’m really looking forward to despite not being particularly captivated by the deep north’s charms.

JAIME - 8/10

Entertaining, insightful, arrogant - and I’m talking about both Jaime Lannister and his POV chapters. He’s an arsehole with a terrific backstory, but also a walking disaster of a character. Pure joy. The only thing I regret is getting his POV so late in the books. I know it’d ruin suspense otherwise, but still.

EDDARD - 9/10

I love going back to AGoT and reading his chapters, pretending that I don’t know how things end for him. There are so many “main hero” tropes in his chapters, it makes me laugh. Oh well, it was great when it lasted!

THEON - 6/10

HATED his ACoK chapters, LOVED the ones from ADwD. I know that writing him as a dick was crucial to making his further story more heartbreaking, but I generally can’t enjoy vulgarity, objectifying women, describing characters having sex for 15 pages etc. That’s why I hate many Tyrion’s chapters, and that’s why Theon’s POV annoyed me at first. But damn, his inner struggle, his identity crisis, going back and forth from Reek to Theon...  10/10. 

DAVOS - 6/10

Ah, good uncle Davos! I don’t know why I’m not rating him a bit higher, I do enjoy his chapters, especially because it’s through him that we learn more about Stannis and Melisandre in the earlier books. But... he’s such a boring character! :D (I know, I will have to whip myself later for writing this, feel free to send me strongly worded letters, I deserve it.) Davos’s POV works great as an exposition, but I just cannot force myself to care about him personally. Good dude, though.

CERSEI - 9/10

My queen, one and only. I think ASoS might be my favourite book, and that’s mostly because of her chapters. She’s vindictive, egoistic, jealous, unreasonable... and irreplaceable! I enjoy her slightly mellowed-down, cool-headed show version (one of the very few things that the show did right), but gosh, book!Cersei’s weak-arse schemes might be the most wholesome piece of literature, honestly. And the fact that her paranoia isn’t unfounded, that some of her frustrations are totally justified - all that makes her a character rather easy to sympathise with. She might not have the most insightful POV, but it’s certainly the most entertaining one!

SAM - 7/10

He’s a good boy, and an attentive character - his chapters are enjoyable, but not yet exhilarating. Looking forward to more Oldtown business to reevaluate.

BRIENNE - 8/10

I’m not even going to explain myself, her journey was the most enjoyable side-quest I’ve ever witnessed. Some people don’t like her chapters, and honestly, that baffles me more than liking Tyrion’s ADwD POV. :D

BARRISTAN - 4/10

For a famous white cloak, he really felt like a non-character to me. His POV was a-okay, but to be perfectly honest I was constantly paging through his chapters to check whether maybe Dany came back.

VICTARION - 4/10

I’m not a Greyjoy-stan and I probably can’t appreciate the nuance of some Greyjoy POVs, but both Victarion and Aeron read kind of flat. Don’t hate me.

ARIANNE - 8/10

I still don’t get how she was omitted from the show. Maybe she doesn’t become the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but so many pointless characters from the books got shitloads of screen-time, and my girl Arianne got none? Are you serious? Freaking BRONN became the Master of Coin, and they decided Arianne shouldn’t exist?! And yes, I love even the almost universally hated “The Princess in the Tower” chapter.

ASHA - 7/10

She’d be higher, but there’s a lot of vulgarity in her chapters, too, and I basically don’t care for that At All. Otherwise she’s a dope character and deserves the Iron Islands.

QUENTYN - 6/10

No offence to homie, but he was a bit of a bore. A nice one, but a bore.

AERON - 4/10

See: VICTARION. He’d get even less, but at least we could experience the Iron Islands through his POV.

AREO - 8/10

I don’t see how any Dornish POV (as in being IN Dorne, not being FROM Dorne like Quentyn) could get any less than 7 points. I still think we got too few Dornish POVs, I demand amends!

JONCON - 8/10

I don’t even care about the plot (although he was one of the only two insights into Aegon’s storyline, that should count for something), I can’t with the amount of gayness in his Rhaegar flashbacks. 8/10, would recommend. 

ARYS - 7/10

He was sweet, a bit naive, but I cannot go lower due to my Dorne principle (see: AREO).

MELISANDRE - 8/10

Surprisingly one of the most wholesome POVs of ADwD, pity it was just this one chapter. What with being a Red Priestess and all, you’d expect her to radiate more... numinous energy, but her chapter was one of the most iconic ones. I won’t give her a 9 just because I only have Ned and Cersei with those grades at the moment, and I think it should stay that way. (Oi, Ned/Cersei anyone?)

Prologues and epilogues not included.

What a trip. Care to share your favs? ;)

#asoiaf #got #game of thrones #pov characters #house stark #house lannister #dorne #having fun #rating chapters #i'm rereading the books #asoiaf women #women rule

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Hi! Can I be nosey? I saw your post on outlining Liar, Liar, Foxfire, could you explain your process a little more? Especially the EVEN DUMBER VERSION? Please and thank you and love your blog! Especially the little snippets of what you're working on!

Dear nonny you can always be nosy, I love it <3 

I usually put the Title: DUMBEST VERSION at the top of my docs to remind myself that it’s the first draft and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It started out as a joke with Estranged back in the end of 2018 I think, when I started the fic. Then it kind of became a thing between myself and my then beta (she thought it was cute lol) I don’t really use it for its intended purpose, since I heavily edit as I write. You’re not technically supposed to do that, but I can’t write any other way if my work is unsatisfactory; it seriously kills my motivation when I know I can do better. 

Which is where the EVEN DUMBER VERSION comes in! I’ve never used that one  before this, I was just frustrated because I couldn’t get my plot to work in a way that I liked lol, so I decided to go through and outline literally every scene in season 3b. (Essentially: 3b for Dummies.) 

In the case of this fic, I didn’t actually use an outlining method, really, and I usually don’t. I’m notoriously bad at outlines, and any time I’ve had to do them for school, I would write the project first, then write the outline based on that. The few times I do use an outline, I typically end up veering very far off track. 

So what I initially ended up doing here was sitting down with a notebook and rewatching 3b, writing down the general ideas of each scene. Mostly I intended to use it just to jog my memory while I wrote the fic. It... did not work out that way. 

After struggling for a few days, I decided to type everything up into a document, splitting each section by episode. I didn’t have every scene detailed, since it wasn’t an outline for the show itself, just for the main context I needed for my fic.

 Then I used the blue text for the changes I intended to make/scenes I wanted to add. That way I had a visual representation of what was my original work, and what was the canon framework, which is what I was struggling with the most. It’s difficult for me to work within the constraints of canon like that, which I why I don’t write “missing scene” fics. (RIP) 

At that point, it was a matter of adding in the scenes I knew I wanted, and then fleshing out some more where I felt like I needed more original content to balance out the canon. My goal is to have only as much canon context as necessary, because I didn’t want to write out episodes we’ve all already scene. 

... And that still didn’t really help. I mean it was super useful in giving me somewhere to start but it wasn’t quite what I needed yet. So I started searching around for the scripts. (Fun fact: i used to be a film major, and I still have a thing for collecting scripts). I found the scripts only up to the end of 3a so that was a bust T_T But then I found the Teenwolfwiki which has scene-by-scene synopsis and it’s amazing. Way more effective than my outline in terms of laying everything out clearly for me. 

So now I’ve got my outline as a sort of guide for where my missing scenes fit in, but then I’m going through the wiki to work my way through each episode, and decide which scenes I do/don’t want to keep. Since the fic is about Mitch and Stiles, I’m focusing on scenes with a heavy focus on Stiles and Mitch (who’s Allison’s cousin here, and thus follows the Argent’s storyline). I was also unsure how mush of Malia’s storyline to include, since the person who commissioned the fic didn’t want her in, but also there was some important context she gives to the plot... but then I realized I could just... not write her scenes. That leaves it up to the reader whether that part of canon still happened or not xD (For the record, I like to think it did, but her arc ends after they get her back to her dad, He never sends her to Eichen and that’s the end of her involvement.) 

Like I said, I don’t outline very often, if at all, and I tend to get off track when I do (LLF has already changed drastically from the original ideas and outline, and a lot of scenes have been cut), the way I prefer to do it is to write essentially a very long summary. I like to jokingly call them “not-fics” because they can easily end up several thousand words long. It lays out the fic in a shorter retelling, but it’s less structured and leaves me more room for deviation. I usually don’t end up with an actual bullet-pointed outline until I’m pretty far into the fic and need to organize the remaining scenes. Estranged didn’t get an outline until I was...40k into it, maybe? It was a long time. 

But if you want an ACTUAL outline method, one I’ve found and liked is the 3 ACT, 9 BLOCK, 27 CHAPTER Method, which somewhat follows the Hero’s Journey, but more in depth:: 

Act 1

Block 1: Introductions/Inciting Incident/Immediate Fallout (Exposition) 

Block 2: Reaction/Action/Consequences

Block 3: Plot Twist/Break into Second Act 

Act 2

Block 4: New World/Fun & Games/Old World Juxtaposition (Time for worldbuilding, everything is still fun; Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts)

Block 5: Build Up/Midpoint/Reversal (Growing paints. The character is changing for the better, lots of character development, etc. Pivotal moment)

Block 6: Reaction/Trials/Dedication (Character has potential, but still has work to do. Yennefer during the lightning in a bottle scene.) 

Act 3

Block 7: Calm Before the Storm/Plot Twist/Darkest Moment (The whump chapter; Character reaches their breaking point.) 

Block 8: Power Within/Action/Converge (Stiles in Ch. 16, to plug my own fic xD) 

Block 9: Final Battle/Climax/Resolution 

This is a super condensed version, but if you look it up, you’ll be able to see the full explanation on byomentor.com. I found it through Kate Cavanaugh on YouTube in one of her outlining methods videos. 

I’m thinking of using this outlining method for this year’s NaNo when I finally, finally write Neverland, but we’ll see. It’s pretty flexible since you don’t have to exactly follow all 27 chapters; you can follow the general vibe and idea of each blog and still have a really sound story, which I like. 

Another method I used forever ago for my fic Tree of Life (and I can’t remember the name of the method, but it’s pretty basic) was to have 5 points per chapter: 

Inciting Incident

Progressive Complication 

Crisis

Climax

Resolution 

Now it didn’t work exactly that way because ToL is a pretty drawn out fic, even despite the action, but it’s a good thing to consider. If you have an action heavy or fast-paced chapter (or if a chapter feels slow to you but you don’t know why), it’s a good thing to keep in mind to help speed things up. 

But yeah, despite my research in many different outline methods, my favorite is still to write my not-fics and then outline later, if I do at all xD 

I hope this was informative! Please feel free to come back if you have any thoughts or questions : 3

#cookie speaks #cookie writes #long post #sorry this got so long... #I haven't really talked to anyone in a while #lol #i like to Talk about my writing/process #it makes me v happy when people are interested in how i do htings

[peachymess]

Narration in SNK

Strap in for my longest and most magnificently boring meta yet.

TL;DR at the end.

After the unnerving thought struck me a few days ago, that Armin’s days as narrator may be over, I decided to do some further digging into the narration of SNK over all – to see if my initial theory had any reason to continue haunting me or not (thanks to @holly-wee​​ for putting me on the track on this not being as clear-cut as I thought). While I can’t say I have a clear yes or no for you even now, what I found is still surprisingly interesting. So I’m going to give an overview of the narration, and from there, you can all make your own guesses. I’m gonna give mine at the end. I can spoil as much as to say I lean clearly towards one certain answer, even if it’s still very up in the air.

To start with, there are several narrative stories going on throughout SNK, not just the overarching exposition narrative; aside from several voices, there are also several degrees/types of voices throughout the entire work! And I might just be slow, but to me, this all… sort of surprised me; I hadn’t put much energy into giving narration an attentive eye past “it’s probably Armin”, and appreciating whenever his soothing, overlapping voice would grace the anime episodes now and again. It’s on me that it took me this long to realize the rules around narration were as lenient as they are. So,… different types? Yes. So far, I’ve counted 7 types of explicit narration (a voice relaying information, versus contextual narrative):

1. The formal informant This is the narrator we’re all aware of. It’s the one that opened the story with “On that day-“, voiced by Armin in the anime. Presented in square speech bubbles*.

2. The emotional informant This narrator is also presented in square speech bubbles, and is thus the second of only two “standard” narrator types. Type 2 is different from type 1 in the way that it’s used by several characters (Armin, Eren, Ymir, Reiner, Mikasa), whereas type 1 is so far only done by one entity (Armin’s voice in the anime, but not necessarily him). Type 2, as opposed to 1, address smaller matters, gives more personalized reflections, has shorter running time, and uses “I” more liberally (an informal narrator, in other words; I’ve chosen to call it emotional, because this version is largely driven by emotion and/or has clearer indication of personality). Used by: Mikasa, Hanji, Kenny, Eren, Armin, Reiner

3. Extra information Additional information presented in form of dry text. Mostly the kind of information that in the anime has been turned into half-time text cards, because it seems to be voice-less; “by the way, you should know this”. Other times it’s woven into the monologues of Type 1.

4. Speech overlapping This is a verbal speech given by someone in the present time (or present time of a flashback), often done to drop smaller doses of information/exposition, or to retell a past event. It’s presented in round speech bubbles that overlap panels depicting something pertaining to the theme of the speech. It differs from regular speech-giving in that it 1. Is more informative, and 2. Is more frequently detached from the point in time or physical place it’s spoken from; the speech may start, middle or end with shots of the speaker, but will waver in time by visiting panels of events from the past and/or time-neutral symbols and scenery shots. This is a very liberally used method by Isayama, and sometimes it’s hard to separate this as narration from just larger spans of info-dump monologues. I’ve mapped some of the instances I feel it’s used as narration, but there are many more instances in there that’s on the fence and thus left out. Identify them yourself, if you want.  Used by, among others: Teacher, Armin, unnamed soldier, Erwin, Mike, Ymir, Reiner, Hanji, Pixis, MP man, Rod Reiss, grandpa Ackerman, Kenny, Historia, Floch, Grisha’s dad, Krueger, Zeke, Willy, Pieck.

5. Retelling This is a mix between type 2 and type 4: it’s an informal standard narration (2), but being spoken by a character in present time within the story (thus narration inside the narrated story). It’s similar to type 4 in that it’s verbally shared in the present, and is majorly detached from the speaker. Unlike type 4, however, type 5 is usually situated within the mentioned flashback; the speaker is talking in real time, but the scene is set to the past. It’s presented through hovering black text (same as type 6), to symbolize that it’s narration given to in-verse listeners as opposed to type 1 and 2’s time-suspended audience.  

6.  Internal monologue This is internal thoughts presented in the same way as type 5: with hovering black text (or, for the first third of the story, interchangeably with rounded speech bubbles with fuzzy/spiked edges, as per type7). This borders on non-narration, as it’s unintentional as such. However, it’s often used for exposition and contextualizing drive, and thus serves largely the same purpose as narration.  Used by, among others: Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Ian, Jean, Sasha, Connie, Mike, Gelgar, Reiner, Ymir, Sannes, Levi, Nile, Pixis, Historia, Traute, Keith, Marco, Marlowe, Zeke, Falco, Magath, Gabi.

7. Echo dialogue This is also unintentional narration: it’s dialogue from the past, echoing half- or fully detached from the speaker, (usually) over shaded flashback panels to indicate it coming from the past. It’s narration in the sense that the author – Isayama – has chosen to do callbacks to them in order to further contextualize the present time scene (in other words, it has the same function as type 6). Echo dialogue is presented in rounded speech bubbles with fuzzy/spiked edges.

Despite these categories, several instances of hybrids have occurred – or places where one type leads into another. The provided categories will help map narration for the sake of this analysis, but are a quickly thrown together attempt at such, and will unbeatably be flawed. Take them for the general overview they are.

Narrating voice Now, that’s a lot of different types of narration, isn’t it? Yeah... But while they all have some significance, 4-7 are a lot less important for this analysis than the first three. Though, here’s some foreshadowing for you: get yourself acquainted with type 5. 

Before I move on to 1,2 and 3, I want to say a few things:

a) The reason 1-3 are more relevant than 4-7, is that 1-3 are narrating voices directed (on purpose or indirectly) at the reader (or a reader/listener that is situated outside the ongoing story narrative; if not a real life reader, then someone in-verse being told the story after the fact) – while 4-7 are narrative voices inside the story itself. “Maria told Benjamin ‘I love you’ yesterday”: Maria is the 4-7 voice that said “I love you” yesterday, while the person telling the entire story of Maria telling Benjamin, is the narrator – the 1-3 voice… I hope I’m making sense, haha.

b) When we look at the chart (provided below), we’ll see that while 1-3 thus are the only official narrative ROLES in SNK, we’ll see that for the majority of the story, the in-verse voices, are the ones carrying the story. This way, we can say that SNK is – without a doubt – told from an array of POVs; while there are few narrating roles, the story does not want to be strict with who can talk, have focus, etc. The 4-7 voices jump back and forth between players very liberally; SNK is in a way a story about people, told by people. The 1-3 seem to serve as the wrapping that keeps it all together within a structured frame, on top of this.

But not only the in-verse (4-7) voices are many… Also the type 2 narrator role has been shared by several people. Among those: Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Kenny and Reiner. There’s also Hanji – when talking about Sawny and Bean, Ilse Lagnar, and Ymir’s letter to Historia. The latter three are hybrids that, while not directed at the same listener as 1 and the aforementioned 2’s, are still presented in square speech bubbles, to indicate written and/or verbal distinct narrating role. (Although, I’m using the scans provided on the website kissmanga, which provides varying quality, chapter to chapter. Thus, it looks like Ilse’s chapter and the second part of Reiner’s story might be type 5s, drawn over in white squares by the translator. Either way, included or not, there’s enough material without this that the above reflections still stand).

1,2,3 Now to the narrator ROLES. Let’s be unconventional and start with type 2. Type 2 chapters are the digression-esque narrations that add an emotionally important piece to the greater story puzzle. They’re told by an identifiable in-verse character, and have both a clear beginning and end; whether abrupt or phased out, we can always tell when it’s over and slips back into general story mode. These narrations are not all told to the same receiver – and sometimes they seem to be mere musings with no direct recipient at all. But all of them are elevated as voices that transcend the reach of in-verse. Kenny’s piece is a perfect example of this. After the cave collapses on him and he’s sunken down against a tree to die, his backstory with Uri starts. Nobody is around, and he’s not casually type 6’ing it by just thinking about it to himself; he starts to muse. Cue the magical wavy “back then” segue into a flashback. Perhaps the difference between type 6 and type 2 here is that, while 6 is internal thoughts popping up while the story progresses, type 2 musings take over the drive; in Kenny’s case, the rest of the story goes on hiatus as we delve into his digression.   Kenny proceeds to think his way closer to present time, where he eventually wraps it up by wondering if he finally had his answer “or what”. 

The story then uses this newfound context, to wrap up the theme, and find its way back to a more general POV. Kenny’s type 2 starts and ends here, at chapter 69. (Here’s my own digression: since he ends up asking Uri this, one could argue that he’s addressing his type 2 to Uri, but since the man is dead, I’m more inclined to believe it’s a general musing, where relevant players are sometimes brought to the forefront because they’re the ones they would talk with if anyone. Standard “deadman talking”). 

The purpose of the type 2 narrator role may be debatable, but here’s my take on the matter: the purpose of there being a type 2 narrator popping into the story from time to time, on top of type 1 and in-verse narration, is that of a theme and relevancy compass. Sure, there are many more ways theme is stated, and MPVs highlighted, but these digressions oftentimes seem to enter at times where the story events are very broad– where the current timeline can be seen in many different lights, through many different POVs. The story can at these (though also many other) point(s) develop in a heap of directions, all equally plausible and logically relevant – especially with such a big cast. With these narrative digressions, a theme and temporary MVP can be naturally presented. With this compass, we’ll see which of the many plausible paths ahead, we’re meant to focus on and pay extra attention to. Like in Kenny’s case, we’re invited to put aside any “what if there was some additional spinal fluid left on the floor and a wounded MP licked it”, “are we gonna flip out about Eren’s new titan skills right now” or “Annie when”s; right now, we’re supposed to indulge in Levi and Kenny’s dynamic, and how Levi is about to develop as a character (which later will have an effect on the serumbowl). Now… up until now, Armin has explicitly only had one such type 2 piece (chapter 106). He has had four smaller origin dumps: one in chapter 5 on how he was bullied, one in chapter 11 on how he was always a burden to Eren and Mikasa, a flashback through Eren in chapter 4 on how they bonded over the book, and a flashback through Eren in chapter 83 on how they first met – but none of these were told through a time-suspended type 2 narration. There are a lot of things pointing to Armin being the type 1 narrator, or in the very least someone whose POV we’re meant to keep in mind – and I’ll get to that when I talk about type 1 – but for the time being, can we be sure he’ll be type 2 narrator again? … It can only be speculated on, but to me, the odds are 50/50. Mikasa had a hybrid turned type 2 early on in the story (chapter 6), and another one in the newest chapter (123), so we know repeat narrators is possible. Armin is thus eligible for a type 2, a prominent character who’ll undoubtedly have something relevant to provide, but there is no guarantee that it will be necessary. Thus, we can only speculate.

But I’ll tell you this: even though Armin’s origin pieces weren’t type 2, I think they were meant to parallel Mikasa’s origin pieces going on at the same time. See, after Eren “died”, the POV toggled quite evenly between Armin and Mikasa, back and forth: we got Armin’s origin story pt1, then Mikasa’s. We were in Armin’s head, then Mikasa’s. Then Armin’s head again – then we were served a small continuation of Mikasa’s origin – because yes, she had a pt2 that was in the same style as Armin’s (type 6) – then Armin’s pt2. Over all, at the beginning of the story, Isayama’s use of the types was a lot less polished (something I’ll have to do a callback to later) than they eventually became; looking away from type rules, it’s in other words quite clear that we were being introduced to the two friends Eren left behind in equal tandem, priming them to take on roles as mains alongside him: we got to know their backstories, and how their internal voice sounds. I’m saying this because I think this kind of paralleling happened again: I believe Armin’s type 2 in chapter 106, is meant to parallel Mikasa’s type 2 in chapter 123. Just like the first round was about both their origins, this time, it’s about their reflections around Eren’s actions from chapter 90 until present time. Let’s have a look at their pieces:

Armin’s type 2: “I know that… you wont like it… But I need you to hear this. At that time, three years ago… It might have still been possible… To change something. I liked it, back then. We Eldians were hated and feared by the rest of the world, by people from way across the sea who had never seen our faces. But… not only enemies came from across the sea. The world was a complicated place. And there were many things we didn’t know about. I’m just saying… that maybe… there is another way… I can’t get that thought out of my head.”  

As his type 2 is a direct verbal narration to Annie, his type 2 turns into type 4 as his narration catches up with real time, where he goes on to say:

“[...] I want to understand Eren more than anybody… Even more than Mikasa does… But… I just don’t understand him anymore… Eren was going to go through with his plan, with our help or without it. Whether we decided to cooperate, or turn our backs, was a terrible decision we had to make[…]”      

Mikasa’s type 2: “Everyone ssays Eren has changed. I thought the same. But maybe that was wrong… Eren has never changed from the start. If that was Eren’s true form… I wonder… what part of Eren I had been seeing. We… didn’t notice. Or… perhaps we didn’t want to notice. Since that day… Eren disappeared from us. Afterwards, he wrote that he would entrust everything to Zeke. Next time our faces met, it was already too late. I wonder… if there ever really was a better choice. Perhaps everything was decided from the start. Regardless… I can’t help but think, if back then, I had… chosen a different path.”

Do you see the similarities?

a) They both present us with what’s on the line for them: their heartfelt connection to Eren. For Armin, it’s their shared dream that faded, for Mikasa it’s her romantic feelings that never came to fruition. 

b) Both of them express a reluctant re-evaluation of their view on him. 

c) Both chapters cover the same storyline of an emotional separation and Eren’s eventual run-away, albeit with different personalized backdrops; they both directly parallel each other about Eren writing home.

d) Both narrations feature Sasha as a symbol for how they feel like the path they took, felt “not right” to them. 

e) They both express feeling like they had no say in the matter; that they had no choice...

f) .. and yet, they both express a nagging, lingering thought that maybe... just maybe, there could have been a different path. 

If we agree that these similarities point to the chapters paralleling each other, it would stand to reason that they’d both need the same kind of treatment going forward. Both chapters put something on the line, and both open up the theme of “was this inevitable, or was there another path we could have taken?” They’ve presented a problem, which in fiction needs solving. The problem belongs to both chapters, and thus the answer also does. Now, perhaps the upcoming chapters will show us in convincing details how there was indeed no way to avoid this, because Eren was always headed down this bleak, hate filled spiral. In that case, neither chapter might need a follow-up, as Eren can indirectly answer that through theme and we’ll have our answer in his actions. But! If the coming events will provide us with this elusive “other path”, and the conclusion becomes complex to the degree that these chapters need a follow-up, I believe they’ll both have one.  

So, is Armin an eligible type 2′er? Yes. Is he likely to have another type 2? ... It’s 50/50. Personally, I believe we’ll see another type 2 from him. But as type 2 isn’t the over-arching narrator, and the story can end properly without another type 2 of any kind, it’s not a given that we’ll see another one. If the narrator of type 1 is nobody - just a voice without a body - then it may indeed be true that Armin has narrated his last chapter. I don’t think he has. But it’s possible.  ... If he’s not also the type 1 narrator. 

Type 1: THE narrator.  I said at the start of this that my aim was to find out whether Armin would narrate again or not. My initial worry was that since Mikasa was narrating the newest chapter, this meant she was the new narrator. It caught me off guard; I hadn’t been paying attention to the fact that there had been several type 2 voices – even less so that the type 2 voices were different narrators from the type 1 voice; I wrongfully assumed that the overarching story narrator, and these personalized digressions, were the same voice. Now that I know that type 1 and type 2 are separate roles, should that not answer – without a doubt – that type 1, remains the same: Armin? Well… With the narration discourse flaming back up, I’ve taken notice of some claims that Armin isn’t conformed as the type 1 narrator to begin with. As a matter of fact, @suniuz​ – someone I know to be a well informed and reliably source critical gift to our fandom – recently mentioned having remembered an interview with Araki, where the man gave an explanation for why he had chosen Marina Inoue for the voice of narrator. In other words, it may seem as though the identity of the narrator hadn’t been decided by Isayama, until the anime adaptation needed someone to voice the text. And even then, a) does this mean the choice of voice actor doesn’t have anything to do with the identity of the narrator; aka, the narrator is Marina Inoue, not Armin? And b) even if Araki’s choice influenced Isayama to decide it was Armin, does the fact that Isayama hadn’t already decided on this, mean that the identity of the narrator isn’t meant to play an important part to the story?

Now, I don’t have time to dig for this interview myself (if anyone knows of it, I’d love a source), but I want to address these arguments all the same. Because while “Armin voices type 1, hence Armin is narrator confirmed” could easily settle my question of “will he narrate again” (now that I see that type 1 and type 2 are separate, and that the type 1 narrator never did - nor likely ever will - pass hands), I still want to combat the obviously relevant argument that the type 1 doesn’t belong to anyone. Obviously, as Marina is cast to give voice to the type 1 text, we will at the very least, indirectly, hear Armin’s voice narrate again. However, I both want and believe that it’s not only Marina, but Armin, who is this voice. Here starts my analysis of why.

Armin as THE narrator: In SNK, there is a distinct “I”; a person, as type 1. The narrator, despite being mostly formal, does have a distinct emotional presence ala type 2: on several occasions, the narration includes unnecessary and/or subjective observations, such as “… the flowers had begun to bloom as the butterflies danced” (ch. 90), and poses questions (indicating a consciousness capable of wondering and/or rhetorical thinking), such as: “how did the humans who saw that sight feel?” (ch. 73).

Not to mention, there are explicit pronouns used: “we’d have four people ready with enough horses for everyone” (ch. 58), “the precise location was the Shiganshina district, south of wall Maria, where the titans broke through five years ago, and where the three of us had lived” (ch.12).

The instances where pronouns are used, the narration borders on type 2. Especially in chapter 50 (“…we didn’t know what Ymir’s actions meant”) and 58. It borders on type 2 to the degree that it’s questionable whether this is still the type 1 narrator at all. However, these instances stick out like a sore thumb, if they were to be placed in the type 2 category: unlike all the other type 2s, these are not explicitly attributed to one character, they don’t digress from the ongoing story drive, and nor do they have concrete beginnings and ends. In other words, they are injected into the story in the same kind of hovering, sparse POV as the type 1 narrator. Given that this happens several times throughout the story, I feel confident stating that this does not come across as unrefined narration that fell between two types before Isayama knew how he wanted type 2 digressions to work – but instead seems to be the type 1 narrator. After all, it cannot be explicitly attributed to any other role, nor would it have a strong place or point, if serving as anyone’s momentary additional voice NEXT TO the narrator.

This appearance of a personal “I” in narration, happens as early on as in chapter 12. SNK started its serialization in the monthly Bessatsu Shounen magazine in Semptember of 2009. If we consider SNK from then on being published monthly, this means that chapter 12 would have been published during fall of 2010 – almost two whole years before WIT studios was founded (June 1st 2012, according to Wikipedia). See where I’m going with this? Well: to me, this is a strong argument in favor of the narrator having been a specific person long before Araki decided whom to cast for the voice. Thus, him giving an explanation for casting Marina, other than “Armin is the narrator”, seems obsolete. My guess would be that it was an intentional avoidance of spoiling the fact that Armin is the narrator, without technically lying; for example: if his argument was that her voice was soothing for such a role, it wouldn’t be wrong – she does, after all, make for a comfortable narrating voice, generally speaking – it’s just not the only reason/whole truth.  

Saying this, I believe that there has been a concrete identity for the narrator from the start. Furthermore, I believe that the identity of this periodical “I” speaker, is the identity of the narrator. So, who is the “I”? If it’s indeed an unchanged “I”, it’s either Armin or Mikasa: knowing from chapter 12 that the narrator is one of the EMAs (“where the three of us had lived”), it can be narrowed down to the two of them thanks to chapter 58, where the narrator expresses being part of a plan that only Armin and Mikasa from EMA, took part in. Other arguments aside, Araki’s own casting, will in this moment be reversed from an argument against Armin, to one in favor of him: why cast Armin’s voice actor, if the “I” is Mikasa? He wouldn’t.

I feel like I could close my little analysis here and sit comfortably on my beliefs – at least for the time being – but I want to keep going with some less concrete, more circumstantial evidence that, without being hard proof, perhaps still helps to swing the pendulum further in the favor of my above conclusion:

1. Armin phases in/out like a narrator. This is perhaps the least waterproof of my observations, but nonetheless the one I’ve been leaning on the most: Armin gives off the “feel” of a narrator – or more precisely: the one whose POV we’re meant to take. You may find everywhere, what you look for, but consider these:

a) Unlike in the anime, the manga doesn’t show the 104 bootcamp years until after the battle for Trost is won. The trainee years are a sudden re-winding in time – a big positional move in the story. So far, the story has been linear. Chapter 14 closes with the narrator taking over (the “end scene” being one where Armin is present) wrapping up how the battle for Trost was humanity’s first win against the titans… and the next thing we know, we’re sent back in time, to a scene where EMA are working in the fields. The scene’s main purpose seems to be that of showing how Armin’s upset with the MP’s population management. In other words, the scene is entirely Armin centric. It furthers his drive, his POV. From this scene, we’re segued into a wide shot of Armin presenting at bootcamp. In addition to this contextualizing why specifically HE (of all people) took the path of joining the military, this is also our introduction into this 4 chapter long bootcamp side-story; Armin’s the one we’re entering it through. If there is indeed a conscious narrator, it would make sense that the narrator is the one deciding where, how and when to jump in time, story-wise. They are the one telling it, after all; they’ll know when a jump in time and additional digressions is necessary for the context. Even more: would it not make sense that, with such a jump – given that it’s chosen by the narrator – the starting point of such a reposition, would be through the POV of said narrator (if not a type 2, which this wasn’t)? There is nothing concrete, like I said, but… it FEELS like Armin is the one whose eyes we’re seeing this transition and opening through. Aside from Eren opening several of the bootcamp scenes that follow, Armin is the only other lead who does this: in chapter 18, he’s the one who opens the last flashback scene: the jog-scene. Here, he’s the first one to be monologued about by Keith, and is thus furthered as an MVP. 

b) Perhaps the most remarkable of these transitions, though, is the one in chapter 73: EMA are making their way back to Shiganshina – RTS to follow. At the end of Armin and Eren’s talk (the one about his eyes), Mikasa joins in about how she recognized the area, and Armin makes a comment about how “We’re back here…” Right here, the speech bubbles do something interesting: they go from regular dialogue, move into type 4, and then end on a type 5. This is yet another “feels to me like” example, but if you’ve gotten yourself acquainted with the types, perhaps you see it too: the way Armin talks, starts to sound a little synthetic if it’s supposed to be seen as regular dialogue, when he says “for the first time… since we ran away that day.” Eren and Mikasa both know it's the first time they’re back and that it’s the first time “since that day” specifically; telling them this in the way he does, feels redundant. This could be the mark of meaning lost in translation, but reading the entire work translated, Isayama isn’t USUALLY this synthetic, in my opinion. What more, this isn’t all there is to it: the redundancy is expressed in a scenery panel, removed from the speaker and carried away to a bird’s eye view. In other words, despite this initially seeming like regular dialogue spoken to two people right next time him, Armin’s words start to detach from him, and turn into type 4: informative monologue. This isn’t necessary, nor natural, unless the audience broadens; he’s talking to Eren and Mikasa, but we get the feeling that the words are starting to transcend into narration that we, as readers, also are hearing. We could still be on the fence about that, however, until the wide shot of Shiganshina, and the words “back to our home town” is presented as a clear type 5, in big letters, over it. Type 5 is a style Isayama has used explicitly for conscious narration. Thus, as these words - in this example - are either spoken by Armin or by the narrator, this cannot be type 6, which looks the same, but is subconscious thought. No, this is a clear indicator that Armin’s words turned into narration. Whether the narrator of the story chose to highlight what Armin said, for the sake of his (the narrator’s) own use or not, can be debated, however, the fact that this is supposed to be a narrating technique, is clear.

To me this is, therefor, another indication, that Armin is the narrator.  2. Armin journals We’ve all seen the picture. Armin taking notes in Eren’s cell. What, exactly, is he writing? The only time Eren type 2s, is when he’s talking about his father’s journals, at the end of chapter 85. It’s brief, and then the next chapter opens with Grisha’s journals narrating. The way Grisha’s type 2 phases out, is by the story returning to present time, where Eren is discussing Gisha’s memories with Armin, who’s writing something down. It’s clear to me that, in the very least, Armin is taking notes on Eren’s memories and how they correlate with what’s written in Grisha’s journals. Eren type 2ing in chapter 85, is apparently, the opening of him talking to Armin about all this, in his cell.

So what? Well, seeing as Grisha’s journals are already written, there is no need for Armin to re-write all of the information they already have gathered in Mr. Yeager’s notes. Armin is thus - like I already mentioned - AT LEAST, making original notes on Eren’s memories; how they support the claims of the journals, and expanding on the knowledge where Eren’s able to see more. A more creative take would be to say Armin’s writing his SNK narration right now, but even without that take, there is definitely something to take away from this: we’re being explicitly shown that Armin is either appointed, or voluntarily record-keeping. That’s a role he’s now explicitly shown to have. Let me reiterate: he is canonized as someone who naturally fits the role of re-teller. 

3. Is this story oral or written? *It’s time for me to make a callback to this very early asterisk: “Type 1 [...] Presented in square speech bubbles*”. Above, I talked about how Armin’s words turned into a type 5 in chapter 73. So what? Well, aside from it being one of the types that are unmistakably conscious narration - making this an instance of narration, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say this is THE narrator, because: at the beginning of SNK, the narrating voice, was not presented in its now iconic square bubbles: the beginning was, like the instance in 73, type 5: 

5. Retelling This is a mix between type 2 and type 4: it’s an informal standard narration (2), but being spoken by a character in present time within the story (thus narration inside the narrated story). It’s similar to type 4 in that it’s verbally shared in the present, and is majorly detached from the speaker. Unlike type 4, however, type 5 is usually situated within the mentioned flashback; the speaker is talking in real time, but the scene is set to the past. It’s presented through hovering black text (same as type 6), to symbolize that it’s narration given to in-verse listeners as opposed to type 1 and 2’s time-suspended audience.  

This will have to be a wild guess - especially since Isayama’s narration types were a lot less refined in the beginning (though type 5 has been the most unwavering of the types), but I believe that the story of SNK is narrated, specifically, orally. The narration starts out being told in the type that throughout the story has been specifically spoken narration. More so - if connected - it has another instance of this use late into the story (73), which at this point means Isayama knows his types too well for it to be a mistake.  This does, however, not discredit the argument above that Armin keeping records is a point towards him, because you’d likely need to keep things on record in order to remember the kinds of details that the narrator has been able to pull up anyway (not to mention that Armin still, with that chapter, is pointed out as a natural narrator type person).  So while irrelevant to my initial question, I find it interesting to theorize that the story is being told verbally. I’m looking forward to see if it’s right or not.  A second narrator?  “God, will it never end? We get it, Armin’s the narrator”. Yes, yes, at this point, I don’t have much more to add. I’ve given my musings and then some. But I wanted to bring up one last point of interest before giving you some rest from this long ass meta: type 3. Thought I forgot?  You see, type 3 is the dry information bit. I believe that in certain instances, where all the narrator says, is “Stohess district” or the likes, might actually be type 3 instead of type 1; especially when the narrator doesn’t add anything else.  But in this case, where does this type 3 information come from? Is this a second, identity-less narrator (more like the author himself)? If so, what does that mean for the personalized type 1er? I don’t know... it’s worth comment on the varying degrees of personality the type 1-presenting pieces have. Especially when chapter 73 and chapter 90 are concerned; while the narrator becomes more personal in chapters such as 12, 50 and 58 - in 73 and 90, he becomes... more linguistically embellished. So while the first bunch can be challenged as perhaps type 2ers and not the main narrator, the second two (73/90), can - with their strangeness - perhaps point towards further proof that Armin is the narrator. namely, 73 is the chapter that opens up the Return arc - the arc in which Armin plays a big role and eventually gives his life. it would not be surprising if the narrator - if Armin - would have a more personally emotionally affected approach to this part of the story. The same goes for chapter 90 - the chapter in which Armin reaches his life long dream of seeing the ocean. In this chapter, the narrator remarks on things like how the snow falls and melts, and how the flowers bloom and butterflies flutter. In other words, the narrator seems more sentimental, or even enamored with the upcoming segment.  What this has to do with type 3 is that, looking closely, we’ll see just how varying the type 1 narration is. So... is it possible that the instances of the narrator being more flat, is a different narrator altogether? If so, that opens up the can of worms that is: “the overarching narrative isn’t tired to one single entity at all, and is just a culmination of important contextual information, small clarifying comments, musings to spark curiosity, etc.  Because there’s also this: 

As well as: 

... which almost seems to indicate Erwin and PIxis narrating these particular instances of the narration.  It’s all up for debate - although, given all the evidence I’ve provided in Armin’s favor, I personally wager that these are casein in which the narrator summarizes information that Erwin and Pixis are talking about in such detail that it’s better to have a summary and jump in at the end of said speech, rather than having to sit through half a chapter worth of unnecessary details.  There’s a couple more points of interest what type 1 is concerned, but at this point, there’s nothing concrete in either camp, and this thing is getting entirely too long. So I’ll leave you with this: 

TL;DR: Will Armin narrate again? As an emotional narrator, not necessarily, yet it’s plausible. As the overarching narrator? If he is the narrator, yes, but... is he? I still don’t know. In conclusion, I don’t god damn know. I think so, but I don’t know. 

#Armin Arlert #snk #snk 123 #snk meta #loooooooooong post #I had so much more to say but I'm so fed up with this now *sob* #If anyone actually reads this all the way through please time it and tell me how long it took you to read because holy hell

[angst-fairygodmother]

5, 6, & 10 for Sing Once Again With Me

5: What part was hardest to write?

I mean about half the chapters felt like the hardest thing in the world while I was writing them. 

But I think looking back it’s really a toss up between “Madame Giry’s Tale” and “Notes.” The former because it was soooo hard to balance the necessary exposition with the personalities of the characters and also keep it from dragging. The latter because I didn’t realize until I was working on it that I hadn’t actually included some of the things that were ostensibly referenced back to in that part (like Valdo threatening the managers, or being call the Opera Ghost - also had a long google hole trying to figure out how wildly inaccurate and “wrong” it would be to reference opera in a psuedo-medieval story). 

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

I mean, what doesn’t?

Mostly I think it’s special because it was a lot of firsts for me: first long/multi-chapter thing, first AU, first time truly and in-depthly outlining

But also, structuring the chapters around each song I think is pretty unique and even though I had an outline, there were still moments where it managed to surprise me as I was writing where I had like an “oh!” moment. 

I put a lot of time and a lot of heart (and maybe a lot of tears, shh) into it and it’s my baby. That’s really all there is to it?

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

I knew I wanted Jaskier to be Christine. It just fit the character parallels and made the most sense (really the only other role he might fit would the Phantom for a Reader character but that would require a complete 180 in personality and also I didn’t think of it until literally right now as I was answering this question. That’s a tangent my brain’s going to chase for a little while as what I might have written in an alternate version of our universe...)

After that casting call was tricky. I mean Kat helped, and so did the anon who sort of suggest the reader and Yennefer’s relationship in a round-about way, but really it came down to looking at the characters I had and the ones I needed and figuring out who fit, like puzzle pieces. I don’t actually ship Geraskier that much in an actually want it in the show way and I really love their friendship more but it’s kind of an interesting dynamic to play with, especially in the kind of AU where there are no rules like this one.

#not fic #ask games #long post #Sing Once Again With Me #thank you for giving me the opportunity to just ramble about my baby #I don't know if I will ever love another fic (or frankly any other piece of writing) the way I love SOAWM

[eliaspsuedo]

Making Pokemon Adventures an Anime

“Pokemon Adventures needs an anime” is definitely a phrase you’ve heard before if you’ve been to any discussion on PokeSpe. It definitely deserves more attention, that’s for sure, and an anime definitely brings so many eyes to it. Just look at all the manga series that exploded in popularity once an anime got made of it!

On the other hand, I can see why The Pokemon Company wouldn’t really make one for a number of reasons.

The Pokemon Anime is still very popular and profitable, so another Pokemon anime on TV would just be cannibalizing their returns and skew the audience. Not to mention eat up resources like animators or budgets.

Upcoming products like Pokemon Masters are much higher priority to make a promotional anime out of, rather than something that’s promoting out-of-date things, like how cool Steel-types, Zorua, etc. was.

A number of prominent Pokemon and even moves are embargoed from appearing in other media besides the games. Notably Kadabra, Earthquake-like moves, and especially Porygon. Maybe you can get around Sabrina’s Kadabra by just making it an Alakazam, but how about Blue and Gladion’s Porygon?

This a bit more speculative, but I imagine there has to be some form of royalties for the writer and artists for using their versions of the characters, not just the OC’s, but the specific versions of the dexholders found in the manga.

And many more reasons why it probably won’t get a full length TV anime any time soon.

But what if it did get an anime? What would be the format? How would they condense a 50+ volume series, with multiple main characters and interconnecting plot points, and all to boost sales and show what makes Pokemon Adventures a great piece of the Pokemon franchise, into an anime?

The most realistic option: A 2-3 minute PV promoting an upcoming arc like SwSh, or better, the whole series for an omnibus rerelease. A basic sizzle reel of various scenes, with a narrator for minimal voice work, is what’ll mostly be.

The ideal option: A promotional anthology web series in the vein of Pokemon Generations.

Now this definitely has been suggested before, but I want to get into the specifics. Here’s how I imagine it:

One 10-12 minute episode will be devoted to a specific character or, for the remakes, one arc (Episode Red, Episode Diamond, Episode HGSS, etc.), covering roughly 2-3 rounds or chapters. This is so that there will be enough material to see who this character is, the basic plot of their arc, and the basic plot of this particular generation. It’s short, straight-to the point, and can easily sell Pokemon Adventures. Let’s not forget, it has to be an inviting and exciting episode for newcomers!

Now there has to be a lot of changes to fit the runtime, so certain scenes and dialogue has to be cut or skimmed. Some original parts has to be put in to for the episode to flow better. Plus, I imagine getting into the exciting Pokemon battles will be more appealing than earlier chapters, which are very exposition heavy. So cold opens or going from the introduction scene in the opening chapter to an “In Medias Res” battle is some later chapter, is one of the many tricks to keep the flow going.

The reason why I say 10-12 minutes is because of the amount of episodes it will take to cover all the Dexholders and the remakes alone! At least 21 Dex Holders + 3 remake arcs. The amount of resources it’ll take would be pretty large, even with a reduced runtime, and I don’t think TPC would shell that much cash. Even then, most promotional anime series clock in at around 6-8 mins, not enough time to properly show off a character or a cool battle. So if it can go above the usual time, 10-12 minutes is what I think it could be stretched too, while keeping the costs to make it low. I also want to see an episode devoted to the evil teams or villains, as that too is one of PokeSpe strengths. It’ll bump up the episode count for sure, unless the series is broken up into chunks by generation and released months apart.

But which chapters? Well here’s a few examples on how I see it being adapted:

A basic adaptation with bits and pieces of later chapters.

Episode Red: Round 1 & 2 and maybe a bit of Round 3 or 4.

The introduction chapter starts things off, of course! The basic structure of the two chapters can remain the same. A few bits of dialogue can be trimmed, most notably Red explaining what Pokemon are, and some scenes can be altered, like Blue being seen with a Pokedex when fighting Mew, to streamline the story. For the ending bit, Prof. Oak’s narration at the end of round 3 while Red and Blue argue, establishing their rivalry, is a good way to cap it off. Alternatively, the part in Round 4 where Red is trying to befriend Pikachu and Blue challenging him that he’ll get the boulder badge first, is also a good cap to the episode.

A two-parter with original material.

Episode Gold: Round 91-95

We can better start out with Gold playing billiards, and listening to the radio, and getting Elm’s bag. The Hoothoot part can be offscreen, with a quick shot of Team Rocket stealing his bag. During the end of his and Silver’s battle, where he gets knocked out by Elekid, we save Silvers part for his episode. Gold wakes up, gives his account to the Police, and goes after Silver. Ending Prof. Oak appearing and giving him the “What are Pokemon to you?” Question.

Episode Silver: Round 94, 95, a bit of original material.

Starting off when Gold was knocked out, we get Silvers battle with Team Rocket. A bit more original scenes may be needed after Silver makes his escape and maybe talks to Green. Actually seeing Prof. Oaks account of how he stole the Pokedex can also be included. Ending with Gold getting the Pokedex after giving Prof. Oak a good answer, cutting out the part where he saves Ratata for time.

Opening scene then cut to an “In Medias Res” Battle

Episode Emerald: Round 303-304, 306-307 Emerald calming down Sudowood will open things up. After his declaration of conquering the Battle Frontier, the title card appears, and we move to Emerald moving up the Battle Tower, showing off his skills and strategy. A “How did we get here?” Narration from Todd can quickly explain the time skip. The episode ends with the discussion over Sceptile, brief flashes of Wally, optional.

And that’s just a few examples I can show! I actually did write a list of what rounds are suitable for this sort of adaptation, but I think a few will do.

If there’s one thing PokeSpe definitely needs, it’s more promotion. As part of the marketing machine that is the Pokemon franchise, it’s actually surprising how much less love this branch gets is in comparison. I think it has to do with a lot of factors, Viz not printing the series past Vol 7 for the longest time, Not wanting to overshadow any of the other manga series, Being over 50+ volumes long, etc. Recently, it’s been getting a bigger push both in Japan and the US, so things are looking up. 

At the end of the day, it’s all about seeing the world you love and thought you knew, come to life in new and different ways. Pokemon Adventures has the love and spirit through and through, and it’s better shared with familiar and newer faces.

It’s like when Red got his Pokedex, he thought he knew all there is about the Pokemon world, and revealing that maybe he didn’t quite knew everything, showed him there’s a whole world out there to explore. One filled with mystery, danger, and friendship.

Plus, showing that the Arbok lived might finally shut most people up.

#pokemon adventures #pokemon special #pokespe #elias talks #pokemon

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Another Set of Updates

Okay, gonna try to keep this as brief as possible!

My poll regarding which Kidge-a-Palooza AU I should turn into a story proper is still available: [here]. I’m gonna leave it up for another week or so, so please give it a vote if you haven’t already!

Chapter 4 of Here (In Your Arms) is up and available: [here].

Chapter 2 of Paint me in Trust is up and available: [here].

Chapter 2(6) of Time, Space and Everything Between is up and available: [here].

Since the update for Time, Space and Everything Between is up, I wanted to clarify a few things about where it’ll be going from hence forth. That information (spoiler free) can be found below for those that are interested.

Okay, so, confession time! This fic wasn’t supposed to become what it is now. Originally, I planned for this fic to be about six/ seven chapters and go in a somewhat different direction than it has. There was going to be an entire chapter dedicated just to the Kogane and Holt families bonding. The rescue of Shiro was going to go almost the same as it did in the series canon, with Keith being kept on Earth with his father using his camouflage device and entering the Garrison in hopes of snuffing out who the Blue Paladin was. The only big changes to it that I intended to make was Keith and Pidge knowing each other prior, Keith actually being a Galra, and when they head back to the shack, they’re greeted by Papa Kogane. From there, I was planning to end the fic with them going through the wormhole and implying events played out mostly the same as canon. But, then I decided I didn’t really like that idea either, so then I thought I’d go the route of letting Keith grow up with the Holt’s. Like, Ethan moving out there and Krolia leaving Keith on Earth to have a tradional human childhood.

As you can see, I didn’t end up doing any of that. And you may be wondering why.

Because the last season of Voltron left me that disappointed but I will admit I had issues with the show even before that Spit-in-the-Face ending but we’ll get there and I was raised by parents who said “If you don’t know how you’d improve something, you shouldn’t be the one to complain about it.”

Well, fine then. I’m gonna do just that.

ALSO I WANT TO CLARIFY that I am NOT saying I could have written the show better than the show runners themselves! I’ve never been in the position(s) they were in. I do, however, have the benefit of hindsight, which allows me to look at where the show succeeded and failed respectively, and take steps that I think would offer a more cohesive, enjoyable story-telling experience as a whole. I am taking the things that I, personally, took issue with, as well as some of the bigger things I’ve seen the fandom at large take issue with. At the end of the day, though, most of these decisions will be made from my own personal desires/ whims (since, you know, ship-feels and all that jazz). I will, however, be open to criticism from any and all who read my fics, so please feel free to tell me what you think does or doesn’t work as we go along.

I’m gonna break this down into four main categories down below; Things I’m Adding, Things I’m Cutting, Things I’m Adjusting, and Cut Fic Content. All but one of these is pretty self-explanatory, I think, but I promise to explain that little oddity when we get there. I’ll also touch on what and why I chose to approach certain things the way that I did.

Things I’m Adding

Melenor and Garett

Queen Melenor is kind of an anomaly in the series, don’t you think? It was kind of implied throughout most of the series proper that she died while Allura was still pretty young, which would have made a lot more sense for both Allura’s relationship with Alfor, as well as why Alfor was so distant from Zarkon when Daibazaal began tattering at the seams. But then Season 8 happened and threw all that out the window! All of a sudden, Melenor’s death suddenly carries this great significance for Allura, to the point she has a hallucination about her. Plus, it also kinda throws a wrench into scenes from the earlier seasons. Allura specifically says “Zarkon killed my Father and my Mother!” but… If Melenor was killed by Zarkon, where was she during the fall of Altea? Why wasn’t she with her daughter and husband in the final moments? And it makes even less sense when you look at that first scene where Allura and Coran were introduced. There were eight pods there. You mean to tell me Alfor didn’t think it might be a good idea to save an extra body or two to help guide Allura as she steps into the role she will have to take once he’s gone? Or even to help with maintaining/ rebuilding the Castle of Lions?

So, I’ve decided to add Melenor as a way to give some more characterization to not only she herself as a character, but also Alfor. Plus, I decided to make use of Garett (whose name I spell differently for reasons), Coran’s son from the original series, too. I think it’d be more fun to have an extra set of hands on board to help maintain the Castle of Lions and teach the Paladins, but maybe closer to their age range. So, we’ll see how things go with adding him to the roster. :3

Backstory for the Blades

This was something that we should have gotten a little bit of exposition on, considering how inflated their importance got. Like, the Blade became instrumental to the functionality of both Voltron and the Rebels due to their intelligence gathering. I think it’d have been kind of cool to see where it all started and what events in specific triggered it into becoming.

More Focus on Team Relationships

I didn’t really feel like the big victory against Zarkon was earned at the end of Season 2. I also didn’t think the team really earned any of their bigger victories, such as against Lotor and Honerva. They never felt like a real team that meshed because they just kinda stuck the same pairs/ clicks together. This was my biggest issue throughout most of the show and I really want to explore the dynamics we never really got to see. There are a few standout relationships that definitely needed some retooling, but I’ll mention those farther down. 

More Alien Worlds

Sci-fi and Fantasy are my big genres because I. Fudgin. Love seeing the designs for different technology, worlds and races. And while we did get some interesting ones with the series proper - which I’ll be mostly still including - I wish we’d gotten to see more. So, because I have no self-control, I’ll be planning to do that here!

Shiro’s Love Life

Shiro deserved better. I feel like that’s kind of something that most of the fandom can agree on. I don’t say this from a place of hate for Curtis, though, because… Well, what is there to hate? He was a literal background character who did nothing, said maybe two lines of dialogue, and that was it. Considering how much they pushed Shiro being the rep for the LGBT+ crowd, they did literally nothing with his love life. Hell, Adam was only revealed as his fiance because Bex fought tooth and nail for them to say it! If they hadn’t pushed the way they did, it would have all been subtext.

So, Shiro is going to have a romantic side plot in this fic, where we’ll focus on him and the character I’ve picked to be his partner.

Minor Side Romances

Some other little side pairings are gonna get a bit of love, here, too, since Voltron really only did the romance side of things well with, like, two couples. All the main couples are also gonna get plenty of spotlight, but I also think it would be fun to do some smaller side ships every now and then, too.

Things I’m Cutting

Villain Roulette

There was way too much jumping back and forth between who our main villain to focus on was. Bam, it’s Zarkon! No, wait, now it’s Lotor! Just kidding, here comes Zarkon again! Except that it was actually Lotor! Or so you thought; it’s actually Honerva haha great prank amiright? It was exhausting and I think it’d be a lot simpler to just… Stick with one villain who controls the smaller monster-of-the-day bad guys for an extended period of time and, once they’re for reals defeated, then move on to the next. I’ll be taking this approach for the sake of not only having a more focused story, but also my own sanity. I’ve never been good at gambling so trying the same thing as the show would probably turn out even worse for me.

Keith’s Excellent Blade Adventure with His Mommy

This is all unnecessary in this story, so we won’t be doing it at all. Keith’s sorry purple tail is staying with Team Voltron; no buts, no fuss, no coconuts.

Shiro’s Illness and Adam’s Death

Adam’s death is something I could go on about for hours specifically because it seemed unfair and kinda petty. Like, I feel they killed him specifically because they couldn’t kill Shiro, and they wanted to amp up the Tragic Backstory for our prior leader. So, instead, that’s getting the boot, as well as Shiro’s illness, since it���s also unneeded for plot convenience. Plus, it could have been nice to have a character that was willing to call Shiro out on the Atlus. Shiro always got treated like some kind of flawless entity, and I think it’d been nice to have someone call that Nice Guy Schtick out.

Allura and the Entity Plotline

This whole thing made no sense, got no proper development because of how late into the game they introduced it, and ended up being nothing more than a tool for them to kill Allura off. So, that can GTFO of my house post haste.

The Ending as a Whole

Some parts of the ending worked, but most of it just sucked. When the ending is so bad that it makes me feel obligated to stan characters I was ambivalent/ outright disliked? Yeah, gonna need to walk that back a bit.

Most of Seasons 3-6

The pacing in these seasons really was terrible. We derailed working on the team dynamic, building up the Coalition and Rebel forces, and developing the Paladins’ characters to instead focus on all that shit with Lotor. That… Was infuriating. Especially considering it was all basically a waste.

Additionally, we had Keith sidelined and his arc - which was clearly going to be center around him learning how to be a leader - completely pushed aside and then treated as if it did happened when he showed up late with Starbucks at the end of Season 6. That felt really unbelievable to me.

Time Skips

There were way too many time skips, for serious. Especially when those time skips didn’t include any kind of change in development/ character for the team. There’ll be smaller time skips, but nothing as egregious as what we got in seasons 6 and 7.

Things I’m Adjusting                                                              

Lion Swap

This’ll still be happening, but the circumstances that trigger it will be different. I may also shift around who gets to take which Lion when we get to that point. I haven’t decided just yet, but I’ll have it figured out before we reach that point. Most of this fic is already planned out and, honestly, the Lion Swap will be finalized once I figure out what I’m doing with a few of the other characters.

Shiro and Keith’s Relationship

This, right here? This was one of my biggest issues with Voltron. Keith was completely codependent on Shiro, while Shiro clearly cared about Keith’s well-being but it always felt like he’d have been just fine if something similar to what happened to him happened to Keith. It’s just… Really gross to me. It doesn’t help that I also find the whole “Dying for Your Lover” Trope – which I’ve seen a lot of people praise The Black Paladins for implying - to be incredibly disgusting and unhealthy. Also Keith’s flagrant hypocrisy never getting called out bothers me a lot since I actually like when a character behaves in a hypocritical manner, since it feels organic, but it has to be called out because hypocrisy can lead to double-standards and create harmful environments and I need to stop for now

So, Keith and Shiro are still going to be close, but they aren’t going to be that close.

Keith and Allura’s Relationship

Oh, look! Another potentially interesting aspect of the show that they kinda dropped the ball on! I really hated Allura’s heel-turn on Keith when it’s revealed that he’s Galra in S2 because a) It’s not like Keith himself knew this and was actively hiding it, and b) It felt out of character for the way Allura had been presented thus far. Her lashing out at Zarkon when she was captured made sense since he directly killed her father, her people and her planet. And I could understand being wary of the Blades – to the extent that she was in the first half – but after Keith’s heritage is revealed, she’s completely cold to him and only seems to decide he’s a good guy when he’s willing to take on a potential suicide mission! They either needed to drag the animosity out and show it effecting Allura’s ability to work with the team as a whole and also show the team sticking up for Keith because the fact that Hunk was the only one that said anything is kinda messed up like where tf was Shiro if he and Keith are oh so close? or they needed to tone Allura’s attitude towards him back a bit more, have her approach him in a manner similar to how she addressed the Blade members; acknowledging he is there and contributing, but not praising or thanking him outright.

And since Keith presents and knows he’s part Galra from the start in this fic? Well, we’ll actually get to play around with that dynamic a little more. And while I’m on the subject of our favorite Altean princess…

Allura’s Character Inconsistencies

Allura’s character jumped around a lot in some of the earlier seasons and I’d be willing to wager that this is because the writers never settled on an age for her. And I don’t mean during the big changes like her becoming a Paladin or Lotor’s betrayal, since it’d make sense she be shaken by situations that drastic. One minute, she’s this composed, confident and well-spoken young leader doing the best she can. The next, she’s a more temperamental sort who has low self-esteem/ confidence in her own abilities to even successfully contribute to a team. Now, I think I kniw what they were trying to do; they were trying to show that the more impulsive side of her is more genuine while the composed side is her trying to be the leader she is expected to be. I get it. They fixed this and improved on it later down the line, but they could have done better by maybe addressing it and using it as a chance to develop her relationship with another member or two of Team Voltron.

Season 2’s Ending

The defeat of Zarkon happened way too soon. Especially since then, because they wanted to play around with Lotor’s intentions, they had to bring him back as a cyborg-zombie fueled by quintessence. Zarkon should have only been defeated once and then we should have been allowed to move on to the next main villain. As such, I’m moving Zarkon’s defeat further down the line and will be modifying some of the consequences there in.

P Much Everything About Lotor’s Acr/ Motives

Lotor… Man, Lotor was confusing and a lot of wasted potential. They painted him as if they wanted him to be a morally grey villain, where he does terrible things for what he considers the betterment of others, but then, once it’s revealed that he was keeping secrets, he just… Goes full ham. He becomes Evil McAwful incarnate and it felt unrealistic. There were about 20 different directions they could have taken Lotor – before and after the reveal – and I just didn’t care for the approach they took. So, I’ll be doing things a little different and seeing how that goes.

What I’m Keeping from Seasons 3-6

Very, very little things are going to be kept from each of the aforementioned seasons and implemented in the fic. I’m not planning to keep too many of the big plot moments because they all bled into the issues I had with the story as it stood on its own. I will, however, take some of the small things from those three seasons and include them here. This also applies to certain elements from the other seasons as well, but we’ll get there when we get there.

Adopting Kosmo

Kosmo will be in this fic, come Hell or high water. He is the Best Boi and deserves to be here.

Cut Fic Content

Okay, so here’s the weird one in this line up! As the title implies, there’s some content that I have cut from the fic, even this early on. I actually have some of the Kogane-Holt bonding scenes still drafted up somewhere in my files. I removed them because I was worried that they’d feel too much like filler. There’s also some scenes I started to work out from when I planned to have Keith grow up with Pidge and Matt; specifically including a scene where Krolia and Ethan talk about the idea and decide to commit.

Some of these ideas won’t work in the fic as it stands now, though. I also, however, like the idea of putting it out for everyone to read. So, I’m debating on making a separate one-shot collection of things that could have happened, or just adding them as the occasional buffer between the arcs of the story. I’ll make a poll when I get closer to the point of deciding how to proceed, so keep an eye out for that. :3

That’s all for now! I hope you all enjoy the updates and I’ll hopefully be updating again sooner than this time!

#crumbles grumbles #info dump about my fics #I was planning to hold off on updating until I responded to all my current comments #But I was way too excited about having these ready to go!

[mobydickmusical]

Dave Malloy’s descriptions of the Moby Dick musical

- All of the following are interview quotes and similar, relating to what the show will be like 

- Clearly, not every detail of this may necessarily follow through or be 100% up to date, but I haven’t included anything when I’ve been given an impression it’s no longer relevant

- To make it a bit more readable, I’ve sorted the quotes into:

What does he want from this adaption? What does he think is important in adapting Moby Dick?

The structure of the show

Themes and focus

Other (song and character specific details)

- In summary, though:

Dave’s main goal in writing his musical is to create an adaption that he feels honours and appreciates the novel in its entirety - formal quirks, whale minutia and all - not one that just tries to extract a plot. 

Currently the show has a four-part, two act structure. The first part is the most Broadway-style, and sets the narrative in place. The second part is more cabaret-style, and focuses on the whaling-related scenes. In the second act, part three is a jazz-based song cycle dedicated to Pip. Part four is a “dream ballet” section that wraps up the ending of the novel. The book of the show is still strongly based in Melville’s text, but less text-heavy than Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Like Comet, it’s mostly sung-through. 

Dave is very focused on using Moby Dick to reflect on modern life, especially to discuss issues of race in modern America, and how this context compares to Melville’s own (he also expresses interest in metatheatre regarding the role of Ishmael/Melville as the writer). Whiteness is highlighted as an important motif. He also states that Pip’s story of being stranded at sea has become “the heart” of his musical. 

What does he want from this adaption? What does he think is important in adapting Moby Dick?

“My challenge is to adapt the novel on its own terms rather than extracting story. The novel is a very bizarre beast of a thing; it has all of these tangents and digressions, a bunch of different forms, and I wanted to embrace all of that.” 

Baryshnikhov Arts Center article by Lydia Mokdessi, April 8 2016

 “I’m really drawn to that, people playing with the form, and so I try translate that into musical theatre. How can I play with that form of musical theatre? That’s so much more compelling to me than just telling a story. I like telling a story and there’s an extra meta-layer of how are we telling the story.”

“There’s been so many adaptations of Moby Dick and I think they all kind of fail, because they all just tell the story. The story, there’s not much too it.  This guy is crazy about a whale and he goes and hunts it down and everybody dies. What makes Moby Dick an amazing novel is actually not just the story, it’s all the playing with form, and the idea that this writer, this Ishmael (slash Herman Melville) is basically trying to encompass what all of humanity and life is, within the story of a whale.”

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“Especially giant epic novels I have a real affinity for. I love that amazing sense of reading something that was written two or three hundred years ago and thinking, ‘that’s a thought I had yesterday!’ Seeing how humanity doesn’t change that much. I am looking at these classics through a very contemporary lens with the hope of rescuing them from their bad reputations.”

Baryshnikov Arts Center article by Lydia Mokdessi, April 8 2016

The Structure Of The Show

NOTE: The most recent tracklist (from The Public Theater workshop) can be found under the “extra content” link on this blog 

“Originally we had imagined that Moby Dick would be […] seven hour-long theatrical pieces that could be seen in any order [...] now it is just a single evening’s entertainment that’s basically broken into four parts. The first part is kind of the traditional musical theatre narrative, getting the story underway. The second part focuses on all the whaling chapters and just on the minutia of whales. Part three is about Pip, and part four is the culmination of the narrative, and is almost like a dream ballet, in a weird way. It’s a very weird section”

“Pip’s story feels like the core of the piece”

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“The first act is like a Broadway-style musical, the second act is more of a vaudevillian cabaret, and the third act is a jazz song cycle, and […] the fourth act is a movement-heavy ballet-type section. […] The idea is definitely to use the form of Moby Dick, and to tell the entire story, not just the plot, but also include those chapters on whaling, and tell those parts through different styles of music.”

American Theatre Wing’s “Working In The Theatre: Adaptation”, 2017

“I am such a huge fan of using things in the public domain [...] so there’s a fair amount of Melville’s original words in it. I think it’s definitely less than Comet. Great Comet was probably like seventy to eighty percent Tolstoy, and Moby Dick is probably more like forty to fifty percent Melville. So a lot of it is his text”

[...] “Melville is such a poetic writer. He is thinking about every single word he’s using, and so many of his sentences are so, so beautiful, not because of rhyme, but certainly he is dealing with alliteration and assonance and some of these other poetic devices. So for me, revelling in that is enough. The musical forms take their cues from the writing, from Melville.” 

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“My intention is to have the majority happen as song. I’m really drawn to the sung-through form; the few things that are spoken can resonate all the more. Spoken text is good for language that we want to really pop and for cumbersome exposition. Sometimes we just need people to say the lines so we can get to the song.” 

Baryshnikov Arts Center article by Lydia Mokdessi, April 8 2016 

Themes And Focus

“Originally we had imagined that Moby Dick would be […] seven hour-long theatrical pieces that could be seen in any order. Then what happened was one of those seven pieces became so much the heart of the show that I didn’t want anyone to see anything without it. And that was specifically a section about the very small character, Pip. He’s literally the smallest character, he’s nine years old. He’s this boy on the Pequod, and he has this experience where he gets stranded in the middle of the ocean. He gets thrown off of a whale boat during a chase, and gets stranded in the middle of the ocean for an hour or so. In that hour of just seeing nothing but the water and the sky, he goes insane. That character, reading the novel, was the most compelling character to me. So one of these seven acts was just “The Ballad Of Pip”, and it was the first piece I wrote. Then in trying to go and visualise what this thing would be with these other six pieces, I was like, well I don’t want to tell any story that doesn’t include Pip’s.”

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“But then the larger thing we’re trying to do in this telling of Moby Dick is actually just talk about race in America. In this particular casting of Moby Dick, we’re casting everyone as people of color, and women of color, except for Herman Melville and Captain Ahab, who will played by white men. I think Melville was grappling with the same sort of things: what is America, and how does America deal with race? So in Moby Dick, it addresses the same thing. I think in context it’ll be clearer with [Cetology], but a lot of that song really is about race, and about how it feels to be a white person writing words for people of color to say, and what that means. And for Herman Melville to be writing the “The Whiteness Of The Whale” which is one of the huge chapters in Moby Dick that people love analysing to death, cause it’s such an amazing and beautiful chapter. Like, what was Melville thinking? What was Melville’s awareness of the racial problems of America, of this very young country that he was living in? We’re interested in dissecting all of that”

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

Other

“Ishmael is not really a critical part of the story of Moby Dick. He’s just the guy who was around and happened to see all this stuff. And then, weirdly, he becomes this omniscient voice who sees scenes that he’s not there for. It’s a very bizarre thing! Also, that’s one of the things that I love about theatre: the meta-theatrical element that comes with me not just as an actor playing those roles but as a writer playing those roles. I feel very much drawn to those roles that are contingent upon being the writer of the piece”

“As Melville, I’m telling this tale that I feel attached to but also feel reservations for how I’m attached to it”

Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“[Cetology] will be the song that opens part 2 of Moby Dick, which is the whaling section. So this song is an adaption of chapter 32 of Moby Dick which is called Cetology, which is famously the most hated chapter of Moby Dick, for people who don’t like Moby Dick, cause it’s the chapter that’s basically an encyclopedia entry about whales. Or rather, it’s Ishmael’s attempt to write an encyclopedia entry about whales, and he fails, ultimately. Thinking about this meta-theatrical element of play-writing, this song has become a piece about the task of writing a play based on Moby Dick and knowing that I will inevitably fail. So it is a song about failure.” 

[...] “I think in context it’ll be clearer with [Cetology], but a lot of that song really is about race, and about how it feels to be a white person writing words for people of color to say, and what that means.”

On Ishmael’s solo, Cetology. Interview at The Dutch Treat, June 6 2018

“[…] There is a lot about whiteness woven throughout the show that will (hopefully!) make more sense in the larger context”  

In response to me asking about lyrics from Cetology, on Twitter, December 24 2018

“...Cutting In, that’s like the big cutting apart the whale section, that’s gonna be like 15 minutes song-and-dance, that’ll be big. And then I’ve gotta do Sextet, which is kinda a trick cause it looks like it’s one song but really it’s six simultaneous songs that happens towards the end...” 

Great Comet Instagram takeover, August 31 2017 (I take this with a grain of salt because in the same takeover he described The Sermon as 10 minutes long, which it obviously isn’t anymore). 

NOTE: a diagram Dave posted on Twitter, presumably pertaining to the song Sextet, can be found on this blog. It is, however, quite old and not especially easy to make sense of. 

#moby dick #mobydick #moby dick musical #dave malloy #ishmael #pip #ahab #cetology #cutting in #sextet #interview #twitter #instagram #quote #my post

[comicteaparty]

January 4th-January 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from January 4th, 2020 to January 10th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What goals do you have going forward with this new year for your story?

carcarchu

well i basically have the same goal every year which is to cover more ground, i made the mistake of making my first comic be a super long 3 part epic so it feels like it's going to take me years to make it even part way through when i try to make my chapters longer however it generally leads me to feeling burned out so i still have a way to go when it comes to finding the right length per chapter that i can put out consistently

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

In Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/), this year I finally reach the chapter where all my main characters meet and start interacting - it's where the story truly kicks off. I've spent almost 2 years in setup/exposition mode, and I finally get to exit it properly. I'm so. SO. Excited. And I really want to take my time and do it properly. It's about to get very fun for me, and I hope it will show in the work!

Cronaj

My goals mainly consist of reaching page 100. I'm over 1/4th of the way there, and I believe I can get there before 2021. I also want to reach the introduction of one of the main characters, but I don't think that'll happen this year. This character doesn't appear until the end of Ch. 5, which is somewhere around page 170-180. Am I waiting too long to introduce this character? Absolutely.

eli [a winged tale]

I am almost halfway through Arc 1 and almost at 10% of the story Looking forward to chugging away at it and hope to reach the First Plot Point by the end of the year

kayotics

I guess one of my goals is to reformat chapter 1 for printing (I drew it at the wrong size), and then update chapters 1 & 2 for colors. I’d like to compile the first four chapters into a book, but I’d like all the chapters to be visually similar in color at least.

Tuyetnhi

Gonna try to finish two chapters this year and clean up ch.1 and 2 for printing its gonna be a lot of work but I know it can be managed~

snuffysam

In terms of where the main story will go - Book 3 just started, and Chapter 1 should be finished mid-March. Chapter 2 will be finished early-mid July, maybe even late June? Chapter 3 will be finished sometime in September. And then it's Chapter 4... which won't be finished until like June 2021 lol. But anyway, by the end of the year we'll be introduced to all the important characters of this arc (though we won't have had much time with some of them). Including a character who's so important, I'd almost call them the deuteragonist of the entire comic if not for the fact that they're only showing up 700 pages in, lol.(edited)

Past the actual story aspects - the comic will be celebrating its fourth birthday at the end of February! And, given that the first page of the comic was started on a leap day, it's technically the first birthday the comic has actually had. The upcoming short stories for the year are some of my favorites so far, so that's exciting. I'm also interested to see how the shipping contest & fan-art contest turn out. We'll also be reaching page 750 at some point this year, which is a pretty big milestone.

Deo101

I have a goal for my second comic to get it off of hiatus, and for my main one I would really like to make improvements in the areas I've received critiques! Mostly, I just want to keep making them for another year <3 I don't really have any goals other than to keep on going with it

(also, a preemptive congrats on four years!)(edited)

AntiBunny

Well, having fully reuploaded my archives, I'm letting them update gradually to hopefully attract a new audience over on comic fury. When it catches back up I intend to finish up Chapter 10, and with it book 2. Then I'll finally launch book 3, Coast to Coast, which will allow me to tell more different stories by changing locations.

Kelsey (Kurio)

Hey Vinnie! How goes it?

AntiBunny

Still chugging along.

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

The big goal for Wayfinders off course is first of all to launch! In start February (we will find a date today iiih!!) Then at the end of 2020, if everything goes accordingly we should have produced 7 chapters enough for a book Ah! This is all so exciting

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Pretty much my goal is to just keep swimming. I hope to complete more chapters this year. I should be able to finish chapter one of my comic, Eryl, unless I have to take a long hiatus (which, honestly, is looking very likely). Ashes is less time intensive than Eryl and the chapters half as long (only 16 pages each; Eryl chapters are usually 30-35 pages), so I’m going to try and finish at least two, if not three chapters before 2021. But honesty, just getting what I can done and continuing to push forward is my biggest goal.

Mei

I only started My Husband is a Cultist last year in April (https://tapas.io/series/MyHusbandisaCultist) and my goal is to reach that first year anniversary and to keep the train rolling for this comic! I initially wanted to have the rest of this arc completed in 2020, but I've decided to be realistic as I will be making a grad film at the same time (yay), so I just plan to do as much as I can, and to at least have Chapter 4 completed before March, and maybe Chapter 5 after that! I have a lot of story I want to tell and it's hard to stay focussed on it, but I'm doing my best, doing a little at a time!

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

My goals are mainly to become a little quicker and finish the second book in time for the Heirs of the Veils (http://heirsoftheveil.fervorcraft.de/) fourth anniversary next October. Story-wise we want to have all the bits and pieces in place to slowly approach the actual meaty parts of the comic and prepare well enough to finish it in the coming 3 years.

FeatherNotes

Our goal is to have our book fully edited, with help from editors and friends, so we can be more confident in it's true rendition. Im not one to stick to making pages perfect, but there are definitely parts that could use some attention! Other than that, book 4 is on it's way and it's always a main goal to get to print for upcoming cons!

varethane

My goal this year is to get to the end of the first arc of Wychwood! After a year of working on it, I'm roughly halfway there. I'd also like to lern 2 colour better.

Capitania do Azar

This year I hope to get a new book out!! That would be great and also you know, just keep going. If all goes well I can get a chapter out until the end of the year and that'd be cool (but also perhaps a bit too hopeful, since my chapters have started to...get bigger with time..)

SAWHAND

This year my goal is to start posting the comic! And, if it works out, I'd love to get the whole thing thumbnailed out by the end of the year. Fingers crossed!!

DanitheCarutor

My goal is to finish chapter 5 in less than a year. Up until now it's taken a year to finish a chapter thanks to work, chores and the occasional procrastination spell. But in December I quit my depressing job that was a two hour drive away, so I'm hoping to be more productive, even if I get part time work somewhere in town.

twothirty

along with finishing chapter 6 and 7, im also hoping to have all of book 2's script written and edited~

renieplayerone

My goal is id love to get the first chapter or two of kate blast printed

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

[our-happygirl500-fan]

What do you think his relationships/interactions with his classmates would be like if Ouma was part of the DR2 class?

First of all, I want to thank you for this ask because I have an AU where Kokichi is stuck on Jabberwock island with the SDR2 kids that is a little bit inspired by the fic All My Secrets where basically Kokichi is accused of being a Remnant of Despair by Future Foundation and even though Kirigiri doesn’t think he is Naegi puts Kokichi inside the Neo World Program just to be safe. The reason they think Kokichi’s a remnant of despair that I came up with is that like with the DR1 kids post-Mukuro, Junko and Kokichi were all friends as kids when they were on the street only here Mukuro is even more protective of Kokichi since he’s younger than her. Basically Mukuro told Kokichi not to be at Hopespeak on a specific day because that was the day shit was about to go down and even though Kokichi is suspicious and is kind of upset about Mukuro becoming a soldier he still cares about her so he listens to her and also makes sure none of his classmates are at Hopespeak just in case and then the tragedy happens and suddenly his classmates are suspicious as hell of Kokichi because ‘it’s almost like he knew something was going to happen’ instead of being grateful to be alive which leads to them discovering his connection to Mukuro and Junko and him being accused of being a remnant.

Anyway, now that that little bit of exposition is over let’s talk about how literally any class is better for Kokichi than the V3 kids.

Considering that the SDR2 kids are dealing with Komaeda they aren’t really bothered by anything Kokichi does. I can definitely see him being treated like a little brother by the entire class. Based on the Ultimate Talent Development Plan interactions I think Kokichi’s main friend group would be like a little trio of him, Mikan and Hiyoko. Kokichi really likes Mikan who would probably fuss over him and keep on trying to take care of him because Mikan likes being relied upon and Kokichi would really like Mikan’s kind but timid nature but try and get her to be more confident by making up ridiculous symptoms until Mikan finally calls him out. Kokichi would also have a lot of fun teasing Hiyoko and they’d just act like a pair of bickering siblings he’s definitely quick to defend Mikan from Hiyoko so any time Hiyoko was mean to Mikan Kokichi is there to tease Hiyoko right back but Kokichi and Hiyoko also share a childish nature which would give them a good dynamic. Kokichi would find it personally insulting that Hiyoko gets so tall and Hiyoko would be so smug about it. Though this makes chapter 3 really sad because Kokichi loses the two people he was closest to.

The next people Kokichi would be close to are Gundham and Sonia, have you seen Kokichi’s and Gundham’s interactions in the Ultimate Talent Development Plan they are so good Gundham calls him ‘the clown prince of lies’, and ‘the spawn of Loki’s blood’ and is like ‘there can not be two dark overlords!’ look me in the eye and tell me Kokichi is not having the time of his god damn life when interacting with Gundham. Gundham might act wary of Kokichi at times because he doesn’t want to share the overlord aesthetic but he has shown kindness to Kokichi when he helped clean a scratch Kokichi got from a cat so I do think they’d like each other and Kokichi would love Gundhams hampsters. He might try to steal them and make them his minions. 

Sonia would probably be amazed by Kokichi’s lies not in the way that she believes them but in that she just likes hearing stilly stories though she’s probably going to scold him and bring up children’s stories from her country on why Kokichi shouldn’t lie. Being a princess and in a position of leadership, Sonia would definitely recognize Kokichi’s leadership skills and notice how he influences the group and would probably be very interested in the kind of leader Kokichi could grow up to be. She thinks Kokichi needs to have more faith in people and mature a bit before he can realize his full potential as a leader and would encourage him to try and meet that potential.

As for Soda not only would Kokichi have a lot of fun teasing him but he’d also stick close to him in a killing game for his mechanic talent so they’d have a lot of fun interactions as well. And you know how Hiyoko had a lot of fun messing with Akane and getting her to do stuff? You better believe Kokichi would be joining in on that he’d keep on trying to make Akane his minion only to be stopped by Nekomaru who keeps on trying to train Kokichi because ‘he’s too skinny and lacks discipline’ also Kokichi’s interactions with Meckomaru would be hilarious “Do robots have dicks” “You bet I do!” “Do a robot punch!” “Sure check this out!” ect.

Mahiru would keep on trying to get Kokichi to act more mature but would still mother him like she does for the rest of the class and Kokichi would get along really well with Ibuki especially since they both use the ‘chan’ suffix and would probably like her music. Ibuki would call Kokichi her rival for Twogami because of course, she would and Kokichi would admire Twogami like he did for Kaede before she attempted murder for him trying to take charge and keep everyone safe, Twogami probably wouldn’t indulge in Kokichi’s lies but Kokichi would still have fun.

Kokichi obviously wouldn’t be the most suspicious person around with Komaeda there who caused a murder in the first chapter and Kokichi wouldn’t want to do anything that could top that so he doesn’t go out of his way to make himself suspicious especially since the SDR2 kids wouldn’t force him into the role of the villain like the V3 kids did. Before the first murder Kokichi would really like Komaeda who would probably indulge and play with him (because we know how Komaeda is about SHSL’s) though after the first murder Kokichi would resent Komaeda quite a bit but would still be the person who spent the most time with Komaeda trying to figure out what he knew and would be interested in Komaeda’s observations because he can recognise that Komaeda is intelligent.

When Komaeda finds the hopespeak academy files about them being Remnants of Despair and Hinata being a reserve course student he’d also find out that Kokichi is actually two classes below them as well. If he revealed that to the group there would be a moment of ‘so much makes sense now’ in learning Kokichi is actually younger even if at that moment they were all mentally the same age and Kokichi would have to deal with ‘respect your elders!’ for the rest of the game as much as Hajime had to deal with ‘no talent Hajime’ comments.

It’s been mentioned in art books and various official sources that Kokichi loves games so he’s constantly playing with Chiaki who would be super accepting of Kokichi and Chiaki would be constantly trying to get Kokichi to open up more to the others and include him in the group because she’s Chiaki and she’s amazing. I can also see Kokichi getting close to beating Chiaki so she has fun with the challenge.

Hajime’s interactions with Kokichi would be so fun I could definitely see the group making Hajime Kokichi’s babysitter because Hajime is the only one responsible there, post-game, when Hajime has Izuru powers, is where their relationship really thrives though because Hajime can see past Kokichi’s lies and see his real intentions very easily and Kokichi would understand how important it is to keep someone from getting bored and would help Hajime with that. A very good very cute relationship that I want to see.

In the Ultimate Talent Development plan, it’s shown that Kokichi actually likes Usami and enjoys teasing her a little bit but nothing that would upset her, in fact, he just likes confusing her a bit. I think Kokichi would recognize at once that Monomi and Monokuma were made by two different groups and while he thinks she’s mostly useless he’d try and get information out of her and spend a lot of time around her. Kokichi would also be interested in ‘the traitor’ since he’d recognize that Monokuma wants them to go after the ‘traitor’ so he’d be constantly be looking for clues into their identity to try and help them and get them onto his side. So much so that Komaeda would probably know about Kokichi’s little investigation and after the events of chapter 4 try and see if Kokichi had any clues to the identity of the Future Foundation spy.

The golden canon line of ‘boss baby’ is all I need to say about Kokichi’s interactions with Fuyuhiko.

Chapter 6 would reck Kokichi because Junko would reveal that Kokichi is the only one there who isn’t a remnant and how he was framed for crimes he never committed and all his friends are actually murderers. But I think he’d be inspired by Hajime to remember the bonds that he made on the island and also he’d want a big middle finger to Junko even at his own personal cost.

Though I’m surprised that there isn’t more content of Kokichi with the SDR2 kids considering how Tsumugi tried to frame him to be a remnant of despair.

#dangan ronpa #danganronpa #super dangan ronpa 2 #super danganronpa 2 #sdr2 #dr2 #dangan ronpa v3 #new danganronpa v3 #ndrv3 #drv3 #v3 #ouma kokichi #mukuro ikusaba #junko enoshima #mikan tsumiki #hiyoko saionji #nagito komaeda #chiaki namani #hajime hinata #kamakura izuru #gundham tanaka #sonia nevermind #soda kazuichi #mahiru koizumi #ibuki mioda #ultimate imposter #fuyuhiko kuzuryuu #akane owari #nekomaru nidai

[brokehorrorfan]

Best New Horror Movies on Netflix: Spring 2018

There’s an overwhelming amount of horror movies to sift through on Netflix, so I’ve decided to take out some of the legwork by compiling a list of the season’s best new genre titles available on Netflix’s instant streaming service.

Please feel free to leave a comment with any I may have missed and share your thoughts on any of the films you watch. You can also peruse past installments of Best New Horror Moves on Netflix for more suggestions.

1. The Ritual

The Ritual is the great Blair Witch Project sequel we never got. Although not found footage, it explores many similar plot points as the recent Blair Witch - yet it feels far more fresh and, more importantly, scarier. The first two acts are superbly eerie, and, while it loses a tiny bit of momentum toward the end, it offers a truly imaginative creature design. After memorable segments in several anthologies, David Bruckner's (V/H/S, The Signal) feature directorial debut offers a small but strong cast led by Rafe Spall (Prometheus), well-developed characters, a creative use of flashbacks, and a brilliant atmosphere of dread.

2. Veronica

Veronica's reputation precedes it, as it has been the subject of several high-profile articles touting it as the scariest movie on Netflix. I'm not sure it lives up to that claim, but it's certainly worth seeing for yourself. Based on true events, the film takes place in 1991 Madrid. When 15-year-old Veronica (Sandra Escacena) attempts to contact her deceased father with a Ouija board alongside two fellow Catholic schoolgirls, she becomes haunted by something from the other side. Escacena - an actual teenager - delivers a great performance, and director Paco Plaza ([Rec]) channels James Wan in his expert crafting of frightening set pieces.

3. Before I Wake

Nearly three years after it was supposed to open in theaters, Before I Wake was rescued from rights issues by Netflix. Director Mike Flanagan (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game) has since cemented himself as a modern master of horror, and Before I Wake is another winner. Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) and Thomas Jane (The Mist) star as a couple who, still grieving the death of their young son, adopt a 6-year-old boy, Cody (a then-unknown Jacob Tremblay, Room). Upon learning that Cody's dreams manifests themselves in reality, the parents encourage him to dream about their deceased son in order to spend more time with him. Unfortunately for everyone, Cody also suffers from nightmares about a creature he calls The Canker Man. It's a bit heavy on exposition, but the film has ample heart and strong visuals. Similar to the work of Guillermo del Toro, Before I Wake blends horror motifs with fantastical and dark dramatic elements.

4. 47 Meters Down

Originally scheduled to go straight-to-DVD in 2016, 47 Meters Down was given a theatrical release last summer, which proved to be an unlikely success. Mandy Moore (This Is Us) and Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries) star in the underwater thriller as sisters whose shark diving expedition goes wrong. Trapped on the ocean floor, the girls' air supplies are quickly depleting while a swam of great white sharks circles the area. There are a few unfortunate jump scares, and suspension of disbelief is certainly required, but director Johannes Roberts (The Other Side of the Door) takes a mostly grounded, serious approach, crafting a bit of old-fashioned suspense at a brisk pace. Read my full review of the film here.

5. Mute

Mute is a sci-fi mystery, not a horror movie - although it does have a brutal kill at its climax. Aesthetically, the film is total Blade Runner worship - perhaps even more so than Blade Runner 2049 - so it is gorgeous to look at. Set in the near future, the plot finds a mute bartender (Alexander Skarsgård, True Blood) searching the seedy underbelly of Berlin for his missing girlfriend. But it's the B-story - in which Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Justin Theroux (The Girl on the Train) play a pair of wise-cracking black market surgeons - that steals the show. Director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), who co-wrote the script with Michael Robert Johnson (Sherlock Holmes), also throws in a fun nod to Moon that sets Mute in the same universe.

6. Nails

Nails occasionally feels like a lesser Insidious movie (particularly Chapter 3, since both involve injured female antagonists), but it'll hit that sweet spot when you're browsing Netflix for something short (only 85 minutes!) and creepy in the middle of the night. After a nasty hit and run, Dana (Shauna Macdonald, The Descent) is left confined to a hospital bed, barely able to speak or move. She believes someone is in the room with her at night; at first, she feels a presence watching her, and then it starts touching. Her family and doctors dismiss her claims as hallucinations from painkillers. It suffers from a bit too much exposition, but there are some strong horror set pieces. The Irish film earns bonus points for being almost entirely contained to the hospital bed without getting stale.

7. Ravenous

Ravenous (also known as Les Affamés) is yet another post-apocalyptic zombie thriller in the vein of The Walking Dead, but it's better than many of its contemporaries. The Canadian production is in French, but it addresses universal themes in its exploration of human drama. In the film, various rogue survivors band together to strengthen their chances of survival among the hordes of infected. Along the way, it introduces a mysterious ritual of sorts that the zombies perform, though it's never fully paid off. Nevertheless, this one is worth a watch if you’re a fan of recent zombie dramas like Maggie, The Cured, Here Alone, and What We Become.

8. Bad Match

The first act of Bad Match resembles a sophomoric “bro” comedy, but it's worth sitting through to watch it blossom into its final form: Fatal Attraction for the digital age. Jack Cutmore-Scott (Deception) stars as Harris, a 20-something tech worker with a tendency to hook up with women from a Tinder-like dating app and then never speak to them again. He finally meets a woman he really likes, Riley (Lili Simmons, Bone Tomahawk), only to have her become deeply obsessed with him. The supporting cast includes Noureen DeWulf (Anger Management), Chase Williamson (Beyond the Gates), Brandon Scott (Channel Zero), and Trent Haaga (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV).

9. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

I'm surprised it has taken this long for Toho to make a Godzilla anime, as both are staples of Japan, and the medium eliminates any limitations caused by having an actor in the rubber suit. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is the first installment in a planned anime trilogy. Like many Godzilla films, it spends a tedious amount of time with character exposition before the creatures are introduced. The film is set in 2048, after giant monster attacks have caused the earth to collapse. Humans search space for an inhabitable planet before returning to earth; nearly halfway through the movie, they finally land and start fighting the kaiju. It's an impressive sight when Godzilla finally shows up, as it’s the biggest version of the king of the monsters ever put on screen. With all of the set up out of the way, Planet of the Monsters sets the stage for the next two installments to be even better.

Bonus: The End of the F***ing World

The End of the F***ing World is a British series released in the US as a Netflix original. 17-year-old James (Alex Lawther, Black Mirror) is fairly certain he's a serial killer, but when his would-be first victim, the moody Alyssa (Jessica Barden, The Lobster), invites him to runaway with him, the unstable couple fall for one another. Like Natural Born Killers meets Moonrise Kingdom, their time on the road includes absurd crime, unlikely death, young love, and pitch-black humor. With an engaging story spread out across eight 20-minute episodes, it's virtually impossible not to binge through the entire season in one sitting.

Bonus: Haunters: The Art of the Scare

Haunters: The Art of the Scare is ostensibly a documentary about homemade haunted houses, similar to The American Scream. It profiles a few mom-and-pop haunts, illustrating the communal aspect as well as the strain it can have on personal relationships. But the bulk of the film is dedicated to McKamey Manor, a nonprofit "extreme haunt" run out of certifiably insane guy's house in San Diego. There's a waiting list of thousands of people who are more than willing to be debased on camera for all the internet to see. Deplorable as it may be, it's a fascinating subject that, frankly, should have been the sole subject of the documentary.

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