#life is anticlimatic all the time

[soo-won]

gintama was healing to me because its nature has a comedy show that breaks the 4th wall all the time is that it helps you take a distance. like don't get me wrong gintama can be deep and serious but it's also so very unserious in a way that doesn't make the serious parts less impactful it's just yeah listen life is stupid and absurd like that and people are full of wounds but overall we all act very silly. it humbles itself all the time in a way that i found very pleasing...When I love something I tend to dig deeper and deeper and it can be hard for me to take a distance the more i'm emotionally invested. And then you have gintama that constantly switch between 20 episodes of the characters doing shits together and serious arcs with character deaths and brain rewiring level of drama and angst. And even in these serious arcs there is an effective mix of comedy and seriousness that makes it undoubtly gintama (I think that's why I have issues with farewell shinsengumi tbh it takes itself too seriously to my taste...among other things but that's another discussion).

When Gintoki reveals his wooden sword has nothing special at all and that he threw away the notebook of his dead teacher bc he spilled ramen on it, and when the characters make fun of takasugi's emo image behind his back, and when we finally get a joui4 reunion and you expect tragic reminiscences of a lost war and camaraderie but it's actually so stupid you even wonder if it's real. The war was definitely a traumatizing experience and we see that as well, but what matters most is what the characters choose to remember, and how they live day by day in the present.

And I still love trying to fill the blanks and thinking about the characters' past and what made them who they are today but it's all very personal in the end. i will make my assumptions based on vibes and what i choose to take seriously or not. it's like the cat of shrödinger(sorry) but like 'is gintama deep or not' and you never know for sure and it doesnt matter in the end and it's fun. And something Gintama is very serious about is that there is so much love in the comedy and the fun.

#gintama #txt #i find no home a bit similar in like...yeah what happens to the characters can be awful and tragic but life goes on like normal #life is anticlimatic all the time #also gintama was like rediscovering ace attorney after years but it pushes the comedy part even more lmaoo #anyway gintama was such an experience. im so happy i watched it #perfectly what i needed after a bad akayona crisis #and dont get me wrong gintama is so terrible and bad sometimes and sorachi is def a freak like fr #and some characters def deserved more than what they got #but overall it made me happy...and for that im grateful

[into-september]

Probably the most important thing that got lost somewhere in the MLB film trying to adress some three or four different themes and somehow not getting any of them across:

"Who saves a life, saves the world" is the one that is literally spelled out on screen in the scene where Marinette becomes Ladybug, immediately after she without hesitation risked her life to save Master Fu.

So she becomes Ladybug and spends the entirity of the first battle being literally dragged along when Cat Noir gets into trouble. Her only active part in the battle is at the very end, when she finally gets her yo-yo under control and saves Cat Noir from being hit by the train.

The film doesn't make much of a point out of it, but take note: this battle doesn't end by Ladybug and Cat Noir winning, but by the akuma leaving its victim seconds before lives are lost. It's not made clear why this happened; possibly this Gabriel, who has the ability to feel empathy, called it back last moment, but the only shot we get is of him passed out and de-transformed. An equally plausible explanation is that without his active will, the akuma simply left.

I think one change that'd help this story a lot would've been to make that reason explicit, because this un-won battle isn't important just because it introduces our two heroes and sets the love square in motion. The whole sorry story - from Cat Noir going solo and failing, to the battle ending not by the heroes' victory but by the akuma leaving its victim - is exactly what happens in the film's climax. Whether Gabriel's conscience made him hesitate at the beginning or if it finally won out only in the end, it'd strengthen his character to have that conflict made explicit, which would serve as a badly needed reminder to the audience that the first battle is significant for other reasons than Ladybug and Cat Noir's first meeting.

Because there is another thing that happens in both these battles, in fact the only thing Marintte contributes to both of them:

She saves Cat Noir's life.

It is absurdly underplayed and disappears beneath the memetic saxophone solo the first time it happens, but fact is: it happened, and it happened again when the story ended. And in the final battle, her saving him - however fleeting it was - gave Gabriel the chance to discover that it was his own son he nearly killed. Without Ladybug, Marinette couldn't do much, but she could save Cat Noir again. And by doing so, she stopped Hawk Moth. Not by being a kick-ass heroine, but by being just a normal girl who is extraordinarily brave even without superpowers, and who let him see the truth, and to make his hown choice to stop the madness.

In fact, this is the fulfillment of what I think was supposed to be Marinette's character arc: to realise that Ladybug was her all along; that it wasn't the earrings that made her stop being clumsy and get the confidence to talk back to Chloé, but that she had those powers all along. The first time, she only masters her powers when Cat Noir is in danger; the second time, she has to face her fears without the powers - and that is how she passes the test, and (probably) finds her true powers, and can fix all the things Gabriel destroyed.

Except for some reason Mr. Zagtoons didn't think to emphasise those things happening at all and so both Marinette's character arc and the film's climax come across as hella anticlimatic because it's not at all obvious that oh, yeah, those things were in fact established at the very beginning.

#mira #miraculous ladybug #ml awakening #miraculous ladybug movie #miraculous movie spoilers #blah #mlb meta #storytelling

[fireemblems24]

Golden Wildfire Ch 15 (Final)

Guys, I think this is finally it, the last chapter

MAIN STORY

We're . . . not going to get an answer about Shez, are we? Would I if I recruited Byleth?

Which, now that I think about it, that was really anticlimatic death.

Also, Claude wants Dimitri and Faerghus to survive, but Rhea to die. Edelgard doesn't want Dimitri and Faerghus to survive, but also wants Rhea to die. So why the hell is Claude letting Edelgard right Dimitri while he fights Rhea? What's stopping Edelgard from killing Dimitri and taking all the Faerghus land she desperately wants? He knows Rhea was only an excuse for her.

I guess just another "Claude is an idiot" point or the writers not giving a single shit about him or this route and only caring about Dimitri and Edelgard.

Claude is suddenly reading Dimitri's mind. He thinks Dimitri wants him to dissolve the central church. This is . . . beyond stupid. Claude is literally imagining the enemy wants he wishes the enemy would want. This is such a stupid thing to do in war. Dimitri has never showed signs of wanting the church dissolved.

Also, blaming all of Fodlan's problems on Rhea is so dumb and such childish thinking too.

They really were like, go Claude, we'll give you nothing! in the writer's room.

If I cared about Claude, I'd be livid. I doubt many Dimitri or Edelgard fans are upset though.

Man, the character list is so much smaller in this route.

MAP/SIDE BATTLES

So annoyed this one has a bunch of side quests. I'm sooooo close to finishing this game.

Aww, an Alliance NPC talked about how much she likes Seteth and hopes he survives.

Ouch! Yuri! When he questions the validity of Claude's plans, Shez assures him it's the only way to pave the future, and he has the audacity to say "I guess now isn't the time to be wondering who exactly is included in this future we're dreaming about." He's calling Claude out on his shit big time. Yuri just does not fit here.

Ashe keeps talking about Dimitri. He's miserable.

Hapi doesn't want to kill Rhea :(

Ohhh, interesting, so Raphael doesn't like how we've been fighting. Shez can agree or disagree. I agreed in both SB and GW. In GW, she says their actions are too haphazard, but in SB, she says they're being too brutal and not letting anyone surrender. Curious differences (ofc Raphael just wants to eat and party, that's what he disagrees with, it's Shez's perceptions that made me interested).

Gilbert and Dimitri talking. Dimitri arriving has boosted moral. But it's the same for his enemies.

Dimitri's concerned about Rhea and learns that they're prepared for battle. Dimitri can't help them :(

Dimitri ordered his citizens to evacuate because he's worried about what the Alliance will do, but isn't convinced Claude wants to destroy his Kingdom.

I love Dimitri doubling down on protecting his people above all else here. Gustave is upset about abandoning Rhea. Dimitri is too, but he's willing to be the bad guy if it saves a single life in Faerghus.

A side mission involved defeating Cyril :( And now Flayn :(

SHEZ & RAPHAEL A

Soldiers are happier. Shez can guess war turning in our favor or pay raise.

If you ever needed proof that Raphael is an idiot, he argues that wouldn't make sense because not everyone is motivated by money. Like, seriously, tell me a single soldier there who gives a flying shit about what some king says. The only route this wouldn't be true in is AG since they're fighting for their lives.

Anyways, it's actually the food.

Shez talks about how a good meal rather than scapes is a good motivator. And honestly, good point.

Raphael talks about being an innkeeper. Honestly, he'd be such a fun boss to have, but he'll need to hire someone to handle the logistics lol.

Raphael asks Shez to tag along. I can either be nice and agree or not make promises. Being mean to Raphael is basically bullying.

Shez either way still considers being a mercenary, but I love the idea of Shez and Raphael running an inn together.

LYSITHEA & RAPHAEL A

Wonder why they choose Lysithea of all people to reach A with Raphael.

She studied too long and is out after dark, so obviously scared. She tries to convince herself the weird noises is Raphael.

But it's not this time, bc he shows up and asks what's the creepy noise lol. Poor Lysithea.

Now she's properly freaked out. Poor girl.

It's probably just a cat, but she thinks it's a ghost.

Lysithea goes to investigate too or else she'll be alone.

I guessed wrong. It's a puppy, not a cat. Poor doggy is hungry, and Raphael knows the dog.

Lysithea is like, if you knew the dog, how come you didn't know that? lol.

HILDA & DOROTHEA B

A fan gave Dorothea a bracelet, and she appreciates the support. Hilda wishes she had one too.

Dorothea tells Hilda no one is better in the whole army at makeup and accessories.

The support addresses how Hilda makes her own accessories.

Dorothea talks about plant design trends. So like real life lol.

Hilda asks Dorothea about her makeup. She tries to stick for ones that are actually good for the body. Which, is really good considering what they used to use for makeup.

They want to keep chatting over tea.

Honestly, I love seeing two girls just chat about girly things without anyone putting it down.

It's nice, in general, how the Fodlan games don't put down the women who are really into fashion and the ones who don't care. Everyone is allowed to just exist, and it's great.

LYSITHEA PARALOGUE

Does she get her own because her paired up one is in SB?

She apologizes to Count Glouster for all the chaos Ordelia causes, but he apologizes for not taking care of it. She understands how important it is for him to protect the bridge.

Her father is buddies with Lorenz's father.

Shez comes with news about Ordelia under attack.

No one else can help. Lysithea says she didn't realize how Claude could be so cruel. Shez tries to defend him by saying she's all the way out here, and Lysithea claps back. Team Lysithea here.

Shez thought Count Glouster would we dead weight. She was right. Idiot almost died. Shez and Lysithea were fine.

He looks forward to the day both aren't leaders anymore so they can just be friends and thinks Lysithea would be a worthy heir :( Poor Lysithea, she faltered at that.

Glouster did nothing to help Lysithea's father because he led the pro-Empire nobles.

MARIANNE & YURI A

Yuri sees Marianne out late and worried that she was going to leave like she thought about, but she was just walking her horse.

Then we get the classic "..." and "..." response. Since the ye ole days characters have done that in FE supports.

Marianne is like, why were you worried, then goes off how she's just a burden, and Yuri is like stop that, now.

Yuri is allergic to horses and cats? :((( Poor guy. That would suck.

That's why he was always giving Marianne funny looks, because he was about to sneeze and she's always around horses, lamo.

It's nice seeing Yuri be nice. But if he was mean to Marianne, like how can you be mean to Marianne?

Yuri dreams of being able to spent time with the animals he's allergic too, so he accepts Marianne's offer to use magic to try to help. I hope it works.

HILDA & DOROTHEA A

Hilda is trying to figure out what's wrong with one of her accessories. She thinks it's missing something.

Dorothea offers to help out, and is really impressed with Hilda's craftsmanship. And honestly, there's a picture and it looks pretty.

Hilda likes Dorothea's suggestion.

Dorothea also offers to buy the accessories for the opera, and use that to advertise them too.

Hilda is more than happy with that suggestion.

Hilda actually wants to open her own school to teach people craftsmanship, and thinks she can partner with Dorothea on that too.

MARIANNE & IGNATZ A

A pegasus that Ignatz was helping said "bring me more hay, four eyes." to Ignatz, Marianne interpreted. She rightly called it rude lamo.

Ignatz used to ride pegasus with his mother, she used to be a pegasus knight. I wonder if that's why he wants to be a knight.

He was really impressed with the view, understandably.

It made him want to become a pegasus knight, but they're sexist lol. Women only.

That's why he wants to help with the pegasi so much, it's the closest he can get.

Marianne is like "I can feel your feelings in the paintings" and Ignatz freaks out until she keeps going and saying she can tell how much he loves pegasi. I wonder what he was so worried about . . .hmm . . . Liking Marianne just proves taste though.

Marianne thinks that maybe the pegasus will accept Ignatz. But I don't think it went well lol. She grabbed his clothing with her teeth, not on her back. OMG, poor Ignatz.

It ends with Ignatz begging for Marianne's help lamo.

MAIN (& FINAL) BATTLE

Alright, guys, this is it. 2/3 done once this battle is over. Sadly, I'll probably have to kill Rhea though. But who knows, she got to be the hero of SB in the end, maybe GW too, or is that asking too much?

Rhea's like I should've killed these bitches years ago (rather than protecting them after turning her genocided family into weapons, poor woman has seen some shit).

Rhea thinks she'll have the goddesses' protection. Too bad Sothis is dead :(

It seems like Rhea is expecting to die. She's telling Seteth and Flayn to run. And saying her time is at an end.

It's funny that Rhea also thinks she's fighting for the future and humanity because she thinks she knows what's best. She and Edelgard (and Claude in this route) are really the same. Then there's Dimitri, the only sane one who doesn't have a bloated ego that thinks he knows best for every living soul in Fodlan, in some case, without ever even talking to some people from a particular country (looking at you, Edelgard, ding dong thinks she can rule Faerghus better than Dimitri without ever even having bothered to TALK to someone from Faerghus).

OK, so why did Edelgard only get 40 points, but Claude gets 70?

OMG, one of Claude's tactics is to burn the enemies alive (elite archers turn enemies into ash, not sure how else to see that).

I don't want to kill Cyril two times in one night :( Thankfully, he retreated.

Great, now Alois is here, claiming he'll fight to the death, which seems major OOC even with Rhea under attack. This game really forgot that he had a family, didn't it? I think he, Claude, and Caspar got the biggest downgrades in writing.

Oh, shit, he died for real. And he mentioned his family this time.

I had to fight Seteth too, but he retreated, thankfully.

DON'T MAKE ME KILL MERCEDES!!!!

Oh, fuck, Cyril died :((( God.

Jeritza came to save his sister :(((( So he turned against the Empire in GW. That's kinda touching, much better than in Houses. Seems Mercedes is now flipping, better than having to kill her like poor Cyril and Alois.

Now I have to fight Flayn :( Thankfully, she withdrew.

Now I have to fight Seteth and Flayn again, but on the upside, Rhea did badass magic and took away my captured strongholds.

I'm not clear if Flayn died or retreated, but Seteth is pissed off at me.

Oh, thank God, they're both running away.

Time to kill Rhea :(

Cut scene time. Wow, Claude, that's rich. He's telling Rhea to go walk away. But, to like where? The guy's been hell bent on killing her and blaming her for everything from racism to arranged marriage this entire game?

Why the random flower getting crushed? Usually that's a sign of crushed renewal, not a brand new world like Claude's been blowing smoke about this whole route.

Lololol Idiot just realized Rhea's the Immaculate One.

Lamo, even in the final battle Marianne's not convinced Claude not coo coo for coco puffs.

More cut scene. Shez and Claude killing Rhea. Shez turned into Arval. Wonder what happens if you recruit Byleth.

This was such a watered-down version of SB's final battle. They both had Rhea as a final boss, but SB got Thales too and it was A LOT harder because of that. Either that or Lorenz is really that silly stupid good.

Another abrupt, non-ending.

Claude wanted the war to end, and shock of all shock, killing Rhea didn't work!!! The idiot. All those people died, for nothing. I also predict greedy assholes will still enforce hierarchies and be racist, even without Rhea.

This ending may have been even worse than SB's? Because at least Edelgard still has a goal she's working towards, it just cut off mid-way. Claude accomplished his and nothing changed - he only made the world worse.

Are either GW or SB better endings if you get Byleth? I'm betting that's what happens. Because that can't be the real ending, lol.

MVP time. Wonder when it'll turn into the Lorenz show. As soon as Ch 5, pretty much no one but Lorenz got MVP. He's just absurd, but in a boring way. He's invulnerable to damage, but doesn't play very fun. If I ever did GW again, I'd main Lysithea. She's a unit type I like way more, hella strong and fast, but low defense. Lorenz made GW super boring to play since I didn't have to think at all. He's that good of a unit.

It's funny seeing nothing but Lorenz's face on an endless scroll (except paralogues or like, women units only battles)

I can't believe I'm getting a letter from Lorenz. If I knew I'd get a letter, I would've picked a character I actually liked, like Marianne. Hubert's letter was better. Lorenz's was really generic.

Still pissed there's no paired endings.

And these endings are so bad, wtf. I'm glad I did this twice so I know AG is also just going to randomly end.

xxx

#golden wildfire #fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #three hopes #three hopes spoilers #golden wildfire spoilers

[prettyboykatsuki]

Okay but if we consider pro heroes akin to pro athletes who all mostly retire by 40 bc they get put through the wringer physically……. silver fox retired Bakugo would absolutely be a househusband 🫣

tags ; gn!reader, househusband!bkg, there's a pretty big age gap but both characters are well into adulthood lol

swear we share braincells because this is genuinely the one scenario i can see househusband bkg to its fullest and most canon extent and GODDD it makes me crazy.

bakugou is a late bloomer when it comes to interpersonal relationships. he’s the word busy in human form. he spent his entire adult life on one long, strenuous path to number one and achieved what most people could only hope to do in 3 lifetimes. he has accolades, wealth, charity - and time has softened his public image to something of a lovable grump and less of a raging hot-head.

all that being said, there's very little in his life in the way of meaningful romantic partnerships. the number is closer to 0 than it is one, really. he's had feelings for people but not enough energy or time to make something of it. and he's good at repressing those feelings in the first place so they've never surfaced or blossomed. he didn't want them too.

after the war ended, there was more regulations with being a hero than before. mostly of social expectations. a documentary of allmights early life struck the public and it became custom to retire before 50 - or at least work significantly less. that, ontop of the sustained injury in his knees leaves bakugou retired in his early 40's.

and surprisingly, he wasn't as against as he thought he'd be. maybe he was just tired deep down, but more than that - he achieved what he wanted. he spent a long few years as number one and since then has gone back and forth with deku on the charts. he's done the only thing he really wanted, which was to have some sort of historic impact on the world like the hero admired so much.

and he achieve that before 50. so now he was retired. somehow it's anticlimatic.

after he's done, he can't find what else to do with his life. he does what anyone else who's retired to but he's still spry and healthy. he gardens. he cooks and cleans. he goes to film festivals and drinks with friends and rock-climbs and helps on cases. he lectures sometimes, when they want him somewhere and goes to some public events. he even volunteers. takes care of his friends kids all of which are teens now.

and all of that is fine, but he does miss the work. he misses feeling like he's needed somewhere instead of sitting on his hands all day.

bakugou meets you coincidentally. it's an informal meeting, and deku introduces you. just about how to handle his assets moving forward, you're some kind of finacial advisor.

you're in your mid 30s, professional and charismatic. it's very clear your good at your job, and bakugou likes competent people. one meeting turns into a few more less casual ones. becomes hang-outs, becomes drinks together and a dinner date and at some point he has to admit to himself.

for the first time, in his whole entire life, bakugou has feelings for someone in a completely viable way. he's a little weary about the age gap for a while, but you're both well into adulthood by now. and he probably needs to stop nit-picking whats maybe his last chance at a love life.

he gets over it, eventually. and finds himself in your company, learning about your life as an office worker. about you, and the smart way you talk and the way you soothe some of his growing pains. he's deeply in love before he has a chance to think twice.

you both shared two woes, the first one being a house too big and the second one being needs.

you needed to take better care of yourself. bakugou needed something to do that fulfilled this perpetual emptiness.

he wasn't trying to rush marriage. in fact, you brought it up first over dinner. he thinks that's a very you thing to do, in hindsight. it was an unromantic proposal to many - but the practical conversation was merely a reminder of all things bakugou adored about you to begin with.

it's weird, in a way. when he'd imagined his possible married life as a young hero - he thought it'd be inversed. he'd marry someone who he came home to.

but he's well into his mid-forties, with a ring on one-hand and a grey apron he wears around the house. he packs bentos and makes protein shakes, and even writes up a work-out routine that he explains carefully how to do it on your tight schedule. you have a career you'll probably do until you're retired.

and neither of you need the money. you could probably retire right now if you wanted to - but bakugou likes the way things have unfolded. he likes that you're busy (only sometimes). he likes being at home and looking after you like some mother hen and he likes that he's the person you kiss at the door every day before leaving and when you return.

he remembers wondering often why his dad was doing something like this when he was younger - but he finally starts to wrap his head around it in full. hairs starting to go grey, the lines in his face starting to show more.

he's just as happy being your househusband as he was when he's off fighting crime. and sometimes, he catches himself smiling about the way his life turned out.

#return to sender #househusband!bakugou #hes so important to me plu... #also you sent this in NOVEMBER im so sorry dsfkfsjdk #writing tag #katsuki <3 #im just clearing my drafts up a bit

[jeroidk]

Maybe it's because i finished vol.2 just like an hour ago and because i feel empty inside and not in a good way but

Even without the queerbaiting, i feel like this episodes were just awful.

Mike had a total of 0 development, 0 depth. Actually, i feel like they fucked up the development he had in the previous seasons and vol.1

His life started when he met El in the woods? Did they really just reduced him to Eleven's love interest when he used to be the main character? When he had the most beautiful friendship with Will in s1-s2?

Mike is his own whole person. "My life started when i met you" my ass. What happened to "you said yes. It was the best thing i've ever done"???? Talk about ruining a character.

And they didn't even gave us an explanation as to why he was acting like an asshole? All of that just because he couldn't say "i love you" to El because of no reason at all? Was the "because what if they don't like the truth?" just for nothing?

And don't even get me started on the painting reveal. It had SO much potential, it could have been such an important moment for both Mike and Will's development but it didn't do anything. Noah gave such an amazing performance with the crying and the speech but it lead to nothing. Will is just the "sad gay in love with his best friend" trope. At least he had a little beautiful moment with Jonathan, so i guess that's something.

But they didn't even adressed Will's sexuality at all. It was kept in the subtext. We all know Will is gay but they didn't commit to his plot line. I'm not even asking about a full-on coming out scene for various reasons but they could have made a scene like when Robin came out to Steve. She didn't need to say "i'm a lesbian" but the message was there, loud and clear. But no, Will didn't deserve that apparently, even when that's all the plot line he had this season because he keeps getting pushed to the side. HE USED TO BE A MAIN CHARACTER. I HATE THIS.

And his cute speech to Mike was used for Mileven? Just so Mike could say "i love you" to her? It's that all gay people can expect when it comes to representation in a mainstream show? To be used to build a hetero couple that's been falling for 2 seasons?

And the Stancy plot line lead to nothing. And Jancy is still just there, existing, slowly losing all that made them super likeable in the first seasons.

And they killed Max, but now El has healing powers? What the fuck was that, it felt so deux-ex-machina. Also, i'm sorry if some of you found it good, but the whole piggyback felt so anticlimatic to me. Why was there a memory from little max??? It didn't serve any purpose???

And we had this villain who can literally feed on people's trauma, which was the most awesome scenario to reveal what's been going on inside Mike's head, but no, all we had was just another epic fight between El and the big bad, like every season.

What a waste of time.

#stranger things 4 #stranger things 4 vol.2 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #vecna

[general-cyno]

I recently saw someone on YT talking about Zoro's past and while I agree that his flashback feels rushed within the story (which I think can be explained by how early it happens) what always surprises me is how unsettling it is for people. It's a simple but sharp reality in a fantasy world, quite similar to what happens in Usopp's past and perhaps not so common for the rest of the OP world, who have pasts more rooted in the rules of that universe. Kuina died after falling down the stairs. "In OP's world there are people who survive worse things..." they say. "It's absurd. She was trained and very strong." Yeah, sure, but Kuina died like that. Suddenly. Anticlimatically. She was as full of dreams and ambitions, fears and insecurities as everyone else. But she died in an accident. She died too soon. Without a reason. With no one to blame. Simple, cruel and real.

Y'know, I've seen this around a lot. especially in posts (on r/ddit and twt in my case) where people argue about zoro having a "mid" backstory or complain about wanting oda to give him a proper one. and ngl I feel like this pairs up with OP fandom's bad habit of powerscaling everything - even loss, trauma and grief.

Sure, if you compare kuina's death to all the other ones throughout OP it might not seem as "tragic", but this is one of those instances in which context and individual experiences matter most. kuina was just a kid who, despite her strength and training, was led to believe by her own father that her gender would become the reason she'd never achieve her dreams. and when she finally finds someone who believes in her, who sees her as an equal and a goal to strive towards to, who's willing fight against and alongside her - she dies. as you mention: she dies without reason, with no one to blame. that is plenty tragic to me, regardless of all other sad or abhorrent things that happen in the story's universe.

This is just me speculating but I've also wondered if the fact that zoro's relatively well-adjusted despite the hardships and losses he's lived through is part of what makes people downplay both kuina's death and the role it plays in zoro's backstory/motivations. because the thing is - zoro may not carry or express his losses and grief as outwardly as other characters do, but look at how he reacts when the people he loves are in danger and the kind of sacrifices he's willing to make so that they'll be safe. how he's usually always keeping an eye on and watching out for all of them some way or the other. look at how he cries (which iirc he's done on page only three times) when he loses the duel against mihawk.

Zoro, similarly to other straw hats, had his parents die due to pirates or bc of an illness, grew up as an orphan, and the only friend he had died in a manner he couldn't do anything to foresee or prevent as well; the latter of which has impacted his life all the way to adulthood. kuina's memory is one that's at the forefront of what he does, just like his promise to luffy. draw the parallel between this, how fiercely protective he is and how much he hates the idea of dying in circumstances out of his control (I'd argue it even terrifies him a little, judging by his reaction to the reaper in wano) and it's easy to see how much his experiences, and especially kuina's death, have shaped him as a character. just bc he's not crying, having breakdowns or generally brooding about it every time he appears on screen doesn't make his life story less important, sad or tragic than anyone else's. plus, the stability he provides to luffy and the crew is crucial, so he needs less narrative reasons to leave them, not more. zoro not having, for example, a centric rescue arc doesn't make him less of a straw hat member either.

#tp #replies #thank you for this! it's smth I've thought and wanted to talk abt as well #I kind of went on a tangent by the end sorry

[wyrdle]

An AI Clavell + AI Arven AU i’ve been musing, but will probably never draw to its fullest. Snippets under the cut:

CW: character death, grief, poor mental health, suicide (OG Clavell’s)

Summary: A young Arven tragically dies from falling at the steep cliffs of Cabo Poco. With no reasons to stay at their new home, the Zerotrio stay holed up in Area Zero. Despite Clavell's initial hesitance of the project, and even desire to leave the place post tera orb project... Being above ground hurts/reminds them all but especially Clavell of what could have been.

So. The three profs dive into their research, it's still focused on bringing Pokemon over, but there is a hint of a hidden hope that they could find and save Arven. ( It's a fool's dream, they know, what with the complications that would follow... but they hope regardless.) Area Zero becomes both a  prison and sanctuary for all of them... though it's probably the worst for Clavell. Eventually, the respective Miraidon and Koraidon’s kill Sada and Turo, and Clavell is left all alone in his self imposed prison.

He eventually makes AI versions of himself, and even AI Arven (no memories, just an approximation). Imagine: Young Arven’s haunting laughter throughout Area Zero, since it’s his playground. AI Turo and Sada are harder to finish, and OG Clavell eventually succumbs to his grief via suicide. Survived by him is his AI, and of course, the time machine that needs to be stopped. PPP is a manifestation of a grieving professor Clavell, not fuelled by personal ambition, only desperation to have his family back.

Additional dialogue bits of AI Clavell I wrote:

AI Clavell: " The professor... was not always like this. He once wanted to leave the crater to live out the rest of his life. He had wanted to be a part of the academy even, with the dreamy goal of becoming director."

AI Clavell: "I think the professor would have much preferred to live with Arven away from the crater... had the boy..." AI Clavell pauses, as if to collect himself. "... had the boy not died."

AI Clavell: "Although I am not the professor, and that is not his son, he is as dear to me as he was to the grieving professors. "

AI Clavell: "Arven's death made leaving the crater hard, and I think... being in isolation with professors Sada and Turo affected his judgement. After witnessing their deaths firsthand... ruined his heart."

AI Clavell: "Now I carry with me the professor's memories, and boundless love for the rest of Paldea's people and Pokemon. I cannot comprehend the intricacies of human guilt and emotion, but had the professor not been consumed by his grief and trauma... I do not think he would want the time machine to destroy Paldea's ecosystems."

AI Clavell: "It is your right, of course, to judge him and cement that as your opinion of him. But please understand, Professor Clavell was ultimately a kind man... trapped first by his grief for Arven, then his love for his dearest friends. Area Zero is as much a prison for me as it was for him."

AI Clavell: "I sincerely hope you will assist me in destroying the time machine... and allow the original Professor Clavell to rest in peace. Please... for Arven's sake and the Professor's late memory, defeat me."

PPP CLAVELL: I 4m s0 cl05e t0.... t0... brinGIng them b4ck.. y-y0u wi11 n0t st4nd in my w4y!

PPP Clavell upon defeat: I 0nly ever w4nted them b4ck... whY is p4r4dise s0 cl0se yet s0 f4r? The AI w4nt5 to le4ve thi5 pl4ce, but we c4nnot, I- c4nnot, I mu5t n0t.

“I ju5t w4nted- my friend5- my f4mi1y- b4ck. H-help me- “

Slowly, the AI professor crumpled to the floor, knees hitting the obsidian tiles with an anticlimatic thud. The small robot boy who had been hiding by Nemona's side let go of her hand, dashing forward to tackle the now powerless protection protocol in a hug.

"4rven-" it manages to sob, mimicking shallow breaths and shedding crystalline flecks till its light blue eyes were restored.

-----

I have some other stray notes about how Paldea’s very different in this au too, but eh. This isn’t going anywhere besides my vivid imagination haha

#director clavell #clavell #clavell x sada x turo #clavell/sada/turo #zerotrioshipping #zerotrio ship #this is pure whump i know #ai clavell au #ai arven au #sketches

[shine-reblogs]

Errant Kingdom: thoughts about the Finale (spoiler alert: am disappointed)

Sorry for putting negative opininons in the tags, but I've seen it done before and I'm warning you to stop reading now if you don't wanna see it. That said, spoilers for everything ahead, read at your own risk.

(I wanna complain in detail, so I'm gonna break every point down)

•Where's my Convergence

Up until the finale the game was hinting towards all three routes merging at the end. And then it just. didn't. This would've been okay if from the start Nomad/Knight/Ambassador were the three roles you could choose, and even if they were nods towards the other two, they didn't have any real weight on the story and who you chose was the only, well, Chosen One. But they didn't do that!! It's obvious all three routes are supposed to happen simultaneously!! Maja literally tells Knight they're not the only one marked, Raiden tells Ambassador if they know anything about Knight because Erik is worried about them (implying their being snatched by the gods), I'm pretty sure in Nomad x Erik he tells them they're not the one they were looking for/expecting (he was looking for Knight!). And then in the finale they forgot about the existence of the roles you didn't choose. What happened with the other two Chosen ones. I get it would've been difficult to orchestrate this, but if you build up expectations then you need to live up to them.

•Erik's Bloodline

Where the actual hell did that come from?! You can't just pull that kinda stuff out your arse at the end in a haha gotcha, if you wanted to go for that you should've left hints. And no, having him exiled on weird circumstances isn't a hint. I assumed their Majesties set up a trap for him because he was a good knight who cared about people and that doesn't bode well for you when you're doing things that will actively harm said people. And in this assumed scenario it makes sense they exiled him? They didn't need him dead, just out of any position that holds power. But with the actual reason? Him being the Chosen One the only who can defeat their plans and their god? Yeah, I'm not buying that they went "well maybe exile will be enough lol".

Plus, Erik being from a bloodline of kings and then becoming King it's. eh. Don't get me wrong I'm not mad that he is King, he would make an amazing one, but I kinda wish getting back his old life (now upgraded) wasn't the only way he can get his happy ever after. It would've been cool if they went for 'what happened was not your fault and you don't need to go back to your old life for happiness', but I understand that's a subjective thing.

•Sword for the Ambassador

This is how I dubbed the fact that no matter which role you take the Mythical Item To Defeat God is a sword. Even when you're an ambassador that (canonically) hasn't held a blade in their life and just barely gets the basics of how to hold a dagger before the final battle. Yeah, sure, just strap the thing to their back and sent them to battle, what could go wrong? The sword made sense for Knight, but I assumed the item would be different for every role tailored to each on'es skills.

•The Final Battle

It was kind of anticlimatic after all the build up of it being a battle between gods/gods' Chosen Ones. And in the end it's a man with a bloodline and magic sword, a Fake Chosen One, and a god that *checks notes* gets distracted by mages throwing debris at them. This is where convergence and magic items tailored to each role would've been awesome.

•Suddenly Important Triplets

Look. I'm not against having the triplets have an important role, but the last time they appeared was all the way back in the prologue, Ambassador route only, and they were presented as kind of shallow and dumb. And now they are the masters of secrets holding super important information? What?! If they wanted to go for this it should have been hinted so that, at least in hindsight, it makes sense.

Also, side note on the favours. They should be different for every role. Up until I caught up that the three routes were not hapenning simultaneosuly anymore I thought good lord why is everyone being asked for Erik's hair. But no. Not everyone. Just who you're playing as because the other two Chosen Ones are not that important anymore and hold no role in the story.

•Dialogue Recycling

I mean, in the end a lot of the other points are tied to this. They wrote one thing and made the bare necessary changes to make it for the three roles. And we've seen dialogue recycling before! Sometimes it's necessary! In ch5 we've seen some dialogue recycling, but it was less... obnoxious is not the word I'm looking for but it will have to do, and generally made more sense (there were a couple instances in the polyam options were the recycled dialogue implied you'd entered the romance from the wrong side, but I'm not here to critique ch5, let's stick to the finale). However, in the finale the dialogue recycling has been constant across all three roles. Not much to distinguish if you're playing as Knight, Ambassador, of Nomad from the events/dialogue except how people address you. Before every route was distinctly different.

•Loose Threads

It drives me nuts that we've had the finale without all questions being answered. What the fuck happened with the cultist at the forest, for once? It was given so much importance and then they were not to be seen or even mentioned again. And what about Callisto's hiring of Raiden? I'm okay with not knowing how she got the Guild's favour (I would be more okay if the sisters were introduced from the start as sneaky and secretive little bitches), but who is Rai murdering? He even mentions it's a job he would have gotten eventually and it feels wird af that you can't even guess about it?

•No Time for Love

This might be slightly more petty, but it is a big pet peeve of mine when once a romantic route is selected you actually have less romance/content with the LI instead of more. But it's only a natural outcome when you combine 'Where's my Convergence' and 'Dialogue Recycling'

•King, Queen, and Special Little Friend

More petty things, but why don't MC, Erik, and Maja rule as a throuple in the polyam routes? I could buy it that Nomad doesn't want to because they made it clear they do not want to live in court like that (and still Maja and Erik could pester them about it). But with Knight and Ambassador? If ruling by three isn't a concept yet then their new Majesties would certainly make it one.

•I Love You but I Love Heist More

Also a petty one, but it didn't feel right for Lucien to leave for the next heist when you just started your relationship with them. Lucien, who so romantically told you that being so ancient they count time not by the seasons but by the lives of those they love. But then they can't wait the blink of a human lifetime for the next heist? Or failing that take you with them? I get that in the polyam routes Raiden has to stay in Novus as the new Viper, and that MC would stay with him rather than leave too, but the monogamous route? Kinda unnecessary for MC to stay.

(And then again, if Lucien is so ancient what is a human lifetime to them? Heist is good and all but are you really telling me it's the only source of entertainment you get? My friend, I say this as someone who loves you: you need to get hobbies)

•Bad Ending

I could write a whole essay on this, but enough to say that the Bad Ending isn't bad as in tragic but bad as in nonsensical. Why can Novoth make you replace the god who marked you? Why does that make you forgive you about yourself, your friends, your lifes and experiences? Why does everything go to shit immediately after (the gods told that Novoth wanted a utopia eventually leading to ruin, not the apocalypse? But well, they made Novoth straight up evill instead of not understanding how humanity works which was a far more attractive idea, so yeah. I could make a whole other point about this, actually). Additionally, why do your friends give up immediately after and scatter? They had strong bonds tying them together before you came around!!

Also, if you change your mind last minute and switch to the Good End halfway through it is. the most. nonsensical thing. of all.

And that has been all!! Thanks for coming to my TED talk. If you're still reading I commend your commitment.

I genuinely liked the game (still do, finale notwithstanding), the characters and overall game up until ch5 were amazing and it seemed like they were leading to an equally amazing finale. I was wrong. But I became attached to the LIs and my OCs, so I'll still be obsessed with this game for the foreseeable future.

All in all, bad canon exists so fanon can thrive, I guess, so I'll be working on my own fanfix for the finale because it deserved better.

#errant kingdom #errant kingdom finale #errant kingdom spoilers #visual novel #lunaris games #what not to do #criticism #look I don't know what to tag this tbh #long post #shines randomness #shine rants #shine is random #shine posts

[generalsmemories]

ifound a post abt jing yuan from someone and i rlly wnanna know what u think abt the cutscene w luocha and jingliu ToT im not head deep into lore but i got the gist of it. im so concerned for this man. 3/4 of his besties r criminals, supposed to be dead hates each other one doesnt even remember anything blade cant die whatever jingliu is upto w susboy merchant is probably not good and the 1/4 baiheng is dead-dead (i fink) ToT how does he livew w it

saurs if i got it all wrong the highcloud quintet is a mess and jing yuan is the minimum wage sweeper

spoilers ahead so if you haven't played through the 1.3 epilogue of xianzhou look away

with every new patch i fear for this mans health and wellbeing fr fr.

The High Cloud Quintet lore is just the meme of me going: WANNA SEE HOW MUCH I CAN CRY? before i proceed to sob my entire soul out at this point i love these people so unnaturally much that the fallout is just a big slap over and over again.

I can also go on about High Cloud Quintet but for the sake of my sanity I won't-

The cutscene with Jingliu and Luocha very much insinuates that we're going to return to the Xianzhou in the future, which I do hope we get more explantion this time around because how the storytellers handled Xianzhou was very much an up and down rollercoaster with an anticlimatic ending. (i just like jing yuan so i can hype myself enough by seeing his 3D model on screen, but otherwise the ending left much more to be desired).

As for the actual cutscene - Jingliu here ready to actually go for the Aeon herself and not the abominations who worship them. I don't know how much of her sanity is left within her since I have to put on my actual reading comprehension glasses on to piece stuff together from my own notes HAHAHA All I can say is that Luocha actually hating Yaoshi with a passion was a bit unexpected, but I'm very much up for this expy of Otto to kill an Aeon whose whole goal is to give life to people wanting it.

Jing Yuan left behind to fix whatever the hell happened. He may have not suffered as much as the other 4, BUT BOY DOES HE HAVE TO KEEP REMEMBERING THEM TO PROTECT THE XIANZHOU LMFAO

#narus' message corner #anon #IM DARN SURE THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED TO READ AS A RESPONSE BUT I JUST SAW HIGH CLOUD QUINTET AND ZEROED IN ON THAT #THE OTHER STUFF BECAME AN AFTERTHOUGHT #but at the moment dear anon my head is empty #no thoughts only jing yuan #give me 2-3 business days before i suddenly make a post screaming. #i can guarantee you it's bound to happen sobs

[ultfreakme]

What did you think of Saturo Gojo's death? Was it a forced and anticlimactic death? Do you think he can come back to life again? If he comes back will he lose his powers? Thank you for always answering our questions.

Initially I was disappointed and felt it to be anticlimatic because Gojo v Geto/Kenjaku has been built up since JJK 0. The strongest sorcerer and the worst curse user! Former friends(lovers), current enemies(exes)! The set-up seemed like it was Sukuna v Yuuji and Kenjaku v Gojo.

But after some time, I get it, tbh. Yuuta was the MC of JJK 0 and his animosity with Geto has already been set up. Gojo himself brings up Yuuta when mentioning fighting Kenjaku so this was a long time coming. It makes sense to me now why Yuuta dealt the killing blow. Love is a curse, Gojo killing Kenjaku would curse Geto indirectly again and Gojo doesn't want to do that again, ever.

The only other opponent left is Sukuna and the final fight with him will HAVE to be Yuuji. There's no other choice.

With Kenjaku gone, Sukuna weakened, and Yuuji growing strong, there's no point in Gojo returning. What's he gonna do if he returns? With or without his powers? He also got what he wanted.

Raise a group of sorcerers who work together for the common good? Check

Have Geto's body put to rest? Indirectly check because Yuuta is his student and he trusted him on that

Find someone he can be on equal grounds with and finally be understood in his loneliness? CHECK

Find satisfaction? Check. He said he's happier in his death dream/actual purgatory/ airport afterlife thing. The two people who could make him satisfied were Sukuna and Geto. Sukuna gave him the best fight of his life where he actually had to work and got the chance to go all out, Geto's dead so in life, he can't do anything about what he wants from Geto. Dream or not, Gojo finally met Geto again, he WANTS that meeting to be real. Bringing him out of it is just going to take away whatever peace he found in fighting Sukuna and speaking with Geto.

Gojo's story is done. He'd be redundant now. The only big bad left is Sukuna, and whatever Kenjaku has planned could probably be dealt with by the rest of the cast (it's a fucking powerful cast too). It's time for the new gen.

I also can't see Gege wanting to bring him back when he has stated a bunch of times how difficult it is to write Gojo. Practically speaking I think he could do RCT and come back. but like, I don't see it happening.

I do have one scenario in which I'd like to see him revived; He makes a binding vow or something which sacrifices his Six Eyes in exchange for an extra few minutes(heheh 6 minutes maybe) of living where he can assist the kids and he's back to being dead again after the time is up. An encouraging message to Yuuta and Yuuji maybe and bye-bye.

If he does come back to full-time, his story arc might be about defining himself outside of being 'The Honored One' but lbr he'd be fucking miserable because all his friends sans Shoko are dead. Does Gojo WANT to define himself outside of his powers? I've never seen him express the desire to lower himself, only that he wishes others would rise to his level. This is, I think, the best way to end his story. A tragedy, a young god.

The only thing keeping me not depressed is the idea of the after life being seemingly canon in JJK so hey, maybe Gojo will find happiness, a long life and satisfaction in his next life cycle?

Also thanks for sending all these asks I adore answering them, it gets my brain juices flowing, I love looking deeper into my fandoms and their stories!

#riki asks #jjk meta #gojo satoru #jjk manga #jujutsu kaisen

[eerna]

I think I put a finger on why the S2 of sab feels so off. It's like the writers changed everything about the original story but still looked to the books to inform them how the characters should feel. They didn't consider what kind of consequences the changes they made should have. Inej should have some kind of moment after learning that Tante Heleen is dead, it's her equivalent of Rollins for Kaz. Same with Kaz, going straight into the plot with the blade right after the rushed brick by brick arc without any change or resolution for him as a person just feels so anticlimatic, and these are just examples. It's like the emotional stakes not changing accordingly when the story changes.

Yeah exactly!!!! In the books, the "I buried your boy" scene comes after Kaz tells Inej about how he'd dealt with every other person involved in the scam Pekka pulled on him. We see how insane and cruel he gets in his quest of revenge, that not even the little girl who was his age at the time it happened escaped his wrath. We need to see Kaz open up to believe that he could kill an innocent child. Same goes for Inej, we need to learn what her connection to Heleen is like, how it impacted her life, before she just dies offscreen and no one ever mentions her again. Why couldn't Tante Heleen collaborate with Pekka??? Why did she have to die??????? It's all so weird and dumb

#miaukk #eernask #eernask talk grishaverse #sab spoilers #AND ALSO WHAT DID SHOW KAZ EVEN DO TO DESERVE TO BE SEEN AS A MONSTER #book kaz threatens a 5 year old in the opening of the book. he goes crazy insane violent at people. #show kaz beats up a bunch of guys who tried to kill him. what else does he do. huh.

[flightfoot]

Do you think it’s a flaw that in trials of Apollo they never confronted Zeus, cause I remember a lot of people wanting that prior to book 5.

It surprised me at first when I read Tower of Nero, and the meeting between Apollo and Zeus was so understated, but... it made sense. Apollo impresses on us, the audience, how much of an abusive father and a tyrant Zeus is, so we go in with the expectation that he's gonna be taken down, as usually happens with villains in these kinds of books.

But that's not what Apollo's character journey is about. There ARE times when you can take down the horrible parent who's hurt you so much, who's controlling your life. We saw that with the confrontation between Meg and Nero, which Apollo specifically parallels with the relationship between him and Zeus on many occasions. Nero, they're able to take down, to free Meg and all of Nero's other victims.

But with Zeus... it's not like that. Apollo isn't going to just stab him to get rid of him, nor can he actually leave his grasp. So his character development is about how he can figure out how best to function even though he CAN'T get out of Zeus's toxic reach entirely. And there's a lot of value in that! Not everyone CAN just get away from a powerful, abusive figure like that. Sometimes you just have to figure out how best to function regardless. You can't always control other people, and sometimes you can't control the circumstances - but you can control yourself, how you respond.

So yeah. I think it was powerful, the way Tower of Nero ended with Zeus. I do think that if the story continued forward that something more would need to change with Zeus - I can't see Apollo being willing to put up with Zeus's dickery when it comes to the demigods - but for where it ended and what it was trying to do, I think the ending with Zeus, though anticlimatic, was good.

#ask #trials of apollo #apollo #lester papadopoulos #zeus #toa analysis

[crazy-loca-blog]

I said this to a friend but roommates with benefits Mc friend sounded out of character completely at first she's like oh yeah girl you should do him ,but now she's acting antagonistic towards drew it felt like there was supposed to be 2 best friend for mc cause she wasnt acting like that before.

First, I'm so sorry for taking this long to answer! Adulthood sucks, and for the first time in weeks I had a moment to sit down and properly check Tumblr.

Second... YEEEEESSSS!!!!!! YES TO ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!

(Spoilers under the cut)

I swear I don't understand Samira, she's so weird!! I don't know if the writers made her a mess on purpose or if they just didn't pay enough attention when they developed her character. For some reason I knew she was going to be caught at the party, but when the MC saved her ass (it was the right thing to do), I was like "that's it? they're besties again? Drew isn't that awful anymore?". That was so anticlimatic!

I'm also getting tired of her being overprotective, especially because the MC doesn't behave that way towards her. I know she's right about the MC not caring about her scholarship and her studies, and I get it, she's the best friend who cares about her, but life is about making mistakes and grow up, and she's not letting the MC to grow up. It's suffocating. I wonder if we can just set up Samira and Dutch or Inez, so that she stops being our MC's mom! 😂

Anyway, I keep telling this book is a joke, but for some reason it has me hooked! I stopped having guilty pleasures forever ago, but this feels like a new one! 😂 I'm so torn when it comes to the MC's behavior! Did you read the latest chapter? I wasn't expecting that ending AT ALL!! That was just so freaking cute!! It melted my heart, and I can't wait to read the next chapter!! I know the premise is that Drew is trying to change the MC, but I'm sure he's just beginning to show a side of him that no one knows and I can't wait to find out what he becomes, because he has all the potential to become one of those amazingly written LIs. I hope the writers don't screw this up.

#answered asks #playchoices #choices stories you play #roommates with benefits

[syyskirjat]

I'm late for the end of Carmilla Weekly but here we have it, Carmilla's ending is even more anticlimatic than Dracula's.

At least in Dracula the heroine gets to be present for the vampire slaying, and she gets to narrate it even though Dracula had a bunch of other POV characters Stoker COULD have used there.

Laura becomes extremely sidelined from the actual narrative in the last few chapters to the point that there's a huge temptation to read into it. Also since she struggles so much seeing Carmilla as a monster, even after hearing the general's story, that she's just asking for Carmilla even right before the end.

From her point of view the men in her life just went off and came back, telling her they killed her friend because the friend was a demon. And she accepts it but doesn't describe her reaction to it, doesn't really describe much of anything after Carmilla is gone, except the lingering trauma.

And the last sentence... I don't know if it was intended as such but I always thought there might have been a hint there about Carmilla maybe coming back... she IS a vampire after all. And this is the last thing we hear from Laura, and according to the preface she died young. (It's probably just more trauma and she's just having flashbacks or hallucinations, but my version would be more interesting.)

The other thing that gets to me is the bleak notion that vampires face an even worse fate after their destruction. This is something Stoker was clearly not a fan of since so much of Dracula is about the characters convincing themselves that destroying the vampire leads to their soul being at peace. The narrative in Carmilla is much more tragic, there is just no hope for you once you become a vampire, apparently. Either you become a killer for eternity or you suffer an even worse fate.

And that brings me to Bertha: did she become one too, or did they deal with her body in time to prevent it? Is she also doomed for eternity despite never having the chance to kill anyone? Or was she saved by an early intervention?

I guess you can always hope that Vordenburg was just wrong, but that's not how it's presented. It seems that at least Mircalla will have to go through whatever "horrible life" he talked about.

It's basically a trolley problem ending, right? You have to doom Mircalla or she will keep killing others forever, even though she herself was originally an innocent victim too.

(Was the mother character the one who turned her, I wonder? Her vampiric "mother"?)

It's also obviously easy to read this as a metaphor for "predatory homosexuals". It's not that Mircalla is a vampire, it's that she's gay because she was turned gay and now she in her turn is turning other innocent young women gay and she must be killed and she will go to hell for her sins.

At least that's how I assume it's supposed to be read. There are definitely other ways to read it though. And even if we do accept that as the intended reading, that just encourages alternative readings: the men killed Carmilla and told Laura it was because Carmilla was a monster and that she was doomed to suffer for eternity. But that's only if you take their word for it. They say she's doomed, but is she? They say she was a monster but was she? If the men represent homophobia, should we believe them?

Idk, this has been a lot of incoherent rambling, I'm sorry. This story has a way of driving me mad. It's bad in exactly the kind of ways that make me obsess over it. I can't let it go. There're so many interesting threads here that seem to go nowhere or that end in an unsatisfying way and I can't leave it alone. (It's the same except even more so with Christabel which literally was left unfinished, and there's a lot to say about the similarities and differences between the two stories.) I could keep rambling, but I'm gonna call it here for now.

#carmilla weekly #carmilla

[turkeyjournal]

Book Review: Love untold Ruth Jones

Just want to preface there WILL be spoilers so, dont read if you dont want spoilers.

Overall RATING: 5.8/10

Brief Description: The book consists of 4 women: Grace, Alys, Elin and Beca. A story of mothers and daughters rekindiling and trying to get through life during struggles that they all faced through out the years. From Beca, a 16 year old student going through her GSCE till Grace, a grandmother who is just turning 90. The story starts off as Grace is turning 90 years old and doesnt want a giant commotion, she just wants to have a quiet celebration and time with her family nothing else. But Elin and the rest of her family all want to suprise her with a birthday party.

My Personal Thoughts: The book was alright. I think 500 pages might be a little excesive, do i believe there were some chapters that couldve been cut out of the book entirely? Defenitly. I did pick out some spelling errors which set the mood off and looked a little funky when reading, did have to re read it a few times. The start was good, it was clear to know what was going on and who is who. I enjoyed the dynamic between Elin and Beca because i could relate to it in a way with my mother. I also thourghouly enjoyed graces charcter and how they put this mysterious telling on Alys, i genuninly was excited to know who this Alys girl was. But i will say i feel the story wouldve been better if we didnt get Alys's POV. It wouldve been cooler if they just made her this mysterious charcter and then give us her POV when she rekindled with Grace. I didnt really care enough for Alys's POV's and i wouldve been able to enjoy it more if they didnt come RIGHT after Elin and Becas POV's (Those 2 had some of the best POV's in the whole book) And would alwayssssss give us Alys's boring pointless POV right after this intense fight between Elin and her husband. Like no girl, I DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR RECOVERY SORRY (Not really, litreally they were so boring i even skipped some pages from Alys's chapters LOL.)

Some parts of the story were just unnecesary and some stuff i could just perdict by how the story was going. For example: When Beca kissed Soozi and realized she was gay i already knew it was going to happen from the moment she met Soozi. Unpopular opinon and i dont know if anyone will agree on this but, Beca being gay had no point in this story. Like i would get if Elin or anyone else got like angry at her for being gay and then we had some drama with that but like Beca just came out to Elin and was like "Omg! Yes queen lesbian slayyy! I support even though you failed all your GCSE!!! Go QUEER!" GIRL. Doesnt make any sense and was POINTLESS. I feel Ruth couldve really gone into a more deeper part of that but she just added this unnescary giant plot and just gave it just a anticlimatic finish.

On the contrary, i will say Beca failing her GCSE was TOP TIER storyline. Tell me why i was litreally SHAKING when Beca was getting her results. I like how Ruth doesnt give us a happy ending, showing a real raw and true way of how these usually go. Beca didnt just magically get all A+ (Forgive me if my GSCE knowledge is wrong, i do IB) But she actually failed and i think Ruth really portrayed that failure well. I loved Erin's reaction to it. Loved the irony that she is the head teacher and her daughter failed all her GSCE execpt for a few. The way Ruth displayed the fight between Elin and Beca after getting her results was so well written. I was really feeling devestaed and stressed out, almost as if it was me who failed. So really well done on that.

Now the reason i gave this book a 5.8 was because i felt that i kind of forced myself to read this. I did finish it in 2 days but i also did pull a all nighter so.. I think the ending was what just brought the rating all the way down. First off, i am not homophobic in any way. I think queer couples should be added into a storyline WHEN NECESSARY and that it fits the plot and timeline but i think near the end Ruth just gave up and realized she had free will and started throwing in a bunch queer couples. Grace being in a realitonship with Cissie was so OUT OF NOWHERE i kind of love it. Defenitly twisted the plot REALLL fast, not to mention GRACE DYING???!??!!? I legit had to GET UP from my bed because i couldnt believe what i had just read. It was SUCH A GOOD PLOT TWIST, it was so sudden i was like "omg NOOO" I really loved Grace (Kind of) and her death was super shocking. But i still stand that her being in a realtionship with Cisse was as if said again........ POINTLESS! If Grace maybe showed a secert that she was like running from the government or hiding a dark family secert or something else IDK! Really anticlimatic and kind of made me cringe.

The ending was kind of sweet, i liked the bittersweetness of it. I was just happy that Elin got a happy ending and didnt go back to her CHEATING HUSBAND SCUM BAG. When i thought that she was gonna go back to her husband for a moment i actually almost punched a whole in that book and was gonna stop reading it all together. But THANKFULLY, by the grace of god (and my begging) she did not. But i wish Ruth continued the realitonship between the gardner and her, but all and all i get not starting anything, its realistic. I liked Elin the most, defenitly my favorite charcter and felt like i could relate to her the most.

My least favorite charcter had to be Alys. I dont really hate anyone to be honest, i actually liked alot of the charcters and none of them really irked me or ticked me off. But im just saying Alys cause i could not STAND her in the flashbacks between Alys and Grace. It reminded me of that quote where it went "The daughter and father secerlty ridicule the mother" or something along the lines. She irked me then with her sheer ignorance and disrespect but again she was a teenager so i wasnt like blaming her for doing this, again she witnessed her father die so i could imagine the trauma that causes.

Overall, would i read it again? Maybe, but i would only read certian parts. A 500 page story that could be fitted into 300 pages. Sooooo yup. I would recommend to read it was really intresting and was a good kind of drama/ family drama book.

#books #ruth jones #reading #booklr #long reads #book review

[kiss-this]

I've been listening to Rush! on repeat for the last two days (via youtube because Amazon chose this particular deliver to suck) and it all still feels new, so I may change my mind on a bunch of things. Anyway, so far, this is what I think.

This album actually better than what I thought, not because my expectations where low for some reason but simply because a) this is the first true test in front of an international audience for the band, and I bet they've been under a lot of pressure thanks to all those booooring "true rock fans" just waiting for them to make a mistake, plus all those booooring they've_gone_to_america_they've_lost_themselves_fans just waiting to be proven right (yeah, you wish). Not to mention all the professional music critics waiting to decide if they're trash or pass. Also, I don't think it's easy writing new music while travelling all around the world, but maybe it's just me having the ability to focus of a slug. The moment they have time to dedicate only to the creative process they'll do even better. This is to say their true masterpiece has yet to come. Good for us :)

About the new music now.

First of all I need to say I really appreciate the little Bowie, Beatles, Smith, Michael Jackson references scattered here and there, it was fun coming across them.

Also, they talk a lot about the downside of being famous. I noticed this came as a (possibly bad) surprise for some fans. Why? Måneskin write about their life and experiences since the beginning. In the last two years they literally had no other experience than becoming famous and learning to deal with it. So of course this is a huge part of what Damiano writes about right now, especially since he's been affected by fame not always in a good way.

With that said, it truly starts with a bang. Own My Mind looked like the kind of song I enjoy listening for three or four times and then become forgettable. I was so wrong! It's one of my favorite and I'm as far from being tired of it as I could be. Similar to Don't Wanna Sleep in this regard. Both of them are going to bring whole stadiums down during live gigs and I'm desperately looking forward to it.

Now beware, very unpopular opinion ahead. The song I like less so far is If Not For You. Don't beat me too hard ^^', please? It's just that I find it too sappy, a little boring and there's also that little backing vocals giving romantic Italian comedy of the 70's vibe which I find funny. Sort of anticlimatic, giving the purpose of the song.

Timezone, on the other hand, gives RHCP/Aerosmith vibes and I could listen to it endlessly and still wanting more.

The most surprising of surprises? Bla Bla Bla. I didn't like it at first but now... It's fun, it's silly and puts me in good mood. More importantly, it's punkish and I love it. Same goes for Kool Kids, but this one we knew already and I liked it since before.

Feel and Read your Diary bring the horny back (when did it even leave?) and I am not complaining. At all. Also, the bass?? The guitar?? They bring quality even in the songs meant to be undemanding.

On the italian trio now. I loved La Fine since it first came out and I still do but among those three is the one I like less. Mark Chapman and Il Dono della Vita are both candidate to become my favourite of the whole album. The first is dark, and I understand that for a short time Damiano had a stalker too, right? This makes it even more of a punch in the gut. Also, I don't want to start anything but to all the people who doubted it could be a song the glorifies a criminal... come. on. which band have you been a fan of for the last few years??

Il Dono della Vita has some awesome lyrics, I know I'll love it even more, the more I listen to it. It's a masterpiece and I also loved the little Icarus reference at the beginning. And if they play it live at Sanremo? With the orchestra?? Omg I may not survive. Yes, it's true, Damiano writes better in italian, he already explained why, and why he's writing more in english. It's his choice, he's a big boy, so I wont go there again.

#my many cents #Rush! #måneskin