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cipheramnesia · 2 months

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This is the process my brain goes through every time I see anything about Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender.

My first reaction is always: Why? The original, although not without flaws, doesn't leave a lot of room to improve. A good remake or adaptation usually involves an updated context or change in perspective that adds to the original work and gives it new meaning. It's a risky undertaking because it usually involves wanting to take on something established as iconic and make it your own. But Netflix is a corporation and seems very risk averse for the most part. Its only investment is in the name recognition of AtLA. It's hard to visualize Netflix deliberately taking a big risk on an expensive show.

My second reaction is: How? The original series is about 1400 minutes over 61 episodes, and it still had to rush the ending. We're looking at 8 episodes of roughly 45-60 minutes per episode for season 1, which would require Netflix to let it run more than 3 seasons, if the series has similar pacing. Historically however Netflix shows have glacial pacing, and rarely make three seasons. Not really sure how they plan to tell the story if the series is anything like the average Netflix series, meaning it either needs to undercut the story or let the series breathe for at least five seasons. But nothing Netflix has done makes me want to watch anything they make as an ongoing series? Why bother, they cancel everything I enjoy. So I wonder how. What's the hook to say "this will be able to provide something new and interesting compared to the original, and will be allowed to tell the complete story."

Which leads me to think, but you can't judge if something is good without seeing it. Except none of this is about whether it's good, I just find myself wondering what are the odds it's worth the effort? They're low, and it has nothing to do with whether or not it's even any good on its own merits.

Following this, I ask myself, what would a good version of this be. Imagine you are making a live action series with eight hour long episodes per season based on a children's cartoon with 20 thirty minute episodes per season. You are trying to encompass a story which was presented over three seasons as a cartoon, and you do not know if you will have more than those eight episodes. It's made for Netflix which, in terms of a company which will protect the hard earned fruits of your artistic labor, is the fox guarding the henhouse. What do you do?

If you are looking to make something good, that respects your audience investment and your own work, you make radical changes to the story. You change the pacing, the character arcs, the plot arcs. You make sure you deliver a complete story in those episodes with as much respect for the original work and as many new ideas as you can.

Except, at that point, what is even the point of a remake. The only way to work with it is either to trust Netflix allowing you to finish the story (which you'd need to be incredibly naive to do), or tell a story so different it may as well be wholly original. And that's where I always end up. Like, it'll probably be fine, but what's the point of it all? Another vanishing digital property to get canceled because of some undefinable failure to return on investment.

I think about it a lot because the two ends of the spectrum seem to be "dunk on every new piece of information" or "wait and see" but the only conclusion I can ever reach is "why even care?" That's been the lesson to take home from digital streaming in general when it comes to series, but Netflix in particular, and honestly for movie series too. If it can't be self contained, the companies who produce and release these kinds of series just cannot be trusted with it, and there are too many good original stories being put out to care anymore about big budget promises that one day they will definitely for sure deliver a finished story, this time for real.

I care enough to think about why I don't feel anything at all about Netflix Avatar. It'll be fine, whatever else. Just fine.

#netflix avatar

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spirantization · 2 months

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I'm surprised at the hate that Sokka's character arc from NATLA is receiving. To me, Sokka's development and characterization was one of the strongest adaptations the series made.

In the original ATLA, Sokka's character arc revolves around him unlearning his own misogyny. He makes pointedly sexist comments throughout the early episodes like "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!", "There's no way a bunch of girls took us down!", etc.

Sokka's comments have a strong narrative purpose: they give a platform for women in the show (Katara & Suki mostly) to refute his attitude. Katara emphasizes traditional "women's work" (cleaning, cooking, sewing, etc), which forces Sokka to confront its inherent value. Suki is able to prove to him that women can fight too and he learns to respect female warriors. It's a great character arc and it's well-executed.

It's also characterization that is in direct response to the culture and feminism of the 90s and early 00s. The representation of women in the media at that time was...oof. It was not great. One-dimensional love interests whose only purpose is being saved by the male protagonist, mostly. Female protagonists were not as common, and certainly not ones who were depicted as being able to fight, and certainly not in cartoons. Female protagonists in animation were almost exclusively princesses.

ATLA was progressive in this regard. Katara was a complex female character in a time when there were not a lot of them, in media in general but especially in animation and kid's shows. (I grew up in the 90s; there were no characters like Katara in animation on screen for me.) ATLA incorporated the zeitgeist directly into the story, which is why we have Sokka learning to overcome his sexism in his interactions with Strong Female Characters.

If you go back and watch the original cartoon now, Sokka's sexism feels a bit dated. It's a very 90s, Girl Power, "girls can fight too" style of social commentary. It doesn't match with the media landscape of today. We've got 20 years of media with female superheroes behind us. If your message is "girls can fight too!" the response for the most part is going to be "yes, we know that. And?"

So imagine you're adapting the original ATLA for a live-action remake. You want to keep Sokka's character arc intact, but you want to update it for the 2020s. So what do you do? You look at the conversations that are happening today.

The 90s were about "girls can do everything boys can do", but the 20s are over that. The conversation is more about gender: gender expression, gender roles, gender dynamics. What does is mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a man?

Sokka's character arc in NATLA is focused on this question: What does it mean to be a man? At the beginning of the series, it's his identity as a warrior that defines him. He needs to be the warrior, the protector, the leader. He's constantly trying to reaffirm this part of his identity, and it's completely tied up in his perception of his value as a man. Instead of his interactions with Suki being about "how could girls possibly be warriors", it shifts to Sokka saying "I'm ALSO a warrior" and trying to justify that to Suki (and mostly himself).

His arc over the series is about him accepting other aspects of himself and relearning how to define his masculinity. He can still have value as man without being the greatest warrior. He can still have value as a man by using his skills as an engineer. He can still have value as a man by offering compassion and kindness to others, like the little girl with the doll & Yue in her final moments. Instead of rigidly defining himself by a specific set of gender roles & expectations, he learns how to define himself through his own strengths and qualities.

I know there are a lot of people who are upset at this change to Sokka's characterization, and the most common thing I see is that it results in changes to Katara's character and her anger in response to Sokka's comments. I think there are valid criticisms to be made about how the show handled the adaptation of Katara's character, but I won't go there with this. In terms of Sokka and his characterization, it was well-done and thematically consistent with the original. It's not an exact port, and it never needed to be. It's still a feminist arc that centres on unlearning harmful misogynistic worldviews, but the focus has shifted from external (roles of women) to internal (his role as a man). And his journey is one that people would benefit from seeing represented.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #natla #netflix avatar #atla meta #there are many criticisms to make about the adaptation but this just isn't one of them

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writeforfandoms · 2 months

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The Name of the Wind 3

Find the series masterlist

I know this is a bit late BUT this is still for @glitterypirateduck challenge. This is not the last chapter of this story, but it is the last chapter that will be using prompts from the challenge. This chapter used "Do you trust me?"

Warnings: Swearing, wooing, someone is a little oblivious, flying, dragons. Oh, and two new/familiar characters show up.

Word count: 1.8k

Weeks passed. You learned your way around and met the other people who lived there. Not just the riders, but the kitchen staff too. You learned how everything worked, when to eat, where to wash up. Everything.

It was different from how your life had been before, but different didn't mean bad. Not in this case.

You never heard another word about your would-be husband. And you certainly didn't ask - that would be inviting trouble.

The hardest thing to adapt to was the most integral part of your role here.

The dragons.

Caba was very calm every time you interacted with him… which was quite a bit in the beginning, as Alejandro used him to demonstrate how the harnesses went on and where they wore the most. Caba didn't mind being used as a show model, remaining calm around you.

Unfortunately, that could not be said of every dragon.

The youngest dragon in the garrison, a blue female, actually knocked you off your feet when you met her. Her rider was apologetic, helping you back to your feet. The freshly-chastened dragon drooped like a misbehaving pup while Caba oversaw the fitting process for her harness.

You did not get knocked over a second time. But it did take multiple washes to get all the mud off you later.

After that little incident, Caba or Alejandro was around for every new dragon you met. You weren't sure if you were flattered, or disgruntled.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to you was how self-contained the garrison was. Supplies came from the capital regularly, but the garrison otherwise seemed to be run by Alejandro. He oversaw everything, from training to rotations to travel. He didn't seem to need to ask anyone above him for anything, which seemed both curious and, if you were being honest, appealing.

An honest man, with a sense of humor, who treated everyone well and didn't place himself above the others? And one who was also competent and ran his garrison well?

Honestly, you were surprised he didn't have a spouse already.

(He didn't. You knew because you'd caught some of the younger riders gossiping.)

You were, however, surprised when he approached you after breakfast one day. You didn't always sit at his table, only sometimes. Usually when he or Rodolfo flagged you down. This was the first time he had approached you, usually summoning you to his side instead.

“How much work do you have today?” He asked, walking next to you as you put your dirty dishes in the bins.

“Not a lot, nothing urgent,” you responded slowly. You had a custom order you were excited to work on, but that could wait another day. Especially if Alejandro needed you for something.

He flashed a grin at you, nearly making your knees wobble. “So you have time free.”

“I do,” you agreed, eyeing him. “Why?”

“Do you trust me?” He stopped in the hallway, turning fully to face you.

You nodded slowly, looking at him. “I do.”

“Meet me outside in twenty minutes. Wear something warmer.” He held your gaze, magnetic and unavoidable.

“Okay,” you agreed, soft and a little surprised. But you hadn't lied. You did trust him.

At least enough to trust that he wouldn't toss you out of the overlook, or anything like that.

It took very little time to grab a warm coat and gloves, since you weren't exactly sure what you were going to be doing. The walk outside was full of the typical bustle of the garrison - you passed riders going every which way, and as you passed near the kitchen, the chatter and chinking of washing reached your ears.

It was amazing to think about how quickly this had become home to you.

Alejandro stood outside next to Caba, waiting on you, dressed in his riding leathers. You allowed yourself only a moment or two to let your gaze wander over the well-fitted leathers before looking to the dragon instead.

To your surprise, he wore a modified version of his harness.

“We don't need the full harness,” Alejandro said, having correctly guessed your line of thinking from the surprise in your face and the line of your gaze. “Not for this.”

“And what is this?” You asked hesitantly, stopping in front of him.

Alejandro grinned, bright and pleased, with only a little humor. “You said you trust me.”

“I do,” you reiterated, only to squeak when Alejandro grabbed your hand and pulled you to Caba. “What–?”

But Alejandro offered no answer beyond stopping next to Caba, who had obligingly laid down to make his shoulder not entirely out of reach. Alejandro knelt and patted his thigh.

“You can reach the straps to help pull yourself up,” he offered, watching you. “It is easier if you have a boost to start.”

You stared at him for a moment before turning your gaze to the dragon. “What?” You squeaked.

Alejandro did his best not to laugh at you, lips clamped together even as his shoulders shook. “Up you go,” he encouraged, hints of laughter in his voice.

You thought about protesting, but, well. You did trust him. So you took a deep breath and used his proferred thigh as a step up. Your ascent up Caba's shoulder was not graceful, but you also didn't slide back down. You'd take that as a good thing. You felt very high up, sitting on his back as you were.

Alejandro climbed up after you, making it look easy. He sat behind you, his thighs bracketing yours. You swallowed, suddenly quite warm.

“Hold here,” Alejandro murmured, low and close to your ear, reaching past you to pull on a strap. You grabbed it tight, partially to hide the shaking in your fingers. “Don't worry. I won't let you fall.” One of his hands settled at your waist. You sucked in a sharp breath, partially disguised by the sudden movement under you as Caba got to his feet. You rocked with the movement, startled.

Caba didn't give you any time to adjust, though. He just started away from the garrison, using the open flat space to gain some speed. Massive leathery wings snapped out at his sides. You squeezed the strap tighter at the first sweep of those wings, feeling unsteady but for Alejandro's solid presence at your back.

One more downsweep and Caba launched into the air, the pressure pushing you back against Alejandro. He held firm, his grip on your waist reassuring.

Caba leveled out soon after, the pressure easing. Wind whipped in your face, cold but clear. You blinked rapidly as you adjusted, breathing in slowly.

Alejandro squeezed your waist gently, His head close to yours as he shouted to be heard over the wind. “Look now.”

You did, and gasped. From here you could just barely see the coast, blue stretching for miles and miles. The river valley below seemed very far away, though the river sparkled where it came down from the mountains and snaked across the land. You couldn't look down for long, though, before you started to feel dizzy.

But you didn't fear falling. Not with Alejandro pressed up close behind you as he was.

It didn't take long for your nose to go nearly numb, the cold wind seeping your warmth. No wonder the riders all wore leathers and fur up here. Your hands did go numb, fingers still clenched tight around the strap.

“See? Not so bad, hmm?” Alejandro sounded smug, his voice rumbling against your back and in your ear, even as his breath warmed your skin.

You just laughed, leaning back slightly, trusting him to keep you safe.

And he did.

You had no idea how long Caba flew the two of you. But he didn't go far into the valley before turning for the coast, making a big loop. From this height, you could see the town you'd left behind weeks ago, as well as a couple other garrisons, notable from the other dragons in the air. From this height, everything seemed small, even your lingering worries.

Eventually, he angled back towards the garrison, gliding down at a gentle angle. Alejandro's hand at your waist encouraged you to lean back further, your back pressed to his chest, until Caba landed. The big dragon chuffed and continued walking, wings setting against his back again.

You blinked, confused, but Alejandro just chuckled. “You're back early,” he called to someone up ahead, the hand on your waist tightening briefly.

“For once,” another man called back. You spotted a dark-haired man standing up ahead, another scruffier man by his side. Caba stopped a short distance from the two, and Alejandro swung one leg over to face them. He did not get down, however.

“Need a ride back to the capital, then?”

“S'pose so,” the scruffier man answered, gaze on you. “You offering?”

Alejandro chuckled. “I will arrange it,” he said, though you noted he didn't offer to do it himself. “Come inside, have something to eat.”

“Gonna introduce us?” The scruffier one asked, still peering up at you.

“If we see you at dinner.” Alejandro didn't offer anything else as Caba started walking again, leaving the two men behind to make his way back to the cavern entrance.

“Who were they?” You asked, undeniably curious now.

“Nobody of import.” Alejandro waited for Caba to lay down again before he slid down the dragon's side. “Here. I'll help.” He held his hands up to you, watching closely.

You eyed the distance down, biting your lip. He hadn't led you to harm yet. It did take a few moments to unclamp your hands, fingers aching from being locked in position for so long, but then you carefully swung a leg over and slid down. Alejandro caught you, making sure you didn't land too hard and holding you upright when your knees wobbled.

“Alright?” He asked quietly, giving you a quick once-over.

“Yeah.” You smiled up at him. “That was… incredible. Thank you.”

“I will take you as often as you wish.” His smile was smaller than usual but brighter, happier.

“You don't mind?” You couldn't help the note of hesitancy, of shyness.

“Not if it's you.” He leaned closer to you, until you were firmly bracketed between Caba at your back and Alejandro at your front.

Your breath caught in your throat. He was so close and so warm.

Caba rumbled, something you felt more than heard, vibrating against your back. You startled, turning your head to try to figure out what was going on.

Alejandro sighed and backed off. “Sit with me at dinner tonight,” he invited, gently taking hold of your hand, rubbing some of the ache from your fingers.

“Okay,” you agreed, a little dazed still.

He smiled again, that small but sincere smile you were quickly becoming attached to, and took a step back. Another, and he released your hand, and turned to go.

You stood there, needing Caba's silent support, for longer than you wanted to admit.

#amor a alejandro #alejandro vargas x reader #alejandro vargas x you #f!reader #name of the wind #dragon rider au

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okaystoptellingmetomakeanaccount · 20 days

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Guys. Scrooge McDuck already traveled the multiverse in 1995

Hey look, it’s the doors from doctor strange

-my dad

This year will mark a historical moment in Disney comics history. The first Marvel-made Scrooge McDuck comic. Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime coming up in June will have Scrooge travel through the multiverse to defeat an evil AU version of himself.

To some unfamiliar with Disney comics, this might sound like a lame idea in the trend of many multiverse stories that we are seeing in the cinemas today.

To some familiar with Disney comics, this sounded exactly like the plot of Zio Paperone e il predone dimensionale.

Truth is, the multiverse has always been a part of… just comic books. It’s now starting to slip into other mediums because of the many, many comic book adaptations just getting to that point of the lore, but the comic books themselves have had it for a long time now. Including Disney comics.

Though for Disney it’s less a case of: we wanted to explain continuity errors and then went a bit too far, and more a case of: if you have comics coming out literally every single day of the week then at some point you just get to the multiverse.

There are many of these to be found in Disney comics, which we might talk about later if someone is interested or I feel like it, but today we are going to go over the one most similar in premise to the upcoming Marvel release.

Because I just think it’s really funny how similar they are. Like at this point I would call it a reboot.

Oh oh, Scrooge and multiverse, look at this. I’m pretty sure the Loki tv series just copied their time doors from this comic.

Federico Povoleri wrote a pretty simple story. Someone is stealing from Scrooge again, and this time, the culprit turns out to be… himself!

‘Our’ Scrooge is signified by the red coat (and later the multiverse hopping suit). All the alternates will be clad in blue. DT87 Scrooge is just another AU that no one cares about confirmed

This stealing Scrooge is our ‘Scrooge above all’. He wants to be richer than all his other variants and steals from them for that or something. I don’t remember very well but why he does it doesn’t matter. It’s evil Scrooge and he steals that’s all we need to know.

As we have seen already, he escapes with an universe hopping door. As he always does within these kinds of situations, Scrooge calls Gyro who finds some kind of dimensional energy lingering around where the door used to be. He does the usual explain the multiverse bit.

Then Gyro does in a few hours/days/wedontactuallyknow what Red Raider has been trying for years. There’s a reason they kicked him out of PKNA he would be too overpowered.

Yeah altronave my nose.

Scrooge arrives in the bin of another him, and explains as well as he can. This repeats a few times and I would love to show it but there is a 10 image limit on tumblr mobile for some reason.

Finally he arrives at the bin of the Scrooge who steals and they have a little typical multiverse discussion (I am the real one. No bitch I am. But which one are you. A real me would never do this. That kind of stuff)

But he gets defeated by bad Scrooge. Oh no the only one who could defeat Scrooge has defeated him. What will happen now?

Exactly what you think happens. prime!Scrooge never closed the AU doors and so everyone he visited could just hop through and arrive at Scrooge above all’s office. Yay.

It is not a bad comic. It has the single idea, it sticks to it, it executes it well. The interactions with AU Scrooge’s are just plain fun. At the time of writing the story has place 6020 on inducks which is pretty dang high for such a silly comic.

It’s very much a multiverse story in a classic Disney comics way. It’s not used to bring multiple continuities together. No storia e gloria Scrooge VS life and times Scrooge. Nothing dramatic happening or high stakes. Just Scrooge going on another adventure, and for being one of the first multiverse comics involving Scrooge that didn’t pull random bullshit, it’s considered good by most of the fandom it seems. That the Comicup artists was pretty decent helped as well.

But now, what can we expect from what is totally gonna be a remake of this?

Infinity Dime is Marvel. It’s gonna take a Marvel approach. Assuming it’s not gonna be parody (which i kind of really hope it isn’t), then what will it be? Are we gonna see something similar to this, where Scrooge will just meet different versions of himself or will we see established AU’s? Both Ducktales and all his other animated counterparts (i heard the americans like christmas carol scrooge) seem like easy picks. Will they fight? Will it be Secret Wars? Or will they work together like in this comic?

Marvel has still given out zero information about the story (hell, they haven’t even made clear which artists aside from a few are drawing. “celebrated Scrooge artists” does NOT narrow it down) except for that super vague premise. So the best we can do is imagine this story but with the Marvel flavor. Not that I have read enough Marvel comics to properly understand what that means but ive seen some movies okay.

We can probably imagine there will be more ‘evil’ Scrooges. Some Scroogehenchmen. And they will fight. We gotta have action scenes. Which I trust will look good because Mangiatordi I believe his connection to the project alone will secure that the art department will be amazing. His existence is enough.

I’m also expecting DT17 Scrooge to at least cameo. He’s the perfect character for this type of story, fits way better than any other non comic variant. DT87 Scrooge could work as maybe a younger version? Who is not sure what he got caught up in. But then we would need emotional scenes between Scrooge and Scrooge and that’s probably asking too much from Jason Aaron.

Oh hmm actually. I can see when good Scrooge fights bad Scrooge in the climax he will do a big speech that will last a good 4 pages and will teach bad Scrooge what it takes to be a real Scrooge. That sounds stupid enough to be a Marvel thing but not so stupid as to become completely ridiculous.

I’m not expecting actual references to other established comic Scrooge AU’s. We will probably have Barks and Rosa references and that’s it. I’m not even expecting a Van Horn reference tbh. It’s all Barks and Rosa we gotta keep it beginner friendly. It might even just be Rosa. Which indirectly will result in a Barks reference because every Rosa reference is just a Barks reference but with extra steps.

I’m trying to make predictions okay? So I can go I SAID SO when it comes out. It’ll be really funny for me and annoying for you guys. You don’t even have to read this (yet). This is just for in the future so I can look like a wizard.

The scene where Gyro explains the multiverse might just get copied one on one. Maybe Gyro will be replaced by Ludwig? At least I don’t think they will have Scrooge just go: oh yeah ive seen this before. Maybe another Scrooge will explain it to him/secretly the reader. It WILL involve a big cosmic looking image that will represent the multiverse. It just has to. Even if just to show the Marvel audience how good these Italian Scrooge artists are.

I don’t think Donald or the nephews are gonna play a big role. Maybe at the beginning and end, maybe they will somehow stay in contact with Scrooge or he thinks about them a few times to remind us of hey this is Donald Duck. But I think most is gonna be a solo Scrooge adventure just like we have already seen.

Idk. I really want to talk more about Infinity Dime because it’s the most exciting US made Disney comic in ages. Idk why no one else seems to be hyped. Where is all the rambling and speculation guys?? Not about the covers, but about the actual story!

Anyways now we get to the most important question: do i think it will feature Magica?

Maybe. (Definitely not gonna play a big role if she even appears. Maybe a cameo when at some point there will be a dramatic flashback… Or she could show up in one of the AU’s. Maybe just a short scene in the beginning showing his usual life but that sounds lame. Probably not gonna have a role in the story at least, and I kinda hope it won’t have any Magica at all because I’m scared that they will go of off Rosa’s characterization lol.)

Ok Remember to infinity your dimes and uncle your scrooges gby

#uncle scrooge and the infinity dime #disney comics #infinity dime #scrooge mcduck #uncle scrooge #multiverse #ducktales #ducktales 2017 #ducktales 1987

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very-grownup · 2 months

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So a couple years ago, I fell into watching Chinese dramas and because my posts about the most recent one garnered some curiosity, here are the dramas what I have watched.

Hikaru no Go

DID YOU KNOW. DID YOU KNOW. THAT IN 2020 THERE WAS A CHINESE DRAMA ADAPTATION OF HIKARU NO GO AND IT IS AMAZING AND MADE ME CRY ALL OVER AGAIN? It is faithful in spirit while making understandable alterations both for the setting and to avoid managing child actors for the entirety of the series (there are about six episodes with Hikaru/Shi Guang as an elementary school student before a time jump to high school).

If you are unfamiliar with Hikaru no Go I recommend becoming familiar with Hikaru no Go, my first and still one of the best sports manga. It's what Takeshi Obata was the artist on before Death Note and my hot take is that Obata post-Hikaru no Go is mid at best.

Hikaru no Go is a sports series about the most normal boy finding an antique go board that houses the soul of an ancient go master who died too young and with go regrets, so he bullies/guilts the boy into helping him play go so he can see or play a divine go move. In the process he acquires a rival/stalker in the form of the genius son of a go master. It's amazing and the drama absolutely does it justice.

The heart of the series is the relationship between Hikaru/Shi Huang and Fujiwara no Sai/Chu Ying.

It's just a fucking good series.

The Untamed

According to one description on imdb, this is about two friends solving a series of murders. This is technically true, although it neglects to mention a few details.

Sixteen years after doing a whole lot of demonic blood magic shit and dying because of it, hated by society, Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) is brought back from the dead by more super demonic blood magic and is recognized by his noble and esteemed peer/friend Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo) and trying to deal with why Wei Wuxian has been brought back from the dead leads to their investigating a series of murders that result in their becoming entangled in wider political schemes stretching back twenty years.

It's got weird pacing, prolonged flashbacks to explain a lot of the relationship dynamics, and basically an entirely self-contained sub-story that brings the main plot to a grinding halt. There are creatures and CGI effects of interesting quality. There are amazing wigs. There are piles of corpses. There's physical torture and emotional torture and some doomed love stuff and sword fights and musical instrument fights and a donkey and chicken theft and brotherhood and what you're willing to sacrifice for your goals and what goals you're willing to sacrifice for and it is based on a novel that ends in the protagonists raw dogging on the side of the road.

That part's not in the show.

Douluo Continent

Ignorant country boy Tang San (Xiao Zhan) finds himself involved in the world of martial arts and magic after discovering a hidden talent and ends up in the group of fellow martial artists who are all weird or unorthodox or hiding crucial bits of their backstory like girl who is actually a rabbit and immediately decides Tang San is her best friend/husband (Wu Xianyi), guy who needs to become powerful enough to kill his older brother (Gao Taiyu), girl who rejected an engagement to the would-be brother killer and wants to fight him (Liu Mei Tong), guy who wants to ditch martial arts to become a great actor (Liu Run Nan), and girl who is too rich to be here (Ding Xiaoying). They learn together, they grow together, they fight monsters and embark on a tournament arc, and there's an overarching mystery about Tang San and his weak but simultaneously super powerful spirit summoning.

Even though the best technique is clearly the one where the boy in question can summon a sausage that you eat and heals you.

It's very much of a specific genre that can be pretty samey, but Douluo Continent has a charming cast that makes up for its predictable plot beats.

It does end on a cliffhanger that is possibly resolved in the sequel series where ... all the main characters were recast with, I'm guessing, slightly less pricey actors. Such is the way of things.

Word of Honour

Do you like knowing what's going on? Then get the fuck out of here, Word of Honour is not for you. Real ones want to be immediately submerged into chaos and confusion and secret identities. You want Mr Bones' Wild Ride in plot form. Why has former superassassin Zhou Zishu (Zhang Zhe Han) abandoned the sect of assassins he created to live in wandering drunk anonymity as he slowly dies? Why is Wen Kexing (Gong Jun) stalking him aside from poorly censored horny desires? Is Wen Kexing actually a ghost? Can any of the impressionable youths attaching themselves to Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing be stopped from their very poor choices in role models? What is up with this legendary hidden armoury and why do Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing seem unable to escape the conspiracy around it? HOW HARD IS IT TO GET WOLONG'S FAMOUS NUTS?

Not recommended for people who constantly want to know what's happening or why X is doing Y, but great if you want to watch with someone and then after an episode, walk your dogs and try to figure out what's going on and what's going to happen (you will be wrong).

Advance Bravely

What if the most ridiculously unrealistic and unhinged slashfic by a teenage girl who doesn't fully understand anything was adapted into a drama series where censorship means everything must be painted with a special "no homo" brush? You get Advance Bravely which is the most incoherently homoerotic thing I've ever watched. No one thinks you should watch Advance Bravely and you watch Advance Bravely and you agree but sometimes you just have to watch a beautiful trainwreck where the protagonist explains his lack of a girlfriend with erectile dysfunction and the series climax involves his being, essentially, trapped in a well.

Love Between Fairy and Devil

DO YOU WANT TO GO FULL SHOUJO MANGA FANTASY?

Innocent fairy Orchid (Yu Shuxin) just wants to strengthen her immortal spirit and pass the exam that would let her serve in the palace of the fairy capital so she can catch glimpses of the War God Chang Heng (Zhang Ling He) who she is hopelessly in love with. Instead, an attempt to help her crush causes her to bumble her way into the high security spiritual prison that has held Dongfang Qingcang, the Moon Supreme (Dylan Wang), for 30,000 years.

DO YOU LIKE BIG NUMBERS BECAUSE YOU WILL GET TO SEE SOME BIG NUMBERS IN TERMS OF TIME SPAN AND AGES.

Because of some plot magic, Orchid and the Moon Supreme swap bodies and loophole out of prison, much to her distress. Their fates are tied together and Orchid becomes more familiar with the wider world and the politics between the realms and how much the fairy realm's supreme ruler fucking suuuuuuuuuuuucks while Moon Supreme finds himself having feelings again after they were tortured out of him in a mystical coffin prison as a child.

Moon Supreme's closest friend is a dragon. Orchid's closest friend is an opportunistic snakeoil saleswoman. There's a pissy younger brother and a bitchy but honourable love rival. There are secret origins and reincarnation and hidden identities and the way it alternates broad comedy and melodrama and sweet romance may give you whiplash.

I just love a bodyswap, you guys.

Sailor Moon vibes but Mamoru is actually interesting and becomes likeable.

Guardian

Okay so the best thing about Guardian is not only that it's a censored adaptation of a novel with a same-sex romance, but that /the entire premise/ is altered for television purposes.

The novel is steeped in Chinese folk religion and the Underworld is real and mythical creatures secretly walk among us.

In the show?

ALIENS, BABY.

Ghosts? THOSE AREN'T REAL BECAUSE HUMANS DON'T HAVE SOULS, THEY'RE JUST ENERGY BEINGS.

It's so ridiculous it's endearing.

Anyway, it's about bros solving mysteries with a Monster of the Week vibe until it becomes about possibly the end of the world and alien domination and evil twins.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

IT'S TIME TO SOLVE CRIMES. IN ANCIENT CHINA.

Quack doctor Li Lianhua (Cheng Yi) is just trying to live a quiet life with his dog and his horse-drawn house. Fang Duobing (Joseph Zeng) just wants to gain admittance into the martial art cop organization that's carrying on the legacy of his dead teacher, Li Xiangyi, who was maybe never actually his teacher and also wasn't killed ten years previously by Di Fei Sheng (Xiao Shunyao), the head of an evil martial arts sect who is also not dead. Not nearly as many people as people think are dead! Identities are cleverly hidden behind pseudonyms and various levels of mask!

Crimes are solved and Li Lianhua is very tired about the whole thing. It's an unwilling buddy cop sort of thing until it becomes about youthful hubris and the sins of the past and also one woman's determination to conquer the world and give it to the man she loves, even if he doesn't want the world and also doesn't love her. We love a woman who takes what she wants and if necessary cuts a man's tendons and imprisons him in a torture pool so his blood can't clot until he agrees to be her wife, don't we, folks?

Folks?

Story of Kunning Palace

The scheming empress Jiang Xue Ning (Bai Lu) dies and wakes up, eighteen-years-old, at the point in her life where she's on the verge of making the start of the decisions that lead her to the Very Bad End. She is going to make different decisions this time and prevent the things she regrets and avoid becoming the empress at all costs.

What you need to know about Story of Kunning Palace is that Bai Lu could have chemistry with a rock and she inadvertently collects a bisexual harem. Her end game love interest is Xie Wei (Zhang Ling He), the man who killed her, an advisor to the emperor, music teacher, double or triple agent, and sufferer of vampire snow madness and a fear of cats, whether adorably fluffy or badly CGI'd. But she's in love with noble civil servant Zhang Zhe (Wang Xing Yue), a pure and hardworking man who she seduced into betraying his principles, leading to his imprisonment and probable death. However, her childhood friend Yan Lin (Zhou Jun Wei) is in love with her and previously she rejected him VERY HARSHLY after his family fell into disfavour due to political machinations and Jiang Xue Ning had cemented the likelihood of her marriage to the next emperor. Also there's Princess Le Yang (Liu Xie Ning), who Jiang Xue Ning made an enemy of after the Princess fell in love with her when Jiang Xue Ning was crossdressing and did not take the reveal of her true gender well. Xue Shu (Elisa Ye) is an unfavoured daughter of a scheming lord who was the only truly loyal person Jiang Xue Ning knew as empress. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH JIANG XUE NING and you look at Bai Lu and go 'yes, that makes sense'.

It's mostly about the politics and scheming and Jiang Xue Ning trying to find a way to have a stable, satisfying life without betraying everyone she knows and standing on a pile of corpses, but the love shape Jiang Xue Ning isn't fully aware she's in is comparable in complexity to the plots between ministers and lords and dowager empresses and cousins and rebels.

The choices the characters make are maybe not always the best choices, but DAMN are they a good time.

Story of Kunning Palace is also one of the only times I have begged a character in a show to take a particular action and then she DID IT and fuck it was satisfying.

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

IT'S TIME TO SOLVE CRIMES. IN ANCIENT CHINA. AGAIN. BUT WITHOUT MARTIAL ARTS.

Tang Fan (Darren Chen) is a low-ranking government official and detective genius who loves food and hates routine work, but loves a fucked up crime. Since he spends most of his money on delicious food, he writes trashy porn under a variety of pseudonyms to pay his rent. Sui Zhou (Fu Meng Bo) is an imperial guard and ex-soldier with PTSD who has no time for nonsense but loves the passionate pursuit of justice and food. He's also From Money and has a very empty house that Tang Fan whines his way into after they solve a case together. Everyone is manipulated by dangerously powerful eunuch Wang Zhi (Liu Yao Yuan) who is the enemy of basically everyone, except for Tang Fan, who has the political and social awareness of a rock.

An amiably pathetic man solves a variety of mysteries, from murder to complex imperial assassination plots and also this really complicated one involving diluting the purity of silver currency, and also the executive producer is Jackie Chan.

It's missing the romance subplot that I understand is in the source novel and also apparently there's an overarching plot involving a cult?! which we don't get here, but there's lots of bombs which are almost as good as a cult, maybe? (They're not.)

Divine Destiny

This is the one we're currently watching and the ride that this show is. How many plots can be crammed into one show? How many ridiculous but true things can I say about this show?

Ji Ruochen (Ma Tianyu) is an orphan who dreams of martial arts adventures. Raised by a couple who run a Crime Inn, one day a customer robbery goes very wrong when the customer turns out to be the latest incarnation of Yin Feng, the Banished God (Marius Wang). Ji Ruochen accidentally kills the Banished God and his foster parents promptly take the body into the desert and dump it down a cliff, but not before taking a necklace made from a piece of Gu Qing, the Blue Stone Goddess (Xuan Lu), which is supposed to let her recognize the Banished God in their final incarnation. Accidentally stealing the Banished God's identity, Ji Ruochen finds himself a hotly desired commodity by the cultivation sects who are all eager to have the Banished God as a disciple for prophecy reasons. He goes with Zhang Yinyin (Angelababy), a feisty, argumentative girl who has had to work extra hard because her spirit was contaminated by a demonic root planted by the evil nine-tailed fox who is poorly imprisoned in a cave anyone can access.

MEANWHILE some dudes with amazing moustaches and a penchant for laughing in delight at their own evil have found the body of the Banished God and done some questionable mystical shit to put him in a new body and nurture a grudge against Ji Ruochen for stealing his identity.

THEN Gu Qing meets Ji Ruochen and like everyone else assumes he's the Banished God and she falls in love with him (Gu Qing having been a literal rock spirit who cultivated to immortality under the guidance of the Banished God, who followed her into the mortal realm and a cycle of 100 incarnations after Gu Qing accidentally Did A Crime) but then falls in love with HIM.

ALSO Zhang Yinyin is always at risk of succumbing to the temptation of using the demonic fox power that is within her even though that will literally turn her into a demon but maybe it's worth it if a woman who is actually a goddess who is actually a rock is making eyes at the junior you brought into the sect and are in love with and you want to be more powerful than her?

ALSO what's the mysterious power that let Ji Ruochen kill the Banished God in the first place?

IS the woman seeking revenge for the death of the Banished God's mortal incarnation his sister or his cousin or his "cousin"?

WHY is the only love language of immortals stalking?

There's a homunculus and a baby snake demon who is the most precious angel in the world and so many evil dudes delighted in how evil they are and TWO GOOD AND ALIVE PARENTS and a pair of comical monks who have a special attack with a name they have to shout out every time they use it.

Oh and the imprisoned fox demon may have an ex who just hangs out on a rock in something called the Endless Ocean wearing a mask and playing go against the homunculus he made.

And there's an ancient master who lives in an ice mountain and eats memories of love.

Also some people might be secret demons.

There's some weddings.

There's a tiny woman with an ice sword who brutally murders so many dudes.

Do you like CGI birds?

Do you like giant mechanical CGI birds that are for riding purposes?

There's a desert hermit who has a son who is a giant tortoise.

So many things are going on and terrible decisions are constantly being made and it's over a week before I can watch another episode and it's driving me mad. WHAT WILL BE THE FALLOUT OF THE MOST RECENT BAD DECISIONS?

#cdrama #hikaru no go #the untamed #douluo continent #advance bravely #word of honor #love between fairy and devil #guardian #story of kunning palace #divine destiny #mysterious lotus casebook #the sleuth of the ming dynasty

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vermutandherring · 9 months

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Part 1 is here

It is impossible to defeat nature and its laws. You cannot destroy the established order of things, because sooner or later it will return to the starting point, albeit modified. Part of the eternal order is war. This is a rather conventional character, which, nevertheless, has all the features of eternal evil, which the main character must defeat. Before the battle, Sundowner reveals another revelation to Raiden: he is too blinded and naive to think that he can change the world. War is part of cruel human nature. This is an outdated tool, which we have not been able to completely discard. But like a real virus, rooted in the very middle, it evolved with us, adapting to the conditions of the times.

War is indifferent to moral guidelines and honor, deaf to human suffering and merciless to victims. This virus is ready to manifest itself at any moment, as soon as the system crashes. What for Raiden as a person is a matter of morality, for the World Marshal as a large military company is supply and demand. Even the "Patriots", well known to Raiden, did not invent anything new. The fact that after their "disappearance" history continues in the same direction is only proof that the established order cannot be defeated. This is what Sundowner actually says: Raiden with his good intentions will not change the world. PMC has offices all over the world, and therefore their products are in demand. They are only suppliers working for the war market. After all, war is a business hidden behind the face of morality, and the person in it is a commodity.

This again resonates with the rest of the games in the series, where the main unit is not so much the metal gears themselves, but the people behind their creation and control. Of course, the crown of creation of both nature and man is not a perfect tank, but the Legendary Soldier. Big Boss used to be the one. The same fate awaited Raiden. Towards the end, however, MG Rising moves in a slightly different direction, touching on the theme of the "ideal society". As the Patriots once fought for a single ideal world, so Armstrong seeks to create an ideal society where "people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE". Be that as it may, history constantly shows that an imperfect man cannot create a perfect society. After all, it cannot become even the best version of itself. MG has something of the dystopia inherent in the cyberpunk genre. But, at the same time, it remains close to reality, where some wars are fought to stop other wars.

Each war has its own methods of achieving the goal. I like that MG Rising raises the question of the facelessness of the enemies that Raiden kills in packs. Their fate does not interest you as long as it is only a dummy for beating. But as soon as you imagine in front of you a person who has life, destiny and its own will, it becomes morally difficult to destroy them. Maybe that's why it's much more difficult for me to kill innocent NPCs in modern games - they suffer too realistically and look like real people who have their own lives. Giving the enemy human traits is what Sam uses to break Raiden mentally: reality doesn't match his moral principles. It turns out that they are just a cover for his true nature. But as a player, we lean more towards our main character, considering his (that is, our) actions a priori correct. Raiden's reasoning about the sword as an instrument of justice gives us a moral discharge: we destroy the villains who exploit the weak, and therefore do nothing wrong.

But all this is just an illusion. There is no moral attitude that would give a person the right to take the life of another person. "Who saves the weak from the man who saves the weak?" Through the mouths of the characters, the game in a peculiar manner breaks through the fourth wall, addressing the player. Why do we kill? Why do we justify our cruelty? Perhaps Monsoon's phrase that nature cannot be defeated does not mean only the world order. But also a person who has always been marked by cruelty, and therefore cannot defeat himself. As Raiden, we have no right to judge or condemn someone to death. But our internal attitudes, they are memes, give us an excuse, and the game gives us such an opportunity.

In the general sense, a meme is a unit of information. An attitude or idea that is repeated in different variations and transmitted by imitation or learning. The thesis Meme as a gene was formed by the scientist Richard Dawkins in the 1970s, comparing cultural phenomena with human genes, which copy themselves and are ultimately subject to natural selection. In fact, this is all that Monsoon is talking about: memes (that is, cultural attitudes) influence our behavior, the way we communicate and perceive reality. Culture, religion, our own will - everything is formed from the outside and imposed on us as a given. However, not all cultural phenomena undergo selection. In the struggle for the human mind, the "stronger" meme survives, the one most successfully replicated by the carrier, and therefore more valuable.

Raiden wins with his tool of justice meme Mistral with her thirst for revenge because his beliefs are stronger. But this fake facade of nobility is not enough to defeat Monsoon's nihilistic worldview. Dawkins claims that memes adapt quickly, easily deforming under external conditions. All memes disappear, but are immediately replaced by new ones. Breaking Raiden's unnatural mindset, Monsoon forces him to quickly adopt a new one: "…killing your enemies felt good. Really good <…> I was born to kill <…> Pain… this is why I fight”. Thus, Raiden returns to his original beliefs, where he is Jack the Ripper. Again following Dawkins, memes can change and combine and split, resulting in the formation of new memes. For Raiden, it becomes obvious that you can achieve your goal in another way, by accepting the repulsive part of yourself and using it for good.

This is the transformation that Samuel could not go through at the time. Unable to handle his thirst for revenge and justice on his own, he falls under the influence of Armstrong's memes. In the end, this makes him doubt his own ideals, and later he rejects them altogether. It's clear from Sam's backstory that he's not a bad guy. Rather, a guy who got into the wrong company and chose the wrong path. There is something in his character about samurai stories, especially the Hagakure - a treatise on bushido - the samurai's unwritten code of honor. The series of stories was created by Nabeshima Mitsushige in 1716. In them, he told the stories of the former samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, who after the death of his master became a ronin - an exiled samurai. In short, the meaning of the book can be described by the phrase 'A samurai has no goal - there is only a path', which was attributed to Yamamoto himself (although he did not actually say anything like that).

Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861). Tomimori Sukeemon Masakata from the Biographies of the Loyal Retainers series. Woodblock Print, c. 1847. Source: Ronin Gallery

Sam begins his samurai path to avenge his father's death, but as his purpose crumbles, he becomes increasingly hesitant and ends up becoming a mercenary for terrorists. The transformation from a respected man to a robber was quite a common phenomenon among samurai during the turbulent times of Japanese history. But Sam's path was not in vain and meaningless. Yamamoto commanded the samurai to find their own way in life, discarding thoughts about the past, future and everyday problems. This path was paved on the battlefield with a sword (or rather a bow and a horse), and to die in battle for a samurai is the highest honor. Sam and Raiden's battle was a test of their ideas; a turning point that had to decide whose ideology has the right to exist. Samuel himself speaks about this in his posthumous message.

Both were not enemies, but rather adversaries, each had their own convictions at stake as a kind of equivalent of honor. Sam's mindset and fate shows that personal beliefs do have weight. If they are true and worth fighting for, if they are the same strong memes, they will continue to exist. That is why, finally accepting his nature as an assassin, the sword as a weapon, and the goal as completely achievable, Raiden defeats Samuel.

Totally forgot I started to write it, so i had to finish it, haha.

#game review #video games #gaming #videogames #metal gear #metal gear series #metal gear rising #metal gear rising revengeance #mgrr #mgr raiden #raiden mgr #mgr monsoon #samuel rodrigues #jetstream sam #my articles #japanese art #samurai

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yellowocaballero · 1 year

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I'd be interested in those writing shortcuts 👀 (don't feel pressured though)

Yeah sure! This is in reference to this and this posts.

These are all pretty 'fic style' stories, because they scaffold off pre-existing canon. It's like you're walking inside of a pre-built house and you're putting up new wallpaper and designing the rooms. Novel style is like if you're building the entire house. So these are really great for fun and if you have writer's block or have problems starting a story. They're also really good if you're practicing your dialogue, scene composition, characterization, etc - they are not good for developing skills on how to build the house, but if you're trying to work on actually making a readable story they're great methods to practice. They're also a lot easier to make good lol.

While writing these out I realized that they're almost entirely AUs. This is because I like AUs. You don't have to do AUs, you can adapt these however you want if you just like writing canon. Loser. Anyway, these are my low-effort stories:

A series of disconnected scenes that take place over a long period of time. If you have an idea in mind (or you just want to use the OG work's timeline), then you can show scenes or moments over a long period in time. For example, ages ago I wrote an AU story following the life of one character. One scene for 2008, one for 2010, one for 2012 etc.

Rewriting canon. If you have an AU idea or have a way in mind to change canon to something you think fucks harder, then you can use pre-existing episodes or season plotlines and just add your own flavor to what already exists. If you write for BNHA you aren't allowed to do this. That's the rule. How is all BNHA fic 600k AUs where one extremely minor detail is changed. God they're boring.

Alternate viewpoint/missing scene of a story you have. Like you can do this for canon too but that sounds super boring. This is actually something I do in order to help the quality of the main story - if I'm finding myself writing a super complicated character, I write another story about him from his POV to help give me a handle on him. Or write her parts of the story from her perspective. It's a writing exercise to help me figure out the character and it is also easy and fun.

"X Meets Y". Do you really like Legally Blonde? Do you think your favorite character being Elle Woods would be really funny? Stuff like that. Would it be really funny if your blorbo was Sharpay Evans? Yes it would be. Yeah I DID write a story many years ago that was "X meets Teen Beach Movie", why?

I don't know how many other people out there have extremely convoluted entire AU ideas, but if you have the whole AU in your mind then it is incredibly easy to write little stories or snippets from the AU. Like, so easy. A stand-out scene in your mind, the life of one supporting character, an alternate POV, whatever. Literally whenever I want to write something absolutely 0 effort whatsoever I go back to one of my 3 bugfuck stupid AUs and write something for them again.

This is actually something I think everybody should do, because it is basically how I learned story structure: find the trashiest, most formulaic genre you can. Watch or read something from that genre, or just collect genre conventions. Use the pre-packaged and pre-written formula to structure your own story and fill in the blanks.

(Also, these aren't very tropey or reliant on shipping/romance beats, which is nice if you want to get away from that stuff)

Nowadays, I find all of that helpful when I feel like doing something 0 effort. When I was a less experienced writer and I deadass did not know how to build a house, then these were really helpful for learning what wallpaper looks good and what arrangement of furniture creates good fung shui and what couches go best with that coffee table. They're also good passing. Seriously, these are like the most popular stories on my AO3. People eat this shit up. Why. They're so lazy.

IDK, these are what I do because they're the kinds of stories I like to write! What you find easy to write will be different. This is all a very personal list. I can see my personal thumbprint (no romance, AU central) really clearly. I'm kind of curious now: what are y'all's favorite low-effort, easy, fun stories to write?

Also as a heads up if your story doesn't have any sort of conflict in it, then it will actually very difficult to write. Trust me. Conflict makes you voom. Do it. Please. Love of god.

#i have BAMBOOZLED all of you into thinking the artemis fowl and first reverse robins story was good #BAMBOOZLED I SAY #my writing #my asks #writing advice #writing #everybody who writes BNHA go home and think about your life.#ok I want to say something like #“and the EASIEST story to write is a roleswap au”#BUT I DON'T WRITE EM CUZ THEYRE EASY #I WRITE EM CUZ THEY'RE FUCKING FUN #and sooo interesting #also easy.

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feathers-blown-in-the-wind · 1 year

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A Gorizilla analysis through the Spiderman lens : Why Ladrien is a genius subversion of the Peter/Gwen (and civilian/superhero) ship

Or way too many words of me explaining why Ladrien is good damnit

While the show seems dedicated to use every side of the love square but Ladrien this season, I do sincerely believe Ladrien has one of the most fascinating dynamic I've seen in superhero media.

So here is an analysis of one of their most iconic moment :

THE GORIZILLA SCENE

The scene is crafted to remind the viewer of one of the most well-known tropes in the superhero genre: the love interest is captured by a villain. It's also a very interesting deconstruction of that trope and I will attempt to explain how below.

It's no secret that Spiderman was an inspiration for Ladybug and I'd argue this scene is reminiscent of it in a lot of ways. In the comics and most adaptations, there is one particular use of that kidnapping trope that comes to mind: the death of Gwen Stacy by the hand of the Green Goblin. Now how does that relate to the Ladrien scene? Let's see.

1. Hawkmoth (and Gabriel) as The Green Goblin : a father's gamble

Most people have at least a vague idea of who the Green Goblin is, and that particular inspiration is probably the most obvious between Spiderman and Ladybug: their nemesis is the father of one of their best friends. Which as both of them will realise, sucks a lot.

Now the Green Goblin setup in ML differs from the comics. At the time of the "Gwen Stacy's death" scene, Hawkmoth and Ladybug have no idea who the other is, whereas the Green Goblin and Spiderman are very well aware. This whole situation is a pure coincidence in classic ml fashion, where secret identities are everywhere and get tangled with each other A LOT. There's a reason the two facts people recognize as typical Miraculous are the love square and Hawkmoth's identity: it is a core part of the series, especially in early season 2, right after the audience learned of that fact.

Their identities being unknown to the other doesn't prevent the scene from working, it instead subverts it. It decides to deconstruct this popular trope: Gabriel has no idea that his son is special to Ladybug, but Adrien matters to him personally. You could argue the Gorizilla scene is an AU where the Green Goblin decides to kidnap Harry instead of Gwen (his own son over the love interest) but it would be missing the point of Miraculous "chassé-croisé d'identités". Here Adrien is both Harry, son of a super-villain, and Gwen, Ladybug's love interest, and it's what makes the scene so poignant. The scene is as much about testing how far Gabriel is willing to endanger his son as it is about if Ladybug can save him.

Adrien being directly involved isn't something Gabriel wants at all but he figures he can use it. You could argue this is the first moment in which Gabriel decides no questions asked to involve his son, and for good reason: confirming if Adrien is Chat Noir, his nemesis' partner. Gorizilla and Style Queen are some of the most humanizing moments Gabriel gets. The two moments where he almost lost Adrien, and the two moments where he wonders how far he can go to bring back his wife, wonders if he is willing to put the last thing he has left in danger on a gamble. This time he gambles: if Chat Noir truly is his son, he'll save himself. If he isn't, Ladybug will.

Adrien is missing, and his bodyguard is deeply upset: it's a perfect akuma setup, and the perfect opportunity to fight and potentially de-mask one of his enemies. Two birds one stone as they say. Unknowingly, Gabriel even strikes a third bird with this move : Ladybug's crush is captured.

2. Maribug as Peter Parker and Adrien as Gwen Stacy : the impossible romance

Gwen Stacy is a character that has been adapted and modified a lot. Sometimes made one with Mary Jane — Spider-Man's other well-known love interest — she is however remembered by one scene: her death (or at the very least her fall). For most people anyway. Now that sounds harsh and I don't believe it to be quite this clear cut: Gwen is very loveable during her life, and it's exactly the reason why her death is what we remember most. Her murder is a gut punch to the viewer and to Peter both because we love her as much as Peter does.

Gwen is Peter's "one that got away", the love of his life that he absolutely can't be with (be it to protect her or because she's already dead): something that Adrien is more and more becoming for Marinette as the show goes on. So is Chat Noir, but Chat Noir is a point I will adress later on.

'Truth' confirms the idea that Marinette having a civilian boyfriend is a bad, terrible idea. To add to this lesson, there are many events in the show that adress why Adrien specifically is someone she is so attached to that she does stupid things. In Volpina, Ladybug almost gives up her Miraculous when she thinks that Adrien is in danger (again another instance where the "love interest in danger" trope is used for Ladrien). In the Christmas special, she gets someone akumatised over Adrien being missing. Desperada's whole plot is about how Ladrien makes them both act dumb and against what they should do. In Chat Blanc she is forced to backtrack on her confession to Adrien - the first one to actually go through - in order to save the world. The season 3 finale was kickstarted in part by her feelings for Adrien and her jealousy towards Kagami. The season 4 finale ended the way it did because she trusted who she thought was Adrien. So far it seems that in season 5 Marinette will take all of these lessons to heart: being close and in love with Adrien is bad for her job as hero. (I haven't watched Kwami's choice yet but from what I know of it, it certainly seems to agree)

There is an evident pattern in the show regarding Ladrien's future : as long as Ladybug and Hawkmoth exist, Adrien has to stay a fantasy, an unreachable relationship that Ladybug can't have, just like Gwen is to Peter. Which seems rather fitting for a romance between the son of a supervilain and Paris' Heroine.

Now the fall in Gorizilla is another example of this phenomenon, but it is a very specific one. For the first time, Adrien's safety is directly in danger. And we, as the audience, know it. Where Volpina and Santa Claws were fake-outs to freak out only Ladybug, here WE are in the same boat. We know Adrien is really there and falling to his certain death. And more importantly: we know Chat Noir isn't coming to save him.

3. The subversion : Adrien as Chat Noir (the importance of trust and agency)

Now here comes the real genius of the scene to me (the genius of the Ladrien dynamic and the love square in general really) : we know Adrien is Chat Noir. We know that Adrien isn't as defenseless as Gwen, or as far removed from the conflict as Harry is. Something that neither Ladybug nor Gabriel know. Adrien isn't an innocent bystander pulled into the conflict by his father and his crush: Adrien is Ladybug's partner and Gabriel's enemy.

We know Adrien is more than capable of saving himself because Gabriel is right: his son is a superhero. However just like our favorite blond boy reinforces to Plagg, saving himself by transforming would be a pretty terrible idea. We're left hoping that it doesn't come to that, and yet it's hard to know how they can avoid it.

The audience is well aware that no matter what happens, Adrien won't die permanently : but thanks to the 'Miraculous Ladybug', that doesn't mean Adrien can't die at all. Sure it would be very unlikely to show his dead body or anything in a kids show, but Chat Noir has definitely 'died' before. And the more the scene advances, the more you're left to wonder how the heroes could win without Adrien exposing his identity. And while Chat Blanc hadn't happened yet, we have a vague idea of the consequences this revelation could have based on our interactions with other superheroes media. Given the very specific game of identity going on, Gabriel confirming his theory would make the plot go way faster than expected (and might just end the show).

We know two things given the show's genre:

Adrien really can't be revealing his identity this early on (it would be kept for a finale or a two parter surely)

Ladybug will win the fight in the end

Whether the situation resolves itself before or after Adrien face-planted on the floor is up in the air. His death being only temporary won't change much on how the audience feels because Adrien is just as loveable as Gwen is. Him dying is the last thing we want since we love him as much as Marinette does and the stakes for the episode are therefore raised.

Now the consequences are all clear but I'd want to circle back to the beginning : how did we end up in this situation ?

In the original comics, Gwen is an absolute damsel in this situation : she's unconscious for pretty much the entire scene and basically gets yeeted off the rooftop. Adrien's situation is very different though and it circles back to one of the most important themes in the show: trust.

If anything, the closest description of the gorizilla scene is a giant trust fall. Gabriel, however willing he is to endanger Adrien, doesn't throw him off the building: he actually attempts to protect Adrien by keeping him with his bodyguard. Now how does Adrien fall then ? That's the thing: he doesn't. Adrien doesn't fall, Adrien jumps. As Ladybug arrives on the roof, she asks him to trust her. And as her secret crush or as Gabriels' son, he doesn't have any reason to do so this willingly. Except Adrien isn't just that: Adrien is Chat Noir. And Chat Noir always trusts Ladybug.

In this scene, Adrien keeps his agency, something Gwen (or most civilian love interests really) isn't usually allowed. There is a lot to be said about the Gwen death scene and some of the inherent sexism that existed in the comics (which is unnavoidable given the time period). Heck even the newer movies, who put a lot of efforts into making MJ a 'feminist' character didn't completely drop the damsel trope (it being inherently a good or bad thing is too nuanced a topic to discuss here). There is however one instance I know of in a Spiderman media where the 'someone I love is falling' is also a trust fall : the 2018 ps4 video game. Now why do I bring that up? Interestingly enough, this video game presents Mary Jane as Spiderman's partner. We can even play as her in some missions ! Now that dynamic sounds very familiar. Video game Mary Jane, just like Adrien, puts a great deal of trust in her partner. And it pays off !

Trust is a fundamental aspect of the love square, and most 'damsel in distress' situations showcase that heavily. Ladynoir trust each other through and through, even when they don't have their own mask on. Adrien is Chat Noir and his lady just told him to jump, to trust her. So he does.

Gabriel is completely panicked because he didn't want that. He doesn't want Adrien falling to his certain death and he sure as hell doesn't trust Ladybug to save him. Gabriel can't understand why his son would and yet Adrien did.

Even Ladybug herself gambles heavily in this scene, hoping against all hopes that her partner will come to save Adrien, trusting that he'll be there, as he always is for her.

Ladrien subverts most damsel in distress trope by virtue of Adrien keeping his agency in them. Adrien is still Chat Noir even when he drops the mask. Adrien chooses time and time again to trust Ladybug, to keep on hoping. And she never disappoints, in clear contrast to Gabriel who keeps on disappointing his son. Trust is a core theme of Miraculous, in both romantic and platonic relationships, and an area in which Marinette and Gabriel really show their differences: Adrien's trust in Ladybug is earned and deserved, whereas Gabriel constantly abuses it.

4. Now what ? An attempt at discussing Season 5 and the 'reverse love square'

Season 5 really puts an emphasis on the trust theme, with almost every Gabriel/Adrien scene being filled with manipulation, while Ladynoir reinforces the importance of trust, no matter how their romantic feelings might evolve. Adrienette follows a similar theme, with Marinette becoming Adrien's confidant, trusting her with his deeper feelings in a way he only did with Plagg (and arguably Ladybug) before.

Adrien might be Marinette's one that got away, but Marinette is undoubtly where Adrien's happy ending lies.

Ultimately, the biggest obstacle to Adrienette is Marinette herself: once she lets herself trust Adrien, their relationship will be smooth sailing (if Gabriel doesn't put his ugly nose where it doesn't belong that is). Interestingly enough, that's what Ladybug has to do in Strikeback, both with Adrien (the real one this time) and with Chat Noir.

The love square plays constantly with the angst, and yet we know the fluff will come eventually. Adrienette is basically the happy version of Gwen/Stacy, an updated version where the damsel becomes the partner, where the happy ending will come one day, as long as they both power through. And it's honestly the best way to describe how Ladybug and Spiderman differs: Peter's ending is rarely happy (seriously half of the comics have the worst endings ever) whereas Marinette's journey, hopeless as it can seem, will lead to happiness eventually.

There are thousands of ways in which the show could get there though, many of which are criticised by at least some part of the fandom for one reason or another. The beginning of the season has flip-flopped a lot between Adrienette and Ladynoir, with Marichat fans finally getting their long awaited 'square reversal'. But where does that leave Ladrien ?

Well according to most: nowhere (despite Marichat being the most popular side, even back when it was unrequited but I digress). There's a lot of hints that the reversal might not be as clear cut as some fans believe, but ultimately, until we get a Ladrien scene in Season 5, it will be complicated to truly settle the debate once and for all.

However, I like to believe that Ladrien will never be an inconsequential relationship: the trust between them will never disappear (I'd argue it's getting stronger than ever), and a love as deep as they had won't vanish that easily, no matter how much they may want to move on. There's still a lot of stories that could be told with Ladrien.

A reprise of the Gorizilla scene would be fascinating for example, and truly showcase how far we've come.

With his slow descent into full blown villainy, would Season 5 Gabriel let Adrien die, and with him the last sliver of a potential reconciliation and redemption ?

How would Ladybug react to Adrien's life being put in danger now ? Season 1 Ladybug almost gave up her Miraculous, but I wonder how a Season 5 one would react: would she trust Adrien to save himself ? Especially if this hypothetical scene happens post reveal.

Would Adrien take a gamble and transform despite the risks ?

There's a lot of different ways this situation could end and I'd be disappointed if they don't use it again.

Since the 'Hawkmoth is Gabriel' reveal, Ladrien has been anticipated to be at the core of his demise, and I still believe it will be the case. By then, the reveal will have blurred the lines, but I have no doubt that Adrien (as Hawkmoth's son) and Ladybug (as his nemesis) will matter most: ultimately, they're the ones that Gabriel cares about, and the finale will surely place them at the forefront, as the ending of the Agreste arc and Gabriel's final confrontation with the Guardian.

In the end, Marichat is the fun and chaotic side that sometimes delves deeper, Ladynoir is the workplace relationship based on complete trust, Adrienette is their teenage first love with all the awkwardness that comes with it, and Ladrien is the one that connects best to the plot: the Love Square is a mix of all of them, and something else entirely and I firmly believe that any analysis of their relationship that aims to do more than breach the surface needs to take a look at all of them and that certainly includes Ladrien, be it requited or platonic.

Now I'm certainly no expert and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I believe that Ladrien still has a lot of things to offer, even now, perhaps especially so.

(Also for every Spiderman fan out there, don't hesitate to correct me on anything I may have said wrong here, I've never actually read the comics myself so my knowledge is mostly second hand and vague memories of the diverse movies.)

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thewitchqueenofharrenhal · 3 months

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This probably isn't the space to do this but as someone who likes your blog and is choosing to part ways with hotd fandom, and you do discuss the "team discourse' and thought I'd leave this here. I'm done with this show and fandom.

The amount of if you like team (insert) here you are morally bankrupt is so...frustrating on its own. But the fact that the entire fandom cannot seem to not compare fiction to real life tragedies and horrors on this level, the bullying, the callout posts, Valaryian being used a sneaky way to be racists towards nettles, laena and laenor, white feminism being promoted and normalized so aggressively, the homophobia laenor faces from both teams, how you cannot claim both teams are bad without being accused of deflecting or preached to about one team not being as bad as the other, you cannot critique any Targaryen's unless come out lyanna or alicent's impure bloodline.

Not to mention how stans come for you throat if you mention daemyra isn't healthy or Daemyra/daemon make you uncomfortable.

This adaptation is too season 7 of GoT to be worth this much trouble. But tbh, as I announce my exit like a cringy karen, I just hope Ewan, Tom and Phia's media hate doesn't effect their careers because they are some of the best talent in the show to do what they did with so little given to them to work with; And to any blacks wanting to come into the notes proud there bullied a green out the fandom. I can't wait for Jon Snow to choose his sisters and end the targ line in the unreleased books spoilers that will leak after grrm dies. And i hope the f&b 2 draft is on the same shelf as the WoW.

Nooooooo, this made me really sad :(

I had two lines of thought reading this. First I'm really bummed out you feel that way, it's always a shame when we lose normal, (normal isn't an insult in this fandom lol), interesting, great people in the fandom. It seems like people who just want to interact with media and enjoy something that's suppose to be fun (fandom) always end up leaving and the worst people always tend to stay and get venerated in this fandom for just being awful. I'm really sorry to see you go!.

At the same time, I completely understand your frustration and feelings. I don't know why but the ASOIAF/GOT/HOTD fandom has a real problem with attracting honestly just really vile individuals. I want to blame it on this being a fandom that has been waiting for over a decade but I even at times feel embarrassed that my favorite book series is one *those* people claim to *love* as well. (By those people I mean what you reference - individuals who use this fandom to spout to the most vile racist, sexist, homophobic, overall weird ass takes).

It can become too much. Especially when fandom is supposed to be fun, hell even GRRM himself subtly pointed out how fandom seems to be ran by anti fans now who make fandom just not a fun place to be in. Ultimately the issues in the fandom you mentioned are very real and nothing minor. I would encourage you to put your health, safety, and happiness first. I recently took a small break, and if you ever want to come back I promise there are corners of the fandom that are for lack of a better word normal.

I don't think you're being a Karen, lol. It's fair to be frustrated with everything you mentioned. I don't think you have to worry on that end, the cast of HOTD live extremely fantastic lives compared to those who sit around hating on them lol. They will be just fine and they're talented individuals. I deeply encourage you to step back from this fandom, let go of that team idea, I know it's very pervasive in the HOTD fandom, but really it's not real, lol. People just really like tribalism on both ends and want to feel important in one way or another.

IJBOL, not gonna lie the little digs thrown in at the end before you head out made me laugh!. Unfortunately I disagree with you on that end I really like Daenerys and I hope she lives a long life. LMAO and I hope I get to see more books from GRRM but I understand you might not be feeling the nicest right now LOL. Stay strong friend. I know this fandom sucks, but don't let it discourage you from enjoying what you like.

#anon #hotd

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laoih · 2 months

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Some thoughts on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

I love the original animated series, and have loved it for many years. I know that many fans are upset about the adaptation, and that's their prerogative. I know how that feels, that's basically me as a fan of Tolkien's work with Amazon's terrible The Rings of Power series.

However, when it comes to Avatar The Last Airbender, I can say that I genuinely like the live action adaptation. It is flawed for sure, and I have my criticisms, but I still think it's enjoyable and has a lot of heart. I do want to see more of it.

A quick (lie) list of the highs and lows in my opinion (spoiler warning):

Let's start with the shortcomings:

The dialogues: Throughout the whole show they are probably the biggest issue. Too often they are used for exposition, or to tell the viewers what they could deduce by themselves. It's often on-the-nose and missing subtlety. Although I have to admit that it seems for some people who don't know the animated series, it seems to help for understanding the show better, and therefore may be justified at least in parts.

Aang's woe-is-me attitude: It makes sense that Aang is suffering due to his trauma of being the last of his kind, of losing his family, and because being the Avatar is a huge burden. However, towards the end his attitude of "everything is my fault" started to get annoying. He doesn't have to feel responsible for everything. I hope he can quickly move past this in s2. I'd like to see other sides of Aang as well.

Aang's water bending: I think it's weird that Aang never really gave water bending a try. They never even give a reason why he didn't try, and that just makes that change confusing.

Aang's & Katara's relationship: I understand why they didn't include Aang's crush on Katara, but with them bonding over water bending being removed as well means that two major parts of their relationship don't exist, and the show has failed to really build up their relationship in a meaningful way otherwise.

Katara's character: In general she stays a bit underdeveloped, and the actress is lacking a bit of Katara's edge and energy in my opinion.

Azula: I don't like how they have written her, and I don't think the actress fits the character either. It's very difficult, because Azula in the animation does not act her age at all. Her entire demeanor is difficult to portray for a teenager, but it's also very memorable. Itd be hard for any actress to do her justice.

Mai & Ty Lee: They have nothing to do in that season & now they can't get the great character-defining introductions that they had in the original series. They were included to give Azula someone to talk to, but it's to the detriment of these two characters – they're just bland background now.

The Spirit World: Episode 5 just didn't work for me because there was too much crammed into it. There was no reason to include Wan Shi Tong nor did it make sense to include Hei Bai and then basically completely skip his story. With Koh being the actual culprit, the abduction of the villagers stands in no relation to the burnt forest in that episode. It would have been better to tell

Avatar Roku: I feel there was wasted potential there. Based on interviews I suppose there was simply no time & money left, so I hope they'll do him more justice in later seasons.

Now for the highlights:

The Bending: I think for most of the series it looks very powerful and impressive. It's not perfect throughout, but in general they did a really good job with it.

Zuko: Dallas Liu's portrayal is wonderful and I have zero complaints and only praise.

Aang's & Zuko's relationship: I think they build a solid foundation for these two characters, and I think some of Gordon's best acting is opposite to Dallas Liu.

Suki: Loved the actress' performance and how they have written her.

Ozai: I think Ozai is a case where the live action character is more interesting and impressive than the animated character. I really like what they are doing with him and Daniel Dae Kim is perfect in that role.

Jet & the Mechanist: I think putting these two plots together is a very interesting and fitting idea, and contrasting them in the same episode made me think about them in relation as I hadn't done before. It's fascinating how these two characters, who should actually fight for the same goal, have gone down two very different paths.

Kioshi's avatar state: It basically replaces Rokku's version in the animated version, and it's just cool.

Bumi: Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I think within the context of this more serious show this version of Bumi makes much more sense. Animated-Bumi with his challenges for Aang to realise how to take different approaches to find a solution wouldn't have worked with the changed tone of the story.

Sokka: Within the context of the show, Sokka also works well. He still is funny at times, but he is a bit more mature and responsible than animated-Sokka, which is more realistic in this show. Otherwise, one would have wondered why Hakoda didn't live an actual adult man in the village for protection.

The 41st division: I know, one of the points in the original was also that Zuko's defense of the new recruits seem to have been useless, but I love that his crew was given such an impactful background. It does not lessen the tragedy of Zuko's situation.

Hahn: I kind of like that he's not just a complete idiot, but actually a likable guy that I felt sorry for when he died.

The impact of war: I liked the exploration of what war does to people and especially children. It includes a variety of examples and stories, and I like that we get different kind of sides to this.

The locations: the sets are good, and the CGI backgrounds as well.

Appa, Mom and other fantastical animals: I understand that it's difficult to include them for large amounts of time, but I think whenever they are used they are convincingly animated.

The music is as good as expected.

... I'm sure I have forgotten many things I wanted to mention, but this has to do for now.

#natla #natla spoilers #netflix avatar #atla netflix #natla review

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chibivesicle · 11 months

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Well, that explains a lot. Why Trigun Stampede was Sci fi over Western.

I was toodling on Youtube (as one oft does in these current times) and stumbled upon this excerpt from a Trash Taste podcast where they interviewed a staff member from Studio Orange about Trigun Stampede. Pretty much this expands upon some of what I’d briefly read from a Sakuracon panel this spring.

TL:DR - Trigun Stampede was a complete remake of the original Trigun with a hired sci fi writer to not only write 150 years of history and lore but also mechanics of the world. This is why most of the elements of the original are lost. The manga and ‘98 anime were an example of an American style Western plopped on a desert planet but one where the materials and mechanics of the world are similar to our own.

If you are interested check out the video here:

youtube

This both supports what had been my general take away from the final product as well as explains things I observed but had no evidence for without hearing it from a staff member.

1.) Sci fi elements were a huge deal - hiring an independent writer explains why it has such a different voice and storytelling tone. One could argue that the original Trigun made it too easy to recognize it was a western, but that was what we were given as readers and viewers. As much as I, an anal retentive person who like details like thinking that there is no wood on the planet, therefore, we can’t have wood saloon doors. I also like a story that makes sense and flows.

2.) The twelve episode format boxed them in. Who knows how these sort of deals are made but they needed at least 24 episodes from the start. This is what killed the pacing. You can redo all you want but if the pacing and writing are bad, it will be bad. I feel like I’m the niche version of someone like Friendly Space Ninja and Amanda the Jedi. Just because you put a lot of time, money and effort (also money) it won’t matter if your writing is bad. 3.) I fully agree that the CGI was exceptional. It is obvious that the studio put so much effort into this front. The animation was breathtakingly well done for the most part. There were a few too many ‘show off’ animation sequences which annoyed me but the facial expressions were great.

However, due to the shift with the sci fi aspect being much greater than the Western, we get the loss of the ability to animate more of the common people who are largely absent and a key aspect of Nightow’s works. I’ve stated this elsewhere but the adults in his series are trying to protect the common folk. By leaning into the desert aspect and the desolation of the desert stereotype, they lacked the random kids, bakers, bankers, laborers, servers, farmers, mothers, fathers etc. I’m not sure if this is a technical issue from the computational/technical side or a storyboarding/framing issue. Or that they just forgot about the people in general were a thing?

This also heavily leans into the incorrect assumption that a desert is desolate and does not support life. Anyone who has visited or lived in the desert knows that despite appearing like it is dead and empty at first, plenty of life is present. It just has a totally different way to adapt to things. I was disappointed that the creative team leaned into this stereotype using green plants [photosynthesis] = livable and desert using angelic being plants = livable. My own experience of living in the desert also made me cringe at Wolfwood’s shoes. No. Just no. You do not wear slip on shoes in the desert. Lace ups for sure and up past your ankle even better.

4.) Ample amount of creative effort went into this. Again, Studio Orange put a lot of effort into this. Technically, it is very nice. If you wanted to look at it from an anime perspective, the presentation was excellent, and the writing was at most average. But, with so much source material that they did not include and the creation of so much of their own original ideas and concepts, it took it far from the work. If they wanted this as their product (which seems to have been their goal) then they succeeded. However, if they wanted to take the original and build on it and give it a fresh coat of paint with 2020s Pantone Colors of the moment, they did not do that.

5.) I’m surprised at how many YT critics are impressed and overall giving this positive reviews. I know that people in these positions have made it their job to do anime/manga media commentary and critiques so they may want to be less harsh perhaps. Many of them saw the original material, and so many seem to be okay with it. Yet, is anyone not commenting on what happened to all the female characters? No! This annoys me so much but repeating myself here won’t really do much other than reinforce the fact that I was very unhappy with Meryl, Elendira, Luida, and Rem. Lazy writing would be with the limited time space for the episodes they became tropes and shadows of their former selves. But Meryl was a key character and deserved better. Yes, I love to critique things I love and that is fair but I’m wishing for a more comprehensive critique of Trigun Stampede taken from not a bunch of dudes on the internet. I have neither the time nor effort to become a Youtube creator and commentator in this space. With that whole full time job sort of thing that pays quite well. But I do want to see more women in this space expressing how they interact with media and walk us through their reactions an feelings towards it. For example someone the The Anime Tea. I absolutely love her analyses!

https://www.youtube.com/@TheAnimeTea

youtube

I honestly would love to see her do a review of Trigun Stampede! But it might be outside of her general scope and I’m not here to demand an analysis from anyone. She had a lot of nuanced and contextually appropriate reviews and ways to approaching things which is just - sooo good.

#Trigun #trigun anime #trigun stampede #studio orange #my late thoughts on the subject #staff commentary #youtubers opinions

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duhragonball · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Super Manga Ch.1-4

What’s that? Did you think we were done with Battle of Gods? No, we need to go over it a third time.

So after the success of the Battle of Gods and Resurrection F movies, Toei began producing the Dragon Ball Super anime, while Shueisha began publishing the Dragon Ball Super manga. Both started up around the summer of 2015, and both made the... uh... bold choice to retell the Battle of Gods movie.

The weird thing is that both versions have significant differences from the original story. They don’t even agree with each other, and I don’t understand what the point of this is. The basic plot points are the same, but the details change. For example, Beerus wakes up in the movie and pretty much heads straight to the North Kai Planet to meet Goku. In the anime, Beerus visits at least one other planet instead, and he decides to only destroy half of it because their food was good, but too greasy. Then he destroys a second planet and the explosion reminds him of the Super Saiyan God premonition.

In the manga, he visits an alien planet, and the locals try to poison his food, but it doesn’t work. One of their dishes is named Soup D’Saian Gahd, which jogs Beerus’ memory of his premonition, and he destroys the entire planet, not just half like he did in the anime.

My whole beef is this: Who is this for? A lot of times, you’ll see a movie come out, and there’ll be a novelization, and maybe a video game, and maybe a comic book or something. They might vary in content, but mostly because not everyone had access to the final script. I’ve heard that in the novelization of Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is described as being blue, probably because the author didn’t know they had picked green when principal photography began.

But the point is that those are different media, with different priorities. With Battle of Gods, we have an animated movie, and animated TV series, and a comic book that resembles the art style of the movie as closely as possible. The implication is that all three need to be the same, and yet they’re frustratingly different in minor, nitpicky ways.

To be sure, the classic Dragon Ball anime and manga had differences, but for a reason. The anime would pad out scenes and invent whole new ones to sustain its production schedule while the manga was being published simultaneously. Here, that doesn’t apply, because you have a TV show and a comic book adapting a two-year-old movie. Also, there seems to be no interest in making both versions agree with each other.

So let’s explain how this works. You see Akira Toriyama’s name listed all over the DBS manga, but his involvement is pretty minimal. When they list him as “author”, they mean he’s the guy who created all the characters. It’s like when they put “Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry” on every episode of Star Trek. Gene’s been dead for over thirty years, and even before that, it’s not like he was writing all the scripts.

Instead, the DBS manga is written and drawn by Toyotaro, a different artist who was chosen by Toriyama. As I understand it, the formula for Dragon Ball Super is this: Toriyama will come up with a plot outline, then send it to Toyotaro, who expands it into a full story. Toyotaro is an extremely controversial figure in the Dragon Ball fandom, mostly for high crimes such as “drawing the Dragon Ball comic”, and “existing”.

For my part, I gave up on the DBS manga when it became apparent that it wasn’t going to do anything I wasn’t already getting from the anime. But after the anime ended, Toyotaro finally got to tell original stories like the Moro and Granolah arcs, and that’s why I decided to finally read the manga this year. Unfortunately, it means I gotta wade through a bunch of reruns to get to the good stuff.

I suspect Toyotaro was similarly frustrated with this arrangement, because his Battle of Gods adaptation is very short--only four chapters long. And there is no Resurrection F adaptation at all, which is lucky for me. I think Toyotaro was champing at the bit to get this series moving, and in the meantime, he managed to work in some new additions where he could.

For instance, chapter 1 pretty much follows Goku’s POV from Episode 1 of the anime. We see him doing exercises while Goten drives his tractor, but Toyotaro also shows him imagining his old enemies while he does his drills. This is handy, as it gives Toyotaro an excuse to put Cell in the manga. Also, I find it kind of amusing that Goku’s training regimen is exactly the same thing his real-world fans do on the playground.

Vegeta is barely in this thing, save for the part where he fights Beerus on Bulma’s cruise ship, so Toyotaro puts in some side panels of the guy, like this one of Mr. Satan trying to give him his award money.

Or, this one of Vegeta learning the Bingo dance he did in the movie, but not in the anime. He also doesn’t do it in this comic, either, as the manga version skips over most of the party. All we get is another panel of Vegeta lamenting that he didn’t get to show off his dance.

We also get this page where he explains who Beerus is to the others, while also covering the flashback to when he first met Beerus as a child. I really like the way this comic is laid out. I don’t enjoy a rushed re-telling of Battle of Gods, but Toyotaro definitely does a great job with the assignment he’s been given.

The only new plot element here is the introduction of Champa and Vados, who are destroying planets while Beerus searches for the Super Saiyan God. They don’t want to alert him to their presence, but fortunately he’s too busy to notice them. The only ones who do notice are the Elder Kai and Kibitoshin, who deduce that Champa is looking for the Dragon Balls, but not the ones on Earth. Accordingly, Kibitoshin goes to New Namek to collect their Dragon Balls, thinking this will foil Champa’s plan.

Then it turns out that’s not what it was about at all, so Kibitoshin uses the Namekian Dragon Balls to dissolve his fusion. So now he’s Kibito and Shin again. This would be reflected in the anime, when we see these two in the Universe 6 arc. So I’m guessing this was thrown into show how that happened.

Meanwhile, Champa destroys a Frieza Force ship just as it locates a Dragon Ball. So apparently the Balls Champa are looking for are a third set. According to Garana, the commander of the ship Champa destroyed, these Dragon Balls are enormous. The Frieza Force’s leader, Sorbet, is more concerned with the disappearance of another platoon of his troops. This convinces him that their only hope is to resurrect Frieza.

Meanwhile, some sort of Battle of Gods happens. Goku turns into a Super Saiyan God, but he can’t beat Beerus, yadda yadda. In the movie, Beerus blew up a small piece of the Earth to satisfy his word. In the anime, Beerus faked falling asleep so he could spare the Earth without looking like he’d changed his mind. Here, he just decides to spare the Earth, at least for the time being.

So yeah, that’s about it. The art is great, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. These four chapters are saddled with recapping a movie while also setting up events in Res F and the Universe 6 arc, neither of which needed a lot of prologue to begin with. I mean, seriously, Resurrection F starts with Sorbet deciding to wish back Frieza. The Universe 6 arc starts with Champa arriving on Beerus’ planet and stating his business. It’s not that complicated.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super: the manga #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #beerus #whis #vados #champa #kibitoshin #supreme kai #kibito #elder kai #vegeta #mr satan #goten #piccolo #dende #king vegeta #sorbet

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sanaserena · 5 months

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Yay, finally I'm posting the screenshots from Episode 7! This is Part 1. Had I been less busy lately, this would have been sooner. Congrats to SAG-AFTRA for securing a new deal and to the end of the strike! This happened a week ago, but still, this is good news for OPLA!

For the other parts see: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

So, Episode 7 is one of my favourites, even though OPLA's version of Nami's arc is both honoured and perhaps also my least favourite interpretation adaption. BUT, even so, I can never stop myself from watching the whole episode through because it has so many great moments.

Immediately, I love Sanji's dynamic with the crew. I do wish he's more present, but he is also only introduced in episode 5. But for the time we see him, he gets some good moments with Luffy (love the fishing scene) and with Zoro (over a woman no less), and later with Usopp.

I can't. Buggy's head is great. That shanty he sings is even better!

I wanted to get more screenshots of Jacob as Usopp, because he's such a good choice. I hope we get to see more Usopp development properly in Season 2. He has some in Season 1, but not as much as we'd expect. Usopp has never been a big favourite Strawhat for me, but I do admire his growth throughout the series! OPLA Usopp feels a bit more relateable, but I look forward (hopefully) to Water 7.

Chioma Umeala does a wonderful job as her version of Nojiko. She's not exactly the same as Nojiko that we know in the manga, but I was sold her version.

As always, I love the dynamic between the Strawhats in this episode. One of my favourite moments (among many others for this episode) is when Zoro holds Luffy to tell Genzo why they're here looking for Nojiko. I love how Sanji uses his skills as a way to get Nojiko to share Nami's story. And I love Usopp's way of persuading Nojiko.

The banter is great. It's fun to see the adaptation's version of some of my favourite dynamics.

I love the tension and onscreen chemistry between Nami and Luffy during the scene where he confronts her the first time - and then bam! later in the same episode we have progress in the chemistry between Zoro and Luffy. OPLA has its faults, but it's undeniable how they show the progression of trust between members of the crew. If you remember, previously, Luffy didn't talk to Zoro about something important like "feelings" or his "thoughts". For 8 episodes, this feels like a natural progression.

The child actors also do great in their roles. They do their best and they should be praised for that. For sure, I could never do that. So props to them for bring young Nami and Nojiko to life!

It's interesting how OPLA brings about the link to the tangerines and windmills. Only manga and anime fans would note the significance of the windmill on Genzo's hat that we see in the flashback. In the OPLA adaptation, present day Genzo no longer has the windmill in his hat, which makes sense as OPLA chose not to adapt the key plot point where the villagers of Coco Village knew Nami was trying to buy back the village. It's also interesting that Nami's tattoo later on is implied to be because of the tangerine windmills she makes with her sister and her mother.

Emily is great as Nami. There are so many nuanced expressions that I had to capture because of what they say about Nami. I think she did the "Help Me" scene perfectly. And I loved how Luffy/Inaki gives back the perfect amount of emotion.

(Okay, my only gripe with how Nami's backstory is adapted is that it makes no sense for young Nami to visit Arlong and show him her map without him having seen her work beforehand and commenting on it. As in, no one to acknowledge that her maps are "better than the ones adults make", since as we know, adults alike are infamous for not taking children seriously. While I can understand that they wanted to have young Nami be more proactive, there is no guarantee before this point that her map wouldn't be rejected - again, because a child drew it, and there was no vocal validation that her maps were "good". If we had been given a small scene of Arlong noticing a "good map" in Bellemere's home just before he kills her, it would have made more sense. This was one of my main nitpick of Nami's arc, among a few other things! )

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simplyclary · 1 year

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The ships from the shadows that I will never disembark from ➰

This post is based off of a ship game here on Tumblr, but to make things a little bit more clear and interesting, I just decided to make a whole post about it and include the top 5 ships from the shadows (if you know, you know) that I absolutely love and adore!

I love a good romance in fantasy so even though not all of my favorite ships are included in the discussion, I made a little list for honorable mentions at the very end.

Also disclaimer, I do not have any unpopular opinion about my ships so if you're familiar with the game, I simply answered the first two questions, which is "What made me ship it?" and "What are my favorite things about my ship?"

Another thing before I begin, the five ships included here is not arranged in any particular order and for the ships that already have a live-action adaptation, I will be using photos from the TV show and for those who does not have an adaptation, I will be using fanart (and of course, give credits to the artist)

I may end up rambling (as per usual), but hey, it's part of the ride.

This is a lengthy post, so get comfy, grab a cup of coffee or tea and read on...

LET'S START WITH SHIP NUMBER 1:

Simon Lewis and Isabelle Lightwood 💜

(Photo credits: Freeform)

Ahhhh! My most favorite ship in The Mortal Instruments series. Also, Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia is my favorite adaptation of Simon and Isabelle. I just love them so much that the idea of them splitting up or one of them dying hurts my heart.

Anyway, before I get sidelined, let's get to the point...

What made me ship them?

Right off the bat, their chemistry from the beginning of the story is one of the many reasons why I ship them. The way that Simon was enchanted by Isabelle from the very beginning made me swoon. Their slow burn romance is to die for. I also love how their relationship is built on friendship.

Most of their interactions in the books (even in the show) were as friends and it was only in like the last couple of books (and episodes) did they become an official couple. They are the definition of strangers to friends to lovers (if there is such a trope?) and I adore that. They are also part of the hot girl dates nerd trope (again, is this a thing?) and I'm obsessed with it.

Another reason why I ship them is because they are always there for each other when needed. Like when Simon needs blood to drink, Isabelle aids him in getting a fresh supply. They've always got each other's backs and are both just really badass people.

What are my favorite things about them?

I have a lot of favorite things about Simon and Isabelle but some things that make the top list is of course, their undeniable chemistry. Their humor and comedic timing around each other makes me laugh. Their support for each other, the way they flirt and tease each other, they are meant to be in every universe (or dimension).

One notable favorite thing of mine is when Simon teaches Isabelle nerd and mundane culture and her confused reactions gets me giggling every time! Also, during Simon's time in Shadowhunter Academy, Isabelle went there and claimed Simon as her boyfriend and threatened everyone who even thinks about starting a relationship with him. That is one of my most favorite scenes from the books.

Their souls are meant for each other and there is no denying that.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 2:

Thomas Lightwood and Alastair Carstairs 🧡

(Photo credits: @agnes-draws)

My current obsession and hyper-fixation! They are my world right now and I don't think I'll get over them anytime soon! By the angel, look at them! Aren't they too precious?? *swoons*

Anyway.....

What made me ship them?

Where do I even begin with this? Oh, I know, the beginning (obviously!). I shipped them from the beginning because the tension that constantly existed between them since their days at the Academy to their days in Paris together until the day that Thomas threatened to knock Alastair into the Thames (I mean there's reason behind that, I know) and forward. They are the definition of the childhood bully (Alastair to Thomas) to companions (in Paris) to enemies (-ish) to secret connections to lovers (I clearly have no idea what I just said here but I think you get the point).

I also shipped them because of the honesty and openness that exists between them. The rawness of emotion that flows between them when they're in their little bubble of privacy is just wow and I love reading about it! They are also opposites that are attracted to one another (Alastair being sort of chin-up type of guy and Thomas being the awkward sweetie that he is). The desire that exists in their hearts for each other is just flowing through the pages, which I adore.

I wasn't expecting to ship them when I first read the short stories and the first two books of TLH, but hey, I'm here now and it's all that matters.

What are my favorite things about them?

I have a lot of favorite things about them, but their banter is one of my most favorites. In canon or out of canon, they have good banter and dialogue. I can feel their emotions rushing with every turn of the page. I also love their height difference (I apparently have a thing for this!), with Thomas being 6'5 and Alastair being a munchkin at 5'10 is something I will never get over.

They also bring out the best in each other and they are protective (and possessive) over one another. They are also there for each other during times of need (like when Alastair comforted Thomas when Thomas found out that Christopher is gone), and it makes my heart mushy. Their comedic timing is also one of my favorite things (the fire message scene lives rent free in my mind).

They belong together in every universe and I will stand by that.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 3:

Will Herondale and Tessa Gray 💙

(Photo credits: @allarica)

Oh angel, these are two people meant to be together! Their love broke boundaries! What else can I say about these two amazing bookish angels? Also, this art is just one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.

Let's move on before I babble, shall we?

What made me ship them?

I love a good slow burn romance and they are a couple that did just that. The passion is evident in the way they interact with each other, the way they look at each other, there was a spark from the moment Will (and Jem) saved Tessa from the clutches of the Dark Sisters that left me wanting more of them. Of course, with every romance, tension arose between them but it was nothing that they can't solve.

They are each other's safe space, they want to be together during times when they are apart. They have an invisible string that ties them together and I love that idea. Their love story is something that I will remember for eternity.

What are my favorite things about them?

I love that Tessa made Will a better person. I mean, he is still very much himself, Tessa just sort of improved him as a human being. I love that happy glow that they have when they are together, which clearly states that they are really happy and meant to be together. I also love that they have a shared love for books and stories, I really love characters who loves books and treasures them.

Their banter is unmatched and they are supportive of each other and are protective of each other. I can state a lot more but those are the top favorites!

They found love in the darkest of times and they are each other's light.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 4:

Gideon Lightwood and Sophie Collins 💚

(Photo credits: @lemoncielart)

Now, they are a prince and lady's maid sort of story. Kind of reminds me of Cinderella but the meaning is much more special to me. Just the look on Gideon's face in the photo is the look of love and adoration for Sophie and it makes me swoon.

Let's proceed, shall we?

What made me ship them?

I like the way that they started from a master and apprentice relationship to friends to eventually lovers and that is just lovely to read. The forced proximity in a sense that in the beginning, Gideon did not want to like stay in London because he thought he would not have a good time but Sophie changed that because those training lessons were the ones that Gideon looked forward to the most. I just love that idea and reading it made me go "Awww!".

The way that they are open and honest with one another is just admirable because of course, they both went through tough times and they found safety and support in each other. I also adore Gideon's gentleness to Sophie during the training sessions (still can't believe Gideon swears in Spanish when he's having a good time, that fact still confuses me to this day) and them wanting to meet each other even outside the training sessions. If that is not the beginning of courtship, I don't know what is.

What are my favorite things about them?

Favorite things, you say? Hmm, let's start with the infamous scones story. I'll just say that I admire Gideon's determination and he will go through great lengths just to see Sophie, even though by the means of wasting a lot of scones and having a threat of a rat infestation. I love that entire scene and it still makes me giggle. Another thing that makes me giggle (and swoon) is Gideon's accidental declaration of his desire to get married to Sophie at the breakfast table and eventual proposal. Ahh, typical lovesick Lightwood boy.

I also love the way that they see beyond imperfection (mainly Gideon) and their caring and accepting personalities (my heart swooned extra at the epilogue of Chain of Thorns when Thomas declared that he would be living with Alastair and they accepted him wholeheartedly). They are also amazing parents so there's also that.

They are one of my most favorite parents in the entire Shadowhunters saga.

ONTO THE LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, SHIP NUMBER 5:

Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood ❤️

(Photo credits: Freeform)

Ahhhh Malec! How to describe them other than revolutionary? They are the first gay couple I ever shipped in my life and my life is made better because of it! Thank you to my parabatai @jamielivesforthememesandthe-blog for introducing me to them and I will forever be grateful. Also, the way Harry Shum Jr. and Matthew Daddario portrayed them on-screen is perfection!

Now, let's dive into this revolutionary relationship.

What made me ship them?

It all started with a spark that clearly flickered when they first saw each other. That single spark of flame is enough to send readers feral. Magnus was obviously enchanted by Alec and Alec, of course, was also kind of attracted (though he will not admit it yet). They also have this constant yearning and desire to be with each other and they worry for each other when they're apart.

They also protect one another and help each other out, especially on missions that can be deadly. I also love that they balance each other out, like Magnus is very flamboyant and outgoing while Alec is very shy and introverted, but Magnus helps Alec be more confident and Alec humbles Magnus a little bit. They complete each other and each other's soulmate.

What are my favorite things about them?

They are a revolutionary couple! They set an example for those who are like them and make sure that they have a safe space in the world (Matthew, Thomas and Alastair are cheering from heaven!!). Their chemistry is unmatched and their love knows no boundaries. They bring out the best in each other.

Mostly courtesy of Magnus, their banter always makes me giggle and laugh. Also my favorite thing is that they are able to mend up their relationship whenever they have a rift in it. They also think of each other when they're apart and after the events of TMI, I love how they eventually built their family (Max and Rafael are so lucky to have Magnus and Alec as their dads)

They are meant for each other and I'm happy for Magnus, because after so many failed relationships, he finally found his home with Alec.

There we have it, folks! My top 5 ships from the shadows that I will never disembark from. I had a lot of fun writing this and listing reasons why I love these couples. I may have sounded redundant in the entries, but that is simply because I can't formulate enough words to share with you all how much these ships mean to me. 😁

But wait, there're more....

I said in the introduction to this that there will be honorable mentions for the ships that I will not discuss but I still love and adore.

Without further ado, here they are..

James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs

Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild

Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn

Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray

Julian Blackthorn and Emma Carstairs

Jesse Blackthorn and Lucie Herondale

These are the honorable mentions, my dears! If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I adore you all and sending lots of love from my heart to yours! 🫶

#the mortal instruments #the last hours #the infernal devices #the dark artifices #simon lewis #isabelle lightwood #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #will herondale #tessa gray #gideon lightwood #sophie collins #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters

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bloodboundsiege · 1 year

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out of curiosity, what made you decide to make this into a full fledged visual novel instead of just writing a fic? esp since afaik there hasn't been a demand/outcry for more bloodbound

(this ended up being rlly long, so I'm putting it under a cut. if you don't want to read all of that, the tl;dr is I've been working on an spec adaptation of Bloodbound since 2021, I've been making edits with Choices assets for a little over a year now, and I started messing around with ren'py during my stint in the now no longer active @nightboundthesecond project, and this spinoff is the culmination of all of those things bc I wanted to do something w them).

Anyways, here's the long version:

So...I kind of already did. Sort of.

In summer of 2021, I was going through a pretty bad depressive episode and ended up rereading Bloodbound (which got me back into the fandom as a whole, more on that in a sec). When the dust cleared, I began really heavily reconsidering what exactly I was doing with my life.

I'd been toying with the possibility of doing a film MFA of some kind, but I was worried I didn't have the skillset to get into any grad programs. So, I began teaching myself how to write screenplays by adapting Bloodbound into a spec TV series. From August 2021 to April 2022, I wrote twenty-eight episodes, with three rounds of revisions, which really strengthened my abilities as a writer. I'm currently at a T10 film school getting an MFA. I wouldn't be where I am without doing that. Part of my love for Bloodbound stems from the fact that it quite literally changed my life.

The very nature of turning a book into a screenplay/teleplay is that you have to restructure a lot of plot points so they fit in better with the new medium. With a TV adaptation, you also usually have to build onto the source material. For Bloodbound, that meant fleshing things out and creating new characters to move the plot forward. It also meant exploring things that either happened offscreen or were only brief scenes.

And so when it came time to write episodes for the book 2 adaptation, the huge aspect of that was going into New York City and seeing what Gaius was doing during his hostile takeover. And since I had very little to work with from the source material, I had to come up with a lot of stuff off the cuff. And as I put those storylines together, I was like there's actually some pretty interesting stuff here. This visual novel is based off of that stuff.

@clansayeed and his fantastic reimaginings of Bloodbound and Nightbound had been on my radar for a while at this point, but I wasn't aware of the fake caps he made until I actually checked out his tumblr account. I thought they were really fucking cool. As a little private celebration for finishing the third round of edits for season 1 (and to let myself take a break), I decided to teach myself how to make fakecaps and recreate a few scenes from my adaptation in the Choices format:

I found out that I really enjoyed reworking assets into new outfits and character designs--lowkey, putting on a podcast or a video essay, opening up pixlr, and just making stuff became one of my go-to ways to unwind in the midst of mfa apps and life in general--, so I started making more fandom service stuff for fun and posting them on Reddit. I made a variety of stuff: role reversal AU edits, general dress up stuff, and of course... "on the set of [choices book]: the tv show" fake caps.

I feel like you're not really supposed to say this, but it was kind of validating to me that a lot of those posts did like. Decent numbers. And that kind of motivated me to get better at doing it, especially in the beginning.

And then...It Lives Within dropped. And I think that shifted a lot of how people--myself included--considered what they could do within a fandom space like Choices. Like, if we could make our own shit, why not? I was really intrigued by the idea, and so when there were calls for writers and sprite artists for a Nightbound project, I jumped at the opportunity.

(As a side note, I think the fact that now there are people within the fandom making their own sequels/spinoffs/whatever is gonna be rlly interesting for the general ecosystem of the Choices fandom and its future, but that's a convo for another time lol)

While the team I was on is no longer working on a sequel, being part of that group did a lot for me, and I look back on being part of that really fondly. I think we all were kind of picking up whatever we needed to do, regardless of if it was what we signed on for. For me, that meant teaching myself how to use Ren'py. The thing was, this was still in the really early stages of development, which meant I didn't have a lot of story to play with. So...

I was kind of like. Fuck it. Let me try my own thing out.

The original idea was actually a prequel set in the 1910s, as I'd done an MC set and an LI set based on that very premise, but the problem was that there are so few assets from that time period, and asset creation has never been my strong suit. But then, I thought back to the adaptation I'd been working on.

Some of the strongest writing I think I've ever done was in the episodes where the primary storylines were following Gaius's takeover of New York. I think a lot of the themes of the second book came out in those moments. And as cool as it would be, as much as I've fantasized about it, I don't think Bloodbound: The TV Show is ever happening. So it made sense for me to rework that into a visual novel spinoff.

In terms of the actual framing of this story, I spent a lot of time in the Bloodbound tags in the early days of working on my adaptation. I was deep in those tags. And it's really interesting to see what people expected it to be before its release. Part of it was the assumption of a Clan sorting system. Obviously, that wasn't actually the case.

Additionally, I think a lot of people were frustrated by the fact that Bloodbound's MC isn't really given the option to just. Be bad. Which then makes moments like this super jarring:

So, I decided to put everything I'd learned together. I was working on the GUI/character creation features for Nightbound (side note, the GUI in this game isn't an absolutely perfect replication of the Choices GUI yet and won't be for the demo, but we're getting there), I had a ton of edits I'd made that I wasn't using for anything, and I had a story that I knew could be reworked into an arc about a new vampire in New York City during Gaius's coup.

But with this project in general, it's less about a demand for a sequel/midquel/spinoff within the fandom and more like. I noticed that there were some things people wanted out of Bloodbound and didn't get, and trying to give it to them, because I wanted those things too, and I felt like I had the means to create that. When I've talked to IRL friends about this project (non of whom play Choices), I've just been like "yeah it's a visual novel fanfic" because...it's a visual novel fanfic.

So. That's why.

(This was super long (and felt a little self centered, sorry!), but if you read all of that, I hope it all made sense. All of this is to say that this has been a labor of love for a book series I've been living with for a year and a half, and I want to get part of what I've done with it out of my head. I hope you all like it.)

#bloodbound #bloodbound the siege #anon #ask #sorry this was so fucking long but i rarely get to talk about this stuff lol

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