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codenamesazanka · 2 months

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There was that joke in the fandom about Horikoshi looking through fanfics to see what theories to make canon like the "Dabi being Touya" or "the UA traitor" (even tho most of those were just stuff hinted at in the canon before hand). Since we're doing the whole "sharing memories" bit, the one fanfic trope he can definitely throw in the manga right now is the "Spinner tells Shigaraki he used to have a tail that got cut off by bullies"

Is that a popular trope? Enough to be a thing Horikoshi would pick up on. I don't think it's anywhere near the same level as 'Dabi is the lost Todoroki son' and 'UA Traitor is _____'… but it would be interesting if Spinner Tail Trauma is made canon.

Though at this late stage, I don't know if I want it, to be honest! If it's a memory, it's angst fuel to develop characters other than Spinner - guy wouldn't even be there for it. It would a real iffy choice to show something deeply personal and traumatic that happened to Spinner, something so unjust, without Spinner there—and really only for the benefit of the contrived connection between Shigaraki and Deku.

I guess because Spinner is still unaccounted for, he can still show up so it doesn't have to be just a memory, but. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. HeroAca resolutions are less about the victims and what they're owed, and more about how cool and merciful the Heroes are for saving them. This would be that, but even more so, and infinitely worse.

Plus, it would make the heteromorph riot mini-arc even more of a mess. Not to say there's levels of suffering that can be compared, but in-universe and in story, Shoji is kinda framed as having been worst off - his parents weren't heteromorphic like him, he got bashed in the face with a rake and was heavily scarred for life after he saved a girl from drowning, then he even has to wear a mask to prevent people from thinking he's resentful for being the victim of a hate crime. All that, but he came out of it with a strong and golden moral core, ready to be a great and inspirational Hero who protects the status quo.

Shoji's positioned as being in the right: here was a kid who suffered terribly, but he still managed to overcome the odds and be a Good Person, who thought deeply about the Right Way to end discrimination and is putting it into action (which is being a model minority). So what's everyone else's excuse?

Meanwhile, Spinner's backstory is that he only gets sprayed with pesticides, succumbs to being a NEET hikikomori, and goes running off to join terrorists without a single original thought in his head. For the narrative to work, he needs to be the selfish, hypocritical loser who didn't try hard enough to overcome his hardships that were comparatively mild.

If Spinner was revealed to have a tail cut off by bullies, the bnha balance of heteromorphic good and evil would collapse. A young boy's classmates mutilates him as the apex of heteromorphobic bullying, and the victim was left to languish as a high school dropout shut-in? That's not something that can be fixed by waiting out generations (just wait for the adults to die! their mindset would go with them—oh, but the perpetrators are the new generation…) or having the victim change their behavior (there's just no excuse for chopping off a child's body part). That reveals something much darker in the fabric of society that Heroes' plucky 'work-harder! plus ultra!' optimism are unequiped to handle.

At the very least, it's something that "Stop holding a grudge" and "Sorry for not realizing earlier" (as the rando hero tells the PLF guy in Chapter 373) and "Shine bright until your torments feel ashamed" are utterly insufficient and unconvincing in resolving. Not quite as inspirational, you know?

I'm sorry anon! I know you were asking as a joke, offering a fun idea. And I do like it! I'm still not opposed to Spinner having that canon backstory if the writing around it was to suddenly radically change the story and expand it by 300 more chapters to fix everything. I still love the idea that Spinner had a tail. I just took it too seriously and overthought it. My apologies. Thanks for the ask.

#Spinner #Iguchi Shuuichu #nalslastworkingbraincell #ask #asked #answered #anon #anonymous

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northoftheroad · 1 year

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I really like your blog and read a lot of things you had to say about Wolfman, so can I pick your brain about Devin Grayson?

A lot of people seem to say she wasn't good for the Nightwing run. Just wanna know your opinions about it

I'm gonna read her run anyways. It's just that I like your takes on things. Especially since you make connections with older comics.

Honestly, I think there is a lot to enjoy in Devin Grayson's stories. In Titans, she wrote Dick as a competent workaholic and the Titans as a group of very close friends. JLA vs Titans has a worried bat-dad, which is always adorable. Dick and Tim have fun together, and Bruce is emotionally complicated in Batman: Gotham Knights. Batman plus Arsenal is great (Roy chews out Batman!). Her story in the Robin 80th anniversary comic has a fun twist. Etc.

Batman: Gotham Knights # 8 & 9

Then there's things I don't like.

The rape. IMO, you shouldn't write rape in comics unless you're prepared to deal thoroughly with the consequences in the story. Admittedly, the sexual assault in Nightwing vol 2 # 93 is probably dealt with more seriously than the Mirage situation by Marv Wolfman, but I still wanted something more. Blockbuster's murder and the rape had an enormous impact on Dick's mental health; we should have got a resolution where Dick could admit out loud (if even only to himself) what happened, where he could get what help he needed and decide to move on. (Preferably, I would also have liked other characters to realise what had happened and not only be assholes…) (That Devin Grayson, in some interview, wanted to call it not consensual instead of rape doesn't help (full disclosure: I don't know if she's backed down on that).)

The retconning of Dick as part Roma. Now, it's for people who are Roma to have opinions about representation; I've seen (allegedly, because who knows what is correct on social media) both Roma people who like it and those who don't. From where I'm standing, it wasn't well done. The only comic arc where a Roma parent is essential to the story is quite problematic; you get the impression that the writer did it… to exoticise Dick and have Bruce talk like a racist…?

Gotham Knights # 20.

Some later stories have acknowledged this retcon, but only a handful of issues from decades worth of comics. Most writers ignore it, and Dick has never been portrayed as being fluent in a Romani dialect or adhering to any customs (other than looking for Romani food and talking about some legend.) He didn't even speak Romani when Devin Grayson wrote him.

How she wrote the relationship between Dick and Barbara. They were supposed to be old and dear friends, apart from a couple. Barbara blamed Dick for being sexually harassed (kissed), and when he came to her for comfort, reeling from Haly's circus being burned down, she asked him to leave after few hours night. That's not a relationship I, as a reader, would root for.

To be fair, she intended to write a story about how Dick went from being happy, to making his life living hell, and presumably end in a new happy place for him. Dick and Barbara are written in a way that would end in their splitting up. (Writers will create conflict because the storytelling needs it, and sometimes we as readers can think it was out of character, or unnecessary.)

I expect I would like her writing better if she could have finished her story. Maybe she would have got together the Dick/Barbara relationship and delivered a satisfactory resolution to the rape. But DC editorial interrupted her plans with Infinite Crisis, where they almost decided to kill Nightwing, and she had to make a rushed conclusion that never went anywhere. And when the Nightwing comic continued, it was in another town and one of the worst Nightwing stories ever.

As I said, I like part of her characterisation of Dick – how he can be ultra serious just as well as joking around, has a tendency to overwork himself, blame himself, he wants to give everyone a chance. But… I know she's said in an interview that she thinks of Dick as a contact junkie* who processes with his body before his head. I'm not down with that. Ok, as an acrobat, you could argue that body memory and responding to the touch of his fellow performers is essential for survival. And Dick might be freer with hugs than Bruce Wayne and Alfred, but that's a very low bar to set. Marv Wolfman wrote a Dick Grayson who was very private and could hardly show his love for Kory physically in public. (To be fair, when Dick dated a few girls in college in the comics from the 70s, he didn't mind holding hands and kissing in public. But, as much as I enjoy citing examples from older comics, the 80s is the start of a deeper characterisation for Dick Grayson.) I read Dick as a guy who's very much in his head – if not for any other reason, Batman must have drilled into him to think and question everything. There are panels where he seeks out solitude or watches nature programmes without talk to relax. And I also read him as uncomfortable with strangers touching or ogling him.

Anyway, happy reading. Of course you should read and form your own opinions. I guess you'll find things to love and things to loathe - I find that's true about most comic book writers and runs, myself 😎

*The way I think about him, he likes everyone, he's sort of a contact junkie — just this incredibly physical (and attractive) person who lives wholly in the corporeal plane and responds with — processes things in — his body before his head or heart. I imagine that he can be hypnotised by a touch the way other people can be stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of money or the promise of true love.

#Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Robin #Batman #Devin Grayson

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bendyguitarpick · 2 months

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I've been watching the avatar series and honestly, I think this warrants a bullet points review bc I have a lot of opinions, and some are unexpected. I haven't been following a y discourse online about the show bc I wanted to form my own opinions before I finished it! This is episodes 1 through 5.

Right off the bat in episode 1, the first thing that strikes me as a huuuge issue is that Aang does not argue with monk gyatso before running away. It's a problem that keeps coming up in this show, and its that all the conflict is deflated from the characters and given to the plot. Instead of a young character making a mistake and learning from the end result, our protagonists just respond in a way that's removes any of their decision making from the driving force of the story. Aang didn't run from his responsibility out of fear, he just needed to clear his head!- our sweet baby boy remains the moral compass!

That being said, I do think the rearranging of the plot in thr first episode is absolutely the right move for the show. The pace is immediately set and it works.

The visuals (costume and set design) feel very very shiny and new, like how all netflix shows end up looking, overly saturated and costumey.

The casting for aang and zuko is one of my favorite things EVER. They are probably the most competent actors so far tbh. That little boy is giving it his all 🥲

Sokka and suki!!! Another instance where all the conflict and resolution feels unearned because there was nothing to resolve! Fine, you can choose to remove the sexism arc, at its center, this sokka and suki introduction is about sokka developing a level of humility that he will need in order to learn from the people we see him meet on this journey. Sokka comes in in the live action show a clueless small town warrior who gets shown the ropes on the big stage, but for what? We see suki chew him out but because there's no real conflict, he's just some shmuck getting chewed out for no real reason other than not knowing enough. It's completely hollow.

Ok this leads me to the fight scenes. They're bad! The only one that I liked was Bumi and aang, we had sustained wide shots, a creative use of bending, and the actors movements feeling well rehearsed. The opposite was the case for nearly every other fight smh.

Katara my beloved 😭 she is shockingly underwritten and I'm trying to figure out why. She gets so little active screentime that isn't just parroting the plot back to aang and sokka. All her passion and life is dead flat. I was praying they'd give her her painted lady momentand it never came, she never had a moment. It's such a huge fuck up to leave one of your three LEADS out to dry like that.

That being said, I had my little fangirl squee when jet and the freedom fighters were revealed. The casting just had me absolutely giddy 😭

And that's just katara compared to everyone else! Because at the end of the day this is the most poorly written dialogue I've seen in a show in so freaking long. It is written so stilted and klunky, and the actors are given so little direction, the end result is so dry and lifeless. It is honestly the single worst part of the show.

Our characters are no longer active decision makers in each town they visit! The plot is just happening to them! It's an extention of that conflict criticism, our heroes don't have anything to learn, they're just along for the ride! No opinions or conflict here!!

But... the one thing that absolutely is working for me... is the story. All the plot changes have been the right move every time. Combining episodes has worked so well in this short season format that it's kept me following along every time! Putting like four episodes into one omashu episode??? And having them connect in a way that makes sense??? Ik completely impressed

So far, it seems like awkward dialogue and overly shiny visuals has bogged down a show that really really could've worked in the live action format! The plot has still succeeded in keeping me engaged for the hour run time of each episode, along with the really great aang and zuko moments.

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar the series #bullet points #review time

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lunar-gl1tch · 1 year

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ok im pulling my donbros thoughts together strap in

ok so everybody EVEN IN UNIVERSE agrees shinichi/haruka is cursed and especially rich bitch shinichi who is EVEN LESS FUCKABLE than regular shinichi somehow and she's so mad at tarou and leading the donbrothers, and miho and/or natsumi are dead, possibly. something happened. I think they really picked the absolute worst thing the alternate future COULD be as a sign that it must not come to pass. right? so when shinichi tells tarou "you don't have a dream, and so you can't understand happiness" he acts hurt an upset because he may not have a dream but this Tarou is very much getting friendship and happiness. It's been his entire ARC. just last episode he was admitting he was sad being left out from the gang! and he knows this.

and then he asks sonoi, do you have a dream. and when he says no, he's happy. here's my point: i don't think future! donbros interacted with the noto the way ours did. without the plagiarism we don't have haruka and sonoza, and….and is future tarou DEAD? sonoi never brought him back? or maybe he defected to the noto? something????

i feel the noto and the donbros being basically friends at this point might be an important part of the resolution - just like sonoza forcing haruka to get out of her comfort zone will ultimately make her a much better mangaka

also future murasame has gold markings and no mother, and future haruka controls the phoenix palanquin. haruka created murasame but she never got to flesh him out in our time and so he's been lost and spinning his wheels trying to figure out WHAT he is and that's why he can be bound with the manga pages oh my fuckin

#i'm bouncing ideas around but i am absolutely ride or die on murasame is the bad guy of hatsukoi hero and he never got to be born #donbros #avataro sentai donbrothers #donbrothers spoilers

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teamsasukes · 11 months

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9 and 23 for the game

9. worst part of canon

i hate almost everything after the kage summit arc, but if i had to pick one it's probably the resolution of sasuke's goals, which ties pretty neatly into naruto's ideology at the end of it all. people argue sometimes that the ending is not horrible if you consider chapters 1-699 in isolation from everything that came afterwards, but even then, naruto demonstrated during the series' run that his priorities ended at inter-village collaboration. structural reform on a large scale is never considered, and the violence intrinsic to the shinobi world (i.e., even one where the villages are at peace) is kind of erased from the narrative in part 2. haha, in part 1 you had 13-year-olds potentially murdering one another for entertainment, while in part 2 the opposing side in a war comprises unintelligent creatures that no one has to feel any remorse over killing. the thesis never really evolves beyond "those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum", which is disappointing because i think part 1 was on the verge of interrogating why the system necessitates abandoning comrades to die in the first place.

or, since 700 and onwards is technically canon, i don't know that i can pick a single bad part there. just set the whole thing on fire

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

the closest is probably naruhina -- not unwillingly, i didn't really care enough about them to have strong feelings either way -- but after recently giving hinata a little more thought, i do think they could be good together if the execution weren't botched. kishimoto is really good at setting up compelling conflicts and dynamics and not so great at following through on pretty much all fronts, lol

#ty for the ask!#asks #naruto

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erikiara80 · 1 year

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how do you explain mlvn monologue if mileven isn’t meant to be endgame? im a little bit worried for byler :/

Hi, anon.

I can only tell you my opinion, based on my knowledge of storytelling. I think Mike's monologue is one of the worst scenes of the show. And that they did that on purpose.

The filming. For such an important moment in his and El's story, the culmination of two season arc, there is zero effort to create intimacy. We keep seeing Will, who is the other potential love interest, so not a good sign. And even Jonathan, who was present in other important Will and Mike moments: the shed scene and the van scene. We saw that these writers and directors know how to write and film good, intimate moments. In the shed scene, you forget that Joyce, Jonathan and Hopper are there. And Will was in grave danger, too. So El's life being at stake is not an excuse. I also think about Hopper and Joyce's reunion and talk in S4. Lucas and Max in S2 and S4. Jonathan and Nancy in every season. Mike's big declaration of love simply isn't good. And thanks to many scenes in the show, we know that it's not because of bad directing. Also, the only part that seems to actually help El is when Mike tells her to fight. That's when she looks at Max, realises that she's about to die, so she thinks about Max. Not Mike. And finally fights back. And if in a scene about a declaration of love that should save the day, they don't show you any important moment of that relationship but only a reaction when another person is in danger... Not to mention the fact that when El remembers Max, the scenes we see, are the ones when Max tells her: there's more in life than stupid boys. We make our rules. Or: not Mike. Not Hopper. You. Very interesting...

The writing. I don't know about you, but I cringed during this monologue. What Mike says is vague, or a rip off of what other people said, or a lie, or not what El wants to hear. Plus, Will had to push him to say something. So Mike is panicking and says what he thinks El wants to hear and can help her. But it's not easy. So he is vague. The good and the bad days. Yeah, thank you. An example? They didn't even show us any scene that could help us to understand what Mike is referring to. Nada. With Will, Mike was extremely specific. About how he was feeling, what Will was doing, and his answer when Mike asked him if he wanted to be his friend. You didn't need a flashback. You could see that moment. And when Mike does mention something specific, the t-shirt, it's not actually cute imo, because, something that could swallow you whole? Not very romantic, especially since El's literally dying while he's speaking. Also, it's a rip off of what Eddie told Dustin in 4x01.

Mike also tells El that she's his superhero. Something that El definitely doesn't like. She was afraid at the beginning of the season that Mike didn't love her anymore because she had lost her powers. So he tells her that he loves her now, when she got her powers back? She could think that's the only reason he likes her... And then Mike tells her something that it's simply not true. He didn't fall in love with her the night he met her. We saw that memory. His look. Curious that this is the only scene they show us. Imo, it's because it proves that what he's saying is not true. In fact, he looks disappointed and suspicious in that scene (almost angry) and we know that the first thing he said when he saw El was: "That's not Will". There is no love at first sight in this show. I'm not saying that Mike wanted to lie. He cares for El, immensely, and wanted to save her. He's just not in love with her. That's the simple reason he can't tell her that he loves her. And he only told her ILY because he thought it could save her life.

Just one more thing. If that love confession was the culmination of two season arc and the resolution of Mlv problems, it should've saved the day. But El lost. Or at least, we should've seen Mike and El being closer again. But they aren't. They made Will (again, the other potential love interest) specifically asking if they're talking. And Mike says not much. Then proceeds to talk to Will instead, on the couch, (intimate moment) and show him that he wants to protect him. Basically, the S2 dynamic again. Now, I know many people say that El not talking to Mike after what happened to Max is realistic. That she needs to be alone. That's right. In real life. But this is a story. With arcs, characters development and a plot. So, Mike and El still being distant after Mike finally told El what she wanted to hear, means that things are not good for them. And I think El has already realised that this is not what she wants.

An ILY is not a promise of eternal love. And sometimes, only when you get what you think you wanted, you realise that it's not what you really need. Hope this helped. : )

#mike wheeler #mike's monologue #stranger things #stranger things asks

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henlp · 4 months

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2023 Show Round-up

.Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel - Flawed, overly quippy, amazing character work oozing from every pore. Surprising how many contemporary actors popped in these shows before they were big. (Worst - Buffy S01, Angel S04; Best - Buffy S06, Angel S03(?); Fav - Lorne);

.Gargoyles - While some credit is warranted for a show with dark tones and heavy consequences for a lot of characters (both main and secondary) sadly the inconsistent quality of the animation, heavily flawed execution of the action setpieces, messy magic system and power levels, makes this one not worth revisiting, save for the two moments of peak comedy;

.X-Men the Animated Series - In spite of some animation jank, and Jubilee making a terrible impression during the first two episodes, the show has surprisingly decent, albeit simplistic, character work. Execution is mostly okay, resolutions more hit-and-miss. Time travel plotlines make no fucking sense;

.Spicy City - Rounding off a Ralph Bakshi arc with one of his most engaging projects, if not his best altogether (though not being a writer or animator might be seen as a jab at the man). Five (out of six) episodes of tech-noir tales, exploring a harsh cyberpunk future and the choices of different characters. And also one about voodoo magic hands, I don't know what the fuck;

.American Dragon: Jake Long - This 2005 show, about a magical asian kid protector of the world of magic and humans (in the East Coast), is always taking one step forward and one step back. Not only is there a major shift from S01 to S02, but for every good story, there's a ridiculous contrivance; for every decent new design, something looks ridiculous; with proper character writing, mostly contradicting what's come before; for every funny joke, there's a lot of mid-2000s cringe to unbalance things;

.Fantastic Four the Animated Series - First season is atrocious: incredibly childish writing; awful, overused comedy lines; cheap, lame animation. Second season is a mild improvement, but does not justify ever rewatching the show;

.Iron Man the Animated Series - First season is somehow WORSE than the Fantastic Four's, almost like a parody of old He-Man, including a team of random heroes that do nothing, but with a less chidish tone (on the surface). Once again, second season is a mild improvement, with some focus on a core line-up of characters and recurring plot points, but fails to deliver anything of quality;

.The Incredible Hulk Animated Series - While toning down the Hulk's raging nature, making him more of a misguided soul looking for acceptance and peace, it does a perfectly serviceable job with a smaller scale narrative, exploring Bruce Banner's attempts to escape custody and cure himself of his gamma radiation alter-ego. Secong season is far less engaging and the quality dips. A big, green 'Okay' overall;

.Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated - For the most part, it's just the old show with a fresh coat of paint and extra teen drama that isn't sufficiently explored. The overaching plot is interesting and really comes into its own during the second season, but the individual episodic mysteries are still formulaic and lacking (with some exceptions). Not bad, but could be better, maybe if the runtime for each episode had been longer;

.Spider-Man The Animated Series - Not even close to Spectacular Spider-Man tier, several problems relating to character interactions and how they're written (special mention to the romance and Peter's 'inner' monologues). Still, it's the king of 90s Marvel cartoons for a reason, whether that's due to the comic book stories it adapted, or because it was more grounded and focused on the protagonist's struggles;

.My Life as a Teenage Robot - Blown away by how much I enjoyed this show, especially the comedy. Which is good, because it definitely leans more on the comedic toon shenanigans involving 'kidified' teen characters, than weighty stakes in plot-driven episodes (but even those are pretty well-executed, all things considered);

.Spider-Man Unlimited - It's fine. In spite of its 90s edgy coat of paint, and being a soft reboot/spiritual sequel to its predecessor, it doesn't have any eggregious issues, powers and arsenals are used accordingly, characters aren't too nuts with monologuing and have appropriate lines of dialogue. Cliffhanger ending is what mostly sours the experience;

.Animaniacs - Hit or miss, the nature of a variety show with several segments and casts of characters. But overall positive, as the good is often funny/clever, while the rest is somewhere between okay, to a tad repetitive. Favorites are the Warners, Slappy Squirrel, Chicken Boo, and lil' Flame;

.Johnny Bravo (S01) - Less exaggerated with its humor, compared to the second and third seasons, but in spite of the more simplistic artstyle it still manages to hit some really good jokes; a bunch of which kids wouldn't understand or appreciate, and are definitely more aimed at adults.

#2023 #retrospective #show round-up

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wahlpaper · 1 year

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If This Gets Out Review

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich

CW: Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Enabling, Neglect, Homophobia, Manipulation, Controlling Legal Contracts, Racism, Infantilization, Forced Closeting, Abusive Parents, Capitalism, Sex Descriptions, Serious Injury, Claustrophobia, Gaslighting, Microaggressions, Emotional Abuse

5/5

I may not be obsessed with any real boy bands, but I am obsessed with a fictional one! Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich co-wrote an amazing story, backstory, and band of boys. At its heart, If This Gets Out is a love story, but it's much more than that. This story is about every member of the band, boy bands in general, and the dark side of the music industry. It was a well researched piece that benefited from careful arrangement. I am admittedly a sucker for the musicians-on-tour romance trope, but I find that Gonzales and Dietrich set the bar higher.

On tour for their third album, Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon head to Europe for the first time. Although they've all been friends for years, Ruben has started to have forbidden feelings for Zach. He knows Zach is straight, and he knows he's not allowed to come out, so he keeps it to himself. Being further from home, all four are starting to feel the limitations of their contracts more so than in the United States. Angel feels locked into his "image" and is finding any escape he can. Jon recognizes he's the only one looking out for his band mates. When Zach realizes he is bisexual, both he and Ruben start to feel the worst parts of being forced to stay in the closet.

This book deals with very serious subjects. While it balances them with hope, love, and humor, it never romanticizes working for the music industry nor does it shy away from portraying these subjects realistically. Among other topics, If This Gets Out deals with overbearing and manipulative contracts, drug addiction, and homophobia as it looks today. The plot arcs that these appear in do get resolved, but they also have loose threads. Gonzales and Dietrich did this intentionally. The loose threads are there because the real-world musicians that inspired the book have lingering issues after their pivotal resolutions. Being a popular musician can be rewarding, but it can also ruin one's life. People that start their music careers as kids are even more vulnerable.

In addition to being well researched, this book was well written. It's always interesting to see how a pair of authors will approach writing a book together. Gonzales and Dietrich each wrote their character's P.O.V. chapters (Ruben and Zach, respectively) and then went back to edit the dialogue of those characters that the other had written*. It was seamless throughout, as though just one author had written the book. Between the two of them, they were able to keep a good pace throughout the book, write realistic dialogue, and craft a mesmerizing love story.

There is much more I could say about If This Gets Out, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Perhaps we'll eventually get a movie adaption, as then I would have a lot more people to discuss it with. In the meantime, if you're looking for a queer boy band love story with meaningful plot-lines and racial diversity, please check out Gonzales and Dietrich's book! It will be worth it!

#if this gets out #sophie gonzales #cale dietrich #mlm books #queer characters #queer books #bisexual mc #gay mc #bookblogger #book blog #boy bands #music tour book #music tour #two main characters #dark side of the music industry #zuben #books #book review

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infiniteorangethethird · 3 years

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sometimes madd is like "oh wow I'm sitting on a dragon and flying towards the sunset! Everything is beautiful and awesome!"

other times madd is like "fuck I made my para so depressed I can feel their pain. I am Crying but I can't stop daydreaming help"

#and yet no matter how painful i'm still enjoying it #something's definitely wrong with me #also this is about Leo if anyone's wondering #i've been working on his backstory recently #and accidentally made him extremely relatable #the worst part is i don't know the resolution to his arc #which makes it even more depressing and painful #madd #maladaptive daydreaming #madd problems #madd things #paraportal #(btw i'm willing to talk abt his story if anyone asks lol)

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sneezemonster15 · 3 years

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There is this common saying among NS fans (Naruto + Sakura) that, Sakura was Kishimoto's favourite. That's why he wrote her to show some feelings towards Naruto in the first half of Part 2 and there are lots of Movies where she was the leading heroine along with Naruto. Since Sakura also told to Sai that 'Naruto considers Sasuke as his brother', NS fans are thinking that Naruto asking Sakura out for dates and Naruto comparing Brotherly bond with Sasuke in VoTE1 as a sign of Naruto loved Sakura and considered Sasuke as his Brother (PUKE!!).

I personally cackle at these claims.

What is your observation on how Kishimoto/Anime team treated Sakura?

Do you think Naruto loved Sakura (in Part 1)?

Hey captn. Thanks for the ask.

I don't know why they think Sakura is his favourite since Kishimoto has almost always described Sakura's character and motivations in less than favorable terms. A 'Hard woman' who is 'addicted' to Sasuke. But to be frank, I don't even have to go there. I can tell how he feels about this character through the original content. You can tell simply because Kishimoto has written Sakura consistently in a negative + passive aggressive manner throughout the entire story.

Almost every other major character has an arc where, through the forces of war, family, bonds, justice, revenge, etc, comes to a certain resolution and grows, evolves. Naruto matures and becomes from the most troublesome kid to a hyper responsible saviour. Sasuke matures and becomes from completely closed off and self destructive to open (even if only to Naruto, its a huge deal for someone like Sasuke) and serving for a cause bigger than him. Shikamaru, from unmotivated to super responsible and driven. Kakashi becomes more accepting of love and companionship. Likewise, Gaara, Konohamaru, Lee, Neji, all of these characters get inspired (mostly due to Naruto) and become better. Their arc sees significant action, where there is a clear difference between how they used to be and how they transformed.

Sakura. Addicted to Sasuke still like the same silly fangirl that we saw right at the start. Where is her arc? Where most other characters always seem to oscillate between the spectrum of two opposing feelings, Sakura seems to remain the same in most ways. Kishi tried to develop Sakura and Naruto I guess as an experiment, but it was half hearted, just never took off. Kishi never gave her a kind treatment. I have written more about it in another post. He humiliates her character, makes her realize her shortcomings, only to smack her down again in the worst ways, like it is stuff of dark humor really. Like Sasuke calmly slams her through her chest and puts her in tsukuyomi, hahah, just because she gets worried about him? That's a little harsh but that's Kishi. Things he did to her character in Gaiden. Tch.

The films where Sakura was written in leading roles have been written by writers (Not Kishi) who liked Sakura and wanted to give her some development. But even then, couldn't do a very good job overall. And it's not relevant even if they did.

As for Sakura's perception of Sasuke and Naruto's dynamic, she definitely thinks its intense and chaotic, but that's all she understands. I don't think one should put too much stock in her ability to judge finer emotions given her treatment of Naruto and Sasuke, both quite bad. Most writers will right at the start show their hands directly or indirectly and indicate at the core of the story right away. It could be foreshadowing or an allegory, metaphor, revealment etc. That for Naruto (the story) was the part Sakura mocks Naruto for being an orphan. It clearly makes us notice the motivation of the central characters and the real equation between them. She thinks of them as brothers because that's the extent of which she is capable to understand. Kishi deliberately didn't make her very perceptive. She is self absorbed and visibly insecure. Kishi's projection? Perhaps, idk. But that's okay, Kishi could never have in actuality revealed the exact nature of their relationship either, so Sakura's or anyone else's perception of their equation is pretty much irrelevant. And well we know for fact that Kishi didn't write Sasuke and Naruto as brotherly. So.

As for if Naruto loved Sakura, he definitely had a crush on her. But it's obviously portrayed as puppy love. The way he openly flirts with her, teases her, she also responds not very seriously, just huffs a lot, banters etc. It is actually a tropy type development. He had always known Sakura loved Sasuke, I think he got over it in Part 1 itself. Eventually with Shippuden, I think Naruto just started to regard her as a close friend and cherished teammate. He certainly cares about her a lot. Although not more than Sasuke.

Hope this answers your question.

#haruno sakura #thanks for the ask!#naruto analysis #sns #naruto uzumaki #sasuke

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extasiswings · 3 years

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That episode truly put me in such a sour mood after what they did to Eddie!! Like the real Eddie would never do any of that stuff! He's a devoted loving father (the best father) who wouldn't do anything that his son isnt okay with! And I'm still super bitter that we didnt get a Eddie/Christopher scene once he got him from Bucks. Like I love the Buck/Christopher scene and it was important and lovely and I'm glad it was in the episode but a Eddie and Christopher scene would've been even more important and definitely needed! And don't get me started on her calling Chris sensitive 🤬 and Eddie not having a reaction towards that like he should! Ugh this is not the mood I want for the next 6 weeks! I'm just hoping that our Eddie, The real Eddie is back in 6 weeks and stay permanently and doesnt let that imposter use his face again!

I feel like the worst part is not only how dirty they did his character but how much it was a total waste of an extremely important and emotional arc. Like...Eddie taking his first steps into moving on and navigating that with Christopher should have been big, should have been meaningful, should have been handled with at a minimum the same care and attention with which they handled the skateboard incident and Eddie and Christopher’s related conversations in “Fools,” and should have been something that clearly established (or at least strongly foreshadowed) what’s going to happen with their development moving forward into the rest of the season. I was looking forward to it! I wanted to see it!

And at the beginning, the rest of the absolutely cringeworthy and barely watchable date scene aside, it was clear that yes! Eddie was reluctant to talk about this with his son! He was worried! He had concerns! And I thought, oh excellent, this is going to go well.

Then, Eddie got home and immediately lied directly to Christopher’s face about it and I thought...oh no. But even then I still thought, hey now, they can pull it back! I did actually love Christopher’s reaction! That part was great! And honestly, I can even accept Eddie deciding to give Christopher time to cool off instead of going after him to talk immediately.

There was no reason to have the video call with Ana. It was unnecessary and only ended up being a vehicle for Invasion of the Body Snatchers Eddie to *checks notes* be totally dismissive of his son’s extremely valid feelings without even having had a real conversation about why Christopher reacted the way he did and what exactly his concerns were! Not to be dramatic [lie, I’m always dramatic], but I felt like I’d been slapped, it was so abrupt and OOC. [And, as I mentioned in a separate post, it makes zero sense to have had Eddie be worried about telling Christopher at all if he wasn’t going to actually care about Christopher’s feelings, so not only was he ultimately wildly OOC, his characterization wasn’t even consistent within the confines of the episode.]

And I’m sorry, I love the Buck and Chris scene, I do, but as much as we joke and clown, Buck is not Christopher’s parent. Plus, their conversation wasn’t even directly about Eddie dating! It wasn’t directly about Christopher’s concerns with Eddie dating [so therefore, I’m still not clear on exactly what those are/were although I can guess] and there wasn’t even a token attempt at directly addressing that particular elephant in the room! Yes, kids need reassurance and support from multiple adults they love and look up to in times of crisis, but we got nothing from the most important person and most important relationship in Christopher’s life: his dad.

It would have been SO EASY to have cut the video call [avoiding the OOC bullshit] and used that time instead to have added on to the Buck and Christopher scene. Example: Buck and Chris end their conversation, Eddie arrives, having rushed over in a panic, hugs his kid and says some variation on “we can continue this at home, but I’m sorry I lied to you, I should have told you first, but just know no matter what happens or who else comes into my life, I love you and you’re never going to lose me.” THERE! DONE! I FIXED IT IN THIRTY SECONDS!

Ideally we would have gotten a longer extended Eddie and Christopher scene because, again, their relationship should have been the focus of this storyline, but if we had even gotten just that little bit on top of the Buck and Christopher scene, it would have cut my salt levels at least in half. Instead though, we got NOTHING and the next time they were on screen it was because Ana was coming over to the house and suddenly everything was A-OK????? WHAT????

Writing tip 101: YOU CAN’T RESOLVE SOMETHING THAT IMPORTANT OFF SCREEN! Like???? Christopher ran away from home and we got zero acknowledgment of the severity of that, zero acknowledgment of the resolution of that, not even a token throwaway line about “we discussed it and everything’s fine now” [which would have been a gross cop-out but still would have been SOMETHING more than the whole lot of absolute BS NOTHING we got].

Once again...Eddie didn’t even let Shannon back into Christopher’s life for months when she came back, but we’re supposed to believe he’s bringing over a new woman he’s not even serious with yet after just a few dates because...what, she was Christopher’s teacher so at least he knows her? Make it make sense! [And as a side note, what was the point of having Ana point out multiple times that they could/should go slow with respect to Christopher if she was ultimately going to be totally cool with that weird Meet the Girlfriend introduction? And a side side note, I completely agree, the “sensitive boy” comment rubbed me the wrong way completely and came off as super condescending so thanks I hate it on MULTIPLE levels.]

Anyway...yeah, the whole thing was a goddamn travesty. I may be a Buddie clown, but I am an Eddie Diaz lover first and foremost and idk who that was in the episode but it sure as HELL was not Eddie Diaz. @ the guest writer for this episode, the door is that way, please let it hit you on the way out. Hoping they can do some serious damage control after the hiatus [currently Christopher is credited for 4x9 but Ana is not so there may be some room to set things right] but right now I’m just...very pissed. Haven’t seen a character assassination this bad since Lucy Preston in the Timeless Christmas Special. Fucking YIKES.

#chapel talks #ask #salt tag #youcanhavemybackanyday

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jonroxton · 3 years

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can you talk about chlark beyond chloe? personally i think it's weird that the writers kept adding kisses and weird romantic moments without any pay off. i don't know much about the fandom back then but i think the writers were baiting fans since clark/chloe seems to be the second most popular ship after clex. second i personally think chloe would never be happy with clark or anyone tbh and she doesn't seem like the type of person who would have kids so the finale was weird to me.

this got looooong :)

0. it WAS weird, and the choice to never not once go for it with them was to the story's detriment. I'll get into it a little later on in this post.

Re: shipping in sv fandom. there was definitely drama (clana was HUGE when the show was airing and every ship was basically derailed by it lol) but I stayed in my clois lane with a small circle of fandom friends much like I do now. a good measure of clois fans were fans of lois and clark from other mediums, come to sv just for lois and clark, myself included. we were pretty insulated as a fandom even back then. I do remember seeing more Chlark after the S5 finale (when Chloe kisses him goodbye), but those dropped off after Jimmy was introduced right away in S6. The most drama I encountered was with Chloisers: Chloe fans who believed wholeheartedly that Chloe was Lois. They hated SV!Lois and were convinced she would die so Chloe could take her name and job and place by Clark's side, thus a Chlark endgame. this was a popular theory amongst that fandom even into s9, when the clois ball started to roll for true.

bait and switch

a lot of Chlark is rooted in this notion that chloe WOULD be the best thing for Clark, the ideal Lois, the true best friend, the human hand guiding him through Earth's troubles. she would be could be the BEST possible lois archetype for Clark. it's not a wrong interpretation. she was specifically written as a lois-and-lana-proxy (teenage lana is a reporter in some AUs and even some as an adult as a tv correspondent) and she's given many lois-ish traits (tenacious, secretly crushing on clark and in denial), but this interpretation is deeply flawed. first, because lois does eventually enter into the picture and she has her own defining traits that, when compared to chloe, make chloe seem much shallower than realized. secondly, within the complete context of the story, her position in the greater narrative is not as ~the one who got away, the way it did very early on in S1-S4, but one who clark tolerates.

they're friends because clark is forgiving and chloe has staying power. their friendship is riddled with insecurities and unknowns the characters create for themselves. their dynamic is defined by conflict, not resolutions. this is not made easy by the fact that chloe is such a strangely written character, but ultimately she is positioned as a counter to clark achieving his happiness. not a thematic narrative foil but an obstacle clark eventually relents to.

2. and it has been so from the get-go

S1 is the best season for them and the single season which actually considers Clark's side in this dynamic. everything about them later on can be explained with how they are in this season. and that's the problem. when they're 14 it's nice teen angst drama and works perfectly to establish the dynamic. when they're 24 it's at best a pattern, at worst regression. we expect certain behaviors, dismiss them too, when it's children, at least I do. clark and chloe never move beyond the dynamic they establish in s1 and early s2. in essence, clark and chloe remain children around each other. they have many discussions in the later seasons that make at least one appear petulant.

so S1 clark has just been told the greatest secret of his existence and he imprints on lana hard that same night (right AFTER jonathan tells him, he meets lana at the graveyard and talks to her for the first time EVER, a lot of childhood imprinting going on in SV). all of s1 follows clark's heartache over lana, watching her from afar and figuring out a way to be near her. this pain is exacerbated by the fact that he believes he caused her her greatest grief: the death of her parents via the meteor shower which he arrived in.

here the first beat of the chlark dynamic is established: chloe's job and passion – the wall of weird and her pursuing the meteor infected oddities of SV - directly affects clark in a negative way (he's suicidal for much of s1-s3). so her crush on him is countered with her unknowingly causing him great grief. om top of that: clark becomes part of this passion of hers and she eventually begins to pursue him as a story to be uncovered, very superman yes. here tho, it causes nothing but strife for them and paints chloe in an awful light (and clark too, highlighting his refusal to open up). I personally enjoy this aspect of them in s1. bc they're so young I give em a free pass and it's a good conflict playing around with old superman tropes, but it makes for a fraught friendship.

3. the second beat

is that neither chloe's crush on clark, nor his asking her to stop pursuing his truth, do anything to stay her. her tenaciousness becomes intrusiveness and inconsideration (many of her accomplishments irt the daily planet are directly bc she betrays clark). she simply will not listen to her friend and does not believe his livelihood and autonomy is worth losing a story over. this is literally the opposite of comics/live action lois lane, who in various versions drops the clark reveal story to protect him. this passion turns vindictive pretty early for chloe, who eventually pursues stories about clark out of jealousy and entitlement (against lana also).

4. the third beat

is that clark doesn't ever see chloe as romantic prospect except this time in s1. the tornado trapping lana pulls him away from any solidifying of the clark/chloe dynamic, and that's that. but we know clark was willing to go for it in early s2 when he apologizes to chloe about running off on her. it's chloe who decides not to go on with the relationship. clark is visibly confused, but also 15 so he can't see that chloe is putting on a brave front to protect herself from clark running off again. I liked this too as it's another play on superman tropes, but my sympathy for them stops here.

5. and stays here

these beats are the entirety of this dynamic. everything about chlark can be distilled down to their childhood. it's why I don't hate them completely, bc I have a lot of love for kids who hurt in such a way and that time is never easy. in s8 (I think its s8) when we get a flashback to when they meet as kids (more imprinting!). little tenacious cute chloe kisses insecure clark bc of the funny awkward tension, acknowledging it, and then immediately takes it back because they're better as friends. (also they’re like 11 lol)

every single romantic moment with them is undercut either by chloe herself, or by the presence of other storylines/romances the writers wanted to pursue. the lack of integrity in chloe and the lack of interest in clark, regardless of how sincere their connection or how messed up, is a central part of their dynamic that needs to be reconciled with their friendship. and its exhausting bc there is never a point they are ever truly comfortable around each other.

6. to a fault

knowing the secret doesn't change chloe's methods. it doesn't make chloe clark's great confidante. if anything, it complicates matters for both because their relationship then becomes about the greater good and clark's great destiny. everything chloe does becomes about that, which in theory sounds awesome, but is executed much the same way as s1!chlark: by reiterating behaviors that highlight the negative aspects of that loyalty and the negative aspects of their characters.

the single time they do actively examine what this loyalty means and how chloe's hero complex complicates things for chlark is with s8 and davis. she protects davis with the skills of subterfuge and secrecy she developed as clark's friend. and it costs her jimmy and a lot of her personal integrity as a character. tho ironically it makes chloe the strongest she's been as a character. this is the first time clark is forced to view chloe as an enemy and he never quite recovers from discovering the dark depths she’s willing to go to.

it's an arc dealing with the established beats: how far chloe is willing to go for a kryptonian (very far), how much she's willing to do for him (A LOT and all of it illegal), and what it costs her (jimmy). it deals with her jealousy (always second choice) and her motivations (uncovering the truth). this great want that she struggled with for years is turned on its head and examined, revealing just how weird and dark her hero complex is because obviously davis is not clark. davis/chloe served to highlight more than any other arc how it's really too bad that clark never saw her that way, because she has so much love to give and when channeled, it's a great force. only it's a great force for evil. clark has to confront that it’s not just lex but his other closest friend who is willing to go so far. they backtrack hard in s9 and s10 but they keep this underlying wariness in clark towards Chloe throughout. it’s not anything new, but it’s no longer subtext that clark doesn’t fully trust chloe.

7. And that's the rub

in the end. chloe and clark have many storylines they're in together and chloe's important.... to develop clark and as a counter to clark. clark never instigates anything, not once, for 9 years! when the show did give us Moments TM, clark is reacting, not actively making choices to connect to her. if anything, clark is incredibly awkward about chloe when they become intimate. he doesn't seem to know what to do with her crushing on him (the elevator scene is a great one to show just how awkward chloe makes him feel). more than that. clark never tells her his secret. and later on, chloe doesn't tell him half the crazy wild shit she does to protect him bc she knows he would disapprove. I still hold that the only reason they work is bc clark is a forgiving character and would give her chance after chance after chance. that's the watsonian explanation, but the doylist explanation is that the writers just never cared to explore them beyond this point.

8. and what was beyond that point?

they would've been a great counter to lexana in S6 and early clana (clark finally having a gf who knows). it’s playing the clark/Chloe as a straight lois/clark proxy before actually pursuing lois and clark. it could’ve been the precursor to davis and caused an even more personal conflict! the kiss at the end of s5 was their chance. they could've written chlark devolving much the same way lexana did in s6 (or not). but again. the writers never went that far and clearly never wanted to. it kept chlark forever in this stage of childhood friendship always on the brink of collapsing, tittering either way. it's also tough to speculate bc clark's just not into her. in fact he becomes more and more wary of her, to the point where he believes she can do horrible things, and he's right. the stories continually make their methods complete opposite.

they go out of their way to show chloe realizing how happy clark is with lois. and even play a joke on the fandom by literally turning her into lois and seeing the sparks between her friends. it's almost... cruel but it does serve to show how clark is when he's smitten and he's never looked at chloe that way except during the dance when they were kids. other unrequited dynamics have at least some spark from the desired, but nil from clark. clark is into chloe in late s1, but she shuts him down, and when he seems to be into her again (damn that s5 kiss was a good one lol), she shuts him down again. it's just a weird writing choice all around, and that they kept nuggets of it throughout the show is the thing I cringe at most whenever I rewatch.

9. bait and switch 2

with hindsight it is definitely ship baiting and that sucks for that dynamic bc without it their friendship would’ve been the stronger, or at least not full of so much negativity. all it did was remind everyone that chloe’s been duped since she was a kid and that clark is both stupid and strange for never noticing and letting her get away with shit just bc she’s the most loyal. I don’t ship them and even I get frustrated lol

#mystuff #smallville #superman #anti chlark #sayruq #my meta

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mc-critical · 3 years

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One of my most favourite confrontations between Mahidevran and Hürrem in the series is the one after Mahidevran sent Olga to Süleiman in episode 61. It's both fun, yet filled with meaningful character dialogue, managing to successfully deliver a thematic message that eventually finds its retroactive way, despite of it all seeming like a yet another smackdown fest by Hürrem at first.

The scene begins with their typical confrontational energy, the rivalry chemistry immediately paves its way forward. Hürrem is ready to face her for what she did and Mahidevran, while not being interested at first, goes with her flow regardless, setting the mood for what follows.

Hürrem: You've sent a concubine to his majesty.

Mahidevran: I'm replacing Valide. Pleasing his majesty is one of my duties.

Hürrem: Let God not give you other worries. Do you want to cover the lack of your femininity this way?

Mahidevran seems very engrained in her role as the head of the harem and connects it with her own desire to take revenge for her wounded pride and for all the pain they caused her. The first excuse she finds for sending Olga to SS refered to the rules and tradition that give her that right, but we know by context that there's something else going on, this was both a move driven by her vendetta and a provoked move - she decided to do this after Hü told her she's the one ruling the privy chamber and perhaps Mahidevran accepted it as a challenge to her power, because, honestly, I doubt she would've attempted such a thing if she weren't provoked like this. Hürrem, on the other hand, gives her own "interpretation" as to why Mahidevran took action. To be blunt, it sits wrong with me right from the start, because it demonstrates a huge amount of internalized mysoginy on full display and it's sad, in a way, that this is what the system encourages at the moment - you're nothing if you sleep alone in your bed, if you don't have the sultan's back. There's a glimmer of possibility Hürrem said it only to render Mahidevran vulnerable and one could understand where she comes from, since she has experienced quite a lot of similar offenses from that same person. And when a confrontation of the like occurs, her first instinct is to think of a comeback, to pull rank and highlight why she's better than her like she does in all their encounters in this batch of episodes. That hardly excuses or whitewashes this statement, though, because for a person who has been shown to fight the system and call out prejudice (even though it was mostly only she was subjected to it or it was about something that concerned her specifically), seeing that she had absorbed some of it and applies it without a second thought leaves a sour taste for me.

Mahidevran: Worry about your own problems, Hürrem. Did you really think his majesty couldn't be with other women?

Hürrem: This is impossible.

Two major beliefs of Mahidevran and Hürrem's characters come on the surface: they drive the dialogue and help the rest of the scene unfold the way it did. Mahidevran brushes off Hürrem's last statement and brings back tradition to the forefront, which begins to highlight a belief of hers that she shared with Valide, that there is a constant cycle in the harem that no one, not even Hürrem, is capable to entirely break. To Hürrem it's impossible for SS to ever have other women at this point, it's something unthinkable for her already. She feels she has fully broken that cycle.

This scene, unlike the confrontation in episode 58, has well done retroactive irony while serving the context of the episode it's in in a plausible enough way that doesn't seem showed in just for the sake of it. The context of the episode puts Hürrem in the right by showing Olga returning from SS's chambers almost immediately after Hürrem says: "This is impossible." and it's the place where this plot-line transitions to another one, leaving the rest of the confrontation to hang in the balance for a while. Maybe SS had truly given up taking other women ever since the wedding, as shown by this and SS refusing another concubine sent by Valide in the wedding episode.

However, we know that this stops being the case later on and whether it's through the decision to bring in yet another drama tool, yet another annoying stretched narrative opposition in the face of the concubine arcs, it's a fact and we could say that this scene ends up being a good enough framework to set us up for it, intentionally or not.

Mahidevran: Then why is there a concubine in his chamber?

Hürrem: What concubine? Maybe that one?

This, to me, is a demonstration of how the tables can turn in the harem at literally any moment. Meryem Uzerli's little amazing, subtle facial expression says it all. When Mahidevran asks the question, we see for a very split second that Hürrem's wondering how to refute her until the concubine appears in the heat of the argument due to sheer luck. Like, if she had already returned to her rooms before the scene occurred, it would've gone much differently! This isn't all that important here, but I love how Meryem showed a slight probability for Hürrem to lose the argument, which contrasts with all her confident remarks before and after this moment. It's just very neat stuff.

Hürrem: Many girls were introduced to his majesty. Among them, there was even a princess. Where are they now? Look around you. You will not see anyone but me.

Speaking of confident remarks, there comes another one of Hürrem's that no matter how many concubines came, they all went and now there is no one other than her. This line further sets a consistent trend of ambiguity, because she's right in the context of the episode and it encapsulates the resolution of these particular plot-lines of Hürrem and Süleiman in the season and we can get behind her words overall both in the arc and in rewatch, in spite of the retroactive irony, but she's wrong in that it's the end of her harem fights, very far from it, as season 3 and season 4 prove. She hasn't completely won yet, even though she sets the impression that she has.

What I also find interesting in this scene is the back and forth throwing of past - present - future between the two sides. They make a perfect showcase of what these characters represent, their states, their losses, their desires, their hopes, dreams and philosophies. Here, in example, Hürrem makes a reference to a part of her obstacles in the past, acknowledging that they were there regardless, but then she immediately goes back to the present with "Where are they now?". Nowhere in the scene she considered the possibilities of the future, the sheer probability that it all may change one day (as it happened, in many ways, through Firuze), focusing on the currently undeniable truth the present day presents.

That same throwing back and forth continues, but with another note which instantly places the two women against each other again:

Mahidevran: I was also loved once, Hürrem. Mustafa is the fruit of that love. Ask Gülfem Hatun if you want. She will tell you how much she suffered because of me.

Hürrem: You always tell this story.

Unlike Hürrem, who only references the past, Mahidevran laments it and takes pride in it, it being the highlight of her once beautiful life. But we know what went down afterwards, adding in the possibility that maybe, it would all be temporary and what one may have now, may change, because Mahidevran was also in Hürrem's position once. Hürrem however, calls out her fixation on the past, in a similar fashion to how she has done it before (E59: "Are you being proud of your past now? Let me remind you: You're still a slave."), what she had doesn't matter, it's the now that is important to Hürrem, which is a solid thematic note to her character arc.

Though, we have this line of dialogue in response:

We here notice that no matter how long it took for them to do it, Mahidevran and Hürrem actually had parallel arcs, in terms of letting go of the past. This line makes for such a striking revelation of Mahidevran's emotional state from her perspective that only continued what episode 46 hinted at and episode 55 directly started. (E55: "I ripped out the love I had of your father of my heart, I threw it into the sea! He doesn't matter to me anymore. Now you are the only one in my heart.") It's rather surprising that she says these words now - Mahidevran's rule of the harem is arguably her at her worst, doing what she does out of the last ounces of her wanting payback for the sad, bitter years. It's precisely what she lost that motivated her, that was a sure part of the reason she sent Olga to SS and yet, we have that honest confession, that grasp of acceptance. Mahidevran's battle with SS was lost very early on and it took her very slow and gradual development for her to accept it and by E61, she was doing the last steps to do so. She tries hard to convince Hürrem that no matter how hard she tries, there is a cycle in this harem that cannot be changed, Mahidevran has come to terms with it, so Hürrem has to do the same. In a way, she was probably trying to say that they both have been fighting a losing battle and she expresses a small amount of sympathy over it, too - she knows what it's like and it's hard, but it's like some unwritten law that it's not worth it in the end and that everyone gets affected by it, without exception. That's how she begins to look upon her present and show a hint of the future.

Out of the particular context, this line could be a very nice stronger endorsement of the franchise's themes, because, truly, no one ever got a good, triumphant, heroic ending. And it was like a cycle: everyone had to face the feelings of sorrow, grief and loss, everyone had to suffer in this time period, everyone dies. Gülfem called Hürrem's life a fairy tale in E134, but that "fairy tale" came to an end after her death. And if we leave that aside, there is hardly a breather episode even for the biggest of victories, no matter how many victories you've won, they would always "have their end", the narrative would always condemn them one way or another.

Mahidevran: One day a woman will appear and would destroy your indestructible love!

The future is finally put on the front with the scene overall and with Mahidevran herself. It's a continuation of her belief that Hürrem would be "detroned", regardless of all. Thing is, she also doesn't consider her own future, only the one of her rival's. She believes in her own victory that is opposed in the present, but would surely come in the future, a belief she holds until the end of the series. Even though I doubt the writers planned Firuze's existence right back then per say, this line sounds like such foreshadowing to her in retrospect, which makes Mahidevran both right and wrong with this quote. Firuze caused an actual continuous rift between Hürrem and Süleiman, making her doubt his love in ways she hadn't before. Nazenin comes into the picture, as well. But no one truly succeeds to properly destroy the love between Süleiman and Hürrem and they managed to prevail, despite of all the narrative opposition. She still stayed the most dear woman to SS's heart, no matter what. There is a slight possibility of Mahidevran judging the situation one hundred percent to herself here, claiming rather that the appearance of another woman would make Hürrem fall out of love with SS and destroy that, instead, just like it was with her, but since Mahidevran called the same line back during the Firuze episodes, I think she was referring to the rift Firuze would cause and how would Hü fall deeper and deeper.

Hürrem: Mahidevran, don't think of me as your equal.

This line is very telling in that Hürrem considers herself different than everyone else. It has always been a part of her character, perhaps a running reminder of her unprecedented elevation in the system she's telling us about through words. And most of the interpretations I've encountered of this line are exactly this: it is epic, badass, it is delivered in such a shading sassy way that could only be respected or applauded. However, it is just as possible for this infamous one-liner to be presented as the culmination of not only her persistent insistence to assert herself as different and special, but her continuous unwillingness to be compared to anyone else in the harem. And usually she's compared to guess who? Mahidevran. She doesn't want to even think of the possibility to be compared with her by this point (starting from E40 where after she was freed, she said: "Now I'm not equal to you." right to Mahidevran's face and continuing forward into S03 with: "I told you not to compare me to others, to Mahidevran never!" -it was something like that), but at first, which is now probably buried deep within, she feared becoming like Mahidevran. She repeated "I'm not Mahidevran!" when she was out of favor like with the Russian concubines, Mahidevran's words that she would make the same mistakes she did echoed in her head during the Isabella arc in episode 31 and earlier had a nightmare of Süleiman giving the emerald ring to Mahidevran instead of Hürrem in a completely parallel scene. (there's also the other nightmare where Mahidevran was taunting Hürrem to tell her about Leo.) Hürrem dreaded all of those things happening and tried her very best to avoid the very thoughts of it. Now, in a season nearly full of victories in her part, she had gained the belief that whatever happens, she'll always stand above the others. She wants to give off the vibe that no one would ever stop her. She has broken so many traditions and the narrative is currently rooted at her favor, all well and good, right? This line could be a mask, in a way, hiding the fear of being rejected just like the others (that doesn't completely disappear, seeing her suicide attempt in E72; also E106's menopause plot.) and striving to leave it behind her, now reaching its peak by putting not only Mahidevran, but the rest of the women into the picture, without a second of realization of the implications it causes, because well, who else was given such special attention by the Sultan? Who else was freed, who else had such a marriage, who else got out of death's door so many times, who else overcame everything, who else had a chance to "rain as fire" over all her enemies? Even though the quote applies on a much grander scale in execution, in later seasons and the way it got called back to in MCK, I feel, in this particular context, it refers to the harem and Süleiman specifically - his majesty doesn't need any other women, there is no such woman that could take away what Hürrem has and even if they stand together, they wouldn't stand a chance, because Hürrem is that massive and powerful.

The retroactive irony hits hard and here: she's right in the events of this particular episode, but the subsequent events definetly tell a different story. Hürrem's influence and power is acknowledged, especially in her last episodes, but that she's the only one capable of having such power is not necessarily true, given the existence of the SOW, some members of which reached more highs than she did, due to the evolving extent of power they could exercise in the system.

Mahidevran: Your arrogance will end you, Hürrem! One day when you're suffering in pain, I'll remind you this!

Hürrem: Mahidevran, you're not here anymore. You'll be leaving soon!

Mahidevran: You're not powerful enough for that!

The focus on the present and future is back with this quick, but substantial exchange. Mahidevran seems to count completely on what will happen in the future in the first line, while Hürrem accounts for both the present and the future, seemingly in accordance, and Mahidevran brings the confrontation back to the present, for what Hürrem talks about is currently unattainable. These lines look like a brief summary of what was established before about the beliefs of both characters: they both desire the end of one another - for Mahidevran it would happen eventually, because Hürrem would end herself in her eyes and Mahidevran would live for this moment and even witness it (and while she didn't witness it exactly, she lived and outlived them all, because there would be no death for her until they get what they deserve, a belief that carries on the strongest in season 4); for Hürrem it has already happened, but it would keep going, fueling her will to get rid of all her enemies and being in conjunction with the ongoing plot arc itself, for her attacking her enemies in all fronts in ways she hadn't before. The last line of Mahidevran's stops the dialogue between both of them for good (followed by Hürrem's smug grin), resting back on her current position, that is also how her whole set of dialogue began in the first place. Even though there was a hint of realization that she has been fighting a losing battle a while before, the part of hers that would prefer not going to the sanjack than give up now, is directly reflected on. It sets more of a parallel between how both of them are, because Mahidevran told Hürrem that arrogance would end her a few seconds ago, but now she's the one that demonstrates this same arrogance herself, starting to underestimate her own opponents yet again, simply because she rules the harem. Claiming that Hürrem doesn't have the power to send her to the sanjack by force, is true, actually, because Ibrahim interfered at the last moment, but this way Mahidevran seems to brush off Hürrem's victories completely, somehow convincing herself that she's forgotten how far has Hürrem gone and just like her rival, thinking of herself as unstoppable. (that goes on the season finale, too, where she says: "If you're powerful enough, face me by yourself!".) This attitude more or less cemented her downfall in this arc, as it would cement major flaws of Hürrem's in the future.

And then they're stopped by... Süleiman himself and I love that, because they have to stop because he comes, they have to stop because he's watching them and give him the necessary respect. Symbolically, it could be a showcase of him being the decider of everyone's fates and them having to accept his will at the end of the day.

And after he leaves, of course, Hürrem and Mahidevran prepare to carry on with their bickering, as they usually do. While that's the end of the whole confrontation, their expressions tell us it's not over yet.

It's particularly interesting, even as a confrontational scene alone: it's longer than many of the confrontational scenes between them, it speaks more volumes about the opposing sides than any other of the kind has dreamed to. While I love Mahidevran and Hürrem's chemistry, I wish there were more scenes like this one, more nuanced interactions than vitriol and constant, almost formulaic smackdowns. Because, to me, this whole confrontation, while simple at hindsight, raised the bar to what could we have had. The rivalry of the two ladies is fascinating on a thematic level and not exploring its depth further, would be a myriad of wasted opportunities.

This scene did right all you could think of: composition, soundtrack, attention to detail, chemistry, dialogue and opposing two sides on a respectful, unbiased, while narratively provoked, way. I adore the way it aged: as I said, it created a perfect blend between context of the episode/plot arc and retroactive irony and the mix of cause and effect of soapy intrigues, character exploration through lines and all the coming thematic stuff, while being filled with dynamic and fun energy. And it's absolutely sublime for it.

#i planned to only use images at first #but since Tumblr now allows only up to 10 #I had to quote most stuff #magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #mahidevran sultan #hurrem sultan

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kingofthewilderwest · 5 years

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While I think Hawkeye's arc was weird in Endgame (seeing him badass was cool tho), I don't have problem with Thor's depression. Sure he's reacted with beserker rage in the past, but the difference is this was the first time his failure, which already was partially a result of his rage, resulted in not just him failing to kill his enemy but in the death of half of all life in the entire universe. That's gonna weigh down on anyone, on top of the personal loss of family and home. No wonder he broke

I’m of two minds for Thor. Honestly, how I end up feeling, I’ll have to rewatch the MCU to make my “final call.”

Thor’s suffered enormous losses in life, and they’ve kept building up. His father, his mother, his home and many of his people, his brother, and now the loss with Thanos and the snap. During Thor: Ragnarok, I was hoping for more evidence of Thor coping with a loss than what I saw - it was there, but understated, in part because of how humor is incorporated into nearly every scene of the film. In Infinity War, we see a bit more of Thor coping, this time more seriously.

From what I remember (and do note that with most MCU movies, I’ve seen them only once), Thor brooded during his vulnerable points. He was solemn; you could feel the pain and the underlying dark as he emotionally grappled with his latest losses. It’s not that I expected berserker rage as OP mentioned in the prior post I reblogged (though Thor’s had that, too, as you said), but something more along darker brooding lines. Especially given as in Infinity War, Thor was coping with (as you pointed out) the loss of his home and so so so many of his people, which is mass death and loss of the most personal, intimate nature - I felt like that was a good indication of what Thor would be like during his worst.

Of course Thanos’ snap is more people, and killing Thanos but not saving people is a big failure on Thor’s end. But from the end of Ragnarok to the start of Infinity War, Thor suffered extreme horrors. Thor experienced his sister murder many of his friends and people, saw his surviving subjects driven from home into exiles, saw those people attacked and killed, witnessed his brother murdered… that’s devastating, and as personally close to home as you can get. Thor loves Earth, but these were Asgardians, these were family. He lost all that. So to see Thor brooding in the midst of this, and then steel himself up, for me feels like a good indication of how the character responds in the lowest of the lows.

Of course, since they were in the middle of conflict with Thanos, Thor’s going to react differently… than in an aftermath where there’s no fight. We may steel ourselves up in fights but collapse emotionally once we no longer have that conflict to power through, or the dangerous desperation that forces us to focus. In the five year time span of Endgame, Thor isn’t in the midst of a giant battle. His mind won’t be on “finish the fight” or “try to survive” or “try to win the battle” - because he’s on earth with the remnant of the remnant of his people who survived, trying to recreate a day-to-day environment.

And, as you said, NOW EVERYTHING is now weighing on him - the personal loss, the death of half the universe, etc.

And that’s why I’m of two minds. Because in a time of peace, this is where things could crash down on Thor, and him enter that depression we see in Endgame. He’s lost everything. He’s got nothing to fight for now. And, as you said, he’s come to the pain of failure. This is where the failure and the loss sinks in, and feels inescapable… and is going to play into how Thor tries to cope with the trauma. And in a situation as horrid as that, it’s hard to process it at all… the mind is going to want to escape.

But given Thor’s previous lows, it feels odd and in some ways out of character, a very different emotional approach than what the MCU’s given us before (not just in Infinity War and Ragnarok, but earlier movies too). Thor hasn’t shown to be the type to be susceptible to depression or self-deprecating alcoholism or shutting himself out from the world. And while Endgame’s start is a MASSIVE breaking point, you can see from his other breaking points and major struggles… how he’d tend to act. We can extract from other situations how someone would probably respond in a worse one, and for me, it doesn’t QUITE add up. We’ve seen him cope with failure before. We’ve seen him cope with massive loss before. We’ve seen him cope with personal loss before. He hasn’t shown himself to be the type to go to these types of poor coping strategies.

But all in all, I don’t mind too much either way whether this is in Thor’s core “character” as we know him in the MCU. It was something I found interesting watching in Endgame because it’s something I would have written differently; it’s not something that bothered me, so much as made me rub my chin in thought. I find it an interesting point of discussion to hear peoples’ perspectives on all angles - probably because I’m in that 50/50 toss-up. I can see the points in favor either way.

I think characters like Hawkeye definitely responded in odd ways in Endgame, and Thor stuck out to me as well (as did Nat and Bruce, and to a much lesser extent, Tony). But I can see very good reasons to synthesize and discuss why his reaction would make sense, too.

It all boils down to interpretation, I think. The fascinating power of fandom is that we can interact with media in legitimate ways with multiple modes of interpretation. There’s concrete ways to talk about Thor from a resolutely IC perspective. There’s legitimate angles to ponder about whether it were the most “Thor-like” choice in the script. And it’s all so fun to talk about!

Since I feel like the MCU has constant hiccups in how it handles all its characters between movies, this wasn’t anything different than what I’ve experienced before, and ergo I just take it in stride and be like, “Yeah Thor’s going through depression in this movie,” and accept it for what it is. And there’s something to be said that Thor’s relatable, and it’s SUCH an encouraging thing to remember: our mental illnesses or deepest emotional struggles DON’T affect how great and worthy we are!

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furubase · 5 years

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Posting this ask from my main (gotta stay consistent)! Hope you don’t mind anon!

This is actually a great question because you’re right, I have no idea why I put Ayame/Mine and Arisa/Kureno on the same level. The truth is, outside his relationship with Yuki, I find Ayame very boring, so I don’t really mind his relationship status (don't know if him being gay would have changed anything though). Arisa and Kureno though? They’re both very interesting on their own, and I really like them. I think my interpretation of some of the core themes of the show isn’t too far off, but the way Kureno’s arc plays its part in it is very much a personal interpretation, so bear with me here.

So. To be quick, yes, the age gap is probably one of the issues, along with the way their romantic arc is the only thing that ties them together until issue 22 (and I tend to consider issue 23 as an epilogue of sort). Theirs is a very strange romance overall, and I think it all boils down to frustration.

I think most people aren’t squeamish about age gaps as much as they are about power imbalances, so to be fair, Arisa and Kureno are much better off on this front than Katsuya/Kyoko. Arisa is 18, eight years younger than Kureno, so at that ambiguous age where it’s “okay” to date someone older, but also weird when older men are interested in her. It’s pretty obvious that their relationship is heading towards romance but I’m of the mind they take it very slow, so it’s more how it happens that concerns me. (Still, I think it’s important to keep in mind all of the parallels between Arisa/Kureno and Katsuya/Kyoko, although they’re a much healthier version).

I really like that Arisa is given the revelation in chapter 127 that she knows next to nothing about Kureno. She’s intrigued, she has a crush, sure. But we’re only ever shown on one occasion that they would maybe be a good match together (same thing with Mayu/Hatori tbh, but at least we’re told that they’ve known each other for a long time). I don’t really see how her feelings for him evolved into more than a crush. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Where do their arcs lead to? Once she meets him, Uo doesn’t really have an arc that doesn’t revolve around her romance with Kureno. At the end of the series, she has to let go of Tohru, and she has to figure out what comes after high school (she just wants to work and start her life, without any specifics). I think it would have done wonders for her character to be shown struggling with the freedom the end of high school grants her, especially given her past. It would have given her an endpoint to look towards, but also a thematic motif that ties her to the Junichi and to Kureno especially - the one who lost the ability to fly.

Kureno’s arc is very dissonant, compared to the rest of the Zodiac. It’s all about freedom and what to do with it. He’s refused it once, and it shaped his life in a way that has hurt him in the long run. I think it’s fair to say that Kureno was a victim of emotional abuse - a dependency that started when Akito was very young and that he feels responsible for. There’s this ambiguity in Kureno in that he’s the most lonely of the twelve, and still that he’s completely shackled to Akito. So letting Akito go means setting himself up to be alone, and that’s probably something that scares him.

Kureno’s arc is infinitely bittersweet to me. All the other members of the Zodiac understand, with Tohru’s influence, that to help out the world and make it better they need to start with themselves. The easiest way to show that is to have them paired up - because love is always a bit selfish, isn’t it? Kureno hasn’t really grasped that lesson.

I don’t think this is all about Akito - Kureno needs to leave, but his words make it seem like he hasn’t grasped the simple truth that he should be doing it for himself. He’s leaving when everyone’s relationships is becoming easier, healthier. He's finally leaving, taking advantage of his freedom. He’s also ten years too late, and he's doing it with a mix of regret, devotion, and if the need to see the world finally is there, it’s pushed pretty far back.

I don’t really like that it’s Uo - someone he barely knows - and the thought of her, her words, that pushes him to leave his situation. He’d known for a while that it was bad, that he needed to leave for both his and Akito’s sake, but it’s so clearly entangled with his romantic arc in the manga that I can’t get fully behind it. He likes Arisa because she’s strong, and independent, and funny, and a breath of fresh air, and for all the right reasons (and that’s probably where the age gap might matter, because she might be strong but she’s still 18!), but I wish he took the time to figure out how he’s strong and independent on his own. He can still do that, obviously, but this kind of “I’ll follow you anywhere” mentality, in this context... I don’t think this was the solution I wanted for either of them.

So yeah. It’s not the worst relationship, and it might have been good had it been given the proper development, and if they each had individual character arcs (esp for Uo) that sustained such a deep connection so early in their relationship. This is a complicated situation that was given too simple a resolution. As I said, I deal with it by interpreting their last appearance as the hint that there is more to the story and more to deal with, but Takaya’s insistence on giving everyone a resolutely happy ending, while cute, sealed the deal on this one for me. I really do see the appeal though.

#kureno sohma #arisa uotani #kureno x uo #kureno x arisa #thanks for the question i hope it made sense and you didn't mind my arguments!#yuki/machi could have fallen into this pitfall #but they had tohru and kakeru and the students' council to sustain their respective arcs #fruits basket manga spoilers #fruits basket spoilers #my post

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