#though i see these books as canon. so yay for me i guess. but it would have been nice to see it on the shows | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

remus-poopin · 6 months

Note

Hi! Sorry to bother you but I’m looking for specific pieces of HP meta and I’m kinda lost.

Do you have any reading recommendations about homosexuality in the Harry Potter world? I’m trying to decide a couple of things about the world-building for a fic and I’d love to read about other takes on the topic.

Hi! It's not a bother at all I love this stuff! I have my own thoughts about this too and this is a question I often think about and I was planning on writing something about this eventually anyways so I'm glad I got this ask because now I have a excuse to! (And I can talk about some gripes I have with the author as well so yay)

CW: Homophobia and misogyny

Here is a meta by @thecarnivorousmuffinmeta on homophobia in the wizarding world.

Here is @hchollym's take on gay marriage in the WW

The books give no mention of homosexuality explicitly, but the author has slightly expanded on the topic at later times in interviews and tweets. In 2007 she confirmed that Dumbledore was gay and later she gives us more details about his sexlife. She then said this in 2007 about homosexuality and homophobia in the wizarding world:

"MA: 'We wanna talk about Dumbledore so bad. We know that you've created worldwide intrigue when you said that he is gay. But I wanted to ask you about homosexuality in the Wizarding World in general. Is it a taboo?' JKR: 'Now, that's something I never thought of. I would think that that would be-- it would be exactly what it is in the Muggle World. But the greatest taboo in the Wizarding World is, well, for some wizards... I mean if we're talking about prejudiced people within the Wizarding World, what they care most about is your blood status. So I think you could be, um, gay, pure-blood, and totally without any kind of criticism from the Lucius Malfoys of the world. I don't think that would be something that would interest him in the slightest. But, you know, I can't answer for all witches and wizards because I think in matters of the heart, it would be directly parallel to our world.'"

She also says this in a tweet about homophobia in 2014:

“Only by ludicrous Muggles. The wizards don't give a damn - it's all about the magic for them.”

Now whether or not you take this to be canon is up to you. What I think is interesting here is I feel as though we are made to think that homosexuality is a non issue in the wizarding world and not a point of prejudice by the second statement. From her first statement she says that its “something she never thought of” and I'm guessing her second statement is contradictory because she wanted to appease LGBT+ fans and reassure them that Hogwarts is a safe space (for some, lets not ask her about the other letters in the acronym).

This is a pattern I've noticed JKR exhibiting in a lot of her post book words in which she is trying to communicate how egalitarian the world she created is through her new information, while the text does not reflect this worldview. I think a good example of this is how when she listed the ministers of magic she included several women, going back as far as the 1700s to try to show there are not as many barriers to entry for women in the WW. Yet we see many instances of sexism throughout the series from the characters. I think what she was trying to do is have her world primarily focus on blood purity, and creature rights and have the issues we face either go to the backburner or not be present at all. Now I understand this choice, (though I really don’t think it's necessary, more interesting or remotely realistic) but I also think her execution is pretty awful because you can (and I'm about to) make an argument that these issues are still very present in the wizarding world. I think the biggest issue here is that she doesn't understand the structures and systems of oppression that she handwaved to the side to truly write a world where they would not be a real problem. To me, given what we've seen of the wizarding world, homophobia would still very much be an issue.

So I think if we're going to talk about what homosexuality looks like in the wizarding world we would also need to talk about what homophobia would look like in the wizarding world. Homophobia has many factors contributing and working with it to make it function as prejudice and a system. If I had to break it down to its biggest parts I would say our big three is: religious fears, rigid gender norms, and disgust. Those often play off each other to create an effective tool for upholding a power structure in society by subjugating certain members. Let's examine these in the context of Harry Potter.

Religious fears:

Religious fears resulting in homophobia is very common in the real world but for this factor to apply to the WW I think we would need to determine whether or not the wizarding world is even religious. We have examples of christianity showing up across the books in casual ways, Harry has a Godfather, he was christened as a baby, and Lily and James have a quote from the bible on their tombstone. From this we can at least make the assumption that the Potter family is religious to some capacity. We also see that one of the Hogwarts ghosts is called “The Fat Friar’. But to my knowledge this is where the references end. If the wizarding world is religious, or at least wizarding Britain, they seem to be casually so. So I don't see this being a huge driving factor in any homophobia we would see in that universe.

Rigid gender norms:

I think if you take away any religious influences you're still going to see homophobia even in its most violent forms and this has a lot to do with rigid gender norms. If gender norms are established to sustain a power structure that a society relies on to maintain a certain order, any breaking of those norms will be met with punishment (socially or physically). In a heteronormative culture, homosexuality can be seen as a breaking of these norms.

First off, Pureblood culture seems to be obsessed with lineage and creating heirs, In one of the meta I linked it talks about how homosexuality would be a threat to that. At least in pureblood society, your job as a man is to make pureblooded babies and your job as a woman would be to give birth to them, anything else would be looked down upon.

If we step outside of pureblood society, we can see that the general wizarding population also seems to have strict ways in which men and women should act.

So what are the gender roles the wizarding world has? Well there are the clothing, all wizards wear robes, but dresses are traditionally for women and any robe that looks a little to dress-like for a man could be seen as embarrassing:

“'What is that supposed to be?' He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long maroon velvet dress. It had moldy-looking lace frills at the collar and matching lace cuffs. - ‘Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress,’ said Ron, holding it out to her. ‘Of course I haven't,’ said Mrs Weasley. ‘Thats for you, dress robes’.- “You've got to be kidding’ said Ron in disbelief ‘Im not wearing that, no way!' - In some trepidation Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he expected, however. His dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all - in fact they were more or less the same as his school ones, except they were bottle green except black” (GOF, pg 155 and 156)

“Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all looking very self conscious, but none as much as Ron who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything. In a desperate attempt to make them more manly he used a severing charm on the ruffs and cuffs." (GOF, pg 411)

There are cultural roles:

“‘Come on, Ginny's not bad,’ said George fairly sitting down next to Fred. ‘Actually , I dunno how she got so good, seeing how we never let her play with us…’ ‘she's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking’ (OOTP, pg 574)

There is no ostensible reason for Ginny not to be able to play Quidditch with her older brothers, even if she was too young at one point, very soon after she should have been able to, considering Ron was only a year older. From this we can assume that wizards, or at least the Weasleys, have a view of femininity as more fragile, or weaker than masculinity. This idea is reinforced through the founders of Hogwarts making separate dorm rooms for girls and boys where boys cannot enter the girls dorm but girls can enter the boys, this also positions men as aggressors in a sexual sense.

There are sexual roles, any time there is slutshaming in the series a women is at the end of it. Hermione is seen as a “scarlet women” for appearing to toy with Harry's heart:

“I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of - scarlet women!’ Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. ‘Scarlet women?’ - ‘It's what my mum calls them’ Ron muttered." (GOF, pg 513)

Ginny is constantly facing accusations of behaving a little too promiscuously by her family.

“'Let's get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron -' ‘Yeah it is!’ Said Ron just as angrily. ‘D’you think I want people saying my sister’s a-’ (HBP, pg 287)

"'my tiara sets the whole thing nicely, said Aunt Muriel in a rather carrying whisper, 'but I must say, Ginevra's dress is far too low cut.'" (DH, pg 145)

Merope Riddle is called a slut for running off with Tom Riddle Sr.

"'dishonored us, she did, that little slut!'" (HBP, pg 365)

All of these instances are made to seem as negative and as a breaking of the societal norms. The norm being women as chaste, demure figures of virtue.

We've established these gender roles, and we've seen there are consequences when you fall out of line. So, what if the gender role calls for you to be masculine as a man and then defines that masculinity in part with obtaining women and sexual prowess? Homosexuality would be in direct conflict with that. And with that lets tie it into disgust.

Disgust:

The disgust that a homophobe feels can be stemming from a couple different places. Maybe it's religious fears like we talked about or maybe it's because of gender norms. But that disgust is only taking place because they perceive something they hold to be pure being tainted and violated; the word of god, the sanctity of masculinity, or hegemonic gender roles. In a society where these beliefs are upheld and treated as sacred, any conflict with that will be met with judgment at best and violence at worse.

I don't see the wizarding world as a progressive space where homosexuality or anything LGBT+ would be considered a non issue because the text does not reflect that. The text shows the same misogyny, the same disdain for femininity, and the same reverence for masculinity that we see in everyday life and because of that I feel it only makes sense to see the wizarding world just as bigoted as ours.

Ok so what does homosexuality look like in the wizarding world then?

Well if we've established the wizarding world as a society that would be hostile (in any way) to gay people I think its easier to move forward on how to imagine how they fit into that society since we have ours for reference. However, Its important to remember that our oppression doesn't define us and its not the only thing to consider while writing. Think about what the fashion would look like, what the music would sound like, what the spaces would be like and just generally what the culture would be. Have fun with it!

Hope this helped a little!

#what does homosexuality look like in the wizarding world? short anwser: Sirius Black #also sorry i took so long to anwser this i was busy failing my exams #hp meta #harry potter meta #harry potter #hp #ginny weasley #the weasleys #james potter #lily evans #molly weasley #albus dumbledore

54 notes · View notes

highladyluck · 8 months

Text

Season 2, Episode 3 Liveblog

Teaser:

YES WE HAVE A DRAWL I REPEAT WE HAVE A DRAWL 🚨🚨🚨🪲🤠🚨🚨🚨

FANCY RED COAT RAND is here to steal your wine

My jaw DROPPED at Mat’s glow-up 😍🤩😘 I cannot WAIT for this man to be forcibly extracted from his bathrobe

Loved the Arches & ceremony, some word-for-word quotes there.

First real big surprise is Natti as Wisdom- I would not have thought she had the social standing for that, but otoh possibly the other options died? And it actually seems kind of plausible that she could even be taught to channel if you consider book canon (given Bode and Eldrin), though I don’t think that’s required.

Ooooooh ok I see why they picked Natti- they needed someone to twist the emotional knife in real good 🙃 Also you can see where Mat gets his moral core from, here- there’s a job and someone has to do it. But the jobs no one else wants/can do tend to SUCK, no wonder he tries to avoid them.

(Book Mat gets his values from his dad, but I think there’s probably a lot he got from Natti that he feels on an unconscious level/doesn’t talk about because it’s not at the level of talking, it’s at the level of doing. Relatedly, I keep thinking about a theory I heard that book Natti was a functional alcoholic; someone said that how early book Mat responds to sickness & interpersonal conflict reminds them of adult kids of alcoholics.)

I’m looking forward to the last ring >:)

HUH

I wonder if she had to gentle/kill Lan in there?

Still Peak Nyneave, honestly

OH MAN FAKEOUT YESSSSSSSSS we are getting the canon test!?

Incidentally I like that branded water jug

Where is Suroth getting her lip color? I like it

Oh that’s creepy, incredible horror movie move with the pointing

YES WE HAVE A DRAWL I REPEAT WE HAVE A DRAWL 🚨🚨🚨🪲🤠🚨🚨

The Voice sounds like the South Carolinan delegate (main villain) in the women & minority genders version of 1776 I saw recently. Incidentally, RJ lived in South Carolina.

Female soldier, check

Asymmetric haircut, check

Oh Uno, you are a good man

WOW … but actually that was exactly as dehumanizing and brutal as I would expect

May the last embrace of the mother welcome you home, Uno.

Perrin is gonna do a murder- oh I guess not

Lol Logain has Rand pegged

Hahaha the other fakeout is paying off now too (Logain looking at Mat and Rand in Tar Valon)

Oooh more book quotes!

Miss “I know everything” Selene

The Queen of Cairhein?!?

Glow-up! Glow-up!

Oooooof :(

Liandrin respected someone?

Mat is gonna have SUCH a complex after this, but otoh he’s probably heard worse from his mom

Mat wants to matter T_T

PEAK EGWENE

FANCY RED COAT RAND is here to steal your wine

I love Rand setting the letters on fire

Oooooooh class warfare, Rand is so offended

Wow, Rand is wasting no time

I love Rand being taught by Logain actually

Oh that is a DEEP CUT into WoT lore (pun intended), we know from Origins of the Wheel of Time that RJ was originally intending ‘gentling’ to involve actual castration

Rand are you sure you want to say that?

Oh interesting, does everyone hear LTT? Or just voices?

YAY reunion??? Oh, Mat. :(

Yeah Mat is scared out of his mind

Time for an interview with Ishmael! This reminds me of Mat’s first POV in book 3 actually, at least superficially, but it’s more like the dream meetings

Well done wolves!

So many cages and traps in this ep :D

Ooooof that betrayal’s gonna hurt later

Ooooh maybe we do not want to piss off Selene?

Oh good job setting the Foregate on fire, hero (inn fires 4 lyfe)

Ooooooh yeah Egwene would try to bring Nyneave back

Elayne, a rule follower? Well, when it comes to thinking she knows best, she would be a rule enforcer.

Nyneavelet is very cute

My jaw DROPPED at Mat’s glow-up 😍🤩😘 I cannot WAIT for this man to be forcibly extracted from his bathrobe

Awwww Mat can pay off all his debts in Nyneave’s fantasy world 😭

Ah I see Nyneave’s fantasy world is real enough that it involves visits from the main plot conflict 🧐

“What’s that” is Mommy’s rage-triggered ticket home, sweetie

Oooooooof.

#wheel of time #wot on prime #wot on prime spoilers #wot on prime s2 #WoT on prime s2e1 #some comparison of book stuff here but I think I am being vague enough for this to be safe for show-onlies

33 notes · View notes

eutravels · 7 months

Text

Doctor Who: Redacted

So, more than a year after the release of this audio series, I've decided to give it a go. I've listened to the trailer and so far it's great! I'll give each episode a review and publish it all when I'll have listened to the whole piece.

If you don't wanna get spoiled, you might want to skip the ep by ep review straight to the end of the post to read my overall opinion on the series.

Episode One: SOS

The episodes are pretty short, so I felt like this one went very quickly. Nothing much happens however there's already so much mystery and interrogations, I'm already hooked! There's also quite an important amount of background development for at least one the main characters. I find it really easy to like them from this first episode only since they are written and acted so naturally. I already love Cleo, whom I guess is the main character. Shawna and Abby are just a lovely little funny duet that works really well, and oh my god, Shawna's clearly in love with Abby, I can't wait to hear more about that.

I liked that L.I.N.D.A. was mentioned since the setting is really similar to this iconic story and it kind of makes it canon that the L.I.N.D.A. organisation survived the Love and Monsters events.

Also, oh my my my, I LOVE Rani I can't wait to hear more of her in the next episodes, I didn't know she was in this!

Episode 2: Hysteria

Oh this one was great as well! Certainly not as good as the first one in terms of character work, but there's a lot happening!

The references to the previous events from the TV show are great but also so frightening because you can really see the consequences of these events on the lives of the direct witnesses. I guess the two characters we met so far are the ones we see in the actual episodes (that journalist girl in Partners in Crime and that doctor who gets interviewed at the end of Smith and Jones). The latter one's story is pretty sad, I wish I could have given him a hug :(

Can't wait to hear the next one!

Episode 3: Lost

Oooooh some answers! But more questions...

It's really getting a lot more mysterious and I'm completely involved in the plot!

I don't have much more to say at this point, let's see what Episode 4 brings!

Episode 4: Angels

Yay! A whole episode referencing Blink! The return of Larry! With clothes hopefully this time!

Apparently he's not married to Sally, as the end of Blink pointed towards a romance between the two characters, but that's fine.

He said the Doctor's turning against them. What does it meeeaaaaan???

It's great to have the girls altogether in one place, even though now they seem to be in a bad position... I'm turning on the next one right away, I need to know what happens next!

Episode 5: Interrogation

I'm glad it was just UNIT because now we got to have Kate again and that is GREAT!

Also, Cleo is such a badass, she slayed this whole episode.

The tension kept going up throughout every interrogation until the climax, and just when you thought the episode couldn't be more interesting than it already was, this enigmatic guy comes in and makes Cleo speak out her bad bitch speech.

Episode 6: Recruits

A lot happens in there! Finally the Doctor appears briefly, the team is arguing, what is going ON???

The soft reveal about Cleo's father means he met the Doctor, maybe he's someone we know from the show, or a victim of one of the events from the show.

Too many questions!

Can't wait for episode 7!

Episode 7: Requiem

Oh the Doctor's finally back.

So much happens but at the same time so little does. There's only three episodes left, we've barely heard the Doctor, we have no answers...

I don't know if it gets me hooked or frustrated but I need more! All I know is that time flies by when I'm listening to this, the dialogues are superb, amazing writing and direction. It kind of makes me want to read Dawson's books!

Episode 8: Ghosts

This one was proper scary! So Requiem was Madam Vastra? I'm kind of sad they couldn't get Neve McIntosh to come back for the part but it helped not spoiling the reveal to me so that's a win I guess.

I know that there's a second series but I kind of hope the story gets wrapped up by the end of this one so that it makes a whole. We'll see!

Episode 9: Rescue

WE KNOW MORE

Actually we don't know a lot but we do know more. It's great!

I was NOT expecting Cleo to be Redacted and it's really an interesting twist that may give the finale a lot of work to do.

I can't wait to here about it!

Episode 10: Salvation

Oh the finale was so good, I didn't expect such a satisfying ending.

Cleo not joining the Tardis makes a lot of sense because she has a lot to deal with at home, she has to reconnect with her mother and learn to forgive her and herself for what they did to each other, it's not an adequate moment to fly off in the universe.

I'm glad I could finally hear 13 a bit more, and she was as great as always.

Abby and Shawna!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!! I wasn't sure their relationship was going to end up this way so I'm happy for them!

Great end, I love it!

Fanart by @dykepaldi

How lucky were we to have this last year! And to think I only caught up with this now! It's a wonderful piece of free media from the Whoniverse in a very well known format for the fans, but directed in such a fresh brilliant modern way! It's important to mention how important this piece is to the LGBTQIA+ community, because the main director and producer, the main writer and the members of the main cast are all part of our community. I, as a cis gay man, am not represented (I think) in this play, but it was still so emotional to me to see such bold and open trans and sapphic representation. I love that for our community and in hard times like these, it's great to be reminded that safe spaces exist. And if like for me, your safe space is just anything Doctor Who related, you know that despite the bigotry you may find around you, Doctor Who is there and cares about you.

Storywise, it's clearly written by fans, for fans, and they meddle, they play with the TV show's events, I love it, I absolutely adore it. Some parts of the story feel more hard-hitting than others do, but the overall arc is just brilliant.

It's a timing coincidence that I started listening to this less than a week before the release of the second series but honestly I'm not sure if I'll give it a go considering how Ella Watts was kicked out of the production without a word and being replaced by James Goss (whom I love) who certainly does not have a hard time finding his voice in the Whoniverse. I don't understand this decision and I'm really disappointed. Watts apparently responded with class and dignity but I'll have to say that the BBC are kind of backstabbing her after she created the whole project that was so successful in the end. Just... not cool...

I like Goss' works so maybe I'll listen to it some day, but I think I need to process the info first.

To end on a much more positive note: listen to this. You need no knowledge of any other spin off or eu stuff, and it's free on the BBC app worldwide. You're in for a great time if you haven't listened to it already.

#doctor who eu #doctor who expanded universe #doctor who #dr who #dweu #ella watts #juno dawson #thirteenth doctor #13th doctor #jodie whittaker #new who #nuwho #cleo procter #charlie craggs #lois chimimba #holly quin-ankrah #redacted #doctor who redacted

19 notes · View notes

bugeyedfreaks · 5 months

Note

Blossom - 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 16, 20, 23

A bounty of Blossom questions, yay! 🥰

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I think at this point my blog could probably be described as both a general PPG fanblog AND a platform dedicated to defending Blossom… so I think I’ve exhausted myself on describing why I like her so much, and I feel like if I wrote it all again I'd just be repeating myself. But I mean, she's great! She's the kind of character who could (and sadly sometimes does) get easily written off as the "boring girly one," but she's so much more than that. She has a lot of very strong positive qualities and just as many interesting character flaws and quirks that I feel get overlooked by a lot of people.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Nothing. She’s been in way too many fandom crossovers as it is and it drives me bonkers. 🤣

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I've been told by maaany people that I seem to have a lot in common with her, but I guess at least two things we share are the innate desire to want to do good and to be perfectionists in whatever we do (and, of course, we get really irritated when we don't reach our desired level of perfection).

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Gosh, well... I guess one thing is that she usually looks beeeeautiful in fanart. 😌 My opinions on older versions of Blossom (and those versions of the girls in general) are very nuanced, and I can be weird and picky about it, but I do really like some of the fits I've seen fanart of Blossom in (like yours for instance, her outfit is cool!). Many people make her look very fashionable, and I appreciate seeing my fave treated well like that.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I've written a lot about the mischaracterization of her character and how the fandom sometimes treats her so... weird (i.e. with shipping and stuff.. you know what I mean... 🥴). I also don’t like it when she’s written off as just some stuck-up, bossy jerk because… okay, yeah, she can be one, but that’s not all that she is! Not that Buttercup and Bubbles don't have their share of nuance, but I'd argue that Blossom has a whole lot more nuance to her. A lot of people don't seem to pick up on that, and the result is that she's either written off as preachy and boring or completely devoid of personality (which is... more often the case, unfortunately).

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I kind of like the idea of her growing up to be a detective (or at least doubling down on her superheroism), mostly because of this plotline in one of the chapter books where her idea of becoming "grown up" is ditching her sisters and starting her own crime-solving business.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

PPG/RRB and any of the ones that exist outside of the world of the show. Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jack, for example, don’t canonically exist in the world, even though there’ve been little Easter eggs in all of the shows/some CN crossover stuff, and I’m a dopey little stickler for canon (…well, most of the time, anyway!).

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Me. I'm never onscreen but I play the role of "audience member" and so we should be besties. 😆

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Every picture of her is my favorite picture, but this one popped into my head when I started thinking about it. She looks so delightfully goofy, the queen of backyard cereal meals.

#powerpuff girls #ppg #blossom #ask game

16 notes · View notes

claire-starsword · 1 year

Text

Shining Force 2 All HQ Quotes - JP & ENG

Quotes from the first game here

[put this off for a while since i feel there are less mistranslations, the dialogue in this game is mostly just abridged for ROM space reasons I suppose. Still, there’s still interesting things to see. Unfortunately there’s also even more sexual harassment gags than in the previous game, and hitting most of my favorite characters no less. Yay.

To save those characters a bit, I’ve also translated some stuff from a japanese guide book. That guide book sadly doesn’t have much in terms of character trivia and such, it’s more focused on gameplay stats only, but it does give each character a spicy quote or description for flavor (some are very ambiguous on if they’re first or third person, I’ve noted them as such). And if you stick til the end, maybe you’ll even get some words from our great leader as well? Wouldn’t that be a change of pace.

Most screenshots here are mine but I still had to take a few from RRPG as I didn’t finish my JP playthrough. That’s all the rambling I had, let’s jump to it.]

Sarah

Active: english version is accurate

"Got it? Don't be reckless! You're our leader, so we lose if you're defeated."

Rest:

"That Jaha! I won't forgive him! ...He was harassing me so I beat him up real hard."

Guide book quote/description (ambiguous if it's first or third person):

"Divine punishment dealt in a flash with Hellblast!"

Chester

Active:

"*Whinny!* *Snort*... When I imagine the next battle I get kinda pumped up!"

Rest:

"That Jaha, man... He is way too flighty with his crushes! He keeps hitting on everyone!"

Guide book quote/description (ambiguous if it's first or third person):

"Face the enemies in our way with a powerful charge!"

Jaha

Active:

"Get ready for anything! I'll be on my guard as well! Huh? Ah, I forgot my helmet."

Originally Jaha says 兜の緒を締めよ, which literally means "fasten the straps of your helmet", but is meant as an expression for "be ready/be on your guard" (kinda like "buckle up" i guess, but that's more related to vehicle so it felt weird to use it). He then follows up on the literal meaning by going to fiddle with his helmet before realizing he just tied a cloth to his head instead. Which is, uh, sure a mistake one can make??? It's pretty nonsense and i didn't find an equivalent expression anyway so I took liberties with it. Do I look like I respect canon Jaha anyway.

Rest:

"Oww... Is my cheek still red? I just messed around with Sarah a bit and she slapped me real hard!"

Guide book quote/description (ambiguous if it's first or third person):

"A single swing of this axe can shatter even mithril!"

Kazin

Active:

"When it comes to battle strategy... Yes, Sir Hawel's teachings will be very useful after all..."

Rest:

"I'm just... *crack* stretching! My neck gets stiff from using magic, so I have to do some exercises once in a while."

Guide book quote:

"Flames of the demon world, burn my enemies to ashes!"

Slade

Active:

"I'm skilled at throwing knives! Passing it from one hand to the other helps it pick up speed. Hah!"

Rest:

"After this battle is over... Hehe, I wonder what I should steal next... Ah, you heard that?"

Guide book quote:

"A great thief like me, caught by the likes of you?"

Kiwi

[As mascot characters often do, Kiwi has a speaking quirk of ending his sentences in kame (turtle). This stuff usually works better in japanese.]

Active:

"I've learned... how to talk... a bit, but... it's tiring... Fighting.... not as much... Turt..."

Rest:

"Neck goes in... in... I'm training... how to dodge... Neck goes in, in, like a turtle..."

The word he uses for retracting his neck is スッポン, an onomatopoeia for things fitting nicely into a hole/entrance. It can also mean softshell turtle though, and I feel it's an intentional double meaning so i added the "like a turtle" to flow into his ending quirk. Literally the only time I'm happy with how I adapted it.

Guide book quote:

"I'll repay you for saving me, turt..."

Peter

Active:

"We phoenixes are really great when it comes to battles! Even if we fall, we can revive without needing the church."

Rest:

"Hmpf... Hey, Bowie! I'm not brash, right? Seems some people have been saying about me!"

Guide book quote: basically the same thing

"Hey, hey, I'm not brash, right?"

Matilda

Active:

"As a centaur who can use a bow, I'm a good match against any enemy!"

Rest: english version is accurate

"Say, what's Grans Island like? I was born in the countryside, of course... I really wanna see big cities."

Guide book quote:

"The red shooting star running through the fields, that's me..."

The japanese word for shooting star, 流星, is made up of the kanji for flow/drift/stream and star. As far as I know any wordplay with "shooting" happening here is purely accidental and I love it.

Gerhalt

Active:

"If you ask me... Using weapons to fight is dirty! Real fighters should use their bare hands!"

Rest:

"Grrrrr, grrrrr... So? Scary, right? I'm trying to be intimidating, but..."

Guide book description:

"The gentle werewolf with a great sense of justice."

Luke

Active:

"The ones who can freely use swords are you and us birdmen! Let us make them ring in the next battle as well!"

Rest:

"It's a relief to come back to headquarters. We might get rusty if we stay in the Caravan all the time..."

Guide book quote/description (ambiguous if it's first or third person):

"Can you survive this swooping kill?!"

This one is another reason I decided to bring up the guide book in this post. I find it curious that his active quote is one of the few changed in the english version for no discernible reason and happens to match the guide book quote. Obviously both are referencing his attack animation and thus could be a coincidence, but it’s still curious.

Rick

Active:

“We centaurs are the main fighters in a battle, so we can’t ever let our guard down.”

Rest:

"I knew that I wouldn't be bored if I traveled with you all, but I'm impressed with how the surprises never stop."

Guide book description:

"A young centaur brimming with curiosity."

Elric

Active: English version is mostly accurate although he says enemies from the sky are "ours", plural.

Rest:

"Ah, some time to relax! Once you're clean of all the filth from the battlefield you can feel like yourself again!"

Guide book quote/description (ambiguous if it's first or third person):

"Hit in a single blow! No missing the target!!"

Karna

Active:

"I've been in adventures before so I'm not scared of any battle! Let's head to the next one already!"

Rest:

"That hobbit! I won't forgive him! He's been doing a bunch of naughty things in the Caravan. Maybe I should teach him a lesson next time!"

Guide book quote:

"If it's healing magic you need, leave it to me."

Eric

Active:

"Even while lost in time I didn't neglect my training, so I won't be a burden to you."

Rest:

"With this many centaurs gathered our value doesn't stand out as much, but... I might be the one with the greatest lineage here."

It was cut in the english version, but Eric mentions in the og game he used to be lord of a castle.

Guide book quote:

"I shall assist you, with my pride as a knight at stake!"

Tyrin

Active:

"My magical power is still far from rusty! Let's defeat those devils."

Rest:

"What are young people thinking nowadays? Am I getting old? I can't follow it..."

Guide book description:

"A middle aged wizard who doesn't look like an elf."

Randolf

Active:

"You sure? That no coward is gonna chicken out when the battle starts? There's a bunch of brats to look after here!"

Rest:

"Bravo, bravo, here it comes! It's great that I can even drink here. Drinking and fighting, that's life for me!"

Guide book quote:

"Attacks of that level won't put a scratch on me!"

Janet

Active:

"Fighting is... always dreadful. But I'll give everything I've got to protect the peace of this land."

Rest:

"Hee hee! Ah, I'm so happy! Being with Elric is all I need to feel blessed."

Guide book quote:

"Aah Elric, you left me behind!"

Rohde

Active:

"The dwarves' technology is amazing! With this cannon, I can fight as well!"

Rest:

"The Ancients' technology is amazing! There's nothing greater than riding in a vehicle!"

Guide book quote:

"I'm tempted to use this cannon!"

Higins

Active:

"I've recovered from my illness so I won't lag behind anyone! Let's show these devils our power!"

Rest:

"I heard that those possessed by a devil become unable to die... That could have been my fate back then!"

Guide book quote:

“Loathsome devils, I’ll stab you with this spear!”

Taya

Active:

"No matter how strong devils are, they don't compare to the power of nature. Spirits! Lend me your strength!"

Rest:

"Goddess Mitula might look young, but she's been like that since the distant past! Just how old is she, exactly?"

Guide book quote:

"Come, o great Atlas! Heed my call!"

Skreech

Active:

"I can't deny my lack of strength, we are meant to shine with surprise attacks from the skies."

Rest: english version is accurate

Guide book quote:

"I won't ever forget how you saved me."

Jaro

Active:

"Why is everyone here so enthusiastic? I fight at my own pace!"

Rest:

"Ah... It's so comfortable here! Never seen a place where you still get a meal without doing anything!"

Guide book quote:

"To the east today, to the west tomorrow, I'm a wanderer across battlefields."

Frayja

Active:

"How terrible are these devils... My wrath is the wrath of the gods, and I'll fight with their power!"

The word Frayja uses for power here, 法力, seems to be about powers attributed to buddhist priests. Another example of the religious term salad that makes up this series.

Rest:

"Hellblast! It, it feels great. Though we who serve the gods shouldn't indulge in violence..."

He does not learn blast spells in game. This is false advertising.

Guide book quote:

"Gods! Please grant my prayers!"

Gyan

Active: english version is mostly accurate, though he's not as forceful, just asking to be put in the front.

Rest:

"Traveling has been a hobby of mine for a long time. Look at the souvenirs I got for my family! This one's for my wife, and this one is for my son!"

Guide book quote:

"My wife and son, wait for me!"

Sheela

Active:

"You devils! Hiyah! Hiyaah! I'll knock you out with my kicks!"

Rest:

"Jaha isn't the only pervert around, we gotta be careful with Sir Astral as well! If he tries anything I'm kicking him in the balls this time!"

Shout out to my phone for constantly suggesting the crying emoji through this one.

Guide book quote:

"Gathering strength from every inch of my body... Haah!"

Zynk

Active:

"The conflict against the devils... Comes from those ancient times. We must end it!"

Rest:

"*Click* *clack* *click*... You look puzzled. I'm taking apart my body to oil it. *pop*"

Guide book quote:

"I won’t be called a tin soldier!"

Claude

Active: english version is accurate, though i'd say duty instead of destiny, but it's a minor nitpick. Also it omits Claude's tick of saying "oon"/"olon" all the time.

Rest:

"No one comes near me inside the Caravan, they say they hate getting covered in dirt, oon."

Guide book quote:

"Olon! Forgive the power of magic!"

Chaz

Active:

“I usually seem gentle but, I’m thrilled when in battle. Perhaps it is in my nature to like conflict?”

Rest:

"Everyone here... They say I have the airs of a noble and shy away from me. *sobs*"

Guide book quote:

"Was it that one...? No, no, that's not it."

Lemon

Active:

"Like Peter, I cannot die, so you needn't worry no matter how harsh the battle!"

Rest:

"Could you take my hand for a moment? So, how it is? Cold, isn't it? But despite that I'm still alive..."

Guide book quote:

"My king... I believe in you."

Bowie

Guide book description:

"A hero who achieved balance between offense and defense."

...and more!

sadly nothing in this guide book compares to the beauty that is Max's diary, but there is a small part with Bowie commenting on things as they return to New Granseal. It's largely just the HQ interactions you've read above, but hey! More words than you've ever got from Bowie before! Enjoy.

"Phew, there really is no place like home to relax, am I right? We gotta rest a lot to prepare for our next journey. Everyone worked hard to rebuild this town to the point you can hardly recognize it from before, so we have to do our best too, we'll definitely bring peace back to the world!

We usually don't have much time to just chat, and there's new people here as well, so I've been spending time with everyone else at headquarters. Unlike in the Caravan, there's plenty of space here, so they're relaxing and making themselves at home.

Those in the active party are standing by with an air of 'bring it on, any time!' They've got a lot of fighting spirit. As for those who've been staying in the Caravan, they're having tea, lying around in the beds, or training for battle. I think I saw Kiwi practicing how to dodge earlier. By the way, it feels Sir Astral always wants to be in the same table as the girls for some reason...

Speaking of that, seems Jaha's been hitting on the girls in the Caravan, and they hate it. We're in the middle of a war with the devils, what is he thinking?

Despite that, everyone is fired up for the next battle and that's really reassuring. Let's gather our strength and defeat the devils together!!"

#shining force 2 #shining force #shining series #long post #shining force localization stuff #yes i know this post would be a lot less messy if i knew back then how to take smaller screenshots #but i really don't wanna go back and screenshot everything again so for now this is what you get

2 notes · View notes

petersthree · 1 year

Photo

February Stats Books Read: 16 Average Rating: 3.44 Top Genre: Mystery & Thriller My storygraph if you wanna follow me and see my reviews (though I’ll link them for each book in the ratings) :) Currently Reading: Perfect Ruin by Claudia Tan, The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, and The Trials of Kate Hope by Wick Downing.

Standouts: So standouts for me don’t have to be positive, or even my highest ratings - they’re books that just Stood Out to me one way or the other, are in my memory, etc. so here we go lmao

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris: 2.5/5 Like I said not every standout can be great and alskj;faksdf;j this is one of them. What really got me the most was how much these characters didn’t speak like real people. There was no depth, no real characterization, and the writing felt stilted and overly formal at times. But it left an impression I guess so yay for that?

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister: 4/5 This book fucked. It’s such an absolutely unique concept to me, not only just doing a Groundhog Day thing, but going back further and further in time until you can solve what’s happening with the murder. I found myself really invested in these characters, and I still think about them (granted it’s been like a month out, but generally doesn’t happen to me for thrillers). Everyone should read this book. And if you read it and don’t like it asdfjkl: my bad.

All Other Books:

The Ultimate Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: 4/5. So the first book is definitely a standout to me, but the other books not so much. I think the first few books are really good and then it kind of meanders off, but I also read all these books after each other and it is SO possible I was just a bit tired of it lmao.

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky: 3/5. Releases March 28.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard: 4.5/5. Releases June 13.

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers: 3.5/5. Releases August 8. Don’t be dumb like me a;sdlkfja;sdl this thing is like the third book in the series or something

All I Want for Christmas by Nora Roberts: 2.75/5

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood: 3.75/5. I’m not gonna lie guys. If I didn’t know this was a Reylo fanfic I would have been all over this book. It honestly is pretty good, save for a line or two that made me howl lmao

The Night She Vanished by Wendy Dranfield: 2/5. Releases March 14.

The Neighbors We Want by Tim Lane: 2.75/5 Releases September 5. I’m going to be honest guys out of all the books in this list I probably couldn’t tell you a single fact in here that wasn’t part of the book blurb. I read it like 10 days ago and it’s already just wiped from my memory

End Game by Liz Mistry: 4/5. Releases April 14. Despite being the fifth book in the series I was able to get most of it! I also really enjoyed the diverse cast (despite the cop setting, which, blegh) - the author is white but the representation in this book felt pretty natural and the characters were nifty; I’m probably going to check out the other four books lmao

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman: 4/5. I really gotta check out the HDM show lmao but this was a fun time! Lots of worldbuilding here but it was worth it.

The Good Patient by Alex Stone: 3.75/5. Releases March 22

Kill Joy by Holly Jackson: 3.5/5. I mean like. It’s fine lmao. Like read it if you love this series but I think she could have easily written a better story about something else in the AGGGTM canon

Moonlight Can Be Deadly by Charlotte Stuart: 3/5 Releases March 14, fourth book in the series. There’s some things in this book that strongly threw me off of reading any other book in the series but if you’re interested I’d say read the others first lmao

You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh (and a bunch of other authors whose names I can’t find): 4/5. Releases March 7

#janie's reading roundup #janie rambles #bookblr

3 notes · View notes

leias-left-hair-bun-again · 2 years

Note

With all the hype from Celebration and the Kenobi series, I haven't read a whole lot, but I've been catching up today and I have thoughts!

First of all lmao Ordo's message to Kal - "I also married her" - like it's an afterthought or side note and not a huge freaking deal. That's so perfectly Ordo. Always business first with him. I adore him and Besany more than I can say.

Spaarti clones! Master Altis and his Jedi! I love seeing more of the old EU woven into this book (though I guess this technically predates No Prisoners). That's always been my favorite thing about being a hard-core Star Wars fan - all the little bits of a massive universe that tie together beautifully if you know enough of the rest of the story to recognize it but not in such a way that you can't still enjoy the story if you don't know all the other pieces.

(I have, hmmm, opinions on how current canon is doing on that front, but that's for another time)

The Nulls staging an intervention for Kal'buir!!! They love their dad so much and are so protective of him. I love that he got to finally adopt them all formally and it's especially poignant that it's right before his call with Tor. This book is giving me so many complicated family feelings and I love all of it.

yAY REPCOMM ANON 💕💕💕 it's been too long im so happy to hear from you again and ALSO i, too, have Opinions about disney's quote-on-quote canon >.> there is a reason i am finally and deliberately immersing myself in the EU instead lol but anyways -

yes!!! the altisians!!! i freaking love them, like - they were the new jedi order before the new jedi order was even a thing and they just sound so nice; if i was going to be a jedi i'd want to be one like them :DDD callista is an absolute sweetheart, her offering to help etain out is just. it's so jedi it's genuine and heartfelt and totally selfless and i love her for it

AND THE INTERVENTION okay i know this isn't part of it technically but this is possibly my favourite line in uhh relation to it slfjskf

"Kal'buir, are you feeling okay?" Prudii put his hand on Skirata's cheek. "Talk to to me, Buir. What's wrong?"

i just. i LOVE SEEING THE BOYS TAKING CARE OF THEIR DAD i love them taking care of each other too!!! we get so much family bonding time in this book, i'm so so SO with you i feel like this is one in which the characters are the family-est they've ever been!! we've got etain and laseema lifting each other up as sister-in-laws and laseema being the darlingest mummy to kad and the nulls sitting kal down and making him let them take care of ruusaan (also i love prudii's implication that they've tried to get him fix his ankle for a while now XD kal is STUBBORN bless him) and delta having a gossip sesh and jaller being the hero of the freaking century risking everything to protect his friends and ordo being jealous over kal and besany and ordo learning how to be married to each other and -

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH i know it's painful, but there's so much hope and love mixed into it i just - oh. it's the BEST. except for the near-the-end bit which destroys me to much to reread slkfjldsfj i won't spoil it but - i'm so happy you're liking the book so far!!!

also yES the adoption scene has to be the cutest thing, it's so mando XD ordo's businesslike to a fault but he didn't come by all of it naturally, i love that kal just casually adopts his lads over dinner. i've a feeling singing happy birthday is just not a thing in mando culture and personally i think they've got their priorities straight

#AND THEN THEY IMMEDIATELY GO INTO SCHOOLING THE NASTY ENSIGN gosh there's some satifsfying moments in this one #oh man oh man i'm so EXCITED i mean i'm not. excited for you to get to the end ksjflksdj but #excited you're liking it so much :DDD #besany and ordo are the CUTEST #oh my gosh. the couple cuteness in this book too #parja and fi are my favourites always <3 but etain and darman are soft and besany and ordo are aDORABLE #repcomm #republic commando #ask #kal skirata #ordo skirata #besany wennen #ordo #repcomm reader anon 📚#prudii skirata #prudii

11 notes · View notes

just-absolutely-super · 6 months

Note

OP au crack

Lan: *thinking of different ways to mess up Roll and Hub's next date*

Mayl: you okay Lan? You've been real quiet now and that's unlike you

Lan: I'm fine Mayl, don't worry

Mayl: you're not in pain or anything?

Lan: no no! Promise

Mayl suddenly gets closer and puts her hand on Lan's forhead

Lan: *Lan blushes hard* wh-what are you doing Mayl!

Lan, internally: she's so close to me right now, any closer and we would ki- no! Don't go there Lan. We're just very good friends, that's all

Roll, sees what's going on

Roll: oh?

Mayl: phew! Doesn't look like you have a fever. I was afraid you were becoming sick from pain.

Lan: n-not sick!

Roll: are you sure Mayl? Maybe you should check again *smirk*

Lan: nope! I'm fit as a fiddle!!

Mayl: but you did become very red just now, maybe you're on your way to be sick?

Lan: n-no no! I'm fine, promise!

Roll: are you sure Lan? Mayl can check again you know?

Lan: I'm fine as I can be!! Let's go!! The others won't find themselves!!

Mayl: ???

Back to the boys

Guts: there! Guts! There's the boar!!

Glyde: yes it is. My god, it's knocked down and out

Mega: can you see Mayl anywhere?

Glyde: no, but the boar has a footprint in the middle of it's face

Guts: the Captain kicks hard! Guts!

Mega: that means that Lan was the one knocking the boar out! It has to be!!

Glyde: or someone else who's really strong

Mega: no, it has to be Lan! Put me down Gutsman, I have to look for him!!

Glyde shakes his head to Gutsman, signaling that Hub should not be let down

Guts: uuuuuuuh, Gutsman thinks that's a bad idea. Guts!

Glyde: I agree with Gutsman. We should continue down this path though

Mega: argh!!! Why won't anyone listen to me!?

Lan's team are making some progress when they hear screeching

Mayl: Is that...a bird?

Roll: I think so. It's rather loud...

Lan: I have a bad feeling about this, so let's lay low for a minute

Roll: Good idea

As the three try to camouflage themselves, Dex and Yai suddenly rush out of the thicket

Lan: Dex! Yai!

Dex: Huh? Lan, Mayl, Roll, there you are! We've been looking all over for you!

Yai: Where's Glyde? Have you seen him?

Mayl: Glyde was with me, but then he went out looking for you. I guess that means he never found you...

Lan: Why are you running? Where's the fire?

Suddenly a large bird flies over, screeching loudly and showing off sharp teeth from its beak

Dex: That is the fire! It's been trying to catch us for an hour!

Yai: I've tried shooting it with my pocket canon, but it's no good! Now I'm out of ammo! Dex and I have just been running nonstop!

Lan: Shit, of all the days not to wear my skates!

Roll: It's circling back to us. Dex, pick up Lan and carry him, his ankle is injured. Our safest bet is to find some kind of shelter or the ship. Let's go!

Mayl: Take care of him, Dex

Dex: Sure thing! Up you go Lan!

Lan: Hey, easy, don't just throw me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes!

Dex: Wow I can really feel the gratitude...

Roll, whispering: He's just salty because he can't lean on Mayl anymore

Lan: Roll I swear to God--

Yai: We can tease Lan later, we have to move it people!

Meanwhile

Mega: Oh no! My big brother senses are going off the charts! We have to move, now!

Glyde: Oh my, that means Lan is in danger?

Mega: His anxiety is through the roof! Gutsman, as first mate I order you to book it!

Guts: Sure thing! Keep up, Glyde, guts!

Glyde: Right behind you!

#anon #responses #mmbn hc land #crack edition #trying to move the plot along now

0 notes

pascalpanic · 3 years

Text

Caffeine Rush: Chapter One / Americano

Javier Peña x f!Reader

Summary: Working a dull December morning shift, you meet a seemingly disgraced DEA agent by the name of Javier Peña.

Warnings: Language, talk of death and canon-typical Narcos violence

W/C: 2.3k

A/N: YOU GUYS i am so excited to share this story with you all!! i fuckin love Javi and coffee so this features my two favorite things! big thanks as always to my beta readers for helping me out- especially with chapter 2 (which i was stuck on for 3 weeks lol). I hope you guys enjoy! this story has some twists I don’t think y’all are gonna see coming ;) I’m planning to update this fic once a week! I just wanted to get chapter one out there :)

previous chapter || next chapter || masterlist

Americano: espresso and hot water; has a similar taste to a brewed coffee, but still darker and more caffeinated thanks to the espresso.

Work is blissfully slow on weekdays, allowing you to putz along at your own speed. Today, however, is boring as hell. You’d had approximately seven customers since the morning rush, meaning about seven drinks to make. There weren’t even tables to clean, no customers having sat in the cozy coffeeshop. You and your coworker had joked around, swept and mopped, and cleaned the espresso machines twice each.

At this point, with nothing else to do, you sipped your third peppermint mocha while perched atop two stacked milk crates, leafing through your worn copy of The Great Gatsby. It was a common occurrence when evening rolled around, but rarely so early in the day. Since you were the one on barista duty, Mandy kept watch for customers and allowed you to relax with your book. It was routine for the two of you. She mindlessly fusses with the product wall and the coffee grinder, cleaning everything for the third time.

The door opens and you pop up from your makeshift chair excitedly. The weather is blustery and cold, with heavy snowflakes starting to fall outside the large windows, and the man who enters is pulling his jacket tight around himself. He looks up and you quickly dodge behind the espresso machines before you can make eye contact. It’s instinctual, and you’re unsure why until your brain reminds you of the man’s face. He’s handsome, even though you got maybe a second’s look at him. Dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed mustache, eyes an even darker shade to complement his tanned skin.

You bite your lip and grab a large ceramic mug, bringing it to the espresso machine. No one would be crazy enough to order a cold drink in this weather. Mandy takes his order and a few seconds later, his receipt pops up through the printer at your end of the shop:

Ticket 114 - 12/3/93

Name: Javier

LG-Redeye

!memo: darkroast

Javier. The name suits the man, you think to yourself and smile as you begin prepping the espresso for his drink. As you walk to Mandy’s station to fill the mug with drip coffee, she smiles and nudges your side. “Isn’t he cute?” She murmurs. You look at the printed ticket then at the coffee warmers: there’s no dark roast.

“Very,” you giggle a little and fill the mug with light instead. He’s seated in the corner. “I call dibs,” you tease, and Mandy shakes his head. She’s married, but she knows your type, and it’s exactly the man sitting there, staring at a newspaper.

“Yeah, okay,” she shakes her head but smiles at you. “No wedding ring either. I think you should bring his drink to him instead of calling out the order.”

Staring down at the filling mug, you shake your head. “We’ll see,” you chuckle softly and return down to your end of the bar, pouring the two shots of espresso. “Javier?” You call in your barista voice, and the man lifts his head and walks to the bar.

“That’s me,” he says, a small begrudging smile on his face.

“Hi,” you chuckle and hold up the mug. “We’re out of dark roast right now, so I had to use light. Could I put some flavoring or cream or sugar in there for you?” You offer. “Otherwise, I can most definitely make you something else. An americano maybe?”

He pauses for a second. “Yeah, an americano would be great,” he nods. “What kind of flavors… are there?” he asks.

“Oh, we have a ton,” you say enthusiastically, grabbing the syrup rack and pulling it your way. “Any of these. Hazelnut, vanilla, raspberry,” you smile, rattling off the flavors, “otherwise we also have caramel and any flavor of chocolate.”

Javier raises an eyebrow as he looks at the small display. “Never been somewhere with so many options. Could I do dark chocolate and cream?” He asks, and you nod.

“Of course,” you tell him, dumping the previous mug and grabbing another. “I’ll have that right up for you. You can head back to where you were sitting,” you inform him.

He shakes his head. “I can wait here. Save us both a trip.”

You nod. “Sure,” you say with a smile, prepping more espresso. “The redeye and americano are pretty different in caffeine though, the americano is going to have more since there’s more espresso.”

“I just need as much caffeine as I can get. Tough day ahead,” he nods.

“I’ve been told bartenders and baristas are wonderful ears to listen,” you offer, a sweet smile on your face.

His guard has fallen like a wrecking ball through a house of cards at the way you smile. “Well, I’m with the DEA.” It feels strange, openly admitting that around here. Colombians weren’t exactly welcoming to American agents, but it felt like citizens around here saw them as some kind of superhero.

Your eyes light. “Shouldn’t it be a fantastic day for you then?” you ask. “I mean, it’s all over the news. Escobar. Do you know the guys in the photo?” You ask with excitement in your voice.

He nods. Escobar was killed yesterday, and it’s all over the news, including the paper back at his table. “Yeah. The blonde guy in the red shirt is actually my work partner. It’s a tough day because I didn’t get to be there when it happened. I’ve been down in Colombia for years now, and they catch Escobar two days after I leave.”

The smile on your face turns to a frown. “That’s… awful,” you nod, eyes full of sadness for him. “I’m so sorry. At least it must be nice to be home?” you ask, tilting your head slightly and pouring the espresso shots into the mug.

He shakes his head. “D.C. isn’t home. I’m from Texas,” he admits, and the way he speaks finally registers as a slightly slowed speech pattern from the area. “I’m happy for Steve though. The blonde one, my partner. He deserves it. We’ve been down there for… Jesus,” he sighs and looks at the ceiling as he counts the years, “well, a while now. Couple of years. I fucked up, bad. Honestly, I think I’m up here to get fired.”

You frown slightly as you pump the chocolate into the hot espresso and water, swirling it around with a spoon. “You worked on Escobar for years?” you ask, and Javier nods. “Well, then I personally doubt you’d be getting fired. You guys just caught him, everyone must be in a good mood. I guess it depends on how bad you fucked up,” you shrug as you tap the spoon into the sink and bend down to grab the cream.

“I… do you know who Los Pepes are?” he asks. You shake your head as you stand, pouring some cream into the steaming drink. “Well, they’re a radical group who did some crazy shit to try to weaken Escobar, and I got involved with them. I have a meeting today with the review board.”

You finally make eye contact with him, wincing for him. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound great,” you admit with a chuckle, putting the cream back in the little refrigerator beneath you.

“It’s not.”

“It’s not necessarily why you got called up here,” you shrug and grab a saucer, putting the mug on top of it and on the bar for him to take.

“Well, I don’t know, I suppose,” he agrees and takes the drink from you.

You shrug. “Best of luck, Javier,” you tell him with a genuine smile of encouragement.

He nods, looking at your name tag attached to your apron. He murmurs your name before looking back up at your face and into your eyes. “Thank you.” He takes his drink and returns to his table, and you sigh and return to your makeshift chair in the corner.

Mandy pulls up two crates next to you, sitting down across from you with gleaming eyes. “Did it go well? You two talked for a while,” she asks, raising her eyebrows and encouraging you to tell her more.

“A little, but just… how I would with anyone, I guess,” you shrug as you sip your mocha for a moment, drinking the last of the warm coffee. “Not like I got his number or anything.”

“He’s sitting down to drink his coffee. Go offer him a refill when he’s done.”

“That would require me to stare at him, Mandy, and I think he’d notice that,” you shake your head as you stand to make yourself a new drink.

She stands with you, pushing the crates out of the way. “I’ll keep an eye on him for you. I’ll signal to you when he’s done or getting low on coffee, and you can bring him a refill. How does that sound?” she asks you.

You nod with a sigh. “Since you’re apparently not going to let this go, fine. I will.”

Mandy claps her hands together excitedly. “Yay!” She sings. “Oh, will you make me a drink while you’re at it? I’ll have a-”

“Skim hazelnut latte with no foam and light whip,” you recite before she can finish her order.

“You’re a babe,” she sings and heads over to clean the tables that haven’t even been touched since she wiped them an hour ago.

You make her drink and set it aside, then work on your own, fourth coffee. The peppermint and the coffee swirl together deliciously in the air, fitting the weather and the time of year. It’s December, and the snow outside and the warm feeling from the man across the coffee shop contrast in your heart. You sneak glances at him a couple of times, biting your lip to hold back a smile as you admire the handsome face peeking above the newspaper he reads.

About ten minutes later, you look up from cleaning the machines to see Mandy tucked behind a wall where he can’t see her. She’s frantically waving at you, pointing towards Javier once she catches your attention. Go, she mouths excitedly, beaming at you.

You wipe your hands on your apron and walk to where she stands. “Fine, I will, but you’re making the drinks if anyone else comes in.”

“Oh no, how will I handle it?” She asks in a deadpan, eyeing the shop that’s empty except for the two of you and Javier. “Go,” she says, giving you a light shove and giggling.

You shake your head but walk over, placing a hand lightly on the table. “Coffee’s looking low. Could I get you a refill?” you offer.

Javier looks up at you, and you feel like turning to jelly as you look into his big brown eyes, filled with confusion but also admiration. He furrows his brow, creating small creases between his eyebrows. “Uh… sure. How much is it?” he asks, reaching for his wallet and setting down the newspaper.

You put a hand on his arm, giving a gentle smile. “You need it. It’s on the shop,” you tell him.

“No, seriously, what, like $5?” he asks, but you put a hand over his.

“No, Javier,” you chuckle lightly. “Don’t worry about it. Another americano with chocolate and cream?” you ask.

“Uh… make me whatever you like best. And bring one for yourself too.” He says, well, really asks, nodding to the empty chair across from him. “It’s not too busy to talk, is it?”

You swallow hard before you break into a grin. “No, not at all. Uh… do you like peppermint?” you ask.

“Peppermint is good,” he says, giving you a small smile.

“Perfect,” you smile softly at him, picking up his empty mug and saucer. “We have a peppermint mocha, it’s seasonal. It’s my favorite, I’ll be right back with them,” you say, giggling softly and biting your lip as you turn and walk back to the bar.

You’re hidden behind the espresso machines as you finally grin and giggle, and Mandy rushes to your side. “Oh my God,” she laughs happily. “He’s so hot. What were you guys talking about?”

“He asked me to sit with him,” you giggle excitedly, preparing four espresso shots.

She nearly squeals with excitement, grabbing your arm closest to her. You scoop some chocolate chips and pour milk into a pitcher, putting it under the steam wand. “Holy shit. What has he told you so far? What’s his story?”

“Well, he said he’s a DEA agent. He’s on leave from work right now, but the guy in the red shirt in that picture of Escobar after they killed him? That’s his partner,” you tell her, letting the excitement speed your words up. “He’s been in Colombia for a couple of years working on it. Isn’t that cool?” You laugh.

“So cool,” she nods in agreement. “And he’s so fucking cute. Girl, you need to get your ass back there before I steal him myself.”

You laugh as you pour the shots and then the steamed milk into the mugs. “I’m trying, but you holding onto one of my arms is holding me back, love,” you tease her and she breaks away. You top both mugs with a perfectly peaked whipped cream layer, then sprinkle candy cane pieces and chocolate chips on top. “Wish me luck,” you practically sing as you walk back with a mug for each of you.

Javier’s holding back a grin himself as you make the drinks. He can see your head bobbing along behind the bar, the other woman chatting with you. He’s more transfixed than you than he should allow himself to be, but all fears fade as he sees you approaching with a grin and two large, whipped cream-topped drinks.

You set the drink down in front of him and he smiles at you. “Wow. This…” he looks down at it and smiles a little. “Well, it looks sweet.”

“I have a sweet tooth,” you admit with a soft laugh and sit down, taking a sip and sighing softly. “It tastes like winter. I love it.” He nods and takes a sip too. It’s sweet, but not as bad as he expected. “I added extra espresso to yours,” you tell him, a shy smile on your face.

“A woman after my own heart,” he chuckles and sets it down, licking the foam off of his mustache.

You smile a little wider at that and hold back a laugh. “Did you want to talk about the meeting?” you ask him, tilting your head, your expression softening.

Javier’s already falling, and he curses himself as he looks at you. Not a thought except him. He’s already thinking of a sly way to get your number. “No, not really. I just spilled basically my entire life story to you.”

“Then you’ve had a very short and boring life. That was hardly anything. I’ve had customers come in and cry over divorces or lost family members; the whole job situation was mild,” you chuckle and admit, tracing the rim of the mug with your fingertips and staring down at the steaming drink.

“Really? You seem like a therapist and a barista in one,” he teases lightly.

“Well, I did just graduate with a Masters in psychology,” you shrug. “I just graduated with it from Georgetown. That’s why I’m here,” you tell him and look up. “Working here part-time while I decide what I want to do.”

“No shit. I did my undergrad in psych and sociology,” Javier says with a small smile, making your smile grow too. “Texas A&M though. Nothing as prestigious as Georgetown.”

“A&M isn’t anything to sneeze at,” you chuckle as you look over at him. His eyes are deep-set, deeper than they probably normally are. They’re bloodshot and hold bags beneath them. After a breath, you bite your lip and look him in the eye. “You look tired. I don’t know you normally, I understand. Maybe you shouldn’t finish this,” you tell him with a concerned smile, scooting his mug towards you. “Too much caffeine.”

“No, I need it, please,” he says, tugging it back and sipping at it again. “Just… until after this meeting. Then I’ll know what my future holds, then I can rest.”

“What time is it at?”

“5:00.”

There’s a beat of silence. “I don’t have any plans tonight,” you say gently, looking at him with a question in your eyes. “Would you like to get dinner? Talk things out, once you know what your future holds?” You offer, a soft smile and hopeful eyes. “I already know enough about you. This could be practice therapy for me,” you tease softly.

Javier thinks for a second, though he knows what the answer will be. At least pretends to think, surprised that you could hear all he had said about Los Pepes and working in Colombia and that you still offered. “I’d like that,” he nods, his voice soft when he looks at you. “I don’t know the area well. You’ll have to tell me where.”

“Do you have a car up here?” You ask him, and he shakes his head. “I can pick you up,” you offer. “Where are you staying?”

He grabs a napkin and pats his pockets for a pen. You hand him the paint pen tucked on your apron and he quickly thanks you before writing down the address to the hotel. You take the napkin and the pen and grab another napkin. “And this…” you say and write down your phone number, sliding it to him, “is where you’ll call me when you’re ready for me to come get you. Okay?” You ask.

Your voice is so soothing, Javier thinks. More than sleep or reassurance or even a hit of Escobar’s private stash or really anything could be to him right now, it’s a comfort. You must be a miracle, he thinks, some kind of blessing for something he isn’t quite sure of, but he must have done something right in the eyes of the Almighty to be here, right now, talking with you. “You know, I was raised Catholic,” he tells you and leans in a little. “I don’t know that I am anymore. But still… I think you might be an angel in disguise.”

Biting your lip, you giggle and look down. “I don’t know about that,” you chuckle as you look up at him again. “Just… right place, right time, maybe. I’ll see you tonight, okay?” you ask him, placing your hand over his and standing.

Javier nods as he looks up at you. “How should I dress?” he asks and tilts his head. His eyes are so expressive, you notice and smile a bit. They betray exactly what he’s thinking.

“Um… what you’re wearing now would be fine. A button down and jeans would work,” you tell him with a nod, patting his hand and picking up your mug. “I’ll see you then. Good luck,” you tell him with a sweet smile and retreat to the back. Javier can’t say anything in return, just sips his peppermint mocha.

Three minutes later, you return with a muffin. “Eat this. You can’t have all that caffeine and no food.”

“Thanks,” he chuckles and looks down at it. You’re gone when he looks back up, and he breaks off a piece. What a weird day. It’s only about to get weirder.

taglist:

@remmysbounty @mishasminion360 @blo0dangel @binarydanvvers @sleep-tight1 @apascalrascal @randomness501 @spideysimpossiblegirl @notabotiswear @pedro-pastel @sanchosammy @lv7867 @greeneyedblondie44 @hunnambabe @astoryisaloveaffair @emesispo @pedritobalmando @magikfanatic @yooforia @oceanablue @sara-alonso @pedrosmustache @feelingmadclever @hnt-escape @radiowallet @obsessivelysearching @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan @linnie0119

#javier peña x reader #javier peña #javi peña #javi peña x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x you #javier peña x you #caffeine rush

229 notes · View notes

callonpeevesie · 3 years

Text

RR crit re: aspec representation, the Hunters and the portrayal of romance

There are many things that bother me about Rick's aspec rep. His books are weirdly amatonormative and as an aspec person I find his portrayal of romance terrifying. A lot of this has been talked about before but I thought I would do this anyway to clear all my thoughts. Important parts are in green.

The first thing that comes to mind is the representation of Reyna. He didn't make her lesbian. Why?

Because he didn't want to play into the stereotype that lesbians are only lesbians because they couldn't find the right man. Ok. The man who gave Piper feathers in her hair didn't want to make Reyna lesbian because of a stereotype. And what does he do instead? He plays into the exact same stereotype about asexuals. He makes one (1) major character ace and she's the character with a backstory about being rejected by guys. Great. But we get canon ace rep so yay? /s

Next aspect of Rick's aspec rep is the Hunters, and the way he wrote them is so inherently fucked up, oh boy. Let's go over this. In mythology canon, the Hunters are about rejecting men and protecting women who don't or can't conform to society's expectations, who would OBVIOUSLY include wlw. They are also about protecting women from men.

What does Rick turn them into when we first see them in tTC? Lowkey misandrist preteen girls who make other preteen girls swear off romance and recruit them (and sometimes endanger their lives for quests as they do in the book). This premise of the Hunters is so fucked up. Not only is the element of Artemis protecting them from men non-existent (I suppose because Rick doesn't realise that women can need protecting from men), they recruit girls in a way which is weird at best.

Rick makes the Hunters recruit girls at random – girls who are too young to know if they want to date or not – and make them swear off romance. This is so ridiculous and toxic and just an all round bad idea? I guess he doesn't understand the part about defying social expectations, being a cishet white man, and thus made them a recreational girl club instead of a safe space. But seriously? 12 year olds taking a vow of chastity? What part of that seemed even remotely okay to Rick?

And that's just tTC. After that he makes Artemis opposed to ALL romance. She calls romantic love a plague in the books. She kicks out lesbian lovers from the Hunters. It has been talked about how ridiculous it is to make Artemis opposed to wlw romance so I'm not going into it too much. And what else does he do? He says he interprets the Hunters as aroace and calls it a day.

Before I go into that: Rick's aspec rep comes as a package deal with lesbophobia and I hate that on so many levels. He went out of his way to avoid making Reyna lesbian, he even made fun of the wlw Reyna headcanons, then made her ace. He made Artemis staunchly anti-romance and basically confirmed that his Artemis is aroace. (Saying "I, the author, interpret it in this way but you can interpret it however you want" is pretty much the same as confirming it as canon.)

I want aspec rep, I really do. But I can't be happy with it if it's associated with lesbophobia. There's so much infighting between LG people and aspecs and that gives me so much anxiety and a popular author perpetuating that, even if unintentionally, is just harmful. If an aroace character is so against romance that she doesn't accept wlw even though she is supposed to be protecting women from society, I don't want her to be my representation.

Coming to what's wrong with the whole thing about the Hunters being aroace. First, Dumbledoring does not count as representation. Second, this blanket statement that the Hunters are aroace is shitty half-hearted representation at best. It's just another example of Rick's checklist representation where he fills his quota of minorities without putting in any actual effort to research. There is no nuance, no diversity, no actual exploration of the identity the characters are supposed to be representing. What's the point of representation if you're just going to say "they are actually X minority but I never bothered to indicate that in the text because it isn't relevant UwU"?

In doing that he ignored the diversity within the aspec community. There are many ways of being aspec, even just being aroace; some aspecs want to date, some want sex. Our experiences vary wildly. Making everyone in a one-dimensional anti-romance girl club (most of whom aren't relevant and don't even get names) aspec is lazy and weak rep.

There's a lot more wrong with this. The Hunters take a vow of chastity. In making them aroace he equates asexuality to celibacy, which is a harmful stereotype aces face a lot. Taking a vow does not equal any sexuality, but a common misconception about asexuality is that it's a choice, which it's not. Making the Hunters aroace sort of perpetuates this stereotype.

Furthermore, it just feels weird when you look at how Bianca was made a Hunter. She was made to take that vow when she was 12 (which was an unrealistic plot convenient device required for her fridging but ok). This makes it look like they go around recruiting girls at random, at least sometimes. Doesn't seem like aroace girls choosing a life without men.

Another issue is the infantilization of aroaces. He makes them preteens to early teens, because Rick Riordan doesn't understand that girls older that 14 can want to not date. Artemis herself appears as a 12 year old which is apparently the avarage age of her Hunters "before they go astray. [...] Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves.” When you add that to the fact that he made the Hunters aroace, doesn't it look too much like the (very wrong) idea that asexuality and aromaticism are things you can grow out of?

This thread explains it better. Two things from the thread I thought I'd highlight – one, Artemis, who is aroace in PJO canon, appears as a child. So does Hestia, who is also sometimes interpreted as aspec. Two, Emmie and Jo who fell in love were adult ex-huntresses, which also ties in with associating aspecs with children. They have "grown out of it" while the other Hunters, children who don't age, haven't.

Now, the major Hunters are Bianca, Thalia, Zoë and Reyna. In Bianca's case it was an unrealistic plot device, as I said. Thalia was betrayed by Luke, Zoë by Hercules and Reyna was rejected by Jason and Percy. None of the three chose to be Hunters because they wanted to, they did because of their past trauma. This again perpetuates the idea that aces and aros are broken. I'm not saying it can't happen, but they are the only major characters we see join the Hunters so giving ALL of them such backgrounds is Not Good. Literally not a single Riordanverse character stays single for the heck of it, which brings us to the next thing I said I would talk about: the portrayal of romance.

We all know that the amatonormativity in Rick's work is rampant. He pairs everyone off. Everyone. The ones who don't get paired off get shoved into an eternal virginity deal, usually after an unlucky love life. This includes Thalia and Reyna who didn't get guys and weren't relevant for further romantic subplots. He obviously couldn't have them living their lives normally without love interests, so they joined the Hunters. This also includes Rachel, and you can't tell me she wasn't interested in dating at all. The whole virgin Oracle thing was partially a way of getting her out of the way of Percabeth.

Just ... no one has ever told Rick that it's possible to just not want romance. The only characters without love interests are off being eternal virgins. There isn't a single character who didn't want to date. His characters can go two ways: get a love interest, or get a virginity deal. That's literally it. Why, just why? If you want to add aroace rep just write characters who are, you know, aroace.

Romance is highkey treated as necessary, something that Fixes Everything, and when Rick is writing multiple POVs all the characters are focused on romance. There's so much shit going on in HoO and there isn't even much focus on friendship but romance is somehow the most important thing? Nico barely gets any time to recover from his trauma but he gets a boyfriend so apparently it doesn't matter. Leo never learns to be happy on his own and gets a girlfriend instead.

I don't want to date. It may sound wild but I don't want immortality either. Aspecs can want to live normal human lives and yes, that's possible without getting a love interest. And by the way, aroace men exist, even though they can't be immortal virgin Hunters. Wild, I know. Anyway, some half-assed rep doesn't make up for all that amatonormativity.

And there's too much of the meeting the love of your life as a teenager thing. Everyone gets fixed up with a partner forever at 14/15, 13 in Hazel's case. Rick seems to think everyone has One True Love and by god, it doesn't. Work. Like. That. Romance is messy. There can be past relationships, there can be breakups, and yes, the romances that aren't endgame can still be significant.

No one ever gets more than one significant romance. Jason's past with Reyna was made to look insignificant so Jason and Piper could be each other's only relationship. Then when Jason died, his relationship with Piper was invalidated so Piper and Shel could be each other's only significant relationship. Nico's feelings for Percy which lasted for years were made to look like a harmless crush because Will has to be Nico's only True Love. No one ever breaks up in Riordanverse, and when they do, it means one of them is going to die in that book. Like ???

So yeah. Amatonormativity again. Romance is everyone's priority. Even when they are teenagers who are usually about to die. Everyone gets a love interest very young and that's treated as their One True Love, their Forever. Instead of being there to make the characters happy or help them grow, romance is there to fix everyone's trauma and borders on being treated as necessary to complete you.

I think I'm done now. Idk if this was insightful, I just wanted to get it off my chest, but I hope it was. If you read the whole thing, thank you.

182 notes · View notes

beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

Text

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #viren #harrow #rayla #runaan #callum #claudia #soren #lujanne #moonshadow elves #aaravos

26 notes · View notes

black-rose-writings · 3 years

Text

I read Ruin and Rising because I’m bored

And I also hate myself

Like with the last book, I have a vague idea of the plot and stuff from tumblr and fanfics. I will also be refering to Darkling as Sasha for most of this.

I am still Darklina trash and don’t particularly like Mal.

On a different note, I’ve finally moved for college, but the internet here is trash, so I’ll probably have a lot more reading time now, since most games I play are online and will crash without internet.

Before

Cool story. Let’s hope Alina stays a badass.

Who am I joking, I know how this ends.

Chapter 1

So far so good. I hate the Apparat, per usual. Alina’s there basically dying and that bitch can’t wait to see her do so.

Cult leader to the core this one. He probably hates that his figurehead is alive and also not brainwashed.

Cult leader doesn’t like swearing. How surprising.

My boy David is completely right. What kind of irresponsible dingus keeps centuries old books in a fucking wet-ass cave? (Or a tree for that matter *cough cough* The Last Jedi *cough, cough*).

Genya is fun to be around.

Oh, shit, let’s go.

Chapter 2

Jesus Christ, Alina, Zoya isn’t that bad.

This is one hell of a shitshow.

I live for this version of Alina. Badass. Scary. I want more of this Alina.

Chapter 3

Out of all the random little details from crappy smut fics, I did not expect Oncat to be from the books, lol.

Mal actually has a supernatural tracking ability. Like, literally, they put a bug into the pouch with gunpowder so he could make the shot. I guess this was kinda said before, but never this directly, right?

Alina’s merzost-skyping Sasha now, yay.

Alina is horny for Sasha boy. Yay.

Alina canonically has a praise kink. Nice.

I hate LB with all of my heart at this very moment. How dare she bait us Darklina people like this? How DARE she? (Shipbaiting is the worst, seriously.)

Yes, yes, yes. These two lines. That’s what their relationship is all about. They’re each others foils, the yin to the other’s yang and... ugh. I am Darklina trash to the core and this hurts.

Darklina: You have a terrible taste in men.

Alina: I liked you once.

My boy Sasha walked into that one.

Chapter 4

Alina is a Queen. And we love her.

David, my beloved, my spirit animal.

It’s surprising they can read it at all, given it’s been centuries. Have you ever tried reading medieval manuscripts?

Honestly, with a father that crazy, it’s no wonder Baghra’s a bitch. And I’ve seen it said somewhere that the books imply Ilya’s experiments are what caused Baghra to be a shadow summoner and you know what? I can see how you’d make that connection.

Why is there so few Tidemakers in the books? Waterbenders are useful. I want more waterbenders.

Alina picking up some habits from Baghra I see.

Ah, yes, we love an educated giant.

I’m starting to think Harshaw is a bit nuts.

Shut up, Hershey. Or at least share the weed with the class. I’m not here for this “He’s mean to you because he likes you”. I might believe that in like, elementary school, but yall are (more or less) adults. Jesus.

Well, that was a bombshell of a twist.

Chapter 5

Oh boy, we’ve got some trauma bonding for out merry band of misfits. Yay.

Adrik has a crush on Zoya. And she hates it, lol. Cut the kid some slack, he’s like 15 or something.

That reminds me, I have a four-leaf clover pressed in books from close to year and a half ago. Time flies.

They’re really diving into the Mal has supernatural powers, huh?

Ghosts, let’s go.

Alina “I’m so happy to be outside I start to shine like a fucking fairy” Starkov and Mal is entranced. He’s definitelly nicer now. I’m not forgiving him for all the shit he’s pulled before and for using the silent treatment way too much, but hey, at least he’s improving.

I am not a Zoyalina person, but like... gay? Please? Rivals to grudging allies to friends to lovers, 300k slowburn? Sounds more fun than whatever Mala dn Alina have going on, lol.

(I’m starting to realize I’m not as much a Darklina person as I am anti-Malina person, lol. Like, literally everyone has a more interesting dynamic with Alina than tracker boy over there. Malina is at best boring AF and at worst toxic, codependent and emotionally abusive, while also being boring AF at the same time. It has literally nothing going for it except God herself liking it).

I can see why Nadia is gay in the show. The book version of her definitelly has a crush on Tamar. Homegirl likes a woman, who can murder her with the flick of her wrist and honestly? Same.

Alina has some big “coming out of lockdown after a year” energy atm.

The cat is one of the most realistic characters in this thing, lol.

And since Tamar is also heavily queercoded, our lovely ladies make off into the night, flirting. Or maybe not. Let me dream, though.

At least Blade Boy is aware that his tattoo is stupid. To quote someone ranting about him on tumblr: He’s embracing his identity as a tool.

Oh, boy, this will be fun.

Evil soldier is horny for Mal. Saints, is there a woman in this book who isn’t horny for Blade Boy?

And here comes Niki to save the day.

Chapter 6

Niki saved the day.

Fiberglass? And David being David. Genya being in love with her nerd of a boyfriend.

Jesus Christ, this one crazy kid has moved the technology in this universe a whole century on his own. So, when is David going to propose to him?

Baghra hasn’t changed much I see.

Baghra’s about to drop some truthbombs, but no, we have to be rudely interupted because Genya’s rapist is throwing a fit.

Chapter 7

How does Mal sound? Is she gonna say the Blade boy sounds like her dad? I mean, I know voices are partially genetic, but it has been tens of generations between them, probably.

So, we’re finally taking Genya’s trauma seriously after all this time? Good. Better late than never, I guess.

I wish that regicide was already finished and I’m pretty sure that Genya does, too. Stop defending the fucking king, narrative.

David’s a nerd in all things I see.

Someone please just kill the king already. And the queen, too, for good measure.

Now that’s a romance.

Infodumping and listening to said infodumps is a legitimate love language, Alina. Let them nerd out over poisons.

Wait, has Alina never directly killed anyone before? I thought she did... hmmm.

And just like that, it should have been over. Ugh.

Somehow, Baghra is a better teacher now than she was before. She half feels like a completely different character.

Nevermind, she’s back at it.

Chapter 8

Holy shit, Nadia and Tamar are canon. They have canon gays here.

So, which one of them is gonna die?

Chapter 9

We arrive at that scene. The one, where they should have fucked.

Jeez, girl, get a hold of yourself. Life is short, fuck a villain.

In other news, Genya and David definitelly fucked.

Chapter 10

Poor David. He just wanted to know.

Damn... I never realized just how young Baghra was, when she killed her sister.

I’ve already made a post about this, but it really does strike me like Baghra has already decided to end her life at this point in the book.

Why is that whole “but what if we’re related” thing even in there?

Chapter 11

We love a suprise attack.

When did Sasha boy learn that trick?

Baghra really just did that. Oh boy.

Chapter 12

No, don’t kill the kid... ugh.

Emotiona support cat. She should be friends with Milo.

Porrige for brains. Oof.

So Nadia was the one, who got bees set on her in the book. Cool.

That’s a good question. Why was it never brought up to Alina, that other Grisha get blocks, too?

David already thinking of steampunk prosthetic for Adrik is honestly kinda sweet.

Chapter 13

Back home... kinda.

Is that really... you really care about Mal bonking the Grisha school mean girl over a year ago? Okay.

Chapter 14

Angst! Yay!

And more angst.

Chapter 15

Sasha really went “My mom killed herself to save you? Well, I’ll kill the closest thing to parents you have.”

Chapter 16

Nikolai’s alive. Kinda.

And these two have such a sibling energy, I can’t.

And then they fuck. Ew.

Chapter 17

Wait, wait wait... so Alina isn’t even the one to destroy the Fold?

Okay. That’s... weird.

Holy shit. That was...

So, Aleksander is dead. Mal isn’t. Someone else destroyed the Fold for Alina and now she has no powers.

Okay.

That’s a weird-ass ending.

Chapter 18

The gays survived, so that’s nice.

Genya made good on her promise of making Alina a ginger, lol.

After

What emotion is this supposed to give me? Cause all I feel is kinda sad.

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #ruin and rising #book review #alina starkov #darkling #darklina

17 notes · View notes

demonslayedher · 3 years

Note

I'm glad you reactivated the questions, here are some flowers for you: 💐 Seriously speaking I'm sorry that because of a question I asked you a few weeks ago you watched a series of videos of psychopaths 🥲It made me laugh at first but then I felt guilty 💔 it's all Muzan's fault for leaving us all with curiosity (imagine his parents' reaction once they realized there was something wrong with him even as a human)

Yay, flowers (which I shall kill with my black thumb)! And no, no, it’s fine, I had hoped it came off funny! I like listening to stuff like that while I draw anyway because I’m a nerd anyway and I found it very interesting.

Speaking of being a nerd, you have innocuously unlocked the following essay about Heian period nobility and wisteria flowers: There is nothing to state so in canon, but I find it highly reasonable to say Muzan might had been of the very powerful Fujiwara clan. Step inside my office, Anon.

Okay. So. The Heian period, simply put, was a time of cultural flourishing and beautiful pastimes, the origins of a lot of Japanese style aesthetics, and a romantic courtly like of romancing everybody else in the court. This is assuming, of course, that you were at the very, very, very, very top of society. Otherwise, the vast majority of people were poor and sick and starving and ew, in young Muzan’s world, we do not wish to associate with that. In the Heian court, Kyoto basically is the whole cultural world. Even though there were other cities that could rival Kyoto, the emperor was there, so it was essentially the cultural center of the country. The nobles who lived there got money from owning land in far-flung provinces, but actually having to live in those provinces? What a drag! Having to live away from Kyoto for work, even if it wasn’t an official banishment, often felt like a punishment to the nobles and their families who were used to the social scene at court. And, like affluent courts around the world throughout history, understanding all the intricacies of style and “Heian Rumors” was key to having social clout, and popularity was power. And yeah, nobles would be vicious to each other. While clan dynamics and history are complex and not something I’m getting into here (I don’t consider myself well-versed in it enough), the Fujiwara clan is a BIG DEAL. Basically, in Heian times, children were typically raised in their mother’s home, thereby heavily influenced by their mother’s clan, so besides a young man’s parents, his in-laws also would had been hugely influential in his life, as they will have a long-felt influence on his progeny. The Emperors typically married Fujiwara daughters. This, in addition to other positions of influence of the Fujiwara clan members usually held with influence over the Emperor, means that politically, there was no messing with them. Now, just because I say Muzan might had been a Fujiwara clan member, I don’t necessarily mean a member of the main branch of the family. Often, due to inheritance management, different branches of various noble clans might be given different surnames. The Fujiwara clan does have different branches, some of which did go one to have close ties with the imperial family even after the fall of their power at the end of the Heian period and all the way through the Taisho, and some branches carry some impressive family legacies but otherwise live like normal or high-class common folk in modern-day. (I know one such Ojousama from a renamed Fujiwara branch; she’s a sweetheart and never brings it up herself but every time I hear other people say things about her family, I’m like, dang.) We can venture from Muzan’s likely expensive medical treatment, multiple marriages (meaning other clans sought to be connected with his family even by marrying their daughters to a sick man), and even preparation for cremation as a baby that he was of a very, very high status.

Being the sick son of a prominent family may have warped his personality in multiple ways: first, he was probably already used to a culture of popularity equated political power. We see in Muzan’s dealings with humans in the Taisho period that he can be exceedingly charming to get what he wants (a psychopath trait, haha), so he was probably pretty aware of the complex ways of socialites in the court. But, even being aware of that, it probably frustrated him to no end that he was too sick to take part in the social pastimes where he’d gain clout. It’s also possible that he was a bit of a bargain husband for his wives’ families who were seeking to a make ties with his family, as they must not had been politically useful enough to be married off to other powerful matches. This may be some of why he was so ruthless to them, for he never saw them as useful to him in the first place. This probably got a bit worse once he became a demon. Now to be lewd, but he probably got more vigorous in his pursuit of more powerful lovers, and knew how to slay the women’s hearts as he liked (you know, popular Heian pastime, everybody had lots of lovers, it was the norm, though political marriages and legitimate children were still important). That new sense of power probably went to his head. But, ultimately, he must had been limited in clout since he couldn’t take part in any daytime activities, thereby limiting his access to more powerful spheres of influence. His reputation from having grown up sickly must had followed him too. It’s anyone’s guess how much affection his parents had for him and how happy they were about his health at first, and if and when they might had noticed his changes. He was a full-fledged adult by the time he turned into a demon, so who knows how closely they even associated with him. They likely had healthier children who they devoted more care and attention to, and invested more family resources in while assuming Muzan would probably die young.

Who knows what the final straw was in Muzan leaving court? Was it frustration at not being able to walk in daylight that made him flee to the Kanto area in pursuit of the blue spider lily (from near where the doctor lived) long before Kanto became politically affluent? Or was it the rumors at court about how he didn’t age, and that he was eating people?

Of note, a lot of the early legends of demons in Japanese culture take place in the Heian period.

In his book “Japanese History of Demon Slayers,” retired Shizuoka University professor Tetsuo Owada capitalized on the success of Kimetsu no Yaiba to dive into a lot of ties between the series and what it may pay homage to throughout Japanese history and culture. While this was published last September and a handful of his theories have been disproven by the second fanbook published last February, and while I think a lot of his theories are stretching a little too far to make strong connections, it’s still deeply, deeply interesting stuff. He goes into some specific comparisons of demons, like Minamoto-no-Raiko and his posse of four big bad warriors taking on the Tsuchigumo (giant spider demon) terrorizing the mountains north of Kyoto harkening to the case of Rui’s family (and, ding ding ding, this was the primary focus of the official Kabuki/Kimetsu crossover last November), as well as takes little questions left in canon and dives into them a bit deeper. One such question is, why were wisteria lethal to demons? According to Prof. Owada’s research, there is no historical basis for this. Some of the talk online is that: 1. Wisteria are in fact poisonous, and consuming too much of them would cause vomiting and diarrhea (though I’ve also seen people make jam out of them because of the fragrance, so, like???) 2. Beans are thrown around at Setsubun to ward off demons (like so, Feat. Muzan and Kimetsu Beans), and wisteria are of the bean family 3. Wisteria like sunlight, so perhaps like Nichirin, they soak up some of the sun’s properties that are lethal to demons 4. In the language of flowers (Hanakotoba), wisteria symbolize kindness, welcomeness, refusing to leave someone’s side, being drunk with love, being straightforward and truthful, not losing the humanity in one’s heart, thereby containing a lot of meaning contrary to the conduct of demons Interesting, but some of its kind of a stretch. While still finding it a stretch to apply it to wisteria being poisonous to demons, Prof. Owada goes on to say that since ancient times, while the wisteria has some negative connotations of how it was sometimes written with characters meaning “doesn’t heal” (不治) and growing downward with smaller and smaller flowers like symbolize the slow downfall of a family line, it conversely also carries positive connotations of longevity and flourishing family due to the fact that its vines grow upward.

Now, you might picked up at some point that the Japanese word for wisteria is “fuji.” Not to be confused with Mt. Fuji (that’s written differently), it IS the same fuji as in “Fujiwara”: 藤.

Prof. Owada goes on to explore the association with the use of Wisteria crests in Kimetsu no Yaiba, especially on the houses of supporters of the Demon Slayer Corp. His recurring thesis is that the pandemic is partly responsible for Kimetsu no Yaiba’s popularity since demon legends have long since had origins in epidemics, and he supposes the Wisteria crest has a protective effect on the houses, similar to a talisman used in a lot of real life rituals for warding off illness and then often displays in or on the entries of houses to protect the family every year (I have one such item gifted to me, it stays by my doorway, along with a couple sticks of charcoal (but the culture of charcoal is a post for some other day)). The talisman is in reference to a god of Hindu/Chinese origins being treated with hospitality by the So clan, so although other families perished in disaster/disease, he promised to always protect the So clan descendants, so the talisman says “Descendants of the So Clan” so that any household may try to claim that divine protection. The gratitude-exchange of hospitality and protection and sure sounds familiar! Prof. Owada isn’t done yet. While the crest design used in Kimetsu no Yaiba isn’t an actual family crest in in real life, there are lots and lots and lots of family crests that use a wisteria design and have the character for “wisteria” in the name. Any time you hear “—tou”, like Satou, Saitou, or even Gotou, you can typically assume it’s 藤. It’s very common nowadays, but the first family to be granted the use of this name was the Fujiwara clan, when one of the pre-Heian and very powerful emperors granted their clan head this surname, which was a major honor, and it marked the start of the Fujiwara clan’s political dominance (there was already influence leading up to this, but meh, we like clear-cut stuff to simply centuries of history, don’t we?). Furthermore, although we often think of the Fujiwara clan for their influence at court, and we might think of the Minamoto clan for warrior heroes who fought demons, Prof. Owada concludes his argument of wisteria’s protective influence by pointed out a long list of Heian period Fujiwara warriors who also were the heroes of demon slaying legends, stating that their name has also long been tied with demon slayer culture. SO!!! Let me go on with my theory here. Muzan is from the same family line as Ubuyashiki. At some point (I assume after Muzan is long gone from Kyoto), the family is told while their children keep dying, and they accept their mission to bring an end to Kibutsuji Muzan and clear this curse on their family line. My thought is that their ancestor was a full blood sibling of Muzan, one whom was more invested in than sickly Muzan. While perhaps already an off-shoot of the Fujiwara Clan and thereby not entitled to the same sorts of inheritance, they probably maintained close ties with them. But, as it was already not direct by that time, the other Fujiwara clan branches were not affected by this curse. To further spare the clan the effects of this curse, this was probably when that sickly branch took the name Ubuyashiki. (And yes, I have things to say about this name and its possible mythological origins which I find a highly, highly interesting connection. Prof. Owada supposes it is tied with Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine and that is why there are nine pillars, but as much as I love Izumo Taisha and its giant pillars I base my argument in separate Shinto (but also Izumo!) mythology and accept that there are not always supposed to be nine Pillars specifically and Gotouge simply chose that number based on the number of strokes in the kanji for ‘Hashira’ (柱) BUT I DIGRESS). So, the Ubuyashiki Clan is it’s own thing, but is sort of like a cousin to the other Fujiwara branches and thereby continues to enjoy Fujiwara support throughout the Heian period, like some of the Fujiwara warriors going out there and slaying some of Muzan’s early demon experiments, and using their influence to bring in other warriors to the demon slaying cause (pet

theory: Genpei War warrior Kumagai Naozane was a member of the proto-Corp and using Kasugai-garasu was in practice since at least late Heian period). While the Ubuyashiki Clan probably already their own inherited land (and funds that came from it), throughout their history, their cousin clans might also have provided financial support to the Ubuyashiki Clan. But, they probably distanced themselves from the clan due to the curse and not wanting to be tainted. When you bring back in the wisteria associations this puts the contrary associations with a flourishing and dying family line in a new light. Furthermore, the “not healing” way of writing “fuji” also means a lot more in the context of Muzan’s, and later the Ubuyashiki clan’s illness.

#KnY nerdery #Kny fandom theories and meta #kibutsuji muzan #ubuyashiki kagaya #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer

60 notes · View notes

zhoufeis · 3 years

Text

Yay! The newbie (me) has finished 10 korean dramas

....... and here are my ratings.

Let’s rate from worst to best:

________________________

10) Romance is a Bonus Book. Rating: 2,1 / 5 stars - skip it.

- I kept seeing this show on my dash and since my first kdrama watch was W Two Worlds with the wonderful Lee Jong-suk, I decided to give it a chance.

- But hell, no one warned me how bad it actually is. I’m not talking about the acting (the cast is actually quite solid), but I’m referring to... the plot (or lack thereof), the love story (let’s rather call it one-sided obsession) and the wasted potential. Let’s start with the set-up. A company producing books, a single mother who needs a job, her childhood best friend who works for the company. Yeah, it’s not precisely complex or inventive, but it’s something to work with. Create nice dynamics at the working place, have some yearning between the two leads, give them heartwarming moments and a confession of how they’ve always been in love with each other. There’s just one problem: she really never, ever had any romantic feelings for her childhood best friend. She keeps calling him a brother and insists on him being her closest friend (which seems a stretch since she lied to him for a year about her separation from her husband and kept sort of creeping up into his house to eat and shower there without letting him know). Anyway, I could oversee this (even though I hate the trope of childhood best friends becoming lovers in adult life just because one is a man and the other a woman) if AT LEAST we actually get to see her falling for him slowly within the show. But we just.... don’t. He confesses his love to her - as she is actually starting to see someone else, and let me tell you, she actually seemed to be into the second lead -, then promises her not to push his feelings onto her... but that’s exactly what he does (I guess I don’t need to mention I ended up not being his biggest fan), and she ends up falling for him for unknown reasons. Eh. Okay. I started rooting for the second leads halfway into the show. Hae-rin & Eun-ho as well as Seo-joo & Dan-i appeared to me as the much more shippable pairings. I might have actually cried for Hae-rin & Eun-ho at some point of the show, but well... Moving on to... everything else. I enjoyed some scenes in the company, but not enough that I could tell you any right now because there wasn’t anything very memorable. The show basically thrives in some random scenes usually involving one of the two leads rather than in scenes with the two of them. That random author’s suicide has stuck with me as well as the letters that song hae-rin has wrote to our male lead over the years. The talk about fears between eun-ho and that author has stuck with me too, but other than that... there’s just nothing really happening. I was patiently waiting for a plot to come but nothing ever came. It just feels like a bunch of really uninteresting subplots put into one show. I don’t wanna judge it too harshly, but one of the other modern day dramas I will discuss further down this list also simply works with a bunch of subplots coming together - and it’s wonderfully executed (it’s ‘Run On’, for those of you who are wondering!)

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Positive: nice friendship between women (dan-i & hae-rin); delivery of lee jong-suk, jeong eu-gene & park gyu-young; one strong scene involving a life lesson every few eps

- Negative: no main plot, dull subplots... nothing happens, very cheesy at some points, the protagonizing couple is quite problematic and unshippable, their chemistry is not strong enough to oversee that; i really don’t know why people like this show.

_____________

9) Radio Romance. Rating: 3,2 / 5 stars - it’s cute.

- Radio Romance is the show on this list that drives me into conflict with myself. Because some things about this show are very strong; others (many) very, very weak. I guess the main problem is that the show’s set-up mostly shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but it deals with some heavy topics that need to be taken seriously. And unlike quality japanese animes or some quality chinese drama that usually achieve to make you realize what can be taken as a joke and what can not, Radio Romance is sort of incapable of keeping that balance. You gotta figure it for yourself.

- While offering a quite enjoyable cast and some quite different personalities within the show, there is no one particularly standing out. As you will see as we go further down on this list, this is not my only Kim So-hyun drama, it was also not my first, and I can promise you that it won’t be my last. I simply adore this actress, she’s enjoyable to watch. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of her, which is why I checked out the show in the first place. Compared to her other characters though, Song Geu-rim is kind and nice and all, but not too memorable. She’s portraying a nice girl next door here with a dream to become a good radio script writer. And if not even her character stands out, as expected, none of the others will either. As for the plot... We don’t really have one, I suppose. If you count the plot making the radio show, I suppose then episode 3 or 4 is the last with actual development. I was hoping for more conflicts and plot twists involving Soo-ho’s backstory - and we got them, but very, very, very late on the show. Basically, getting through the first 7 eps felt very easy to me, due to the change of locations and relationship growth, and getting through the last 3 as well. Although the last was such a cheesy ending, you have no idea. The middle part suffered from a lack of plot and character development as well as it suffered from a focus on the love triangle - which I totally could have lived without. Like, istg, what was the POINT of this love triangle? Soo-ho and Geu-rim had to deal with enough things already, bringing in yet another obstacle through the tercero and putting the focus onto this love triangle was just soooo cliché. And don’t even get me started on how they also went with the problematic love triangle tropes rather than to at least make it somewhat adorable or funny. It was also boring. I kept pausing the episodes there and didn’t keep watching for days. It was only at the end of episode 13 that things finally got interesting again when we finally got to learn more about Soo-ho’s backstory. From then on, I was able to end the show within 2 days. So, no, the backstory was not the thing that drives me into conflict though. What drives me into conflict is how such a quite flat story was able to portray a very good, very realistic case of depression and PTSD. Like wow. This must have been one of the few shows, in which we have a canonically diagnosed character who does not fall into stereotypes and in which his depression isn’t used as a mere plot device to get the ship together and cure him by that. His depression is underlying at all times, sometimes more, sometimes less. He is told to get treatment (”no treatment, no medication.”), he has moments in which his depression mentally and physically restrains him from acting. It’s a very layered, realistic depiction and I adored every single bit of it. Meanwhile, the character isn’t defined by his depression nevertheless - there’s more to Soo-ho then just the depression, and after all, he was an outstanding character (to correct what I said before because I was lying xD). So... for all the lack of plot and development and predictable storytelling, the depiction of depression and the peacefulness of the protagonizing couple save that show.

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Negative: unnecessary love triangles with unnecessary clichés; barely any plot; sheer boredom in the middle of the show; takes itself and its tropes way too seriously.

- Positive: complex character who is suffering from depression and PTSD; layered, realistic depiction of depression; adorable couple that transmits peacefulness.

________________________

8) Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung. Rating: 3,5 / 5 stars - nice, but it is no must-watch.

- I feel genuinely bad for putting this right after Radio Romance and Romance is a Bonus Book, because Rookie Historian was, simply put, muuuuuuuuch better. I got invested in the characters and their backstories. The story is quite more complex in retrospect than it seemed at first, but the show’s issue is that this is rather less apparent in more than the first quarter of the show. I really don’t even recall what happened in those first few episodes because it is rather unimportant for the rest of the show, with minor exceptions. The story truly starts picking up around episode 9 and has a strong run until around episode 15. The last quarter of the show then is wayyyyy too fast-moving, too many things happening and we barely spend time on things I then wished to spend more time on. Unfortunately, despite having a good set-up and a quite fine cast, I don’t think I’ll remember anything in particular about this show in a year. It’s a nice watch, even though I sometimes really had to motivate myself to keep watching in the first eps, but it hasn’t lingered in my memory after I finished it.

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Positive: rather lots of plot; positive female relationships; feminism; shin se-kyung; leading couple as well as the second leading couple, even though romance is not at the core of the show; nice messages about morality and truth.

- Negative: the first few eps are really.... slow-moving. To the point that I’d recommend putting the first 8 eps into 2-3 eps and giving more space in the end. Especially the last 4 eps of the show are way too fast-moving. Furthermore, there’s some plotholes. My biggest issue though is the glorification of europe's christianity during the 18th and 19th century. I was not expecting that in a korean drama but it seemed utterly wrong in my eyes, specifically because the show used it to promote that chrisitianity promotes equality of all races and genders. Not to be a bitch, but europe’s christian beliefs have never stopped europeans from discriminating women and non-white people, not then and not now.

- My general impression of the show is quite positive, but I’m not sure I’d willingly watch it again since knowing all the plot twists and storylines actually is enough to be watched once with that show. An experience that I haven’t made with the other kdramas that are higher ranked on this list.

____________________

7) A Love So Beautiful. Rating: 3,5 / 5 stars - if you really don’t want to think at all and just watch a light, easy to follow show, that is your pick. However, NOT recommended for first-time kdrama watchers - it gives you a totally wrong impression of what kdramas are actually capable of achieving.

- I’d like to point out that this show has surprised me in a good way - but there’s things that need to be pointed out here, so let me make three paragraphs: the first will talk about my impression of the first 16 eps; the second will talk about the last 8 eps; and the last will talk about how this show was cute, but could have been incredible, but didn’t use its potential correctly.

- Episodes 1-16: Look, the thing about those eps is very easy to point out: it’s not quality and it is never pretending to be (unlike romance is a bonus book, which pretends to be some smart, adult quality show but is just trash). Those eps cannot be taken totally serious. You have to go in there knowing exactly what is awaiting you. I started it because when I saw the trailer, I immediately realized all the tropes that Extraordinary You (higher ranked, you will see later) was making fun of. What you see is exactly what you get: Clichéd characters, clichéd love story, average acting, average directing, simple dialogue, clichéd love triangle, predictable developments - a simple romcom put into a tv show format. It’s cliché over cliché over cliché put into a het high school love story. And you know what? After weeks of studying for and writing my uni exams, it was exactly what I needed. The show is so over the top with its clichés that it’s genuinely funny. The lightheartedness and the non-existing complexity just add to that. Basically, you could argue that it’s all so bad with its clichés, which is why it becomes hilarious. Unlike other kdramas, it has a straightforward plot: a girl is in love with a boy and wants to be with him. It’s as easy as that. The show clearly loves featuring every trope you could associate with het love stories, but honestly, it’s so light and breezy and such a fast watch (due to the fact that each ep is between 20-25 minutes), you will finish those first 16 episodes before you know you even started it (I made it in less than 2 days). I want to repeat here though, it’s not for someone who starts with kdramas and hasn’t watched other kdramas. It cannot be taken seriously - and you only cannot take it seriously when you have seen things like Extraordinary You or W or, I guess, a bunch of high school kdramas. But I’m telling you, this is the only Kdrama on this list that you can watch in the most stressful time of your life and it will make you feel better. It won’t make you cry, it will make you laugh, and the moment it is out of your sight, you will forget about it - at least, that’s the case about the first 16 eps. And then we get to...

- Episodes 17-24: guys, what have I gotten myself into? As these people finished high school and their problems actually also got more adult, I started to grow genuinely attached, specifically to the ship. When she got sick and he didn’t even know although he’s a DOCTOR? When she was sexually harassed and didn’t know how to talk to him about it because their relationship was filled with other problems? When he left for 3 years and later told her that he had hoped she’d follow him because she always has... and then she didn’t? When he said that everyone is under the impression that she is more dependent on him but that he is actually the one who cannot imagine a life without her? IT ALL HURT BADLY. Because 1) so many years passed in such a short amount of time on the show and it felt like someone was ripping my heart out. I got genuinely reminded of that stupid US movie “One Day” - and y’all know how that movie ended. And because 2) there was a very realistic notion in the adult relationship portrayed. Not only did it point out how differently relationships/friendships can develop once you outgrow your teenage years and start navigating your life by yourself, but the problems, the misunderstandings, the different perceptions of time, the different perceptions of how friendships and relationships are developing - I honestly could relate to it a lot, looking at it from a 24yo perspective because it is something I have been experiencing as well since I finished high school. You feel more lonely and tend to perceive some time as passing by quickly, other times, it feels like everything is going so slow. These last 8 eps completely differ from my perception that I had in the first 16 eps of the show, as the tone is much more serious and the things depicted realistic and relatable. I also sobbed a lot. I didn’t sob at all, ever, in the first 16 eps, but the last 8 were me crying a lot and feeling my heart hurt as the years passed by and these two just spent them apart.

- So, what do I criticize about this show? The show’s pacing. I genuinely loved the change of feeling between high school and adult life, between ridiculousness and seriousness, and I know the show wants to celebrate youth at the end of the day. But I honestly believe this show could have worked so much better if u cut the high school episodes down to 8 episodes and rather spend a few more eps exploring their young adult lives. It would have worked so much better because their young adult selves were genuinely relatable, as well as their problems. The growth within the characters, realizing that the way they acted as teenagers were often self-centred or that they didn’t think that much about the consequences or how other people felt was nicely done. The show had potential. The dialogues were bearable, the camera work had hints of something great. In other words, I believe that with more carefulness to directing and dialogue, the show could have genuinely been a quality romance drama. The potential was there, but it wasn’t used the way it should have been. In the last 8 eps, you simply get a whiff on what this show could have actually been. Because the realistic character and relationship writing was right there - and if it had been put together with awesome directing and better pacing, everything could have been incredible.

SUMMARY

Favorite character:

Negative: the show’s pacing; the waste of potential to be an actual quality romance.

Positive: the un-seriousness of the first 16 eps, which were just so clichéd that it all was hilarious, compared to the seriousness of problems and development depicted in the past 8 eps.

_____________________

6) Run On. Rating: 4,2 / 5 stars - recommend

- I’m gonna be honest here and tell you something about me you might have guessed by now: Modern-day shows with no sci-fi nor fantasy elements are not particularly my thing. I usually sort of hate-watch them. Romance is a Bonus Book, A Love So Beautiful and Radio Romance are all of such shows and while I was even capable watching two of them without ending up hating them, they’re far from being my fave. Objectively, they’re okay-ish shows, nothing to be considered quality tv according to my cultural studies though. Subjectively, they just suffer even more from the fact that I’m very keen on being critical of such shows. But what happens when I find a non-fantasy, non-scifi modern-day show that is actually... good? Run On is the answer. Run On has memorable characters, their funny, unique characteristics, and simple conflicts put into nice subplots that often talk real-life problems such as bullying or self-neglegance. At the end of the day, this show is a love poem. It’s a love poem to self-love, self-respect, to friendship, to character growth, to family bonds, to achieving your goals, to making new goals, to kindness, and to life itself. That’s really what it is. You will find yourself in, at least, one of the characters. You will see them struggle, fight, grow, become better, and at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you are capable of living with yourself. I personally got attached to all of the stories and I adored how nothing was ever done over the top. Everything was subtle, multiple subplots working together... to form stories of life. It’s more than just a simple “feelgood” show and less than a devastating tragedy, it truly shows you life and puts it into an aesthetic form, that never neglects its reality. Which leads me to something I should point out here: it’s creatively done. From the fact that Seon-gyeom is waiting for Mi-joo at the end of the track to the drawings of Young-hwa that have Dan-ah in them to Dan-ah realizing that people experience the same things differently due to the fact that experience itself is different to everyone to Mi-joo imagining movie plots with the people she surrounds herself with to Seon-gyeom starting to live with Young-hwa in a small flat rather than to live lonely in a big, fancy hotel room - the things the characters go through in this show are not only talked about, but they’re often expressed through art, in all its forms. And these characters, these dynamics, the art, the conflicts are all subtly but carefully put together into subplots that form the show and very nice messages. The most important take-away I had from this show is that the way we treat us and the people around us is the highest form of art. And the show is a love poem to that.

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Positive: the cast (especically the core four), the characters (especially the core four); the wonderful messages about respect, kindness and self-love; the subplots working together, reflecting how life is also not just some simple chronological order of things but rather multiple experiences that we remember and that shape us; life is constant growth.

- Negative: i think the only thing i truly have to criticize is that you never really know what the plot even is. While I do enjoy how the subplots all work together, I would have wished for deeper inspections of some plots. And while it is easy just for some headcanons to come to mind, I still think the show could have incorporated more. Considering the treatment of art forms and how it takes a prominent role within the story (due to Young-hwa and Mi-joo, respectively), I also would have liked to have some cultural nods and references - and interpretations. I think the show used about 85% of its potential - and the potential was great, which is why the rating is still very good.

____________________

5) Bring it on, ghost! Rating: 4,2 / 5 stars - recommend, especially good for people who want to have a focus on romance coupled with a supernatural plot and who want a happy ending

- While the story is pretty easy to follow, often seems to be predictable and familiar, the show still promotes nice messages about forgiveness and regret. The strong side of the show isn’t particularly that though - this show is entirely saved by the two leading actors. Kim So-hyun and Teacyeon portray two incredibly lovable characters you will see yourself drawn to. They furthermore have a chemistry that you just have to love and their bickering is just the best part of all. This is mixed with some tragic moments - in present time as well as in the past - and what you get is a romantic show with a bit of comedy, with a bit of tragedy, but with a very happy ending. If you exchanged the actors with two less skilled actors or two people who simply don’t have a lot of chemistry, this show simply wouldn’t work. Their performances are the shining light of this drama, mixed with some funny side characters that you get to enjoy as well. The reason why it ends up higher on the list than Run On - despite Run On probably having generally the better dialogue writing as well as better camera work and even more beautiful messages - is due to the sole work of the two leads who simply carry this show on their back and the fact that despite having some more or less necessary subplots, there is a main plot here that will take a faster, darker turn in the second half of the show. And I personally just enjoy having a main plot to hold onto as well as I always enjoy a bit of fantasy more than modern day real live shows. On top of that, add some devastating backstory and top-notch character development for Park Bong-pal, and a badass, slightly violent, sassy characterization of Kim Hyun-ji. This show will simply leave you with a huge smile on your face, despite being made for people who enjoy tragedy as well.

SUMMARY

- Favorite characters:

- Negative: subplots sometimes take the focus, a familiar story, stereotypical portrayal of ghosts (yes, ahre, i said it), no real plot twists (which can be a good thing, too, since the show rather simply unfolds each part of the story over the course of its run)

- Positive: the two leading actors, their incredibly shippable couple, a happy ending. If I was going to recommend a light-hearted, happy kdrama that has some tragic parts but ends happily and isn’t that hard to follow, I’ll recommend you this one.

_____________________

4) The Tale of Nok-du. Rating: 4,6 / 5 stars - strongly recommend.

- If you ever are in search for an unproblematic dummy as protagonist, watch this show. He’s a dummy you just have to love. You laugh about him, you laugh with him, you cry for him. He’s a puppy, you cry with him. And the best thing is, this puppy falls in love with a girl who can be quite rude and annoyed, but he always makes her smile and genuinely is attentive to her. The most frustrating thing about both of them is that each of them keeps a secret they cannot tell each other because they refuse to hurt each other - and this almost leads to tragedy. Better even, they’re portrayed by two very skillful actors. You’ll love them in the blink of an eye. And then there’s the cute second lead, portrayed by Kang Tae-oh. Yes, cute. Until he really isn’t. I’ve never seen an actor being able to turn around a character to 180° in no time. Some talent that is. And now let’s just say - the plot is nice. It is not the most complex one, but it is interesting to follow and you are always eager to find out new information to collect and put the pieces together. If you are searching for a show that is simply entertaining and nice to watch and featrures a great cast and nice characters and ranges from comedy to tragedy, this is your pick.

SUMMARY

- Favorite characters:

- Negative: the narrative change in the middle of the show that shifted the focus away from women to men (even though it made sense within the story, it was still a very sudden and harsh change, especially if you consider that these women were mostly slaughtered to death)

- Positive: CAST (specifically the three mains are just beyond amazing); an innocent, pure, absolutely adorable protagonizing couple that will steal your heart; feminism; male protagonist being a feminist who ends up working with badass women for his entire lifetime; directing; narration practices - this show is the one that draws the line between the ones i discussed above and the really great ones because it is the first on the list to be capable of telling a story by constantly keeping your nerves up while also not overstimulating the viewer with too much information at once. Only the other 3 shows which will follow now were able to do the same - and it’s what makes people watch or quit, and that’s why it’s so important: constant plot development, no unnecessary side plots, and handing your audience enough information to make them keep watching but not enough to guess the entire plot yet. The Tale of Nok-du was able to do exactly that and I honestly enjoyed the ride.

_____________________

3) W - Two Worlds. Rating: 4,8 / 5 stars - strongly recommend, must watch.

- I’d like to point out first that my top 3 are interchangeable. I sometimes tend to change my mind which one of the three I adore the most, and W is definitely in those top 3. Firstly, I’d like to let you know that W was my first Kdrama watch. And it blew me away. I was in awe with Lee Jong-suk, with Han Hyo-joo, with the narration of this drama, with the plot, with the direction, with the leading couple, the cast, THE DIALOGUE. Everything about this drama was excellently executed. The slow-moving narration in episode 1, the extra long scene of Chul holding the writer at gunpoint, the writer ‘becoming’ the killer (which he has always been anyway), the philosophy behind it, the creativity. I was blown away by literally everything about this drama and I believe it to be one of the strongest dramas ever made. Furthermore, what I also really adored, is that you don’t need to necessarily be into the couple in order to enjoy this show anyway because the plot takes the spotlight - but since the couple is always involved in the main plot, you get to enjoy plot, dialogue and couple at once. An interesting thing that I want to note here is that a few weeks after finishing the show, I stumbled upon reddits criticizing Lee Tae-hwan for his acting in general. I don’t know if he just perfectly suited the role of Chul’s bodyguard in W, but I highkey enjoyed watching him in this drama.

SUMMARY

- Favorite characters:

- Negative: I would have adored if Yeon-joo took a more prominent role in the resolution of the story (last 2 episodes) since the ‘hero arc’ went all to Chul there. And another negative aspect is that the show lives from very strong dialogues throughout all episodes, all incredible, all amazing and then - the very last scene. The last words spoken on the show, as a voice-over of Chul and Yeon-joo, are rather dull compared to the rest of the show.

- Positive: narration device, leaving out information to fill us in later and blowing our minds away (PEOPLE, I THOUGHT CHUL DIED), complex main characters, complex plot, no unnecessary subplots, no unnecessary romantic drama, no unnecessary cheesiness, DIALOGUE, direction, the cast in general*.

*I tried Memories of the Alhambra, as I found out that the same people who also made W were in charge of that drama, and I have to admit that I was intensely let down, specifically by the casting. Hyun Bin was alright-ish (not very memorable though), but Park Shin-hye was unbearable for me after episode 3. I stopped watching. If the plot was as interesting as the one of W though, I would have kept watching. But seeing as nothing really happened in those first 3 eps other than the lead killing his old best friend and playing video games that appear to turn into reality, I felt like I was wasting my time.

_________________

2) Extraordinary You. Rating: 5 / 5 stars - strongly recommend for hopeless romantics, people who suffer from second lead syndrome and people who like getting into philosophical debates.

- Extraordinary You was the second kdrama I ever watched. And. And. And. And I almost gave it up after episode one. It seemed somewhat ridiculous to me, way too fast-moving. I would regret my entire life if I had given it up right there and then. Because PEOPLE, IT IS SO GOOD. Not only does it feature a very healthy main couple, it leaves you emotionally devastated because there’s a backstory that you only get to know in the second half of the show but which influences your entire perception of the first half - and jeez, by the time I reached half of the show, I was yelling and screaming and crying my eyes out. You ever want to see a love so deep that it transcends consciousness and universes? A love so deep that time and space become mere nothings? That’s what you get in this show. And one of the best parts is that the ‘’’’’actual’’’’’ lead (in the ancient story within the show, not the story of the show) aka Baek Kyung* does NOT get the girl. But that doesn’t mean you won’t fricking suffer with him. Jeez, I bawled my eyes out for him, too. But Haru/Dan-oh, guys, they’re.... everything. Oh and all of that is nicely mixed up in a strong, complex plot that leaves nothing unexplained. Not everything is explained through words - the show is high on symbolism rather than dialogue - but everything makes sense. And the ending, oh that stupid ending. As beautiful as heartbreaking. Since the plot is put into a philosophical perspective throughout the show, the show also raises questions about existence and being. Yes, I yelled when Heidegger was mentioned. So not only do you get to see a beautiful, heartbreaking love story; adorable, complex characters; time-and-space-transcending friendships, you also get to laugh, cry and think about your own existence and your own place in this world. This show is a delight.

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Negative: you will cry and cry and cry and then laugh and then cry and cry and cry. It’s really not fun. Emotionally devastating. No, but for real... I wished we had a more complex depiction of the female characters that aren’t Dan-oh (specifically Ju-da, Sae-mi and Su-hyang), and a bit less focus on the guys therefore (I love them all but I thought the girls could have gotten some screen time of theirs while I would have accepted Jinmichae, Do-hwa and Nam-ju to get a bit less)

- Positive: Honestly? EVerything. Directing, casting, characterization, narration, love story, friendships, everything.

- *Let me say something about Baek Kyung, portrayed by Lee Jae-wook. That character could have simply been an asshole. The set-up was there, the writer of the comic also made him that way. But Lee Jae-wook has portrayed this character with so much depth that it is impossible not to feel bad for him. His entire life stages (hahahaha, I’m so funny) are a tragic mess. The fact that he eventually realizes that who he is and who the writer made him are eventually indeed two different people after all - but that they both share being in love with Eun Dan-oh - is as important as it is devastating. Cause it makes you realize that he can finally move his life more freely with that knowledge - become a better person outside of the stages (only if given the chance by the writer though) - while also never finding a happy ending. Firstly, because happy endings don’t exist in their world anyway because endings - if happy or sad - are always endings to these characters’ existences and because it is glaringly obvious his happy ending would include having Dan-oh by his side also outside of the stages. That is denied to him and will always be denied to him. And as a viewer, you understand that and you want nothing else, but the fact that he doesn’t even appear in the new story, not getting a chance at a new life this time, just adds a tragic notion onto all of this that no one asked for. I’d like to thank Lee Jae-wook here for such an incredible portrayal. I started Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol because of him and, unfortunately, had stop watching after 2 episodes because Go A-ra is simply... a terrible actress. I can’t put it any other way. I’m looking forward to other dramas with him and the rest of the cast though. Extraordinary You definitely had a huge advantage already by having a quite young, but incredibly talented mass of actors and actresses.

____________________

*drumroll*

1) Hotel del Luna. Rating: 5 / 5 stars - strongly recommend, must watch.

- It wasn’t thaaaat surprising to me that I would love this show. It was rather.... obvious that this would happen because a fantasy show set in modern day with the involvement of other time eras and a badass, broken, strong female lead is simply my taste. What I did not expect was this to become my favorite tv show of all time. I don’t even know where to start. I guess Jang Man-wol is a good starting point. Because I live for such characters. Characters like hers are precisely of my taste (I had similar people to her before - Ámbar Smith from Argentina’s Soy Luna or Melody Paz from Argentina’s Casi Ángeles - and also after her - Seo Dan-ah from Korea’s Run On), but Jang Man-wol takes the no.1 spot in all tv characters ever. She’s so layered, so complex, so well-written. She’s not predictable, but she’s also not ever surprising. She comes across as one of the most relatable tv characters you could ever see because she isn’t just one thing. She’s very contrary, she can be soft and loving or harsh and ruthless, sometimes all at the same time. She can be forgiving, she can be arrogant, self-hating, self-loving, lazy, passionate, she is quite literally everything. And while in the show’s set-up she is punished for hundreds of years when other, much more problematic people were allowed to leave this world sooner than her, the narrative wants you to feel sorry for her. You see her flaws, you see she’s anything but perfect but it won’t make you conclude that her punishment was ever deserved. The more you get into this show, the more you will ache. Because you know that there is only one possible ending to the show - for her to finally find peace. And that... that can only be achieved if she finally is allowed to leave this world. And it hurts and pains because, obviously, there is a love story. A love story that goes back to when she was a child 1,300 years ago. A love story that reunites her with the guy who saved her these 1,300 years ago and who now finds her again, someone who makes her care about her life again. As deeper as you go into the show, the more you will cry, the more you will suffer. And you will feel conflicted. You will want her to get her revenge while you will want to protect her. You will want her to finally be able to leave this world, but you won’t want her to leave Chan-sung. You will want her to actually care about her own fate while you will also want her to make the mistakes that worsen everything. It is a beautiful character put into a story that mixes fantasy, comedy, tragedy, soulmates, life, death, revenge, a stunning cinematography and strong dialogues into one. And what you get is the probably best show ever made.

SUMMARY

- Favorite character:

- Negative: There is really only one minor thing I’d criticize. While all the chars are rather complex and all subplots and character arcs work within the main plot frame and round up the entire story perfectly, there is one subplot I personally got a bit tired of because it is definitely the most unconnected one to the main plot - this concerns the romance arc of yu-na and hyun-joong. I wasn’t hating it, but I just didn’t need it for this story.

- Positive: This show has everything. I told you above already all the things I like. On top of that, I’d like to add that it has a beautiful found family story arc, promotes wonderful messages, has gotten itself the most excellent leading actress with IU who just beautifully portrays Jang Man-wol in all her depth. The show leaves you with your heart aching while there will be a smile on your face. Emotional devastation is just how this show works.

_______________

- Kdrama I'm currently watching: The Crowned Clown

- Kdramas I plan on watching soon: My Country - The New Age (watched 2 eps so far) | Signal (watched 1 ep so far) | Mr. Queen | Tale of the Nine Tailed | Moon Lovers

- Kdramas I abandoned because I didn’t get into them / disliked them: My First First Love | Goblin | Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol | Memories of the Alhambra

- If you have any suggestions for me based on my likes and dislikes, send them to me. I’m open to everything :)

#w two worlds #w two worlds apart #hotel del luna #extraordinary you #a love so beautiful #radio romance #romance is a bonus book #rookie historian goo hae ryung #the tale of nokdu #bring it on ghost #let's fight ghost #hey ghost let's fight #run on #mischa for ts #kdrama ratings

71 notes · View notes