mdhwrites

[mdhwrites]

Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the anime, is extremely good.

I have a lot of thoughts on it, and need to do just an ENTIRE blog on the shadow Teio casts over S3 of it, but this is just short to say it's good. I think the best way I can describe it is that it's a drama without villains that disguises itself as a sports anime while still wearing the themes and triumphs of a sports anime. If that sounds complicated for a description... That's because Uma is complicated. You watch the first half of S1 after all and you'd assume I meant Slice of Life or Comedy instead of Drama but no, I mean drama. This bitch will make you cry. That's INSANE given the fact that these are adaptations of the actual lives of famous race horses put into a school, idol (barely) sports anime that is meant to promote a gacha game.

This should be trash of the highest magnitude. Instead, S2 is some of the best anime I've ever watched. That shouldn't be possible.

S1 and S3 are no slouches either but they're also distinct from one another, as I would say each season is, another thing I could make an entire blog about. S1 is a more solid overall product with no real slumps at any given time but also only reaching so high in the end. Meanwhile, S3 has MUCH greater flaws, I think there's one episode that is outright BAD in it and it damages the two that come after it by being so bad, but its highs and characters soar so much higher than S1 that I have grown so much more attached to them by the end of it. I came away from S1 without anyone I actually was interested in shipping or wanting to write. In one episode, Cheval Grand made me add her to the KitaDai polycule when before then, she hadn't been much of anything for me and the recontextualization with her in that one episode worked like S2's interlocking threads, something S1 just didn't really have much of.

And for all of it, I just had a good time. It's beautifully animated, well produced and fun. Even side characters just meant for gags are loud and expressive enough that they're ACTUALLY FUNNY. And then the silly girl with shark teeth made me fucking cry. That shouldn't be possible!

And I think it holds up even if you don't play the game. I kind of know that for a fact because S3 doesn't use any characters who are even RELEASED yet in the game as their main cast and it still worked incredibly well. Even then, it's a good adaptation because it's not a strict adaptation from the game. They have differences because they are working towards different goals. That just further reinforces that if I've sparked your curiosity but you hate gacha, you can check it out anyways. I think it's worth your time for it's an excellent tale. For those who will chase their dreams alongside these Uma, see you next tail.

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I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have written my sign off and put it as 'tail' instead of 'tale' on accident. Also, a friendly reminder that my asks are open and that I am a fanfic writer who is happy to hear ideas you might have. My Ao3 that is still sadly lacking Uma stories for now.

[mdhwrites]

I just want to add that while this is all true, Calvin and Hobbes is also just one of the great comics of all time. It's not all this. It is also fun, irreverent and joyous about imagination, the joy of childhood and seeing the world in ways others don't. It actually is part of what makes stuff like this work so well because it's a fun enough work overall that you could see the big, loud reaction happening and thus this still hits as genuinely a subversion of your expectations. Like Calvin is not usually this smart which makes when he gets to have a grown up conversation all the more impactful. Go read Calvin and Hobbes. It is 1000% worth your time from just about any perspective.

A big reason why I think I became a marxist is bc I read A LOT of Calvin & Hobbes and Bill Watterson really went out of his way to lay the groundwork for teaching people critical analysis. Like take this panel for example:

EVERYTHING one knows about American/Western culture, especially in the late 80's/early 90's, would lead to the logical next line being some form of "Kids These Days Are Succumbing To The Evils Of Satan" or some likewise cheap Reaction™ But then Bill pulls the rug out

He criticizes the "satanic" bands not for some lack of christian morals but because theyre a byproduct of hyperconsumptionist culture. Bill takes no issue with the subject matter bc his issue is knowing its only being done to sell rebellion as a consumer product rather than to say anything truly provocative or inspired.

[mdhwrites]

There's a club in town known for being exclusive. For telling anyone who fate doesn't see fit to enter to shove off. So when asked to go on a dare, why is Sushang, some loser college girl, let in? And will fate burn her within or hold her steady?

5.1k words, drama, romance, pushing the limit on being PG-13

[mdhwrites]

With the Knights of Guinevere trailer having dropped, discussion online has talked a lot about how the whole thing is going to be a jab at Disney. For one example out of many, there's a shot of the titular princess with titles like "live action remake greenlit - no one asked for it, so we're making it."

I'm not inherently opposed to this stuff. Shrek is considered one of the classic animated comedies, and a core part of the whole film is that it was made by a guy who really fucking hated Disney. But the thing is, Shrek is about more than spite - the jokes at Disney's expense and the subversion of fairy tale tropes serve to reinforce the overarching theme of the movie, one of love overcoming prejudice and defying societal conventions of beauty.

Knights of Guinevere could be one of the best indie shows ever, for all I know, but if it's made solely from spite, could it's storytelling suffer? I dunno, I just have a feeling that kind of emotion, even if it's valid, isn't the most pleasant or productive to make a product with.

I am going to condense this not to be about Knights of Guinevere but just about that one question you posed at the end: If something is made just out of spite, can the storytelling suffer?

Yes.

Because all storytelling suffers when you only have one thing in mind.

If something is made to be just joyous, it can't be sad and cuts off the emotions it can tell. If something just wants to mash two characters together like Barbie dolls, it will ignore what makes a relationship compelling. If you have a single minded goal in something, that work is ABSOLUTELY going to suffer because you will ignore the elements that are not just about that singular goal that you are interested in.

Shrek has a fine base premise: What if you made a situation where the villain in a fairy tale, in a fairy tale world, was now the hero? And then they built on top of that themes of prejudice befitting what a role reversal should look at while also remembering that this is inherently a fairy tale and thus love conquers all. That concept might have been born out of spite but the rest of it is made with genuine love and care. The jabs at Disney are just iconography, not the whole point of the movie. There's a reason why Far Quad doesn't look like Walt because... Why? What does that serve to be so narrowly defined by that part of the inspiration?

We don't know where Knights of Guinevere will fall in this way until it is out. If there were a genuine concern I'd have about how it's marketing itself, it's that nowadays... Subversions suck. So much art is made with the first step being that it's clever. That it's edgy and different and I'm so, SOOOOOOO tired of that. I have been adoring Umamusume because even with its flaws, it is incredibly sincere. And in that sincerity, it tells a good story. I don't have to say "It's a good story for these meta reasons," I can just say it's a good story.

And that's because despite having the explicit mandate to sell a gacha game about horse racing, that wasn't its focus. Its focus was on making an enjoyable experience inspired by the game and its various horses. It kept its vision broad and thus was able to see all the beauty it could bring out of its inspiration. That is what any great story does in my opinion because life is so much better than just one, narrow concept like spite. See you next tale.

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I currently do not plan to watch Knights of Guinevere. If you know my blog, that either is entirely unsurprising or deeply shocking depending on what you wish I was posting nowadays. I do not think I could engage with it genuinely, even if I have had to actually pull some people back on my Discord for getting their pitchforks ready too quickly. As such, I don't think it's my place to judge it and I wish it the best. I only did this blog because I found the concept presented

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[mdhwrites]

Sleepie but Uma

Dreamflux Reef was a very different place now. Misha no longer sweeped the streets. Instead, new dream seekers kept their corners of it clean themselves. Gallagher no longer served drinks and kept an eye on things. Instead, makeshift, new Bloodhounds were trying to help with a soft touch. Indeed, it highlighted the greatest change that came for the place. No longer was this some secret corner, but a whispered privilege that one could come and go from, even without help. Even without being chased down by the monster that lurked in the shadows. The thing that could chase you down as Death did. Its speed and strength were only a whispered story nowadays, rather than known fact by any but this land's gravetender. Indeed, Something Unto Death was nothing but a shadowy blur to most.

It was a fate that one long observer didn't want for her friend's dearest pet. Even if she could not directly leave the swirling memoria that kept her from everyone else, that didn't mean she couldn't do anything. Dreams intertwined and bloomed in all spaces after all, from all creatures, and the beast known as Sleepie was no different. She could see it pretend not to care about its dreams. To be happy alone and abandoned, even as it lashed out or sought out its old masters. To deny what it desired. To deny flying besides those it held dearest and helping usher them to dreams they thought impossible.

She would not let it ignore those any longer. When Sleepie flew too close to the vortex that threatened Dreamflux Reef, it heard a voice. A gentle call it had not heard in far too long. Coming closer, something wrapped its arms around it and pulled it in. Wished that its dream would connect to others who shared its passion, desires and strength.

And so Something Unto Death opened only two eyes for the first time in her existence and stood before a large academy with no idea how she had gotten there. She just knew that she was born to run and that sweet dreams awaited her.

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This was just kind of a random thought I'd had because of a random mention of Sleepie in the new bartending event for HSR. I could see this actually being a kind of fun and silly ask blog concept and even have some kind of idea for what Sleepie might look like as an uma so *shrug* I guess send me asks and if I get enough to cobble something together, I might try to make something happen? Here or Ao3 at least.

As for what I think could work as a Sleepie Design:

Dark skin to reflect both the night and also just what Sleepie's skin normally is like. For contrast though, her hair wouldn't be black but a light blue, like the sort usually used to depict Memoria in HSR but with golden trim at the ends to reflect the golden trim on Sleepie's claws and maw. Her eyes would be... her eyes. Probably both slightly different since the eyes on Sleepie each have slightly different designs themselves. I imagine probably on the taller side because of how large Something Unto Death is... But I could also see going with being on the shorter side due to having been a part of Mikael's childish dreams. For racing gear, I immediately had the thought of the extra blades that float around Sleepie now forming a segmented dress on her with the eyes of the dress opening when she uses her ult, which would essentially be the animation of Sleepie activating everyone's ults but then her bursting forth from the shadows and Memoria.

And for like core Uma that I think would work well with Sleepie, I think Nice Nature is in good conversation with the themes of Penacony as an Uma who to some extent had given up on her dreams before getting the right encouragement. Teio obviously works well for the hardships of life as well. On non-thematic purposes, Bakushin and Super Creek both wanting to take this poor, lost Uma under their wings could be a lot of fun and lead to a lot of mixed lessons for the lost beast. I also feel like Narita and her could have at least one silly chapter of both of them trying to make the other one be the hunted prey as they race/chase each other since Sleepie definitely would need to learn how to race instead of, you know, attacking the people she chases. Oh, and her and Opera getting along because of the performing arts could be fun too.

This is mostly just a silly thought I wanted to share though and I hope you enjoyed it too. See you next tale.

[mdhwrites]

Why Hetslop?

Okay, so before I get going into this and say kind things about this term, I have to start with the blunt fact that this is mostly just fandom policing. It's another form of people using a term to shit on things they don't like or don't approve of. That's gross and I severely hate this term because, you know... It's real awkward how I've seen a lot of people genuinely use it to dismiss an entire group of people's experiences just because something is heterosexual. That it's just slop. What the fuck people?

But on the other hand: I get it.

Yeah, as a straight guy myself, my first reaction to seeing this term was, "Yeah, they're right to call this hetslop," before I myself paused and ask, "Wait, why do even I agree with this? What does it even mean?"

The thing is that yes, in plenty of straight works, the shipping I see is bland. Not even bad but bland. It removes the personalities from the characters to simply give people something that is an attractive fantasy, or a cute piece of fluff. The fact that it might even actively betray who these people are doesn't matter because it's just being broadly appealing to what the audience likes.

Now, this isn't actually all bad. I follow a Star Rail artist who primarily does CaelusxRobin stuff. It's ADORABLE. It's also not them. Rather than our rambunctious, weirdo baseballer, the male half is just... *shrug* And instead of the galactic pop star who never lets her walls down enough to let you in properly, to the point where her character in game has suffered from not letting us see her weakness... She's constantly asking for hugs and kisses and getting upset when she's not getting them. These aren't these characters; it's just slop.

...

........

That's also just fandom though because I know a PROMINENT yuri pairing that was like 80% slop by volume as it crossed my feed. I like Amphibia. When Amphibia was at its biggest, one of its most popular ships was SashaxAnne. Anne as the mature, responsible one who had to put up with her... Dude of a wife. It's the best way I can describe this version of Sasha who was a buff, bodybuilder tomboy who wouldn't know what a bath in while sitting in it and left everything a disorganized disaster. This is despite the fact that Anne has to go on a series long character arc to learn to be responsible instead of the innate slacker she was and Sasha was the popular cheerleader who liked unicorn lattes from Starbucks and is the MOST repulsed and judgemental of the grossness of the frog world they go to, to the point where she refused to learn to eat bugs far longer than Anne ever did. But she's now the gross one.

It's slop. It's not the characters. It was just more popular in the fandom so no one was about to call it slop. No one wanted to demean it that way because you might get in trouble for doing so because it was EVERYWHERE for a time.

So even though I get what they're meaning, it feels too much like trying to find a new term for 'trash'. People understand too well that something being trashy is fun and the ones using this term don't want to imply that. Don't want to admit that these works exist because they bring enjoyment to others. They want to be able to compare it to corporate slop that is entirely devoid of meaning.

At a time when corporations are trying to say that enjoying our most base desires is illegal, why the fuck as fans should we be saying that pleasant lies like these sorts of works are some sort of sin? Let people enjoy what they want, even if it isn't good for them. You can't have steak all the time, sometimes you need trash or all you can make in the fridge is slop. If you like it, good. See you next tale.

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This was sparked by an Uma artist crashing out about het content being censored while yuri content wasn't (that wasn't what was happening, that situation looks to be a fucking disaster) and some talking about what was being censored being disrespectful to the character and it being hetslop. My brain stuck on why I was agreeing with the fact that it was slop to the point of potentially needing legal action and so this blog got made.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[mdhwrites]

Nice Nature Hurt Me

I came out of high school with a full ride scholarship and a 3.89 GPA.

I left college after having found out that my lack of study skills was catching up to me and my depression was killing my ability to focus.

I have done literally hundreds of fanfics over the course of ten years and was in the top hundred authors on Fimfiction.

I left that website because people saw me as nothing but a content mill for them and I have failed to ever find a following truly passionate about my works.

I have nineteen published, original novels and novellas on Amazon, all produced over the same seven years as each other.

They're all self published and I haven't managed to make a new one in over two years now and that's just going by publishing date.

I am able to live on my own with my cat thanks to being on disability for my anxiety and depression.

I also keep myself in a state of never truly caring or connecting with much because to do so opens myself up to being hurt and I'm simply too tired of that pain to keep letting that happen.

Nice Nature hurt me because I've never seen myself reflected so clearly in a work before. She showcases so well what being a burnt out, gifted kid can be like. Someone who is always being told that she's doing the right things, that she should be great, and yet is constantly falling behind those same expectations. If you can never take first, why even celebrate third?

But I also like that it refutes the lies we tell ourselves. That we aren't accomplishing anything. That we don't add value to the world because we aren't the top dogs people thought we were at one point. That people support us even when it feels like we give them no reason to.

So even when your brain is telling you you've accomplished nothing, that you are nothing, and that you can never be anything, someone believes you can be. Internalizing that may be hard, it may take time, but it can happen. It's not easy, and the game doesn't even present it as easy, but it can happen.

That sort of hope helped me to finally remember to do my dumbbell exercises again. It may be with a ten pound weight and it may have only been 20 reps for each exercise but it's a start. A start towards a better future that Nice Nature can help remind me to strive for. Quite Nice indeed, if you ask me.

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My Ao3 where right now I'm working on a MihoRice story but might try my hand at a Nature/Teio fic at some point, especially since I've seen the first two seasons of the anime now. That is also why my brain hums about TeiQueeTure because I like poly ships and that ship name is hilarious to me and I hope Rudolph would like it.

And my Amazon, if you're interested in maybe checking out those original books I mentioned.

[mdhwrites]

Special Week and Rumi: Two Sides of a Trope

"MD, please tell me you're not about to try to say the horse girl gacha anime is better than KPop Demon Hunters."

No! In fact, the two are so vastly different that it'd be kind of ludicrous to even try to compare the two!

"Okay then. Why this then?"

Well, because somehow, both have it where they were born to a parentage of a different species than the person who raised them and were raised to fulfill the final dreams of their birth parent, with their adoptive parent having dedicated their life to making that dream come true. Special Week was born to an umamusume, a horse girl, while Rumi was born to a demon and a Hunter, with both of these legacies passing on expectations upon them. This creates the core motivation for both characters and forms what their childhood was like. The two in this way have a core similarity...

That could not be more different if you tried.

For Rumi, it is a curse. This shame that she is taught to despise. It actively harms her and makes her act in ways that are against her best interests, or even the interests of being a good person, because of the disdain that the legacy of her birth has. Her goal is an escape from the pain she was told she had to suffer simply for being born and that her only escape was to continue a generational war. All of this is why at the end of it, she must reject it to grow and choose her own path. She follows a similar path in the end but one she strides for herself, rather than out of obligation or desperation. She may have had these expectations and desires pushed upon her but that does not mean she can not have made them into something healthier and better.

Meanwhile, Special Week. She was given the goal simply to be the number one uma in the entire country by her mom. To facilitate that, she was trained to run and race because that's what uma do and was all her adopted parent could do to try and facilitate that dream. She never asked to be made into a runner... But she didn't need to be. As the show states: "Umamusume are born to run." It is their passion regardless so any question of forced expectations is yeeted out the window because Special Week is just as down bad to win races and beat her rivals as any other uma. It is a forced expectation, she is still motivated by this dream, but it's one she can genuinely share in for the same reasons as anyone may have the dream. This is why she actually loses it for a time and has to be reminded of her goal to be the best because without it, she loses sight of her motivation and her personal desire that pushes her forward. It's a reminder of those who are hoping she'll succeed and all they put into making it happen.

And for the two works, the directions they take are 100% correct. For Demon Hunters, it allows for a conversation about what such pressure does to someone and what it really takes to openly love another person. The damage that lies and covering oneself up can do. Meanwhile, for Uma, it allows the main character to have pathos to her reason for wanting to be the best, while reinforcing the themes of teamwork, shared motivation and still keep a warmer tone than a normal tragic backstory might cause. It's a tone setter just as much as when Rumi shows her patterns to the audience the first time.

Neither work is made worse by going the directions they did. Knowing how to use a trope your own, particular way is part of making sure it doesn't just seem like it was thrown in there for no reason. So is it silly to compare the gacha tie-in anime to a major blockbuster animated movie? Sure. But that's part of the fun and a reminder that the tricks of the trade are not limited to just that which we see as high art. It runs as deep in the blood of writing as demonic shame or a desire to sprint for the finish. See you all next tale.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[mdhwrites]

Umamusume Has No Right to be This Good

Umamusume might be one of the most charming things I have ever interacted with. The amount of personality jammed into this game feels insane to me and I've been playing for less than a week. I haven't even experienced their story mode technically, just their roguelike storymode which features a 3-5 hour bespoke campaign for each character in a cast of DOZENS. And what are those campaigns?

Sports anime arcs. That's it. Lots of different ones, such as learning to find your passion for winning, striving to become a symbol of joy for others or looking to find Horse Heaven. Okay, that last one is a little weird but that's also the trick. It's not doing anything new but everything has personality. The one learning to find their passion? She talks and acts like a robot and by all means appears to be one despite her protestations, adding that layer of silliness to it. The one who wants to be a symbol of happiness causes accidents wherever she goes and sees herself in a fantasy picture book about a blue rose of misfortune that became, drum roll please! A rose of joy. Are these new ways to tell stories? Nope. It's just doing good work to pair a proper narrative onto a proper gimmick.

Which is part of why this game is so shocking to me. I talked recently about character quirks being more difficult than writers want them to be and on paper, that's all this game is. A bunch of character quirks smashed into one of the most overdone, cliche styles of anime right behind school slice of life and hey, guess what! Everyone goes to the same academy and has school hijinks too so it counts for that too. It should be generic and annoying and grating and for anyone who thinks it is, I do not blame you.

But the thing that saves it, the thing that transcends it, is commitment. This is one of the most sincere things I've consumed in a minute because there is no shame in what it is doing whatsoever. It knows what it is and it strives to be the best version of that as it possibly can be, right down to even having gameplay that compliments every step of its storytelling because you are walking step by step on this journey with them, with your combined efforts deciding if their dreams will come true or not.

This whole thing makes it so that when my android uma lost her dreams thanks to her 'rival' beating her, I wanted to scream at her despite loving the other character in turn because THESE WERE HER DREAMS! Which is exactly what a sports anime wants. It's exactly the sort of investment you get with something as heartfelt and sincere as this. It's incredible.

It's also not perfect, to pull back a second. All of this stuff I'm praising is also exactly why someone might call it a scourge on society. Gacha games already prey on being parasocial and this cranks it to a level even beyond most of them, especially the big ones, that are out right now. The question of its ethics is something to be asked, alongside though if it could exist without being like this. Raising games aren't exactly popular and mechanically? Look up some beginner tips and tricks because the game is extremely overwhelming to get into and it does not do a good job of properly bringing you in or giving you feedback on what's going wrong or right. All of its story is also locked behind getting good at these mechanics which brings about a whole different slew of problems, even though honestly getting to the point where you can consistently see character's full stories isn't actually that bad. However, I also looked up tips and tricks to help that happen.

But for what it is? I have 15 characters by having done about 30 pulls on characters. That's 45+ hours of story without including any other storytelling it does and it does a LOT of other storytelling. Good storytelling. Worthwhile storytelling. Again, nothing new and nothing that's going to blow your mind but very little that I think would make one regret having at least given it a try, not for the price of free.

And much like how I consider Star Rail to be one of the best video game stories I've played, the fact that a free game like this is what is having me make this pitch feels wild. Then again, the best art sometimes breaks out of unexpected places, just like a dark horse victory. See you next tail.

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I won't lie; there's a part of me that's just really happy to like Uma because it proves I DO like things that are just fun. It doesn't need to be deep or clever, it just needs to be enjoyable and sincere. Also, if my examples didn't give it away, MihoRice is already a ship I am holding close to my heart and I've started poking at writing something for them. Just... Also not been typing a lot for a variety of reasons. Uma is coming during a time when I could use a nice, fluffy distraction since I'm under rereview for my disability at the same time that I've recently lost my last grandparent. It has been a MONTH for me and this has been a nice, fun help over the last few days.

[mdhwrites]

Y'know, there's a lingering unanswered question in Amphibia, and I can't tell if it was deliberately left for viewers to ponder, or if the writers just didn't think much about it.

What was the point of the temples?

Like, Marcy learns humility, Sasha demonstrates determination, Anne shows how much she's developed, but what's the exact point of them? They're supposedly made to test the worthiness of individuals given the stones' power, but if that's the case, why do the temples take away Marcy and Sasha's powers? The only exception is Anne's temple, and that's because of Valeriana making sure Anne only takes some of the stone's power, not all of it.

"You've proven yourself worthy of great power! Now imma take that away :D"

Andrias says in All In that the temples were a way for the prophesised heroes to give up the powers and the responsibilities that come with them. But that still doesn't make sense on the part of whoever built the temples - why put someone through all these trials and demand they prove themselves if you expected them to give up their power?

"Kratos! Take this blade and drain your power into it and you will be powerful enough to destroy all who oppose you!"

The Blade of Olympus in God of War 2 is a trap. Kratos has the power of a god but it's distributed through him. This can focus it into a weapon that indeed is stronger than his already beefy arms... But that's not the real goal. The goal is to take the power from him and be able to use against him. It's why at the end of the game, the weapon is used by Zeus against Kratos in one of the worst quick time event segments in anything. Ever. Period.

This follows something similar but in a pretty neat way that makes sense from a fantasy perspective. After all, temples like these NEVER make sense. They're supposed to be able to challenge multiple people after all but most things designed like this are extremely one time use. Like, the Indiana Jones Boulder isn't something you can just reset. The bigger deal is that the building and its tricks give gravity to the situation and a place to have exciting challenges so there's always going to be some amount of disbelief with them.

Buuuut here the challenges actually DO make a sort of sense. The whole point is NOT to prove yourself worthy... It's to charge the music box. Each temple theoretically is built in a way to bring you as close to the element of a particular gem as possible. Then, when you are at that point of resonance, when you might have been able to instead activate Calamity Powers with one more push, the trap springs shut and your powers are gone. In return, you gain interdimensional travel.

How Andrias puts it also adds to this twist. What the hell did it take to activate the gems BEFORE they understood how to use them like batteries? Did you have three people constantly locked away in the castle to activate the gems everytime the portal needed to be opened? What did they have to do to activate their powers to cause that? Did it cause them physical pain and mental discomfort like it did Anne? And was this the way they figured out to do a ritual so that was no longer necessary?

It raises genuinely interesting questions with fun, silly or even cool answers to them that we really never needed the answers to. Hell, a thousand years later and it's questionable if even Valeriana properly knew how they worked because it was better for Andrias for his society to be forgotten and regress.

Ancient Amphibia is a really well executed ancient civilization like that. Despite spending a half episode with them, they still have all the mystique and questions and cool factor that a forgotten land ought to have. The temples share this in their oblique purposes and almost contradictory task. They'd all be weaker without these unanswered questions, mostly because the questions don't need answers. See you next tale.

[mdhwrites]

One of those things that I wonder how many in my Discord have picked up on is the fact that my analytical blogs are just formatted in the EXACT same way I talk. There's no attempt to put on airs or fancier language there. No, I I just talk like that. It's actually a problem for me with my stories where I'm worried I'm losing the essence of a character because my own vocabulary wants to have them say things that they would not because they're not that hoity toity. This pattern is also why I've had multiple people, who knew me for months, LOSE THEIR MINDS when I cursed for the first time around them because they thought I was literally incapable of it. I'm a little more liberal with language nowadays but it's still something I do with purpose rather than with rampant abuse.

people often think i'm doing it for the bit but unfortunately i Am the type of guy who just says shit like "pray tell" and "indeed" and "naught but the human heart can hope to capture the moon's beauty" (that was actually about my shitty phone camera) and nobody really knows what to do when they hear those words come out of my mouth. myself included.

[mdhwrites]

Character Quirks are More Complicated than Writers Want Them to Be

"This character rambles when emotional." "Oh, that's a neat affectation. Could get in the way of things like serious moments though." "Ah, that'll be fine. They'll be able to read the room and clam up, even if she's extremely upset. It's just a character quirk after all. People will get that it's just for a joke."

One of my first true anime experiences was Soul Eater. Watched the whole thing and that means I got PLENTY of Death the Kid. For anyone who doesn't know him, he likes symmetry

It is one of the most obnoxious character quirks I've ever experienced. It's incredibly forced and it comes up in EVERY. SINGLE. FIGHT of his where he is rendered powerless because of something being too beautifully symmetrical for him to be willing to kill. His own fighting, as you would expect, also has to be symmetrical, down to using two guns, which is abnormal for the world. Those white streaks in his hair? Annoy him to no end because of his love for symmetry and his need for this level of perfectionism. Also yes, he could try dying them. They pop back in because fuck this dude apparently.

Which also makes it one of the best character quirks I've ever experienced. It's consistent. It's something you're never really allowed to forget. And because you can never forget it, it actually says something about the character. When the late story revelation comes that he's nuerotic like this because of a belief that Death, the thing he will one day have domain over, has to be perfect, you don't blink because that's who he is. He has always been this controlled guy who worries about how he presents himself, how acts and how he executes things the entire time. The fact that he is the most capable, and arguably most serious, of the main trio for the show, when he's not freaking out about this quirk, only reinforces that idea of control that he desires. This perfectionist attitude.

Most things are not willing to commit like that. These are not truly a part of the character... They're quirks. It's why I always chafe when someone goes "This hyperactive MC has ADHD, I swear!" because like... Is that actually them or is it just that higher energy makes for better gags? Is this character having a prosthetic arm an actual part of them or could it just as easily be a tattoo sleeve? A lot of quirks and rep fall into this category because it's easier to signal than it is to commit.

Like I cannot emphasize how much Death the Kid commits to it as a character in universe. In his world, he literally makes his life TWICE as hard because of it. He has two weapons, a pair of sisters who become pistols, who need the same amount of effort EACH to become super weapons as most people's singular weapons. It says SO MUCH that he looked at that problem and went, "Nah. Symmetry and Death." "Don't you mean or?" "No."

Do you know what not committing to this bit looks like? Well, Death the Kid was on my mind because Zenless Zone Zero decided to tackle this quirk, even down to giving heterochromia for a non-symmetrical element that they cannot get rid of on their person. So why am I saying they don't commit? Here is her basic pose in combat.

I don't even have to tell you what the problem is. One look and you can immediately tell that any claim of this being a character trait rather than a quirk is a lie. It would have been harder to make her stay symmetrical in combat so they just... Didn't. Because it only exists for jokes. But if something doesn't exist besides during comedy for a character, it's not actually a part of the character, rendering all of the scenes where that comes up pointless. As these elements can often become the ONLY joke for a character, the character feels like nothing because... What are they supposed to be when you keep digging up this one trait for jokes?

This is why character quirks are so much more complicated than one might think initially. After all, tacking on another trait is fine, right? Especially something that makes them unique. But that same uniqueness is also why it sucks so badly when it's clear it's nothing but a gag. It is such a glaring part of the character that then turns out to be nothing but marketing.

That's not quirky, that's corporate and will always feel just as shallow as anything just stabled on like that. See you next tale.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[mdhwrites]

Idealistic Stories Vs. Pessimistic Stories Vs. Reality

Either one will set you up for failure. If all you take in is the idea of sunshine and gumdrops, you'll be hurt by the rain. If all you see is darkness and thorns, you'll be eternally left in the cold. Life as a whole is a balancing act and to treat any one type of story as more valid or better set to prepare you for life is to invite folly. Human experience is never one thing after all so why should you only invite one type of experience upon yourself?

Life is complicated and you will be disappointed one way or another. Accepting that is how you better face those trials and be able to handle them so you can make a better future by putting the effort taught to you as necessary by the pessimistic so that one day, you may live in something closer to the idealistic. Everything has something to teach you after all. That's part of the joy of stories. See you next tale.

[mdhwrites]

Look I'm sorry to anyone who thought the Saja Boys were a real band, but it was obviously fake from the beginning.

Huntr/x has been doing this gimmick for years where they'll put on a performance and some actors dressed up like demons will "interrupt" it or get into some choreo fights on stage and stuff. If you're a fan you know, the demons usually symbolize things like industry corruption, Mira's struggle with her family, Rumi being in the closet, etc, and there's lots of hints and secret messages to the fans in what they're wearing or how they show up. Check out huntresx5evah on blsky they've got an extensive examination of the "demons" over the years and what the messages to the fans are.

In the concert before Golden was released, the demons were dressed like flight attendants. That was the indication that something new was about to take off. @/queenhuntrixdontmiss and I speculated that it was going to be a new single and low and behold, it was.

But then the live performance got cancelled. It's an open secret that Rumi was having vocal issues, so that was probably not planned. They needed to buy time for her to recover, so, enter the Saja Boys -- a fake band of guys really clearly pretending to be demons, they release ONE single, do a bunch of b-tier variety shows for a week, nearly all of their public appearances have Huntr/x right there, keeping the hype and energy up until Rumi can get her throat polyps removed and furthering the routine where Huntr/x are supposed to be secret demon hunters and the Saja Boys are supposed to be secret demons.

Then the whole thing culminates in the Golden live performance at the idol awards, the big act with Huntr/x fake "break up" and the subsequent theatrics to make it up to fans for failing the first Golden performance. Huntr/x takes their obligation to fans very seriously, I've no doubt that they all felt terrible about having to cancel, so a free show was the obvious recourse to try and make it up to people. And they pulled out all the stops!

But the Saja Boys were never real. I mean they got real guys to pretend to be a boy band and do the dancing and lip syncing obviously, but come on, most of them didn't even have names.

[mdhwrites]

On a trip out with Dan Heng, March asks a history fictionologist to come up with a fairy tale about her to add to her collection of potential backstories. What if he didn't just write her history though? 2k words, fluff and angst

[mdhwrites]

Did you know that in Japanese, Guigui and Shangshang instead call each other Kei-chan and Su-chan? Do you know why Sushang calls Guinaifen Kei-chan? Neither does she, until today.

[mdhwrites]

You've mentioned before how your issues with The First Temple in Amphibia are because the episode's more telling than showing with Marcy's character, and the showing not matching up with what we're told.

Besides Marcy being "in the zone," there's another thing that doesn't add up with that episode: the temple's trials are supposed to teach Marcy humility. But...Marcy doesn't come off as arrogant? She is proud of her accomplishments, but not to the point where it warrants the stuff the temple throws at her.

Whoever built the first temple, they seem far more arrogant and egotistical than Marcy. They're the ones who purposefully rig a flipwart game, have one of their opposing playing pieces childishly taunt Marcy, and endanger the lives of Marcy's friends just to force her to throw the game and learn a lesson. If anyone needed a lesson in humility, it was them.

(Yes, I purposefully went out of my way to find a Star Rail version of this)

The final challenge is this meme though. As a once gifted kid who can be all too stubborn, I have ZERO problems with the design of the temple as a test of humility. After all, wisdom and intelligence are not the same things but it's very easy to mistake that. It's worse when you're told they're the same thing.

That is the trick of the temple. You're right that the last challenge is OBNOXIOUS. But the first two aren't. The first two make you feel good. Like you got this. Like this is no trouble at all and that's because they play fair. There's no twists to them besides needing someone else for the second one. Those ones are tests of wisdom too though so third verse same as the first, right?

And then it cheats. And then it taunts. And then it does everything in its power to tell the gifted kid, "Git Gud," despite being unfair in every conceivable way. It won't let you win... So what's the point in playing? But you have to be able to step away from yourself, admit that you can't out think a rigged system by playing by its rules, to be able to win. The only winning move is not to play but you are specifically conditioned to think that way when you enter the final challenge.

The fact that you think this asshole needs to be taught a lesson in humility means that it has you RIGHT where it wants you. And that is brilliant storytelling. See you next tale.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.