#less judgement and vitriol

[j-esbian]

love being told that the tenuous grasp i thought i had on the social landscape is, once again, completely wrong

[eldritch-spouse]

Where have these angels failed, for you to see them as inferior than a conduit for a spirit?

I just need to point at Hell's influence over earth to answer that question.

The image of these ancient Seraphim and Thrones beefing with a familiar, animal or object so fucking funny to me. I just know angels like Belo and Jonesy would lowkey be jealous over the connection you'd share with your familiar, they are your friend, part of your magic and even Mentor. And when the Familar is a animal, when it dies you'll still have that connection and can commune with them. Death is not the end for your kinship.

A closeness these angels could never achieve with you. Now that's juicy

And I just know your familiar would be hella judgemental of those angles too.

Familiar: You need to stop picking up strays.

Jonesy: Who are yo-

Familiar: Silence twink!⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

And then Jonesy get's a spiritual ass whooping

[Jealousy gets more dangerous the higher the rank.]

A thoroughly pissed off seraphim, having transformed into his larger, defensive stance, sits on the ground of your basement, your familiar lies on the opposite end.

Both of them are grounded for effectively and consistently distracting you from delicate processes.

" You are a pestilence to this residence. " The familiar seems to rattle in place. " Sucking the energy out of others like a bottomless abyss, who are you to come between the bond of my witch and I? "

The angels' winged halo tenses and flexes, a display of aggression as clear as the blaze of holy eyes. The eyes that try so hard to blind your familiar, to push them out of their own vessel.

" Who are you, verminous wretch, to come between my beloved Lady and her seraphim?! " He spits back. " Her Benevolence is truly crowned in glory, an infinite embrace capable of sparing someone as insolent as yourself. "

The room shakes.

" Don't preach to me. I was bonded to her long before you tracked my poor witch like a filthy blood hound. "

A bristling radiance spreads.

" Ignorant, bumbling fool! Blind! My mere existence precedes yours in centuries upon centuries! May she forgive you- "

" Isn't it ironic then, that it took me significantly less time to mentor and protect this witch? For all those centuries of holiness, you are glaringly incompetent- We were doing just fine without you. "

The seraphim rises, seeming to just barely hold himself back from scorching your familiar in the bruning pale fires now heating the room up.

" Your heresy will know limits, spirit! It is only by her sacred demand that you have not yet been sent to Dorem- A detestable soul such as you is too foul to be allowed any conduits! "

" Such vitriol coming from a supposed angel of love- "

" I will teach you why we are called the burning ones you- "

The basement doors slam apart.

" WILL BOTH OF YOU QUIET THE FUCK DOWN ALREADY?! "

The next soundless hour is extremely productive.

[sha-brytols]

i would love to hear your thoughts on solythal cause it's so obvious that mythal used and manipulated solas but people can get so misogynistic in their takes on it like yeah okay i see your (general you) problem isn't the abuse but the fact that solas loved someone before lavellan 🙄

this has been sitting in my ask box for like a month. sorry sometimes people ask me about my opinions on things and i just dissociate for a bit because its genuinely crazy to me that people want to know what i think about stuff

anyways i said before the solythal dynamic reminds me a lot of gale and mystra from bg3 on both a narrative and fandom scale and i still stick by that. its completely possible to have a genuine discussion about the dynamic of a manipulative and self destructive relationship between a god and their favored follower and how it might even reflect on how the character acts in their relationships with the player character going forward, but these discussions get super bogged down in a lot of unnecessary vitriol directed at the female counterpart. like the kind that you would Never see in a similar dynamic where the instigator is a man.

sure, fandom hates cazador for what he did to astarion, but do they hurl half the bile at him that they do at mystra? are you more likely to see a measured analysis of how he has warped astarion's worldview or are you more likely to see a bunch of catty posts about how he's a bitch alongside at least 40 tired memes calling him a karen or any other socially acceptable target of misogyny? and whats more annoying is how these same people are often the most aggravatingly loud advocates for "dark fiction" and will tell on every opportunity that they're the most mature people in fandom because they don't judge a person based on their fictional preferences, only to fall into the exact same kind of petty judgement and moralization the second they see their Arch Nemesis, the former female love interest of their favorite blorbo

and its never just with abuse dynamics. we just see it at its loudest Today because fandom has finally gotten to a place where its a little less acceptable to be openly petty when a woman interacts romantically with a popular man, so people feel more vindicated when their jealousy can be framed as a moral concern. remember the absolutely explosive amount of discourse that was spawned when people found out isabela and fenris can be FWBs if neither are romanced? or the garrus fans who found out he can get with tali in mass effect? even today i see loads of discourse regarding neve/lucanis and how boring it is and how "oh neve deserves better" and when i check the blog 9/10 it's a lucanismancer and btw no they never talk about neve unless its specifically in relation to how much her romance with lucanis sucks. its exhausting

i do like solythal as like. a nuanced take on an abusive dynamic. dragon age in my opinion has (mostly) been really good about its portrayals of abuse. it's never as black and white as "evil person hurts good person for no reason other than theyre evil" and it at least usually tries to explore what causes these people to hurt the people they care for and how the victims internalize and process that treatment. this is the same mythal that was a part of flemeth, the woman who abused her daughter and taught her to see love as a transaction. it's not hard to imagine how that same mindset could manifest in her romantic relationships and honestly i think its actually super sick as like an inside look on what caused flemeth to treat her own daughter that way. you know.

its just like borderline impossible to talk about it here without it being hijacked by hyper egg stans who just want an excuse to hate on solas's former love interest

[charaznablescanontoyota]

i'll wait, i'll wait (for the moment to pass)

did you know there's a problem on mmolb dot com that keeps your fifth starting pitcher from actually pitching their games. anyway

----

twenty-six games as a starting pitcher and karina hasn’t been on the mound once; still, she hauls herself out of the house to sit on a shitty aluminum park bench and watch hewitt try for a shutout against the love letters. she knows for a fact they’re still sore about the way their last attempt went–they let in a single, errant home run in the bottom of the ninth, and were yanked humiliatingly out of the game for the last two at-bats. it was brutal. karina has thoughts about hewitt’s fastball–not to mention their conservation of stamina–that she’s been keeping to herself ever since, notes jotted in the margin of her scorebook that she’s sure no one wants to hear from the player who spends one hundred percent of her time warming the bench.

one of the love letters bats another home to whoops and cheers from the away benches. karina sucks her teeth, and fills in the diamond on her score sheet. she can see hewitt’s eyebrow twitch from yards away; they throw two sloppy balls, and wyatt mercifully ends the inning by diving after a ground ball. this, too, karina notes down.

“brutal,” arky says under his breath, on the other side of the bench. it’s the first real comment he’s made on the game, even after hewitt beaned a love letters batter. his scorebook is perched precariously on his knees, but he’s had the easier job so far–he scores for the circles, and they’ve barely managed to put anyone on base. 

karina always scores for the away team, a habit started out of both boredom and defiance. she has to show up to games, just in case the manager finally decides to start her, so she might as well take notes on everyone else’s earned run averages. arky only just took up the hobby with her a week ago after his tommy john. he should really be exempt from coming to games, his arm still in a sling and all, but the manager’s already started him once to the chagrin of the rest of the pitching staff.

they sit in companionable silence as the inning changes over; only once travis is in the batter’s box does karina say, quietly, “they keep throwing the same fastball, straight down the middle.”

“you think nelson is giving them bad signs?” arky asks.

karina shakes her head, ponytail flapping. “i don’t think they give a fuck about nelson’s signs.”

she’s not lying. nelson is too nice to get into it with hewitt–or with anyone, for that matter–but there’s something wounded in his eyes when he looks at them, something asking are you pretending not to see me or are you doing this on purpose.

“they’re psyched out,” she adds. then, “i don’t blame them. but they won’t get better if they keep playing like this.”

“sounds a little like you blame them,” arky says. it’s not a judgemental assessment at all, which makes it worse in some respects.

“okay, well.” karina stops herself, struggles to put the rest into words. because the animosity against hewitt is there, and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t, but it’s not in the way arky seems to think. “sue me, or whatever. if they and cisco are gonna cover all my games, the least they can do is cover them well.”

it’s the most she’s let herself say to a teammate about the strange and uneven state of the pitching rotation, though she knows all of them have noticed by now. she prefers to save that vitriol for the managers–who continue reassuring her it’s a temporary hitch in the schedule, telling her to come to games just in case.

arky laughs deep in his chest, pen dancing over his scoresheet as the love letters scramble to handle a classic r. tang bunt. “i’m telling cisco you said that.”

“don’t you dare,” karina hisses. she could care less what hewitt thinks of her; earning the disappointment of even-keeled francisco quinn, even in hypothetical, makes her want to die.

“he’ll think it’s funny,” arky says. when karina glares at him, he catches her eyes with his own. he has the beginning of crow’s feet around them, creasing gently when he smiles. “you’ll get your chance, ‘rina. hell, you can have my next game, if you want.”

“what,” karina says, “and save you from doing more one-armed innings?”

arky grimaces, fingers fluttering inside his sling. “i wish someone would.”

“i’ll think about it,” she says, and bumps her knee against his in silent thanks.

[sofiemystique]

WIP Wednesday WHENEVER

I was tagged by @let-gavin-free and I've actually been scribbling a whole lot this week so far. So here's a small snippit.

More of Allette's back story. It's a rough draft! The day she is asked to leave the Necropolis after the War of Banners.

Tagging with no pressure - @paramortality @deny-the-issue @holdingontojupiter @thequeenofthewinter @starfleetteddybear @razildor @ollypopwrites @farore05 and anyone else who sees this!

TW/CW: Death, A little bit of body gore and horror

She had stood before the Grand Council, Lady Staudinger demanding her swift execution and nothing less in her shrill voice. Knowing there wasn't much to lose Allette had finally lashed into the woman. "Your noble undead are part of the reason the War of Banners happened. The reason a good Mourn Watcher is dead, her blood spilled upon the stairs to your family's crypt. And yet you stand here pointing fingers, demanding my execution when you would've ignored the multitude of deaths in favor of a higher rank. Tell them Lady Staudinger, that the note Portia found promised, with your assistance, the High Overseer position if Baron Van Markham obtained the throne."

The Lady's face had gone white, but she quickly cleared her throat. "You do not have such a note."

"I do though and should the council wish to see it before demanding the burning of my body, I would be happy to show it to them."

The High Overseer cleared his throat and looked down that pointed nose of his toward Allette. "Regardless of cause or how noble you felt your actions to be, destroying the remains of many nobles is quite a grave misdirect of judgement on the part of you, Young Ingellvar."

"And yet the remains of so many that were also destroyed due to the Staudinger, Ackermann, Andreas, and Van Markham family is completely forgotten. Wagenknecht. Pentaghast. Valentin. Michael. Blumenthal. Even the living who stood against the grab for power and were injured. The one who was killed…"

"Are not forgotten and are not overlooked, Watcher Ingellvar," the High Overseer interrupted her, his voice stern. "If you have proof that your action were not the misguided ambition of youth, please present them now."

"It has been in my safe keeping," Myrna stepped forward from beside Allette, the second note that Portia had discovered in her hand.

"A forgery," Lady Staudinger screeched. "I've never seen it in my life."

Myrna and Allette both looked at the councilwoman. "I have not placed an accusation that has warranted this vitriol, Councilor Staudinger. I am presenting evidence that proves Watcher Ingellvar's actions are not of the ambitious or misguided nature. I request that High Overseer look at it fully before rendering any judgments on one of our most valued and gifted Watchers."

Lady Staudinger merely snarled as the High Overseer took the letter. It was not the first time Allette wanted to claw the woman's eyes not. There would be a day when the Lady would finally fall and Allette hoped that she was there to see it. For her and Portia's sake.

Portia…

Images of her friend laying bloodied in her arms flashed in front of her eyes. Portia's raven black hair was matted and soaked with blood, one of her eyes swell shut, and her bottom lip split wide on one side. "Live for me, Allette," Portia had coughed out. "Live. Become a Senior necromancer. Find love. Have babies. Watch them have babies. Find joy. Live…for….me…" She had sputtered the words out, blood burbling up out of her mouth before her head went limp and the light completely dimmed from her open eye.

The Halls had echoed with Allette's scream, the sound refusing to die and subside. And she had knelt there for what felt like hours sobbing, feeling as if part of her soul was suddenly gone. This was never how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to thrive together, overcome every obstacle, experience each other's joys together. Portia was to be the next Keeper of Seals. There was so much more life she was supposed to live.

This wasn't where it was supposed to end.

[sarahghetti]

all the echoes in my mind; m.s.

pairing: marc spector x reader centric, steven grant x reader, jake lockley x reader

summary: marc falls victim to his own self-doubt. you get caught in the crossfire.

warnings: angst, hurt no comfort, implied self-harm, a bit of a character study.

word count: 1.3k

MOON KNIGHT MASTERLIST | ALL MASTERLISTS

It all had to come to a head, eventually.

The bitter, vitriolic part of Marc always knew that it would happen. That one day, you would see him for who he is—a leech on your life, a waste of space. Someone that would only bring you pain, no matter how much kindness Steven or Jake might show you.

He can sense it as soon he climbs in through their apartment window, retracting the hood and mask of the suit to scan the room. You’re waiting for him on the couch—you always are, no matter how many times he insists you sleep when he goes on patrol—but you don’t make a move towards the first aid kit laying on the coffee table like usual. There’s a distant look in your eyes.

“Baby?” Worry spikes in his chest as he makes his way towards you.

Your breath catches at his voice, and finally, you look up at him. There’s a hesitance there that makes him uneasy. He reaches out towards you, but you both falter when you see the blood staining the white bandages.

It’s a lapse of judgement that causes him to retract the rest of the suit, forgetting about the bruised and bloody state of his body underneath. It all aches so much worse without Khonshu’s powers. He nearly collapses onto the couch but you’re there in a second, supporting him with an arm under his shoulders.

“Marc…”

The hairs at the back of his neck stand on end. Alarm rings clear in your gaze as it roams over him, taking inventory of all the ways he’ll need you to patch him up before either of you can go to sleep tonight.

Distantly, he recalls that you wanted to wake up early tomorrow—a presentation at work. When you’d showed him your slides earlier with such light in your eyes, he couldn’t help but share that excitement too, even if he didn’t understand any of it.

He should just keep the suit on and send you to bed. But you won’t tolerate that—not today, not ever. You said that you couldn’t sleep without knowing that he was okay. On his good days, the sentiment warms him from the inside out.

But tonight?

It takes everything in him to not squirm under your touch. To not find the nearest shadow and hide there until all his injuries have scarred over, and his mind settles into something less agitated.

His muscles flex with uneasiness, and you’re too perceptive for your own good. Your brows furrow. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” It comes out sharper than he expected.

And that confirms it for both of you: tonight is not a good night. Tonight is actually a very bad fucking night and it flares in Marc’s chest, in his words, in the annoyance that is sending him off the deep end.

“Would you like me to take over?” Steven, ever-patient, ever-kind, only grates on Marc’s nerves. He swears through gritted teeth. You tense from beside him.

When this happens, you know to give Marc some space to himself to decompress. He’s never told you what exactly sets him off because it’s never just one thing. It’s doing sloppy work on their patrols, not getting there in time before someone gets hurt, allowing himself to get beat up just to hear the blood rushing in his ears.

It’s crawling back to you in pieces, knowing that it breaks your heart to see him this way, and still letting you put him back together.

The self-disgust wretches him away from your touch and you startle, automatically reaching out again only for him to flinch back.

“It’s okay,” you try, but he scoffs. “Please, just sit down?”

“Go to sleep.”

“Marc.” You aren’t letting up, tone soft as you speak to him, but he can hear the exhaustion underneath. It’s not just from tonight, he knows—he asks too much of you. Of course, you’re tired of him. Isn’t this how he ruined things last time, too?

“Don’t.” He turns away, limping towards the kitchen with no real goal in mind. After a pause, your footsteps quietly follow him.

You should know better than to keep trying. Maybe you would, if he hadn’t worn you down so much.

“Take a break, hombre.”

God, shut the fuck up, Jake.

“All I want is to help—”

But that’s the problem, isn’t it? All he does is take and take and take, until you’re nothing but bones in his dust. You’d do anything for him, and he wishes you were less kind for your own sake.

A bitter laugh erupts from his throat and before he can stop it, his voice is scathing. “If Layla were here—”

“DON’T.”

The word thunders in his head, so forceful that he can’t tell if it was Steven or Jake. They buzz in the background, begging, demanding for control, but his wounds burn. They burn and his mind is paralyzed with anger (“It’s fear, you’re just afraid—“) and his fists ache for release and this is all he’s good for, isn’t it? Fighting. Fleeing. Why do you bother with him? You can’t reason with a bull.

When Marc finally focuses back on you, his blood turns to ice. He's spoken about Layla before, telling you about their relationship, why they fell apart. Once, and only once, did you admit to being insecure in comparison to her.

You called yourself a downgrade. Marc fucked the word out of your vocabulary.

But now your expression is the same as it was that night, and it’d yank him into action if the rational part of his brain were still functional. You're frozen in place, tears welling in your eyes that you try to hide by turning away from him. It’s too late, though. The image of your face, contorted with hurt, is carved into his memory, right beside what he had told you in assurance: I don’t want you to be like her. I love you for you.

Marc needs to say something, anything. He needs to take it back. He needs to turn back time, and cut off his tongue.

But nothing comes out. Even as you glance back at him, a glimmer of hope in your gaze that he might be a better man than he is, he has nothing to give you.

All he does is watch as that hope is snuffed out by his silence, and your shoulders fall, defeated.

“I—” You’re speaking through lead, and every sound seems painful. You can’t even look at him as you shake your head, trying to get a handle on yourself. “I—I need to go.”

You should. He can’t be the partner you need right now, and staying might only make things worse. If he hurts you, more than he already has—he clenches his jaw. The thought makes his hands shake.

You shouldn’t. It’s the middle of the night, and even if he just came back from patrol, Marc knows exactly what kind of vermin might still be wandering the streets. You won’t want him to watch over you; he’d just have to pray that nothing bad happens.

It’s ultimately not up to him. You move quietly around him in order to grab a sweater (one of yours, he’d realize later, there’s probably no comfort in one of his own anymore—) before slipping on your shoes. If Steven or Jake are trying to talk to him, none of it gets through. His whole body is numb.

The sound of the door unlocking is like a gunshot. It jolts Marc just enough to know that this is his last chance to stop you, but he doesn’t.

His gaze stays steady on the floor, and you leave without another word.

[rinmession]

Now that the mania of having just seen ep 13 has worn off for me (I may have gotten a little excited), I'm more conflicted about the play segment's implications for Sakiko and Hatsune. Oblivionis's judgement of Doloris and her exclusion from knighthood carry harsh implications for Hatsune's place in Mujica, and it's really interesting squaring the circle of that judgement landing at the same time as Sakiko's acceptance of her true self and appeasement of her obsession. A lot of rambling below:

I can't read the play segment in 13 without getting the sense that Sakiko, as author, is shaming Hatsune. How else can we read Oblivionis knighting everyone but Doloris, walking past her and saying that she's no knight of hers due to her insincerity in seeking oblivion, her deeper desire to "See" her god overtaking any desire to forget? It's uncannily close to the vitriol Hatsune spits at herself in her own play, accusing herself of yearning for Sakiko and her pity--and what is Doloris doing if not seeking the pity of the goddess over and over, drawn back to Oblivionis every time she forgets? It's as though Sakiko is answering that she won't have that, that she sees through Hatsune to her impure desires. Doloris must plead to forget even her sorrow, even Oblivionis to be with her (Watch this space.), but even when she goes so far-- she does not acknowledge her as her knight. That's really twisting the knife! If the text itself isn't enough, then Sakiko scowling at Hatsune like she does in Imprisoned XII gives visual weight to this denouncement. It sits curiously beside episode 12, wherein Sakiko definitely offered Hatsune the blessing of forgetfulness without condemnation. Not only did she bear confession to her sins, but she less falls and more dives off the cliff into appeasing Hatsune's obsession-- reaffirming that she'd given her her life and intends to keep it even knowing the truth of her identity, declaring to her grandfather that she's going to live with her, and marching right back up to the attic Hatsune was so giddy to Imprison her in. It makes it harder for me to see this so definitively as Sakiko decrying her as a 'Judas' outside her circle of apostleknights, no matter my drooling. Furthermore, despite what the play implies Hatsune hardly seems chastened, whether in the brief bits we see her before the performance ('it feels like we're doing something bad pleading emoji' DOWN GIRL. DOWN) nor in her singing-- look how happy she is in Musica Caelestis. This isn't the face of a woman shamed, but one exactly where she wants to be in the haze of Ave Mujica's dream.

So what's going on here? My current theory is that the depiction in the play is partly a retelling of her path to Mujica like the rest, and partly a warning for the future. Sakiko has accepted Hatsune, but sees her impure motives and bids Hatsune to forget them in their very fulfillment. Most simply, it's a retelling of 9-12. As AmoMortTim reflect their woes that lead them back to Ave Mujica in 10, Doloris being revealed for her true desires may be reflective of Hatsune's literal unmasking-- her true reason for being in Mujica beneath the lie of Uika, despite already pledging herself to the band / seeking knighthood. Oblivionis's frustration with Doloris echoes her screaming off the ferry about being sick of the 'entanglements' and Hatsune's stubborn clinging to her sins. Here's where it stretches a little further, though it's the same line of 'forgetting' Sakiko speaks of in 12. If Doloris wants to be with Oblivionis, she must truly forget. Doloris swears not only to forget her sorrow, but to forget Oblivionis herself. In forgetting 'Oblivionis', Hatsune must forget the obsession that had brought her to Mujica in the first place-- for that twisted love is inextricably tied to her sorrow, both its fuel and byproduct. Hatsune calls herself unforgivable and hesitates to return with Sakiko in part because of it---and so she must forget it too, if she truly wishes to stay by her side. And in this, it's not just a retelling, but a warning. Sakiko knows Hatsune wants her obsessively and that it's her true motivation to be in Mujica, but that same obsession makes it impossible to forget. If you keep that desperate need in your heart Hatsune, you'll always be weighed down by your sins again some day-- and I won't keep wiping that clean for you forever. So she must start fresh-- stay by her side, but forget the reason why. So cuts the gordian knot, right?

This is where they're at now in their happy reverie. Hatsune is trying to leave everything behind just to stand at Sakiko's side, acting like everything's normal. That is forgetting her sorrow. Though she tells Sakiko she loves her, she leaves her with that and goes no further. I may very well be stretching, but I think this is forgetting 'you'. Her love is not, for now, overwhelming. They're living a new life together, unencumbered by their pasts. This is why Hatsune is so happy despite the premise of her shaming, because she wants this too-- for now, at least, she wants to leave it all behind, and she can happily be by Sakiko's side in the dream. That said, there's a couple things that leave me troubled for the future, especially now that there'll be a season 3:

1. Oblivionis still does not knight Doloris after she pledges to forget everything 5 real this time.

2. Doloris is explicitly said to have forgotten many times, yet has come back to paradise each time due to her desire.

The absence of a knighthood still makes me think Sakiko is chastening Hatsune. Maybe she doesn't quite trust her. It's no coincidence Oblivionis looks at Doloris with such cold eyes. Hatsune is set apart from the rest of Ave Mujica, and Doloris in the play only forgets so that she can be by Oblivionis's side-- her intentions remain impure, even if she's leaving them behind to achieve them. Sakiko's acceptance has terms, and perhaps Hatsune must prove herself. She hasn't yet.

...But is Hatsune truly capable of that? To the second point, Doloris's story seems to me quite ominous for the implications of their future. No matter how many times she forgets, it never sticks, and she comes crawling back to paradise. Though Oblivionis has intervened this time and threatened her exclusion, will this time truly be different? Hatsune's feelings for Sakiko, even forgotten, are the reason she's here. She dreams now, but some day it will end, and those feelings will be waiting for her. The solution of forgetting Sakiko to be with Sakiko is fascinatingly paradoxical. Sakiko living with Hatsune, sleeping behind the same bars of her attic, in the same breath of telling Hatsune to forget her, forget even her sorrow-- feels sort of like telling an alcoholic they can drink as long as they're not addicted, while putting a fully stocked bar in their house. Though they're free of the past, Sakiko is Right There. She Is The Past. She's accessible, and right where she's always wanted her. How can she forget her when she's right there by her side, closer than she's ever been? How can she lose sight of her when she has a tighter grip on her than ever before in her life?

For the moment, I think this is Sakiko's way of setting boundaries and starting fresh. And for what it's worth-- Hatsune is accepting it, smiling radiantly in the dream where she has forgotten Sakiko yet stands by her side. Good luck girls.

[whetstonefires]

#4 please !

Now see this could be tricky, because generally if I don't get some key elements written down very quickly the idea flows away again and the 'yet' disappears, even if I remember generally what it was about, but I have one this time! I am still just enough plagued by this vision that it's not out of the question I'll go for the capture, but so far nada.

Idea was basically a Jiang family character study by way of modern au. (So tw canonical abuse.) I started from the reflection, in a modern au very high chance the Jiangs are divorced, because being a divorcee wouldn't necessarily ruin Yu Ziyuan in the modern world, as long as she was allowed to control the narrative enough that she didn’t look at fault, so it might be on the table.

Especially because modern views on child abuse are such that while she'd hold back more than she already does in terms of physical chastisement, Jiang Fengmian would also be under less societal pressure to not interfere in her disciplinary system too much, and both these factors mean he’s more likely to put his foot down.

So, concept: Jiang Fengmian, when his son is eight and his daughter thirteen, forces the issue of taking in his best friends' abused orphan child whom he’s just managed to track down in a nightmarish group home, probably leveraging the fact that wherever their money comes from it's mostly his, something he usually doesn't do, but she has always known he could, and been fucked up about it (reasonable) and hated him a little (less so) and hates him so much more now (understandable but still fucked up).

They were obviously still both pressured into this marriage by their families, because I literally cannot imagine them choosing one another of their own free will, and if they did that would be an au in an even more dramatic way than being modern, and no longer work as a character or relationship study as far as I'm concerned. I mean or it’s a cql-based au, but that’s not the version of this toxic marriage I find compelling.

Situation subsequently deteriorates to the point that when the boys are around twelve some outside party observes and is repulsed or otherwise upset by Yu Ziyuan's treatment of Wei Wuxian specifically--she's emotionally abusive to everyone in the family, canonically, and it harms Jiang Cheng significantly more than Wei Wuxian, which I think is also pretty explicit on the page, but she's more openly antagonistic about going after wwx because he's basically a proxy for her husband, whom she doesn't consider to be someone she's capable of harming.

And ofc in a modern family scenario, being abusive to your foster kid is more plainly personal misconduct than being unfair in how you discipline one of your husband's many students, even if it is his favorite. Which means she's very unlikely to chase him around with a whip, but whatever she does do will sting that much more emotionally.

Anyway the outside judgement provokes a more explicit confrontation than the last four years of maneuver and attempting to balance all the competing needs according to two very different standards. And the upshot is that by the time wwx is 13, the Jiangs are divorced. To avoid making a humiliating spectacle of themselves they present a weirdly united front in court and have a very smooth uncontested proceding, although the closed meetings with their respective lawyers involved a lot of vitriol.

Yu Ziyuan, despite having a smallish trust fund and probably a job of some kind, though one that's more prestigious than profitable like uh. Olympic fencing coach. Idk what they make but it's probably not enormous. She and Cangse Sanren probably competed in the same events back in the day.

Anyway she gets a solid chunk of alimony, the house, and primary custody of both her children, although Jiang Yanli is almost 18 at this point so mostly she just gets Jiang Cheng. Everyone thinks Jiang Cheng wants it that way, including sort of Jiang Cheng; he has this idea that if he has his mom to himself they'll finally have a good relationship, even though he's also terrified of being left all alone with her. He's complicated. Families are complicated.

Also she would never have forgiven him if he hadn't concurred that he wanted to stay with his mother because she was the only one On His Side.

Jiang Yanli ofc does not move out right away when she comes of age, in part because her brother needs her, but she probably does go to college, so she's only around part-time.

Jiang Fengmian, meanwhile, keeps most of his financial assets and Wei Wuxian, and gets his kids on the weekends.

So that's all setup for how you have this situation where Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are entering high school--probably the same school, together, but no longer sharing the commute except maybe Monday mornings--and Wei Wuxian's primary residence is Jiang Cheng's dad's apartment.

It’s really chill. They get a cleaning service in once a week and eat a lot of delivery food, but they do cook at least once a week. The canonical thing where they largely agree about what’s funny and what’s right-or-wrong, and so forth, on the one hand really pops when there’s mostly no external conflict disrupting it, but also probably gains more complexity now that it’s not a thread of positivity fighting for its life against a background of drama. They get to know each other better than they ever had a chance to in canon.

Some of that isn't all that positive, because now they have the space to discover the places where they do actually have the capacity for friction, but both of them are very good at dispersing tension (I do tend to suspect jfm's dad was abusive he sure acts like it), and on the whole it's a good thing.

Jiang Cheng is going to have such a mental health crisis, and Jiang Fengmian is going to handle it so badly. Because of course when his son starts replicating his ex-wife's toxic attitudes and behaviors more now that she has primary custody, he’s going to feel guilty and like it’s His Fault, but he’s going to feel like it’s his fault that Jiang Cheng is growing up to be a shitty abusive person.

And even if he’d never say that the subtext would come through, in the assumptions he made when framing communications and so forth, as in canon, so the thing where Jiang Cheng’s father loves Wei Wuxian more than him, or at any rate likes him better and thinks he’s a better person and prefers his company, would wind up feeding into a self-reinforcing loop.

(Jin Zixuan's nasty public remark about Jiang Fengmian treating Wei Wuxian better than his own children hits Jiang Cheng significantly harder in this scenario, where he's being Tormented by the feeling that all his peers know his dad walked out on him for another son. Wei Wuxian's punch is therefore even more clearly primarily for Jiang Cheng's sake, although Jiang Cheng is probably more inclined to see it as being for his dad's. Jin Zixuan is about halfway between the Jiang kids' ages here, so he's a senior saying this shit to a sophomore.)

So that cycle builds to the point where Jiang Cheng would eventually have one of those rare moments where he resorts to actual violence, because his poisoned feelings are choking him so bad his rationality deserts him.

He’s not going to be nearly as close to actually murdering Wei Wuxian as he was in canon the night the Jiang Sect was massacred, because it’s a less extreme situation, but he still goes for the neck. So Jiang Fengmian is in his home office one Saturday about a year and a half into this new normal, and realizes the boys are fighting. He hears through the wall the accusation you stole my dad. He says to himself, well that’s terrible but interjecting myself into this situation would definitely make it worse.

Then he hears sounds of violence, and then an ominous abrupt silence, and updates that analysis.

And when he opens the door to the boys’ room, Wei Wuxian is being strangled. He’s not really resisting, which is because he’s made the call that that’s way more likely to get Jiang Cheng to snap out of it, and thinks it might make Jiang Cheng feel better to get it out of his system (because he does sort of feel like what Jiang Cheng is going through is all his fault, or at any rate is much worse as a result of decisions made for his sake) and is severely underestimating the dangers of choking, but looks to a third party like he’s already passed out and Jiang Cheng is still at it. Which is to say, it looks like a serious murder attempt on the brink of success.

So that sure made that situation worse!

So yeah that's my idea that I probably won't write but it sure has its teeth in me.

[altarfates]

@yingren.

Ren is not unlike it, the vestiges of seared meat smeared across the pan, spitting with unbridled vitriol. Jing Yuan has long since familiarized himself with the nuances that partition ren apart from the artisan he holds fondly in his memories. It would have been unfathomably cruel not to, indulgence would have his aching heart implore for something more, something that breaches the palisade of anguish corralling ren in the present. But he has learned patience, earned it in years that showed no clemency, so he doesn’t often infringe on that sanctuary of torment and instead, permits ren to approach him, to measure the breadth of his shoulders and deliberate on if this countenance, drifting between that of a friend and that of a stranger, was one warranting his ire. It has led to a precarious stalemate, his home a haven for one who virtue would demand judgement be cast upon, yet, the general remains dutiful, a mere observer as ren’s unsteady feet find purchase in the present.��

Honesty is impartial, when it is not brandished for the sake of furthering one’s agenda, only to lay bare the abhorrent truth, it remains perpetual, enduring. Jing Yuan was also taught the inherent value of that candour, did not balk before it but recognized the splitting wound it became. “ Ren.” his name comes in a steady cadence, it does not wither into contempt, does not blacken into exasperation, there’s an inferred exhaustion in it but he does well to shield ren from that, it was not his burden to bear. His comrades already endured so much, continued to endure so much, so he graciously rests that mantle upon his own shoulders and reminds himself that this was but a fragment of their tragedy. Ren vacillates on the precipitous edge of his own undoing, a terrible resentment that seethes in a tempest of fury. He repeats his name, deliberately, compelling him to occupy this moment, even if it were inundated by blinding rage. “ Ren.” the firm way it slips past his lips does not falter but it is softer this time, less commanding. His tirade bursts forth in a violent torrent, the heart-beat between recognition and umbrage holds within it a vastly stretching second. Ren bares his teeth, his lips receding in the impression of a snarl, those words pervade the whole room, resonate through the domicile he has chosen for himself and then welcomed ren into. 

“ I know that your anger brings with it an unfathomable pain.” he does not refute him, merely steps with the poise and decorum of someone worthy of the title general, into his fusillade. playing, it seems a cruel mockery to define that anguish and its corollary as a leisurely past time, that the somnolent general might be evinced as someone who did not understand the nuances of pain despite having been present, is intended to wound. It does as ren insteads it but that trace of grief does not transform his expression, finding a place only in the aureate depths of his gaze to become entombed. “ That its enormity consumes all in its wake.” the impulse of destruction is devastating, yet, as ren’s fingers encircle the glass, as it’s launched at the wall and subsequently shatters into countless sharp-edged slithers, he does not flinch. It is another lesson that has been taught, ingrained into his sinew, his bones, that communicating through only these belligerent outbursts would not truly appease ren. He had liked that glass jar, now the sediment of something viscous drips down the wall in thin rivulets. It’s a loss he has decided to mourn at a later, more commodious time. It happens with haste, as if all the tension that had churned in ren began to disgorge from him, flooding the room with a palpable foreboding as the walls constrict and begin to immure the both of them in this moment. His hands, steeped in violence, remembering only when it meant to inflict pain, thud incessantly against his chest, once, twice, forcing him to take one step back, another, each is willing, which no doubt is kindling to ren’s blistering inferno. Jing yuan feels the unpleasant stickiness that seeps into his clothing, retains how ren’s hands desperately want to find leverage over him. “ You misinterpret my intentions.” his hand comes to rest resolutely around ren’s wrist, almost startled by how gaunt it seems, how the pallor of his skin haunts the apertures closest to death. “ It is not out of charity that I have extended my home to you, nor is it altruism when I speak the truth to you.” his grip isn’t punishing but the vice of it remains a potent reminder of who ren seeks to punish, where he is directing the fervent vermillion of his anger.

“ it is not kinder than a falsehood, although, I do not expect that you ever thought it would be.” the warmth exuding from the places they touch is both merciful and compelling, his smile makes an appearance and it is at once instructable and unbearably open. “ Although, I cannot say I would have extended such an offering had I known you would bring destruction into my home.” it’s not a reprimand, not quite but almost like a reminder, resounding with a baritone far more imposing than the lamenting of shattering glass. “ I say it for your sake and for his, knowing that it is not a path tread without its perils.” the implicit whisper is that he would be beside them, both of them, if the need arose, if they needed him. “ where is it you intend on directing your ire ? do not allow it to be another faultless glass, ren.” 

[plaexus]

i get what you mean about feeling melancholic when thinking about aespa 😭. it feels like we are approaching the end of an era. maybe it’s mostly me but the vibes aren’t great right now, not just due to the k issue, but the whole year has felt off. i really hate how blatantly SM is just using aespa to extract as much money as possible. everything is about brand deals and sending them to every lame festival as possible for an appearance fee and now they are going right back on tour. the girls are overworked yet there is very little for the fans to enjoy. and i am going to wait until the comeback to pass full judgement but it feels like SM is getting cheaper and cheaper with aespa’s comebacks.

anyways this ended up more rant-y than i expected lol but i really hope this comeback goes well and the girls are content and healthy. may this be another jmjful comeback as well because they always make me feel better no matter what else is going on.

i agree with you. i think it's clear aespa haven't gotten nearly enough as a group despite being five years in. i don't want to presume what their goals are or what they themselves prefer doing as idols, but the lack of music (+ associated promotions) and group content where they just have fun spending time with each other is staggering. getting all these solo gigs is incredibly important, don't get me wrong, it's definitely a measure of success in this day and age in kpop. but it just feels so bleak to me personally haha like it just harkens back to everything that made stanning all my past ult groups less fun. i'm used to this cycle, but that doesn't make it any easier. kpop's always been a business, but now more than ever before. stanning aespa used to be really fun, but everything in this fandom drips of vitriol now and there's no reprieve from it since we don't see the girls being relaxed and happy and carefree. even rps-ing in this environment feels kinda hollow. but again, i don't want to attempt to get into the girls' heads or psychoanalyse or whatever. at the end of the day, i don't really know any of them. but i just don't want them to come out of this era in their lives with resentment or regrets

[pockyandsoda]

omfd s2ep8 spoilers & rant

originally posted to my twitter acc

i am genuinely so confused by the amount of pure vitriol some of you have towards izzy and izzy fans?? i get not particularly liking a character or agreeing with the way other people see them, but some of y'all are being absolutely disgusting towards others. what happened to cringe culture being dead, huh? insinuating people should be embarassed or ashamed to have a reaction to characters they like - having big emotions about media you love is part of being in a fandom! you're no better or less weird! oooh look at you being unwilling to forgive or accept character growth! wow! so morally superior and cool! just because you dont personally agree that a redemption arc was deserved or done well doesnt make it a fact btw.

ive been watching this season with casual viewers who are not a part of online fandom at all, and they have all very much enjoyed izzy's arc and him as a character, they are able to see the narrative importance of it, as are the writers and the crew. again, you dont have to agree. but dont act superior.

at the end of the day, this is a silly pirate show made mostly for 'haha's, and ALL of these characters have done HORRIBLE things, they're pirates ffs, that's kinda the whole point here guys! and those things are ridiculously easily forgiven (by our standards) again, because they are pirates and this is not a serious show.

izzy fans are sad, some are very very sad, maybe even a 'weird' amount! so? do you really need to dunk on them for lolz? make it out like they're insane for even liking a character that the show itself actively likes and supports and clearly wants the audience to like (in s2 anyway, and if you deny this then sorry but you're being willfully wrong)? idk why any of you are remotely surprised people like this character? starting to think some of you just wanna be edgy and seem sarcastic and cool and superior for your 'witty' twitter commentary tbh.

and of course sending any kinda negativity towards writers/cast/crew is disgusting and pathetic, but im seeing that from izzy lovers and haters alike on my feed, so dont you dare try and make it seem like a pro-izzy only issue here. and y'know what? it's also disgusting and pathetic to belittle and mock other members of the fandom, and im only seeing one side engaging in that behavior, please do humble yourselves and remember the times in your life when you have had a strong emotional reaction to things happening to your fav characters and ships. dont forget that you are also a loser with a fandom twitter/tumblr account.

and for the record, i thought the finale was genuinely good, as was all of season 2 in my opinion. all this immature negativity and faux superiority is making this fandom toxic. izzy is a popular character with viewers (casual & otherwise) and the creative team, who had a decent redemption arc. that is a fact, whether you like it or not. people should not have to feel hesitation about posting anything remotely positive about izzy out of fear of judgement or ridicule. save your cutting twitter remarks for actually problematic people.

im not even particularly attached to this damn character but the way y'all have been behaving has annoyed tf outta me.

[peachym00]

I can’t believe y’all will excuse build’s racist, homophobic and sexist comments he’s made which he admitted to and still support him how many times is he gonna keep apologizing and all his fans are gonna fall for it every time

I'm not going to keep repeating myself, so this is the last I'll say on the matter. This is my opinion, so do with it what you will.

Firstly, I'm not sure why you think I excuse his behaviour in any way. I'm assuming you're saying this to me because you read my post about him, which confuses me because I clearly say I don't justify anything he's done. The things he said are fucked up, and I do not agree with them.

However, the leaked texts are presumably old and unless it comes out that he still displays these views now or continues to in the future, then yes I support him in moving on and doing what's best for him. I also feel the need to point out that with these leaked texts come mistranslations and little to no context. And as someone who is a native English speaker and does not speak or understand Thai, I cannot take these at face value. Especially when the woman behind leaking them has a clear insidious agenda of not seeking justice, but tearing this man down and destroying him until he is nothing.

I'm going to add a few more things here to get my point of view across for anyone else that comes across my account.

I think what people are forgetting is the simple act of being human. And humans are multifaceted and highly complex. Labelling everything as simply as he said this bad thing therefore he should be cancelled and I am better than him because I would never do that is incredibly short sighted.

It is in our human nature to make mistakes, errors and bad judgements but it is up to us as individuals to decide if we should allow someone the grace of being forgiven.

You are completely justified in feeling whatever you like about Build and the situation at hand, but cancel culture does not work. I am not here to punish him and neither are you. I believe he is trying to become a better person. You don't have to agree with me but that is my belief, and if you can't handle that then block me instead of sending me or anyone else anonymous asks.

I fundamentally disagree with the witch-hunt that people are subjecting him to. If you think he is a bad person and you do not support him, then simply leave him alone, block him on all social media, and refuse to contribute towards any kind of monetary support that involves him. Sending him or anyone hatred, vitriol, and death threats make you a bully. And then, if you're acting that way because you think Build is a horrible person, does that not make you just as bad as him?

It has completely astounded me how much nastiness I've seen in this fandom. We all need to remember to be kind. You should be kind to those around you, and you should be kind to yourself. And the moment you find yourself being anything less than because of a man you do not know and who does not know you, you should take a step back and think about what you are doing.

Please don't send me any more anon asks about Build. Vegas and Pete are the characters that I have brainrot over, and they are who I will mainly be focusing on. I am able to separate the character from the actor, but I understand that that is difficult, and I don't blame you if you want to block me for that reason alone or disengage with the fandom altogether.

[necronatural]

The absolute hostility of the website that going "its extremely fucking funny to say 'I'm NOT ignoring racism, in fact i have a Homestuck Racism Workshop'" immediately veers into this bizzare vitriolic bile.

It really does feel like a stupid little slapfight suddenly gains stakes when people found out those on the other side are trans women [therefore their statements should be taken with more suspicion and ill intent]. Like its all haha until the trans-misogynistic logic pit of "wait...I like this person less for mysterious reasons...I feel like maybe they being smugly unfair and judgemental and not acknowledging they're unlikeable for very valid reasons [I don't know those reasons but they're valid]" manifests

like trans women can't do something wrong, because people need Evidence of their general feeling of dislike, and thus everything they do is "Possible Evidence Of Why They Deserve My Discomfort With Them"

& like it happens to more than just trans women. the fucking insane lindsay ellis reaction was this too, that a lot of people just didn't like her and found her uncharismatic and felt self-conscious that other people did not seem to have this reaction to her, so there was motivation to tear her down and relief when they found something. This is the entire premise of why KiwiFarms feel so self-righteous for their e-stalking too. its just insane with trans women because regardless of their charisma they STILL can't do right no matter what.

always watch out for this circular logic. scary stuff

[clarabowmp3]

I’m so interested in your take on but daddy I love him. The song bothers me because it’s clearly about/inspire by the Matty backlash, which was so justified. That man should literally be in prison. But if you can ignore that, and I know that’s a big if but it’s a little easier now that he’s not on the scene. I do like the song and the eras tour performance of it as a sort of slam on church-going do-gooders who don’t accept anything but what they themselves know to be good and pure.

oooh this is interesting cuz I’ve never rlly had the stomach to think abt it outside of the matty context! It’s not that bad of a song at least in the first half, but then it suddenly gets so much more extreme in the second half. Tbh i still dont like it much overall cuz:

I think the song goes off the rails around the ‘judgemental creeps’ line. Like I get a big theme in the song is going against/ignoring what others have to say, so I still get the ‘not wanting to listen to all the bitching and moaning’ line but then the next verse is her doubling down and dragging them (‘vipers in empath’s clothing,’ ‘sanctimonious’ etc) and although it’s just a few lines there’s so much potent vitriol packed in them. I think it’s esp jarring compared to her more subtle expression of the romance (which I’m fine with btw! for me less is more yk). It feels like a bad diss track poorly disguised as a forbidden love song

the tone is veryyy bitter, I’m sorry 😭😭 from the very first verse (“cuz they HATE you”) she fumes about these outsiders in a pretty childish tone too (which I guess fits in the context of a child rebelling against a parent but it’s not like love story which portrays them being kept apart as tragic and hence encourage ppl to root for the speaker - my point being, the childish tone hinders the portrayal of the romantic aspect of the song, so the bitter parts seem more prominent). Around the part i mentioned above ^^ it starts to sound more like a tantrum. The lackluster outro kind of returns the focus back to the relationship but it’s kind of ruined by how she throws in that one last dig (‘wine moms’)

the sentiment feels pretty juvenile. I get feeling irritated by constant scrutiny and unwarranted criticism but it feels very annoying to see the speaker acting like she doesn’t care (soliloquies I’ll never see) when she so clearly does care?? And I don’t mean in real life, i mean the whole verse abt ‘sanctimonious soliloquies’ etc. Like, the vitriol i mentioned earlier plus this being the longest song on the album which is 60% her acting hypocritical in this way. i way way prefer love story because the whole point is abt their love story. I guess the name of this song itself gives it away - it’s more abt her expressing her love for this person to others rather than to the person themselves. On top of that, she acts so petulantly abt what these elders have to say that it just feels exhausting, not compelling

All in all I think it depends what theme/msg you want to get out of the song. Personally for these kinds of songs I prefer the ‘loving against all odds’ msg over the ‘fuck the odds’ msg. Like reputation is one of my fav albums of all time and I think the songs on there do a much better job of expressing this duality (eg ciwyw, don’t blame me, dwoht). It might be because the underlying message of her being in love is more consistent there, which is what I prefer. Music is all subjective anyway but these are my thoughts :)

[magnorious]

Review: The Last Airbender Episodes 4&5

Why was Netlfix so hell-bent on adapting this show instead of making something new in the ATLA universe? Make a Kyoshi spin-off! Everyone would have been hyped to watch Kyoshi crush skulls between her thighs. Make some other avatar we’ve never heard of with complete freedom to do whatever you want with their story. The 100-year war can’t be the only conflict in the history of this world and the gap between Wan and… I believe Kuruk is the earliest-named Avatar in canon after him, is massive.

It would have been free from all the “the cartoon did this better” nitpicks and legit complaints.

If they wanted to Game of Thrones-ify it, they should have taken notes on how to deliver exposition. Opening the pilot spoiling the best reveals of season 1 would be like opening GoT with Jaime Lannister stabbing the Mad King with full context for why he did it, instead of waiting for that reveal when he’s confessing to Brienne.

“The Storm” was perfect, and you soiled it!

—

Season 1 of the original is the weakest in terms of consistency. This season has both “The Storm” and “The Great Divide”. It didn’t have the biggest budget and didn’t have the intense overarching story of 2 or 3 with the struggle over the Earth Kingdom and the climax with the Fire Nation.

So skipping and rushing a few episodes like “The Great Divide” or even “Bato of the Water Tribe” and just sifting out all the important beats wouldn’t have made too many complain. I didn’t have a huge problem with shoving 3 episodes worth of content into one menagerie because it still worked, even if it didn’t stick the landing.

But it just keeps going. If they hadn’t cut away to the Fire Nation scenes, maybe they could have reworked all this Omashu plot into one episode. I’m bored. I’d rather be annoyed, than be bored. Boredom is the cardinal sin of entertainment. They take forever in the Spirit World too with all these unnecessary flashbacks for Sokka and Katara.

Still don’t like Iroh. “It seems we are always getting on or off boats, perhaps that is our lot in life, Prince Zuko.” Wow. Sagely wisdom. I want that on a t-shirt. Totally.

*Side note: Couldn’t you keep any of the original episode titles? Name the premier “Boy in the Iceberg,” episode 2 “Warriors of Kyoshi”, episode 3 “Jet”, episode 4 “The King of Omashu”, episode 5 “The Winter Solstice”.

Aang’s conversation with Iroh in the crystal cave prison cells looks and feels like they stole it from “Crossroads of Destiny”, except that Aang is way more vitriolic than he should be. He gets indignant, but he never gets so judgemental.

When I said in my last review that these characters aren’t cartoonish enough — Bumi is supposed to be over 100 years old, as old as Aang. His actor looks 60. Costume is pretty, though and coding the kingdom of Omashu as Indian and the rest of the Earth Kingdom as Chinese implies they were their own kingdom for a very long time and got annexed so, kudos.

Bumi’s voice attempts to fill the cartoonish void but because everything else is so grounded, it’s just awkward. He got turned into a royal jerk, not just a crazy old man like he used to be. Also not letting the “Bumi” reveal happen, that even one of Aang’s ties to his old life is still kicking, is disappointing. This isn’t Bumi. Not to mention that Bumi, in season 1, would never let this happen to his city, or his prisoners of war. Manufactured drama is manufactured and we all noticed.

~Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel! Through the mountains! Secret Secret Secret Secret Tunnel! Yeah. ~

I am actually shocked they kept the hippies. Very well brought to life.

I didn’t mind episode 3 playing fast and loose with the episode order and content, but butchering the “Cave of Two Lovers” is a crying shame (and dragging it out of season 2, no less). The story of the two lovers (read by Katara, not the hippie whose name escapes me) was reflected in Katara and Aang’s journey through the caves. Romance has never been Avatar’s strong suit, but the episode was still entertaining. Now it reads like Katara and Sokka are the lovers, which is a *choice*, but no, they just bicker.

Iroh’s side plot with the Earth Kingdom soldiers, with this unnamed dude we don’t care about, certainly fills the more adult tone they insist on going for, it just doesn’t need to be here. Once again, the original got away with implication flawlessly, instead of preaching the horrors of war explicitly.

I can’t remember exactly, but Lu Ten was danced around as a topic until Iroh’s mini-sode in “Tales of Ba Sing Se”. We could see that he wasn’t all smiles, we knew the wacky uncle was a bit of a mask, but that episode showed you exactly who Iroh is when no one saw it coming. All this filler is just a whole lot of unnecessary scenes and dialogue hammering home a backstory done way better with far less.

And, that episode was in season 2. Once again, the writers can’t hold out on a mystery for anything.

*Side side note: For shame slipping a piano into the score! For shame! Get that Western percussion out of here. Maybe GoT is just on my mind thanks to that rumor, but the theme music for the Southern Water Tribe sounds a lot like the Winterfell theme in the beginning. Hell and gone from any asiatic influences.

“It wasn’t the crystals that guided Oma and Shu,” no, actually, it was. You just didn’t want to animate the wolfbats so you turned the gentle giant badger-moles into snarling beasts.

Oh, there’s Zuko’s sympathetic side in that flashback about Lu Ten. Nicely done, no notes. That’s the Iroh I want the entire season. I hear that Leaves from the Vine in the background.

—

Episode 5 opens with some ham-fisted exposition and wow, that was impressively bland. 

I… spoke too soon about omitting Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis. My mistake. And I spoke too soon about enjoying Azula and Ozai. They’re both still great, they just don’t need to be here yet.

Because they have to make up scenes for these characters, they still say a whole lot of words without saying much at all – except that Ozai now randomly actually respects his son and chastises his daughter for mocking Zuko. That’s new. Ozai is all about “self-serving flattery and coy whispers.” Dude named himself the Phoenix King and invented a rank above Fire Lord for his own vanity. He would be a loser if he wasn’t so powerful.

Okay, the show got me. I actually laughed out loud when Zuko tried to bribe the Earth Kingdom tavern keeper and it didn’t work.

Nice to see they paid as much attention to the “Great Divide” as the Ember Island Players, but for shame about “The Waterbending Scroll.” That was a decent episode. They also skipped most of “The Fortune Teller” and carved out June and *man* is that some rushed CGI on Nyla.

Wan Shi Tong?! *checks notes* 20 episodes early?! His VA is great. Gravely goodness.

Iroh accidentally reads the script notes when he says “Zhao is already making his moves and we have yet to draw our tiles”. These two are aimless, leadless, and hitting plot points like potholes.

Regarding Aang dragging Sokka and Katara into the Spirit World with him, as far as I know only avatars and Iroh can enter the Spirit World. They don’t need to be part of these scenes. When I said the writers did their homework in the pilot, they must’ve read the SparkNotes for “The Winter Solstice”, and instead filled it with stolen flashbacks from season 3.

I take it back. I take back wanting to skip “Bato of the Water Tribe”. Hakoda never got the chance to do Sokka’s ceremony, that’s why it was Bato’s job, that’s why Sokka was left behind and so much older than the rest of the kids in the village, because he wasn’t a man yet. Are all these supposed to steal from “The Swamp”? They aren’t from season 1.

Koh looks great. That’s the best part of this whole over-long sequence. Koh. Even seeing Gyatso again doesn’t feel earned when this scene doesn’t need to exist. It’s not like Katara and Sokka are learning new information, nor are they the bridge between the worlds. Aang doesn’t quite feel like the “last airbender” if he can chat with Gyatso’s ghost whenever he wants, he’s supposed to be utterly alone, 100 years divorced from everything he’s ever known.

Gyatso’s speech is nice, if I extract it from its context.

—

This show is missing artistry. Some beautiful establishing shots and cinematography, scenes I can freeze-frame and stare at and turn into wallpaper – not to mention that once again, it’s too damn dark to see anything in night scenes.

Once again, the VFX is very obvious and distracting. I know the artists aren’t to blame, but, gee, had the whole thing been a cartoon, there wouldn’t be a need for realistic CGI.

Slamming all these episodes together like this makes them messy. The plot isn’t a meandering adventure filled with side-quests anymore. It’s not written like a show where you tune in once a week for a good time. It’s written like a bingeable Netflix property, and released all at once like one. They could have at least staggered the release to two episodes at a time.

I don't think I'm actually going to finish it. At least not now. I don't want to give Netflix the view thinking I watched beacuse I was invested. I wish it were as bad as the original movie, if only so I could make fun of it.

[rakuya-nikki]

Oshi no Ko - Entry #7

Just caught up to Oshi no Ko.

Man

First of all, it feels almost unfair to compare it to other shows when its first episode was basically a movie. No, not "basically", it was like an hour and 20 minutes long, so that is a movie LOL

God and it was so gripping too, it had so much development and motion, so many twists that I genuinely didn't expect coming, and it made me feel truly involved in the plot of the world. It's almost unfair to the rest of the show, given how after the movie prologue, it essentially turns into a slice of life, romance typed thing. Perhaps not as typical as your usual shows of those genres, but it's definitely similar to it.

Yet, even when it starts devolving into that sort of stuff, it destroys the competition compared to the others given how much effort they put into the themes and topics of the world. Those being "show business". Acting, idols, YouTubers, the shady shit behind the scenes of it all, the difficulties that these human beings face trying to do these jobs, the emotional struggles, the moral quandary of faking your emotions.

As someone in the YouTube industry right now, some of the ideas really hit a note with me. Even if I'm not particularly "big", I'm definitely in a position where I can see just how human my fellow YouTube creators are, and thus, I can also see just how inhumane some people can be on the internet towards these people.

I'm not gonna lie, the little arc with Akane becoming public enemy #1 in the forums and comment sections of the show really, really struck a chord with me. Like... my god, the utter, visceral rage I felt seeing those comments. It really did not feel like made up, exaggerated shit. That really is how people can act online.

I've hated people for a lot of reasons in my life, but it's that ability to stick to such unnecessarily vitriolic comments, despite knowing less than nothing about any of the important details. The only thing stopping me from viewing the people who make those types of comments as subhuman (other than the fear of becoming just like those people), is knowing that I've made those types of comments before too. Hell, sometimes I can even get wrapped up in drama and make snap judgements about things I don't know much about.

It's in that sense that what I hate is just the culture of it all. I really, truly, despite show business. I loathe how people treat these actors and content creators as people they can just say anything about, whose worth only goes as far as their productivity in views/high ratings. The show doesn't put too much focus on hating this side of the culture, it mostly mentions it with an "it can't be helped" sort of mentality. Though reading between the lines, you can definitely tell they're condemning that nature. Looking down on it. Because that's what it's worth, being looked down at. It makes me look back on my past self, who would leave hurtful comments in YouTube videos, or judge creators harshly for no apparent reason, and it makes me think of that past self as just despicable.

Anyways, the show proved to be great for studying too. The language was very complex, and it featured a lot of modern-day lingo that I can definitely make use of, especially as someone who normally specializes in media/marketing anyways. Knowing vocabulary for it is nice.

Not to mention, even if a big emotional point was me feeling disgusted at the anonymous hate wagons, the show also does an amazing job at showcasing the... beauty of show business, as an art form. If anything, that's the main focus of which it criticizes the "business" aspect of it all. How it takes away the soul of the process, and how the characters strive to shine despite the darkness in the industry.

Really, that's just it. The strength to shine, give hope, and have fun, despite everything holding you back and wishing for you to fail, is a strength that really resonated with me. Ruby didn't get too much time in the spotlight yet, but she's a great character in this regard.

I admit, it gave me newfound courage and motivation for my YouTube career. If anything, it made me wish I had more personal friends in the field to be able to talk with, and have fun with. I do have a lot of YouTube friends online, of course, but the setting takes place in the city. A city where these people can easily meet in person and do their things. Man... wouldn't that be so fun?

I'm torn, really. On the one hand, I truly despise the industry. I hate how it strips the humanity away from these people, and how fans can grow such toxic, insane mindsets that, in my eyes, tarnishes their own sense of humanity. Viewing people and lives as a form of "business" has always put a metaphorical black hole in my stomach. It's why I stopped following the money-hungry, business drive, "stock market" typed mentality shit. Viewing life as a commodity, to me, ends up ironically stripping it of any value.

Yet... there's something I truly resonate with the strength of will that comes from being able to destroy the norms of the industry and just have fun doing what you want, or putting a lot of heart into things as an art form.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway is to be 100% concrete in my views of not being a bitch about content creators. Someone uploads something I think is cringe? Who gives a shit, go work out or something instead, fatass. Someone gets involved in some big drama? Either leave it to the police or ignore it altogether, this isn't high school anymore. Someone makes a point I heavily disagree with in a video? Okay? Who cares?

It's one thing to criticize a product, but criticizing a person under the guise that they're a content creator or whatever inherently implies that they're being treated like a product, and I can't stand for that. Life really isn't that serious. It's more important to have fun with things, and if something isn't your vibe, then unless that person is doing something truly morally apprehensible (which does happen, of course), then just let things happen.

I feel like that idea wasn't even that much of a focus of the show, but it's still the major thing I took away from it. Famous actor, famous YouTuber, famous composer, they're just dudes. Sure, they're worth looking up to. Sure, you can get happy if you meet them. But they're not gods. A "fall from grace" should never be possible, for they never had grace in the first place. They've always been one of us. No, even more, because despite being one of us, they still put in so much time and effort to make us smile or laugh or cry or what have you, and I think taking away the humanity of such efforts is just a shame.

Back to Oshi no Ko, it definitely feels like it's going down "harem" route, which is... ehhhhhh. To be honest, there are a few elements of the show that I can see a lot of people being put off of. I'm a bit numb to those types of things (which might not be a good thing), and frankly romance has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, but I'm definitely not gonna be recommending this show to everyone like I do for other things like One Piece or Haikyuu.

Speaking of which, there's been a lot of shows that I've wanted to continue consuming after catching up to the anime, but so far I've only done that with the One Piece manga. Haikyuu has gotten close to making me want to, but I guess the kinetic flow of the animation with the volleyball games made me think I'd rather keep waiting for the anime than read the manga.

Oshi no Ko is getting... pretty close to making me wanna keep up. A season 2 was announced already, but there's no telling when that's gonna release. I wanna start reading, so maybe I'll do that. As much as the animation was absolutely gorgeous, I also think I could get by with just reading the manga and not lose too much, so it could work out. We'll see how I feel...

This is the part where I'm in emotional turmoil. Where I don't want to move on from a certain piece of fiction, yet know that I should probably starting moving on soon lol... Man, this never gets easy.

Maybe I will read the manga, if it's easy to access.

Anyways, favorite character is either Kana or Ruby, though I think Aqua is a solid main role too. In terms of... that kind of favorite, Mem definitely checks off all the boxes.

Though... to be honest, another element that this show makes me really think about is idol culture (though perhaps calling that "another element" is off, given how intrinsically connected it is to the things I ranted about before). That and "waifu" culture, though perhaps the fictional nature of "waifu" cultures puts it in a less serious league when compared to people treating real women in that sort of way.

I've always been hesitant of it. Not from a purist stance, I absolutely have a lot of fictional characters that I get those types of feelings for. But... for real people? Isn't that just... weird? Parasocial relationships are a topic that's... still a bit beyond me, but just the culture around obsessing over these people, judging them as if they're flavors, where you pick your favorite, and move on if it spoils or you find something better. It goes back to how it makes everything lose its humanity. Yet... the idea of it being a source of comfort and inspiration for these people, and that the actresses are a strong source of light, makes me look up to them all the same. It makes me understand why some people look up to and love idols, to an extent.

It's complicated, huh...

Anyways, love the show. It left several impressions onto me, which is always the mark of some great media. Good time to be alive.