#I've just never seen a narrative that so clearly feels like the product of a narcissist before

[ivyblossom]

I have been watching a tv show based on a set of books about a woman who goes back in time to 18th century Scotland and lives there for a while and has lots of sex (which she's very good at, btw, the text really wants to make sure I know that, she's SUPER good at sex), I'm sure you know the one I mean.

And my question is: is this writer whose name I am deliberately not typing into this post a narcissist? Because what is even going on with this story?

I realize I'm watching the tv show and not reading the books and surely that's different, but the whole universe of this story is warped around this woman and how amazing she is, and it just stinks of a personality disorder. It's not just that she's good at stuff or important in her own story, it's that everyone she meets is obsessed with her and follows the details of her life and thinks about her all the time, she is so important to everyone, no one else really has a life that doesn't have her as a focus. The belief that total strangers would take this much of an interest in your just smacks of narcissism to me.

And every damn character has a scene with her at some point where they're like, "Yes, I tried to fight you/hated you/wronged you, but it turns out, you were totally right the whole time and I trust you completely now and love you and you were the best thing that's ever happened to me, I die now." This main character would be sorted into Sparklypoo.

Everyone is super hot for her, everyone wants her advice, even her daughter is like, "omg you should totally abandon me now that I'm just barely a legal adult, you need to be with your hot Scottish man! Sure, the man I knew as much father recently died and you leaving would leave me 100% alone in the world, but WHO CARES? Go back in time to be with historical dude!" I...yike.

Then there's the guy who's like, yey, my dad just died, we are currently at his funeral, but you know what's really interesting? This woman and her daughter and their whole life story! I am really here just to serve their needs, I was getting bored at this funeral for my beloved father figure anyway, let's go focus on YOU, ladies!

It feels like the author has very strongly identified with her main character and everyone else are just functions to serve her. I know how fiction works, I know all characters are technically functions in service to the story, but I feel like a writer really shows their whole ass when they see other people as just sort of appendages that exist to support their self-insert character, with no inner worlds of their own. (Plotting against the main character is not an inner world of their own, no it is not!)

This story has all these weird conversations where people are making choices that make zero sense from their perspective, but they are great and meaningful from her main character's perspective, and that's all that matters, they just admire and respect that main character so so much that they will ignore their own will and their own life experiences and knowledge in favour of whatever she thinks and feels, and we're supposed to take this as normal or good somehow?

So...I have to ask. Has anyone met this writer? Is she a piece of shit? Is she actually a super nice lady? I just feel like you cannot be a super nice lady and write a story like this.

[bleachbleachbleach]

It not really a ask but a opinion but I feel like bleach and magi labyrinth of magic and it prequels Magi: Adventure of Sinbad have really good transformation

Again it a opinion

We do not know what Magi: Labyrinth of Magic is, so can't comment on this.

But I guess I've never thought about Bleach as a transformation manga! (Despite currently being at the start of the Fake Karakura arc in our rewatch, and watching a seemingly unlimited number of Fraccion show off their Resurrecciones.) Now that I have thought about Bleach as a transformation manga, one thing this blog can absolutely speak to is the Bleach Rock Musicals.

We have seen a decent number of anime stage plays of various stripes--stage plays, "live spectacles", 2.5D plays, musicals--including for anime we have not seen. Prior to starting our current Bleach rewatch, anime stage plays is basically all we watched this year.

Watching BRM, we'd given the production value the benefit of the doubt for being "early" iterations of the form. Surely it's unfair to compare a Bleach Rock Musical from 2005 to the artistic vision of Engeki Haikyuu from 2015, right?

But having seen a number of the Sailor Moon musicals from the 90s, I don't actually think that's a valid vantage point from which to view our lovably atonal, shuffle-footed, polyester-wrapped shinigami rockstars. Like, BRM is not a product of the relative newness of the genre, nor the mid-aughts. It is just like that because it is LIKE THAT, that is its truest most unconstrained state of being, it is ART in its purest form, art without limitation. An expression of its fullest self. They are so valid for that and I applaud this wholeheartedly.

On the other hand, it is possible to cast an anime musical with singing talent and have the costumes look sparkly and fly af. The Sailor Moon musicals could not possibly scream the 90s any louder, but you know what? Everyone could hit notes and the scripts mostly made sense (one includes a LESBIAN PIRATE QUEEN and this is somehow only one of the like, three, storylines in that play) and the costumes were phenomenal.

This all has to do with the original ask because Sailor Moon is, of course, very much a transformation series. Clearly it's difficult to do a transformation sequence on stage, and mostly the Sailor Scouts changed off-stage while cute children in animal costumes had extremely long singing duets with limited narrative purpose (but they were very skilled at it!).

But, having witnesses some truly rapid-fire costume changes in Engeki Haikyuu, some of which included a LOT of ruffles, orchestra attire, and a few times whole-ass wings, a harness, and FLAPPING FUNCTIONALITY, I think both Bleach and Sailor Moon could pull of some absolutely rockin' transformation scenes on stage.

I would love to see a 2022 Bleach Rock Musical that goes full avant garde, the way that Engeki Haikyuu does.

You have not seen volleyball until it's been translated into a ballroom-inspired choreography that also includes a head-to-toe flying fish costume and a slanted, rotating stage and a silhouette of a man playing a melodica.

Just imagine. Imagine. The possibilities for bankai.

[dinoace2]

Enter: the Oracle

An introductory piece for my Carnival!Quetz in @sm-baby's incredible The Amazing Digital Carnival au. Much as I'd love to make this a comic, I find that my words tend to come out better (and faster!) than my drawings. This is purely self-indulgent, acting to quite literally write my oc into a narrative someone else made, but i had fun with it. I promise I'll make a post detailing her room design later!

~2k words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caine looked at the door in front of him, studying the portrait. The menu labeled this door simply as "the Oracle". The face was still a silhouette, yet to be seen or discovered, but horns were clearly outlined on the character's head.

Bubble chirped, grinning. "The Oracle: a character who- who-...." he paused, his smile fading slightly. "....i...dont know."

Caine's hand hovered over the doorknob, hesitating for a moment. This was a character that wasn't meant to exist. When he looked into the files, most of its code was deleted, and what little remained was well-hidden underneath everything else. Whatever he was about to see wasnt supposed to get past initial production stages, much less final design, and considering what kind of characters he's already seen, it was probably for good reason.

With a cautious sigh and a nod to Bubble, he turned the doorknob and pulled it open.

Sheer purple curtains covering the doorway wasn't necessarily what he expected.

He pushed them aside to reveal a floor of ebony-colored wooden boards, the walkway covered in tapestry and silk fabrics. The entire room looked soft, littered with pillows and cloth of all kind. Most of it was sheer, shiny, and purple. Shades anywhere from pastel lilac to deep wine lined the room wall to wall, all lit by floating candles with impossibly white flames.

Caine stepped into the room, tentative at first, the boards creaking beneath his feet.

The groan of the floorboards alerted whatever was occupying the room, and with an audible whoosh and a light gust of wind in his eyes, the candles went out all at once.

Looking around proved fruitless, as it seemed every source of light in the room had been smothered. The only thing visible to him was whatever the light from the menu hallway reached.

A gentle yet firm voice echoed in the emptiness. "You aren't meant to be here. Do not take another step into this room. Leave, now." Her voice was calm, confident, and laced with authority.

Caine tilted his head, squinting in the darkness to find the character. "Your door unlocked just a minute ago. Who are you?"

"Nobody. Please...get out," The voice responded, her tone never wavering. "For the sake of your own safety, human, I recommend you heed this warning."

"You- uh. You know that im...human?" He paused, chuckling nervously. "The others didn't exactly take it well when they found out...believe it or not you're already much more pleasant than most of the characters I've met so far."

"Call it intuition. I know as much as I need to know about you, and you know as much as you need to know about me. Now get out."

"Oh, but surely-" the Player was cut off when he took a step. The floor clipped out beneath his foot and he fell forward, screaming as he plummeted into the darkness below. He fell endlessly for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably little more than a few seconds.

A cool hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to an abrupt stop. He clamped his teeth shut, his entire body tensing. He took a few shaky breaths, his hand over his heart and eyes slowly opening. It was still dark, but he could feel himself moving.

His rescuer let go of his hand and he fell into something soft, with a lot of slack and give to the material.

With another whoosh, the room lit up again. He was hanging in a pink silk hammock, and while most of the room looked the same, the floor was just...gone, replaced with a seemingly endless void. Upon closer inspection, hammocks and netted flooring were all over the place, some hung from the walls and ceiling and others just suspended midair.

Something flew through the middle of it all and perched on a dark wooden beam near the ceiling. An angel? No...not quite. A serpentine beast with blue-green scales and piercing eyes. Raven black hair framed her face and ivory horns adorned her head. Massive silver-gray wings spanned nearly wall-to-wall, truly a sight to behold. An elegant purple gown glittered in the surrounding candlelight, and a velvet choker with a large black stone took its place around her neck.

She sneered, sharp eyes glaring down at Caine. "I told you not to come closer." She fell from the rafters, and Caine gasped, until she spread her wings, swooped around and settled on a netted floor near him.

He stared for a moment, then nodded. "Right...um. sorry, I didn't know...that...was going to happen...what was that about, anyway?"

The character frowned. "To put it simply, I was scrapped. No need to finish the room if the character's been abandoned. The room itself isn't exactly...tangible because of it. The design and textures exist, obviously, but it's all unfinished. that first step in the walkway was as far as they got. Tried to warn you."

He nodded. "...oh. so...why did they decide not to make you? You certainly seem exciting enough for a game like this....and very well-made, too. I like your design! What's your name?" He smiled, swinging a bit in his little hammock.

She paused, not quite anticipating that much enthusiasm. "...my title is the Oracle, but you already knew that. My name during production was Quetz, apparently for a creature that I supposedly share resemblance to."

Caine's hand shot in the air, like a child answering a teacher in a classroom. "Oh! Quetzalcoatl! The Feathered Serpent from Aztec Mythology! God of-" he paused, recognizing her expression of confusion and slight disinterest. "....sorry." he put his hand down.

Quetz nodded slowly. "...right. my intelligence doesn't extend past this game, so I've no choice but to trust you on that. It's not all that significant anyway." She sighed.

"I was intended to be a bit of a...checkpoint, if you will. A place to collect onesself and reflect on the progress players made so far. I would then read their 'fortunes', some sort of cryptic statement, and it would give a random status effect that would last until the end of the next level they played. From then on they'd be able to come back between levels if they wanted, but each time ran the risk of a bad status effect as well. It was meant to be a sort of roulette to offer a unique challenge or adjustment to the other levels. I think it was intended to keep it replayable and 'new' so they'd maintain interest and relevance for longer."

She shrugged. "They couldn't figure out the coding. It was too complicated of a concept, and even if it did work it would've been too easy for players to abuse and cheat with. So they did away with the idea entirely."

Caine nodded. "So...you were...just a minigame, then?"

"...'just'? 'Mini'...?" she paused. "...I suppose so. Seems...belittling to put it that way, though...as if im...less important..." she frowned. "...but considering I never made it past planning, it makes sense..."

"...oh. sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Its fine." She sighed. "You asked for answers, and I gave you what I had. But perhaps you'd indulge me, and allow me to ask a few questions." She waited for a confirming nod, then moved closer to him. "Why are you here, Mister Eden?"

Caine froze, almost stopping mid-swing. "...h-how did you-?"

"I was given the title of 'Oracle', what do you think that means?" She frowned. "I was programmed to know everything about this place, do you truly think I wouldn't notice when an unregistered entity entered the code?"

The Player nodded. "...I suppose that makes sense. Well...I..." he paused. "....dont remember, honestly. I know I came here for something, and I made Bubble to assist me, but once I entered the system I forgot it all."

"No, I understand that. I meant...why are you here? Or rather, how are you here? I never made it to beta testing. Playtesters never got the chance to interact with me. Sure, ive still been here, lingering in the background, but...my door has never unlocked. I've never been accessible to Players. You had to have done something."

Caine shrugged. "I dont know what to tell you. I'd just barely left the Host level, and two doors unlocked. This one happened to be closer to me, not to mention the extra cool and mysterious detail of your face being blocked out."

She nodded. "So...its likely more of an internal issue than your interference, then. Interesting."

She thought for a moment. "...you came here for something. Your intention is to retrieve a missing component, I assume." Caine nodded, following her logic, so she continued. "While I'm incapable of determining what it is you're seeking, nor whether you'll find it...i can at least try to assist."

Caine sat upright, suddenly quite eager to hear what she would say next.

"In everything that I've seen, with near unlimited access to all of the files...I can say with near certainty that you are not the only player avatar in the game right now."

Silence and shock overtook the coder. Was she saying what he thought she was? And if that was true, then...could that be what he's looking for?

"Theres another human here???"

Quetz opened her mouth, but everything stopped suddenly. All the candles went out, plunging them into darkness once more. A light appeared just below her eye level, a crystal ball of sorts that cast shadows over her face with a soft glow. She stared at it with wide eyes, and...was that fear that crept into her expression?

"Sh[$%?]!" She paused for a moment, slightly puzzled by the sprite that covered her mouth and dialogue, but shook her head, turning to Caine. "Eden! Close the hammock. Lay still. And for the love of whatever cruel god designed this place, do. Not. Move. Trust me."

Caine nodded, quickly sinking into the soft fabric.

Quetz took a deep breath, then waved her palm over the crystal ball in front of her, her claws barely grazing the glossy surface. Caine couldn't see what happened, but he could hear it well enough.

A voice echoed around them, bouncing off the walls of the endless void beneath.

"Good evening, my dear Moth."

"Hello, my King...you haven't reached out to me in quite some time...is everything alright?" There was no mistaking the slight tremor in the Oracle's voice.

"Oh, of course! All is well. Ragatha has just informed me that she had an interaction with our newest Player, and I was hoping you could tell me how he's doing?"

Quetz paused. "...from my observations, things are going quite well for him. He's found companionship with the little Jester and has gotten along well with every entity he has interacted with so far. Its likely he's currently making preparations to visit the Storyteller next."

"And where is he now, Quetzal?"

"He- well, I haven't checked in a little while. I'll be sure to let you know once I get a chance to look." She rambled the answer. "Anyway I'm sure you've got a lot to get back to! I'll talk to you again later-"

"Is something bothering you, Moth?"

The Serpent froze. "Eh- no! Not at all! I just. Uh. Oh dear, it...appears Zooble's gloinks have escaped again! I need to catch them before they clip into the Void again. Talk to you later!" She hurriedly crushed the crystal between her palms, scattering glowing particles across the room that relit the candles as they passed.

Caine yelped as the same cold hand from before grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Quetz set him down on that first wooden step and pushed the door wide open. "You need to leave."

He sputtered, turning around and grabbing her hands. "Wait! Who were you talking to? What about that other human? What else don't I know? I have more questions, please!"

She frowned. "The Storyteller is a fairly simple task. Follow her instructions to the letter and do your best not to make her upset. You have an advantage because she likes Pomni. Now get out. Please." Her tone was much more pleading on the last word, and she gave his shoulder a firm shove to return him to the hallway. She snapped her fingers, and the door slammed shut.

Caine stood up, dusting himself off. "Hm. That was....interesting. I suppose that...this 'Storyteller' is next. You ready, Bubble?"

~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! :]

Note: okay there's more to this than the scene suggests. She's very afraid of Kinger, and there are reasons that I couldn't elaborate on in this bit. I really really do love this character and I cannot wait to learn more about the other characters so I can better portray her relationships with them!

[dashawfrostart]

These Two Weeks In "Time & Again" #14: My Feelings For Facebook Are Still Surprisingly Mutual... And I'm Getting There!

A big announcement! The artist contracted a wee bit cold 🤧 This is sad, for it broke my impressive "I never get sick!" streak that lasted for, like, 7 years or so. I guess I'm not gonna get that notorious achievement anymore. And fine, see if I care! I don't like achievements anyway (which is, perhaps, pretty clearly stated in Chapter 3 😁) But don't get me wrong: under any circumstances pathetic excuses such as "having a cold or something alike" most certainly do not set me free from working on "Time & Again" 😤 They might hinder my progress, which is truly unfortunate, since the work is almost done - but that will not stop me, by any means. *for some reason, I really wanna put that weird "shake fish" smiley from DeviantArt in here*

Trying to prettify and overhaul, completely or partially, the social pages for the upcoming release of Chapter 5 is not easy at all... A long time ago - and that means well over a month ago - I submitted a name change request for my art page on Facebook, to better reflect the current obsession priority and certain ethics of the author in this great adventure. I was told that it might take up to 3 days for the changes to take effect, if approved. But it's been already that long, and there's still no change, nor can I submit a new name change request. I mean, I absolutely don't mind "Art by Dasha W. Frost" as a page title, but, honestly, "Official Time & Again Graphic Narrative Page" would simply be better right now, while I'm still working on this "genre abomination experiment of a graphic novel". That's a little bit sad to me. So this is where that post title comes from. Facebook seems to really dislike me - but you know what?! My feeling towards it is truly mutual 🤣

Somehow, I believe, constant dissatisfaction with the social netwroks has always been one of the most prominent topics I wrote on back in the day, when I used to have a secret blog on Wordpress. However, it's getting a tad too old for me (not the blog, but the topic; the blog is long gone), so I don't want to keep up with the "tradition" and I'll just move on without it. ... also, how I accidentally misspelled "networks" in the second last sentence really makes me think of yet another one Ultravox song. So, once I realized I typo'd, I just decided to leave it as is, for the sake of fun association. (I sure somehow became a big fan of this band over the course of, like, 5 months 😅)

But on a more positive note!!! I finished up all the teasers for Chapter 5 that I had in mind (and one of them you've already seen in the previous post 😁), and that's one of the biggest and the most important things I've done for "Time & Again" within the last two weeks. W00t and doot!!! You know what else happened?.. I finished up all the new inner covers (also known as Vorsatz und Nachsatz in book printing ☝) and the main cover for Chapter 5! And I really like the results 😁 (some snippets of the progress go below)

I guess you will see the finished product soon enough 😁 And yet again, I want to praise Krita's Assistant Tool: I used Vanishing Point assistant to draw a better urban perspective for the cover art. I think it turned out pretty good and significantly less crooked. Haha)))

I also finished up the author's letter that will be included into the chapter as a bonus material. I started writing it long ago, gradually adding more and more to it as the time went by. This is not what I usually do, for, at times, writing in segments might quickly become a disaster for me. Even writing future snippets/drafts of the blog posts in here often represents a sort of challenge to me - although I clearly seem to magically succeed somehow. (yay? 🥳 I guess?..) But nevertheless, this is what happened to the author's letter/afterword for Chapter 5. And it turned out good... but big 😅 However, after an attempt to figure out how to make it shorter... I simply decided to keep it as is. Because WHATEVER! You can read the whole thing if you want. It's moderately entertaining after all 😁 Or you can skips some parts in it. Or you can skip the whole thing (because you probably came here for the artworks anyway, right?..). I don't care. I just did what I thought would be good and what makes sense to me, as an author. That's all, deal with it! 😎 The readers are not obligated to like everything 😁 Also, the author's letter/afterword turned out very sincere. ... Heh, as if I can ever be insincere? That's ridiculous.

"Then, what's left now?", you ask me. Good question. Indubitably. The right answer is: not much. Not much at all. Just one more session of proofreading (damn, I hate hate hate discovering typos already after I posted stuff! 😫), and tiny touch-ups here and there, and assembling the last bonus pages from the materials I have on hand. And I also need to write a short dialogue for a certain background. An ugly dialogue, I must admit. But I'll rickroll my sleeves up (for realsies), and I'll do it. Preferably in one sitting. Perhaps even today. 💪 And shortly after that I'll finally initiate the last stage of work: I'll recut it into a webcomic. And I'll finish up drawing all the extra designs that I need for the itch.io release.

I ask myself this question more and more frequently lately: how did Lothar even end up as a protagonist after all?.. That's quite a turn of events. Originally created in late 2014 - mid-2015 as a side character/antagonist for a story about catpeople that I never happened to finish writing (and not only that, but apparently, I never even posted any substantial artwork of the catpeople Freia and Fjolvarr together, so I cannot show almost any proof... sadness), Lothar has sure come a long way. He's been through a lot - thanks to me. I never really asked his permission; I mostly just did whatever pleased me as a writer/artist. And now... we can see him as a main character in an effing blooooody graphic novel - a format that I haven't even been familiar with up until a few years ago! That is quite a change!!! And what the peck even happened to me as a content creator? I think I possibly lost my mind. But again... Lothar has sure been through a lot in the last few earthly years. And my first comedic one-shot is probably gonna be about that.

But I think that's enough talking for today. The important piece of a dialogue won't be finished today if I keep talking. See you next time!

[ablooglie-wooglie-woo]

Greta's Barbie

I watched the movie yesterday with my sister, and after letting it stew in my mind for a bit, here my general thoughts about it:

First things first, this movie is an accomplishment of production design: from the outfits to the sets, the whole thing is such an authentic recreation of several Barbie's products that it genuinely boggles the mind. I don't know which Oscar category is responsible for these, but if this movie doesn't win at least one, I'm calling bullshit.

I didn't really care for the soundtrack, I can barely remember any of the songs and most of those are there more for the joke than to fill a Amazon Music playlist, anyway.

(I got a free three months after buying a new controller, don't judge me)

All the actors are great in their roles, but biggest kudos goes to Ryan Gosling as Ken, who is a fucking blast every single second he's onscreen, and Gosling is clearly having the time of his life playing the character, joyfully chewing the scenery like a starving dog.

People on Twitter are saying Best Supporting Actor will come down to him and Downey Jr. this year, and while I have yet watch Oppenheimer, I can certainly see the case for Gosling.

Part of it, I think, is because Ken himself gets the best part of the script, his journey from innocent teenager to dude bro to positive bro being great from start to finish.

I'm not saying Barbie herself doesn't get a good arc, mind you, she isn't the personality-less purity incarnate she was in the CGi movies (yes, I did watch those growing up), but it's also much more traditional: what Barbie gets is a coming of age story of a little girl growing out of the bubble of innocence of childhood and embracing all the joys and hardships of the real world.

And it works, it's very well-executed for what it is, but it's also noticeable the way the movie never gives her many significant flaws nor does the narrative ever makes her do anything that puts the audience against her. There's just less to chew on, is what I mean.

Which ties into a criticism I heard that the movie clearly holds back on criticizing the brand of Barbie and even her parent company: for all the movie points out that Mattel's ruled over entirely by men, the CEO is more of a likeable buffoon than someone with any real malice, the entire diatribe the teenage character (whose name I forgot, I think it was Sasha?) is more played more as a joke on how she's a very meanspirited and terminally online bully rather than the perfectly justifiable complaints they are, and so on.

Personally, though, I feel it is to Greta's credit that she knew exactly how far she could push it when it comes to this movie. I've seen way too many stories that attempt something daring only to crash into the wall that is the fact the genre/medium/franchise they're running on doesn't allow for those to be fully materialized, which only ends as the story being worse than something more traditional.

And besides, while the movie might be Feminism 101, it's important to remember that the internet is not the real world, and whichever is your favorite radical feminist author simply has far less reach than a blockbuster movie. It's good that a movie like this can tackle these topics and be this blunt about it, change gotta start out somewhere.

Having said that, while I found those funny, I do think the several self-aware jokes are likely to grate on at least some of you.

All that aside, as someone who watches a lot of movies being parodied in that scene, the Ken War segment made me feel personally attacked.

So that's Greta's Barbie: just a really great time all-around, very worth the price of admission.

PS: There is an inexcusable amount of horses in this movie, fucking overhyped, overrated domesticated pricks is what they are.

PSS: Michael Cera is in this movie. He plays, as usual, a Micheal Cera character. I don't get the hype over him, honestly.

[mxtxfanatic]

AS one of the more thoughtful MXTX essayists out there, I wondered if you had seen the essay on Ao3 "The Smiling Enigma" ?(my attempt to put in a link has failed). Focused on Lan Xichen - it's a VERY different analysis than I've seen elsewhere.

Huh, I didn’t know it existed until this ask, so thank you! (I usually don’t see mdzs things unless it’s tagged with wangxian.) After having just read it, I can say that while the writer definitely has more animosity towards lxc than I do, I agree with their assessment. In fact, many of the points made in the essay are things I’d noted before on here, though not centralized under one post.

Before I get into my thoughts on it, I just want to say that I hope that people will read that analysis seriously and engage respectfully, because I remember very clearly when the “who knew about the wen remnants” essay dropped (i think that was the title) and a lot of people shit on the author for having the audacity to suggest that the cultivation world knew that wwx wasn’t building an army and were only upset cause they thought he would make a sect that would decrease their own popularity amongst new disciples, thus implicating their fav characters and sects. And now a majority of the people I see (who aren’t villain stans) accept this as fact because it’s literally what the novel says and the author didn’t pull anything out of their ass with their meta. This meta is also a textual analysis, and people should treat it as such if they are serious about literary analysis and aren’t just about absolving their fav characters of wrongdoings. Now onto my thoughts:

The thing about the mdzs characters for me is that, outside of wangxian, the juniors, the wen remnants, and Mianmian, every major character in the story is a terrible person, full stop. None of them are good people, none of them really try to be good people unless forced by circumstances, and their terribleness is never excused by the narrative from what I can tell. Some characters start off better than others and fall from grace (jiang yanli feels like this to me though I’m not counting her in major characters) and other characters are terrible from start to finish (jiang cheng, jin guangshan). However, the venerable trio for me are characters that only look good on the surface, but the more you dig the more rotten everything becomes.

Lxc was the biggest disappointment for me as a character I’d seen people rave about as the only good sect leader, the only one who cared about righteousness, the only one who tried to do the right thing, such a loving brother, etc, but when I actually read the book, all I got from him was…condescension. He gives me “mother knows best” vibes, and I always return to the scene where lxc says, with full confidence, that jgy cannot be the murderer, that lwj is blinded by his love for wwx, that he knows everyone too well and it’s everyone else who’s biased, only for jgy to be confirmed as the murdered a literal chapter later. I’ve said it before, but he only “allowed” wangxian to investigate the corpse because he “knew” they wouldn’t find anything incriminating (LOL). That told me all I needed to know about him as a character and how I should treat him. But with all this, I stand by my last post on him that this is a product of his upbringing that he was failed by and the posts before that about how he was an active participant in fanning the flames against wwx and the wen remnants, so I’m in a pitying mood with him at the moment but not a forgiving one.

(Final note: holy shit I loved that breakdown of the guanyin temple tantrum lxc threw, because I caught the obvious deflection from his own wrongdoings and how he was treating the hostage situation like an inconvenient tea party, but I didn’t catch just how many deflections he was adding and just how many lies he was knowingly telling on lwj’s behalf to make lwj appear as some poor innocent lamb corrupted by the big bad wolf. The fact that he is present for so many of the plot’s crimes but erases his presence in his speeches while shoving blame onto others? I’d noted it before but not in a tangible way, so that was a major eye-opening yikes.)

[gillianthecat]

Love In the Air episode 6

My thoughts as I watch: mostly snark, a little bit of critical analysis, a sprinkling of praise.

This episode we're back to what I think of as Dramatic Soundtrack Music. No more soothing classical.

All this tension in this scene with P' Chai, but I don't know what it means.

Here comes trouble- Same dudes from the bathroom? Ah yes.

Lots and lots of little boys posturing, its had to take any of them seriously.

They don't have to bring their own motorcycles? Why are you letting some rando asshole you don't trust borrow a motorcycle?

This seems like it must have been as expensive production - shutting down a highway in Bangkok?

I don't understand the point of this bad guy - he came out of nowhere and has no connection to any of the characters we know. Unless he's Sky's evil ex? and we're being set up for the 2nd half of the series?

When I say Love in the Air has no plot - it's not that nothing happens, it's that the stuff that happens doesn't seem to connect or build in a way that progresses or tells a coherent narrative. Which is fine! That can still make an enjoyable show, especially if you just like spending time with the characters. But its not a plot.

I'm not sure why LITA feels so disconnected and random to me. Figuring it out would require rewatching and more in depth analysis, and I frankly don't care that much about the show. But that's how it feels to me.

I don't know, its quite possible that it all builds and connects in a way that I'm just not seeing. I feel like my brain turns into a sieve when I watch this show.

Aww. Sweet Rain, trying to cheer up his boyfriend. Encourage Payu like Payu encouraged Rain. I like seeing this more assertive caretaking side of Rain. It makes them feel more like a real partnership, while still maintaining the submissive- dominant dynamic.

PayuRain is growing on me now that Payu doesn't have to act so aggressively dominant and they can just be cute together.

I'm with Rain here, I also don't understand why Payu has to race this two-bit bad guy. Especially not in a thunderstorm. Ego? "Honor?" Pshaw.

Aww. More assertively caretaking Rain. I love it! So does Payu, apparently, lol.

ooh, but maybe this race is Payu's turn for growth and a character are of his own. A girl can dream, lol.

Oh never mind, the race is the next day, and not in the rain. That's less of a terrible choice. But mostly I just find characters who do things for ego or honor boring, unless there's some interesting angst underlying their motivations.

Sorry, but I have never found motorcycle racing outfits sexy. Motorcycle riding. yes, but the outfits have always looked ridiculous to me. But I would much prefer they be protected than be aesthetically appealing.

Yeah, I really cannot find it in me to care about this race either.

Paya won! But I knew that since I'd already seen the gifs of them celebrating.

These boys do know how to kiss! And I love that Payu just abandons his opponent to go fuck his boyfriend. (In a glass walled room with everyone right outside. The sets on this show are so weird, lol.) That race was clearly a lot more invigorating for him than it was for me.

Oh wait, they just magically teleported somewhere with curtains. I appreciate a montage style sex sane, but this editing has tipped over the line into confusing. But also its really hot, so who cares.

Where even is Payu's mic to pick up that rustling as he takes off his shirt? There’s nowhere to hide it! (I know, this is Not what I should by focusing on now.)

Ok, well. That sex scene was hot. And more explicit than any in a BL I've watched yet. I appreciate the actors' bravery and commitment to making it work so well.

This morning domesticity and mutual teasing is very cute. And I enjoy seeing the contrast from their first breakfast together. (see: characters changing = a plot)

Ok, adding in a kidnapping with one 45 minute episode left. Where are we going with this? I remain skeptical.

wait what? Is this a flashback or a flash forward? Why is Rain fine and in his room? Oh, flashback. Very cute. Although I'm still unclear about when or if he already knows Payu at this point.

Final Thoughts

yep, I still have the same feelings about plot at the end of the episode that I did in the middle. I think the main culprit is that Puyu's character is so static - he has no arc of his own. And even Rain's arc is kind of at a dead end. He's still changing and growing, but its not enough to sustain momentum on its own. Stuff happens to them, and they even do stuff, but it doesn't really change either of them. And I think for me that's the fundamentals of a "plot"- watching characters change.

This all feels like someone's fantasy more than an actual story. But I'm not sure whose fantasy it is: Payu who gets to be perfect and have someone change to fit him? Or Rain, the awkward college kid who manages to land the perfect guy?

[lee-scribbles-and-doodles]

I decided to give I Am Not Starfire a chance and... frankly I personally didn't like it that much. I don't hate it, but I'm also probably never going to reread it. I'm going to make this semi-review/reaction as fair as I can. Also these are just my opinions, so if you disagree with them just take them with a grain of salt and move on.

So one red flag that DID get obliterated was Mandy's last name being Koriand'r. It's, thankfully, just Anders. Not sure if this was changed mid production due to backlash or if the ad makers just screwed it up, but whatever.

Just 11 pages in (4 of which are the cover and credits) Mandy is already slutshaming her own mother for the way she dresses. /sarcasm/ Great way to get you to like the character. /sarcasm/

Starfire has an absolutely hideously drawn thigh gap in her introduction page.

Just about the only thing the comic does right in depicting teenagers is Mandy and her friend Lincoln, who both seem dedicated to being edgelords, incorrectly labeling themselves anarchists despite being the typical anti-establishment type teen. I knew and do know a lot of teens who act like this. Any other attempts to write teens here are, frankly, cringe worthy.

This Starfire is clearly based on her 2003 counterpart, which seems odd because this book is marketed towards teens, and that show aired and ended in 2006. For context, I'm 24 now, and that show would have ended when I was about 9. I'm just barely a Gen z. Most people who are actually teens right now would primarily associate this Starfire's characterization with the TT Go! spinoff... which I believe has the target audience of 4-7 year olds. It just seems like a weird decision to not go with her comic personality in this context.

The narrative very directly tries to compare the conflict between Star and Mandy as being similar to that of immigrant parents and their children... which I guess is there, but the story itself doesn't do much with that premise. Unfortunate, as I feel more focus on that could have actually made the story interesting.

Mandy is an extremely toxic person, as she's one of those "I'm not like other girls" characters, and that makes her very hard for me to sympathize with.

I've seen defenders go "Of course she's toxic she's a teenager" but like... the narrative clearly wants us to sympathize with her, but her behaviour at certain points makes that extremely difficult. She's mean to literally everyone other than Lincoln, often for no reason whatsoever.

Just about the only thing that I'm able to sympathize with her is some of her classmates harassing her about the Titans, and the fat phobic comments she gets. However, that can only justify her behaviour to a certain extent.

The sad thing is I WANT to like Mandy, as it's rare to get fat lesbians (or fat wlw in general) in media but she's just so... ugh, at points. She's also fairly generic in terms of female YA protagonists. I feel like I've seen her a million times, with the only difference being she's not straight.

Her completely blowing up over a selfie that Claire took is stupid. She doesn't even bother to explain why it upsets her, she just yells at this poor girl and storms off. Claire is then the one to be made to apologize, despite Mandy's blatant over reaction and unwillingness to communicate.

The way the story uses Gen z stereotypes to try to relate to its audience is the kind of thing I found extremely cringy when I was teenager. Judging from some reviews I've read written by actual teens, the feeling seems to be present here for the target audience to at least some extent.

(Think how 90s cartoons and teen sitcoms had an overabundance of skateboarding and rap to try and be "cool with the kids." Yeah, it's like that but with social media and boba tea).

"It's not fun, it's hamlet" is an actually legitimately funny line imo.

Also her bird is cute.

I like Claire's fruit backpack.

Honestly, one of the only genuinly positive things I can say about this is that I like the overall art style.

For some reason Blackfire decides to attempt to kill Kori and Mandy at her school instead of taking them to Tamaran? Petty queen, ig.

Blackfire is extremely underutilized. She spends the majority of the comic spying on Mandy before the big fight.

Mandy, at the very least acknowledges she was a shitty daughter towards the end, and seems to be making attempts to be less so in the epilogue.

Her new superhero costume is lame tbh. It's just typical goth clothes with bracelets and a tiara.

Still kind of annoyed that Claire had to apologize over a selfie and that Mandy's over reaction wasn't really called out.

Other than the selfie thing, Mandy's crush on Claire is cute.

So basically, not nearly as terrible as I was worried it was going to be, but it's otherwise pretty standard YA that doesn't do much new aside from being connected with DC Comics. If you're into that kind of thing, it'll be a pretty standard read but otherwise not super remarkable imo.

Side Note: Raven is pretty in this.

Also, she and Gar snuggling is cute.

ALSO, absolutely obsessed with this image of Gar.

What the dog doing?

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hiiii!!! Me again :^) I’ll go crazy if I think too much abt Grissom suffering from land sickness so I’ll change the pace here haha

I know you’re more privy to the little details from the show so I’m curious as to what your thoughts are on the “throwback” ID pictures they showed?

These bother me so much because the details are simply… incorrect??? Grissom’s eyes are blue and why does it say Captain? And Sara isn’t 5’7” - she’s 5’10” (well, Jorja is). So now I’m just confused. Is this really just carelessness on the props department’s side or is there something wrong with LVPD’s archive 😂 because even Hodges’ ID was a mess. although if it was faked, you’d think Sara or Grissom would’ve pointed it out already lol

Thank you so much for indulging all of our questions and sharing us your thoughts! <3

hi, @cptn-stvngrntrgrs!

i think the props are just bad, honestly.

like you mentioned, the hodges documents from the premiere were an absolute mess, and then the case files grissom was looking at last week somehow were even worse.

these old badges are just more of the same.

not only is the problem of the bad information basically universal to all prop documents we've seen so far, supposedly doctored or not, but the problem is also not one that's being acknowledged by any characters within the world of the show; that so, i've got to believe it's something that's not actually meant to be part of the narrative.

i mean, grissom straight up tells sara that the fucked up case files are "authentic," mentioning nothing of the fact that just about every detail on them is egregiously wrong, which means that to him, within the universe of the show, they must look okay.

we as the audience are not supposed to have noticed that none of the dates, descriptors, or even simple personal stats on these licenses, badges, case files, newspaper articles, etc. checks out.

clearly, the production crew doesn't either expect or even really want us to be screenshotting this stuff.

they're not intending for it to be read closely.

they just want us to get the gist of "oh, this is a case file!" or "this article is about hodges!" or whatever; they don't mean for us to read past the titles at the top of the documents, much less to try to find clues in the fine print.

as for the badges specifically, grissom's is one that was actually used on the original series back in s1 and sara's was used in s2.

though the version that they use for sara in the reboot also claims that she’s a forensic psychologist, which what the hell is up with that?

they were wrong on grissom's rank and eye color and sara's height back then, too.

yay for consistency, i guess?

why they were so off on what should have been some very straightforward information, i don't know, though i think the answer there is ultimately the same one as above: i.e., they never intended for us to look too closely at that stuff. 

anyway, at the rate they're going with this, we'll probably see a lot more misinformation listed on prop documents before this season is over.

how far will they go to give grissom and sara a height difference they've never actually had?

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

[strangertheory]

Hi! I don't think I've seen you comment on Noah's recent fanmio call where he once again casually talked about Byler. I was wondering what your thoughts were, as I value your opinion. Do you think he's teasing Byler because he knows it's endgame and just doesn't care about spoiling stuff? Or do you think he's talking about it because it's actually not gonna be canon and he's just like "yeah you guys will have lots of scenes to fuel your ship in S4!" (but platonic)? Anyway, I just want to say that I really appreciate your blog and reading your thoughts and I've been following you for more than a year now! Lots of love <3

I think that Noah is acknowledging Byler's relevance to season 4 because at this point in time he's allowed to do so because whether Byler is relevant to the story is not the most important or most mysterious question that we should be asking at this point in the series.

In my opinion the way in which Noah has answered these questions implies that there is a conditional "Yes, but!" that we should be aware of. Yes, but you'll see. Yes, but it's complicated. Yes, but it's not what any of you expect.

I'm aware that there is a lot of skepticism in the fan community and that there are even fans that insist that the subtext in the show that Byler fans have picked up on is completely imagined. As you probably know: I strongly disagree. I think the subtext is very intentional. But just because certain parts of the fan community have treated Byler like a controversial or unlikely idea doesn't mean that this is the same perspective or priority that the production team has taken in all considerations. Perhaps the production team has enjoyed allowing fans to argue over these types of details for long enough and they've finally decided that whether or not Byler is relevant to the story is not as surprising a question as fans think it is. Maybe they want our focus to extend beyond "is Byler going to be canon" and for us to instead ask "in what way will the potential for an eventual romantic relationship between Mike and Will be addressed and revealed in the story?"

I strongly suspect that the way in which Mike and Will's relationship will be written is not what fans might expect.

I think that Byler will not be what fans entirely expect it to be, and that this will be for multiple reasons.

I think that it's possible that the way in which either Mike or Will navigates their internalized homophobia could create a lot of complexities in their relationship.

I also suspect, as I've addressed in other posts on my blog, that there is a meta-narrative in the show and that we might see some huge plot twists and revelations that impact all of the characters including Mike and Will and the way that they feel about each other.

I'm of the opinion that Noah casually saying that there is "some of [Byler]" in season 4 simply means that "Yes, the relationship and the idea of romance between Mike and Will is relevant to the plot" but we do not know in what way it will be written. Who has feelings for who? Are they requited or unrequited? If they both have feelings for each other will they be willing to pursue a relationship or will one or both of them decide that they don't want to deal with the social risk? Could one of them be in denial and angry if confronted about their feelings? What assumptions have we made about these characters and their stories that might turn out to be incorrect? What questions will remain unanswered by the end of season 4 and possibly even after season 5? What secrets in these characters' lives will impact this storyline in a way that is very different than what we might anticipate?

To me, the question has never been "Will Byler eventually be acknowledged and explored in canon?" but rather "How will Byler eventually be acknowledged and explored in canon?"

I am optimistic that Byler is deeply relevant to the story because I truly think that the writers have put a lot of careful thought into creating the details and foreshadowing that was woven into seasons 1-3, but my optimism is still rooted in my respect for the writers' ability to tell a compelling story about characters that I care about and not rooted in a very specific conditional expectation of how that story should be told. Sometimes when I see posts by other fans in the Stranger Things community I become worried that a few of us are narrowing our expectations so strictly that fans may be setting themselves up for disappointment.

If you take actors' statements affirming the relevance of Byler to season 4 as simply meaning "yes the idea of a possible romantic dynamic between Mike and Will is somewhat relevant to season 4," then I think that's a fairly reasonable idea. If you take Noah's statements to mean "Yes Mike and Will both return each others' feelings, Mike and Will start openly dating in season 4, Mike and Will clearly state their specific orientation with terms familiar to teenagers in 2021, they both come out to all their friends and family in the 1980s without anyone reacting badly to it, and they both live happily ever after" then I'm concerned that you might be demanding too specific an outcome and that specific expectation could hold you back from enjoying an otherwise very powerful alternate narrative that tells a different story than what you may have expected.

It can be exciting to speculate on what might happen in the show but I am doing my best to not allow my expectations to limit my enjoyment and appreciation for the canon story itself.

I think that it's important that we also recognize that season 4 is the penultimate season and that it is therefore an opportunity for the writers to both begin revealing certain secrets while also, potentially, creating more angst and conflict before resolving issues in season 5.

Thanks for Asking about my thoughts on this! I share everyone's excitement over Byler being acknowledged as relevant to season 4 by one of the actors, but I don't think we can assume to know what that means. And that's exciting! I want to be surprised. I want to be able to follow the hints and clues given to us in seasons 1, 2, and 3 and to be able to understand and appreciate the eventual plot twists and revelations but I don't want to fully anticipate every single moment or else there's nothing to look forward to.

[tenaflyviper]

Just stumbled upon the work of Emily Youcis, and I'm not quite sure what to make of her. She's apparently alt-right, but so much so that it almost seems like an act for the sake of controversy.

"Alfred Alfer" is clearly the product of someone with deep-seated issues, or someone trying way too hard to be "edgy". I love dark humor and horror, but particularly the first two episodes of her work are transparent attempts to invoke disgust: Gross for the sake of being gross, and awash in painfully annoying repetition meant to convey mental illness. To her credit, it is unsettling, which is likely the point.

Around the third episode is when a wild narrative appears. There's honest development. As a VA, when actually taking on important dialogue, Emily does an admittedly decent job. There's a twisted but interesting dynamic between traumatized dog "Alfred", and his alter ego created out of hatred, passion for revenge, and a thirst for power.

Emily does exhibit a genuine knack for incorporating music into her work in a purposeful way. Her choice of a G.G. Allin track in one short continues to speak of her white nationalist leanings (which do seep into her work later on, but again--it's so over the top that it comes off more like parody, which again leaves me to question the validity of her affiliations).

On the one hand, the extreme taboos and deviancy in her work might be seen as "cringe" to many nowadays. It's easy to take it at face value, and dismiss it as such. On the other hand, there are the seeds of something legitimately different and compelling there. Her work is a descent into madness that somewhat justifies its actions. When the titular pooch begins delving into necrophilia (which is...not held back in the slightest. Again, this is some truly warped animation) the implication is that he--not unlike Jeffrey Dahmer--just wants someone to love him, and never leave.

Emily has showed marked improvement in animation, style, and technique over time, including branching out into other mediums (I'm as-yet unsure if this is only her doing, as there are others listed in the credits). She had apparently been working on a full "Alfred Alfer" film, and released it in chunks on Newgrounds (in no discernible order). From what I've seen, there is real talent at work here, but between the subject matter and the creator's personal views, it's hard to know how to feel about it.

"Alfred Alfer" makes Salad Fingers look like a Disney cartoon. Does it go too far? Oh, yeah. Like... I could definitely do without the scenes with "The Littles" and Alfred's other imaginary friends sexually violating him (scenes which are simultaneously sad, considering the "playhouse" is supposed to be his escape/comfort/safe space, yet even there, he isn't safe from abuse). If the aim is to disturb, it is certainly accomplished in spades. In the end, one gets the impression that Emily herself may be carrying a few personal demons.

I cannot fault the highly graphic and disturbing nature of the material, as it has a purpose. Her unsavory beliefs notwithstanding, I support the right of art to take dark turns into even darker territory, even into unimaginable places--hence why I defend the work of such auteurs as Fred Vogel, Marian Dora, Gaspar Noe, and other directors known to dabble in extreme cinema.

What instantly sets Youcis apart from these others is the dedication to not just filming, but animating atrocity, giving it an entirely different impact. Animation has no boundaries--nothing to stop it from becoming as depraved and inhumane as possible. It's also the medium least expected to do so (that's not to say no predecessors exist--Mike Grimshaw is one animator that springs to mind, as does the infamous Mike Diana, who contributed an animated short to 1999's Hospital Brut). I could go on longer about Mike Diana, but his most controversial work was on the comic book page, and goes far beyond Youcis in terms of graphically disturbing content (which he was famously prosecuted for in 1994).

Reviewing material like that of any of these creators is walking a fine line: "Why would you watch that? Why would you want to see that?". That's harder to answer. Morbid curiosity, perhaps? "Do you support the acts portrayed? Do you support the artist's ideology?" Christ, no. I myself am more fascinated by the fact that someone allowed it to escape from the confines of their brain, and leak out into "polite society". Better yet--what made them even think of such things? What does that say about them? About US? And how do you approach content whose creator's values not only clash dramatically with your own, but are ultimately harmful to society at large?

I suppose that's a conversation for another day.

[all-brown-everything]

My favourite Indian films of 2018

Sorry for the wait this year. 2018 in the movies mirrored my own life a lot; the films on the list are films to love, make you feel something human, and they force you to take their characters and hold them close to your chest as if they were your own. While the most interesting mainstream movies from South Asia over previous years on this blog have excelled when they chose to experiment with the language of cinema itself, the 10 I’ve written about here have, similar to great literature, embraced pain, longing, love and everything else that comes with being alive.

10. Theevandi

I’ve seen this film being described as an “anti-smoking movie.” I couldn’t disagree more. It’s a story about the nature of habit (rather than the disease of ‘addiction’), of locating the source of your personality, your soul, and trying to change it against the will of nature. During my time in India this year, nothing brought more joy than an ice burst and cutting tea at the side of the road, perching on the side of the pavement and watching life carry on around you. And while this is a film with a main character who wants to quit smoking, it isn’t about cancer. It isn’t about that horrible sooty smell at the end of your fingers, or yellowing teeth or a decreased sperm count. It’s about how something as innocuous as a tube of rolled up tobacco hanging out of your mouth can act as a fragile crutch for the entire weight of the world.

9. Laila Majnu

Like many of my favourites this year (and every year), this re-telling of one of South Asia’s most important romances wants to know what love is. Here, we see love not as a generous, giving emotion, but as pure greed. With one of Bollywood’s most gorgeous soundtracks, that bleeds furiously out of every frame, and a constant sparkling gleam of glamour over these gorgeous young actors and the Kashmiri hills they prance around in, I enjoyed this enough just based on the commercial tropes it toys with for fun. But its real beauty lies in its brave and painful final declaration; that the most divine love may connect you to God and remove your soul from your body, but it will destroy you and your connections to the Earth, as the cruelest form of asceticism.

8. Cake

I’m including a Pakistani movie (again) because our film industries were birthed under one national identity, and I don’t see the studios of Karachi as any more culturally distant from Mumbai’s Film City than Kodambakkam. Moving to Cake, this stunning portrait of a dysfunctional family surprised me against all my instincts that it was a Western-facing production clearly aimed at piercing its way into festivals and a patronising ‘World Cinema’ bracket. It is in fact, a study of shifting societal politics in an increasingly extreme and polarised World, of figuring out where your values stand in the midst of religion, feudalism and globalisation, and accepting that when these heavy, abstract concepts weigh down on your shoulders, it is the human beings around you who will feel the strain first.

7. Golak, Bugni, Bank Te Batua

I really love Punjabi cinema. Seeing it come into its own and reclaim its cultural narratives and aesthetics from bastardizing Bollywood (where now even a film set in rural Gujarat will feature a Punjabi language song) has brought a lot of joy. Now here comes a  happy little film not set on preaching the glory of Sikkhi or telling an epic tale of brave warriors or earnest farmers, but on bringing us into the lives of a middle class Hindu Punjabi family in a small mohalla of a tier 2 city. And these aren’t the Hindu “Punjabis” of a Bollywood movie set in Chandni Chowk, who might throw in a “tussi” or “tuadi” here and there at the most. These are real people with a real culture, as intertwined with Punjab and their Sikh neighbours as they are separate. The film doesn’t patronise them by drawing humour from their novel identity; the situational character-based slapstick and witty back-and-forth theatrical dialogues exist in a warm parallel with the “World” of the movie. And then the lives of these people change in one instant as demonetisation hits, and we are hilariously reminded that whether you’re Hindu or Sikh, Northern or Southern, you are (unfortunately) still in India.

6. C/o Kancharapalem

I won't say this film stood out as a "Telugu movie", as such slight, subtle films are an anomaly no matter what language they're made in or how brash those other films produced in the same mother tongue may be. These small and quiet tales, with their shy characters who live at the fringes of society, whether that mean they are Muslim prostitutes or simple middle class teachers carving out a living in a small village, are special because they manage to transmit such humanity without stirring from the dark alleyways or shaded courtyards where they take place. Not every film needs to stand tall like an intimdsting Tolstoy tome; some can be as unassuming as an RK Narayan novella and still make us feel like they're an epic.

5. Pyaar Prema Kaadhal

Let's be honest. Casting two leads from a reality show, putting heart shaped balloons in your posters and deciding on the title "Love, Love, Love" pretty much screams "trash" doesn't it? But here was a humbling reminder that Indian popular culture can surprise you in the most pleasant of ways. These two good-looking young wannabe-stars and their social media followings represent so much about the "new India", a steadfastly singular culture (or cultures) whizzing through the fiery hoops of globalisation at breakneck speed, coming to terms with a mixed up value system, raging sexual frustration and an ever widening class gap, all of which have left a generation feeling more connected yet more alienated than ever before. This is 'Pyaar, Prema, Kaadhal', a flawed and horny love story, sweating with tension and all the repulsive angst of human emotion, yet with the glamorous musical heart of Indian cinema still beating loudly underneath.

4. Manmarziyaan

There was as much to love about 'Manmarziyaan' as there was to hate. The age-old filmi love triangle rears its head again, only this time with characters who are more manipulative and frustrating than any you've seen in a "mainstream" movie before. But while the film never forces you to judge (at times leaving you confused about whether you're actually supposed to like any of these people) it demands that you engage. It's encouraged some of the finest writing on cinema I've seen in recent years, and such an unashamedly "Bollywood" film inspiring this thrilling thought and analysis from our finest critics (whether their judgement is kind or not) warrants its inclusion on this list alone. Then there's the way its incredible soundtrack weaves in and out of scenes like the characters own breaths, the way life changing moments are obscured from the script by deafening silences and acutely observed minutiae, and of course THAT lead performance. I'm not sure if I "liked" it or not, but I sure as hell can't wait to watch it again.

3. Pari

The better the film, the harder it is to write about. 'Pari' is rich with metaphor. While being a ghost story (and a damn good one) merely on the surface, it has plenty to say about the way our society treats women, poses the question of if we can truly be born evil, and even critiques our savage treatment of "the other" in a global society where more of us are on the run than settled in our homes. But I think its biggest strength is that while it challenges you to reach into the very centre of your being and take a look at yourself and the World around you, its craft and screenwriting is so good that not at any moment does it give you a second to realise that's what you're doing.

2. Rangasthalam

'Rangasthalam' is so great. Like really really great. Once an innocuous muscle man, Ram Charan has channelled his inner Dhanush and located his physicality, writhing and slanging his way into the mind and body of the quintessential South Indian rural hero, hoisting his lungi and flicking his beedi into one of the most visceral and truly cinematic masala movies in living memory. The thumping pace and kinetic choreography (both of the rousing song sequences and the busy, lived-in frames of the rest of the movie) evoke a dusty, violent world with the same panache of Ameer in 'Paruthiveeran' or Sasikumar in 'Subramaniyapuram', while the moustache twirling dialogues and meticulous emotional beats offer as much pure fun as a "Dabangg" or a "Khakee" or any classic Hindi masala movie. I've read pieces linking the cinema of 'Rangasthalam' to film noir traditions, but to me it simply proved that the masala genre still has as much excitement to offer as any other.

1. Mukkabaaz

I'll remember 2018 as the year that Anurag Kashyap, previously India's frontrunner in the realm of "interesting" (but more often headscatching) cinema, stopped thinking with his very big brain and instead used his even bigger heart. His most straightforward film is undoubtedly his best, Hollywood-esque in its writing but firmly Indian in its sentiment. The scale is small - empty boxing arenas, bleak winding village paths and a cast plucked from the TV screen - but its emotions are pure opera. This is a timeless film, and though it laughs at the ridiculousness of modern India, poking a nasty smug finger at caste oppression, petty politics and the bureaucratic nightmare of simply trying to stay alive, it defies analysis. Much like the song at the centre of the story, the violently stunning 'Paintra', it only asks that you feel. And what more could we want from cinema?

I've had so much fun at the movies this year. From dancing to Dilbar in the cheap seats of G7 in Bandra to reciting Dhanush's Maari 2 dialogues at the bus stop outside Ilford Cineworld, Indian movies have continued to punctuate my life and bring me more joy than they have any right to. I can't wait to do this all again this year. What were the films that stirred you over the last 12 months? Let me know. Xx

[shanastoryteller]

SHANA HOW DO YOU START WRITING A STORY? I have the idea of how it will end and a VERY BASIC plot, but I've never attempted to write an actual book before and all I have are half-finished stories. How do you start the first chapter and plan for plot-related scenes? How do you weave a narrative out of the tiny bits of actual story I have? Any advice here? :(

oh wow i’m just the WORST at advice!!!

but i talk here about my horrible and messy writing process when it comes to starting a story

and i’ve talked about my shit outlines before, but i guess here take a some examples?

under the cut i’ll put my outlines for cut from the same cloth and chapter three of survival is a talent. idk if can really recommend planning this way because it’s … a disaster, but it’s the way that works best for me ???

also i want no sass from any of you about my horrible outlines, YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE THEM THEY’RE JUST FOR ME, but i’m making an exception and posting them just as an example of how i plan stories, because i get a lot of asks about it

especially with survival is a talent, you can see my final product deviates from my outline A LOT. so i’m also very against sticking to your outlines. 

also, honestly, if it’s under 10k i … probably didn’t even do an outline. i didn’t write a single thing down when i was writing an invincible summer until the partway through third chapter, so more than 50k into writing it

anywho, here you go, i hope this helps???

arranged marriag au

izuku attended UA in the general mprogram, and eventually switched to support

he got one for all when he was 13 and kept it a secret for Reasons

all for one is maybe probably dead? no he’s the big bad. but he hasn’t been active.

all-might is the only dad he’s ever known, his real dad being very absent. inko isn’t thrilled about the turn her sons life has taken, and has a kinda strained relationship with toshi, but she knows her son loves and respects him and she can’t deny him that

all-might’s issues with his form aren’t as bad, and they’re a huge secret - no one but the ua teachers and some other people know. endeavor finds out and threatens to tell everyone, unless izuku marries his son. toshi is fucking pissed that endeavor would even propose that, but izuku doesn’t even have to think about it. he agrees instantly.

his best friends are mei hatsume and hitoshi shinso. bakugou is his best best friend.

he acts under the secret identity deku as all-might’s sidekick. bakugou is also a side kick, and one of the few people that know all his secrets. also one of the few people that are publically known to know both izuku, his childhood bff, and deku, his fighting / hero partner.

his cover is working with mei in her support items company, and he actually does contribute a large amount to that. todoroki thinks he has an intelligence quirk.

everyone thinks izuku has the same quirk as nedzu (high spec), just to a lesser degree, and that he just thought he was quirkless until he went to ua and nedzu took an interest in him. in reality it’s just a cover and he really was quirkless, but now he has one for all.

bakugou to todoroki: he has the same quirk as principal nedzu. if i’m worried about someone, it’s not going to be midoriya.

shouto takes midoriya to this hero social thing, and watches him and bakugou interact, and is like um???????? and everyone is like uh okay, this is fine, it’s nothing to worry about i’m sure.

they go home, shouto is jealous but feels like he doesn’t even have a right to be jealous, and midoriya is like, well, i was hoping to dance with you actually, or sometihng equally sappy, and then they have sex

the just. have a lot of FUCKING sex.

someone kidnaps midorya because he’s shouto’s husband, and a bunch of other people, and the truth comes out when he fucking DESTROYS them

midoriya tells shouto the whole truth, and he has shouto’s mom move in with his mom, and izuku and shouto live happily ever after

oh also deku officially comes out as deku

so, background pairings: aizawa/hizashi, tenya/mei, kirishima/bakugou/uraraka

add in scene where pro heroes are called away “should we all really be going?” “we’re leaving the sidekicks behind, it’ll be fine.”

bakuou discovering his mom has been take. mei being taken for tenya. others. uraraka’s parents. didn’t take someone for everyone, only the top sidekicks.

todoroki did get a message - they’re broadcasting everything. they’re all gathered in izuku’s house. todoroki is a mess. the rest of his family show up. inko and yukiko are fast friends, even in a criss.

bad guy monologue. izuku being like wtf?? discovers all for one is in charge.

shinsou, bakugou, and inko trying to come up with reasons to do nothing. bakugou wants to charge in, even though it’s a trap, but shinsou tells him they’re fine, they don’t know. bakugou is worried that izuku will choose to protext his secret over over saving everyone.

heroe are on their way back. they don’t know what’s going on.

once izuku gets confirmation that all the hostages are in the room with him, he goes wild. hand guy is about to touch mei when he does it. reveals that he’s deku to the world.

bakugou and inko go wild. they all get a text with a location. everyone bucked up to go.

they have to fight all for one. todoroki pov, notices how similar deku and bakugou fighting is to izuku and bakugou dancing.

izuku finally tales all of the one for all quirk to beat all for one. he gets away, but he’s hurt.

family reunion scene. everyoen takes their respective loved ones and bounces. have people reactions to deku.

izuku and shouto have a Talk and then there is Sex

add nezu scene and shiga deciding to send nobus

siat third year

draco keeps offering to curse his cousin and his family. harry discovers that draco has rather a lot of freedom, as his parents, especially his father, is rather busy. draco casually uses the floo network to visit pansy and blaise often. harry thinks draco’s parents are rather cold, and uncaring. draco thinks that harry’s family needs to be cursed.

they got each other bday presents, but are saving them until they see each other at hogwarts. draco got harry gifts from japan, where he visited the past summer with luna and his mother. harry is incredibly worried that draco will think it’s stupid, but he picked the first iris that bloomed and carefully pressed it, and did the same for the most beautiful iris each full moon, so he has a mini boquet of iris flowers.

chapter opens with harry panicking about aunt marge. he calls draco, who tells him to take the knight bus and stay calm. mention the dog. draco’s worried, clearly, but he won’t tell harry why.

draco talks wistfully of meeting harry in diagon, but they know its a bad idea. show a scene of draco with pansy and blaise. mention dobby.

draco is super worried about harry one the train.

mention draco’s silver buttons

add in crookshanks

golden trio have a convo about draco’s dad and allegiances. mention imperio and vertisarium.

draco knows what sirius black being free means because he’s not a moron. it takes a while for him to figure out that harry doesn’t know, then he tells him. draco talks about his cousin. says he’s a black and can’t be trusted. “draco, you’re a black.” “yes, and very few people trust me.”

the thing with buckbeack really is an accident. harry is really worried about draco - it is a lot of blood. lucius comes down, furious. draco tries to tell his dad he’s fine, but he stands up too suddenly and whites out, and lucius has to told him up right. is upset because his son is hurt and because he can’t be affectionate with him in front of all these people. lucius decides buckbeak needs to die.

draco tries to pretend his arm isn’t bothering him, which it is because it’s a magical wound. but pansy does all his chopping and what not and draco just oversees.

draco doesn’t like lupin, and won’t say why. he and hermione have a convo about it, and decided not to say anything, for very different reasons. or he just assumes hermione told him. “i really need to stop assuming people tell you anything”

use polyjuice so harry can go to hogsmead?

draco and the twins develop a friendship.

draco becomes a chaser in 3rd year, and gives harry way more of a run for his money as a chaser. he scores so many points for his team that sometimes even when harry catches the snitch, they still lose. this is also why the twins become friends with him, because they spend a lot of energy constantly trying to knock him off his broom

sirius gets in and draco freaks the fuck out, as do the other slytherins. draco looks him over. sends over luna to sleep by harry, who brings ginny.

snape does werewolf lessons

hufflepuff vs gryffindor game. draco’s the one who performs wingardium leviosa to save him, subtly. only his friends and a couple of professors notice. not a soft or nice fall, but it means he just has bruises and broken bones. later, lupin will realize the wingardium leviosa that saved harry was draco’s was harry. maybe draco’s charm gives dumbledore enough time to cast his?

draco has to go home for christmas because otherwise his parents will go mental. but he gives harry his gift with stern instructions not to open it until christmas. they talk on christmas, and harry sees that draco has already hung the flowers in his room. says his mom helped him. harry asks about his dad, and draco says, “dad doesn’t have an opinion about interior design. mum just does whatever she wants and dad pays for it”

everyone gets together to try and think of a way to save buckbeak, but lucius is pissed

when harry is training with lupin draco bursts in, goes in front of harry, realizes its a boggart when it changes forms, and uses ridiculous to stop it. he then turns his wand on lupin, using the disarming charm. harry wakes up and stops him from cursing him, then when he calms down asking him what he’s thinking. “oh like, you’ve never been attacked by a professor before?” “thats…a fair point.”

except now lupin has seen draco willing to take a dementor’s kiss and fight a professor for harry, so this mortal enemy thing isn’t going to work. draco tells lupin he knows he's’ a werewolf, and threatens to expose him to the school board if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut about all of this. or nah, says his mom said to let her know if lupin so much as looked at him funny, and she would destroy him. draco says and lupin ever hurts harry he’ll use his father’s solution instead, and lupin half smiles and compliments his buttons. draco says yes, they could do a lot of damage, even with simple wingardium leviosa charm. then that lupid realized it was draco who slowed harry’s fall before. draco makes comparison between buckbeak and lupin. harry’s like he’s a werewolf?? “obviously, didn’t granger tell you?” joke about needing a memory charm. lupin knows they’re not enemies, doesn’t know they’re soulmates.

draco taking patronus charm classes alongside harry after the confrontation with lupin.

while hermione is being ostracized by ron and harry. she hangs out with the slytherins. her and draco really do get along scarily well. draco agrees with hermione that the firebolt should be inspected. very odd moment for everyone, really.

scabbers is supposedly eaten by crookshanks

harry says that cho is kinda pretty and draco gets pissy. harry and ron vs draco and hermione. they’re both just like what the fuck m8.

buckbeak verdict is announced. draco is like !!! what do you want me to do ???? and it’s actually ron who’s like don’t worry about it mate, we know you tried, can image my dad would be too pleased if i was mauled by buckbeak

slytherin vs gryffindor game - harry still catches the snitch and they win, but thanks to draco on chaser they only win by 100 points, so slytherin still gets the quidditch cup. wood curses up a storm that malfoy switched to chaser, he’s far too good at it. draco is worried harry will be pissed they got the cup, and he’s a little indignant, but mostly he’s … kinda proud of draco? because there were almost no fouls this game. slytherin won mostly fair and square. lee jordan spends a lot time commentating that malfoy switching to chaser was the worst thing that ever happened to gryffindor.

draco follows them down to hagrids. finally admits that he feels guilty and stiffly apologized to hagrid, saying he tried to talk his dad out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. hagrid is instantly endeared, because he is the best person in all of the hp series. says something about he shouldn’t have brought something that dangerous. draco calls hagrid ‘scamander stock’ and he tries to make it sound like an insult, but by the way hagrid tears up it’s clear it’s a compliment. they see lucius and the executioner coming, and draco panics - his dad will be pissed if he finds him. hagrid hurries all of them out and gives draco and affectionate pat on the way out.

they all end up following into the whomping willow. sirius, lupin, and snape. pettigrew.

draco is more concerned about sirius than lupin - figures a black with a vendetta is more worrisome than a werewolf. look at his mother, after all. he and sirius get into an argument about it all. is like wtf about the scabbers thing.

snape appears, they fight. harry disarms him, and draco is like fuck this noise he uses the memory charm on him from behind, then ron knocks him out. lupin: “i thought you struggled with non corporeal tied charms.” draco: “…. i do.” no one has any idea what condition snape will wake up in. draco’s like if snape finds out about us, that’s fucking it, he’ll never keep the secret. golden trio’s like that’s your head of house!!! and draco shrugs and is like whatever he’s kind of bastard, really. and sirius laughs and says he’s not all bad or something like that.

deal with the pettigrew thing

snape has only lost a few hours worth of memory. he asks why draco was there, and draco is like ??? i saw someone sneaking around and told you and followed you out, what the heck.

draco and harry go back in time. draco knew about the time turner. harry “why does no one tell me anything” potter. he summons a snake, and harry uses parseltongue to tell it what to do. it captures pettigrew. draco and hermione are anxious, looking for whoever cast the patronus, but harry realizes it was him, and does it. they steal buckbeak and take him to sirius. they’ve captured pettigrew. trials are not easy things, so black should stay away until some sort of bail is posted on him or something. but authorities do get called.

pettigrew does escape custody, but not before everyone sees him. so he still helps resurrect voldemort, but the sirius’s trial / case is still be reviewed. MOTHERFUCKING PLOT TWIST lucius agrees to represent sirius in trial. people point out that won’t help his believability any, and naricissa is like my cousin deserves the best and the best is my husband, get fucked.

draco’s talk with lupin. banishes his silver buttons, and says that lupin should stay because he’s a great teacher, and exactly what they’ll need to survive what’s coming. call’s it his “furry little problem” unknowingly echoing james. lupin laughs, lighter. harry bursts in saying he’s heard. draco is like oh good, maybe he’ll listen to you. but lupin ignores them both and ruffles their hair.

silver trio is there. just. reacting to things, hanging out.

ginny sticking her nose in things, while being bffs with luna.

maurader’s map locked so it can’t be changed or altered. our group amends it so it can’t be altered by any but the original six.

add crookshanks and scabbers