#he should suffer more both for the plot and aesthetic

[flyolai-brainrot]

i am shriveling away

[therealrichardpapen]

Since I presented the Tragic Hero and Fatal Flaw and even got a prize for it, I will try and explain here how it works and maybe touch upon The Secret History.

Aristotle was the first one to define the tragic hero based on his studies on drama; and the tragic hero is usually the main character. Tragic heroes typically have heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their own downfall.

He believed that a good tragedy must evoke feelings of fear and pity in the audience since he saw these two emotions as being fundamental to the experience of catharsis (the process of releasing strong or pent-up emotions through art). As Aristotle puts it, when the tragic hero meets his demise, "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves."

Aristotle define some characteristics, and according to him, a tragic hero must:

Be virtuous: The character should be both capable and powerful (i.e. "heroic"), and also feel responsible to the rules of honor and morality that guided Greek culture. These traits make the hero attractive and compelling, gaining the audience's sympathy.

Be flawed: While being heroic, the character must also have a tragic flaw (also called hamartia) or more generally be subject to human error, and the flaw must lead to the character's downfall. On the one hand, these flaws make the character "relatable," someone with whom the audience can identify. Just as important, the tragic flaw makes the tragedy more powerful because it means that the source of the tragedy is internal to the character, not merely some outside force. In the most successful tragedies, the tragic hero's flaw is not just a characteristic they have in addition to their heroic qualities, but one that emerges from their heroic qualities—for instance, a righteous quest for justice or truth that leads to terrible conclusions, or hubris (the arrogance that often accompanies greatness). In such cases, it is as if the character is fated to destruction by his or her own nature.

Suffer a reversal of fortune: The character should suffer a terrible reversal of fortune, from good to bad. Such a reversal does not merely mean a loss of money or status. It means that the work should end with the character dead or in immense suffering, and to a degree that outweighs what it seems like the character deserved.

Knowing all these facts, THE TRAGIC FLAW is a literary device that adds dimensionality and reliability to a character. It also help extend the plot line leading to a tragic downfall. Tragic flaws add reliability by making characters more relatable, as humans tend to have positive and negative traits that impact their lives, just as character traits impact the course of the plot in a fictional story. Tragic flaws contribute to the plot by contributing either directly or indirectly to a character's tragic downfall.

Regarding The Secret History, Richard's fatal flaw was his desire and need for the aesthetic "a morbid longing for the picturesque", as he states in the opening. He was obsessed with how things should appear and aestheticism. The lengths to which characters are prepared to go to keep up appearances inevitably bring about their downfall.

[kittleskittle]

I just need to take a moment and gush about Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 and how much it's altered my brain chemistry, especially recently, and talk about why you - yes, you! - should take the plunge and watch it!

I've always gotten the vibe that people unfamiliar with Gundam beyond the basics think of it as your run of the mill cool giant robot/mecha anime, but it's so much more than that. Yes, there are many very cool giant robots, but there's a reason why Gundam, especially the Universal Century timeline, is so beloved to this day and remains a cultural mainstay in Japan. The entire UC - from 0079 to Unicorn and all of the OVAs and AUs and movies in between and beyond - is worth watching, but I'm going to focus on the original, 0079, because no other Gundam series has topped it for me yet.

Don't let the dated (but very charming and distinct) animation fool you; 0079 still holds up incredibly well today. The story and characters are timeless and touch on themes like the tragedy and horror of war, hope in desperate circumstances, and how much of one's soul and humanity they must sell in order to survive.

Here's the synopsis, per Wikipedia:

"Set in the futuristic calendar year 'Universal Century' 0079, the plot focuses on the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation, with the latter unveiling a new giant robot known as the RX-78-2 Gundam piloted by the teenage civilian mechanic Amuro Ray."

But this summary just barely scratches the surface, and doesn't tell you exactly what makes 0079 so special, so I'll talk a little about why it's so special to me specifically. Let's start with one of my favorite subjects in stories, the depiction of trauma and war!

And oh boy, does 0079 have that kind of content in spades. Certain moments continually haunt me, like these scenes of Amuro - who's only 15 here - grappling with PTSD as a conscripted child soldier. It's still one of the best portrayals I've ever seen of dissociation.

To add, 0079 doesn't shy away from showcasing the horrors of war front and center and how they affect soldiers and civilians alike, and it never lets you forget this specific theme for a single episode. I mean, even the mere concept of a colony drop is terrifying, and this moment is shown at the start of the first ~10ish episodes. Sorry, Sydney.

I'd like to talk about the art a little, because while there are those out there who dislike how dated it is, my opinion is that it's unique, well-designed, and full of incredible little animation flairs. For example, Amuro is often shown biting at his thumb, and there are many similar moments - like a soldier trying to wipe sweat off his brow without realizing that he's still wearing his helmet. It's little things like this that makes the characters feel very real, especially when taken alongside the writing.

Later on, 0079 also has several experimental animation sequences that are gorgeous and visually interesting - and also, they're peak 70's aesthetic. The entire sequence this shot comes from plays in my head frequently, both because of the visuals and the sheer emotion it inspires.

And then there's the characters. Each and every character, even antagonists like Char and the Zabi family, is so beloved to me and many others. Most major characters get solid arcs that continue throughout the show's 42 episode run, and even the characters you may not initially like start to grow on you. By the end, the White Base crew - Amuro, Sayla, Bright, Mirai, Frau, Hayato, Kai, Ryu, and the kids - feels like a true family who have suffered through the trials of an awful war, but you're left with the feeling that it'll ultimately be okay, because they have each other.

Does 0079 have its issues? Of course. Everything does. While I find that it was very ahead in a lot of its concepts, it's still a product of its time. A lot of people also have issues with the pacing at the end, due to the series being initially unpopular and therefore getting cuts to its planned 50 episode run.

But still, it remains at the very top of all of Gundam for me - and in fact near the top of my favorite pieces of media ever - because the story it tells resonates in a rare timeless way. It gets under your skin, makes you think, and doesn't let you go for a long time. It's one of those shows that I can always turn on and enjoy, and when I finish my big Gundam watch with my partner, I'll be going back to the beginning and watching 0079 all over again, because it's just that good.

There's so much more I could say, but I'll leave it here. Consider giving a 46 year old anime a chance, because it truly is an all time great.

Or get Bright Slapped™. Your choice!

[glitter-stained]

Hi. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I remember reading in one of your posts that you disliked Bloodborne? If so, could you please elaborate on why? I haven't read it myself but I'd like to read your opinion.

Hi there!

So, you are indeed mistaken but I'm not sure if you read it wrong or typed it wrong so I'm gonna answer both

I haven't read Bloodborne yet, though it is on my list- it looks interesting and like the kind of trope I would definitely go for.

I am, however, betting that you are confusing Bloodborne and Nightwing: Brothers in Blood, which I loathe loathe loathe with a fiery burning passion for its demonization of BPD -Bruce Jones may not be the most psychophobic dc writer, that's a difficult competition to win when you got plots like TKJ, HiC or BFTC, but he takes "depicting mental illness as monstrous and repulsive" to a new, extraordinarily shameless level. I'm only half kidding when I say Tentatodd being sexy would have made bib better, because the idea of "we're gonna take a character going through a blatant bpd episode and transform him into a nasty tentacle monster so repugnant that his image would make even the bravest Tumblr monsterfuckers hesitate" is not innocent at all. I've said it before, aesthetic portrayal plays a super important role in manipulating a reader's empathy, and DC uses it all the time to punch down on mentally ill people. But even aesthetic aspects aside... Jason is transformed into a man-eating tentacle monster. What do want me to add to that. The point makes itself. And it's so frustrating because I love unhinged, chaotic, campy plots, I love big swings, theoretically a story where my fav is randomly transformed into a tentacle monster while having intense family drama and then it's never properly resolved/touched upon again? I should have loved this bullshit, should have been right up my alley, but instead Jones wrote that in a way so vicious to mentally ill people that whenever I read this comic I think of the way I've seen my patients with bpd get treated and I want to bite a big chunk off my wall.

And though I don't know if Jones knows he's depicting BPD (and despite how it's maybe the comic that makes it clearest, perhaps even more so than uth or bftc), Jones makes it very clear that Jason is going through a psychiatric episode, that is in fact the explicit in-story explanation for his behaviour.

I mean, there's other stuff too. Generally speaking I feel like Brothers in Blood is not only a dumb comic but also a really arrogant one. You know when you read a comic and you have to stop and squint because "wow you think you're so smart, huh?" That's brothers in blood. An insulting, stupid comic that thinks it's sooo clever.

But mostly it's the treatment of mental illness.

Also to be clear I'm not saying people are evil/a bad person for enjoying BiB even though it's brutally psychophobic. I often find myself enjoying very flawed comics like Batman: The Cult or some of Dixon's Birds of Prey, and I can engage with them critically while still appreciating elements of the characterization -what I mean is, you don't have a moral obligation to hate Brothers in Blood. I acknowledge the camp, the messiness, the modelling thing -if anything I'm pissed that so many good ideas were wasted in a comic I hate so much. But I personally have dedicated a good part of my life to fighting stigma on mental illness, it's something that I'm confronted with all the time at work, so that leaves me with zero tolerance for Jones' bullshit. That doesn't mean Dixon or Starlin are any better than him, or that I believe issues like racism or misogyny are less bad of course not- it's just that I engage with comics primarily through their depiction of mental illness, which means I am doomed to an existence of torment and suffering and also fuck Bruce Jones.

[monacos-darling]

ive been thinking about hanahaki rosquez and ong marc getting that surgery its giving the abo abort that baby discourse like bitchhhh he ain't gonna suffer thru allat unless the surgery has a MASSIVE recovery time and also a MASSIVE cost personally. and even then it'll only be a seasonnnnnnn (which he wins! half a lung and a dream and still lapping 2 tenths in front of the entire gird my goat) and is that enough for them? like even if the flowers were in valeeee (eye do think. he is delulu enough that it wouldn't happen. also its about the person believing the other does not have feelings for the them marc is tooooo obvious for that like bitch is staring at vale w fuck me eyes after a single HINT is dropped about vale taking him back he's literally looking at vale every week like pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease. but what IF!) IS HE GOING TO CONTACT MARC? like he's is nottttt contacting the devil pleaseeee he's is getting Off that bike and Getting That Surgery. like pregnancy au he is trying to convince everyone he's virgin mary he is joking to everyone this is due to his feelings for his unfulfilled 10th championship he is deluding himself into believing its NOT for marc. but if they decide to keep it they are NOT telling each other vale is finding marc fainted in a bathroom toilet with petals scattered around him aesthetically and there's a whole blood stained flower next to his mouth laying on the marble slated floors like a painting at the yearly gala (alex is. indisposed for unclear fanfiction plot reason. don't ask) marc is finding out through gossip sites he is committing corporate espionage he is bribing the yamaha doctors to find out whats happening and why vale is so sick. reconciliation is not happening without a major MAJOR intervention and honestly aus are such a fun way to imagine what could have been.......

ALSO! i love imagining rosquez in situations bc they are both so fucked up no one have even a close to normal reaction about itttttttt. i DOOOO think however that if the surgery makes the person lose feelings FOREVER it might be different..... marc who loves SO deeply and SO hard and is (in my head) a romantic at heart never being able to feel again...... vale. who makes decisions from his hearttttt (ducati. just to name one) losing all feelings FOREVER! well i don't think any of them would take it. but then again would ANY sane person take it .? also I've never been able to figure it out like do the flowers just never stop growing once theyve appeared? would therapy help.... what even happens when they find out the feelings are reciprocated ? flowers just magically disappear? like PERSONALLY i think having a recovery period where the flowers roots (symbolising the DISTRUST the BELIEF that the s/o doesn't have feelings for them) detach themselves from the lungs thru constant repetition of their loveeeee (whump!!!!!! hurt comfort!!!!!! #putmenthroughkidnappingsagain2024) and they have to cough up their remaining flowers in order to start healinggggg is SO fun. i love pain :)

all this to say i think more people on here should start writing hanahaki aus there's one fic on ao3 that FUCKS but also hasn't been updated since 2018.... ao3 user zjemciciastko if ur still on here and still alive dm me.... i love u...

[kaibutsushidousha]

How would you rank the Pokemon champions and villain bosses?

1) N: The most written character in all of Pokémon.

2) Guzma: Nothing in Pokémon made me feel things as much as first visiting Po Town did. That plus his background tidbits form a very sympathetic loser I care for a lot.

3) Lusamine: The tragedy of her family is delightful on all of its members, but Lusamine is certainly the weakest link to it due to being more of a perpetrator than a victim. I also love both of her designs, with her Nihilego form being easily the second-best-looking Pokémon woman, behind on Valerie.

4) Maxie and Archie: Accidental comedy duo. Their goals are stupid in the most endearing and memeable ways, and their reactions to the consequences of their actions somehow still manage to be a resonating moment. Ranking them separately is silly, but if I had to, Maxie is the best for his general pretentiousness, inside jokes, and being the Jouji voice in Master Sex.

5) Blue: The rival becoming the Champion for 5 minutes is a perfect endpoint of a rival arc and every one of Blue's successors, even the ones that are better characters than him, suffer from not being the one who pulled this off. Raticate-based content is also often good.

6) Alder: A cool design can carry you a long way. Seriously, he nails the wandering monk aesthetic so neatly. Volcarona, Reuniclus, and Chandelure are also sublime picks. And I love how his contributions to the plot are meaningful advice rather than the more distant and professional company that Wallace and Cynthia offer.

7) Rose: Funny anxiety man, arguably cuter and more memeable than the Hoenn villains, only lower than them because of how messily the Galar finale is delivered. Immense bonus points for his part as an accessory to Bede's character.

8) Wallace: Like with Alder, a cool design can carry you a long way. Milotic as an ace is also an immense plus. I suppose Emerald also makes him useful, but if that was a major factor, Cynthia would have been a lot higher.

10) Lance: Having the second-to-last boss become a sequel final boss always has a big feeling of downgrade, but that's offset well enough by making him cool in the Red Gyarados arc and his relationship with Clair.

11) Cynthia: Infodump character for Sinnoh mythology, which is not nearly as interesting as it should have been. Gets some points for the generally great choices of Pokémon and for actually feeling powerful in gameplay.

12) Kukui: Funny professor with a lot of presence but none very memorable. Being the Champion fight, and a surprisingly challenging one, is a big shock, but nothing really amazing on further thought.

13) Archer: Pathetic underling, therefore immediately more interesting than his nothingburger boss.

14) Leon: Dude that game insistently tries to sell as cool but never actually gets to be cool. Only above Steven because he's the one who gets to make the poignant commentaries on Sword/Shield's themes and because he's genuinely good as an accessory to Hop's arc.

15) Steven: Generic champion that never gets to be interesting, but gets points for only having cool Pokémon in his team.

16) Cyrus: Gets points for being memeable but not enough to compensate for how unfun his actual character is. Being soulless by design doesn't make it meaningful when the Sinnoh games are not saying anything about emotion.

17) Ghetsis: Plot device to make N innocent. Only above Giovanni because I like some Pokémon in his team.

18) Giovanni: Just a yakuza boss without any fun projects. The Gym Leader twist was a wow thing on the first run but never amounts to anything, like with Kukui being the Champion fight. Did he ever interact with Silver? Not in anything I played, I think.

19) Diantha: Has the bare minimum story presence and doesn't even use it well.

20) Lysandre: Has one of the stupidest villain plans, made even more ridiculous by the version differences between X and Y, but his aesthetic and delivery are so bad that it manages to make it not funny.

[acourtofthought]

The theory that the Cauldron gave Elain a mating bond with Lucien instead of Az because Az was dying from the ash arrow makes no sense, because isn’t no bond better than a poorly matched bond (to an abuser, as they claim that’s what Lucien is)? Why would the Cauldron that supposedly loves Elain do that to her? It found her lovely and it gave her gifts - Seer and possibly healing - not a bond. It’s safe to say it wanted to make her happy.

Not to mention that if the Cauldron gives mates when one is turned Fae, Nesta and Cassian’s bond would have clicked into place at some point after he was healed and they were in the HoW. And how did Feyre get Rhys when she was never anywhere near the Cauldron - she was turned Fae by the seven high lords. Not to mention Rhys had dreams of Feyre for years before even meeting her.

No one can disprove E/riel have their moments and maybe if SJM hadn’t made it clear that bonds are the ultimate HEA in her books, especially ACOTAR, I would say there’s a small chance E/riel can happen. But when you look at the big picture, it’s… meh. They’re very badly mismatched and not in a “opposites attract” type of way. Just a visually pleasing sunshine/darkness aesthetic.

This wouldn’t even be a conversation if Sarah had pushed through with Moriel. She should have done that, in my opinion, and introduced gay characters central to the plot in ACOWAR that become close with Feysand and the IC.

This theory is so strange and confusing to me. Because it's basically saying, "even though we decided your bond with Az since before birth (we have proof of this happening in the TOG series)", we decided to cancel that bond because he was injured. Not dead, just injured but we didn't want to take our chances of Elain missing out on a bond. So we decided this other available fae male standing near you was a viable substitute! It's kind of suggesting that the initial bond with Az was so easily replaceable with Lucien because the Cauldron was so desperate for Elain to have someone, ANYONE. And even if she ends up with Az because he was her "true mate", she still has a bond with Lucien who she's going to always feel connected to for the rest of her life. It means the Cauldron decided Az wasn't worth taking a chance on because he looked like he was about the be the weakest link. It means the Cauldron / Mother decided it actually didn't like Az or Lucien all that much because it assigned the same female to both males meaning that if Az did make it through his injuries, one of the males was destined to feel the pain of a unfulfilled mating bond. It means SJM decided that rather than giving all her main characters successful mating bonds, she thought it would be more romantic to give one of them a bond that caused them pain and suffering. And if the Cauldron was so desperate for Elain to have a mate then why would it give her a poorly matched bond? If the entire point was to make sure Elain was granted this gift then why would it choose wrong in Lucien? The entire theory makes my mind spin because it's just so out there and it doesn't add up.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

- Barbie (Movie) - Hell yeah it's here! Got to see this with my three closest gal pals and the energy at the theatre was fantastic, it was genuinely heartwarming to see how many people were dressing up in their best cutesy/pink clothes in the spirit of the film. The movie itself was also great, one of the funniest things I've seen in a long while, pitch perfect casting, on the nose but still entirely accurate social commentary, Incredible set design, and another life affirming-You are who you choose to be story. If I had to complain I'd say that Barbie should have spent a bit more time actually enjoying aspects of the real world in order to justify her decision at the end, but I understand that they didn't want to mess with the pacing so it's whatever. This movie was pure fun, I'll definitely be showing it to my parents when it comes out on streaming. Oh Also! AroAce Barbie rights baby, she's one of us now!

- The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (Anime) - Alright, so this was a nice little story. The couple was genuinely cute both in terms of the individual characters being interesting in their own right and also having a lot of nice moments together, I appreciated how much of the story actually had interesting and relevant things going on outside of their relationship, and I'm shocked and enthused about how actually openly queer the story ended up being by the end-No ambiguity here these girls are gay as hell. I actually wish it was a bit longer - I went to the manga expecting more content and while there where a few nice extra scenes for the most part the anime covers all that's out so far. I wonder if the novels go deeper, I'll keep an eye on that as I'd really like to see if the dragon heart fusion plot went anywhere, it kind of fizzled out in the anime. Still if my main complaint is that I want more than that's not too bad, it get's a major thumbs up from me.

- ENNEAD (Webcomic) - Ah yes, the webcomic I wouldn't quite call a guilty pleasure as I don't feel guilt for enjoying a story with such a unique setting and aesthetic, genuinely engaging writing, and stellar art direction, but which nonetheless feels like one given how much I would never recommend it to anyone I know. I just don't have the mental fortitude to defend the sheer amount of trigger warnings this story would have to include before jumping in. That aside, It was on hiatus for awhile but has picked back up so I binged the new season and am enjoying the slightly lighter tone so far - At the very least the protagonist and love interest are getting a lot of cute, banter heavy, nice moments together which is a welcome change from seasons 2 kind of necessary but still tough to read mass of suffering. Also on a meta level, drama aside, it's pretty funny to see Horus trying defend the genocidal, war crime committing, unapologetic bastard that is Seth on the grounds that he's pretty and sad and is trying his best now okay? He's his poor little meow meow.

- When the Third Wheel Strikes Back (Webcomic) - For some reason a bunch of these chapters either got uploaded or translated all at once as their was like 15 with a new one each day there for a minute. Which, great! this is a fun one to binge. When they are well written, the "Please stop including me in the plot I'm just trying to live quietly" protagonists can be a lot of fun as they keep getting dragged kicking and screaming into increasingly world-altering bullshit and that's this story to a T. The humor in general is pretty great so far, and while we don't know too much about them yet I do like both deuteragonists, I'll be happy to see more of their interactions as a trio.

- Link Click (Anime) - Finished our rewatch of season 1, onto season 2. While I'm interested in the plot, I do still wish they would have spent more time with our leads outside of their job as I still don't feel like I know them very well, but eh at least their likable and serve the rising suspense well. The new OP is super cool with it's full scale rewind giving new meaning to each visual and overall the series still looks great. I like the design of the new villain though I hate the "overtly evil anime face" that he (rarely) and his subordinates (often) use - It just makes me irrationally angry with it's lack of nuance I guess.

- Lego Monkie Kid(Cartoon) - I'm a fan of Journey to the West and Sun WuKong adaptations in general so I decided to check this out despite not really being the demographic or a big LEGO fan. I'm a couple episodes into the 2nd season so far and my general opinion is that I like it but don't love it yet. The animation and voice acting is great and lego-fication aside I do like the character designs, I just feel that for now there's not enough of a central plot/lore information on the cast and a bit too much basic fighting for my taste. Mostly I just want them to address how the other journey to the west counterparts relate to the original story (are they reincarnations? Ancestors? Why does the Monkey King seem completely uninterested in them?) and feature more non-fighting related character bonding. Anyway, MK, Mei, and especially Red Son are all fun so far and I love the Macaque's demon design and the "Sun WuKongs bitter ex BF" vibes he's giving off, exited to see more of all of them.

- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Video Game) - Hmm. Well I have to agree with the general opinion that the first one was one of the lesser games in the series - I did like some of the new characters like Badd and Lang but man did the cases drag and feature a lot of uninteresting nonsense. I'm not too impressed with the 2nd game yet either though there has been some funny writing moments and Sebastian is kind of hilarious, so I feel like it will probably be better than the first.

- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Video Game) - Getting a bit burnt out from the sheer amount of Stuff to do in this game, but I did enjoy infiltrating the Yiga base and hanging out with them, they're pretty fun. Might take a longer break from it here soon and finish the game at a later date like I did with Persona 5-Great games but man is there a lot of content.

- Crazy Ex Girlfriend (TV) - Getting into the endgame now, the meta jokes are pretty fun and I appreciate the themes of self-reflection and making amends that this season has going not only for Rebecca but for the other characters as well. Songs still slap as well.

Listening to: Sway Cover and Eat Your Young Cover by Reinaeiry, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, 10 Things I Hate About You by Leah Kate, That's What I Want by Lil Nas X, I Wish and Gravel to Tempo by Hayley Kiyoko, What'll It Be and You Do/Don't Want To Be Crazy from Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Rule #4 by Fish Inside a BirdCage, and This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole.

[tenebrius-excellium]

[Incoherent screaming about Avatar 2 in no particular order]

W I T H  S P O I L E R S ;  O B V I O U S L Y

Neytiri’s song!!!! I connected with her so much in that moment!! What a perfect way to recapture the first movie’s events!! Also her sentiment... her love for her people... her grief. She suffers so much.

That moment where Lo’ak swims into Payakan’s gaping mouth. Whoa.

The use of the color yellow in connection with Kiri. She’s like a warm hug. I love that so much about her and about that artistic choice

Tsireya be like Metkayina’s next top model

too. repetitive! they literally used shots from the first movie...!!!

the Ikran riding was nothing short of SPECTACULAR. I could have watched that endlessly.

I don’t like the boys being “military sons” because I can’t connect with that. To me, Jake was being way too hard on them. He was mad at them the entire time, yet didn’t look out for them at all. I mean, what was HE doing during all the time the kids spent training to be underwater?? He wasn’t devising any defense tactics, he was just like absent from the plot??? He didn’t even really try to fight back too?

visuals were STUNNING, music was underperforming. It’s like they didn’t even bother to write a new score. that was disappointing...

people randomly being absent from plot describes a couple things really well

SPIDER IS EVERYTHING. I know it looks like he’s not doing anything most of the time but that’s exactly the point! He’s a stray. He serves no purpose, no one wants him, yet he exists. He spends his time watching and observing how the circumstances he grew up in came to be. It happened before his time, so he’s trying to make sense of everyone’s point of view. And then he ACTS and it becomes clear that he was never going to betray the Sullys and I’m like aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The underwater breathing butterflies... I WANT ONE.

Poor Kiri suffers much too... I wish she got some explanations.

Neteyam’s burial... I cried. I hate that Jake was waking up to his other kids’ existence only when they lost the eldest son. I’ll say it again, Jake was being way too hard on his boys and weirdly soft with the girls. Bleh. But that “I see you” he spoke to Lo’ak...that was the beginning of something awesome. One of the few emotionally powerful moments of the film.

I love that the battle against Quaritch’s clone happened rather spontaneously like “ok then let’s get this over with” lol. Also with knives only. So intimate. The one-on-one wrestling was so much more personal than a machine gun standoff could have been!!

The Sully kids saved both their parents’ sanity and Idk what to think about that. Yes they have been through a lot. No it should be the other way round - the parents taking care of and comforting the kids that were ripped from their home.

NEYTIRI’S WRATH IS A WHOLE AESTHETIC IN ITSELF TO ME. It was unexpected but so rewarding. It makes sense to me why she would choose this and it’s epic to watch. That moment where Spider hides from her - ,,, AUUUGHHHHH

Also the moment Spider fights back with a fire extinguisher lol. I love how he has both human and Na’vi characteristics. He’s a kid of both worlds and will use the environment around him accordingly.

The moment Lo’ak woke up on Payakan’s back. Also the moment where the tulkun shoots the water fountain and Lo’ak goes like “that’s disgusting” XD

The Metkayina were suuuuuuuuper pretty!!!!!!!! Also tattooed tulkuns WOOWWW!!!!!!

I LOVED the open dislike between Neytiri and Ronal!!! RARELY do you see two women hiss at each other DUUUDE

I’m gonna be really, really honest about something and I hope I won’t track hate for it... look, the use of sign language underwater was obviously really smart. However. I would have much preferred more Na’vi being spoken instead. I felt the use of sign language was introduced too early and too prominently. Like, this could have been cool in the third movie. But I basically hoped for the entire movie to be spoken in Na’vi. I came for the Na’vi, not for sign language. Sure, it could be interpreted as naturally overwhelming to the viewer as it must have been overwhelming to the Sullys... but it should have been addressed as overwhelming then. They adapted more or less seamlessly, the audience didn’t. ...yeah.

It was so good seeing Grace again. Sosososososososo good. 

So many plot holes in the overall movie lol

I missed Norm. And Trudy. I’m really mad that Trudy died.

Having a female officer/General whatever lead the RDA’s evil campaign this time was refreshing though.

The callback to Neytiri’s arrows and that fateful day where she shot Quaritch was really great. I love how he hunted HER, too. 

Leaving all the scrap metal and the corpses from the first battle to rot in the forest felt really insulting to the planet of Pandora and to the Na’vi lifestyle though. Like... would you really want your kids to randomly stumble upon skeletons??? Sure they possibly couldn’t find every dead body to bury, and their priority must have been the Omaticaya casualties, but it seems really disrespectful to the humans AND to the forest to just... leave everything an open battlefield. I’m sure the military base could have recycled the scrap metal, using it for repairs on their technology. Since they were kinda cut off from terran supply ships now, they must have kept their breathing, living and research equipment up to date somehow. And the forest deserved to be natural/untouched again. It shouldn’t have become a constant reminder of what went down. Anyway...

At first, I was a little bit confused by the long aesthetic, atmospheric sequences of the movie. Like, where’d all the action go? But somehow, it was relieving to not have constant battle disturb the visual feast and the relational developments. The Sullys got a little time to regroup. To breathe. Which is a main theme in this movie. I’m glad the action came just in time and didn’t disappoint. The director chose a different narrative structure this time and it confused the heck out of the audience. But the more I let it sink in, it was the perfect choice!!! It’s what we wanted and needed!!!

I’m sure there’s more to say but it will come to me in time. This post is long enough as it is. If you made it all the way down here, THANKS for reading!!!

[novemberthecatadmirer]

A Growing List of my extremely-OOC Silm Headcanon:

Dark is not Evil, Evil is Nothingness. Evil tells you “There is no Good and Evil there is no Right Things to do everything does not matter stop worrying and love the jail.” Evil traps you in indifference and inaction while it burns the world around you.

The Void was a Nihilism hell filled with Spiders. If you get lost there the Void would eat you and turn you into a Spider.

Everlasting Darkness did not exist. Feanor was being dramatic.

--------------------

The Evil loved darkness and black and everything morbid because Melkor was jealous of Namo for his top-tier aesthetics. Namo was at least 3 times hotter than Melkor and I am not spreading rumor, he got the nice fiber artist wife and fiber people are the kindest people ever peopled. Morgoth got his revenge by filling Namo’s house with broken souls and mountains of paperwork.

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Morgoth single-handedly created mental illness. His curses and spells were depression, anxiety and ptsd.

Morgoth was the self-claimed artists that did art by destroying other people’s art. And his taste is BAD and BORING. 

You should be VERY AFRAID of Sauron.

Sauron was the personification of Orwellian Horror. For the sake of world Sauron must die. Yes he was an idea and you cannot kill an idea but it is better to kill him again and again than letting him free roaming building his lovely 1984 empires.

Sauron was not follower of Morgoth no matter how he appeared. He was plotting to overthrow Morgoth and snatch the nice piece of world domination and was happy that the Valar did the hardest part for him.

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NO. Things touched by evil were NOT EVIL. That’s the lie Morgoth wanted you to believe.

Fuck the concept of “Black Heart.”

--------------------

Elves can suicide and it did not need specific condition and it happened more often than you think. The history just did not like to mention it.

Honestly if you were chased by Sauron or Morgoth you better finish yourself first. When you see them it would be too late, they would trap your soul and forced you to fate worse than death.

--------------------

Elves can be in relationship however they want.

They had all kinds of relationship.

They had crazy ideas of relationship. (HONESTLY, dating mortals lived less than 1/10 of your past life.)

Being an elf and having crush on your cousin? Fine go for it everyone was related anyway. Turgon was against it because two of his siblings had crush on cousins and somehow ended up died and he was DONE with the mess. In general be prepared for the bad luck when you are an elf and have crush on cousin.

LaCE is nice but I do not need to know her to lead my happy life.

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Death was the Gift of Men, but Elves got Gift too and their Gift was Life.

Morgoth managed to corrupt both of the Gifts with pain and suffering and fear.

--------------------

Tolkien can have his obsession with “tall and taller and tallest,” and I am going to claim this and that and that character being short and shorter and shortest.

Tolkien can have his obsession with beautiful hair and I am going to call him a fellow mortal of culture.

--------------------

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I am still salty about the treatment of Easterlings. And orcs.

--------------------

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Everything about Eol and Aredhel and Maeglin were lazy biased incorrect writing from Gondolin survivors crushed by sorrow and guilt and hate.

People just refused to believe their wonderful princess would willingly marry with a foreigner who was a nobody lived in some weird forest.

Eol and Aredhel should never get married though. They had fucking different political views. Probably got married because they looked at each other and went “Oh how exotic,” then just jumped straight into the pit to suffer together.

Turgon was depressed and passively suicidal and stuck in inaction and if he listened to Ulmo earlier none of the mess would happen.

Everyone broke in Angband. If one was not broken that meant they did not want to break them and was preserving them for something else.

Maeglin went crazy and believed killing Earendil and sending him to Mandos would be better than leaving him to Morgoth.

Morgoth showed him some creative plans.

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There were absolutely urban climbers in Gondolin.

Idril once put a giant red pumpkin right on the very tip of the Tower of the King’s pinnacle the Cornell University way.

Nobody believed she did it even when she straight up said it a month later. She secretly was very offended.

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All the weird cave-explorer kids went to House of the Mole.

They all got killed when the city fell.

[fromevertonow]

Bloodlines vs Throne of Glass: The Two Sides of the YA Coin

!If you haven’t read either of these series but wish to, I will include vague spoilers in here. You’ve been warned!

In both these series, the female protagonist gets abducted and the male love interest tries to find her and get her back. The difference between these two scenarios though is the way in which the reunion of the couple is handled. Sure, they both go through infinite loopholes to get rid of their pursuers, but things differ the moment they finally have a moment to stop and breathe.

Let me ask you a question: once you get out of a torturous isolation that you’ve been in for months, do you think sex is one of the first things that’d be on your mind?

Because it apparently is for Rowan and Aelin. It’s been almost 1,5 year since I first read Kingdom of Ash and I’m still bothered with how SJM handled their reunion. They had their extremely brief catch up wherein Aelin explained how much she suffered during her imprisonment, but right after that they got down and dirty. It doesn’t make any sense. Wouldn’t they have wanted to just take in each other’s presence after such a long time of being apart? What is the point of including an explicit scene in a YA fantasy series where the main priority is the plot?

Then there’s Sydney and Adrian. Yes, there was a brief moment where they almost did do it… but they eventually didn’t. And that is a choice made by Richelle Mead, just as much as it was a choice of SJM to include that sex scene. Adrian even makes it perfectly clear that sex wasn’t at all on his mind when he first had a private moment with Sydney again. He just wanted to hold her and be near her. It’s literally phrased that way. In my opinion that makes their reunion even more romantic.

Recent YA stories have become much more sexed up because that is what a lot of authors/publishers think would sell better. Yes, there is a group of readers who do like to read smut, and that’s their choice, but does that mean that Young Adults should be exposed to those kinds of scenes? It’s not ‘YA’ at all, and I realize the meaning of that age group is very vague, but let’s pretend this is about 12-18 yo. These are stories for MINORS. Let that sink in!

It just so happens to be that I’m naming SJM here, notorious for her problematic inclusions of, among many other things, explicit scenes, but that doesn’t mean plenty of other authors don’t market their NA stories as YA too. It’s become a huge problem in the literary world and a lot of stories are blending into each other more and more every day bc of these marketing strategies. The same tropes, the same aesthetics, the same character sets—all because one particular story did so well money-wise. So many YA fantasy stories have immortal, drop-dead gorgeous fae in them who eventually always end in up in some sexual scenario. And it’s always the same plot: young woman finds immortal man who’s fifty times her age, they start out as enemies and learn to accept each other. But, all the while, there all these sexual connotations that could have been left out.

It’s long been established that in recent years, the lines between what is age appropriate have been blurred. But does that mean we have to agree with what is happening in front of us? An example of what is perfect for a YA with a romance (sub)plot is Six of Crows. How obsessed is the book community with all three main ships? How many of them have actually had sex? I fucking adore the complexities that Kaz brings with his phobia. It makes his attraction to Inej all the more meaningful. Every time he touches her, it’s like he’s winning a battle from another inner demon. For Inej. The woman he loves. It adds to the romance between them, but, more importantly, it is such an integral part of his characterization, his development.

Most of what’s being published in the YA genre is so superficial. It’s not about morality anymore, or winning personal battles, or showing strength. It’s all about sex. And to me, sex doesn’t sell. That is a personal opinion, but I miss the times where I could pick up a book and think, yes, this is something I can relate to. Or a book that just, simply, makes me think after I read it. A story needs to mean something. If it doesn’t offer anything beyond the superficial, then what is the point? Especially when we’re talking about the age group 12-18. A group that’s literally trying to figure out who the fuck they are. What can they make up of solid, useless smut? Explain that to me.

Ps. I know I ramble sometimes but this topic just really frustrates me

[shifuaang]

I’ve censored names because I don’t want anyone to be sent hate, but this post and the amount of likes it got enraged me so much that I had to say something about it. This truly might be the worst take I’ve ever seen about both Katara and Aang.

Let’s address how this is harmful to Katara first. The original poster seems to want Katara to keep her scars for the aesthetic™, which is already a really gross concept, but I cannot stress enough how disgusting it is to want a female character to bear permanent, painful markings in order to give a male character ‘more development.’

We are shown routinely throughout ATLA that scars are not just physical indications of trauma but emotional ones as well. 

The only person we see who has scars for “cool” character design reasons is Jeong Jeong, but even then we can assume he received them while he was fighting in the war or because he became a deserter. 

All of these characters have these scars to serve as a constant reminder of the Fire Nation’s brutality and ruthlessness. Katara doesn’t need a physical reminder of this. She already deals with the tremendous, traumatizing loss of her mother on a daily basis. How could you possibly think that it would be good to scar Katara just to ‘punish’ Aang while completely disregarding how it will affect her emotionally?

Katara should not have to bear the emotional and physical weight of Aang’s mistakes in order to teach him a lesson. 

It also completely undermines her moment when she learns she’s a healer. She gets this incredible gift that is so special to her because it means she is able to be both a fighter and a healer. These two sides of her are crucial in her fight for justice and compassion, and the healing aspect is a beautiful addition to a character who is so ‘down in the trenches’ in her approach to achieve these things.

This revelation is not only important to Katara as a character but also integral to so many pieces of the plot. If she hadn’t realized she could heal scars, she wouldn’t have offered to try healing Zuko’s in The Crossroads of Destiny. The chess pieces are constantly being set up in Book 1 in strategic and deliberate ways. I’m all for headcanons and fan concepts, but not when they dismantle the plot and characters for, frankly, sexist reasons.

Onto Aang. 

There is absolutely zero indication that Aang did not suffer the consequences from burning Katara. He is immediately remorseful. He is so incredibly guilty that he swears off firebending for good. He is attacked by Sokka, and is probably reeling over the idea that his best friends and the only people he has in this world might never forgive him for his mistake.

But Katara does forgive him, way faster than he forgives himself, as we see him struggle with memory of hurting her well into Book 3. 

Zuko burns Toph accidentally, but absolutely no one chastises him for this or holds him to the standards they hold Aang. And sure, you could argue Zuko makes his mistake as an act of self-defense while Aang is just goofing around, but Aang is literally twelve when this happened. Don’t tell me that you never unintentionally hurt yourself or others when you were messing around as a preteen. Sokka lists an array of injuries he’s sustained at the end of The Deserter, and while I’m sure most of them were self-inflicted, I can’t imagine that Katara wasn’t involved in any of those instances. They’re kids - all of them, and Aang is the youngest of the bunch, so of course he still has lessons to learn. That doesn’t mean he should have to suffer the ramifications of his adolescent mistakes forever.

His impatience to learn firebending also stems from the fact that he only has until summer’s end to do so. It’s not an excuse for him not taking Jeong Jeong’s warnings seriously, but it is an explanation. And he learns from it. The way we see him handle fire and the responsibility of bending fire in The Firebending Masters proves that he’s matured. 

Aang, Book 1: Jeong Jeong tried to tell me that I wasn't ready. I wouldn't listen.

Aang, Book 3:  All this time, I thought firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is ... it's energy, and life.

The audacity, the gall, the absolute nerve that it takes to say that Aang, a survivor of genocide who lost all of his family and friends and entire culture, “gets let off easy too much” is appalling to me. I’m not sure how many times I have to say that Aang honoring his culture and people and going against the tide - fighting back against the notion that he can’t preserve the traditions and beliefs of his people while being the Avatar at the same time - is not, by any stretch of the imagination, easy.

I don’t know how many times have to say that a child does not deserve to live with the trauma of killing someone, but I’m going to say it again. A CHILD DOES NOT DESERVE TO LIVE WITH THE TRAUMA OF KILLING SOMEONE.

If you truly still believe that the lion turtle/energybending is an easy fix, just read this meta because they explain perfectly why it is not.

And to the last point about Aang ‘getting to be with Katara’ as some kind of “reward” for winning the war, Aang never views Katara as a prize. Need I remind you that he completely drops any type of romantic expression towards her after she rejects his advances in The Ember Island Players? He lets her make the decision as to whether or not she wants to be with him. They get together because the timing is finally right for them - there is no more confusion or violence to prevent them from being together, and Katara no longer has to worry about losing someone she loves. 

[captain-azoren]

"This is how Azula ended up being flanderized from a villain who was highly competent and smug to being a crazed madwoman who is constantly being portrayed as a sadist" To add on, isn't a crazed madwoman who is a sadist essentially Azula's character post-canon? For in The Search, she helps search for Ursa so she can off her in an attempt to get rid of the voice in her head & only stops when Noriko, not Ursa, tells her that she is sorry for neglecting Azula if she was her mom. 1/4

"And then in S&S, she breaks out 6 girls from her asylum as part of a long-term seditious domestic terrorist plot to turn Zuko into a dictator, using the visage of a dark sprit from her former friend Mai's nightmare (that she was responsible for causing) to terrorize the capital, engage in mass child kidnapping, and manipulate terrorist groups to do the job before ominously vanishing into smoke, heavily implied to keep trying until she get what she wants, damn the consequences. 2/4

And before people bring up the implied asylum abuse (and Yang's WoG heavily implying Azula's mental state/actions in the comics due to the asylum), I don't think the average reader cares. For if you go onto mainstream sites like reddit and twitter, the majority seems to believe that Azula was essentially born with non-curable severe ASPD despite that going against the show's ethos's and the show/WoG (at the time) all but saying Azula was a product of nurture, not nature. ¾

So I think you hit the head on the nail that by focusing so much on the aesthetics of Azula's villainy, the show basically caused fandom, and even the creators, to ignore the humanity in Azula to the point that it basically blocks off any interesting storytelling avenues post-Sozin's Comet with Azula other than killing her, jailing her, de-bending her, and/or turning her into a scooby-doo/ Team Rocket type of villain. 4/4"

Yes, you're right, I don't think the average or casual Avatar really cares what happens to Azula, and her being THE villain of the franchise has become so essential to what they perceive should be the status quo.

It's just a waste of so much potential, and it is so frustrating how insistent so many in the fandom are about about keeping Azula from developing that potential. The reason is because Azula was carefully crafted to make her utterly unsympathetic on the surface level. She lords her power over others and intimidates them. She looks down on the weak and threatens them into submission.

I think what really stings some fans is how Azula emasculates everyone with her very presence, especially Zuko. For so much of the series she is just flat out better than him. She is far more of a threat to the Gaang than he ever was, and she is his younger female.

With Katara and Sokka, you don't resent Katara for being a powerful waterbender, because Sokka isn't a bender anyway. He's able to find his own, different strength from her. What's more, they both support and love each other. With Azula and Zuko though? She just rubs her superiority in Zuko's face, and it feels wrong. It feels unfair that she's stronger than him despite all his effort and struggles.

At some level, the narrative wants the audience to want to see Azula fall. It wants to make you wish to see this smug, condescending bully finally know what it feels like to lose, what it feels like to be humiliated, and by the very people she tormented and mocked.

To see Azula get knocked down a peg, to be put in her place, for all the suffering she's caused our heroes and Zuko, would be cathartic and satisfying, especially after two seasons of always having the upper hand and winning. It would be the sweetest catharsis to see this evil, sadistic woman be broken, brought upon herself for her own cruelty. That is right. That is fair.

But it's really not that simple, because Azula is still a kid like them, she still has a heart, and she still suffers unfairly for doing what she thought she had to do, and no one understands her or gives her a chance.

[daydream-ideas]

intro

Hello! 

This is a daydream blog centered around ideas for what to do in daydreams.

Looking for daydream plots? Bored of old stuff and looking for something new to try? 

Look no further than #the daydreaming queue !! 

Content is sfw and the spiciest stuff will probably just be kissing because I am very, very ace, but also interested in the idea of romance. (note: not all content will be romance based). May contain dark themes as well (tagged appropriately). 

I also post about my own paracosms and like to reblog other daydreamy content such as memes, aesthetics, moodboards, and quotes that I think fit the theme. 

asks and submissions accepted for both “daydream about...” and “tfw...” post types. (or just...anything else. I love interaction.) anon now accepted!

a little about me: 

You can call me Willow, as that is the name I go by on my whump blog @whumpwillow which you are free to check out if you don’t mind dark / violent content. 

I’m not a maladaptive daydreamer, but I do enjoy daydreaming as a coping mechanism and means of escapism and entertainment. I have several paracosms, some more developed than others, with their own paras and individual lives. I hope I’m not intruding on the MaDD community by using their terminology, I just wanted a space to talk about this stuff so I’m here :) 

*~ paracosm info is subject to change at any time ~*

Paracosms below the cut! 

Chalerians 

my earliest paracosm, created in the fifth grade. It’s gone through numerous different iterations and changes, but I still use it to this day as my go-to for fandom-based daydreaming. Involves dimensional travelling magical girls that can see souls and go to different worlds (ie. different fandoms) and interact with the canon characters there. Modern day. 

Lyr’s Empire

my absolute favorite paracosm, one that I love with all my heart and soul. It involves a man named Lyr (even though that’s not his first name, it’s what he goes by) who becomes king unexpectedly, then emperor, and the trials he goes through as he works to unite all the kingdoms of the continent under his empire. He meets a lot of different people and learns their stories. Medieval fantasy.

Night Star  

a witch named Alesia from a secret island coven goes to the anti-magic mainland after discovering a seer’s text about an upcoming apocalypse at the hands of the elves that populate the land. Alesia wants to stop the destruction before it starts, but wasn’t prepared to witness the suffering the elves are subjected to. She starts out as a vigilante trying to help people and ends up the leader of a revolution of the elves, working under the alias of Night Star. Medieval fantasy. 

Astra Vale

a severely socially anxious girl named Aster discovers she has powers. She’s put in a ‘special program’ at school for being the only magic trainee there and her jaded instructor quickly realizes she has far more skill than what should be possible. There’s also elves. Set in the same paracosm as Night Star, years into the future. Urban magic. 

In the Gloom 

based on an actual dream I had where a girl is hired to kill one of her professors but he convinces her not to and she ends up protecting him instead. He also works with magical private investigators in his spare time so they get up to some shenanigans with solving cases and whatnot. honestly what even is the time period here?

Amethyst & Androids 

Amethyst, nicknamed Thyssa, wins a raffle to be the first person to travel between worlds. She gets to the new world and the transport machine immediately breaks, leaving her stranded there. She’s treated like a celebrity and given whatever she wants as proof of the company’s technological advancements, so she uses this power to help androids that are being abused and abandoned. Basically, it’s DBH but my para adopts all the androids. 

Zemblanity 

I was reading a lot of those “transmigrated as the villainess!” manhwas over the summer and made a paracosm out of the idea. A girl is transmigrated into the body of the villainess of a novel she read and upset over the treatment her character received at the hands of the male lead, she decides to do everything in her power to break away from him, even if that means siding with his mortal enemy, the novel’s main villain. fantasy royalty. 

I want to share all the worldbuilding and will infodump owo

—

- blog theme by palemona - 

[scope-dogg]

Knight’s and Magic: Final Thoughts

Isekai anime have been very popular in recent years, and 2017′s Knight’s and Magic was one of many cashing in on that trend, with the added twist of being a mecha series. However, what many may not realise is that the Isekai genre of anime was originally born out of the mecha genre, with the first Isekai anime arguably being the 1983 classic Aura Battler Dunbine by Yoshiyuki Tomino. While Isekai has split off and diversified into its own extremely prolific and popular genre, mecha has kept a foothold within it, and subsequently some of the greatest mecha shows have been fantasy-themed, with great titles like Magic Knight Rayearth and The Vision of Escaflowne following in Dunbine’s footsteps over the years, so really Knight’s and Magic should be viewed rather as the continuation of a fairly long tradition of fantasy mecha rather than Isekai but with robots. Adapted from the early volumes of a currently ongoing manga by the same name, it’s a short series, but one with high production values, superb mechanical design and entertaining action. It’s also a series that I ultimately simply cannot stand.

The plot setup is that Tsubasa Kurata is an unassuming but highly talented programmer working in contemporary Japan - or at least he is until he’s killed in a road traffic accident. As he dies, he has but one regret - that he’ll no longer be able to live with his hobby of building plastic model kits of giant anime robots. As is often the case with such a setup, he finds himself reborn into a fantasy kingdom called Fremevilla as the son of nobles called Ernesti Echavalier. However, to his joy, he finds out that the main weapon for fighting back against these monsters is the Silhouette Knight, a kind of gigantic magic-powered mecha. Thus, he devotes himself to the art of learning everything there is about these machines and one day building and piloting one of his very own.

There’s nothing really wrong with this premise, but Knight’s and Magic is flawed in how one-track it is. The show’s really only about one thing - how robots are cool. Of course, I agree that robots are cool. Knight’s and Magic’s lineup of robots in particular is very cool, both in their form and unique functions. However, anyone who’s actually a fan of the mecha genre knows that just having cool robots isn’t enough to carry a show - you have to have compelling characters and interesting narratives. The all-too-frequently trotted-out line of “[x mecha show] is actually good, unlike the rest of the genre, because it focuses on the characters instead of just the robots” is probably the single most effective thing you can say if you want to piss off a mecha fan, because that sentence describes literally every mecha show that was ever worth a damn, even going back to the genre’s roots in the 70s. However, it arguably doesn’t really describe Knight’s and Magic. The series’ creators come off as just as obsessed with robots as its main character, and it comes at the expense of the characters and setting. Each new episode comes with a cool new robot or a cool upgrade for an existing one, but practically none of them feature development of the setting or its characters. Fremevilla and its neighbours never come off as anything more than “generic fantasy kingdom”, the supporting cast are all cut from extremely generic-feeling moulds, and Ernesti never undergoes any growth or exhibits any notable character traits beyond “likes robots.”

Now, there have been several characters in mecha anime who are in large part defined by their dedication to giant robots as an ideal, or simply to their aesthetic, and some of these are truly excellent characters. For instance, Gai Daigoji from Nadesico, Akagi Shunsuke from Dai-Guard, Noa Izumi from Patlabor, Sei Iori from Gundam Build Fighters, or the Super Robot Wars Original character Ryusei Date. The difference between all of these and Ernesti is that being fans of robots isn’t the only thing that makes them relatable or endearing characters, whereas in Ernesti’s case it’s basically the only thing that defines his personality. It also doesn’t help that he’s perhaps the biggest Mary Sue main character that I’ve seen in a mecha anime. His gimmick is that his past-life experience as a programmer also makes him profoundly adept at magic, and that he’s a genius Silhouette Knight designer. He’s always totally successful at everything he tries and everyone loves and respects him for his accomplishments. Ironically, it’s this that makes him an unlikable character for the viewer, because, again, he has no real admirable qualities beyond liking robots and being good at making and using them. It’s a character’s struggles and tribulations that ultimately make them truly sympathetic, and Ernesti is never really challenged until right at the very end of the series, and ultimately that challenge only feels like a mild speed bump for him. This results in a series that despite all its cool robots and flashy battles is fundamentally dead as a story at its core.

However, all of this simply describes a series that I would find boring and mediocre rather than one I actively disliked in a serious way. However, this is arguably the first series I’ve watched since Gundam Seed Destiny that really ground my gears quite badly, and it all boils down to one specific moment in the show’s narrative. To explain why, I need to diverge from my usual review format and spoil not only this show, but also it’s forefather, the original mecha Isekai, Aura Battler Dunbine. I really don’t think spoilers for the former is anything to worry about but spoiling the latter is probably more of an offense. As such, the remainder of this review is below this spoiler cut:

Dunbine is not everyone’s cut of tea. It’s old, has bad animation, it’s long-winded and has a sometimes confused and scrambled narrative in accordance with some of Tomino’s worst habits. However, it was also a work of great imagination that really delivered on communicating a valuable message in some engaging ways. It’s a message that Knight’s and Magic cheerfully and infuriatingly tramples all over. Let me explain.

In Knight’s and Magic, the show’s hero is an outsider who enters into a fantasy world and uses his real-world knowledge to bring about a revolution in technology. This also happens to be the chief descriptor for a major character in Dunbine too.

However, this isn’t the description of the show’s protagonist, Show Zama.

It’s the description of the show’s villain, Shot Weapon.

Shot Weapon is the creator of the Aura Convertor, the technology that powers the show’s mecha, the Aura Battlers, and other weapons besides. The introduction of this technology destroys the peace of Dunbine’s world, Byston Well, and causes it to descend into anarchy and bloodshed. However, the real devastation doesn’t occur until Shot’s creations are transported back into our world, where they inflict destruction almost beyond imagining. Ultimately, Shot Weapon’s actions condemn him to a punishment of being forced to live forever in Byston Well in a state of eternal suffering, like Cain after murdering his brother Abel. Dunbine’s ultimate, most crucial message is that those who manufacture weapons and spread death are to be condemned.

Knight’s and Magic gave itself the exact same opportunity to deal with this exact same theme. The show’s final arc is that a kingdom called Zaloudek has accumulated vast military power and used it to invade its neighours. We get to see as they descend into a neighbouring kingdom, slaughter its just and rightful rulers and install themselves as tyrants. Now, enter Ernesti and his friends at the conquered kingdom’s borders. At this point he’s achieved his aim of creating his own unique robot called the Ikaruga, and in its first battle effortlessly dispatches the Zaloudek soldiers guarding the border. In the aftermath, he examines the wreckage of a destroyed Zaloudek Silhouette Knight. He and everyone else see the obvious - this machine, the Tyranto is based on Ernesti’s designs. Previously, one of the prototype Knights he’d constructed in an earlier arc was stolen by a mysterious foreign agent, and now it’s become clear what happened to it. The source of the military strength that’s fuelling Zaloudek’s ambitions of conquest are the new technologies that he created, reverse engineered from the stolen mecha. As he looks upon the wreck of the Tyranto, the show is presented with a unique opportunity to do something that it’s thus far not done - challenge its protagonist with the consequences of his actions. Sure, Ernesti is not exactly the same as Shot Weapon - he only wanted to create robots because he thought they were cool, while Shot Weapon wanted power. However, in this case the end result has been the same - death, destruction and oppression. Ernesti has a chance to think about whether the things he’s done are right and acknowledge that he’s at least somewhat responsible for the disaster that’s played out, even if it’s just to acknowledge that he has a duty to set things right by beating Zaloudek. This is an opportunity for him to grow as a character for the first time.

The show swerves this opportunity without flinching.

Sure, Ernesti does liberate the kingdom in the end, but it’s clear that it’s not as a result of any real moral calling. He just wanted to build more robots and fight with them. His motivation in the final battle is that he wants to destroy the enemy’s flying battleship because he’s worried that battleships might replace Silhouette Knights if he doesn’t. He remains a totally one-dimensional character right to the end.

As I said before, Ernesti’s obsession with cool robots arguably mirrors that of the creators of this show, if its myopic focus on them is anything to go by. Perhaps this seems extremely out of character for me to say, but this is an infantile obsession. Yes, I like giant robots, but I don’t like them so much that I miss the point. The core of not only the real robot genre that both Knight’s and Magic and Aura Battle Dunbine belong to despite the fantasy trappings of the show, but arguably of the mecha genre as a whole, is that technology can be a force of destruction and great evil when not used responsibly. Yes, the protagonist mecha in these shows are meant to be heroic, but only in their opposition to those who’d use technology as a tool of death and oppression. This is the core of the soul that makes mecha as a genre compelling. It’s a point that Knight’s and Magic completely misses and why it’s fundamentally a failure. It’s as if it’s trying to be what the mecha genre’s detractors try to paint it as.

That said, despite my misgivings there is entertainment to be found if you only want dumb action. But I’d highly encourage you to check out any alternative. If you want a fantasy mecha series, Dunbine, Escaflowne and Rayearth are all much more compelling stories than this - even ones I’m not so keen on like Panzer World Galient and Ryu Knight are fundamentally more interesting as stories than this. If you want a story with a mecha fanatic in the lead role, you’re much better off watching Patlabor or the chronically underrated Dai-Guard instead.

[tlbodine]

I posted 907 times in 2021

240 posts created (26%)

667 posts reblogged (74%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.8 posts.

I added 339 tags in 2021

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Longest Tag: 75 characters

#then the entire plot of the antrum framing device would feel more plausible

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Here’s the thing

Sometimes a piece of media is empowering because it’s a wish fulfilment fantasy about a world where your pain doesn’t exist anymore, or a universe filled with potential for people like you (for whatever values of “pain” and “like you” are relevant to this discussion).

And sometimes a piece of media is empowering, or at least comforting, because it shows other people who are suffering just like you are, so your emotions are validated and you feel a little bit less lonely. 

And both of these things are incredibly important. Neither one should take away from the other. There is nothing morally or aesthetically superior about one or the other. There is and should always be space for both types of fiction to exist. 

572 notes • Posted 2021-01-30 23:20:22 GMT

#4

Do you: 

- Have a hard time figuring out your plot

- Suffer from sagging middle syndrome

- Struggle to understand how things like beat sheets apply to you

- Study a ton of writing advice posts but feel like they’re mostly bullshit

If any of these apply to you, this guide may help. 

Instead of rules and formulas and cookie-cutter story templates, this is a guide that attempts to actually analyze and understand why some story structures work, what they have in common, what advice you can throw out the window and -- most importantly -- how you can use everything you’ve learned to craft your own custom plots and get yourself unstuck. 

I’m really proud of this one, and I hope you get a lot of utility out of it. 

736 notes • Posted 2021-03-21 02:22:40 GMT

#3

Why the “Intelligent Asshole” Trope Needs to Die

I was watching a video essay about Rick & Morty earlier and it got me to thinking about all of the intelligence tropes I hate or roll my eyes at in fiction. I feel like I’ve maybe talked about some of this before but it keeps annoying me so here I am again with a poorly organized rant. 

Intelligent People Are Curious 

This is a huge one that the media always gets wrong. The “genius” character in a show is always so keen to tell everybody about why he’s right and all the rest of them are idiots. He knows that his views are correct and everyone else needs to get in line. This sort of intellectual rigidity doesn’t match with most actual smart people. 

If there’s a unifying characteristic among most really intelligent people, it’s an awareness of what they don’t know and an insatiable curiosity to learn more. 

Curiosity for its own sake -- not material gain or a desire for status -- is arguably a major benchmark of intelligence. It’s a defining characteristic. Smart people want to know how things work, and why, and what happens if the conditions change, and what factors influence those conditions. Smart people do not dogmatically cling to their own knowledge and beliefs in the face of conflict, evidence, or for the power of lording over less intelligent people -- assholes do that. 

And “intelligent asshole” is such a common trope now that it’s like the two things have to go together! Which is just...baffling. Most of the really intelligent people in the world -- folks I think we can all agree are geniuses throughout history -- are not and were not especially arrogant people. In fact, a lot of them were notably very humble. 

See the full post

909 notes • Posted 2021-06-10 02:35:55 GMT

#2

Challenging Fatphobic Language in Writing: Some Alternative Vocabularies

So I’m currently working on a short story for an explicitly fat-positive anthology, and it’s making me realize just how little language I have readily at hand for describing large bodies in positive terms! 

Putting aside for a moment the whole debate over HAES and fat positivity and everything else -- and if you clown on this post, I’m simply going to block you, that’s not what we’re here for -- sometimes you just want to write a story with a fat person in it and you need some adjectives/descriptive language that isn’t overtly gross and/or fetishistic. 

Well, I’ve got you, fam. I have compiled this handy list of descriptive terms and phrases for describing big bodies with positive connotations.

Why am I doing this? 

Because this:

And this: 

See the full post

1198 notes • Posted 2021-12-08 02:50:26 GMT

#1

Pro Tip: One Simple Trick To Making Your Characters Likeable and Relatable

Want a super easy, never-fail trick to making a character instantly 100% more interesting? 

Make them a paradox. 

 There is a reason why certain character tropes are so common: 

The scoundrel with a heart of gold 

The assassin with a moral code 

The badass “normal” in a super-powered world 

The cute and childish psychopathic killer 

The gruff warrior who’s a softie inside

But you’re not limited to well-trodden tropes, and in fact it’s even better to make your own surprising combinations (because these archetypes are now so expected that they need to be subverted to remain effective). 

When you give a character a strong central trait or motif, and then give them a strong secondary characteristic that runs directly counter to that concept, you generate internal conflict, which is automatically interesting. More than that, you make the character more relatable. 

The thing is that every single person on this earth feels like they’re special. All of us are privy every day to our own messy dynamic traits. We can put the people around us comfortably into various boxes, but we always feel like we are too complicated to really fit any single description. 

So when you give someone a character who is clearly complex in the same way? A person whose identity works at cross-purposes? Someone who doesn’t fit neatly into the box their archetype is assigned? We will find them instantly more likeable and interesting. Give it a try!

1801 notes • Posted 2021-01-21 22:14:01 GMT

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