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punkpandapatrixk · 1 year

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🕷Awakening Your Femme Fatale — Timeless Pick A Card

Why would you allow undeserving asses to look down on you when you are a literal Goddess? Every woman has that Lilith sleeping deep inside; just waiting for the right temperature to unleash her HOT GIRL POISON🕷

SONG for all piles: Forgive Me by BoA

MOVIE for all piles: Death Becomes Her (1992)

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

Reading guide 1: My readings are always unisex, but Lilith in astrology is a definitively fatalistic Female archetype. If you identify as operating more on the Feminine energy, this PAC could be about what's hidden or awakening inside of YOU~💄Or, if you resonate with being attracted to the Feminine energy, this reading might shed a light on the type of ‘dangerous woman’ you tend to recklessly fall for… or secretly fantasise about🙃

Reading guide 2: Some of you may be wondering why Death Becomes Her is a movie vibe for this PAC, due to the fact that our main characters do not end well at all😜It is a cautionary tale of when Lilith goes berserk beyond control. When Lilith has no self-control, her sense of rivalry towards women and disappointment in men cause her to become a reckless danger to herself as much as she is a menace to everyone else. With great power comes great responsibility. The characters in that movie were not responsible the slightest bit except that man (Bruce Willis kyah!) who eventually came to his senses🤷🏻‍♀️Remember, not all men are as idiotic as they appear to be🤭

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – Amorous Manipulator

VIBE: Kimi ni Muchuu (crazy about you) by Utada Hikaru

your hidden poison – 8 of Cups

Are you aware of the fact that people tend to run to you for comfort? Something about you draws people in; you seem trustworthy, protective, reliable and strong, and they feel cared for in your embrace. They feel understood. You provide a sense of camaraderie. Little do they know, you really don’t care that much. You’re just nice, kinda. You like to chit chat every now and then. But you’re usually crunching numbers in your head—thinking how best to use these people for later purposes.

You’re cool, detached, and calculating about your every single move. You never really show people what’s going on in your private life. People can’t figure you out as you seem flighty… more like, elusive. You’re like a bird or fish ready to escape anytime the temperatures around you get burdensome. Deep down, you feel like you’re the one who wants to run away from these clingy admirers. ‘I don’t understand why they keep following me!’

Thing is… you’re kinda hard not to notice, you know. No matter what type of beauty you are—and you might as well be cute as a rabbit—there’s an animal magnetism about you. People want to please you and gain your validation. In essence, you have the natural ability to attract a lot of simps! How you deal with that, entirely relies on your wit.

your potion of seduction – Ace of Pentacles Rx

Sometimes you feel suffocated about the way people view you. But everyone behaves irrationally nervously because you’re too blindingly hot for the average person. You break down people’s sensibility, rationality, and wit. You leave those you’ve kissed witless for days, weeks even. Because of your nonchalant hotness, some people fantasise about keeping you to themselves in the dark. People… fantasise about you a lot. Like, a lot. All kinds of things they would be embarrassed to let anybody know—unless they’re sinfully shameless—which tends to only increase their nervousness when they see you again.

Due to the degree of people’s endless fascination with you, you may not be inclined to entertain just about anybody. But sometimes, you see a few intriguing fools amongst your admirers and think to yourself, ‘Ugh, I need entertainment. Let me amuse myself with these fuckers and see what happens.’ The results are often devastatingly hilarious. Those who chase you end up looking pathetic in your eye.

Those of you who are more empathetic sometimes feel a bit sorry that people crave your attention—your company—that much when they should know better not to expect anything remotely sincere from you. But those of you who don’t remotely care, gosh dang, it’s all just a silly game of winners and losers. And you, will never end up the loser in this game of manipulation.

Realise to RELEASE! – Queen of Wands Rx

There’s something almost evil in the way you perceive a sense of rivalry with those whom you perceive as being on the same level of hotness as you. It pisses you off when your puppets are looking at someone else and praising them for whatever low-quality beauty/charm/behaviour you find distasteful to yourself. But hold on, I’m not saying you’re entirely the bad bitch for feeling this way every now and then, because… The truth is, some fucks really be doing you dirty by praising others in the presence of you!

There are those who feel dreadfully intimidated by your unmatched beauty and charisma that they—ever so stupidly sneakily—try to bring you down by elevating others in such a manner. Hoping they’d be able to witness your feeling uncomfortable because that would bring them the greatest sense of reclaiming their power from the grip of your hypnotising sensuality. Honey, you don’t even have to be the prettiest gal in your country, people still perceive your beauty as unmatchable because of your inimitable attitude!

Eh, if you’re totally in control of yourself, you don’t compete. You know there is no competition. How can there be? There can be only one you and nobody can emulate what you do. Like for real for realzz nobody can. Have you noticed that not even those close to you have any idea how to imitate your behaviours? You’re some kind of unreal hotness that’s on a whole of another level.

Lilith’s Revenge🔻💙

Scorpio’s secret transformation – Silver Magus (Merlin)

Pluto’s command for control – Priestess of Protection

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 2 – Dangerous Temptress

VIBE: Run Devil Run by Girls’ Generation

your hidden poison – 4 of Pentacles Rx

At some point in life, an ass you would’ve trusted with your safety left you for dead when you needed shelter/protection/assistance the most. This kind of scenario might’ve been a recurrent pattern in your life. Constant abandonment and betrayals that have caused you to believe you’re very unlovable. People’s sharp knives of rejection made you realise you’ve never been anybody’s most important person. You’re never anybody’s top priority. That realisation hurt you so much but also gave birth to your almost dangerous courage now to face any kinds of hardships.

In this world, there is no challenge scary enough to stop you from getting what you want. You’ve survived the scariest chapters of your Life—you’ve dealt with periods of lack, cold and nothingness that would’ve killed most people; what could faze you now? You’re a motherfucker daredevil and people know that. People can see your nonchalant courage and they’re frightened as fuck. You notice nervousness in their eyes all the time. You know they think you’re reckless, but they don’t know your story. And you don’t care, obvi.

You’re fiercely independent. Through abandonment and neglect you’ve learnt to refine your manifestation skills. Now, there’s nothing you can’t have through your own efforts. You don’t need anybody and never will you need to rely on another only for them to let you down. You’ve got all your own bases covered and there’s still more to be hedonistic about. You’re royal, almost scary to the people who are way below you. They may worry that you’re being irresponsible with your resources. But you don’t care; you’re nonchalant AF. Easy come easy go, baby~ There’s always more to make.

your potion of seduction – Page of Cups Rx

Clearly, you’re a hard worker on top of being extremely intelligent. That’s how you managed to bring yourself to such safety after everything that’s happened in the past. There was simply so much lack and restriction it was literally embarrassing what the world had delivered to your doorstep. But now, the fact that so many pretty and expensive things come easily to you intimidates people and they might secretly feel envious of you. They will never say it out loud though, since they want to be on your good side—because they know they could benefit from your royal attitude when it comes to your spending.

Something about you spells CrAzY to a lot of people. Even the dullest dumbest ass can intuitively sense that you’re a daredevil for whom there’s quite literally nothing you’re too afraid to do/attempt. And you exude this dodgy aura that announces to everybody you’re not the bitch to mess with. Unless they wanna risk getting burnt by you. Your feelings run deep but you don’t let your emotions get in the way of your achieving your goals. To others, it almost looks like you’re a heartless temptress no man could hurt.

Your secret though, is that you treat practically everything in life as a Game. Whether you’re having fun, working hard, or dealing with tough situations; it’s all a Game you do not intend to lose. But all games require a loser, and you don’t even care if sometimes you lose a game or two; it doesn’t bother you. It’s all play and the world never runs out of Games anyway. There’s always the next thing to entertain yourself with. This do or die attitude of yours captivates everyone as much as they’re terrified of your fiery but cold intellect.

Realise to RELEASE! – 6 of Wands

A lot of people watch you and they form opinions around your public conducts. You know you command attention—both the bad and the good. Does it bother you though? Well… sometimes. When you’re not on your best day and you have a lot of sad thoughts, you get irritated, a little, that people only see the bad in your conducts. You want to burn every single one of them to ashes and never deal with people anymore. But you are so singular in your beingness, what can you do about it?

People talk about you because they know if they were to talk about themselves nobody would be interested. You’re the most interesting creature most people have ever known! Whatever you do, you’re on top of your game. And you always allow yourself to come first. To you, you’re your most favouritest person ever. Yeah, that’s a mouthful but say that again🤪You are your toppest top priority, and this is a hard skill to get because most people have never learnt how to survive on their own the way you have.

You’ve been to low places others wouldn’t survive in; they can’t understand why you are the way that you are. Who cares though. Live and let live. You’ve got your own abundance to take care of now.

Lilith’s Revenge🔻❤️

Scorpio’s secret transformation – Red Geographer (Marco Polo)

Pluto’s command for control – Priestess of Innocence

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 3 – Glamorous Destroyer

VIBE: Monster by Red Velvet - IRENE & SEULGI

your hidden poison – 5 of Cups Rx

Are you some kind of god? Well yeah, you ARE a Goddess! I sense you’re so otherworldly in that you’re not typically one who dwells on the past or even regrets that much, if at all. The world is so vast and it keeps spinning, there’s always a new day for a positive mind for braving new territories. You’re already a master at spiritual/emotional healing, but maybe… it’s also because you’re not so feeling.

You’re a realist, to say the least. You look at the world glass half full and everything that’s run its course, you let go without a care. You move right on to the next entertaining endeavour. In fact, you devour all of life’s little and big pleasures. You’re jet set; you don’t even plan that carefully. Details in plans bore you, you would rather do the deed first, then see what the experience gets you. If it falls short, you leave on the spot to find the next interesting thing… or person. You leave people high and dry. You don’t even give a fuck how that makes them feel. You have other people lining up for you to fuck over.

You are the epitome of a cruel femme fatale. You’re this uniquely powerful individual who has like the strongest mentality ever. I’m sensing, either you’re a very young person who has the most advanced Soul wisdom/perspective ever, or you’re very advanced in Life (age wise) and have learnt a lot of lessons that have made you the indestructible Goddess that you are today.

your potion of seduction – Knight of Pentacles Rx

You are unpredictable to a lot of people. Like, they can’t really figure out what your next step would be. One minute they’re certain you’re this typa person who’d choose this typa action, only for you to choose that typa shit no one would’ve guessed you’re that type to do that. There’s always an element of surprise to you. Some love it, some hate it. You attract an equal balance of curious followers and cowards who want to quickly run away from your hot mess.

Those who can’t see through your web of exaggerated narratives are deep in your clutches, they can’t escape your poison—they want your poison—until you decide you’re bored with them and toss them aside without having given them the high they thought they’d get. A few who do get the high…you’ve kinda ruined them in that now you live in their minds forever. And you’re a bad dream for those poor souls.

Now they can’t stop thinking about you but no longer can they ever have access to you. You’ve taken them to that guilt trip and it lives with them for the rest of their lives. Not only in your story, but in their story, too, they’re the villains who have disappointed or hurt you and caused you to toss them away👏🏻

Realise to RELEASE! – Queen of Pentacles

You’re actually super capable of taking care of yourself. But something about the way you look or speak or tell a story is very unassuming. Maybe you’re tiny and cute; maybe you wear dainty accessories or adorn yourself with bunny or turtle plushies. Giving others the impression of a harmless fawn who’s in constant need of cuddles and support. Your admirers flock to help and serve you. They want to be strong and useful for you. They want to appear big in front of you. Help you get out of trouble’s way when YOU are the trouble.

People are usually slow to realise—if ever—that you’re a glamorous destroyer of people’s sanity. People easily melt at your soft, or high pitched, voice. Something about the way you express yourself is hypnotising and magnetic. People can’t get enough of you nor can they feel like they’ve proven themselves enough to you. People want your approval because you’re so beautiful and talented in a way they think they can never become.

People see that you are deep and knowledgeable. Flailing here and there, they find you mesmerising with the skillsets that you possess but lacking in places they think they can fill in. It’s like, they’re thinking to themselves, ‘She’s a 10, but…’ Those ‘buts’ are but lovely to them. And they’d be blind not to see how little fuck you give about any of their opinions.

Lilith’s Revenge🔻💛

Scorpio’s secret transformation – Gold Geographer (John Dee)

Pluto’s command for control – Priestess of Healing

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

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tyrantisterror · 4 months

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Recently I'd been rewatching the No Small Feat campaign and I started wondering something during the Menagerie Arc (my favourite arc of the campaign so far btw). You've been pretty transparent about this campaign's fairy tale motif, from general archetypes such as Leonie being a take on the Disobedient Girl to characters and plots taken wholesale and placed into Midgaheim like Sir George and Jack and the Beanstalk. Even the one other arc I couldn't name a particular fairy tale equivalent, the Heartless Witch, feels enough like a fairy tale plot to fit, but the Menagerie arc, aside from the significant presence of Sir George, seems like the odd one as a fantasy flavoured Jurassic Park homage. So is there some fairy tale inspiration to that arc I'm missing, or did you really just decide to diverge from the rest of the campaign's theme for that one arc as an excuse to introduce more of Midgaheim's various fantasy beasties (this is valid btw, it is as said above mt fave so far)?

Ok, I could bullshit that Jurasisc Park is, in its own way, a fairy tale - a rich king commands the finest wizards in the land to bring dragons back from the dead and place them in his menagerie, defying the gods with his hubris, only for them to prove unruly and destroy the kingdom in the process, leaving the king humbled and destitute by his hubris. It's a morality play about folly and hubris and not breaking the rules of the world as much as, say, the story of Grandfather Death - is bringing dinosaurs back that much different from using Death's shotglass to subvert the natural rhyme and rhythm of the cycle of life?

I could do that. I could claim that bullshit is true.

But the fact is that @dinosaurana pitched a character who wants to build a pokedex of 100 monsters, and I was figuring out how to make sure we encountered at least 100 monsters (with some to spare in case my players missed some of them). And I've always been enamored with the idea of a medieval take on Jurassic Park - of finding some obscure rich weirdo who's captured a bunch of dangerous, rare mythic animals, and all hell breaks loose. I tried it out in a couple of my earliest D&D campaigns, in fact, but was never quite satisfied - and I ultimately realized this campaign would be a good fit.

It may break the pattern of the fairy tale homages that the other arcs have, but it's not like any of them were particularly bound by fairy tales - the story of Kaboldt's manor turned out quite differently than Bluebeard, after all, and so on with the others. And, well, to go back to that bullshit above, while a Jurassic Park homage may not fit the theming of the allusions in this campaign, it does fit the overall theme and structure of fairy tales if you think hard about it.

Plus, I got to throw in a shit ton of monsters.

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sleepyconfusedpotato · 1 year

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Hey! Your art is stunning! I love how your are able to convey personality visually! I also saw in one post that you referenced enneagrams and Myers-Briggs types when considering characters! Was wondering if you have any headcanons for the rest of 141s types?

Hello Anon! \(@^0^@)/

So about the MBTI types of 141, I actually did one around February 2022, but it's generally for the OG!TF141. You can read it here! But I'm gonna repost it here and add the others as well.

Disclaimer : I'm in no way an MBTI expert. I'm just an enthusiast who reads lots of memes.

Task Force 141 MBTI Personality Types

💰 Price - ENTJ - The Commander 💰

No doubt he’s the commander type. In fact, Price is the classic archetype of a commander

Does not give a damn about order or following procedure if it doesn’t help him get to the result

Mean. Knows he’s mean. Doesn’t care.

Says shit like “Can you do it or no?” “What did I just say.” “Suck it up.” “When you take the gloves off you got blood on your hands, KYLE!”

Lovable asshole. Evil. Lovable tho.

First to wake up and do the “morning routine”

Probably has the “World’s Best Boss/Dad” mug

Inventor of Big Dick Energy

🧼 Soap - ESFP - The Entertainer 🧼

Bold. Can be reckless sometimes tho. He learns by doing. Easily bored.

Would deffo be the Extrovert person who adopts Introverts. (Eg. Ghost)

Values freedom and has empirical views in life.

Sees past the bad in people and easily sees the good in people (not the enemies tho ☠️ cough cough Shepherd cough.

Very optimistic and loud. Loves to get all the attentions

Highly adaptable to situations

Spontaneous af and sometimes can have risky behaviors that leads to bad decisions (He canonically lied about his age to enter the SAS ✨)

💀 Ghost - INTP - The Logician 💀

INTP : short for I Need Therapy Please

Trust Issues™

All rounder who gets the job done when he puts his mind to it.

Probably watches anime secretly (He does)

Would sometimes zone out and doesn’t listen to what you’re saying.

Either completely silent or WILL NOT shut up. No in between.

Has strong opinions.

Could come off as rude or way too honest.

The friend who gives short answers in texts like “yea” “ok” “no”

“….what if we (insert crazy ideas)”. Super creative with his methods of doing. "Welcome to guerrila warfare."

Basically a cat.

🧢 Gaz - ISFJ - The Defender 🧢

SENSITIVE EXTROVERT.

PUREST BRITISH BLOKE. Angel.

Has a strong moral compass; Takes his jobs very seriously. Determined.

Will stand by you no matter what happens. Gaz will deffo support you in anything you do. WILL fight for you.

Sweet and easygoing. Has the best reaction to everything. "Can you translate that from bullshit to English?" "What the fuck is happening?" Never a dull moment with him around.

The Dad Ver. 2 if Price is unavailable.

Gaz : I'm making you cookies.

Price : I don't really want any.

Gaz: This isn't optional

Is very warm in personality, but if you betray him, he'll turn very cold.

Share your thoughts! (ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ)

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brookstolemybrand · 7 days

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I already talked about Sabo being kind of a parallel protagonist to Luffy, but Koby is in some ways maybe even more so (especially since he was introduced literally in chapter 2)

Sabo is Luffy's dad's protégé

Koby is Luffy's grandpa's protégé

(Sidenote: Luffy kinda took Ace's place as Shanks' and Rayleigh's protégé, arguably; I mean it would have made a lot of sense for former Roger pirates to act as mentor figures for Roger's son, wouldn't it? In a different story that put more importance to bloodlines, Ace would have been destined to be the next King of the Pirates for sure. Ace is kind of a decoy protagonist)

With Koby it's even more obvious when you look at the known SWORD members and how many of them have some kind of legacy position, or at least we can assume so even if we don't know for certain (like with Hibari suspiciously sharing Akainu's dialect). In theory, Garp's grandson would fit into SWORD perfectly.

And of course Garp very much intended this to be Luffy. It's not even subtle that Koby is the replacement grandson lmao

(Say what you want about Dragon's (lack of) parenting, he definitely didn't put any pressure on Luffy. So with Sabo it's not really the same, it's not like Luffy refused to follow in his father's footsteps; he didn't even know he had a father, much less what those footsteps were. But the parallels are still there)

But yeah, I think their personal connections to Luffy, as well as the way they're set up in positions that Luffy plausibly might have had in some alternate timelines, makes them Luffy's counterparts in the Navy and in the Revolutionary Army. Which allows them to function as pseudo-protagonists for the audience when Luffy isn't present and to take on plotlines that would otherwise feel like they should be handled by the main characters (like taking on the Blackbeard Pirates and the Celestial Dragons respectively)

Narratively speaking, as the plot gets bigger, you kinda need these secondary protagonists to carry the parts of the story that Luffy can't be there for

The three of them also represent different shounen protagonist archetypes:

I kinda struggled to phrase this myself (and honestly I just have a very limited reference pool for shounen anime) so I googled it and I'm stealing the terms from this post

Basically Luffy is the "Idiot Hero", Koby is the "Boy Wonder" and Sabo... well actually I think Ace is the "Punk Martyr" (he took the martyr part a bit too seriously rip), and Sabo is the secret fourth thing: the Cool Competent Guy (even though Sabo is also a punk, he just hides it better)

Luffy is a Goku, Koby is a Deku, and Sabo is... idk I guess he would be a Lelouch (look, I'm talking about character TYPES, not saying they're the same kind of person)

... Well actually Sabo is more of an Enjolras, but Les Mis is not a shounen manga—

SIKE, IT IS, I'M COUNTING IT

(That's a really good adaptation of Les Mis btw, I could gush endlessly about Takahiro Arai and how well he understood not only the core of the story but also how to adapt it into a visual medium, really leaning into the vivid metaphorical imagery in Hugo's narration and then adding to it his own, it's SO GOOD)

(To immediately nitpick myself: Sabo is more like an amalgamation of all the Amis de l'ABC but it's easier to say Enjolras for short. Also yes I know Enjolras isn't the protagonist, but he has protagonist energy)

Anyway... what was I saying?

Right, I was gonna talk about the hero thing, because heroism is actually a big theme in One Piece:

Luffy doesn't want to be a hero, BUT KOBY DOES. He might be sheepish about calling himself one, but it was his dream, and by all conventional standards he accomplished it: he's now a Navy Hero

Sabo is more of a reluctant hero; he wanted to be a pirate like Luffy but chose to become a revolutionary instead. He's fully committed to that role though, even willing to accept the title of regicide if it helps the cause (this btw also makes him similar to another character in Les Mis, the Conventionist who... okay fine I'll stop)

As a marine and a revolutionary, Koby and Sabo are on the opposite sides of the whole "hero" thing. Although well, neither of them are extremists so at the same time they're not that opposite either, more like just each others' counterparts on opposing sides, but still

It makes sense that Koby, whose ambition was to become a hero, would gravitate to the conventional and widely accepted form of heroism: military heroism. Meanwhile Sabo, the reluctant hero, was driven to become one exactly because those socially accepted forms of heroism in reality exist to maintain an unjust system and there need to be people who step up to oppose that system, it's heroism out of necessity

You could also say that Koby becomes a part of the system because he wants to be a hero, Sabo becomes a hero because he wants to escape the system...

(Sidenote: I actually have a hunch that Dragon is probably more like Koby in terms of personality and ambitions, he's just a Koby who became disillusioned after learning the truth about the navy. That's the vibe I get anyway)

Either way, both of them are a good contrast to Luffy, who insists that he's not a hero and who chooses to just follow his selfish whims, which is why he's the pirate, he picks the least "heroic" career option. And that's why he's the protagonist, because this is a pirate manga

That said, as it turns out, his selfish whims are pretty heroic anyway, and he ends up being the one who has the most freedom to do exactly what needs to be done, BECAUSE he's not a hero

(Is that extremely dangerous? Sure. Could it end really badly? Yes. But Luffy isn't supposed to be a role model, he's literally a pirate)

But it still helps the narrative to also have heroic characters who aren't only motivated to help people who give them food lol

(I kid, but ykwim)

It helps that there are heroes even if the protagonist isn't one, because otherwise the audience might start wanting the protagonist to become the hero

And then it wouldn't be a pirate adventure story anymore, it would become a hero narrative

....

.... I know I should end the post here but you have no idea how much I'm holding back a rant rn about the marines and how much they suck and why I find Koby so frustrating as a character... That's another post tho

#wow this turned into a rambly post #i should probably split it into multiple shorter posts with more consise wording #but im lazy #one piece analysis #coby #koby #revolutionary sabo #flame emperor sabo #sabo #monkey d luffy

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tarisilmarwen · 1 year

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Rebels Rewatch: "Legends of the Lasat"

Kevin Kiner please take all my money forever.

Right, attempt two at this. Seriously Tumblr what is the point of having an auto-save feature for posts if it doesn't actually save a decent previous version of the post?

Also WHY THE HELL DID CNTRL+Z DELETE BASICALLY THE WHOLE DAMN POST?!

Anyway.

I'm glad we got to visit this moon space base location again, I think it's such an interesting design.

Another tightly-written opening dialogue exposition scene here, in a few short sentences we learn what they Spectres are here for and why, and that the mission is urgent.

Lol Ezra being evasive about Hondo being his contact. I do wonder how exactly Hondo got that transmitter to Ezra. Did they reconnect sometime offscreen? Did Ezra swipe it during "Brothers of the Broken Horn"? Did Hondo surreptitiously leave it in Ezra's pocket?

However it happened, it's adorable that this once-ruthless bloodthirsty greedy pirate basically decided, "I MUST BEFRIEND THE BABY JEDI, HE'S MY FRIEND NOW I CLAIM HIM."

The camerawork in this scene is phenomenal. This first shot that tracks the Spectres and then dollies just around the corner, as if we are also peeking around it with the characters? This fast almost 270 rotating pan across the Spectres as they make short work of the troopers? Stellar.

(You can also tell they had budget to spare for this episode because the Imperial officer has a face. Lol.)

Love it when they let Ezra be casually awesome.

Hera sounds so aggrieved that Hondo is Ezra's contact lol.

And here we get the reveal, Zeb was captain of the High Honor Guard of Lasan. A bit later in the episode we learn this consists of being a bodyguard protector of the royal family specifically and all citizens of Lasan in general. Sooooo yeah, quite a bit of heavy personal guilt for Zeb here, feeling like he, specifically, personally, failed his entire world. Ouch.

"Hondo could use a little help." <3

Zeb's expressions this scene are painful. :(

Hondo being so dang fond of Ezra aww.

Though not so fond that he doesn't immediately screw everyone over, greedy bastard.

I saw Zeb rolling his eyes there, animators.

So Zeb's interactions with Chava and Grond are very much a Spiritualist vs Skeptic plot, with the expected tragic personal reason for the skeptic's doubt and disbelief. It's also heavily implied that the loss of Lasan, that trauma, made Zeb regress in maturity, made him snippier and more petulant and churlish. As Ezra says later Zeb does act "like a child", so perhaps his being cast as the Child archetype in the Prophecy of the Three was not so off base lol.

Ezra has such cute smiles this episode. <3

LOL Hondo's chipper little "Hello!" at the Stormtroopers.

"Well. This must look... incriminating." This man is a delight in every scene.

I mentioned the camerawork right? This is another nice shot here, this pan down from the cockpit to the nose gun turret to meet Zeb.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The smoke coming from the chimney top of the station.

...Is this Stormtrooper also voiced by David Oyelowo?

Ezra immediately noticing Zeb's scoffing like the empath he is. <3

Love love love seeing the unique cultural way that Lasat interact with the Force, the "Ashla" as they call it, mixed ritual and magitek, prophecies that revolve around certain narrative archetypes and symbolic figures. It's just so cool.

I haven't been talking much about the music yet (oh but believe me we will have much to say on that) but this cue here starts easing just slightly into the mysticism of the Lasat ritual. It's almost Stravinsky-esque in nature, carefully stepping flutes and clarinets, discordant strings. We incorporate just a very soft snippet of the Force theme.

Zeb auto-assuming Ezra is the child.

Lol Hondo putting his arm around that one Stormtrooper's shoulder.

He's so cute asjkhfkajsh. Look at him. He's all like, "Please Dad, can I chant with the weird purple people too?"

HE LOOKS SO FOND AND PROUD AWW.

The score takes a bit of an exotic turn, a mellow arabic flute and possibly a sitar adding to the texture of the melody.

The lighting in this scene egads.

I love this scene I love it so much. Ezra acting as counselor, with his mere presence and curiosity getting Zeb to open up about his past and fears and insecurities. There's so much hurt in Zeb's slumped posture, guilt and grief compete for space in his voice, and I don't think we see him this distraught again until after Kanan's death.

But with Ezra's encouragement, he pulls himself together.

Once again showing off the cool magitek with Chava's staff and Zeb's bo-rifle here and I just love the concept, I love the whole aesthetic of hearing whispers of destiny through the Ashla and then channeling the energy of the universe through arcane, almost magical technology to navigate the stars, like some kind of arcane mariners. And we all thought the bo-rifle was just some kind of standard ordinary weapon, SURPRISE, it's also an ancient Force-magic navicomputer.

And oh wow the parallels with the purrgil next episode and the Chiss sky-walkers in the Thrawn novels.

This is soooooo pretty. The animation here is gorgeous.

After the commercial cut we're in hyperspace and the Ghost is making an almost blind jump out into Wild Space. Hera doesn't seem terribly worried. (Behind the scenes material says she apparently does this all the time.) But the ship's safety protocols flip out when they sense the imploded star cluster and Hera quickly drops them into realspace and one of the most gorgeous moments of the series.

HNNNNNNGHGHHHHH.

This whole sequence is stunning. Some of the best animation of the show, accompanied by one of the best tracks in the score, the star cluster looking like a watercolor spectacle.

And the Stravinsky influenced instrumentation brings the strings front and center; a haunting choir whispers in the background.

Kanan putting one hand on the back of Hera's chair and the other on her shoulder, aww.

Just tell me you wouldn't want this as a wall painting. <3

Chava gives some inspiring words about not pidegonholing oneself into a single role in their prophecy and this motivates Zeb to find a well of inner courage and open himself up to the will of the Ashla.

What I wouldn't give for more on ancient Lasan tech, how their ships must have been designed to integrate with the bo-rifle staffs. It functions as pilot and navigator and also apparently encases the Ghost with a protective shield that keeps it from being crushed by the gravity.

Let that sink in a moment, the staff, when channeling the Force, can literally bend gravity around the ship.

AND AS "JOURNEY INTO THE STAR CLUSTER" WRAPS US IN A VIOLIN SOLO THAT EVOKES MYSTERY AND MYSTICISM KANAN AND EZRA SENSE THEIR HELP IS NEEDED AND CALMLY PLACE HANDS ON ZEB, LIKE THE LAYING OF HANDS DURING CORPORATE PRAYER, AND CHANNEL THE FORCE THROUGH THEM INTO ZEB, WHO LETS IT FLOW THROUGH HIM THROUGH THE RIFLE TO GIVE HIM THE CLARITY OF VISION TO SEE THE WAY THROUGH.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The sparks that pop from a wall panel on the cruiser as Kallus attempts to have it follow the Ghost.

THE CHOIR COMES IN FULL BLAST.

AND ZEB CLOSES HIS EYES IN FAITH AS THE LIGHT TURNS BLINDING.

Whew! And what a rush! The absolute quiet in the score right afterwards gives us a moment to inhale and catch our breath.

Chopper of course chooses to be a pest, releasing the tension.

Lira San being the ancient lost homeworld of the Lasat fits right in with the whole arcane vibe of their culture, like they were connected to a place and people that time forgot.

And tada, we leave with a character arc complete, a new hyperspace route plotted and everything bathed in an aura of serenity.

This episode is one of the best of Season Two, if not the whole series. Everything comes together beautifully in the third act and the story has a feel of both spiritual transformation and wonder. I've already gushed about how interesting and unique the Lasat culture is, how it's presented as a mix of mysticism and technology, with prophecies and wise women, royal families and warriors, and navigators that explored the stars, guided by the Ashla.

Zeb gets more character growth in one episode than some characters get in a season, and he's largely "finished" after this, his issues with his past resolved. (Which isn't to say I wouldn't have loved more character focus on him, just that this is so phenomenal.) His heart-to-heart with Ezra is touching and illustrates just how close they've grown.

And did I mention this episode was pretty? This episode is super pretty and the music is straight fire.

10/10 no complaints. Would give Kiner my money again.

#star wars #star wars rebels #rebels rewatch #liveblog #i was exhausted all day and did not have the spoons to complete this one until later sorry #music #soundtracks #meta rambling

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lenarish · 7 months

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A deep analysis on Pantalone

Since his first appearence on genshin on Winter's night Lazzo, Pantalone has become an obsession of mine, which not only made me look further on some Commedia Dell'arte scripts, but also sucked me into a whirlwind of theories regarding the possibilities for what part his character will play in the game.

I'm warning you, this post will be big, but also written in a hurry. There is a chance nothing will make sense, but there's also a chance that I'm not being as crazy as I think I am. After all, I guessed right the first time, when I said here that Dottore and Pantalone could be partners, and it ended up being true.

So fellas, specially Pantalone nation, enjoy this dose of hyperfocus.

The Pantalone archetype in Commedia Dell'arte:

Let's start with a simple question; what is a Pantalone?

I know this question may sound strange at first, but we have to keep in mind that the characters in the original commedia had their main comedic features making their way to be transformed into classic archetypes that still are present in other characters way more famous to us. We may know a lot of Pantalones in fiction, even if we never thought about this connection before! Let me show you some of them:

The "Pantalone archetype", as you can see, is in a nutshell "old men that love money". However, there is often a very important factor that must be considered when identifying them among comical rich characters; they often have a past in poverty, or at least weren't always as rich as they are now, and that is the cause of paranoid and grumpy behaviour. Another common trope for them (nowadays) is their hidden feelings, commonly having one or more family members that they love more than their wealth. That explains why Mr. Burns is the only one up there that doesn't match that new criteria, despite being obviously a Pantalone archetype from head to toe.

There is a reason for that. When we hear a joke, would you find it funny if you couldn't understand it?

Pantalone was created to mock the richer classes at the time (and it's important to remember, the era was marked by the bourgeoisie starting to get a sit among the higher classes.) but at the same time, he was created to represent Venice. We have a double joke here: in his name, and in his personality. The joke in his name is because the animal that represents Venice is the lion, so, to represent it, he was suppose to ''put/plant the lion''(pianta leone in italian) in the places he went to, being it other cities or colonies. Contracting this, we have ''Pantalone'', at the same time that it means Pants. The main joke of his personality is that although he is very rich, he lives almost miserably. It doesn't seem to be a popular portrayal that he was part of a noble family or always rich; he was innitially a merchant, and he is a symbol of the self-made man. That past in poverty is what gives context to why he is so stingy and obsessed with his money. And people loved it. Well, we still do. In fact, the most famous version of his portrayal is not focused on how powerful or cunning he can be, but in this pathetic and grumpy man that could be having a wonderful life, instead, he is too concerned about spending a single penny, and ends up being miserable. All to keep his status as rich. This is funny because we can still understand it, we still know very well what they were mocking.

That is why Pantalone is one of the strongest characters in the commedia. This exact stereotypical behaviour ended up becoming timeless.

More than that, it slowly became more and more a famous archetype to create characters that people end up sympathizing a lot with once they see their pasts. And why that? Time passes, and now we have families being middle class; not rich, but not miserably poor. The picture changes a bit: Pantalone became less a figure to represent rich people being cruel, and more a figure that can be understood; that is ''just like us'', a figure that still have a good heart deep down. The message being: "anyone can become a Pantalone one day, but it can change". (if they are properly traumatized into being gentle to others, like our man Ebenezer Scrooge).

Or even, a person that got blinded by power. And nothing good happens when a person that learned to hate the world and it's people gets power. They learned that the powerful ones can do as they please with vulnerable people like them, and what is sweeter for the oppressed than being the oppressor?

With all that in mind, let's continue.

The Pale Flame Set:

Genshin really went hard with the "rich man with a tragic past" trope for him.

So, we have here a man that feels so forgotten by the divine, so miserable and powerless, that he started to feel enraged at the gods and ready to declare war. It's important to notice since now: It's not about the money for him, it's about the power that comes with it. Because money is a power that common humans should control, not the gods. The gods don't need it, humans need. He needs it. In the end, it's more about him than the rest, I'll talk more about it later.

But what more do we know about him?

To start, many things we can discover about him in game shows that he is not stingy like the more classic versions of Pantalone. For example, the Goth Grand Hotel was entirely reserved by the fatui delegation. When we ask Goth about it, he says that Pantalone was so generous in his offer that he had no choice but to comply with the demand. This shows that he has no trouble using mora to get what he wants if words aren't enough. To me, this is just a good example of someone shamelessly using his power.

We see a similar indication of his "loose" fist on money when in Winter's Night Lazzo, he finds the idea of mourning for half a day absurd. Funny, even. In English, this is not very noticiable, but in Chinese, he sounds very passive-aggressive. He says that Pulcinella's values are ''more twisted than those of a banker like him'', and by that, unapologetically recognizing himself as a twisted person, considering that, right before, he was saying people say that the Northland Bank's true currencies are blood and tears (and cries of loss/wailing, in chinese). We haven't seen many harbingers speaking like this yet; this openly (or implicitly) sadistic.

Ok, Scaramouche was an asshole, Signora was patronizing, and Dottore is simply the cruelest character in the game yet, but I'm not talking about simply being cruel. There are types of cruelty. Signora never bragged about being cruel, neither was she sadistic. She acted violent with Venti for personal reasons, and was very diplomatic with the other archons. Dottore, too, acted very reasonable and calm in Sumeru, and even in the Zandik notes, he doesn't seem to enjoy the suffering of his patients and test subjects, it's just a natural part of the science for him. Scaramouche is the most similar one in that regard, but that speaks volumes by itself. He, too, was a very frustrated abused person wanting to feel like the abuser.

But there's more to it. In Liyue, when we ask Andrei about the Northland Bank, he says that the economy in Snezhnaya "have the brilliance and foresight of Master Pantalone to thank". Pantalone is regarded as a bold mind in economy, and therefore dangerous in many occasions. To start, we have Tartaglia's voice-over indicating his genius:

"Oh, now that guy has a head full of grandiose plans fueled by raw ambition. I don't understand a word he says once he starts talking about his theories… Eh, but as long as he keeps our cash reserves stocked up, I'm not complaining."

Then, we have Uncle tian tellilng us in Yelan's mission:

(...)"However, his "wealth" is not a mere question of how much Mora he has to his name. He has a very unique understanding of wealth… And what he's planning may very well shake the world to its core."

And finally, Scaramouche's voice-over cementing the point being built:

"Oh, the ninth-ranked guy. He's obsessed with the idea of "fair exchange," to the point of wanting to overthrow the natural imbalance between gods and humans. But, I guess it's just how ordinary mortals are like — it's easy for them to come up with pointless delusions. Honestly, it's nothing worth writing home about, just like how there's also nothing impressive about his abilities or choice of partner. Hmph. Anyone who chooses to work closely with The Doctor is sure to meet a nasty end."

Now, we can definitely conclude two things with all that people say about him.

He is very revolutionary and many are already aware that what he is planning will be groundbreaking.

He is ambitious enough to ally himself with a person openly known as destructive and abusive by the other harbingers themselves.

That leads us to the question…

What part will he possibly play in Genshin?

Let's put everything together: We have a character here that has a tragic past, is filthy rich, has revolutionary plans for the future, and apparently is…a bit fragile for a harbinger. What potentials does he have? What can be done with him?

Well, first, I think he will be a parallel to Ningguang.

By that, I'm not stating that I think he is from Liyue. It must seem very obvious for many, but let's not forget that nothing in game confirmed his nationality. Ever. We have to remember that many people were also super sure that Scaramouche would be electro because of ''what the game showed'', but in reality we never saw him using electro powers, we just assumed.

But by saying he will be a Parallel to Ningguang, I'm saying that both were very poor people that are now Teyvat's richest individuals. But while one managed to wake a vision solely by the force of ambition, the other still wasn't graced with one, even if his ambition is as big as (if not bigger than) Ningguang's. Not only that, their views on mora and wealth are very different; while Ningguang is content with things as they are now, Pantalone isn't.

Let's take a look on Wriothesley's signature weapon, the Cashflow supervision:

"We'll start by creating a new currency to replace the dependence on mora"

Hm...

"Nor shall the wealth of the Gods descend, to rescue the dignity of the poor from the feet of the rich."

I don't know about you guys, but I admit that when I first read Pantalone's pale flame piece I thought he was lowkey a radical communist acting as a capitalist(which I found neat, personally), but the Cashflow Supervision opened my eyes. Come on, I know it's not confirmed that the person speaking is Pantalone, but just look at it. He even uses the same analogy of arteries and blood!

Let's think about what is being said here.

He is planning on making a new currency, one that will wipe mora away from the picture. A good plan, if you ask me. And, do you remember? Zhongli told us once, in the end of the Liyue arc:

This is the best opportunity Pantalone could ask for. As the Golden House ceases operation, the Northland bank can act. And I believe this is the reason Pantalone was trying to interfere with Liyuean politics in the first place, with Liyue being the economic capital of Teyvat, of course it's important to have someone that will be more open to agree with his ideas in charge, even if it was treated as a secondary matter to him.

But aside from that, that final sentence in Cashflow supervision really sticks to me. Again this sort of gleeful enjoyment with the power he will have. It becomes obvious that his main motivations behind the ''fair exchange'' between gods and humans isn't to make things better for anyone particularly. The rich will still be rich and the poor will still be poor. What he craves is to feel like a god in the end. To have the power to give and take, to be both feared and praised. And then deny the ones in need, just like he felt the gods denied him in the past.

Now, returning to the Pantalone archetype.

There are two routes for villains like that: 1, they simply die. 2, they change their worldviews in a very traumatic event.

I think Pantalone will die... I don't know, it's a hunch. I sure hope he doesn't, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens. It's something in how Scaramouche hints he will have a nasty end too, or his dead anime mom hairstyle(kind of), or his white strands of hair... Or better, I think that he would be a good character to kill. Speaking about the narrative. He could die trying to bargain, or he could die while spitting the hardest truths possible to the traveler, maybe even making them reflect about the gods, the Archons, or what the Fatui want after all. I mean...we have now just 2 nations left, and the traveler didn't question anything about the harbingers' motivations?! Oh, please. Or maybe, if not the traveler, at least make the players symphatize with him. He is a very tragic character when you think about it.

If he lives, I think he is literally the best harbinger to make redeemable without it sounding ridiculous. Think about it: how many times a capitalistic villain was actually an anti-villain? I'll show you a very good example. Tumblr's lord and saviour himself:

Yes.

Pantalone is the best character in genshin to suffer a deep realization of his own morals in the best case scenario. But if not, he can flee or die trying to defend himself in the most tragic way, screaming. Maybe cry, plead, remember memories of himself in the past, and in the game? I'm sure some people will feel bad for him if there's a cutscene like this, as we defeat him, even if the final conclusion will be ''well, he deserved it''.

With all that said, I will conclude all this by saying that it's amazing how I love this character when he didn't even show up in the game yet. He has so much potential that I honestly feel that he can't fail, no matter the narrative they choose. It's already impossible. If he ends up being pathetic in the game? I'll love it. If he ends up being a complete maniac? I'll love it too. What if he is cold and calculating? Also fits and I'll like it! What about if he lives or dies? I'm all in, I will want to see it. The only way he can fail in the narrative is by dying too fast like Signora, I mean, before we can properly know more about him in the game(not only through weapons or artifact sets), but even so, Signora's death is the reason we got the Winter's Night Lazzo in the first place. Plus, I don't think Hoyoverse would repeat the same event twice, specially when they are improving the story-telling method significantly.

So think of any possibility for him, seriously, and tell me, honestly, wouldn't it be interesting?

#genshin harbingers #genshin impact #pantalone #character analysis #I should write one about Dottore too...#idk #maybe I will

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shallowseeker · 5 months

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Hey shall, what's your favourite/fun headcanons on why cas keeps getting resurrected at first I tought it was cause god/chuck liked him (like remember when ppl in the destiel fandom talked about how chuck ships them... good times) Then yea, that just didn't turn out to be true lol

Ohh, this is fun. I have some nice uplifting ones and one very evil one. I could probably come up with a ton of these, and I'm not feeling super eloquent this week, but have my mental popcorn instead:

CHUCK/NETWORK NEEDED CAS -> Popularity ...and it bit Chuck in the ass because he accidentally allowed Cas to grow more and more powerful, even when he (and the writers) worked so hard to weaken him and kill him off. I don't have the exact quotes, but I know there are numerous instances that imply the writers worked hard to weaken Cas.

When the writers have to work to make Cas weaker, and to make Dean and Sam stronger, it shows that Cas is the bigger threat, in terms of cosmic power.

Emotional consequences: Because Cas is important to Dean, Cas is often resurrected specifically because Dean loses hope without him. After his first death, Cas literarily functions as The Lost Husband/The Animal Bridegroom/The Artificial Husband for Dean specifically. Unlike characters like Sam's Amelia (season 8), Dean is obsessed with clinging to his loved ones, saying to CAS: "I did not leave you!" and to NAOMI through CAS: "Take it! But you're gonna have to kill me first. Come on, you coward. Do it. Do it!" In his insistance to look for Cas in Purgatory and keep not giving up on Cas, he sets himself apart from his many mirrors. He's a lot like the human consort in many of the “supernatural spouse” tales, brave and insistent in his trials, even when death separates him from his lover. NOTE: Amelia Novak also becomes a heroine in this regard when she decided to go looking for her "lost husband," Jimmy Novak but becoming ensnared and dies in season 10. ANYWAY, Dean and Cas tend to die when the other isn't around, and they both get so depressed it makes for pretty abysmal watching. Chuck doesn't like Cas, but he needs Cas because Dean needs Cas. Dean won't behave unless he has Cas with him. DEAN from 13x03: "This life, hunting, monsters, there’s no joy in it. There’s nothing but pain, horror and death." And DEAN from 13x05: BILLIE: Maybe you’re not that guy anymore, they guy who saves the world, the guy who always thinks he’ll win no matter what. You have changed. And you tell people it’s not a big deal. You tell people you’ll work through it but you know you won’t, you can’t and that scares the hell out of you. Or… am I wrong? DEAN: What do you want me to say? Doesn’t matter. I don’t matter.

///

TETHERED TO A BROTHER or TWIN -> Functions as a thrown lifeline; i.e. one shield must fall before the other can

Not Cas-specific, but so long as your "tethered" twin is alive you cannot die. We see this with Amara and Chuck, that taking out Chuck requires killing Amara. This appears often in SPN, like with Charlie and There's No Place Like Home and the Wizard. It makes you wonder if Michael and Lucifer are similar. If you squint, Chuck does not seem able to kill Michael in 15x19 until after Lucifer has been killed. Makes you wonder if that was his intent on having them kill each other all along. That by having one kill the other, he could finally take out the son-rivals, as in the style of archetypical God-father who, because of their immortality, sees sons as threat to power. So what does that mean for Cas? Not sure, but he could be tethered to an angel that's still living. Maybe jack himself? (Or Dean's soul, for that matter.) It's assumed that Jack wakes up Cas, but there's juicy potential for it to have been Dean doing it all along, something Jack tapped into when Dean was screaming in grief during the Sam fight: DEAN: He manipulated him, he made him promises, said, ‘paradise on earth’ and Cas bought it and you know what that got him? It got him dead! Now you might be able to forget about that, but I can’t! [JACK looks distressed outside the room.] JACK: Castiel. [JACK’S eyes glow gold.]

///

MANY OF CHUCK'S REBELLIOUS CHILDREN ARE ACTUALLY CURSED TO BE RISING-AND-DYING GODS

As to quote Gabriel, "they are like cancer," he has to eradicate them, as they represent wars of old which are no longer needed. I know the rising-and-dying deity motif is something of a modern configuration, but since it appears in Remember the Titans, you have to wonder if this is a nature intrinsic to Cas himself. As angels are unable to sleep, they are unable to die. From 8x16: ZEUS: Tell me, has Prometheus experienced the child's death yet? [HAYLEY gives a nod.] How did he take it? Did he hurt? [HAYLEY nods again.] Good. ...I never get tired of watching you die. [ZEUS, holding SHANE up, says it right into his ear.] Your boy is going on the mountain. (Interestingly, the mountain forward-references to the episode Moriah.) From 14x08: COSMIC ENTITY: Stop interrupting! Start paying attention. I'm taking him. And where I'm taking you is worse than Hell… because at least Hell is something. Ohh. Ohh, God, they look scared. Does that hurt you? Good… because I want it to. In this interpretation, the Shadow is a higher God, and it has cursed Castiel for helping humanity the same way Prometheus helped humanity. It uses similar linguistics!

///

EVIL CAS/SHADOW MEANING -> God's most trusted double agent

Cas is resurrected by Chuck because he's secretly an intractable agent of Chuck, God's most trusted, analogues to how Ruby was "the best of those sons of bitches." This would take on a Christian overtone, that Chuck and Jack are the same person. Evil interpretation where Cas having been an agent of Fate all along. With this shadow meaning, "Cas helped" from 15x20 becomes especially ominous. But there's also "it's not the bait, it's the fish, I think they're beginning to anticipate me" from 15x06 right after Dean accuses him of being "the something that always goes wrong." There's something eerie in the idea that Chuck and Jack are in fact the same person, and Castiel is loyal to Him above all. "This lie won't hurt them," from Gimme Shelter etc etc. This would make Dean, like Sally in "Last Call" the real symbolic fish. If hunting is recklessness, fishing is patience, and Cas/God/Jack were being patient and fishing Dean's soul all along, baiting him with Love. Cas as a honey trap is a frightening thought, honestly, and although I don't prefer this shadow interpretation, it IS scary if someone wanted to explore it or have Dean simply fear this possibility, you know? Dean has an inherent fear of large powers, like Godstiel, and Jack's power, and he's right to fear it. At the end of the story, Cas and Jack are the only main characters still alive, so there's a real possibility that it is Cas who won the long game, not Chuck.

edit - there’s also cas has a soul theory, that he cannot sleep in the empty the sand way jack becomes aware of heaven in byzantium

#asks #cas and mortality #cas stuff #immortality

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autumnbrambleagain · 5 months

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Hi, first time reader, first time caller. I ended up reading proselytize in between my various beginner runs in qud to keep me motivated. It's really good! You're a very talented writer with a great sense of pacing, character and style! I was just wondering though, do you have default builds for all the daughters of nafpor, or are they more like archetypes?

oh gosh thank you! i am always stunned at how well received proselytize has been, i'm glad people are enjoying it so much

i experiment a lot with them when i play them, so i have a lot saved, although TBH a lot of them are older characters from over a year ago

here's suir softbeast's canonical build, although this is just like. her base, larval form without any of her chimera stuff. there's a mod that lets you pick what your chimeric limbs are when evolving so you can have the exact same suir softbeast experience, the randomization of it means any future suir i play without that mod is going to be a radically different suir

you'll notice her intelligence is like, pretty high! it's said in the game she ends up being one of the best tinkers in qud and just convinces herself she's only good for being a blodshedding hedonist. my suir build strats were pick every physical mutation i could get, get extra limbs, the usual chimera stuff. i used swords as my main for the DV bonus and lunge action economy stacking, and axes in all the other offhands for dismemberment procs

it uses the marshtaur sprite, although i'd wish in a tattoo gun and recolor her in all white and gray. if i ever played her again i'd probably modify the sprite to make her look more like herself

here's tiyu-yutep's last build. psychometry isn't actually Very Worthwhile, but it was thematic and i'm the kind of idiot that will make a build for theme rather than efficiency. this is, in fact, a pretty BAD build, which I think is on its own level thematically important. the daughters of nafpor aren't all supertwinked hyperspecced characters, some of them just Played Good

normally i'd replace her sprite with a cat cherub sprite, but at this point next time i ever end up playing her i'd just make my own sprite for her

in actual gameplay i'd use precog and nectar to reroll mutations so i have a bespoke list of mental mutations stacked up as high as i can, and complement them with a ton of tinkered nonsense. tiyu-yutep's build is about maximizing options in every situation. something bad is happening? that's fine, i have 12 kinds of grenade, 10 mental mutations, and eight guns to solve it.

that's one of my igwashim builds, unlike tiyu and suir being kinda jack-of-all-trades (my preferred style ngl) ig is very much a "scry, teleport in, blast everything to sleep, axe axe axe axe axe axe axe" build

mutation points aren't spent on new mutations at all, and exist just to fill out the efficiency of her existing mutations. i use a mod to make teleport more accurate at very high levels, because teleportation is my nonsexual fetish and i crave being able to pinpoint teleport after i hit level 10

still she isn't just a bump-attack character. maximize information gathering and ambush tactics, never play fair. appearance change wish to turn her tile into a crypt ferret's, naturally, although now that i've started fumping about with modding, i'd just like. actually make a clade so instead of it saying "Mutated Human" it'd say "Mutated Ferret" or something. make it so dromads don't call me human they call me "ferret" or something

her having Socially Repugnant would be appropriate narratively but i never bothered with it since she didn't need it, 10 ego is enough to represent her being a talking animal

i don't have any specific build saved for Savithvyr, she was one of my first Qud characters and was just a Fuming God-Child specced around agility, willpower, and intelligence, mostly using gas grenades of various kinds alongside the billowing conch. also not an optimal build! but it was fun. flood the zone with gas and just sorta stand back and pick at the survivors with a gun or stab them with triple-element gaslight kris

there's a mod that lets you play goatfolk which i used for naara, but in version updates i don't have it installed right now and i'll be honest i don't remember what i did with her much other than mental mutations

ooo-ho-OOO-EEE-ah and Buwofu-gawufoo were actually companions that Savithvyr and Suir picked up in-game, they were never characters i played directly but as companions they lasted so long they felt like they were part of those characters' identities and so they had to make the transition into the game proper.

the brambled fae's original build is NO LONGER POSSIBLE because they increased the cost of horns, which i think is HILARIOUS because why shouldn't it be an actual illegal build?

not that it hasn't had a dozen different builds ANYway. it's my go-to most-used build and based off of one of my fursonas at its core, so it's the culmination of my bullshit jack-of-all-trades obsession.

MILD SPOILERS but ive posted it before on this blog anyway, it DOES have its own sprite since i still play variations on it regularly enough i made a sprite for it

although that doesn't really represent what it looks like in the story

that's getting a BIT closer to what it looks like when we finally get to the brambled pass

#caves of qud #autumn says things #caves of qud fanfiction

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lilyginnyblackv2 · 3 months

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Just some thoughts on Bravern so far...

I'm on Episode 6 of Bravern and I kinda like it, but I also kinda don't. I have a lot of mixed feelings on it, especially in regards to the character Lulu and how the series chose to introduce her character and her role thus far in the series (I'm not a fan of how they introduced her character with sexual aspects going on - the misconception that Smith was engaging in sex with her - and then now they are going a sort of childish and infantile route with her...It's just...kinda weird and creepy, but not in the usual way). I'm glad with how they've been NOT doing some things with her character (her role with Smith after her introduction hasn't been sexualized since, thank goodness), but the character archetype that they are going with her character so far is also one that I'm not really a fan of for reasons involving issues I have with some aspects of moe and whatnot.

Lulu is very cute though, and I actually really love the diversity in the female characters and their personalities!

I'm also not really a fan of love at first sight and soulmate stuff, so a lot of the Isami and Bravern moments, while humorous in some ways (though also a bit uncomfortable in some ways for me, because I feel like there are some slight consent issues going on) don't really emotionally connect at all either.

The storyline itself also seems kinda all over the place. Like, there is a consistent goal in the series so far, but I feel like a lot of the scenes don't really flow into each other as smoothly as they could or should, so it feels like things are just happening. There is a bit of a tonal whiplash too, due to the random bits of English that get thrown around, sometimes in grave or serious situations, that kind of just throw me for an unexpected loop. It makes me wonder if this is a series that I might like a bit more (in that regards) dubbed rather than subbed.

The character designs lean a bit too into bara (gei-comic) style for me personally (like, Tiger & Bunny character designs are my limit, and like Antonio's design is too much for me in that regards, though I adore his character - I tend to be more of a bishonen fan), but I do LOVE all of the gay subtext and text that is literally everywhere. The ED also is a thing of beauty, lmao. I also think this series does comedy extremely well.

I'm also just really intrigued by how things will go and play out and just how far the gay stuff will actually be pushed (I've seen a clip for a moment later on, so I have some general idea, but I want to see just how far it really goes). It's also nice to see anime original series just pushing boundaries and doing some different things. That's what they are there for.

I'm also open to seeing how things evolve and change with the series (some of the issues that I have might actually get addressed or flip around for me in a later episode). I'm not hooked on the series. It hasn't grabbed me in the same way as Buddy Daddies or Tiger & Bunny did, but I'm still interested and will still continue watching.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on this series so far. I'm probably going to do a write up after I finish it as well.

#bang brave bang bravern #bravern spoilers #thoughts #thought post

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gamerdog1 · 8 months

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Devilman Crybaby Review

The human body, for all its flaws, is surprisingly malleable. With the billions of people on this earth, living their own unique lives, one can find a variety of shapes and forms across our species.

But while the body can be beautiful, if twisted, it can also become monstrous. Stories of transformations and deconstructions of the human body have been around since ancient times, with each culture having their own that are passed down from generation to generation. Why is it, though, that we fixate on these tales of human transformation, of monster-hood? Perhaps they confront our fears head-on, tackling tough topics such as bodily autonomy, disability, racism, sexism, and the like. Whatever is the case, stories of humans defying their bodies and undergoing transformations have stayed in the minds of many for ages, and continue to be told and retold for generations.

All of this is to say, that when a major series concerning this type of story is brought to me, I'm sure as hell to pay attention. One of my favorite story arcs is tales of human transformations, so when this anime was assigned to me for this month's Anime Exchange, I was very excited. How could it not be good? Its a guy who turns into a monster! Unfortunately, things aren't so simple...

Devilman Crybaby is an anime series produced by Aniplex, and released by Netflix in 2018. The series, based on the manga Devilman, by Go Nagai, follows a highschooler named Akira and his best friend Ryo. When Ryo and Akira discover a burgeoning population of demons in human disguise, Akira fuses with a powerful demon, and the pair form a crime-fighting duo bent on eliminating the monsters. Along the way, Ryo's motivations become more and more sinister, and Akira struggles with his newfound powers and the responsibility he feels comes with them.

Akira's journey, from 'crybaby' weakling to monstrous hero is shown in a way that prompts audiences to weigh the pros and cons of his new powers. Akira's new powers come with a more conventionally attractive and muscular body, one that brings him unwanted romantic and sexual attraction from women everywhere. He's the fastest on the cross country running team, but is plagued with nightmares of monstrous women. Rather than giving Akira this new, improved quality of life with his demon powers, the anime goes out of its way to show that even though he's a superhero now, his life isn't any easier.

However, it would have been nice if the series pushed this dichotomy a little bit harder. On the surface, Devilman Crybaby is a textbook example of the 'Descent into Monster-hood' story: a plot in which an ordinary human is infected with or otherwise acquires a monstrous alter ego, which they can transform physically into. The human grapples with this newfound power, and must struggle to control their violent urges or incredible strength, as they hide it from family and friends. (gif relevant)

While the first chunk of episodes follow this plot archetype well, giving an interesting take on it, the series doesn't show enough of Akira struggling with his powers for it to feel satisfying. Sure, he has a massive appetite, and runs like a lizard on cocaine, but we never really get to see how his powers clash with his 'ordinary' life. This, then, makes his transition into accepting his demonic nature feel a bit rushed, skipping the most important part of the 'Descent into Monster-hood': the descent itself.

The visuals of this series are... perplexing. Equal parts graceful and beautiful as it is wonky and hilarious, the animation is something that you can't look away from, for love nor money. Characters that are standing close to the center of the shot look wonderful, and move with slick, sweeping motions, their eyes sharp, as if everyone is wearing mascara. But when the camera angle changes, and the shot pulls further back, characters turn into shapeless blobs of color, leading to important characters doing important things looking laughable. A scene where Ryo waves a gun around and beckons for Akira to join him becomes instant comedy once the camera moves to a wide shot, for example.

This, combined with the total lack of shading on any living thing in this anime, leads to a look hurts the series more than it helps. Its amazing how the art style of this show swings back and forth, between really stylish and nice, to ridiculous. At times, I wanted to snap a screenshot of a scene and see if I could fix it myself with shading and more solid shapes at a distance, but its not like that would help.

Adding shadows to characters wouldn't be enough to distract from the most glaring issue I had with this series: its portrayal of women. I know that its basically common knowledge in anime these days, that you shouldn't go looking for good female representation in shonen/seinen series, but I believe that genres and demographics can change with the times. Every modern adaptation of an older property has the chance to do justice where the original failed, correcting the mistakes caused by short-sighted ignorance and old-school biases. Dororo, a series I reviewed earlier this year, shows that this can be done without an issue, without affecting the plot in major ways.

And yet, we have this series, which only ups the ante in terms of making women the target of every crime and misfortune, going out of its way to portray them either as screaming victims or walking pairs of breasts. Out of all the female characters in this anime, the amount that were never shown naked, in sexual situations, or dying horribly is pretty low, possibly zero. Yes, its a dark and violent reboot of an already violent manga, meant to be a cautionary tale about humans being too quick to judge others and destroying the world because of it, but this also came out in 2018. Most people would expect a little bit of decorum, at least.

The first incident, the club scene in episode 1, was shocking, but made perfect sense. An underground sex club full of drugs, topless women, and neon lights is the perfect setup for Akira's worldview changing as he fights his first demon. Its wild, colorful, and the bass is loud and constantly thumping, like a heartbeat. It makes the carnage seem surreal and fantastical, like the audience is tripping alongside Akira.

But then we learn about Miki, Akira's childhood best friend, and her illicit model job which she feels that she must do in order to make money. In one scene, Miki travels to her boss' house, and uses his bathroom to rinse off after getting caught in the rain. Unbeknownst to her, the bathroom has a one-way mirror, through which her boss takes nude photos of her without her knowledge. Later, when Akira meets with Miki on her balcony, a scene that was probably intended to further their romantic chemistry is shattered when we see that Miki is wearing a see-through nightgown.

Then there's Miko, Miki's running rival, whose main characteristic that she is first introduced by is her large breasts that bounce when she runs. Unlike her rival, Miko has a more compelling story, revolving around her accepting a demon into her in order to prove herself against Miki, all for a nickname and a sense of pride. When Miko finally admits her jealousy to Miki, the two share some tears, in a heartwarming scene of acceptance amidst strife and chaos. Her arc, of rising above manipulation and sexual assault to become a powerful monster, had me worried at first, but had me in a good mood by the end of the series. Yet no matter how important Miko is, no matter how cool they make her 'Devilman' form, the show continues to emphasize her breasts, which expand to a ridiculous size and bounce around with each movement like water balloons.

Not everything is horrible in this anime, though. The music is stellar, full of thumping club songs, and a remake of the original Devilman no Uta, the theme song of the original Devilman series. A lot of the soundtrack is now on my personal playlists for writing, because they have this dark, yet energetic vibe to them.

As well, the violence in this series is top notch. In a show where a teen turns into a monster and beats up other monsters, you'd be a fool to not expect some bloodshed. Still, this series lays it on thick, bathing in a pool of yellow and red blood from the carnage of each episode. Akira's transformation in the first episode is a stand-out moment for me, just because of its sheer coolness factor. His eyes, the point-of-view shot from inside the demon's mouth, Akira's chest heaving with effort, its just a beautiful shot that I wish I could print out and stick to my wall.

At times, Devilman Crybaby reminded me of Castlevania, the other major violent, monster-y Netflix anime with critical acclaim. While both shows have vastly different approaches to pacing, monster design, art direction, and nudity, both hit that sweet spot of 'one guy killing lots of monsters in a shower of blood' that kept me coming back for more every time.

Devilman Crybaby is not a bad anime, but its not perfect either. Its visual quality is inconsistent, its main character's story arc could use a bit more polish, and as someone assigned female at birth, it made me pretty uncomfortable with how it treats it's female characters. At the same time, when it looks good, it looks great, especially during fight scenes, which are full of guts and glory.

Still, my mind can't shake this anime's apparent obsession with naked women. Any time they appeared on screen, I wondered what the purpose of them being there was. Is every topless, moaning woman necessary for each scene? Am I supposed to be feeling something other than fear, disgust, or annoyance when they appear onscreen? And would it kill these guys to give Miko a sport's bra when she's running?!

I went into this series with three memories of it, from when I tried watching it when it first released: drug-addled club scene gone wrong, ripping a snake in half, and a guy running weirdly. While I sure got all three of those, they also came with more bare breasts than a womens' locker room, with all the subtlety of a clown. At least, as the end of the day, I know understand all the people shipping Ryo and Akira.

#anime and manga #anime review #review #film critic #anime #anime critique #devilman #devilman crybaby

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usuratongaychi · 3 months

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On Sakura

I hated sakura so much when watching the show, yet when you list out her achievements it DOES LOOK LIKE SHE IS USEFUL, so why when actually watching the show does all of that disappear? Why is she so hated in the fandom?

(Ignoring the fact that this is a shounen based anime, where the main fanbase is a bunch of misogynistic men)

From a writing standpoint, kishimoto doesn't have the best outlook on women. In my personal opinion, I really dislike how women are portrayed in the series. A lot of it falls under the “nagging wife” archetype, which just reminds me a lot of those old boomer jokes abt hating women or hating their wife.

Also, when i talk about disliking sakura, I’m not talking about her in the OG. I mean, she was 12-13 then, and most 12yr olds are annoying. Comparatively to Naruto and Sasuke, she lived a pretty privileged life, so I think her attitude was justified. Both Naruto and Sasuke had their…moments…as well.

I think in a lot of the filler, they trump up her personality to the point where its annoying, similarly with naruto but bc hes male and also a mega idiot already, it isnt talked about. Filler isnt present in the manga, so manga readers tend to appreciate her more.

here is where i get a little biased..

Comparatively to naruto and sasuke’s connection (they are literally soulmates, platonically or romantically), her romance with sasuke is so flat and one dimensional. Shounen in general as a genre focuses so much on male characters development. It honestly feels like their romance was hastily thrown together at the end of the series. This makes her devotion to him seem shallow and vain.

(This next part is only really applicable to shippuden and somewhat in the OG series i dont really expect a 13yr old with no jutsu to be the best fighter)

I feel like the series intentionally makes her, and really every woman character weaker in terms of endurance (besides Tsunade). Like it feels like the writers say "thats enough fighting for a girl, make her get knocked out" 20secs into a fight. I remember watching her battle with Sasori and being so excited for her to be a badass in shippuden..only for a bunch of episodes to pass and not really getting that same feeling again. To be fair, I wonder if i would have felt the same if I skipped filler episodes. Regardless, I think she could have been more involved in combat, I would have loved to see that from her. “But she’s a healer!!” she can fight also, doesn’t she do that in Boruto? She can do both.

I also think the studio fucks her over a LOT. Theres a few other moments of her in the anime saying some pretty outrageous things, one of them being “I wish i had parents I could respect a bit more, I’d be better off without them….Why’d you have to be here now? If it was Sasuke, I know he would understand”, to an orphan, which is wild as fuck. I can’t remember if that episode was filler or not, but some of the lines they give her are just outright insane. I can’t think of a sane character that would say that.

In conclusion to this essay of a post..

Fuck The Writers.

#sakura haruno #sakura get behind me i will protect you from these writers #haruno sakura #im sorry i actually hate kishimoto

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somethingwittyandweird · 6 months

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What's your favorite game you played this year?

You've activated my “review of my year in gaming” trap card! I was already going to make this post in some form or another, you've just given me the perfect launching point. So, the first thing you should know about asking me for favorites: I never give just one. How could I, when it's been such a banger year of games? (Heads up, this one's going to go long.)

I loved Tears of the Kingdom to death, and it took home my most hours played on Switch. It is a shining example of what devs can do with an extra few months to polish a game. There were so many remarkable moments that testified to how much care and ideas the devs were able to put in. I loved how it used the time since the first game to develop familiar places and characters, adding depth (no pun intended) and also making sure every familiar location had some new twist. The story was a much stronger followup to BotW, and I think this overall has my new favorite ending sequence of anything in the series (I'd love to make a full post sometime about how the final Ganondorf battles just keep getting more spectacular with each new title). I am so, so, so, so normal about this incarnation of Princess Zelda.

Also in my favorites this year is Fire Emblem Engage, which hit at just the right time to scratch my strategy itch. As a long time FE fan it’s not a surprise I enjoyed this one- though it lost the political intrigue of its predecessor in favor of a more traditional/tropey story, I still had a lot of fun with all its gimmicks and gameplay innovations. Also it is hands-down the most visually appealing game in the franchise, a title previously held by the series’ GBA entries which are masterworks from the peak era of beautiful sprite art. From the incredible crit animations to the spectacle of super attacks to the battle maps which are so beautifully detailed that the game lets you free roam around them after a battle just to appreciate them better.

I finished the Link’s Awakening remake this year! It was a charming trip back to an older era of Zelda design philosophy and I found it fascinating to compare the ways where the classic puzzles and challenges differ from what the game would be like if it were made today, as well as the places where modern technology allowed for better QoL changes that weren’t in the original. I really enjoyed the music as well, which I find to be a standout among the series still.

Here at the end of the year, I have to give a shout out to Sea of Stars. It has everything you want in an indie darling- very pretty pixel art, very nice music, turn-based battles with timed hits I joke, but Sea of Stars does a great job balancing evoking/paying homage to icons like Chrono Trigger and bringing new gameplay to the JRPG formula. I like its pared-down take on JRPG combat which revamps skills/mana into a much more dynamic resource that’s constantly being spent and regenerated, and I’m a known sucker for character combo attacks which this game has in spades. The later parts of its story are told with a lot of heart, and again I am a known sucker for certain character archetypes. Surprisingly also, I think the movement and exploration is absolutely a standout- not something that’s typically emphasized in the genre. But this game constantly has you hopping across stepping stones, balancing on tightropes, climbing walls and ledges… the emphasis on interesting traversal and verticality is a strength few games like it can boast.

Before my final pick, I’m including a special section for all the games I didn't play myself but watched my friends play and still want to praise: Hi-Fi Rush, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Mario Bros Wonder, Pizza Tower, the Minish Cap Switch rerelease, and more all came out this year and all of them have brought killer music, excellent gameplay, and stunning visuals that I’ve enjoyed to no end. Anyone considering to pick up any of them would find a quality product without a doubt.

With all that said: I think ultimately it has to be Tunic in the end. Underneath its premise of a Zelda/Souls-like adventure game there is a wealth of secrets that goes as far down as you have the courage to delve. It’s a game built to evoke nostalgia for games that you didn’t understand yet, posing as a game that you watched an older sibling play or a game you could only find a poorly-translated foreign copy of. It obscures everything and teaches you its secrets through context, exploration, and discovering in-game pages of the manual (remember manuals?). It’s a game made for lovers of secrets and puzzles, full of hidden paths and trophies that reward inquisitiveness and observation (and taking paper notes). It was when I saw that it not only has a conlang, but that it gives you the hints you need to fully translate it, that I knew I had to get it myself. It spurred me to screenshot every in-game piece of menu text, then spend evenings cross-referencing it to identify phonemes and construct a key.

The rush I got on completing that key is one of two moments I knew this game was absolutely special. The second standout moment is when the game teaches you its hugest secret, and then invites you to prove your mastery of it by presenting you a huge, multi-part puzzle. But, Tunic does the same thing that one of my other all-time favorites, Outer Wilds, does so well: powerups via knowledge, “unlocking” abilities that you always had, you just didn’t know that you did. The pieces to this puzzle are hidden in plain sight; it’s only when the game tells you what you’re looking for that your understanding shifts, everything clicks, and your eyes are opened to the path you have to follow. I don’t say it lightly, but I consider Tunic to be a one-of-a-kind title, and one that delivers completely on its unique vision.

In case that brick of text doesn’t make it clear, I love this game.

I love all of these games.

It's a fine time to be alive.

#i talk a lot tag #skysometric #loz #totk #sea of stars #fire emblem #fe17 #link's awakening #thank you so so much for giving me this space to make this post #sorry-not-sorry about the wall of text jumpscare #i mean everything i said sincerely and honestly still have more to say about some of these #that i'll save for another time #long post

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animebw · 4 months

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So I've been musing over the differences between Sunshine and School Idol Project over the past few days of semi-hiatus, and I think a few stray thoughts have clicked together. There's a subtle but critical difference in the way these two shows carry themselves, a difference that ultimately explains why I enjoy SIP more. And it comes down, believe it or not, to realism.

Like, let's be clear, all iterations of Love Live are farcical melodramas first and foremost. You are not gonna catch me calling any entry in this franchise a nuanced and grounded take on the human condition. But there's a subtle, meaningful degree of realism in SIP's character writing that just isn't quite there in Sunshine's cast. The girls of Muse, on some level, all come off as believable, if exaggerated, teenagers within their circumstances, while Aquors' characterization leans a bit more, for lack of a better descriptor, "anime quirky." As much as I love most of these characters, I'm always conscious of them as characters in a way that SIP mostly manages to avoid throughout its run.

To explain what I mean, let's compare the student council presidents, Eri and Dia. Now, neither of these characters are my favorite member of their respective franchises. But it's worth noting that when I look at Eri, I don't just see a character who is a student council president. I see a girl who is a believable student council president. Eri is mature, she's sensible, she's got a strong work ethic, and while she has her flaws, she's a natural leader who clearly feels comfortable taking charge and handling difficult situations (which makes Honoka's arc in the second season all the more compelling as we see her struggle to live up to that example). If I met her on the street and didn't know her already, it would probably only take a few minutes of conversation for me to assume she held some kind of leadership position. I don't have to stretch my imagination to wonder how a person like her could be a student council president, because it just makes sense that someone like her would be drawn to a role like that. It feels natural.

That is not the case with Dia.

Dia is, quite simply, a mess. She's overly intense, deeply insecure, quick to anger, and seems to consider dealing with other people an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome. If I was meeting her for the first time, I would assume her hobbies were sports or something else competitive before I pegged her for a leader. Which is not to say you can't write characters who don't quite fit the roles they carry out! But with Dia, it's not just that she doesn't strike me as leadership material; I don't see her as someone who would want to be student council president. I can't picture her looking at the kinds of tasks and responsibilities this job entails and saying, "Yes, this is the path I want to pursue. This is what makes me happy." Student Council President is a title she wears, but it doesn't feel like a life she lives, or a life she even wants to live. And we barely even see her do any council work in the first place, so it's not like we have a sense of how she operates in this position. There's just very little connection between the role she supposedly carries out and the character we're presented with.

Point is, when I look at Eri, I have no trouble believing that her journey in life naturally brought her to this point. When I look at Dia, I find myself asking how someone like her ended up pursuing this path when it feels like by all rights she should've landed somewhere else. It feels like "student council president" is a character trait slapped onto her rather than a natural extension of her as a person. She is a "student council president" not because it makes sense for who she is, but because "student council president" is a popular archetype in anime, so this show must have a "student council president" as well. And it just requires that extra bit of suspension of disbelief to buy into that Eri never demanded of me.

Yes, it's a minor detail. One might even call it a nitpick. But it's paying attention to those little details that made SIP's cast so easy to buy into. It's the difference between Maki being a rich girl who's family owns some vacation houses and Mari somehow becoming the goddamn school director while she's still a teenager. It's the difference between Nico's gremlin energy coming from a very recognizable brand of turbo-geek toxicity and Yoshiko just being so overwhelmingly chuuni. Not to mention how SIP grounds its characters' lives in subtle, genuine imperfections, like Nico's family situation forcing her to take on more adult responsibilities, or Rin's complex over her perceived lack of femininity, or Nozomi struggling to form lasting relationships after changing schools so much. As absurd and over-the-top as Muse's members are, there's a truth to the way they exist in their world that truly makes them leap off the screen. And as much fun as Aqours cast is, that subtle grounding just isn't there. They're quirky and lively and pull at my heartstrings, but they exist solely as fun characters, not as people I feel like I could genuinely get to know and share a connection with.

#anime #tabw #the anime binge watcher #love live #love live!#love live! sunshine!!#2013 aniwatch

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captainvulcant · 4 months

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ATLA vs NATLA: The same woman problem

There was one thing which particularly stood out for me in the live action ATLA (though it is not alone in this phenomenon) and that is how all the female characters seemed like they were reduced to the same basic archetype. We've seen it a lot in the media recently, the cool girl who is slightly wry, incredibly competent, badass, kicks ass, you get the idea. This is very much the modern makeover I felt the female characters in NATLA were given, and it got me thinking about ATLA and how good it was at presenting different types of women.

We had Katara who was fierce and nurturing, Suki who was cool and competent, Yue who was soft and kind, Toph who was brash and confident, Azula who was smart and scary, Ty Lee who was bright and mischievous, Mai who was insoucient and loyal. In the live action it felt like we just got different flavours of the same person.

I didn't take as much issue with the fire nation trio, Azula seemed pretty in character and we didn't see enough of Mai and Ty Lee yet to judge. I hope that they and Toph keep more of their strong personalities in season 2.

But Katara Suki and Yue fell pretty flat for me. A lot of Katara and Suki's personality traits were sacrified in the name of making Sokka less sexist. His learning in this area centres around his relationships with Katara and Suki and, therefore, with this aspect of his character removed it necessitated changing theirs. I don't personally see this as more progressive than the alternative.

Katara A huge part of Katara's personality is removed in the live action. Her nurturing, motherly nature has long been a point of contention in the fandom. But it represented a subset of women who are like that (ask any eldest daughter if Katara resonated with her). In the cartoon Katara and Sokka definitely trade off on being the responsible one of the group. Katara takes care of the basic needs, the emotional needs, and keeping the group together. Sokka takes care of navigating and the safety of the group. I don't know why they couldn't have kept this. Instead, Katara is treated like a child by Sokka (a whole year her senior and apparently all the wiser for it). The way that Katara takes over the role of her mother in the animation is reality for a lot of girls, these things often fall on daughters and I think Katara was a really important character for highlighting this.

Sokka's story focusses heavily on him trying to live up to his dad, so we could easily have had a parallel with Katara trying to live up to her mum. Characters can have more than one motivation, but for Katara we were just given her waterbending. And even here we miss key things through Katara being taught healing rather than discovering it herself, and then rejecting learning healing in favour of learning to fight. Ironically, NATAB has failed to understand the message of the northern water tribe arc - that both healing and fighting are important. And that is Katara: she heals and she destroys. She is a nurturer and a fighter. She is both, and both are important.

Additionally, a lot of Katara's relationship with Aang comes from her concern over him. With this absent, their relationship doesn't feel as strong, Aang instead being the one to teach and help her. Katara's emotional bond with Aang is also used in the live action as a plot point but it falls short of the emotional impact of the original because we have not been shown that bond. Katara's nurturing nature being contrasted with her fighting spirit and prowess is such a wonderful personality contrast which really rounds out her character in the animation and I felt its absence.

Suki I already talked about this briefly in my overall review so I will be short here. I personally didn't like what they did with Suki's character in the live action. In the animation I love how playful Suki is with Sokka. She is very self-assured, she knows what she wants and she goes for it. With Sokka's character changes we don't see this side of Suki with him anymore, she is unsure and un-wordly. Sokka seems instead to take the lead. She may still have the physical strength but the live action Suki feels lacking in emotional and internal strength for me. Added to this is her mother, who further brings out a side of Suki that isn't in the animation and I don't particularly identify with her character. I honestly can't quite explain my issue with other than it gave me an off feeling and the ick. I feel like I've seen this character so many times before, whereas Suki in the animation felt really refreshing.

Yue This is where we see the biggest departure from the animation. It's like they were so scared to make a main female character anything other than badass (in a very specific definition of badass). Every other female character I mentioned at the beginning can fight, and can fight well. Yue is the only main female character in the original who cannot, who doesn't even bend, and I think that's really important. It's important that Yue uses words instead of fighting, it's important that she does this despite the difficulties she faces due to her place in the world as a woman.

I was confused about why they would keep the Northern Water Tribe's tradition of women not being allowed to fight but not also keep the patriarchal governing system in place. Making Yue a bender and a priestess takes away the whole point of her original sacrifice, which is that you don't have to be physically strong or an amazing martial artist or bender to make a difference. It's Yue's heart which matters. Apart from the Avatar, Yue is arguably the most important character in the whole of the story. She is a soft girl, she is a kind girl, she is a girl who hasn't really been given much of a voice, she is a girl who has had her life very much decided for her. And she saves the moon. She saves waterbending. She does that. Only she could do that. To me Yue is an important parallel for both Aang and also Ozai (and to a lesser extent Zuko and Azula). She is the example Aang must follow, her destiny was to save the moon as Aang's destiny was to be the Avatar. These things are decided, how they approach them is up to the individual. With Ozai, Yue is his foil as a good leader. Unlike Ozai she never held the power of leadership, but she did assume the responsibility. She sacrificed herself for her people, Ozai sacrificed his people for his power.

The way they characterise Yue in NATLA just felt like too much of a departure from the original for me. They even make fun of the original when Yue says that she isn't really like her princess act (her act being how Yue is in the animation). Absolutely no hate to the live action actress as she was just acting how she was written and directed (although for me personally I also did not get any Yue vibes from her in terms of looks), but that Yue was far closer in personality to Katara and Suki (and even Sokka) than the animation Yue was. It's ok to have different types of female characters, and I hate how Hollywood has created this homogenised female archetype that is everywhere now.

I will end this on saying this is my personal opinion, a lot of this is based on feelings I had while watching it rather than concrete thoughts so obviously many people will disagree with what I have said, which is totally fine! I did find the characters to be a bit flat, I don't think there's anything wrong with making characters a bit more individual and vibrant even in something which is supposed to be "realistic". And once again I feel like the writing of female characters in particular has been let down. I think we sacrificed elements of the girls personalities in order to make them all extremely competent (apart from Suki who was too competent so they pulled her back towards the middle lol). As I've said before, much of this might have been solved by having a 10 or 12 episode run which allows for more character development and less plot. I think studios need to seriously think about whether this format serves the stories they are trying to tell.

#natla #natla review #atla live action #natla spoilers #atla #another long one guys sorry #am i imagining things or is every female character turning into a marvel version of themselves?#like yes they're very cool and quippy but where are my kids where are my children where are my little murderers and big princesses?#where have they gone?

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