#one day I will continue my full analysis of the show

[happymeishappylife]

I posted 1,656 times in 2022

174 posts created (11%)

1,482 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@frejennix

@thistlefly

@meg-pond

@starberry-cupcake

@circular-time

I tagged 1,382 of my posts in 2022

Only 17% of my posts had no tags

#doctor who - 108 posts

#new music - 96 posts

#teehee - 89 posts

#the sandman - 76 posts

#dracula daily - 75 posts

#spotify - 62 posts

#favorite bands - 59 posts

#dw spoilers - 58 posts

#thirteenth doctor - 50 posts

#spoilers - 42 posts

Longest Tag: 101 characters

#the bob marley on the door knocker scene scared me so much i ran out of the room everytime it came on

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

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18 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

#4

Me playing Assasin's Creed for the first time: Why does Desmond sound like Nathan Drake?

Me: *Looks up voice actor and discovers its Nolan North*

Me: Oh because it is Nathan Drake. Hi Nate in a new body lol

21 notes - Posted July 17, 2022

#3

I love Arthur Darvill and think he's a great actor and that episode didn't change that even though I absolutely wanted to beat the shit out of Richard Madoc and cheered on his destruction.

But I also realize how much I really love love love, Tom Sturridge's Dream because even when he's threatening and scary I am just filled with such warmth during that entire episode on seeing him.

68 notes - Posted August 28, 2022

#2

The Legacy of the Second Doctor as played by Patrick Troughton

Now I said that the show would not have happened without William Hartnell, but the show would not have survived without Patrick Troughton. Because it was an incredible risk to introduce a new actor as the face of the main character and not only allow that to be a thing the show, but for him to play the character completely different and have it work out. And not only did Patrick Troughton volunteer to take this risk, he pulled it off and made the show what we love about it today.

The Doctor was always mysterious and eccentric, but Patrick’s performance turned the Doctor from some grumpy old grandfather to an eccentric clown, with a clever mind. He brought more physical characterization to the Doctor with his brilliant facial work and also action work that brough more life and energy into the character. Often pretending to be stupid in front of his enemies or situations that he wanted to learn more about, he turned the tables on many of his foes by using this against them to learn how to defeat them. And because of this introduced a level of manipulation the Doctor possesses that later incarnations use far more craftily.

But the Doctor now truly embraces his destiny to fight evil, constantly giving speeches to those that just sit by or intend to do harm that this is something he will never let pass. In truth behind all his clowning, this Doctor truly becomes the hero we know and love about the Doctor. Plus he brings a seriousness to scientific study and invention and was the perfect actor to set up the lore the show has been missing since it was brought to television. Quite a feat for such a gamble in the world of television.

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69 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

What The Three Doctors is supposed to be: A great celebration of 10 years of Doctor Who including all the actors who played the Doctor.

What The Three Doctors really is: A Brigadier reaction video to Doctor Who.

184 notes - Posted May 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[imaginariumwanderer]

JUST WANNA SAY ur art got me back into shadowvanilla, I was into it right when sm showed up in crk but no one was talking about the ship so I kinda forgot about it, but now there's so much good food 😩✨ ANYWAY HERE'S A DRAWING I MADE TODAY since you (and some fics) inspired me to get back into the ship :3c

Please excuse me for a moment while I lose my mind over this fanart

AGAGAAGAGAGA THEY! THEM!! THIS IS SO PRETTY ASHDGFJHKLASKJKL;

*Cough* now to get us back on track, my wacky origin story with this wacky ship: technically speaking, the 3rd anniversary update is what got me posting for the crk fandom ealier this year. I remember seeing PV and SM first meeting in Beast-Yeast and thinking "oh why do they kindaaa... U know?" then seeing PV interacts w/ SM in the quiz show segment and how he's subtly fighting back in his own way got me like "oh shit?? Can i have some more pls???"

Anyways, I remember browsing through tumblr not long after, seeing some shadowvanilla fanarts, thinking "wait, is this a ship?? Is this allowed??" and coming across the wonderful, amazing, beautiful Echo paradox AU one fateful day. I've been oar-struck with the ship ever since. All this to say, you and I are in the same boat! It's thanks to other shippers that I got sailing, my art dragging another one onboard is definitely this coming full-circle.

I'm so glad to see such a talented artist joining this shipdom, thank you! As a perpetual rarepair shipper, it's my greatest joy is to see fans express their passion for certain unknown/obscure pairings through fanart, fanfic, analysis etc and getting others sucked into the rabbit hole along the way (ah yes, spreading the brainrot muahaha yesss)

There's still so much I want to do with these two idiots. I don't see myself stopping with the shadowvanilla content any time soon, at least not before SM is playable. So until then, please bear with me while continue to be obnoxious about them^^

[quinton-reviews]

have you ever thought about doing a Game Shakers video? or is the show too boring to really justify such a thing?

So when it comes to doing Henry Danger and Game Shakers videos, there are really a few things I think people need to keep in mind...

The mini-series so far is really heavily about me revisiting my nostalgia and kind of answering my curiosity about where these shows went. So reviewing iCarly and Victorious worked because they were of "my era." Sam & Cat worked on that level of "What happened after I stopped watching?" I think that if I don't have a specific goal or pitch, just flippantly watching kid shows from faaaar past my childhood works less as a concept.

One of the great things about iCarly and Victorious is that both shows are barely, and I mean BARELY, in the copyright system on YouTube. Once or twice per season, I'd get one clip or one episode that I had trouble with. But it was shocking how much I could get away with. Sam & Cat was hell because it was clear that by 2013 Nick was uploading stuff to the YouTube copyright library as it was made. So no matter what I did, I would get a copyright claim. This is honestly why those final two videos were much more indulgent than my usual style. I kind of went, "if I have to fight copyright anyway, might as well show more clips..." I regret this somewhat, as now my new video still has 20+ days until I'll have full ads AND I now have a reputation for only recapping plotlines. But that's what you get I guess.

This is much more a thing for Henry Danger than Game Shakers, but another issue is just how much content there is with these shows. Henry Danger has a decade of content, recapping all of it would be both unsurmountable journey and... Well, not fun to watch. So if I ever did these shows, I would have to really focus more on season-by-season analysis rather than actual episodes.

I think my videos on iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat are all connected by certain themes and points that I am now drawing closure to. The gags about "the creator," the cognitive dissonance, the attachment to childhood, etc. So if I do reviews on other shows, I have to find new angles and themes to establish. Drake & Josh and Zoey 101 are topics I like because instead of focusing on the creator, I can focus on the lives of the stars and how fame affected them. When it comes to Game Shakers and Henry Danger, the only possible throughline I can think of is how the shows were effective by the collapse of their creator and production studio. Henry Danger continued and improved while Game Shakers was effectively canceled early and fell on its face. But we've already covered all that. Game Shakers just doesn't have that pull to me, and because of that, I can't imagine finding an excuse to review it.

[hongluboobs]

ok i was cooking up another hong lu analysis thing bc i noticed SEVERAL things in his base id art the other day and wanted to share with the class but they just dropped a new one in the canto V trailer and i have some stuff i wanna talk about that one:)

My Hong Lu knowledge and interpretation is very heavily influenced by reading Dream of the Red Chamber, which may not be the best because I don’t know how much Limbus will pull from the book because it’s Long as fuck but I think it’s given me a deeper knowledge of Hong Lu.

Keep in mind this ego is NOT out yet so i could be totally off base depending on what the full animation/corrosion/sin affinities are like and this is totally theorizing but I wanted to have a go at anyway!! And this got totally out of hand so reading is appreciated :)

One of the first things I noticed here is this Hong Lu seems VERY Bao-yu. We still don’t know for sure what Hong Lu is within the context of Red Chamber (i don’t think it’ll be straightforward considering how that book works) but it’s important to note!

He has this little hat on (this is the best pic i can get atm to show it’s not a fancy hair tie, unfortunately the footage we have rn is a little scuffed)

and Bao-yu is ALWAYS depicted with a hat like this.

This could just be because that’s the appropriate outfit for Chinese nobility (I unfortunately have little to no reference point here, feel free to correct me, but from some quick searches hats aren’t ubiquitous and ESPECIALLY not ones of this style.) I think it’s worth noting because it comes up in nearly all modern depictions of Bao-yu.

There’s also the pearl Hong Lu is wearing on his neck/chest area, which is where Bao-yu wears the magic jade he was born with. His jade is translated into Limbus as Hong Lu’s jade eye, but this plus his hat and the abno’s themes REALLY makes me think we are dealing with some Bao-Yu stuff here.

Speaking of the Abno’s themes, now i can actually go over them! All we have for Walking Pearl right now is the MD event (as well as general observation), but there’s a few things that are relevant.

Just based off design, the abnormality seems to be mostly about the precious (the pearl) and the filth (the muck) intermixing. which makes sense with the EGO being named “Effervescent Corrosion” and our holders being Hong Lu and Rodya.

There’s some symbolism around greed/wealth (the offspring filled muck desiring the pearl and fighting for which one will earn it? the muck tarnishing the pearl? ) and I think we should read into that because it’s Hong Lu and Rodya who have this one and they’re both very tied to their financial status. Those two sharing an ego makes me insane for a bunch of reasons but that’s probably for another analysis piece! But duality is REALLY important for those guys and that’s a theme they’re emphasizing here with both the pearl and muck within the clam.

There’s also some elements of shelter/protection/potentially entrapment with the clam’s shell which are HUGE for Hong Lu, especially with his egos so I think those may come up.

But mostly it’s about the mixing of the precious (likely “wealth” here) and the unsavory, which works very well with what we know of the Jia family. The design likely referencing Bao-yu and thematically dealing with the Jia family makes me think each of those individual readings are more likely because they’re deeply tied together!

And now onto the MD event! I did not write this in order so I may repeat stuff here but. I realized I had to cover the design first so here we are!

First thing that stuck out of me is this portion when you choose to sample some of the clam’s slime.

Sibling/family infighting is very Jia family. It reminds me a lot of this line base Hong Lu says.

You could take this a step further because the clam is something that would typically offer shelter from the rest of the world, and even though it protects, its offspring continue to kill and eat each other.

It seems fine, the offspring have this lovely shell for protection, and they have the precious pearl held within, but even as they are sheltered and wealthy. They are still getting killed and eaten by one another! Reminds me of someone I know:)

It reminds me of some bits in the later half of Red Chamber, where family members more obviously start acting behind each other’s backs or turning on each other, some even killing other family members.

Another part of the MD event that I got something out of was the beginning portion.

using specifically jade as the color for the seawater is a Hong Lu thing. I may be reaching with this bc it’s more than likely just flavor text BUT when taking this color with the fact that there’s nothing in the water it makes me think of an important scene in Red Chamber where Bao-Yu is described as an empty shell, so I wanted to mention it. We know Hong Lu has TONS of water motifs, especially when relating to his family (see his base ego)

The main reason I brought up this section of the MD event is because of the question brought up by the last portion.

If you take one thing from Dream Of The Red Chamber into your perception of Hong Lu as a character, it should be the themes of ambiguity, duality, and being between binaries. Because he sure as hell does that a lot!!! (and i’m not just talking about his gender) He is both genuinely curious and sheltered with an urge to learn as much as he can, but he also plays dumb frequently, backpedals and asks a lot of stupid questions on purpose to maintain others’ perceptions of him. He is CONSTANTLY walking the line between truth and illusion and it can be hard to tell which is which and precisely how much is fake or real, which is why I find him such an interesting character to think about.

Tangent about Hong Lu's characterization aside, it's really easy to read this line as about his family's perceptions of him.

Hong Lu (or rather, Bao-yu) can be read as being the source of the contamination in that he is the heir of the Jia family who is just an absolute fucking failure of everything you’d want in an heir for that time period.

The clam containing the filth can be read as Hong Lu’s lies (whether conscious lies or otherwise) to himself and others about the true “filth” of his family. Really good example of this is with another bit of window dialogue, but these lies and half truths come up quite a bit if you know where to look. (what happened to cohort of kin looking to stab each other in the back at every turn???)

We already have Hong Lu’s assorted water motifs (his feet make ripples on the water in his base id, land of illusion has so much water theming and shows the Jia mansion is surrounded by water) so I think this is a reasonable analysis to make :)

There’s some other sections to the MD event, but there’s nothing of note that triggered the Hong Lu sleeper agent in my brain & also this has gone on long enough that I wanna talk about predicting some stuff for the ego!

I am manifesting Gluttony/Gloom/Wrath for this ego!!

Gluttony and gloom are in the MD event’s skill check already and I think tie in nicely with the themes. Gluttony works with the offspring in the muck killing and eating each other and themes of greed with the pearl (plus the ego is primarily green and that’s a pretty good clue) and then gloom comes up a LOT with Hong Lu’s family (Liu Hong Lu, the only one that remarks on his jade eye, is also the only Hong Lu with gloom. land of illusion requires 5 gloom resources and also relates a lot to red chamber/his family) Gloom’s also generally a stand-in for water which exists here.

Wrath in Hong Lu generally manifests in him going “yeah, maybe my family was a little fucked up actually” internally, instead of manifesting as taking direct action about the fucked up things like it works for most other sinners, and acknowledging that his family was at least partially filth and killing and eating eachother (metaphorically. maybe literally) works for that

i am not an expert on sin analysis but i wanted to take a prediction bc it’s fun :)

I have a couple of predictions for corrosion and i’ll be real they are the main reason i wrote this thing because i LOVE when bad things happen to Hong Lu!!

Since this ego seems to be referencing Bao-yu so much i can pull stuff from Red Chamber too which makes it more fun :)

First one I came up with is Hong Lu taking the place of the pearl within the clam and getting locked in there! A bunch of his egos have to do with being controlled/trapped so i think it works and it also can work as a parallel for Bao-yu’s treatment by his family. Bao-yu’s name means precious jade, and he’s often treated more like his namesake than a person, heavily controlled and never allowed to leave the Jia mansion (or, in this case, the clam.) I just think it’d be fun!

My other concept has to do with more Red Chamber stuff, notably what happens when Bao-yu loses his jade. I’m not quite there yet in the text, but from what i’ve heard he becomes incredibly unstable and essentially loses his mind. This sets the Jia family’s downfall into even faster motion and from that point things get REALLY fucked up. Since the pearl here parallels Bao-yu’s jade, I think having a reference to that part of the book would be really fucking crazy for all 5 people who have read 1800+ pages of red chanber to get to chapter 94 where he loses that thing. Also i just want to see Hong Lu lose his mind i KNOW it would be terrifying and chilling. but they may be saving that for his distortion (manifesting)

In my skimming Red Chamber table of contents to find when Bao-yu loses his jade i just found a chapter where Bao-yu’s father admires a pearl but we will just ignore that for now bc this has taken long enough to type already and that is several chapters off. but there may be more analysis when this thing actually comes out!

Thank you for reading this far!! I hope you enjoyed me looking far too deep into an unreleased ego we know next to nothing about for fun! this took WAY longer than expected to type out but i’m glad I did because I loveee telling people about Hong Lu!

There is a very real chance very little of my analysis and prediction is reflected in canon BUT please remember that truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true and even if this doesn’t turn out to be correct now u know a little more about Hong Lu and the themes he plays with :)

[onnahu]

Batkids as AO3 users

Dick - I don't think he'd be a writer. He just don't give me the vibes, ya know? He would, however, read fics about people he knows. And himself. He's deep in superhero fandom, and at some moment he gets super invested in some rarepair and actually menages to set them up. I also think as a teenager he would stumble upon some E rated fic for someone he knows, then promise himself he'd never touch it again, and then a few years later he reads them a lot, is just super secretive and guilty about it. He does not, however, touch Batman E rated fics with a ten foot pole.

Tim - you'd think he'd write Hero RPF, huh? No. He's deep into Formula 1 RPF. He writes, he reads, he's just very active in fandom. Most of his works are some kind of Formula 1 murder mystery.

Jason - he is the one from Hero RPF. He doesn't read it, he just writes it. In various AU's, ranging from some inspired by his crazy adventures to those from classic literature. When he was still Robin, he wrote Pride and Prejudice Superbat fic, that became crazy popular. After ressurection he sweared he wouldn't touch it, but after checking it out once and realising how tragic his writing style was, he rewrites the whole thing. He reads fics from fandoms he does not know the original works of. He finds a fic he likes, and learns things from it. Then he spirals deep into fandom. Like many of Batfam fans I imagine. That's why he doesn't write, because he feels he can't without knowing the original, and he sure as hell ain't watching some kids show called Ben 10.

Babs - I think her beginnings were in something like Twilight of DCU. She would regret it forever. Currently she's involved in some shows she watches when on break from work and Oracle. I'm not really into TV series but maybe something like Bridgertons or The Boys or something like that. She writes only one-shots and is active on Tumblr. She has like a thousand bookmarks and she posts fic recs with the most wild analysis of writing style, plot consistency and just vibes. She stays away from any RPF's, but esoecially Superhero RPF. She's got it enough on day to day basis thank you very much.

Steph - that girl post Robin writes the most sick gore body horror fics change my mind. And she does it in fandom's you would least expected. She also writes Spoiler/Batgirl fics, that are really fluffy but also full of action and actually made the pairing wildly known.

Cass - she reads everything Steph writes for Spoiler/Batgirl. Steph does not know Cass knows she writes them. Cass is really charmed. She tried writing one, but it came out really dark and she didn't like how clumsy it was and gave up on trying to be an author. She reads heavy angst, crack, or Steph's Spoiler/Batgirl fics, nothing else. She's the person that leaves very short but very sweet comments on literally averything she likes.

Duke - that boy is in the same circles as both Tim and Dick. He actually finds out it's Tim that writes his favourite Formula 1 fics as Tim finds out it's Duke that leaves those super insightful comments on them that start's conversations with author and other readers. They have one talk about it and then forcefully forgets about it and continues as it was. He writes Batman and Robin and Robin Gang fics. He's really good at it, and that's how he found Duck Grayson. Not that any of them knows that's the other on the other side of the screen. And yes, he's Steph's beta reader, and she's his. They don't talk about it, it's just how it is.

Damian - he reads Batman and Robin fics but only about himself. He also draws fanart and makes comics about Batman and Robin (himself). Later he gets involved in Teen Titans fandom, then the Justice League one, and suddenly he's a wildly known fanartist in the whole Hero RPF community. And he did draw a fanart for Jason's fic ones. They both don't know it's the other. He also gives aby superhero an emotional support fictional pet. Dick think it's adorable. (He was the one that introduced Damian to fandom.)

[macdenlover]

My fucking god. There is so much to take apart.

This episode gave us a peak into Dennis’s mind and it’s the closest thing we’re gonna get to putting him under a microscope like a little bug and studying him in a lab. It isn’t what I expected from this episode but man oh man am i glad to have it. There’s a few things we need to establish first that’s gonna be the basis of my analysis. Dennis is angry, but he ultimately uses that anger to mask fear, pain, and every other emotion that he doesn’t allow himself to feel. Also, the entirety of the episode— every little detail was intentionally conjured by Dennis’s mind either consciously or subconsciously so none of it is off the table to dig into.

There’s two big things at play here— one, his desperate need for control; and two, his instinct to self sabotage. This episode did one hell of a job at showing how woven together the two are.

The essence of Dennis’s character is this impenetrable shell he’s built to protect the vulnerable part that sits at his core, and we finally got to see HOW he builds that shell piece by piece. This is the pressure-cooking of the diamond— if you apply enough pressure it’ll harden the shell.

Everything is thrown out of balance when Dennis learns about his high blood pressure, but what really bothers him about that is the inevitability of aging— something we’ve seen him be insecure about for many seasons. But what’s different about this episode is that while his usual fear of aging comes from vanity, this time it’s combined with Dennis being so afraid of the world around him changing and leaving him behind. This follows the thematic trajectory of this season— all the characters struggling to cope with inevitable change. 

A stress-free day at the beach is a pipe dream. Happiness is something so hopelessly distant from him that he builds a fantasy about chasing it while never getting there— sabotaging the plan because he either thinks it’s too impossible, something he doesn’t deserve, or both. This is not the first time we’ve seen this from him. In The Gang Saves The Day, the rest of the gang’s fantasies revolve around them finally getting their dream ending, while Dennis’s stuck out from the others as a barely comprehendible mess of his own misery. (I’m gonna rewatch this episode soon and give you a full breakdown of my thoughts). Dennis self sabotages in his own fantasies because he can’t imagine a reality where he is capable of getting what he wants. Dissatisfaction is something so permanent to him, and Dennis Takes a Mental health day is all about him trying to cling to things that are permanent to regain his sense of control. He is creating uncertainty in his own fantasy so that he can be certain about it. He is such a broken man and it is such a fucked up cycle— one thing continues feeding into the other. “The pin’s the key to the phone, the phone’s the key to the car.” 

The primary source of his frustration in this episode was the automated systems, which I think holds place to represent more than one thing. It’s a symbol of the changing world that he can’t control or escape from, but it also represents the parts of himself he’s fighting against. He forms systems in his life that are so methodical and complicated that it gets in the way of his ability to have real human connections. They went right on the nose with it in this ep by having him spelling out his own name as an acronym in a fit of rage. Subconscious Dennis’s d.e.n.n.i.s. system is fucking crazy. 

D- “Deliver me from this”

E - “Engage with human”

N - “Nightmare”

N - “NIGHTMARE”

I - “Is this real?”

S - “Somebody help me”

If you interpret this as his frustration with not only the state of the world but himself and his perpetual loneliness it gets incredibly heartbreaking. Guys I’m really tearing up here. 

His interactions with others in this episode also say so much about him and the inner conflicts he’s experiencing. He knows he establishes control by taking his frustration out on other people, but he simultaneously struggles with that making him a bad person. He yells at the customer service workers and then APOLOGIZES and reassures them that it’s not them who he’s really mad at. He doesn’t mean to take it out on them. (Potentially wild implications for Dennis woobifiers here.) He wants to take his frustration out on people who he believes deserve it, like the CEO. He gets to see himself as a hero in this story even if he’s miserable. If happiness is a pipe dream, he can settle for second best which is the rush he gets from taking his pain out on the guy who fucked him over. But he is simultaneously the person he spent his entire fantasy craving a real human connection with. He doesn’t know how to do that. It got weird and a little sexual (he definitely wanted to fuck that guy till the room stank). he is vindicated with violence at the end, which is ultimately what he will always resort to because it gives him the sense of power that desperately needs to make the frustration, vulnerability, and weakness go away (mentally AND physically). This is his cycle. 

I’m not sure Dennis could have an episode where he breaks down and cries and has a huge cathartic moment and then goes back to his regular self the next episode the way Mac and Charlie have. Dennis is a whole other can of worms. RCG are comfortable with exploring different sides to these characters as long as they are kept in a state of limbo for the length of the show, but letting Dennis openly express his feelings (even to himself) might make it impossible to come back from because this is literally the entire crux of his character. The last time he opened up emotionally he fled to another state only come back a year later more hostile and emotionally distant than ever. They had to put a hard reset on him after season 12 because they knew that version of him didn’t have longevity in the show. I WISH so fucking bad that they would explore the vulnerable parts of him more explicitly on the show but for now I will settle for being a little vulture and picking it out of the carcass of this season. 

[cilasbestos]

A few months back I chose to write my final critical analysis paper in my written communications class on Attack on Titan. I would like to rewrite parts of it and then release the full thing, but for now I figured I would share the part I wrote for theme. The theme is chose to focus on for this paper was the cyclical nature of violence and how it is shown in the story. Please enjoy 😊 🙏

While Attack on Titan presents many themes throughout its run, one of the most prominent in the final season is on the cyclical nature of violence and how it does no good as it goes on. The war between Marley and Paradis has been going on for two thousand years, and the people alive in the world today have only known this war, not even having a true answer to what started the war to begin with. A great example of how the cycle of violence affects the people within it is again found in the character Gabi. A child soldier, Gabi has known nothing but the war her entire life. Because of the propaganda promoted by the country, she views the inhabitants of Paradis as inherently evil. This, combined with Eren’s attack on her home, are what lead her to climbing aboard the airship and killing a soldier. When she gets to Paradis and is imprisoned, she continues to act recklessly and even kills her guard to escape the prison. It is then she is mistaken for an orphan and taken in by none other than the parents of the girl she had killed. They have no knowledge of who she actually is, but are immediately willing to show her kindness and take her in. When they learn who she actually is, the family turns against her, and it is suggested that the soldier’s father kills her to balance out the death of his daughter. He refuses, though. He speaks of raising his daughter, teaching her to protect herself in the woods where they lived and raised her. Using the forest as a metaphor for the cycle of violence, he explains further. When she went off to join the military, she only traded her home for a bigger forest. She only died because she wandered in the forest for too long, staying in the army she was bound to die, but she knew no other life. Gabi has also been raised in the forest so to speak. She has grown up in this war and has known nothing but violence, which has led her to being in this situation at such a young age, having no experience to know any better. The father addresses the other adults around him, stating that as the adults, as the ones who know how to do better, it is their job to lead the lost children out of the forest, and show them the truth behind the violence they have always known. It is his words, his explanation and his willingness to accept her actions, as well as the acceptance of the rest of the family that leads Gabi to seeing the truth of the world. She realizes that Eldians are not inherently evil, and that neither of the perspectives she was fed are particularly correct. After this she becomes significantly less recklessly violent, and begins to actually fight for what she, not her country, thinks is right--an end to the war on both sides. The show not only focuses on the cyclical nature of war and its effects, but also encourages the idea of one day being able to escape it.

[bowtiepastabitch]

Let's Talk Costuming: It'd take a miracle to get anyone to see Hamlet

Huzzah huzzah, we return to the Renaissance for part two! You can click here to see my analysis of Aziraphale's costume through the lens of Elizabethan sumptuary laws, aka our angel is a bit of a fop and we love him for it. As a reminder (or if you don't feel like reading the other at all) we're towards the end of the Elizabethan period, around 1599-1601, and England is protestant now!

Guys I absolutely love these costumes. Chronologically, this is the first time we get to see Crowley being stylish. I mean you could count Bildaddy as being... something, but I'm not sure I'd I would not consider it to be vogue or on trend. It is, as I pointed out for Az, highly indicative of his building an identity on and appreciation for Earth.

Silhouette-wise, he's pretty on the nose, and he continues to follow the trends to some degree for many centuries up until around Y2K. He's learning to blend in with the humans and properly enjoy what they bring to the table: clothes, wine, plays, et cetera.

He's not particularly ostentatious, especially standing next to Aziraphale, but his costume speaks more to a quiet luxury. Black, for example, was a very expensive color to dye things, and the buttons and leather accents betray some level of fashion sense.

( The Royal Progress Of Queen Elizabeth I, 1740)

I think one of my favorite things about this costume is the way they took all these elements of the period and then just had them... in black. Even the little ribbon garters on the stockings! It's one of his rare outfits that's entirely and exclusively black and I love that for him. There's a variety of materials, leather detailing and buttons for example, giving the garments a lot of texture and detail nonetheless (and keeping him from looking like a black void on camera). From the first season, this is one of my favorite fits.

According to this article, these costumes are actually borrowed from the Globe's costume archives! Which makes a lot of sense looking at them, they're very elaborate and theatrical, plus I just have a soft spot for costume collections and things that have been worn for multiple productions over time and the way it ties theatre and people and artsists together. Plus, look at those shoes!!!

As per usual, the two costumes compliment each other beautifully. Their historic costumes highlight their narrative foiling of each other in a slightly different way than their modern ones do. Most notably here, at the Bastille, and in Edinburgh, their clothing has a lot to say, were they human, about both social and economic class. We see Crowley demonstrating a significantly higher level of class awareness than Aziraphale, both in their dialogue (virtues of poverty) and in their dress (Aziraphale showing up to revolutionary era Paris in full aristocratic style). Here, in the Elizabethan era, Crowley blends in much better than his angelic counterpart (see again my analysis of Aziraphale's costume in this scene).They really don't look, to your average human unaware, like they belong together. If they weren't staring at each other with puppy dog eyes, it might would be rather believable that they're not friends.

(Portrait of Sir Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, circa 1613-1614)

I also found this incredibly slutty portrait while I was researching for this post, which bears similarities to Aziraphale's dress, so I figured y'all might enjoy seeing it.

For further reading: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1577/clothes-in-the-elizabethan-era/

Please note that I did write all of this intermittently over several days, and though I've done my best to proofread I'm rather tired so if it's not perfect just look the other way

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Last Twilight, Ep. 1 Thoughts

Full disclosure, I am very neutral about JimmySea as a pairing, and literally the only reason I am watching Last Twilight is to see how Aof Handles Disability: Round 2. While I certainly had quibbles with some stuff in Moonlight Chicken, I was generally impressed by the way Aof navigated that storyline both on and off-screen. And seeing characters with disabilities in BL has been extremely rare. 

So, I just want to share my thoughts on the first episode of Last Twilight because there was not enough going on in it for me to personally write an actual analysis. I also want to make it clear that I am not blind, and do not know how accurate an experience any of what is going on may be to blind people. 

BUT! I will say that I was desperately in love with the way they opened the entire show. And I don’t mean like the intro, I mean the “this is a fictional series///raikon dopini” announcement at the beginning because they blurred it at the beginning (and let it become clear over time). Aof and co are getting a lot of mileage with their use of Day’s level of vision, but I personally think it is important to periodically remind the audience of what Day’s working with:

OH ALSO, CONTENT WARNING FOR STROBE EFFECTS FROM TIME 0:18-0:34 IN PART ONE. 

That said, there were a few aspects of Day’s disability storyline that I found interesting. 

I loved watching everybody interview for the caretaker position, it was really fun to see the comedy and ridiculousness of some of the common sentiments (shout out to Mr. “I’m not helping him, he’s helping me”, worst anyone has ever done it, buddy: 12/10) being played for the absurdities they are.

I loved some of the set dressing, even if it feels a little obvious. The painting in Day’s house with like four or five heads being split by one giant eye in the center is a fucking brilliant choice. (and this is not related to the disability aspect, but the little bandaid Rung put on her car absolutely killed me, what an adorably tragic detail). 

3. I already said it, but I loved the way that Aof and co cuts between their normal sharpness and Day’s level of vision. Especially because Aof is using Sea, who I feel like most of the fan base knows, and has seen very much be Not Blind. I think stories that center around disability should actually be spending time showing the audience the difficulties that can stem from disability. It was extremely helpful, to me at least, to know what and how Day sees, you get a much better sense of danger when he walks in to the street, when you know how he is trying to navigate. I loved how impossible it was to differentiate the shuttlecock from the ground during the badminton game. And, I think they got the balance right, and didn’t over use that tactic in the first episode, but I will be interested to see if they continue to use it throughout the show

4. The semi-infantilization of Day by his family. This feels so similar to some aspects of Heart’s family dynamics and so different in others. Both families are very protective of their disabled child in the sense that they (in my mind) overestimate their child’s limitations. But, where Heart’s family was more detached from him: leaving him alone in the house so often, not learning sign language, etc. Day’s mother won’t even let Day stand up and walk like…30 feet in a straight line. Day’s brother, Night, yells at Day for getting out of the car and going up to the Society for the Blind so he can search for music to listen to. It is really fascinating actually, having just wrapped up Unit 2: Race, Class, and Disability from @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus, to compare the way Day, a grown adult man, is being treated by his family, compared to say, Leo from The Way He Looks. There are definitely intersections of concern and tighter leashes around these characters than I think either Day or Leo would like. But, because Leo has been blind his entire life, there are aspects of his blindness that are normalized and integrated in his family that are not present in Day’s because…they are new to the whole blindness thing.  __

Something I am iffy about as this progresses is the conversation around eye transplants for Day.  Of course, everyone has the right to choose how to handle their disability, but in a story that from my own interpretation feels like it is partially about accepting new realities, I am waiting to see how that particular story element shapes up. I also think there is/was an opportunity to play with sound in thai show, and I do not know if they are going to do that. But, GMMTV and sound design have never really gone hand in hand.  __

One thing I very much did not like about Day’s disability storyline: 

THE FUCKING CENTER FOR THE BLIND DOES NOT HAVE BRAILLE

ANYWHERE!

I don’t know where they shot this, if it was at an actual center or if it was a set/made to be a center for the blind but…

There is no braille on the elevator 

There is no braille on the books

There is no way to easily know what CDs are on that table. 

And like, I have no clue as of yet if braille is something that Day has learned (and I did look it up there is both Thai and Lao braille). It’s been a year since he started losing his vision, so he would have had time to learn. But this center does not revolve around Day, so either way, WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NO BRAILLE? I have to assume this is a place they just dressed as a center for the blind, and that there were limited changes they could make to the space or something to justify the fact that this society for the blind is not accessible for the blind. 

Also, everybody in the center was staring at Day trying to find the CD that he dropped, and like…y’all are staff at a center for the blind, why are you acting so surprised? 

Curious to see how this show continues. 

[ericdeggans]

Celebrating 10 years at NPR: The coolest job I never thought I'd ever have.

How to sum up the most amazing professional experience in a 30-plus-year journalism career?

That’s the challenge when it comes to talking about my 10 years at NPR.

My official decade anniversary was Oct. 1, marking the date my first contract with the network took effect back in 2013. Of course, I had been providing NPR with freelance commentaries about TV for more than two years before that – by the time I was hired on staff, I was probably appearing on air as much as most full-time correspondents, anyway.

(talking TV with Linda Holmes at NPR West.)

Working at NPR was the culmination of a dream I wasn’t even sure I had. I was a longtime fan of shows like Car Talk, Fresh Air and Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me, along with the newscasts, which I listened to religiously on Sirius XM back in the day. (To this moment, one of the things I love most about the NPR One app is that it allows you to listen to the latest newscast on demand.)

But I had also written a story in 2004 for the then-St. Petersburg Times (now known as The Tampa Bay Times) headlined “NPR’s White Noise,” where I documented how lacking in diversity the network could be back then. NPR continues to have its blind spots and issues with living up to its ideals regarding diversity and inclusion – but the network of today has made a lot of progress from what I wrote about back then.

I didn’t realize it in 2004, but seven years later, I would become a part of that effort – first, as a freelance commentator in the mold of Frank DeFord or Andrei Codrescu and later as a staffer who could talk about everything from how Black people are marginalized on CBS’ Survivor to the roots in civil rights and Black history of the song This Little Light of Mine.

(guest hosting Weekend All Things Considered earlier this year.)

For me, joining NPR brought professional benefits right away. I was asked to join the judges panel for the Peabody Awards the same year I was hired, which was also when I got to guest host CNN’s media analysis show Reliable Sources three times – allowing a transition from past host Howie Kurtz to its final host Brian Stelter.

But most of all, I gained a national voice as an arts critic at a place whose core journalism values I really respect – in an organization I would have never predicted I could join, even a few short years before I actually did.

This is something I tell young journalists all the time; keep professional goals in mind. But be willing to take chances that get you where you want to be in ways you might not have predicted. That’s certainly happened for me.

Now I've spent a decade at a job where I’m still grateful to feel challenged with new opportunities every day. And 33 years into this crazy career as a professional journalist and critic, that’s a truly wonderful place to be.

[gayofthefae]

Will saying "remember, you're the heart" right before Mike says I love you is wild because like- if she heard that, the best case scenario is it paints her a full picture of the fact that he and Will solved this issue together.

He said earlier that he had been thinking about it the past few days, but that is omitting a key detail: Will. The problem there isn't their conversation, it isn't the reference, it isn't anything revealing, really, but the fact that Will is involved in this for him. Even if it is genuine and even without the painting, the fact remains that Will resolved Mike's insecurities for him to tell her he loved her and it WORKED.

The word "remember" on its own might be more hurtful than "you're the heart", honestly. "Remember what we talked about". Even just any encouragement at all, a "you got this", tells us that he didn't contemplate this alone like she thought. Honestly, at that point, there's a part of me that's hoping you still can't say it. Because one way or another, you needed him for this. One way or another, I couldn't do it when I begged but after a couple days with him, you're good as new.

[That tiktok sound but instead of "3.5 years" and "white man", it's "I waited for eight months, gay man did it in one week. I waited for eight months, gay man did it in one week. I said I waited for EIGHT MONTHS. The gay man did it in one week.]

Even if everything is true, he couldn't figure it out without Will. And that hurts. If I'm her and I'm thinking through all this, I'm thinking "so that worked? He's what did it? You're so confused and too scared to talk to me about it for 8 months, you avoid the word "love" like the plague and can't tell me why, you lied about being able to during the conversation, but one week alone with him and you've reflected on your actions, felt remorse, and can apologize in bullet points and say "I love you" freely eight times, all of a sudden." I'd also be thinking, though, that he might not know. Give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm mad at him but I forgive him - because he might not know he's lying.

I just rewatched the scene and I think this fits. My break down of each of her reaction shots below the cut (but I encourage you to watch with it in mind yourself if you don't want my analysis to influence you too much first):

This is her when he first starts talking

This is her after hearing Will. She knows what's about to happen. She knows what he's about to say and part of her is hoping he doesn't because of what that would mean for his relationship with Will.

This is her right after he first says it.

This is her as he continues into a more in depth apology, showing the amount of progress he's been able to make so rapidly the past few days. From this angle, she look she's recoiling and I've said before that it almost looks like it's shot from the POV of the vines shackling her.

He says he can't live without her and she seems to look up again and listen more actively than she was but she also looks in thought and then squeezes her eyes shut again. This situation is oh so complicated.

"It was so big it almost swallowed you whole." This is such a Mike joke to make. And there's something comforting about that delivery. She makes the third face above as he's saying his life started the day they met, but she laughs when he makes the joke. Because that phrasing is the most earnest thing in this speech. Everything else, however true to him, is tied to Will. But she loves him. And it was so very him to say it that way.

But she immediately falls to this next face. Because it was the most earnest thing he's said, and though she's relieved to feel him in this speech, it still isn't for her. And the fact that it's the most earnest thing is also a bad thing. She knows he's going right back to how he was talking before.

He says he's loved her every day with or without her powers and she recoils and squeezes her eyes shut again.

"You're my superhero". She hardens - whether it's anger or determination/choosing to harness this as her motive, I fluctuate. But she hardens.

He says he can't lose her. And that feels like another complicated, harder to read moment. But she does soften back to more expressive like she was before, even if what she's expressing is pain. I think she believes him. Her feelings around the context are more hard for me to read on each watch of the end of this, though.

And I think Max is what finally gave her the most actionable motivation, because this is her the second before she notices Max again. She does not look determined, or even angry, just sad like she's looked this whole time. This does not read to me as the face of a girl about to take action like we see in a moment.

And all of this is also consistent to me with why she wouldn't talk to him much in those two days or address but still rest her head on his shoulder in the hospital. She still loves him. And this hurts, but it isn't his fault.

And finally, to go back for a comparison shot:

This is her when she thinks he's about to say it because he worked it out alone versus when she thinks he's about to say it, knowing that would mean it's because of Will. And that's everything I need to know. Whatever she's feeling the first time, hopeful or apprehensive, it isn't what she's feeling the second. She perked up the first time. She resigned and deadened the second.

[ramblingsofamuskrat]

You know, ever since I watched it, Headless has genuinely become one of my favorite shows, to the point where I have shown it to almost every single one of my close friends and family members. One day I genuinely want to sit down and do a full analysis of it, but I just love continuously watching it and being able to point out all the little details that just make the show so great. Chances are that after every rewatch I will notice a new detail and that is what makes it so amazing to me, among so many other things. Whether it's the Tin Can Brothers being called Tripp, Cal, and Blair or the fact that the "Brief History of Sleepy Hollow Poster" says "Trousers and Lee Strasburg Theater (Not a Cult) Camp". Those aren't even any of the super small things I've noticed, but are just two of my favorite details.

And it leaves me with so many unanswered questions that I love just contemplating whenever I have the time to. The whole (not a cult) thing and the way Trevor's age decreases by a year a few times throughout the show. There's the ending of the story that leaves so many questions too and it's not something I even remotely have the time to analyze. I'm even procrastinating right now by writing this post. When I have the time, I want to analyze all these small details and the entire show, but for now, I will continue to enjoy constantly rewatching it and forcing those close to me to watch it too. I don't know. I just love the show and clearly just really needed to rant about that right now.

[mintmechs]

why the knuckles prologue was perfect

( + my ramblings and analysis of his character as a whole ) in just six minutes, this short animation was able to show off each and every one of the main characteristics that make knuckles KNUCKLES. six minutes of phenomenal writing did arguably more than (without counting the movie, which did so much to restore honor and respect to our favorite echidna) two whole decades of being pushed to the sidelines, made into a punchline and pulled away from where he should be in the first place! and we start with the obvious: 1) HIS ROLE. KNUCKLES IS BACK ON DUTY, PERFORMING HIS FATED ROLE! he's guarding the master emerald and not only do we get to see him standing at the altar again, but we also get to see him introspecting about his responsibilities in a manner very reminiscent of his story mode cutscenes in sonic adventure (1998), yet building off from their foundation:

knuckles is tied to a responsibility without a clear reason, a fated one. he doesn't know the answers or the reasons behind why things are the way they are, only seeing things as objectively as possible because it's all he can truly be certain of; he's had to grow up accepting that no matter what, he will continue to stand guard by the emerald, because it's what he was chosen to do. he's alone in the present, as he always has been, and he's grown used to that independence. he prefers it over anyone's help or company, in fact. that doesn't mean that he doesn't question it, even while seemingly powerless in the face of his destiny. i think having knuckles reflect upon his duty is an excellent service to his character and a necessary one to really have the chosen one trope and its full potential shine. recent years have shown us countless fanon (and canon, thanks to SEGA!) misconstructions of knuckles as dumb, stupid and laughably clueless when that couldn't be further from the truth. he's ignorant, yes! naive and gullible and ignorant but only because of his years of isolation, clueless only because he lacks the knowledge as someone who's been, for the greater part of his existence, firmly dedicated to fulfilling his sacred task as a guardian to angel island. and there is a WORLD of difference here. his ignorance shouldn't conflict with his intelligence. his introspection shows just how much of a deep thinker he is, how curious he is by nature, being born into a land and a civilization enshrouded in mystery. with so much time to oneself, who WOULDN'T question the status quo? 2) KNUCKLES EXPLORING HIS OWN ISLAND! expert treasure hunter knuckles who, thanks to his curiosity and the endless hours of solitude confined to his island, is always seeking to learn more about his home. he's shown to be highly in touch with his surroundings, going above and beyond to perform as its guardian and gaining some knowledge along the way. he may not have all of the answers, but each day he knows more than the last. he's so familiar with angel island, while having so much in it left to uncover.

3) HIS EMPATHY. knuckles has ALWAYS been meant to be empathetic, driven by a heart of gold to help others fulfill their own goals in a very selfless manner and seeing the best in everyone, EVEN when they choose to act upon their worst. this is part of why he's tricked over and over by eggman! he can't deny someone in need a helping hand, and eggman, knowing this, takes advantage of him. he's one of the most selfless characters in the entire franchise, and his selflessness is once again put on the spotlight:

when he sees someone in distress, the empathy is written all over his expression! he's highly sensible to people's emotions and emotionally aware of them, perhaps more than he is of himself. he cares so much and so deeply about others! in spite of having nobody to care for him while he watches over angel island, he doesn't think twice about being there for everyone else.

his tenderness is more important than i can put into words. he's a sweetheart, through and through. power comes from the heart. and speaking of power... 4) HIS PHYSICAL STRENGTH. not only do we get a glimpse of his mind and his heart, but the power of his fists. the rough, brash, badass knuckles we all know and love is BACK full force, and this short makes sure to highlight once more, right along with his mental fortitude and the force of his kindness, just how STRONG he is on a physical level:

these images speak for themselves. knuckles means BUSINESS. and his fists are NOT to be meddled with! he is NOT here to be underestimated! he breaks off a significantly large portion of a CLIFF with just one punch. this fight scene was AMAZINGLY choreographed, 100% serious knuckles, rougher than the rest of them and hard as nails as he always has been. this side of him shouldn't conflict with his introspective side, his inquisitive spirit or his golden heart—they are ALL essential parts of him that can and should exist in TANDEM. exaggerating one or another would be unfair to representing his truest form. a big part of knuckles' character is about keeping things balanced, outside of himself as well as within, and though his temper can flare when provoked, though he can be impulsive and ruthless, he is just as calm and collected and merciful. and if you ask me? this short achieved just that. it struck a PERFECT balance between these traits and in doing so gave us such a careful and true picture of knuckles being knuckles. i hope that frontiers will be the start of a new era of sonic fans, old and new alike, appreciating knuckles' character like he deserves to be appreciated, starring in all of his glory and developing beyond the broken image of him that many people were left with for far too long.

to everyone who worked on this animated short, you have my highest kudos and respect—with just one week before the release of this game and such stellar writing on display ALREADY?, i have such high hopes that this story will deliver something great.

[midnightluck]

Aventurine is Rom-Coded

Back on my bullshit with more over-analysis for my best blorbo LET'S GO

DISCLAIMER I am not Rom, I am just an interested party, pls correct me if i'm wrong or disrespectful here it's been a long time since I got to deep dive this topic. Will be also discussing the slur as context with full knowledge of the context. ALSO I am BIASED take this with a barrel of salt, and I haven't cited my sources since I did this research in high school for writing Dick Grayson fic okAY HERE WE GO

So like, can we talk about Sigonia??? Like???? What the fuck kind of culture has "may your schemes remain hidden" as a general wellwish? Can we talk about how "Sigonian" is a slur????? and ALSO they are so Rom-coded, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CULTURAL GENOCIDE PARALLELS PLEASE--

So FIRST OFF, Romani != Romanian, Romani != "gypsy", Romani != criminal. Romani is a tribe, is a culture, is a way of life. It's nomadic and art-centric and Romani, as a language, is not Romanian, no matter what some folk use in fic (sources: 1, 2, 3). It's a language that borrows from most European languages, and because Rom are nomadic, they then spread that back to those countries. For example, the English word "love" is used in Rom to mean "money," possibly the basis for the idiom "show me some love" meaning "pay up". (also, side note: as there are different groups and traditions, there are some pretty widely varying dialects; here's some more about that if you're interested.)

The Rom culture involves moving on and traveling. This is fascinating for townies (derogatory) and for the vast majority of people because it's an alternative lifestyle, and often children or teens or young adults would fall in love with the people or the lifestyle and follow the caravan, at least for a while. This led to the Rom's reputation as babythieves and childstealers. "Lock up your children," people used to say, "because the gypsies are coming to town." Maybe some caravans did take kids, we don't know, because fresh blood is important to continue family lines? But citation needed and A N Y WAY

So the Rom would roll into town, half-show and half-trading, perform for money, spend money, and move on. Because they were transient, there was less pressure to maintain a reputation, and a lot of the "tricks" and bad trades led to the term "getting gypped" being coined from the word "gypsy," which is why it's a slur; it literally means "someone who is intending to steal from you". One such common trick was Ekkeri, akkery, u-kéry an, which was a "magic spell". Put your money into this handkerchief, say the spell, it doubles. Do it again; it doubles again. Oh, you want me to do it with all your life savings? Sure, here's the hankie, the longer you wait to open it, the more it'll grow, buh-bye! Ekeri Aikeri is likely the original basis for the common rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock, and like all nursey rhymes was presumably a warning: if you hear this, be wary. (sources: 1, 2, 3)

So the Rom became more and more marginalized, and as any marginalized group will tell you, that's not a winning recipe for longevity. There's currently an inherent, unexamined bias all modern kids are taught, to be wary of strangers, to be wary of "gypsies" because they're enchanting magical creatures who will walk into town one day and leave with your money or your heart or your dreams (see Shakira's Gypsy), but they're not, the Rom are people, and people are not one thing. The stereotype of a "gypsy" is constantly enforced and as the population dwindles, more and more people are assuming that the Rom aren't real people, that the way of life has died out, and why be careful when there's no one left to harm? Only there is and they are trying but they no longer have the infrastructure to support themselves outside of society and they have to give up their culture to be a part of society because society thinks they're extinct fairy tales. It's a lot like what happened with Native Americans in the US, except that there were more Native Americans, they had settled land and history, and they fought back. The Rom didn't have a place to defend because nomads, couldn't point to history because oral traditions, and now there's so little to prove they ever travelled the entire continent of Euraisa and spread culture and art and magic. The only things the wider world has left of Rom culture are in our words, and even then those are carelessly used and more weapon than word.

TL;DR I have a lot of feelings on this but LET'S GET TO AVENTURINE.

Unlike real Rom, he's got the eyes--everyone can see at a glance that he's a schemer, a liar, a storyteller and a gambler. He wears his heritage on his face and he doesn't try to hide it, just like he doesn't try to hide his serial number. Someone tried to own him, and he beat them. Someone tried to kill his culture, and he won't let it die. He's been a foreigner longer than he'd ever been Avgin, but that kind of heritage doesn't die, even when everyone else does. Take Sparkle looking at him and saying "What's one of your kind doing here?"

Sigonia IV is the planet; there were multiple races on it, according to the lore, and Aventurine was an Avgin, a race that was wiped out. "Sigonian" is like calling someone an "earthling"; you're not wrong, but you are grouping everyone in together, and the Avgin and the Katican are terrible enemies who would not appreicate that in the least, I assume.

In-game characters use "Signonian" over "Avgin" which feels like "gypsy" over "Rom". Aven is presenting himself as a "gypsy," letting people call him that, embracing the stereotype and leaning the fuck in because it's better to be a Sigonian than to let the entire Avgin culture die entirely.

It's a lot of weight to carry, but that's the thing about a magic trick: the real trick is hiding how hard it all is. Magic is the art of making the impossible seem easy and natural, after all; look at this shiny pretty distraction, isn't it flashy? Isn't it bright and pretty and so easy? Just a twist of the wrist to produce anything your heart desires, and never mind how long it took to set it all up (we'll discuss performative luck build next time!)

Anyway so that's my take on his identity and cultural issues; he's too visibly an outsider to ever be trusted, but he's too alone to ever be supported in a culture. He knows he's alone, and what's more, he knows that everyone is looking to him as their only example of what an Avgin is, of what they were. He is defining his entire culture, in defiance of society, and all he has to do that with is childhood memory. There's this fuckoff big weight on his shoulders which is part of why he can't die; his reputation is every Avgin's reputation, and he will defend that more bitterly than his own. Aventurine doesn't lose because Avgin don't lose.

[piracytheorist]

Episode 29 thoughts

I made some passionate statements about the first part. Now it's time for a bit of analysis.

So I had seen the trailer where Anya looks sad after having failed her tests and it kind of struck me how she reached the point of crying alone in her room. And well, now I know it was because she was scared of being separated from Becky.

And because I can't keep my mouth shut about this, one of the reasons Anya's friendship with Becky helps her - probably without her realizing it - is that she has someone to back her up when Damian and co. bully her. Becky is always on her side and losing that could cause her severe stress. Sure, they'll still be in the same school, but when your school environment is so toxic and also demanding, losing the constant presence of a friend in the class can be devastating. Trust me, I know of toxic environments in class, and I know of not having someone to back you up. I don't call Damian a bully just to spite fans.

At the end, Damian, despite willingly choosing to let Anya win, he inwardly accuses her of manipulating his feelings - when in fact Anya was simply terrified of losing Becky as a classmate, and that's why she cried. He's still not ready to confront his feelings. He showed sympathy to Anya and then told himself that she manipulated him into that. It shows that he has potential but in no way does it justify the way he makes fun of her - as well as practically encourage Ewen and Emile to jump in on the bullying.

Anyway. Tests go bad, and Anya despairs that she'll be separated from Becky. Becky however, continues believing in Anya. I wonder if Becky would ever consider purposefully flunking her tests so that she can stay as Anya's classmate. She's not doing that well in the friends department either.

Twilight notices her achievements in ancient language (jesus what are they teaching those kids) and is surprised, searching for a reasonable explanation.

We are reminded that he doesn't know anything about her past, can only speculate about it, and decides that since he doesn't have the full info there is no point to do that. The dutiful spy regaining control after the still-in-development paternal feelings got him trying to make sense of his daughter's mind?

Despite her failing scores, Loid still announces to her he made her favourite dish, which instantly fixes her mood.

I think, when in the first episode Anya heard Twilight's thought about how he wants a world where children don't cry, it gave her the impression that he would provide her with an emotionally safe environment - something that was solidified when he was ready to punch Swan for making her cry. Even if she doesn't realize it fully due to her young age, she chose to stay with him and do her best to get into Eden because she trusted that in his heart, he truly wants her to be happy.

So one could argue that Anya is very lucky that despite the levels of Twilight's emotional constipation, he really has the heart to comfort her after she's had a bad day. But it's not really a matter of luck, when she chose to stay with him after she saw what he hides beneath all the spy front, is it?

Warning for blood under the cut.

I gotta say, the transition to the second part was way too jarring. Since the last sight of the first part was a background, the second part should have slid in with another background - like for example, the busy city around Franky's kiosk.

I feel like an idiot, having spoken about the Cyrillic sentences in the previous episode, and now we get this.

I... What even are some of those. Why so many alphabets. Where are those even from and what do they have to do with the Ostanian culture. Does anything make sense anymore. What is life.

Anyway. Anime-onlys are finally introduced to the name Garden and What. The. Fuck.

This image isn't in the manga. I think it's the first time the anime shows more violence than the respective manga chapter, lol. Where did they even get that much blood and how did they get it so high on the wall? Asking the real questions here.

"They eliminate one traitor after another on the shadow government's orders."

That is extremely interesting! Shadow government? Employing an independent assassin group to clean out their traitors?

... Traitors, a group which would include Twilight and Franky?

Franky immediately describes someone fitting Yor's fighting abilities and Twilight is like "No such thing!" shaking his head even. The denial runs deep already, lmao.

Honestly, a bit of a shame we were robbed of Twilight's face as he walked away.

"This isn't worth any intel you might promise me."

Franky puts his skills and connections to use and it was cool to see him in his natural environment, being so smooth and certain in searching around for information.

The part of Franky working with Yor could be summarized with "expert meets expert but they're both such idiots they do not immediately suspect each other". Like Yor I understand being naive and so trusting she sees all those contraptions Franky creates and immediately believes he's all legal about his business. Now how Franky saw her demolish his decade-old work and was like "I shall not question this" beats me. Guess he was also lovestruck for that Kacey woman, and like Loid, he sees a clear spectacle of extraordinary physical strength and goes like "Everyday occurrence. I'm just sad my invention is gone."

That cat is traumatized for life.

Yor's coworkers are... a bunch. We got some sympathetic moments from Camilla in episode 16 but she's still the mean girl type in the office. Yor's naivete truly protects her sometimes from having her feelings hurt, doesn't it?

I think this will play a role in identity reveals. When it comes to everyday civilians, Yor sees the best in them and assumes they have the best intentions. When she kills, she considers her victims bastards and traitors. Right now, Yor has an amazing impression of Loid... how will that flip when she finds out about all the lies he's told and all the ways he's been using her and Anya?

The change in her expression though, when she realizes she's getting a call from Shopkeeper!

I wonder what client was so important that he had to call her in the middle of her workday. Hopefully the plot kicks off from the next episode and this thirsty anime-only shall find out!

[possiblylando]

An 'Early' Analysis of Chainsaw Man Chapter 138

Woah hey I'm back, I didn't feel like talking about the past few chapters cause I didn't feel like I had anything to add since they all seemed pretty straight forward. That being said this chapter gives me alot of talk about. So we get a name for Sex Offender Girl. Boy this woman only gets worse the more we learn about her. Mifune is quite literally a government plant in denji's high school.

It's refreshingly disgusting the type of shit these girls will put denji through. It's like Fujimoto keeps trying to one up himself each time he introduces a new "love interest" (Mifune is not a love interest she is a sexual predator let's keep this 100% clear). Maki was a groomer, Mifune is just a straight up Pedophile. She is going to have such a satisfying death I can feel it. This chapter goes on to confirm a few things. First off, Yoshida is apart of Public Safety. Which sorta debunks a previous thought I had of him being apart of another group. I am interested to learn 1. What Divison 7 does 2. Which Division Yoshida is in Given we know 4 was the rejects and 5 are hybrids. My best guess is that Division 7 is a sort of Espionage/Intel Division. Yoshida likely also belongs to Division 7 unless he's got some silliness going on, Which is very likely. Actually- I just now realized something. She calls it "Special Division 7" not Division 7. Looking through the list of Division members on the Wiki, That Special Prefix is very important. The Special Divisions are all full of freaks and monsters. This Sex Offender is more than likely a monster all to her own if she's apart of a Division we've never even heard of.

Public Safety is just as fucked up as actual governments. It's great.

I hate that she's winning me over. I want this woman dead stop making me think she's silly. Fujimoto is really good at humanizing horrible people. It mirrors real life monsters who tend to blend in with society and even seem charming on the surface. Moving on from this fucking Sex Offender. Asa continues to be the realest character in the series.

I doubt I even need to say anything about how real she is. Asa is a deeply disturbed and neglected person who's shut off from the world despite her own need to validation and recognition. She and Denji are different sides of the same coin. While she tries not to show it, The fulfillment she receives from praise seeps through. This scene specifically resonated with me a ton.

I wish we got a better look into Denji's thoughts in this scene. I can't even really get a grasp on what he must be thinking through all of this. In the last few days he's lost a major part of himself and has been replaced in face by a fraud and in action by a girl who he was forced to dump by his sister. There was a moment here before the reveal on this very page where I was thinking Swords was someone else. It was clearly someone from Part 1. He had a hoodie so maybe it was Violence? But that couldn't be real Violence was killed by Darkness. WAIT- BEAM? No I couldn't be beam he's been dead aswell. The Chapter is called Swordman so then maybe it's Katana man's return? No he wouldn't be on speaking terms with Denji after his testicles got mashed. So then-

Turns out it's the Longsword Hybrid from the end of Part 1. Yeah turns out he's alive. Which as many people have pointed out, Means the rest of the Hybrids are alive. So is Reze alive? Certain fans seem to think she is. At this point she seems to be the only match for Denji who isn't a complete psycho. But she still tried to kill him. But then Denji was still willing to run away with her at the end of the fight. If she does come back I hope she and Denji don't rush into a relationship, Let them chill for a bit before getting into anything serious Fujimoto please. If Reze really is alive I'll talk about her more in depth when she shows back up. But I need to say my peace.

The Whip Hybrid is going to be insane popular and so many of them are going to be just as Horny as Anime-Only Makima fans. I hope Swords ends up being chill with Denji and not another dickhead who tries to kill him. Denji needs another Male friend who doesn't treat him like shit. His only known ""friend"" in part 2 is yoshida and we all know yoshida has not been treating him well.