#other 2 are Definitely better than they used to be. far more fitting character-wise and far more goofy which is a slight req for me

[starfacedstudio]

Image ID: Seven colorful figures facing to the right, against a black/purple grid from Deltarune's battle UI. They are darkworld forms of original characters. Each has their own weapon and is generally in their own color scheme. A glowing red, pixel heart is in the upper left. End ID.

on a whim at the end of summer i drew my guys as if they had been thrown into a darkworld bc the autism told me so. i like how these came out!

Individual images + more detailed descriptions under the cut :]

Image ID: A short pinkish cyclops (Cinnamon) with four arms, four purple horns, and crutches. Their darkworld getup consists mainly of a purple bodysuit and a cropped jacket with neon green accents. One crutch is in the form of a harpoon launcher. They are also wearing a visor that covers their eye. End ID.

Image ID: Proud-looking orange cyclops (Mandy) with a fittingly orange themed outfit which looks vaguely inspired by typical old Roman soldiers; wraps, sandals, cape, and all. She is holding a flail with four orange-esque parts with spikes in slightly differing shades of yellow, orange, and pink. End ID.

Image ID: Minnie, a young cyclops with light yellow fur, holding a pink and green slingshot. She has a fringed white vest and a beaded necklace, belts, and her hair tied back with similar beads. End ID.

Image ID: A green, slender cyclops with apple theming named Smith Crispin, who looks somewhat concerned. Their outfit, primarily yellow and red, has poofy sleeves and pants kind of like a typical bard, and they have a feathered hat. They're holding a golden pitchfork with a red gem. End ID.

Image ID: Butterscotch, a blue and blue-green cyclops with butterfly theming, is wielding a pair of (vague) brass knuckles. Her outfit consists of a hooded, flowing tunic with butterfly cutouts, a pouch, tall white boots, and a band tying her hair back. End ID.

Image ID: Mainly purple character, Marshal, with 3-color rainbow accents across the outfit (going up the leg, on a chest shawl thing, and lighter-colored fur tips in similar colors). Its' outfit makes them look broad-shouldered with very tapered legs. They wield a giant sword themed after a chisel-tipped marker, and a notepad is strapped to its hip.

Image ID: A deep purple and pink cyclops named Cookie, wielding star-shaped throwing disks. She's wearing a body suit, and has a fur coat over half of her body with star and heart shaped "sprinkles." Her hair is in braids, and tied back in a star-shaped ponytail (similarly decorated with "sprinkles"). End ID.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged Episode 2 Review

Originally posted on September 11th, 2015

Episode 2

Real life is full of assholes. Self-entitled, manipulative, obnoxious assholes. And Takahata101 knows this. And more, he knows that the most extreme groups in the world, the ones that will stop at nothing to get their way, are filled with even worse assholes.

These assholes, more often than not, have a guiding philosophy or set of beliefs that allows them to justify their assholery. Militant atheists have the teaching of Dawkins, radical Christians have the teachings of their pastors, and AVALANCHE has a twisted environmentalism as its guiding philosophy.

And the leaders of AVALANCHE, Tifa and Barret, are so convinced that “saving the planet” through violence is a good thing that they will use any tactics to do so, from blowing up a power plant, to using threats and manipulation to recruit members.

This is why I find the prison rape threats held over Cloud to not only be unproblematic, but thematically poignant. Prison rape jokes in general are fairly unfunny, serving to reinforce homophobic ideas and harmful stereotypes about prisoners as well as reducing a severely traumatic event to a punchline, and there aren’t many occasions where they can be redeemed.

But Takahata101 does just that by leaning into the real horror behind rape, and acknowledging that Tifa reinforcing those fears onto Cloud is utterly reprehensible. It makes for a dark turn, and while it happens somewhat abruptly, it’s completely effective at establishing the immorality present in AVALANCHE, who originally were goodhearted underdogs.

This deconstruction of our heroes shows a lot of promise, and if Takahata101 and Anthony “Antfish” Sardinha continue to handle this darkening of the source material this well, it’ll make for an excellent thematic core to the series (especially if they also follow through on Cloud’s identity crisis).

On a similar note, we’re only two episodes in, and yet I’m already finding the incredible contrast between Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged and its source material to be absolutely fascinating. I mentioned last week that Final Fantasy VII is frequently lauded by its fans as the greatest RPG of all time, and while I don’t agree with that statement,1 I do believe that FFVII is a wonderfully written RPG, thanks to how well it deconstructs its characters.

Cloud is your typical antihero, but then it turns out he’s not, and has been lying about being this antihero since the beginning. Barret easily fits the “Angry Black Man” trope, but he’s primarily concerned with being a good father and protecting the environment. Tifa’s tough physicality and visible sexuality doesn’t preclude her from having a strong intellect and an incredibly kind heart.

I could go on,2 but I wanted to highlight the difference between the characters we’ve met so far in FFVII:MA. Cloud is no longer brash, confident and brooding; he’s a nervous wreck with no sense of identity. Barret is cruel, vindictive, and probably not a very great parent, and Tifa is cruel and manipulative instead of kind and caring.

Now, in Episode 2, unlike the last, each of these characterizations hit on an emotional reality (last episode they were caricatures crafted to fit the theme, which was perfect for the first episode), and that emotional reality drives their relationships forward just as well as their characterizations in the original, even though these new characterizations can be a lot darker.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

1On the grounds of writing alone, FFVII falls short in comparison to other games in the series, like VI, Tactics, and XII, all of which have stronger and better developed characters and storylines than VII (not even mentioning more recent Westerns RPGs like Oblivion, Mass Effect, or The Witcher, which outshine the storytelling of FFVII even more).

Gameplay wise, it’s also definitely one of the worst in its series (materia is fun but ain’t no esper, and they really weren’t ready for 3D until FFX), with only II and XIII really being definitively worse. And while very few Western RPGs outside of Dark Souls have gameplay I would consider “good,” they’re still streets ahead of FFVII’s clunky menus and Active Time Battle (which was perfected in VI).

2Seriously, every single character in this game is a deconstruction of their own archetype. Aerith is a manic pixie dream girl who abandons the male hero she’s “supposed to save” and sacrifices her life for everyone, leaving the male hero more alone and broken than ever.

Red XIII is a scientifically engineered wolf-creature who uses his fierce appearance to hide extreme intelligence and sensitivity. Cid is a loudmouthed redneck who is interested in and competent at flight and interstellar travel, and he also chooses to abandon his dreams of traveling into space in order to save the life of his assistant.

Reno and Rude, two “mindless thugs” from Shinra, are suave, cool, and genuinely good people, who refuse to question the actions of the men who have treated them incredibly well since the beginning. Rufus Shinra is a spoiled bratty kid who constantly questions the legacy of his father, and doesn’t realize until it’s too late that he’s been on the wrong side since the beginning.

Sephiroth… is a bit harder to pin down, because he’s mostly a parallel to Cloud as well as a warning to him of what he could become. His “ultimate” design is also interesting, as when he is at his strongest and has achieved “godlike power,” he takes the form of not only a fallen, but a broken, one-winged angel, showing the futility of his quest.

“REBELANCHE!”

Tifa: “Let me guess, you’re all pissy because that was ‘freedom-fighting’?” Cloud: “No, that was terrorism!” Tifa: “Oh, come on, how was destroying a factory that sucks the life out of the planet terrorism?” Cloud: “Every part of it was terrorism!”

Tifa the Liar.

Barret: “Did you f*** up?” Cloud: “What even is f***ing up?”

“Shinra determined that the explosion was caused by the group AVALANCHE.” *sounds of jubilation* “Little is known about this group…” *more jubilation* “Until today.” *sounds of dismay*

“Coming up next, the dark, demented reality of Chocobo breeding.” I’m literally shivering thinking about those horrors.

Cloud: “Please, like anyone’s gonna recognize me from that picture.” Tifa: “Hair.” Cloud: “Oh, you’re so right.”

Cloud: “That metaphor makes me uncomfortable.” Please let this be this series’ “I need an adult.”

[persephoneggsy]

2, 6, 7, 15, and 17, for the DA: TV meme, please!

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

It’s close, but Inquisition beats out the others by a thin margin. I just really love the hopeful, epic tone the game goes for, I love the gameplay, especially for mages and archers, and I just think it’s a really pretty game! Emprise du Lion is so gorgeous, sometimes I just walk around the snow and take it all in. It’s the game I’ve replayed the most out of the trilogy. And also it has the best DLCs, Jaws of Hakkon, The Descent, and Trespasser are all S-tier for me.

And it has my favorite group of companions, in terms of how many I like overall. In Origins I really only feel strongly about Alistair and Morrigan, and I'm fond of Oghren... everyone else I’m lukewarm about. 2 has my best boy Sebastian, and I like Fenris and Merrill, but I largely dislike-to-hate everyone else. Inquisition, though, I bare minimum like all the companions… with one exception lmao.

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

I always play a human woman, at least to start with, so there’s that. I have an OC from Star Wars: The Old Republic that I’ve been wanting to turn into a Pathfinder 2e character, but I can definitely rework her for The Veilguard: her name is Solesta, and she’s in her late 50s/early 60s. 

I’m leaning towards Antivan Crow or Mourn Watch for her faction. And I WANT to make a warrior since my previous protags have been Rogue - Mage - Mage, but Rogue might fit her better aesthetically.

Personality wise, she’s a very flirty old woman who can be charming and witty, but absolutely brutal and unforgiving in a fight. Also she has two adult children and two grandsons whom she dotes on.

7. Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV?

I mean… I’d love for Sebastian to get at least a mention that’s nice to him. He’s my canon romance for Hawke so it would be nice to hear that they’re happy ruling Starkhaven together. But given how much BioWare seems to actively dislike or treat Sebastian as lesser than the rest of the DA2 cast, I’d be just as happy if they left him alone and let me just headcanon that he’s happy and thriving with his wife.

Other than him… I really like Professor Kenric from the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. I think he was really adorable (and I possibly just have a thing for Starkhaven boys lol). He had a pretty obvious crush on Harding, she could reference him at least!

15. Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

I think my unpopular opinion is just that I’m like… earnestly excited and hype for it. I get the criticisms people have for it, I’m never gonna tell anyone that things shouldn’t be criticized. But I just personally don’t have a problem with anything we’ve been shown so far. 

I think the style of the game looks beautiful, I always preferred stylized characters to realistic ones, I LOVE the colors, and I’ve never really considered the series to be “dark” in the way that other people seem to, so a brighter tone doesn’t bug me either. I’m interested in all the companions, I’m intrigued by the new combat system, and I screamed and cheered and clapped at the reveal trailer we got during the Xbox Showcase. But being earnestly excited is either met with "you're a shill for EA/BioWare", "huffing copium" or "being contrarian" lol.

Honestly, the only thing that might get me some pushback is that I don’t want Varric to be there. Not because I think he deserves rest or whatever, I’m just earnestly sick of him and would prefer if he just fucked off back to Kirkwall and make BioWare come up with a new character. Preferably a dwarf.

17. Are you interested in all the lore and speculation or do you focus more on the games and stories themselves?

I love DA lore, but I leave the analyzing to people smarter and with better retention than I. I tend to focus more on the stories actually being presented to us via the games. Idk, I’m just not like… equipped to speculate, I think. I either need concrete answers or I will make up my own headcanons regardless of supporting evidence lmao

[winter-spark]

Alright so rudely one day I posted that My Grand Plan is a Tangerine and Navel song with 0 explanation, curse my headache. So now let me try to put the feelings I have about them and that song into words.

First let's discuss Tangerine, who is probably a more obvious fit for the song. Tangerine is the youngest of 4 and wasn't at all a part of the competition really because of it. But let's break it down by lyrics I feel like can line up with Tangerine.

You know the only gift my mom ever gave me? A hat that makes you invisible You put it on and no one can see you Seemed appropriate

So as I said Tangerine, is the youngest of 4. His brothers fighting for the throne, but he didn't really seem to be considered for it. He was thus invisible in the sense that automatically what he did meant less in the grand scheme of things. As for the first line, reading HQ made me feel like all Tangerine really had for the longest time was Citron. He didn't have a person like Guy, Mika or Orange's subordinate, seeing as Mika originally worked for Guy and now works for Tangerine and we don't see him interact with any subordinates besides Mika in that arc right? Plus Citron said he spent more time with Guy than either of his parents, I'm assuming that none of them spent the most time with their parents, but to me, Tangerine definitely spent the least time with his. I think his mom was completely mia. So yea.

This part in summary is to point out his estranged or well nonexistent relationship with his mother(and probably distant relationship with his dad), and how he was really the least paid attention to of his siblings.

I've always been a smart girl Always made the grade, always got the gold star I've always been a smart girl But smart girl only gets a girl so far

Once again the least paid attention to but he obviously had some instincts and stuff for a while as I believe in HQ Citron mentions how he'd always seen Tangerine's potential but now their father has too. Tangerine is smart and capable kid who has good ideas and when calm enough can make quick decisions as shown in Year 2. He didn't just spawn those traits they've been there. But it only got "rewarded"/noticed when he literally had to use those skills of his to direct the people out of a burning theater and the rest of his brothers had reason to be removed from the throne.

I think a lot of other lyrics are kinda vague or cross-over or whatever so let's discuss Navel next.

I've always been a tough girl Always been the one not to run from a fight Always been a tough girl 'Cause most girls never win if they're polite

Okay, so this is one of the not one-to-one situations I mentioned in the tags of the og post I'm talking about. (except I didn't have it completely analyzed at that point lol) Navel was in the running, so he's been actively fighting for the crown. He didn't back out even though his chances of taking the throne were extremely low, he stayed in the running enough that people preferred, either Orange or him over Citron. He was doing as well as he could for someone who wasn't going to win. And he knew he'd never win, not himself anyway.

So me, I tend to stand my ground I found I never can give in It may not be my quest But maybe it's mine to win

He was actively participating in the conversations and planning to get Orange to the throne. He couldn't beat out Citron and win the throne himself. But he can help his closer brother, Orange, do so. And he was there for it, he was an accomplice. Even if at times he seemed a bit hesitant he didn't back out or leave he stuck by Orange's side. He was gonna see it through.

Okay so a couple more thoughts then I'll wrap this up.

My grand plan Is that I will be remembered My grand plan Just you wait and see You better wise up, 'cause I'll rise up

They both feel like characters who would desire more but in different ways.

For Tangerine, I think he more never knew really he could have more. More in this case being trusted with the big responsibility of being heir. Sure a lot of responsibility could be a lot of pressure, but also he's being trusted to be the Kingdom's leader and on a much shorter timeline than Citron had. And he's doing well in preparation. So tying back in the lines, I think he's ready for the future to do more to show everyone what he's capable of.

For Navel, I think it's more of the longing for the throne. I've already stated he was never gonna win. Not in most scenarios. And I think that's something that would've always been apparent to him. He wants to be respected to be held in high regard so he's trying with all his might to be a good alternative heir, but all he gets really is the people who don't want it to be Citron basically being if not Orange than Navel. He's a spare for the spare and as cool as it is that his name is mentioned in the running he's still always only considered after Orange. He's still not an entity of his own. He's "or Navel". And it's the result of his fighting, but as I said, while he was able to get himself well known, he'd never beat Citron so as much as he wants to, the best he can really do is help Orange but that's all getting beside the point. The point being he wanted to be recognized and fighting for the throne was his best bet for that.

And your dad won't give you the time of day

This is definitely a cross-over line. I'm sure they saw the king but like also he's probably busy with Kingly duties or something. Especially because they were both at the end of the line, I'm sure that they had even less time with the King than Citron had. I honestly hesitate to reference Citron saying he spent more time with Guy than with his parents because like the amount of time he spent with Guy based on backstage stories and events, it wasn't hard for him to spend more time with Guy over his parents. However seeing as in the backstage "Innocence of the Royal Palace" it's revealed that there was a caretaker at the castle, there were definitely probably times that could've been spent with their dad but weren't because they were left with the caretaker instead.

But I promise you I'll never be invisible again Someone will notice Me

Whether they know/knew it or not yet, they do have someone who notices them each. Citron and Orange. (I strongly feel that Orange is to Navel, as Citron is to Tangerine) Citron and Orange are clearly each of their closest companions and maybe they don't fully count but I know having them there with them was definitely a big help for them growing up. Tangerine and Navel would've been a lot sadder if not close to them, I think. Like if their lives were the same just minus the close bond they have with the brother they have one with.

HOWEVER I do want to point out that even those two probably didn't have a full acknowledgement of them, or at least it felt like it at times. Citron and Orange were the closest to the throne so that's where a lot of their focus went so even though they were close with Tangerine and Navel, respectively. There's no way Tangerine and Navel didn't ever feel sidelined or somewhat less important by those two.

Like Tangerine was like "lets look at who's performing at the Ceremony :3" and Citron was like "actually I'm tired", while Tangerine surely understood I'm sure he also felt down. Like his brother, the person probably closest to him has been mia for like 2 or so years now, and he's been busy with the coronation stuff, you ask for maybe five minutes of his time but "of course you shouldn't have he's needs rest, his rest is important you should've thought of that before asking" and like I'm just using that as an example of what their childhoods might've at times been like. Like obviously there were lots of good times but also, Citron was in his own world sometimes so Tangerine would, of course, sometimes feel like dang. And how many times was it Tangerine asking to hang out with Citron rather than vice versa?

And on the end of Navel and Orange, I highly doubt they actively discussed discussed the way that Navel is working just as hard for the throne but he ends up Team Orange/not Citron rather than Team Navel and it doesn't come up in their conversations. When they're finalizing the mia Citron plan. Orange isn't like "this is the last chance we have to keep Citron from becoming King" he's more like "this is the last chance for me to become King" to his brother who is also in the running and I know I know Navel was gonna never win but he has to feel some sort of way about it. Like I'm sure that wording it like that was just an oversight but also how many times do you think Orange may have said something like that and not noticed the possible underlying pain it may have cause Navel because, well they are on the same team, why would that cross his mind? And why would Navel say anything, Orange is next, "why he's just stating facts. Why argue and possibly put yourself at odds with your best friend over something true. Yea, you're also fighting for the throne but like what are the chances you're actually gonna get it, a lot less than Orange's that's for sure." Does Navel have a subordinate?

But whatever to all that, now times have changed and adjusted. They're gonna get to have all their brothers see them and learn who they are more. Tangerine has Mika, people want his input and his ideas and he gets to work to implement them/things, Navel can discover himself outside of the throne and people want to know what he's finding interesting now(even if for now it's just his brothers asking how his studies are going). And honestly, I think all in all that's what they really wanted, to be cared about and seen and taken an interest in.

(I really wanted to end off positively so I hope that last part makes sense lol.)

Also here's a link to the song in case you want to listen to it and think about them now ^^ :

[optimisticcoffeedelusion]

Die For Me

And so here I am...having finished the third Killing Eve book by Luke Jennings Die For Me.

This is obviously merely my opinion but I want to start telling you all that I believe this is by far the worst book of the trilogy. By far. Like, not just by a tiny bit. I didn’t dislike every single thing in it, but I didn’t like...most of it, starting with the change of perspective/narration. Die For Me sees a sudden change from an external narrator to a first person (Eve) one and I believe Jennings fares much better with an external narrator. But while this is the first element that I see as a flaw compared to the first 2 books, it also is responsible for one of the very few things I liked in the book.

The second flawed element I found is...well, see how season 4 of the show starts leaving the viewers wondering (without ever getting satisfaction) how the heck we got there? The third book does something similar. Not in a bad direction, but still one that left me a bit like eh. Eve being so deeply in love with Villanelle feels very sudden and very weird and very out of character even. Even more out of character, to me, was the extreme emotional submissiveness Eve shows especially in the first half of the book (it kind of subsides later on), which was not there at all in the first two books. One could say it’s because we feel book three directly from inside of her, but even this perspective doesn’t make it less weird to read in flowing with the two books. On the other hand, Villanelle did not feel out of character (compared to the first two books) and while she is very detestable at times, even that kind of fits into place with the character. So I can say I disliked some behaviors or words (and oh I did!!), but also that it’s not weird that she would do or say something I’d dislike.

Before getting to the thing I liked most about the book, I want to briefly talk about something other than Villanelle and Eve specifically. In the first two books the two of them spent almost no time together (and of course having them together is nice), but all the discourse and parts about missions and espionage are organized with structure, interest and detail. But I felt like this effort was not there in Die For Me. All the planning and mission-ing wasn’t at all as interesting as in the first books. On the contrary, I really didn’t like pretty much all the central parts, then nearing the end; including and maybe particularly all the Lara stuff. In the show Nadia died to soon, but I wish her book counterpart left us sooner! In other words, the writing quality went pretty down. That’s what I perceived.

But even plot-wise there was something I like. That is the part they spend at Dasha’s (which is not Villanelle’s former trainer, but her former prison mate!) and the ending part, which has some bits that I found quite beautiful. I also liked how Anna made her appearance; I really liked that. It’s almost as if Luke wrote some good stuff for the beginning and end, and then filled the middle with...words, really uncompelling words.

Now what I really, really really liked; what I really really found interesting and that, while ultimately is a small part of it all, felt still very meaningful to me, is how Eve’s first person perspective allowed us to get some terribly deep insights into Villanelle, her behavior, her state of mind, her emotional state, her way of expressing feelings, her entire way of being. I think the show ended up going very cliché, ordinary and not necessarily realistical here, but the book made a successfull (in my opinion) effort in being truthful to the realty of Oxana’s psychopatry while at the same time not sacrificing the humanity that is there, still.

So yeah, there it is. The Killing Eve journey has ended on paper too, for now. Despite really not being into this third book, I’m still happy I decided to give them a go. It was definitely an interesting experience and I more than loved to get to know these other Eve and Villanelle, who made the general image of the characters in my mind even richer.

With the fourth book coming, I definitely wish for more substance and possibly a return to the external narrator. But in case there’s gonna be quality and substance, then I would be really interested in reading a Villanelle perspective book, given that we got an Eve’s one.

[toomanythought]

What are your thoughts on what the Black Bulls wear?

There are more than ten of them so I'm just gonna pick ten and put the others in different categories.

Nacht Faust

K so mister Faust doesn't have a profile image that I could easily find because he likes to be difficult, so we'll be using this.

Ngl I kinda like it

Def weird though

The row of belts is strange but they do serve to break the outfit up and prevent him from looking like a pole so there's that

Somehow still manages to give off whore vibes despite not showing an inch of skin

The collar could probably be better; the only thing covering your chin should be some kind of scarf or head covering, not your collar

Pretty unmemorable as a whole, but I guess he is a spy so that works out

8/10 could be better but I'd wear it.

Finral Rolacouse

His other hairstyle is really so much better. When I was first getting into this I didn't think he looked too bad, but since I've gotten used to the new cut, this looks really bad.

Outfit wise, he's got pretty descent color coordination

It's also rather practical for general movement and operation

By far not the best look he could have, but he doesn't immediately come off as clueless

Pretty plain, 7/10 just because I know in my gut that he could do better

Henry Legolant

This guy shows up everywhere in his pajamas and I applaud him for that.

Not much to say, he doesn't even have slippers though and that seems dangerous

His hair really is the star of the show here, so it's probably good that the outfit itself is rather plain.

The outfit does highlight how long and string-beany he is, and considering how tall he actually is, he might not want that

7/10 it works for him, I'd suggest adding some kind of belt though for maximal potential

Gordon Agrippa

He just looks like he's wearing a military uniform

Honestly that aesthetic is on point though

Very goth, fairly certain I went to school with girls who did their makeup to look just like him

Loving the red highlights, they give the outfit character without being overwhelming

His belt matches his shoes, something many people frequently get wrong

Sidenote on that: My eighth grade homeroom teacher once complained to us about how his wife wouldn't let him wear black shoes with a brown belt and we were all like. um. Yeah.

Anyways 10/10 I want to own it.

Grey

Honestly very cute

I like the colors, definitely giving Charlotte vibes with the color scheme, although the outfit itself is very different

Not sure I personally vibe with the puffy pants

The shoes are a little sketchy, but they! Match! the! belt!

Excellent job Grey, you are in fact a functional adult who can also put together a matching outfit that doesn't clash with your hair

6/10 It def loses points with me for the pants, between the puffiness and where they end, I just can't do it.

Gauche Adlai

Kinda ugly tbh

It's probably just the drabness of the colors that I'm not vibing with

But the lines down his pants and his shoes are also strange

The knee pads are a diservice

I like the pouches, they're very efficient

Also the elbow pads are pretty cool

5/10 I really hate the pants but it looks like an outfit built for practicality.

Charmy Pappitson

I actually have worn this outfit, although not in public

Pretty generic

It's a sweatshirt and leggings, where can you go wrong

The grimoire case could be a better color

I'd match it to the shoes personally

Alternatively you match the shoes to the cover and give her a matching hair clip

9/10 built for comfort, fairly mobile, not hideous

Magna Swing

It looks like it could be a slutty outfit but the way he wears it is distinctly not slutty.

Could use a better hairstyle

I'm always so concerned about the glasses, he breaks them too often

That shirt is clearly designed to show the midriff and yet he does not show the midriff. Mixed feeling about this.

The colors are good

Belt matches pants, pants fit, there's even a cool chain

I'm a sucker for fingerless gloves, that's all I'm saying

9/10 I'd wear it with some modifications

Luck Voltia

He looks like a child

That is not a shirt. That is a bib.

It's like some kind of shapeless night gown? Really not vibing

The pants clash with the bib

The boots are a bit too tall and the pants are too short to wear together

Luck my child why are you wearing your grimoire on your chest. How does that make it accesible

A belt, specifically one that matched the pants, would go a long ways towards saving this outfit

2/10 could be worse but it just screams young child

Zora Ideale

.

Where to start.

It's just a bit hideous

His piercings/mask/hair/eyes are all fine and look good

But What, pray tell, is going on with the rest of this

It's like Jack all over again

I'm just confused by what's going on

Just now remembering that his dad technically designed this so I can't be too harsh because it's sentimental but.

Zora. You are allowed a little creative freedom

Hoping the fur can be worn around his midriff so he doesn't freeze to death

That's how he's gonna die in the Spade kingdom arc. Mark my words

The shape? The metal bits? The texture changes? The lack of proper shirt (I'm sure Asta was inspired by him)? None of it good

0/10 just needs Help

It's bad.

[spencerhotchner]

Alternative {spencer reid}

Chapter 2

summary: Since quarentine was announced, Y/N decided to rewatch all seasons of Criminal Minds. On a lonely night she wished she could be in that universe instead of this. What happens when she wakes up in 2008 in Quantico?

warnings: angst, a very confused reader, regular cm stuff and my grammar (if you find anything else pls lmk) 

word count: 2.1k

a/n: ok, i am really excited about this series. and really thankful that y'all are liking it. also, i hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as y'all did the last one! it didn't end up as long as i wanted it it but ig its ok right.

series masterlist

part 1 | part 2

You could hear some familiar voices on the background as you began to regain conciseness, voices you could identify anywhere. You kept your eye shut for a while, feeling the tiredness and dizziness your body was screaming at you despite the fact that you have been unconscious, and on the floor apparently. Even though you're head was still too slow to think straight, you noticed that your face mask wasn't on you anymore. 

“Who is she?” you heard the familiar voice of Shamar, or Morgan, given the circumstances. 

“Apparently she knows me.” that was Spencer’s turn to speak. 

“I met her this morning.” JJ states, you could only imagine the faces they would be making at her, wondering how and why. “I bumped into her walking on the street, she seemed pretty confused but yet she still knew who I was.” 

“Well, that’s weird.” Emily said.

When you finally decided to open them, you felt like you were still dream. Once again you found yourself asking what was going on. Why was the whole cast of Criminal Minds standing there simple staring at you and why were they acting like their characters? Out of the two explanations that came to your mind at the moment, only one made any sense. I was a tv prank, it could only be. There would be no other logical reason to it, other wise. 

“Are you ok?” Hotch asks, offering a hand. 

You stared at him trying to figure out what to say, but without saying a word you took his hands and got up. The whole team was looking at you, with weird expressions. You felt almost like you were an unsub, you hated being stared. 

“Yes, I mean, no!” you say. “Is this a prank of something? Because, damn, you guys went too far down with it. Fuck!” you say, finally snapping. 

“I’m afraid I don't know what you are talking about.” Rossi said. 

You tried not to but as soon as you realized you already had a big sarcastic expression on your face. How wouldn't they? They were tv stars and they were clearly acting, you've seen it. 

“Oh, you're not?” you said, as sarcastic as you could be. “Ok, let me enlighten you all, since you ‘don’t know what i’m talking about?’. I woke up in this freaking random apartment by myself wearing the exact same thing I was wearing the night before.” 

“...and where is the part we fit in there?” he replies. 

You ignored him, sighing and trying to push your anxiety down. 

“As I was saying, I was wearing the exact same thing and I was in Bellevue, in Washington state. I have no idea who decided to pull this off but as much as I love the show, I am not enjoying this.” you say, looking around trying to find cameras. 

They all kept staring at you, Rossi was the only one who didn't seem worried about, it was like he thought you were on drugs or just delusional. You were even starting to believe in that. JJ and Spencer kept staring at each other, possibly trying to figure out what was going on, and how you knew them. 

“You believe you were abducted, then?” Hotch finally says something. 

You sigh again, trying to be patience. All you wanted was to go home, when you said you wanted to meet the cast - all the hundreds of times you said it, you didn’t mean this. You closed your eyes, because suddenly all you wanted to do was cry. You couldn't count how many times you imagined this happening and it was being just awful. You hated being confused, lost and being pictured as crazy. 

“No, Agent Hotchner” you spilled his name, sarcastically. “I am sure.”

He looked at you without much expression - as usual, but you could tell he was superseded you knew him, just as much as the team. Morgan step forward, walking towards you. You stared at him, trying to remain calm. 

“Listen, we can't help you if you don't let us.” he said. “Can you tell us your name?”

God, don't they realize this is funny? I do not wanna be acting, some pictures would do the job just as fine. 

“Y/N Y/L/N” you say as you watch Rossi give Garcia a look making her nod and direct herself to her ‘cave’, certainly to search you up. 

“Alright, you have someone we can contact with?” JJ asks. 

You nodded, yes you did. But they wouldn't pick up the phone, as you tried multiple times this morning on the old cellphone. What if something happened to them? This was all so confusing. 

“But she won’t pick up the phone, I tried.” you said.

Once again, you caught yourself wondering what was going on. And that was the moment you kind of got what was happening. Would it be possible that you shifted to this universe? Maybe this wasn't all a prank and your wish had just became true. You probably should've thought about it before asking for it. At once it hit you, what you said to your friend just last night. 

“What is something you would want to do right now?” your best friend asked you, leaning a bit towards you, laughing drunkly.

“Um, I’d really like to be in Criminal Minds right now.” you say laughing as you best friend rolled her eyes. “No, listen! I’d love to meet Spencer Reid and I don't know, it just sounds better than quarantine.”

“Yeah, sure, because serial killers are just not bad at all, huh?” she laughed. 

Maybe this was true, maybe you did shifted. And if you did, you sure sounded like a crazy person, and probably a stalker. You looked around trying to figure out if you could sit somewhere, it all became took much for you mind at that moment. 

“Can I sit... Can I sit somewhere?” you asked, probably looking as ill as you sounded.

You watched as Reid rushed to bring the chair. You set down trying to figure out how you'd leave there, and how you'd shift back. Staring at them you felt your heart warm a little, you dreamed about this for so long - as it was all it was, a dream, until now, at least. 

Before you could say a word you watched Penelope come back and whisper in Rossi’s ear, probably what she found out about you. Which, maybe was everything, since you had no reasons to hide a thing about your life, which was quite boring, in fact. 

“Who are you?” Rossi says, like he’s ready to arrest you.

“I-I already told you.” you answer. “I’m Y/N.”

If you needed any proof about what was going on that was it. It was like you did not even exist, like you weren't real. She probably didn’t find anything because you’re not from this universe.

“Alright. What can we do for you, Y/N?” Morgan asks.

“I need to go home.” you let it out. “I don't know how I ended up here in Quantico.”

Garcia stares ate you, almost like she felt pity about your situation while the rest of them kept a suspicious look at you. It’s not like you blame them, anyways, you would think it’s weird for somebody to come out of nowhere knowing your name and claiming to be pranked. 

While you were sitting there, with all those eyes at you, you thought that maybe giving up and trying to figure it all out by yourself maybe would be better. How would they help you, anyways? It is not like they could send you back. And it is also not like you didn't actually wish for this. 

There are some wishes that are entirely rhetorical. 

“You know what? I’m good.” you fake a smile, obviously. “I’m just gonna go.” 

You stoop up fast, not giving them much time to contest you. Spencer looked confused, more than any of the others, for some reason. Maybe he was just curious on how you knew him, or JJ. Either way, you wouldn't know. 

Hotch looked at you, wondering your action. Why were you so desperate at one time and tried to pull off as if it was ok? It was definitely not ok. Your smile looked fake, your body seemed tense and your eyes looked as lost as he could think someone could be, as he has seen a lot of lost eyes. 

“Thank you, for your attention, though.” you say. “I’m sorry for taking your time agents.” 

You stormed out of there, not even realizing that you left your jacket in there. How could you? Not when you ran out of there as if your live depended on it. You let a sigh out as you got out of the building, not even noticing when the tears started to come down at your cheeks. 

At that moment you didn't care at all about where you were, you set on the floor, letting the tears roll down and the sobs come out. You never wished to be away from your reality, it only seemed nice in your dreams. Right now, all you wanted was to go home and hug your parents, or even just see them. You felt lost, as lost as a five year old who can't find his mommy at the park. 

You got scared as you felt a big hand touch your shoulders. As your turn, to see who was it, Spencer looked as nice as you could ever picture him to, or see on the screens. His face resembles worry, like he was actually wondering what happened to you and why where you there. 

“I believe this is yours.” he hands you your jacket. 

You stare at him before.

“Yes, thank you.” you wipe the tears away. 

“No- No problem.” he said, sitting by your side. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah.” you answered looking away. 

“You don't have to lie to me.” he said, as you looked back at him. “I wanna help you, but I can only do that if you cooperate with me.”

Why would he?

“I don't know where I am. I mean, I do know but I don't know how I ended up here. I understand what is going on, I did after a while but I don't know how to change this situation. I don't know how to go back home.” you said. 

Not like he’ll understand, anyways.

"Maybe... Maybe me and my team could help you figure it out?” he tries. 

“I doubt it.” you shake your shoulders. “I know that you guys are awesome at your job, don't get me wrong, to be honest I’m quite the big fan.” you laughed a bit. “But it’s just out of hand.” 

He stops, looking at you. Gave up offering help, you were not accepting he felt it. No, he knew it. It was his job to know what body language was telling him, anyways. He didn't want to stare at you, but he felt like he needed to. He was stuck at your looks, so pretty, yet so lost. 

“If we can't help you, is there anything I can do for you?” he asks. 

You looked right into his eyes. Thinking, if you should say it. Maybe so, it wouldn't kill you, it was not like it was the real world of something, well maybe it was but you couldn't care less. All you wanted was somewhere to stay this night and figure out how to get back.

“I do need a place to stay tonight.” you say, smiling little at him. 

He had a weird look on his face when you said that, like he wasn't expecting it. Because he wasn't. That moment he considered himself a crazy man, because he knew the risks and yet was up for it.

“Uh, ok.” 

Taglist: @feverdreamreid @andromedasstarship @paulaern @theetherealbloom @thatsonezesty13 @reidsalvez​ @pieceofreid @nymeria-targaryen​ @greeny-kitten​ @peppermintnight @notebookgirl30​ @2sarvinem @holding-on-to-my-youth​ @mggsprettygirl​ @iifloweringnightsii​ @iidontgiveafuckuniverse​ @mcntsee​

[yukipri]

Bad Batch end of season thoughts/ramble, bc it's been a week and I just wanna get it all off my chest...

(end of season spoilers and very disorganized rambling)

First off, I do want to say that I enjoyed watching the show. It fulfilled its primary purpose: entertainment. It was nice having something to look forward to every week, and even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was fun. The animation was gorgeous, I liked all the references and tie ins. I will likely watch it again, and will watch season 2. This is by no means meant to be a hate post.

That being said, it is critical so please just skip if you're not into that!

The thing is...it takes very, Very little for me to love a clone. He doesn't need lines, or a face, or even a name, and the default is that I will love him. He can even be a little bastard, like Slick, and it's fine. I always want to know more about them, and wish they had more screen time and time in general to develop their characters. So given that we were getting 16 (20 eps total if we count TCW S7 pilot arc) centered around these guys, I was expecting to absolutely adore them by the end.

And I wanted to love the Bad Batch, I wanted to love them so damn much, and I tried. But I think one of the reasons why they never fully clicked for me was that their thing seems to be "we're unique, we never fit in, we're outsiders in our own home, among the people who are supposed to be our own family, and so we've found our home with each other."

Which! That's usually a wonderful message, and not a particularly rare or unique one either for stories! I usually dig these kinds of stories!

The problem here is the extremely unique situation of the clones. They are literally created to be identical, brain washed to be uniform. They must conform, or are killed off by their creators, and their conformity isn't a choice in the slightest, but one of fear and necessity.

Their uniformity is something that they are also entirely aware of--it's unavoidable, they're clones. Once out in the real galaxy, they all strive to find and establish unique identities for themselves, struggling against a galaxy that just wants them to be faceless products. It's a shared struggle, and all they have are each other, and their brotherhood is sacred as a result. Shunning unique identity is the opposite of who a clone is--it's what they all want.

So on one hand, it's understandable that the Batch stuck out (when all others who would have also stuck out were culled, when individuality isn't allowed). It's understandable that they would have yearned for the brotherhood shared by the other clones, and when they couldn't have it, they stuck closer to each other. It's even understandable that they would feel bitter, having experienced bullying at the hands of the other clones (but isn't it also understandable that the other clones would feel bitter that the Batch gets special treatment, when their own brothers with less-than-beneficial mutations were taken by the Kaminoans to never return?).

And so we have this batch of clones, who the Kaminoans call "mutated," but also specify that their mutations are "desirable" (implying what happens to mutations that are undesirable...). They have their own unique unit, in which they're able to improvise and act freely with seemingly little to no oversight, so long as they complete their mission. No Jedi to obey, no nat-born officers who look down on them. In fact, they look so different from standard clone troopers that most of the galaxy probably don't even know they are clones. They have their own ship (personalized), they have their own possessions (which we don't really see any other clones have), they have their own barracks (probably also very unique), and they even have access to superior weapons and armor (most of the Batch, minus Echo, seem to be wearing modified Katarn-class armor which is supposed to be for Commandos. we KNOW it holds up better than standard trooper armor).

So I'm sure they had some unpleasant experiences growing up, and I do get it. But at least at "present" end of clone wars, they honestly seem to be living infinitely better than all other clones? They still need to follow orders but they have more freedom, and perhaps most importantly, they have clear uniqueness that is denied almost all other clones. And yes, some of the clones on Kamino bully them, but we've seen NONE of the "regular" clones that we know to be particularly nasty to them, and in fact it's Crosshair who starts it by calling them "Regs."

And how does the Batch respond to this situation? By acting superior. It's Crosshair who says and it believes this firmly, and I do feel that the others are likely mostly influenced by this, but it's also true that Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech don't really deny this either. They don't like the "regs," they do act like they're "better." Poor Echo, who they repeatedly seem to forget is in the room, and who they call "machine" and such...yikes yo

So I guess the point is, I just really struggled to feel sympathetic towards them, and was already on a kinda eh about their premise. They're marketed as "the special clone squad"--and yet they're not nice to the clones I love. I thought that wasn't great, but also hoped that the series would work towards them understanding the other clones better, and I love character development so that woulda been fine--but, nothing. A glance from Hunter at Howzer. Extended camaraderie from Gregor, who I feel they mostly just tolerate for the mission, other than Echo who genuinely cares.

And on top of feeling not feeling particularly sympathetic towards what I saw as a pretty privileged group of clones, the Batch seems to place primary blame of their woes on the "regs" themselves, who again, honestly seem far worse off! There isn't blame directed at the people who demanded the conformity from the other clones in the first place, that made it so the Batch couldn't fit in. The Batch was modified due to the Kaminoans (and implied specifically Nala Se). She's the reason why they don't fit in. And the Kaminoans are also why the other clones have to be so uniform, why they must fight to be people and not products.

Bitterness and pettiness can be fine in characters. But it's frustrating to see in a group supposed to be competent and elite, especially when those feelings have consequences. Sure, it sucks when someone throws a food tray at you. You can throw food back. It's not an equal reaction to feel no remorse when you shoot that guy dead in a blaster fight, when for all other clones, having to kill another clone is one of the most horrible, tragic things that one can do (thanks, Umbara).

Fives was the only clone to actually point a blaster at Nala Se.

We know Omega has deeply personal history with Nala Se. She was Nala Se's personal medical assistant. We see her cry when she takes off her head ornament that matches Nala Se. We know that being back in the lab gives Omega complicated, and probably not entirely positive feelings. But we barely learn more about this relationship, other than these glimpses.

And I get the feeling that to Omega at least, Nala Se wasn't all terrible. If Omega grew up with mostly only Nala Se for company, she had to have gotten her sheltered outlook on life, and her willingness to help others from somewhere. Nala Se intentionally let Omega go, to be "safe."

I think Omega's adorable, and I do like her. But I wasn't able to fully love her to the extent I wanted to, because there was always the fear that she was involved in the creation and implantation of the chips. She knows about them, she would have been positioned to do so. I want to think she would never, and I was hoping the show would reassure us of that, but it never did. We don't actually know how Omega feels about Nala Se, or even the chips and their presence in other clones. Instead, all we know is that Omega doesn't like "regs."

And again, "they call me lab scrubber," and "I helped put (or am complicit in putting) mind control devices in their heads," are kinda, unequal. Again I hope it's not the case. But it definitely kept me feeling uneasy throughout the show.

It really boils down to I don't trust or forgive Nala Se, and the Batch's lack of stance against her and the other Kaminoans, and clear distaste for their other clone brothers, really puts them in a situation that makes it difficult for me to take their side entirely.

And then gosh, Hunter. During Crosshair's whole "you never came back for me," spiel, I couldn't help but think he's kinda right. He had 15 episodes. Sure, it's difficult to get Crosshair back. But they could have done something. They could have done research. We could have had scenes of them wondering where Crosshair is, discussions on how best to find him, even if that discussion ended in, "but we can't risk it right now." They could have grilled Omega for information on the chips, which they really shoulda done either way, but especially since that knowledge is important to understanding what (they thought had) happened to Crosshair. Instead, they just ran every time Crosshair showed up. The show could have done better to show that they cared, and were trying, instead of just, y'know, doing chores for Cid. One, "I kinda miss him," doesn't really count as working on getting him back, at least in my books.

The sole exception to all of this, of course, is Echo. Who really, he works with the Batch fine, he's a former ARC and can more than keep up. Skillset-wise, he fits in well enough. But this season really made me wonder why he's with them at all. Crosshair's revelation and true feelings at the end of the season were no surprise to me, as they're consistent with what we've seen of him from TCW S7. But for Echo, a former "reg" to have to work with someone like Crosshair...even if Crosshair thought Echo was "different" enough to accept him, those are his brothers that Crosshair thinks he's so superior to, and has no issue speaking disdainfully about.

The increasing tension between Echo and Hunter, Echo's interest in helping Rex, in helping other clones, in doing something...I do hope they reach a point where Echo demands they go help, or he's leaving.

They gave Crosshair a chance, despite the fact that his choices were willing. I really hope Echo can convince the Batch to help save the other clones who don't have a choice. Because even if the Batch doesn't consider them their brothers, they're certainly Echo's. They matter just as much as Crosshair, and I really hope season 2 shows it narratively.

To conclude, again I'm interested in seeing what happens next, and I want answers about Omega and Nala Se. I find it interesting that they tied the facility where they took Nala Se in with the scientist dude collecting data on Grogu in the Mandalorian and those cloning labs. All of this is interesting, but at the same time I feel like it's trying to build up to Snoke/Palpatine stuff in the sequels which...I don't care nearly as much about, but who knows, could be neat ^ ^;

I'm okay with, and have made peace with the fact that the Bad Batch probably isn't the "clones-centric" show I wanted, and that they'll continue their own story, and probably continue to not care much about other clones in upcoming seasons. That's unfortunate, but alright. I'm interested enough in their story too.

But at the same time...I can't help but think man, if they have the time and budget to do a season 2, after seeing what was (or wasn't) accomplished in season 1...I wish they'd also make a Rex/Cody/Wolffe/"regular clones" show, because in the end, if you're going to do a "clones show"....that's who I want to see most.

If you got to the end, thank you for reading, and being an ear to my ranting ^ ^; Again this is literally just getting this off my chest. If this take isn't one you agree with, please just ignore. For people who did fall in love with the Batch, I'm happy for you, and regret that it just couldn't happen for me. But, I'm hoping that S2 will change my mind, but we'll just have to see! ^ ^;

[tomorrowsdrama]

So the costumes in rebel princess are obviously beautiful and incredibly detailed.  But I love that the costuming also informs us about a character’s social standing and for some characters, their state of mind as well.  Or in Song Huaien’s case, how far into the dark side he’s gone.  He’s really the inspiration for this post.  As I was re-watching some of the early episodes while waiting for the new subs (shhh, I know I’m unhealthily obsessed with this drama), I noticed not only how drastically his costuming/hair has changed, but also that he’s pretty much a mirror of whoever he chooses to follow at the moment.  Cheng’s very own Single White Female without the obsessive craziness, if you will.  Delusional?  Sure.  But not quite crazy.

But first, let’s talk about the clothing of the noble class.  I’m sorry for this thesis that I’m going to inflict on everyone that no one asked for.  I’ve joked about the long trains on Awu/the nobles’ clothing before, but it’s clear that they are a sign of high status and wealth.  The higher ranked/wealthier you are, the longer your train is it seems.  Also, just in general, the nobles’ outfits usually include an abundance/overflowing of luxe silky and billowy material.  See:

And the nobles can afford to have such styles of clothing not just monetarily, but also lifestyle wise.  To put it bluntly, the nobles don’t have to do shit in their lives so they can afford to drag long trains of expensive fabric back and forth in their huge manors/the palace.  These clothes aren’t for functionality, but for beauty/showing off your wealth (whether intentionally or not).  If they need to go anywhere, they have comfy carriages to travel in instead of walking long distances.  If they need something?  That’s what servants are for.  I mean, just imagine how cumbersome it is to move around with such huge billowy sleeves and six feet of cloth dragging behind your ass.  You don’t have to imagine, just look at this scene where Daddy Wang visits Prime Minister Wen in prison (oh, how I regret taking this time for granted and condemning Daddy Wang for imprisoning that old fool):

Look at how his train drags over the threshold of the prison door.  Daddy Wang literally has to lift his train and throw it over a bench in order to sit down.  

The higher your status, the less physical activity you have to partake in a.k.a. the more useless you are, so it should come as no surprise that the longest train I’ve seen so far in the drama belongs to none other than our Useless Mopey Teenager Zitan:

The clothing choices are pretty deliberate, because whenever a character needs to do something more than just sit around enjoying tea (or wine if you’re Awu), they are given clothes that are more practical for moving around. Like the outfit Awu wore when she chased after her dad:

It’s much shorter than her usual garb and she’s wearing simple black pants underneath which makes horse riding and chasing after a traitorous father much more manageable.

What’s interesting is seeing the opposite happen with Hu Yao.  Hu Yao is usually in very practical and simple clothing since unlike the rest of the nobles in the capital, she has to fight against invaders and protect Cheng.  But when she goes to meet our Emo Emperor Zitan, of course she has to be dressed up in a big frou frou dress that makes it hard to walk:

It highlights just how impractical this type of extravagant clothing is for any kind of life other than a noble’s.  Hu Yao can barely walk without tripping over her own dress, let alone fight.  Also what the hell is that giant bow?

Now let’s talk about Daddy Wang’s clothes.  So before he gets exiled for attempting a coup, Daddy Wang was arguably the most powerful man in court.  He was the head of the Wangs, the most influential noble family in Cheng.  The past 10 empresses of the empire were daughters of the Wang clan, and his sister, the current empress, listened to whatever he said (for the most part).  Also his nephew wass the crown prince and easily manipulated.  He’s also wealthy AF so his status and wealth was apparent in his clothing.

Look at the sheen on that fabric and all that intricate embroidery work!  But then of course, he gets exiled and understandably has to put on some more humble clothing:

Simple, unembellished clothing made of coarse fabric that can withstand moving through the fields and rough terrain while you covertly make your way towards your disappointment of a son.  What really sticks out to me though, is his wardrobe choice after he reunites with the turnip.  Instead of going back to the lavish and ornate clothing he used to wear, he opts for an understated gray and black outfit with no long train in sight:

Turnip obviously can afford to put his dad in fancier clothing.  I mean look at the gaudy over-embroidered monstrosity that he’s wearing.  But it makes sense that Daddy Wang has now opted for something a bit more subdued and modest.  He’s been defeated once and is no longer the powerful prime minister he used to be.  Also, the Wangs do not hold as much clout as they used to because 1) empress has gone mad; 2) potato emperor is dead; and 3) the official head of the Wangs is now...Turnip.  

But make no mistake, his clothes may be simpler than before, but they’re still made out of very nice materials. He is after all, still Daddy Wang.  And Wang will rise again if he can help it! 

Next we have the seagull.  Ugh, yuck, gross, I hate her.  Anyway, now that I’ve gotten the bad taste out of my mouth...So for the majority of the drama we see her in light pastel colored clothing with little to no make up as if to imply that she’s a sweet, innocent thing:

She’s also usually pretty covered up.  But then she becomes Concubine Su (ugh) and all of a sudden she’s in bold colors, wearing red lipstick, and most noticeably, gotten very breast-y

Man, did Seagull make a wrong turn and accidentally stumble onto the set of The Empress of China?  She’s definitely got the tackiness to fit in with them.  This drastic shift in styling is clearly to signal to the audience that Seagull is now a seductress ready to do whatever it takes to hold onto that magical flute and never let go.  Also, whereas before she was a snake hiding in the grass, now it’s all out in the open (at least to the Wangs) just like her bosom.

Look, she even gets her own long train to reflect just how useless she is.

And finally, we have Song Huaien, Cheng’s very own Single White Female who molds himself to whoever he happens to follow and takes on their personality and principals (or lack thereof).

In the beginning, he is stuck to Xiao Qi’s side like a shadow, dresses similar to him, and even wears his hair like him.  He’s like the kid brother who copies everything his cooler older brother does because he looks up to him. 

Notably, he’s the only one in the Ningshuo crew who wears his hair down with a half bun, just like Xiao Qi.  Hu Guanglie (RIP best bro) is XQ’s oldest friend and literally devoted his life to him, but he’s also his own man and did not need to copy XQ.  He never wanted to be him, he only wanted to serve him. 

If you didn’t pay attention, you wouldn’t be able to tell who’s who.

When you follow a brave, honorable general who’s sex on legs, you too will be a brave, honorable and sexy general.  Song Huaien never looked better than when he tried to emulate Xiao Qi.

Interestingly, when Song Huaien goes off with Awu and starts to fall for her, he also starts to incorporate some color into his previously all-black wardrobe.  I guess spring arrived in his heart even though it was the cold winter:

Hm, now I’m starting to wonder if a part of his crush on Awu wasn’t influenced by his desire to be like XQ a little bit.  And then, sigh, he starts to get tempted by the riches of the capital city and the internal shift in his character is materialized externally through how he wears his hair in his first appearance in court:

This is the first time we’ve seen him wear his hair in any style other than the usual loose half bun.  And of course, his top knot conforms and fits in with how the rest of the ministers wear their hair.  Now contrast that with Xiao Qi who only wore his hair in a top knot once:

and then promptly went back to his usual hair style:

Sure, he looked good with the top knot (when does he never look good), but it wasn’t him.  Unlike Song Huaien, XQ is secure in himself and knows who he is.  He is not easily swayed or corrupted.  That is why he is able to remain just like how he always has been, internally and externally.

The next change we see in Song’s appearance is his armor.  Now that he is Count Suyi, his armor is noticeably more ornate.  Unlike XQ’s armor, which remains pretty much the same barebones armor we’ve seen since the beginning, Song’s gets fancier and fancier as he gets more lured in by the nicer things in life.

At this point, his hair is still down like before.  But then the next time we see him after his wedding, his hair style is changed into a high ponytail:

Which is a very good look, don’t get me wrong, but it is again another physical representation of the change happening in Song internally.  It’s kind of a weird limbo he’s in because it’s not completely a top knot, but it’s definitely neater and closer to a top knot than his previous hairstyle.  At this stage, Song hasn’t completely crossed over to the dark side quite yet.  He’s still kind of wavering and going back and forth.  So a high ponytail that is a shift from his prior hairstyle but not quite the same as the nobles’ hairstyle makes sense.  He keeps this look for a while and even momentarily goes back to his less fancy self while dealing with the floods away from the capital.  That is, until he joins hands (or is it roots?) with Turnip and it’s all downhill from there, character-wise and also appearance-wise.

First, we have this very ill-advised mustache and goatee which mimics the same facial hair Turnip all of sudden started sporting:

Matching facial hair to commemorate their entry onto the shit list, perhaps?  Anyway, turns out facial hair isn’t for everyone, including Song Huaien.  But this isn’t even the worst of it.  As Song Huaien continues his descent into being a greedy, spineless, puppet for Turnip (HIM of all people! or should I say, of all root vegetables?), he gets uglier and uglier.  I mean:

He looks downright haggard and as if he aged 20 years overnight.  Notably though, he looks exactly like the rest of the useless ministers in court.  He has definitely lost the sheen, vigor, and hotness that he once had when he was following XQ.  It’s as if the ugly inside is reflected on the outside as well.

I guess when you follow a weaselly coward like Turnip, you too will turn into a weaselly coward.  Oh Song Huaien, Song Huaien.  What a disappointment you turned out to be, you dumb, greedy bastard.   

[baebeyza]

Kingdom thoughts - Bae edition

Not gonna make individual posts this time, I watched the show at 1-3 am after sitting in a tight space for 30 hours with almost no sleep.

Just gonna share my bingo card and my thoughts under the cut! ~

No spoiler thoughts: show overall gets a 8/10 from me!

A little loose with the definition of personality for Unicron, but I did like the few scenes he had :D

Thoughts:

1. BW Megatron

Honestly? He worked. Good character, understandable motivations, nice use of references, you could really feel his affections for the Silver Megatron and how desperate he was about winning the future he fought for.

10/10, good german voice work, epic design, nice shows of the fact that he is still kind of an ass, he was STRONG, showed that he can be boss when needed, nothing to complain about, also YES, T-REX HEADPAT! xD

2. Dinobot

My brain-deprived head had trouble making sense of his actions, but overall it was fine, they could have needed more time for him though. And unlike most other BW references, I didn't like them with his character - the refs they used from "Code of Hero"...ike, that BW episode has a lot of build-up plot-wise and character-wise. The quotes matter a lot in that episode.

It just doesn't fit or have the same amount of weight as they thought they would in Kingdom. The honour quote didn't even make much sense context-wise.

But overall, nice enough. 8/10

3. Primal

10/10, loved him so much. Every scene with him was epic, the way he was written was great - Snarky, sarcastic at times, far less patient and calm than Prime, still a great leader who cares and doesn't take any shit! <3

4. Prime

I do love his story of WFC overall - he made one mistake that he admits to, goes through a lot to fix it and he did fix it and came out with a better future for it. Loved his last moment with Elita, loved the moments with the Allspark, and I loved his dynamic with Primal! 8/10

5. Megatron

He went unhinged as fuck, was still regal and sweet, loved a lot about him! As always, the angst he has about doing what he does was great! I especially loved the scene in the forest when the disk told him that he got lost, tried to go back to look a the road he took from another angle, but he refused to do it.

He went his way until he got defeated, and Starscream being the one who finally got him out of his one-way route was so sweet! 15/10

6. Goddamn disappointments

So, coming back to Megatron...I think I explained my problem well on discord:

7. Mainly comes to my problem with MAGNUS...yall know I am a MagsMegs shipper, but they could have fixed the problem with Megatron's angst coming to a closure with having him have a last moment with Magnus, just like Prime had with Elita.

It is clear that he feels guilty and horrible for the Death of Magnus, similar to how Prime felt responsible for everything else.

And Prime got closure at the end, while Megatron did not.

He should have had a moment of choosing to fight Galvs and Nemesis because he realised that his past deeds were wrong, and doing that with Magnus would have been a good representation of it all.

Like, I get that he might have gotten over his pride and selfishness which is representated by him choosing to save Cybertron over saving his own future, but still...!

They gave him such amazing angst, but just didn't end it in a satisfying way! Let him have peace with it in some way!

Oof.

7. Six episodes are not enough

I've been saying this since Siege - plot is good, characters are good, but in neither season have six episodes been enough to really flesh it out real good.

WFC is plot upon plot with no filler, and filler is usually needed to show give the characters more personality and show-case them in some way. Show us what makes them the character they are, what makes them unique.

WFC didn't have that, and you are left with having to draw the characterisations out of their plot relevance. And if you aint plot-relevant, you almost got no personality at all.

As far as I know, this isn't a WFC-specific problem though, as many shows have decided that 5-8 episodes are enough and we don't need more.

And I guess some stories manage with that limited time - WFC did not.

I still loved it, but they could have made it much better if they had more time.

Anyway, expect some art and stupid comics in the future - I will defend this show's and my own honour by contributing to it with content! <3

[maxwell-grant]

You are your top 5 Shadow agents

I don’t talk about the Agents as much as I should, even though I constantly try to stress their importance, because I’m working on essays for them individually. To be honest, I think about the Agents practically every day to the point I have a hard time separating my headcanons from the actual canon material, but I have to stay true to it, and the lack of material regarding them means that the only way I can truly talk about their characterization is by diving deep into the novels and taking notes, which I don’t have much time to do, and then finding the right books or moments to talk about, which is even more difficult. 

This by no means constitutes my big thinkpiece on them, but it’s a start, and ultimately narrowing it down was a lot harder than I expected. This order is by no means final, if you asked me this question next week or next month I’d probably have a different answer, but it’s the 5 that I find myself thinking on the most. 

Honorable mentions: Jericho Druke and Myra Reldon, who are incredibly awesome characters conceptually and who have great moments each, and whom I definitely think deserve big turns on the spotlight if the Agents ever get put on the spotlight again, but are held back by issues with their presentation and lack of prominence. Margo Lane, whom only just narrowly missed the cut because, as much as I like her and think she gets an underseved bad rep and definitely has great things going for her, I sadly have to concede isn’t as consistently great or well-written as she should be. Clyde Burke, whom I definitely like a lot based on what I’ve read and consider an integral part of the line-up, but haven’t read enough of the novels he’s in to really solidify him as one of my favorites just yet. And Slade Farrow, who is a bit too complicated to talk about superficially.

Allright, so here they are

Number 5: Burbank

As the center of all communications within The Shadow’s network and the only character in the series who is even more mysterious and elusive than The Shadow himself, Burbank is fascinating and the kind of character who simultaneously seems to be both begging for an in-depth exploration and yet who also should be dead last on the list of mysteries about the series we want spoiled, because nobody wants the mystery ruined. He’s a bit of cipher personality-wise compared to the other agents, but he kind of has to be, and I think it helps to illustrate the many forms the agents of The Shadow can and should take, that one of them is this total mystery whom we know nothing about and yet is so vital to the whole thing. And it’s interesting also because, for all the many variations we’ve had on The Shadow’s life and thoughts and feelings and etc over the years, Burbank has stayed more or less the same. Whatever variations he’s had in design aside, Burbank just is. 

The pulps did often have moments where we would get to see moments that told us a little more about Burbank, gestures he did, capabilities he had and didn’t have, little details Gibson would sprinkle in to keep people fascinated. Several scenes with Burbank are almost presented like you’re watching a movie, in the way Gibson keeps describing his face being mysteriously blocked from view by objects or lighting, like not even in your mind you are supposed to know what he is. And it’s all the more fascinating because, unlike The Shadow, as far as we know, Burbank is just some guy who’s good with tech, who was only recruited in the 2nd story but apparently knows The Shadow from before it, and whom The Shadow entrusted with virtually every secret necessary to keep his operations running. 

It’s kind of a sign as to how utterly neglected the agents are that, to this day, few writers who’ve ever touched The Shadow has ever come close to giving us any sort of explanation or backstory or anything on Burbank, and I refuse to believe these people had that much self-control. Of course I have my own ideas for Burbank, but even I would hesitate to put them on a story, because Burbank epitomizes that double-edged sword that comes with a solid narrative mystery. Burbank just is, and hopefully he will stay that way. 

Number 4: Dr Roy Tam

Mention of Dr. Tam meant much to Sayre. He was acquainted with Roy Tam, the Chinese physician. He knew that Tam was a power in Chinatown; one who worked for good

Unrolling a map, Tam showed the entire Manhattan area, studded with tiny dots in districts quite remote from Chinatown.

"These represent my outposts," he said soberly. "They are places, owned by Chinese - restaurants, laundries, curio shops, other places of business. In each of these places, I have a friend."

The Shadow understood. Dr. Tam was the motivating factor among the Chinese who adapted themselves to American ways. His mission was to create good will among races, to put an end to prejudice and superstition.

A newer and more sober spirit had replaced the old and dangerous festivities. Feuds in Chinatown were a thing of the forgotten past. Dr. Tam and his associates had done much to bring about the present sentiment; but there were persons - even among that group - who felt regret at the passing of old traditions.

Dr Tam is a remarkably layered character for one that only appears in about ten stories, and he’s one of the agents I’m most eager to discuss in-depth. He’s another one of those agents that Gibson introduced by tricking you into seeing him as a villain, as a Yellow Peril cliche, until he is revealed to be in fact a good man. Not just good, Roy Tam is presented as a powerful, influential and cunning Chinese man with a lot of assistants secretly working for him, and who is consistently presented as a progressive, pacifistic, benevolent civic leader and ally, even friend, of The Shadow. 

Tam is very much westernized and the stories paint that mostly as a good thing, and this is one of the areas that I think could very much result in an interesting story that looks at the ramifications of his role, because of course not everyone is going to agree with his viewpoints, of course him being an advocate against superstition and tradition isn’t necessarily a good thing (and it’s not how Yat Soon, The Shadow’s other major Chinese ally, works, which puts the two at odds), and of course it’s a complicated situation, but the fact that Tam invites this kind of debate at all I think is something very interesting

Largely because of the movie, Dr Tam is one of the few agents of The Shadow who’s managed to sustain appearences in modern stories, and none of them have ever really went with his original angle as a powerful civic leader. Instead he’s been largely painted as either a scientist, like in the movie, a general practitioner, and a psychiatrist, and his age has been all over the board. 

I prefer him in his original form but I also very much like the idea of Roy Tam being, like the Chinese supervillains he was created to be a subversion of, an incredible genius who’s got skills in all fields that can fit under the “Dr” part of his job and is also an incredibly capable leader able to unify splintered communities under a cause of unity and cooperation, someone who absolutely could be the adventuring genius so many other pulp heroes are, except he dedicates himself wholesale to his community and the fight against prejudice and the betterment of lives, even if he’s misguided or wrong at some of the causes he takes up. I really think this character could partake in really great stories if ever brought back.

Number 3: Cliff Marsland

(Fan-art by @cryptixcreations)

Cliff may have actually been the first agent I really fell in love with based on concept alone, even before I read the stories he was a part of and started loving all of the others. He’s one of the few agents who has prior history with The Shadow and we get ever so tantalizing hints at his background that we ultimately never get to learn about in full. He’s the resident tough guy and underworld contact of The Shadow, which in any other series might have made him the biggest badass and a loner action hero who’s too cool for things like thinking and relying on others for help. But here, trying to be that only gets Cliff into trouble, and circumstances gradually morph him into the series equivalent of a Team Dad. 

He was one of the agents who we got to see develop as a character. As he appears more frequently past his introduction, he grows from a headstrong, careless jackass, mostly interested in the action parts of the job, who “resigned himself to an adventurous career with violent death as its inevitable termination”, into one of the most reliable and capable agents, taking the lead during action scenes but otherwise fully defering leadership to Harry, and being the agent most likely to partake in gunfights and rescue The Shadow out of trouble, joining in missions like infiltrating circuses or high-society clubs and forming very strong friendships with Harry, Clyde & Hawkeye, who almost kills a man with his bare hands when he thinks Harry’s been killed. He’s the hardass, square-jawed ex-con who plays the reputation of a brutal killer, and is in reality a great friend, ally and husband (Arline has sadly only been mentioned in three stories), on top of being an invaluable fighter and secret agent.

Cliff could have easily been the protagonist of a long-running series all his own and that’s one of my favorite aspects of The Shadow’s agents. They are people with agency, goals and dreams and relationships and lives beyond the roles they play, they all have strengths and weaknesses and faults and positives that bring them much closer to us than The Shadow could ever be, with no end to the variety of roles they can take, and Cliff in particular is a character I’m very attached to. 

I do hope that he eventually found peace in a quiet life with Arline once his business with The Shadow was over.

Number 2: Harry Vincent

The Shadow as a franchise has been vastly worse off as a result of Harry Vincent being completely sidelined and mischaracterized in virtually every adaptation since, and the sheer love that Shadow fans hold for Harry purely may be the closest thing to a true universal opinion in the fandom. 

Harry is a lot of things: the audience surrogate, the protagonist of much of the early stories, the leader of the agents in field duty, the dude in distress who gets kidnapped far more than even Margo, a hopeless romantic, an action hero, the one who gets sent to recruit agents because all The Shadow has to do is send Harry on an assignment and wait for him to come back with a new friend. He is a competent, resourceful, strong, extremely kind ball of sunshine who's got the potential for greatness, even if he can't see it. 

And for this post I’m going to highlight this: Harry is, on top of all that, the ultimate embodiment of what The Shadow strives to protect, help and uplift. He is the living proof that The Shadow's mission has a good, positive effect in the world, long after criminals are brought to justice and plots are failed and victims are rescued, purely by the fact that he’s alive and helping others who were once like him. Someone who, despite having so much to offer, could have easily been swept away by the world’s callousness and cruelty, if The Shadow wasn’t there to rescue him and uplift him.

I liked The Shadow pretty much at first sight after seeing the character’s design and listening to episodes of the radio show, and my appreciation for the character grew after reading The Shadow’s Shadow, but it wasn’t until I encountered @oldschoolcrimefighters and her brilliantly informative writings on The Shadow and Harry that I not only fell in love with the series, but decided to do everything in my power to try and get other people to love it too and see the potential it has. I think a lot more people should at least be aware of why Harry matters. 

Number 1: Moe Shrevnitz

I was honestly a bit surprised when I rounded up all of the agents to make this list and Shrevy here ended up in Number One, but in hindsight, it may have been obvious all along. 

My reasonings as to why Shrevy is my favorite agent do get a bit too personal, especially because of something that happened to me as I was writing this post, so I’m putting it on a separate post here. 

[bbwoulfc]

ML NY Special Review

Finally finished my review on the ML NY Special and it’s going to be a long review, I won’t lie.  I will be breaking this down in two sections.  First section will be focused through the perspective as a professional (animation industry) and the second section through the perspective as a viewer and ML fan.

I won’t deny, I will be criticizing a few things and really give large opinionated thoughts; I’m sure it will piss people off, but I’m gonna be honest and I don’t give a damn.  I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m gonna go all out.  It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed people off.

Again, keep in mind these are my views/opinions as a professional and as a viewer/fan.  If you can’t handle some of the strong opinions that will come from this review, then keep moving on.  Don’t waste your time if you can’t handle certain characters or subjects being discussed in a different light.

If you wish to continue, then click the “keep reading” option.

As an animator, this is one of my favorite things to do with animated shows or movies.  I absolutely love breaking things down and giving opinions on the whys, whats, and hows.  Never do I aim to prove my opinions right.  My goal is to simply make you think and consider.  And if you don’t agree then that’s completely fine.  That’s how it works.

Now, the NY Special has definitely exceeded the quality than what I expected.  I absolutely love SAMG as a company.  I think this is by far one of the best that SAMG has produced for Miraculous as a whole.  Even better than the origin episodes. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a 3D animated tv series, by far. It was stunning and gorgeous and worked well with the given mood that was set throughout the hour of the special.  I would say there are two scenes in particular that I felt were the best lit scenes. 

The first scene is definitely near the beginning when the class landed in NY and where traveling in the bus.  They stopped either at the hotel or museum and the shot was the buses in front of the large building where you have the other city buildings around it.  That shot was gorgeous; the orange hues falling on top of the buildings and gaining that purple and blue shadows was great.  It’s honestly one of my favorite complementary color schemes to use when lighting most scenes in animation.  It helps achieve a nice balance when setting mood but also to get a nice glance at the shapes of the models in the scene.  Perfection.

As for the second scene, I would have to say it was the moment Adrien left and Marinette was biking to chase after him and she fell.  That moment the scene focused on Marinette on the ground and in the rain spoke many volumes.  The color tone of the scene was perfect and captured the common traits used in many shows and films to further drive the sense of sadness and overall emotional effect; using the traditional trait of rain made the scene work and stand out during the struggles that Marinette was dealing with. 

The rain in general was outstanding on it’s own.  Liquids in animation are tough, not an easy thing to do. The way the rain was animated was probably the best rain I’ve seen in most 3D animated tv series.  I will even say it beats the rain from the origin episodes which is amazing because it shows the growth alone that SAMG has come from since the first season of the series.  

They create stunning quality work and by far are the best of the best from all the companies that ZAG uses or had used for the show.  I won’t lie, I still can’t fathom how Jeremy/ZAG could let such a company go but Jeremy isn’t the greatest with the money, so it’s not a shocker.  It definitely shows that man doesn’t know how to properly run a company and treat a show.  I honestly blame him for pretty much the entire outcome of the series and that’s my god honest opinionated truth as a professional. 

The pacing of the special I felt was good, though I do think it would have been nice to have had an extra 30 minutes to help flow areas a bit better or more, but I can understand the time constraints, especially after hearing about how Thomas stated that the special was going to be two hours originally. And I will be honest, I wouldn’t have minded that.  I think it would have been fantastic to have had a longer span episode special, but I understand a lot of the struggles that no doubt the team had endured.

Overall, some issues, but 10 out of 10 on animation and quality output.

Now the second section; viewing through the eyes as a viewer and fan.

As a fan of ML, I will not beat around the bush, I truly believe this special was disappointing plot wise.  And I don’t blame Thomas and his team for the issue.  As stated previously, my anger and frustration is more on Jeremy/ZAG for everything that has come from ML as a show and especially the result of the NY special.

My biggest issue with the special was the focal point: Adrinette.

How many damn times must I hear, “they’re meant for each other” or “aren’t they perfect together” and so forth.  I get it. You can adore Adrientte but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every five minutes.  I don’t give an ounce of care that Adrien and Marinette are endgame and that they’re “soulmates”.  The romance between those two means absolutely nothing to me.  It was cute and fun in the beginning when the series first started, but I’m tired of it.  I don’t care about the love square.  I don’t care about the “soulmate” trope when in reality anyone can be someone’s soulmate with the right care.  That was no doubt the biggest issue for me in the entire special.  

In my opinion, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t Adrinette centric.  This was the best moment to show Marinette is improving herself but it had to become fan service because god forbid it felt like they needed to please the Adrinette shippers that their ship is still valid. If we’re judging this based off the season 3 finale, I won’t lie, this special fit better as a season 2 finale or mid season 3 than the end of season 3.

I’m seriously more disappointed that the special wasn’t more on Marinette and herself as a character.  They were in New York, another strong hub for fashion.  This was a perfect opportunity to explore more of her interests as a fashion designer and maybe meeting some new people.  Who knows, maybe even Jagged Stone as an international rock star. But overall it was a lost opportunity to expand more on her for the sake of shipping.  

I think it would have also been cool to see her and Chat Noir maybe learn some methods/training from the US heroes and get a glimpse into a world of heroism that is different in cultures and circumstances.  Which honestly made sense to me how US heroes didn’t care about identity because Ladybug and Chat Noir have magical based items that are no doubt more powerful and outside sources that I’m sure would be willing to destroy to obtain it.

Another problem I had was how I felt we were robbed without having Kagami and Luka go to New York. Or if anything, more with Luka than Kagami. I love Kagami with all my being, but I doubt her mother would let her go to New York.  But imagine Luka being there. We could have had a flipping jam session between Luka and Jess.  I felt we were cheated, it would have been amazing to see two incredible guitarists jam it out and two people who have a passion for music find a friend in each other. I would have given anything to have had that moment.

Though in general I would have enjoyed anything else if it just wasn’t Adrinette centric.  I’m positive everyone in the fandom is on the same page that they’re “soulmates” but there’s more that can be done than a damn ship that has followers that attack and annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them.  Because, god forbid, Adrien and Marinette apparently aren’t allowed to be happy with others. I swear, half the fandom (hardcore adrinette shippers) treat Adrien more as an object than the ML characters themselves. 

Nothing against the ship, but it’s just not for me and that’s okay.  I simply can’t relate to Adrien as a romantic choice of a character.  When Luka came into existence, I was in awe. I found a character I could relate too because I was as close to similarity than any other character in a show before.  And that’s something I’ve noticed with this fandom, hating characters because to them they’re nothing but boring.  

Fans need to understand that one will not understand everything in a show, especially characters.  Just because you hate a character and find them boring doesn’t mean they’re terribly written.  You as a viewer simply can’t relate to them and that’s completely fine.  There will always be some who can relate and understand while others don’t, but that shouldn’t be a reason to argue against people who love a certain character.

And I’m being serious, I enjoyed the 30 seconds of Kagami and Luka with their love interests more than the hour of Adrinette.  It’s just overall sad.  There is so much potential that could have been the special focus wise but felt it was there to show why Adrinette is “superior” when it’s really not.  They’re only one of many ships that are equally good.  It comes down to how it’s portrayed and done.

However, since I know we’re stuck with Adrinette no matter what, I’m going to end this review with this as a food for thought but again, this is a simple opinion.

There was one thing that stood out and caught myself and some of my friends in a ML server attention.  In the NY special there were strong moments that revolved around bikes.  So, out of curiosity, I searched for symbolism meanings about bikes during the server’s conversation and it might hint to what might happen or what might come in the future of the show.   

The bike symbolizes the moving circle of life. 

Seeing a bicycle is a hint that you will reach somewhere. This could either be your motivation or your future plan. Cycling refers to the different moods that a person feels. Bicycles are also related to the ups and downs of life. For instance, riding a bicycle gives you both smooth edges and rough pebbles on your journey. The smooth edges are related to the happy times of your life and the rough pebbles denote the challenges of life. 

So, if we want to use this to break down ML, this in a way, represents Lukanette and Adrinette.  Luka are the smooth edges in Marinette’s journey.  He’s the one that calms her, helps her think things through, focuses on what Marinette wants to do rather tell her what she should do.  Never once does he tell her to do this or do that, but simply asks her what it is she wants. Luka, is pretty much her guide. The happy times as Marinette where she appears happiest without the burdens and overwhelming stress of her other life.  Whereas Adrien is the rough pebbles in her journey, the challenges to properly talk with the one she views as a love interest or simply to build that perfect friendship/relationship.  Yes, they’re friends, but they’re not as strong as friends like Marinette and Alya or Adrien and Nino. Adrien is a challenge in her life and always will be until she learns to let go and mature.   

The other moment that stood out with the bike was the moment Marinette was pressured to chase after Adrien to get him to stay.  She chases after him on a bike but falls off in the end. 

Falling off the Bicycle: This indicates that you are losing your self-confidence. 

Spend time with your loved ones and take suggestions from the experienced people. Join a course on building your personality and motivation. Do things that interest you the most and this will surely help to bring back your confidence level. This indicates a frenzied lifestyle and the need to slow down. 

This here makes me believe that Luka is the “experienced people” in Marinette’s life.  Other than Kagami, Luka is the only mature one in Marinette’s life in her friend group.  He’s one of the biggest motivators in Marinette’s life as of recent.  Putting her interests at heart that have helped her build her confidence.  We know Marinette has a frenzied lifestyle with everything that she has on her shoulders as well as her passions.  And Luka is one of the very few, if not, only one in her friend group that can calm Marinette and help her slow down and simply relax.

I know Adrinette is endgame, but I won’t deny when I say if there was anything that ML could do, is that they make Adrigami and Lukanette endgame.  So many shows always pair the two main characters, always.  If there is any message that I would have loved to see come from a show like ML, it would simply be “Your first love/crush will not always be the one and that’s okay. That your first crush/love could be the greatest friendship you ever have. And the second chances in your life are just as valuable as the first and may be even better for you.”  

Fans might hate Kagami and Luka, but as far as I’m concerned from everything I’ve watched since the beginning, the only reason you’re getting your Adrinette in the end is all because of Luka.  If it weren’t for him majority of the time, y’all wouldn’t have half of your love square moments.  So, Luka is the true MVP in my book.  Because unlike many of the others, he doesn’t put pressure on Marinette and that’s what Marinette doesn’t need right now, more pressure.  

Adrien and Marinette might be endgame, but those two need people outside of their classmates because everyone is too tunnel vision.  Luka and Kagami are the only ones that will help Adrien and Marinette mature, cause those two will not be able to do it themselves.  So, if you want your Adrinette, you’re gonna have to suffer through Lukanette and Adrigami.

[im-justso-bored]

Week 8 of Clown Theories and Analysis

S3E08: Are You Leading or Am I?

Oh man, what a finale. I went through so many emotions, that was a ride! I’m gonna try to keep this one a bit shorter than the others. I just really want to touch on the main themes for this season and how they led up to this finale.

Freedom

Family

So instead of going scene by scene like I usually do, I’m gonna touch on our four main characters: Konstantin, Carolyn, Eve, and Villanelle.

Konstantin - So it seems like Konstantin’s true loyalties are to himself which is seen and mentioned a lot in this season. It seemed, especially in seasons 1 and 2, Konstantin had a loving relationship with his family. We don’t really see much of his relationship with his wife but we do with Irina in the season 1 finale.

it went from this:

Irina defending Konstantin.

To this:

Seasons 1 and 2, Konstantin seemed to genuinely care and look after his family, putting them before himself. But somewhere between season 2 and 3, he becomes solely focused on saving his own ass. Even going so far as to leaving Irina locked up. I don’t think season 1 or 2 Konstantin would have done that, even when his life was on the line in season 1, he risked it to get Irina back which led to him being shot. But all Konstantin is concerned with in season 3 is staying alive, therefore putting himself before his family. 

This begs the question, deep down, was he always like that? It definitely didn’t seem like it in the first two seasons so was it what ever happened in between seasons 2 and 3 after getting his family back? I wonder if they’ll ever dive into that and give better clarity on why Konstantin has changed so much. 

Outside of his family however, it does seem like normal behavior for Konstantin to betray everyone around him: Carolyn, Eve, Villanelle. We’ve seen it all multiple times. I’m glad that Villanelle say that too, when it really came down to it. 

Villanelle experienced Konstantin’s betrayal firsthand and seeing him do it again to someone else he claims to have loved, made her decision to not save him all the more clear. That’s who he is and he can’t ever be trusted. Family or not, Konstantin chooses freedom and himself first.

Carolyn - So I think I found a reason for Geraldine lol she’s still useless plot-wise but she does fit the family theme that’s prevalent in this season. We see each of our main characters dealing with their family dynamics in different ways and for Carolyn, that’s losing Kenny and now being stuck with Geraldine. Which I think highlights just how compatible (in their own way) her and Kenny were. 

This scene here really captures that dynamic. 

“You were your father’s. And Kenny was mine.”

Carolyn is who she is and always will be just as Geraldine is the same. And it seemed to work well when Geraldine had her father and Kenny had her mother. Which is normal (although I’d say it’s a bit more extreme in the show), there’s usually a daddy’s girl/boy or a mommy’s girl/boy. Whether you’re one or the other, doesn’t mean the other one doesn’t care or love the same. But because of that and just how different Geraldine and Carolyn are, it created a dynamic that felt forced or without love. Which isn’t necessarily true.

It’s understandable that Geraldine would want to connect with the last of her family that she has left but instead of meeting Carolyn in the middle, she was constantly too much which is the exact opposite of Carolyn. 

All that being said, I think one of the main things they wanted to get into this seasons was the different family dynamics. And with Carolyn and Geraldine, the main thing here is the constant struggle for Geraldine to “change” Carolyn or to get her to “properly grieve” and connect with her which Carolyn just can’t do and won’t pretend to do. She cares in her own way but she can’t change who she is and that’s something Geraldine just can’t seem to accept even though Carolyn has accepted who Geraldine is. Which leads to Carolyn saying what we all as a fandom have been screaming since Geraldine entered:

Eve: Eve doesn’t really seem to have any close ties with any of her family. You hear about an aunt in the beginning of the season but that’s about it. Her family is Niko, that’s all she really has. Well that and her work, you could say that for a while she was married to her work more than Niko. But season 3 begins with her not working for MI6 and Niko isn’t with her either leaving her alone. Which is, of course, why she tries to hang on to him so much. It’s not about love anymore. It’s about Eve selfishly hanging on to her last strand of humanity and family, ignoring how toxic and bad she really is for him. 

It took a long time but Eve finally accepts this, especially when Niko tells her to piss off. I know that especially hit Eve hard after everything that happened just for Niko to still tell her that he wants nothing to do with her. I think this is what it finally takes for Eve to really come to terms with the type of person she is and the darkness inside of her. 

She’s always been aware of the darkness growing in her but I don’t think she ever took full responsibility for it. Like in the season 2 finale after killing Raymond (still upset this wasn’t really brought up this season). Yes, Villanelle manipulated her into that, but Eve still made that choice, and it was something that we all knew she thought about like in the train scene in season 2 when she’s about to push the guy in front of the train. Despite all of that, she never accepted or admitted to that part of herself. Which adds to Villanelle’s frustration and confusion in the s2 finale, as we found out this season is something that she can’t stand. 

I think what happened with Niko was the beginning of her accepting that and then killing Dasha was the moment where she fully acknowledged it.

I got a little sidetracked there, but yes, Niko was Eve’s only family, her last strand to normality. And I think that a big part of accepting the darkness inside of her was also accepting that attraction and connection she has with Villanelle. Villanelle is the only one that Eve can understand and relate to, she’s the only one who truly sees Villanelle for who she is, just as Villanelle truly sees Eve. For a long time, Eve was too afraid to admit that Villanelle was always right though.  

Accepting her own darkness also meant accepting Villanelle and their connection. It also meant accepting the only person who has been consistent, open, and understanding of her true self. And then choosing her as her family in the end, which Eve does. 

Villanelle - So I talked a lot about Villanelle’s family dynamic in my 3x05 review so I’m not gonna spend much time on that. I wanna talk about how in these last few episodes, V has to make the choice between family and freedom. 

She’s stated a few times that she doesn’t want to work for the Twelve anymore, she doesn’t want to kill anymore. She wants to be free. And after the events of 3x05, being free meant leaving Eve behind. 

V is so emotionally vulnerable here that the only thing she can think of is just getting away from everything. It doesn’t matter that Konstantin has betrayed her before or that he has constantly chosen himself and his family over her, she just needs to get away. 

After what happened with her family in Russia, and with everything that people have said to her and about her, we see Villanelle really struggle with her sense of self and how lonely she is. 

“She is a perfect killing machine.” “You are a beautiful monster.” “You are darkness.”

That’s not who she wants to be and I think the only way that she sees as a way of distancing herself from that is by running away with Konstantin, then she can be whoever she wants. That is, up until this scene:

Eve sees her for more than just the terrible things she’s done. She knows that Villanelle is more than just a tool for chaos.

I think watching what happened between Konstantin and Carolyn, two people who “cared” about each other, really resonated with V. It almost parallels Eve and V in the past, never quite trusting the other and constantly hurting each other. Konstantin, as I said before, is someone who has betrayed everyone around him which has left him alone and on a lot of people’s hit list. This could easily be Villanelle in the future had she stuck around with the Twelve as long as Konstantin did. Even here, he still continues to use other people to his advantage, begging Villanelle to do something, again seeing her as a means to an end like everyone else (except Eve). I think it was here that Villanelle realized that freedom doesn’t really mean anything on its own, especially if it’s running away with Konstantin. For Villanelle, Eve is her family and that’s more important to her than freedom. 

In this way, she’s learning from Konstantin’s mistakes. Which is also shown in her decision to respect Eve’s choice to walk away in the end. 

It’s all about choices. This is something Eve had to learn this season and something Villanelle learned as well. Villanelle has seen what constant manipulation and betrayal can do to someone (i.e Carolyn and Konstantin). She doesn’t want to be that anymore, she doesn’t want that for her and Eve. She’s finally reached a point where she can think outside of her own desires and feelings and acknowledge Eve’s and not only that but put her own aside and put someone else first. Villanelle finally understands what love is and that it’s not possession (”You’re mine”). Knowing full well that Eve is who she wants, she still gave Eve the chance to walk away like everyone else has done. 

I read in one of the interviews that Villanelle pretty much knew (99%) that Eve would turn around but I’m pretty sure that 1% was the only thing Villanelle could think about in this moment as she turned around. It was so important to have Eve turn around first. It’s so important that Eve picked Villanelle first and that V turned around to see that Eve couldn’t walk away. That shit pulls at my heartstrings. This was such a beautiful and perfect scene in every way. 

OVERALL - So I definitely didn’t keep this one shorter like I intended to lol

This was such a great finale, there’s so much growth from season one and I love it. I think that while I was a little apprehensive about this season at certain points, I think that it all led up to this finale really well and going back and rewatching this season will definitely be a treat. Everything about this episode was great, the humor was spot on, the dialogue was great, the music was perfect, everything was just *chef’s kiss*. Actually hold up, there is one thing haha how tf did Bear forget about a camera for two weeks while investigating a murder??? I can’t let that one go but other than that *chef’s kiss*! I’m really looking forward to season 4 and where Eve and Villanelle end up after this scene. I have very high hopes for s4, Laura Neal really came through this season so I can imagine that season 4 will be a ride!

Anyway, thank you to the people who have read my reviews. As well as those who have left comments on my posts and who have reached out. This has been a great distraction from the shit fest that is 2020. I’ll still be around and will be writing some fanfic to get me through this hiatus for anyone interested. I’m currently writing a series of one-shots but will soon start planning out an AU. Send me some AU ideas that you guys wanna see, I haven’t quite figured out what I’m gonna write about yet. Or if anyone wants to talk about the finale or expectations for season 4 or just anything at all, my inbox is open! Stay safe out there and make sure to take care of yourself, these are difficult times and it can be hard to stay positive but hang in there, change is coming. 

I didn’t proofread this so sorry for any mistakes 😅

[dudebroreg]

As someone who so far is pleased that Reggie is Hiram’s righthand man and as someone who’s been waiting for more of Reggie getting to fill roles that are more faithful to him, I find it interesting that a lot of the immediate reaction from people who have wanted better treatment for his character for awhile are going the route of “he deserves better than this plot/y’all are really villainizing him again like that?/Reggie bby when are these writers going to give you justice?” etc.

When are the writers going to give him justice” is definitely valid in general, but I don’t think that means what some think it means. It’s also interesting that there are people who ARE more versed in his character in other material who have more of a “oh that makes sense, kinda fits, let’s see where it goes” reaction.

I know that the Reggie that much of the Riverdale fandom prefers is the goofy buddy who stands supportively with his friends and sometimes says something funny and dimwitted. And I know that in the episodes where he’s not doing much else, seeing him patting Archie on the back and going on about how they’re all just the broest of bros and true bro love and hugging Sweet Pea (with no explanation of when and how they became pals) makes for good gif content and headcanons and just feels good. But story wise and in respect to doing “justice” to how big of a deal the character of Reggie Mantle is supposed to be? All of that stuff is nothing.

The episodes where he’s doing the above things, if you notice, are the episodes where he’s not really a part of the story on his own merits, so he’s put in the group and I guess aesthetically people are fond of that inoffensive supportive guy, but I promise you that that’s the shitty Reggie Lite neutered version of him.

Notice that in the episodes where he is more significant in the story, he’s a cocky asshole, he’s an elitist, he seems to think he’s better than nerds and weirdos and outcasts (people who look as small to him outwardly as he feels inwardly), he is determined to prove he’s better than Archie, and he’s kind of in the way of the core four in some of the lighter high school based conflicts. Even in the episode that shines a light on the abuse he suffers at home - his most sympathetic episode - he lashes out by being a jerk to Mad Dog, being an obnoxious mess at a house party, and lashing out at Archie for trying to help him (note: Arch put him in a dangerous situation by publicly calling out his abuser like that, but I don’t think that was the intended point of Reggie’s freakout. I think Reggie was just feeling too vulnerable/bared/humiliated for being seen as a victim in a space where he is supposed to be the alpha male, so he took it out by being physically aggressive with the person trying to “save” him, therefore reasserting his “manhood”).

He is a TV bad boy, but clearly not bad in the same way Bret or Hiram are bad. He can be sweet, he really loves Archie, really fell deeply for Veronica, once he has your back he stays having your back, and he’s always down for the right side at the end after he realizes he doesn’t have to prove whatever he thought he had to prove. That is Reggie Mantle.

Consider Archie and Reg two sides of the same coin. If you forget about their more defining personality traits and their family life, they’re... kinda the same, aren’t they? Popular, athletic, girl crazy, strive to be #1 at whatever they set their sights on... They even stan the same girl (that’s “girls” plural in many of the comics but I will not hold my breath for any Beggie here). They both have some inherent leadership qualities that can lead people to follow either, though Archie seems to use that in a more constructive manner whereas Reggie has in the past used his “boys” to tear shit up and bully outcasts.

If Archie was less humble, maybe a little more insecure and had less positive influences in his life, he’d be more like Reggie. If Reggie had more humility, had more positive influences in his life and didn’t feel that he has to always fight to be seen, he’d be more like Archie. Which also means that just the slightest change of circumstances could have made Archie go the Reggie route. And being Hiram’s righthand guy? That’s the actual path Archie was starting to go down in season 2, isn’t it? Isn’t it kind of perfect then that Reggie took that spot, especially since he probably went 7 years without what little positive influence he did have before?

What I’m interested in now is Reg’s motivations, what I’m sure will be great on screen chemistry between him and Hiram, and then watching him (as he always does) find his heart. That means so much more than if he was another old friendly face sitting with Archie at the Whyte Wyrm who probably wouldn’t say much other than “community college was hard but I stuck by it! I guess I’m not as stupid as everyone thinks! Now I sell used cars! Life is chill! Sick lats bro!”. And then his friends would go, “good for you, Reg! We knew you had it in you!” and then they’d move on to relevant things in the plot. Yaay?

No, bitch. He took the seat at the dark side table that Archie wouldn’t, and now has an actual journey ahead of him to be in his old friend’s good graces again.

Could it be rushed? Could he go so far that it’s hard for the audience to forgive him even when he’s supposed to be redeemed, and they kinda gloss over the depth of his betrayal before he’s with the good guys again? Sure! But you could say something like that for anything (N. E. THING) Riverdale does, so for now, I think this is a really solid choice.

And, in the meantime, on a VERY relevant note, do not even act like him and Hiram are not fuckin’ drippin’ swagu together, strutting around in cool black suits doing boss shit. Don’t even ACT like that.

[ailuronymy]

Book Club: Tallstar’s Revenge, chpt. 37-45 overview.

Two highly professional gravediggers observe the job ahead of them:

“I'd like to congratulate us both on finishing this godawful book! A whole super edition in five weeks. They said it couldn't be done, but we showed them. “ - S

“Yes! It's truly miraculous that our brains are intact still.” - K

“So glad it's over, though.” - S

“Should I grab the shovel?” - K

“Yes, it's time. Let's bury this corpse.” - S

In this final week of reading Tallstar’s Revenge, we will be thinking about these final nine questions. Well done for making it this far! We hope you’ve enjoyed the ride. 

When you’re ready, consider sharing your thoughts with #ailuronymy book club and see what other readers are thinking!

1. First impressions?

K: It's bad! It's bad. It's all bad and I'm not surprised by any of it. K: I was actually expecting there to be more bullshit in the end, but I was almost... let down? By how underwhelming it was? S: Some moments surprised me a little but like... these did not spark joy. K: It was so boring. S: I have that same note: huge anticlimactic fuckery at the end. K:  If you're going to torture me, you might as well make it interesting, Erin. K: Throw in a wild plot twist or something. K: Get me going. K: Make me feel alive.

2. How did you feel reading this section? K:  Mind numb, head empty. For like, at least three chapters I read them and then failed to register anything important for the notes. It just dragged on. S:  More bored than I expected to be! I thought it'd at least ramp up a little, but it very much did not in any meaningful way and really petered out with a sad little "wuh-wuh."

3. What chapter did you find most interesting/moving/effective, and why? K: Chapter Forty, seeing all of the clanmates that I'd been missing for half the book felt so satisfying. I missed Dawnstripe, Heatherstar, Barkface, and Hopkit all so much. The only good bit. S:  I feel that. S:  For me, I think in terms of sheer pleasure, it has to be the echoes I saw from turn to dust all that I adore in Talltail swimming in a time of crisis. K: Yes! S: It made that passage I wrote feel retroactively so much more intense and significant, which I love.

4. What chapter did you find least interesting/effective/most frustrating, and why?

K:  The final chapter, Chapter Forty-Seven. That leader ceremony was so bad and I hated all of it. K: The Shadowclan battle was also mind-numbing. S: I think it's got to be the jump from first apprentice to leader ceremony. That's so much life we don't see, which given how goddamn long the book took for the rest of his very boring life is a travesty. S:  I tend to take some umbrage with Starclan whenever it shows up in canon, but in this particular case, the way that his leader ceremony is handled--especially by Palebird and Sandgorse--is horrific. S:  I also think it's appalling that Sandgorse offers a life of forgiveness, but never once asks for it from Talltail, unless I'm mistaken? S: He thinks he can embody forgiveness, but doesn't have the humility to admit to the things that he had done wrong by Talltail. Egregious.

5. Is there a passage that stuck in your mind–for good, or not-so-good reasons? What is it, and why did it stand out? S:  I think for me, this is Sandgorse's everything in the leader ceremony. I think I'll just [my whole rant just now + thoughts on forgiveness]. K:  I had two specific quotes from this go that fit I think. K:  First was: "I guess Clan cats aren’t used to leaving home.” Jake sounded amused. “I know the feeling you’re having. The nagging pain, the tug in my pelt and paws? I get that whenever I’m away from my home too long.” “Really?” Talltail blinked. “Why?” “Every creature needs to belong somewhere,” Jake told him. “Your paws know where that is, even if you don’t.” K:  Just the phrase of "Every creature needs to belong somewhere" felt so genuine and sweet coming from Jake, and I think could have felt so much more impactful if the themes we've recognized were more evident in the story. K:  The second was: “Talltail!” Dawnstripe leaped from the Meeting Hollow. “You came back!” Delight lit up her eyes. Talltail stood still as she raced to meet him. “I couldn’t stay away.” She stopped in front of him and gazed warmly into his eyes. “Then my training wasn’t wasted.” “It was never wasted,” he meowed softly. “Not once.

S: YES K: Partially because I will always be soft for Dawnstripe, but also, the genuine tenderness between her and Talltail in this moment felt so real and so earned. K: This is what I wanted from Bluestar and Stonepelt. S: I've said it before, I'll say it again: mentor+apprentice relationships For Life. K: Talltail saying that his training with Dawnstripe was never wasted, and then immediately transitioning into him encouraging and being a positive role model for Deadkit? K:  Ugh. It's so good. S: Loved it.

6. What other non-Warriors (or Erin Hunter affiliated) books does this one remind you of? Are there themes, symbolism, or storybeats in this novel that made you think of other stories as you read it?

K:  Oh, great question. K:  Oh shit, you know what. S: Hit me. K: We've got a Book Club classic coming at you. K: The Knife of Never Letting Go, by our mutual bastard Patrick Ness. S: You know, I was thinking about More Than This. But mostly because of how much I hated it. K: TKNLG's big theme revolves around like, what murder does to you and what it feels like to do an unspeakable act that you can't retract or replace. Revenge and anger become a part of you and you've got to deal with that. K:  And it's been ages since I read it, but I feel like that makes a lot of sense for this book. Todd and Talltail both spend a book with things being taken from them and wrongs being done to them, and it makes them so angry and hurt and desperate that eventually they go "Okay, yeah, murder would be a solution here." And when it comes down to it they both get to make that choice, of what they want to put out into the world and what kind of man they want to be. S:  I like that. I haven't read it myself, but I can definitely see how those themes talk to one another. S: I don't think there's a particular story I can pinpoint that is similar to this one, but I can think of stories that echo what I'd like this story to have leaned into more. S: Being about forgiveness and family trauma, it reminds me both of The Goblin Emperor and also the How To Train Your Dragon films? Especially the first film, I think. That whole undercurrent of absent mother, disdainful and frustrated father, queer-coded and different kid feels very present in Tallstar's Revenge. S: However, I think HTTYD does that a lot better than this book, by a considerable length.

7. Did this novel (or the experience of reading it) change your perspective on anything, either within the world of Warriors or outside it? What do you think about differently now?

 K: Hm. I think it's certainly limited my excitement on reading any future Super Editions books. They all seem to be just the same garbage plot wrapped with slightly different bows, and that's both disappointing and relieving. S: I feel you on that. S: I think for me, the single biggest shift is that it's changed how I think of Tallstar. For me, he was probably my favourite leader--or one of my favourites--growing up reading the books, and he came across often as wise and relaxed, and then made that final defining mistake. S: Having come back and read this, I feel that the book stripped a lot from the character in a way that wasn't constructive. I don't feel like I know him better, but I do feel like I respect him less. And I think that's a monumental failure of a prequel. K: Tallstar had such a specific presence in the original series, and this book just really takes a lot of that away and replaces it with something worse. S: It does. And that's disheartening to me. S:  Of course I can and will kill the author myself and take my place on the throne of canon, but you can't unknow details of a character. So that does change things. I don't have the same fondness for Talltail, now that I know he spent so much time being unadmirable and stupid and boring. S:  I recognise that your twenties is like that for most people, but like. Doesn't mean it's worthy of a narrative. S:  Kind of makes me think of Albus Dumbledore, to swing back around to Joke Rowling? S: Like, despite and sometimes because of how phenomenally jank and flawed that magnificent man is, I love Albus Dumbledore. I always have, ever since I was first listening to the tapes. And part of that is knowing his past--knowing that he struggled figuring out what was right, knowing that he fell in love very young with someone whose ideology became incompatible with his core beliefs and virtues. But I think you can allude to past mistakes and show growth without having to delve into it, if that makes sense. S: If I read about teen Dumbledore being like "hmm maybe wizard supremacy is good" for several chapters, there's a strong possibility that would stain all my readings of him into the future. I can know he did something, without needing a front-row seat. K: Yeah. S: And I feel like the crux failure of Erin Hunter's super editions is they don't have the delicacy or sense needed to know what needs to be told and what needs to be shown. S: Because sometimes, showing is worse. K: Being shown like, all of this, was worse than not. S: Nearly all of this book could have been summary.

8. Last week, we talked about predicted endings for the novel. In light of that, how do you feel about the ending? Was your prediction correct–and do you feel that reflects well on the narrative, or poorly? (i.e., is it good that you could guess, or are you disappointed by the result?) How important is it for an ending to be “unguessable”?

K:  We hit the nail on the head and I am not surprised at all. S:  I would say we were basically correct, but it brought me no joy. K:  Yeah, it felt bad to read and go "I already knew this but sure, disappoint me with what you have to say." S: That's not to say I would have been overjoyed if there had been some bizarre twist, because I don't think twists or shock endings are inherently good storytelling. K:  They're not. They've gotta be handled well to make me feel like, "Fuck yes, this is wack and I want more" K:  And like, you can predict an ending and still have it be satisfying! K:  That's just called successful foreshadowing. K:  But what we did was like. Just have the sad, knowledgable wherewithal to know exactly what kind of inane and soulless bullshit Erin would pull. It's not foreshadowing if it's just "you're a bad writer and you're going to reach for the easiest tropes to tie up your story without any thought about what makes it good" S: As a general rule, I think you should be able to predict endings based on the tone and emotional themes of the story. For instance, a story that starts with someone getting thrown out of their house by their unloving family should, ideally, rectify that by ending with that person having either found a new loving family and/or revenging on the previous bad family. Sometimes both! S: If you're going to start an arc, you should finish it in a satisfying place. If you start with a murder being discovered, you should have a denouement at the end. S: So... I guess Erin Hunter's ending is... fine, in that light? S: Their narrative is honestly very muddled, so it's not super easy to actually see what the through-line of the story is. The story starts with a prophecy about Talltail leaving, so really it should end with his triumphant, enlightened return... but then it keeps going. K: It just drags on and so much of it feels weightless. S:  It feels like they're juggling a lot of themes and ideas, but they're not really doing any of it well enough to be impressive. While I'm reading, there's always this deep uncomfortable sense of anything could be dropped at any minute. A good performer of any kind makes you feel safe in their hands, not lowkey on edge. S: It's like watching amateur stand-up.

9. In your opinion, what is the most important moment or event in this final chunk of story, and why?

 K:  I guess the cliche answer would be to say "Tallstar choosing to return to Windclan", but like. I think that really is the most important part of all this. S:  I think it's actually choosing not to kill Sparrow. K:  Oh, I mean. Okay that's fair lmao S:  Because I think he probably could have gone back after he killed Sparrow and everyone still would have been basically fine about it. It didn't seem like anyone cared enough to try to stop him leaving, and frankly the clans as Erin Hunter writes them are mad blasé about murder. S:  But I think in order for Talltail to retain like, some moral worth as a character, it was vital (if super inevitable) for him to not kill Sparrow. K:  Absolutely. K:  Can you imagine if he had, though. K:  Like, if he'd pushed Sparrow off the ledge and went "sick" and then Sandgorse's ghost showed up to razz him with airhorns like 'YOU IDIOT SON, THAT WAS THE WRONG CHOICE, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DISAPPOINT ME AGAIN' S: Om.  S:  [that one video of the guy screaming above the mountains] S:  That's Starclan whenever the living make a bad decision.

Bonus question: choose a different character from Tallstar’s Revenge and briefly imagine what this story would be if they were the protagonist instead.

K: Hm. I'm torn. Barkface, or maybe Reena, would be interesting to me. S:  I think Reena's experience would be super interesting. K:  I think you could tell a really interesting narrative with her. S:  I'm sort of thinking Shrewclaw? Like, he's such a dick and there's very little about him that's redeemable, but like. This is also true of Talltail for a lot of the book. S: And I guess an external clan perspective of Talltail from someone who actively dislikes him could be kind of interesting! It'd definitely be a totally new counterpoint. K:  Yeah! Especially given that they end up kind of being... foils? A little? I think it could be super neat to like, see Shrewclaw reprimand Talltail for being so focused on revenge, and then suddenly becoming revenge-minded himself and then having to grapple with that hypocrisy. K:  Either by going "My feelings are different, I'm not like you," or going "oh shit oh fuck we're the same and now i feel all sorts of ways about it" S:  I think the low-hanging fruit for why Shrewclaw is such a prick to Talltail is just plain homophobia, you know? But that's so boring, so I'd definitely want to tap into like, the inner world of Shrewclaw and swing it a different way. S: See Talltail through his eyes, emphasising everything Shrewclaw doesn't like about himself. Which becomes so tasty when you later think about Mudclaw doing something similar. S:  Shrewclaw has to grow from hate and jealousy to grudging respect and kinship within the clan, and then Mudclaw grows from outright respect to total adoration. It's an interesting intergenerational trajectory.

Final notes.

S: God, can we rewind a moment to the whole Sparrow bullshit. K:  Oh 100%. S:  Talltail obsesses over this for like, at least twenty chapters. And then two lines of dialogue and he's like, "I'm cured, my dad was a hero the whole time." S:  “It’s what Sandgorse would do.” Now that the rage had gone, Talltail wondered how he could ever have thought of killing Sparrow. Had grief taken away all his faith in the warrior code?” MY rage is still right here. K:  Literally one of my notes is: K:  Talltail straight up telling him he’s here to kill him like a coward. Like not that I WANT him to be a murderer, but god damn, just do it! K:  If you're gonna spend an entire fucking book yelling about how badly you wanna kill a guy then just! Don't make me wait this goddamn long! Do it!! K:  And yeah, just. Redeeming Sandgorse. BLeughghelfuf

S:  Okay, another point of rage: Talltail literally dissolves the goodwill between the travellers and the clan. K:  Y E A H S:  Like, years of peaceful gathering, destroyed. S:  Note: "This dude literally just ended years of peace over his petty revenge quest" K:  I do find it hilarious though that Talltail goes "Hey we should leave," Reena goes "Hm?? No you dont?" and then Sparrow comes in with the most uncomfortable, exhausted expression saying "No He's Right They Really Should Be Going And Should Never Come Back Thanks," S: I'm also so pissed that when Talltail showed up, the travellers were like, “Warriors and kittypets don’t belong with rogues” AND YET you stay for a whole month or more in clan territory? What ripe fuckery is this. K: YEAH IT MADE NO SENSE S: Everyone's just ambiguously racist enough to use it as an excuse whenever they don't want to do something.

S: Also: we called it re: Reena, although the story was actually less obnoxious than I was expecting. S: “There was sympathy in the she-cat’s mew, and Talltail suddenly wondered if Reena had been hoping that Talltail would be her mate: that they’d have kits and travel together. Had she started to imagine a whole new life ahead of them?” Ew.  K:  i was gonna say K:  We really did call it. S: Way to project, Talltail. S: "I guess she's in love with me and I'm breaking her heart by leaving because of the elaborate future she's imagined of our strong, brave kits and--" calm down, boy, she didn't say any of that. K: Yeah, like. Keep it inside, buddy.   K:  There was a lot of very wild Jake/Talltail shit going on but I'm going to drop this from my notes first before dipping into the bits I did like: K: Jake saying “oh that drive to kill wasn’t REALLY you” is VERY “what if I date this unhinged maniac man so I can change him and make him better because I know who he is deep down” and that is VERY unsexy of you, Erins, K:  Jake... my boy.... S: Yeah.  S:  I'm just going to keep pointing at the advice I gave him in previous Book Clubs. Respect yourself, king. K:  I did briefly look at the disastrous mini-comic at the end of the PDF and I do love that he's canonically a chubby king, though. S:  We do love that. A cuddly boy. K:  He's shaped like a friend! S:  But yeah, if these cats were people, Talltail is some skinny closeted runaway with some serious esteem issues and a kind of volatile and disrespectful pattern of behaviour. S:  And Jake is the cute bi boy next door with a supportive dad with apparently a solid sense of self and value, and I find that kind of a jank combination? It feels like it'll either lend itself to basically "adopt a stray" style "fixing" someone else, which isn't a great relationship dynamic, or Talltail dragging Jake into his mess and drama. And it's just difficult for me to imagine what Jake sees in Talltail. S:  If the relationship was just a bit more balanced--Talltail bringing something of value to Jake beyond "adventure"--I could believe it more. K:  Meanwhile, if Talltail retained his "soft, shy poet boy who's just looking for a place to be accepted and flourish" attitude... S: YES 

S:  I got so mad when Talltail's like, "I'm going to kill a guy," and Jake was like, "you can't!" and Talltail's like, "if I was back home, I would have probably already killed by someone by now," and Jake's like, "yeah but that's different, warriors killing each other for Survival is fine." K:  IT ISN'T S: And I'm like, whoa, slow down, I want to talk philosophy right here right now. S: It's a genuinely fascinating conversation that I want canon to have a lot more, but they just... glance over it.

S:  Pivot for a moment to the gay part of Jake/Talltail: I was surprised by exactly how heavily they implied it. K:  Me too!!! S:  I thought it'd be a lot less than there was, and a lot more oblique. So that was a pleasant (? is any part of this pleasant?) surprise. K:  And in the final comic they say that Tallstar sees Firestar like the son he would have had (with Jake).  Which. Is gay. S:  Mad huge gay, for sure. K:  Their final "oh, what if I stay with you!" parting scene was wild to read. And on Tallstar specifying that Jake is someone he loves at the very end. Like hot damn S:  But I Lost My Whole Mind. Because of one line. I read it and involuntarily galaxy-brained with the power of song. I can't find the full quote right now BUT it was basically Talltail and Jake talking right before Talltail leaves to return to the clan. S: And Jake's like, "you know what you have to do. Listen to your heart.” K: YES S: And I was HIT BY A TRUCK S: by this song S: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCC_b5WHLX0 K:  OH FUCK YES S:  Which honestly is so good, and also hilarious, because I have fond gay memories of this song from my teen years. S:  So I know we were saying the very long slow lame end was boring and anticlimactic, but there were a few things that did in fact spark joy.  One was--despite his name and the rampant ableism--Deadkit. K:  YES K:  I have in my notes: K: "I would die for Deadkit." and then "Apparently Deadkit would die for me" S: Hopkit sat up straight, quivering with effort. “Still as a stone, right you are!” he mewed. “Barkface, carry on!” Bless. S: MY SON S: MY BOY K;  And Talltail finally being like? Not an asshole, and treating him well and encouraging him.  He really did feel like he was emulating Dawnstripe in a wholesome way. S:  I KNOW. S:  It honestly made me feel so good about the story I've planned out, but I can talk about that after. S: I also loved that Talltail swam. <3 K: Yes.  S: I was there just elated, thinking about Mudclaw's final moments. And how this story actually ties in so well with that one. That's nothing really to do with Erin Hunter, but it was nice for me. It made the two feel resonant and in conversation with each other in a way I truly hadn't expected. K:  Oh fuck also, two extra from the notes K:  "Talltail’s heart began to race. “I can’t go home!” He stared in panic at Jake. “They won’t want me! I broke the warrior code when I left my Clan. They’ll drive me away again!” — On the one hand: I understand that his fear of being driven away/not being accepted stems from like, 90% of the interactions in this book. But also: THEY LET YOU LEAVE, everyone agreed! Nobody drove you out!" S: Talltail: "I'll go if I must, I understand, you need me to leave--" The rest of the clan: "uhh dude you said you wanted to go." S: Makes me think of people who get really pissed when they're like "I said I'm fine, why didn't you ask me more about how I was feeling because I was clearly Not Fine and Lying to you." S:  And it's like... I trusted you to tell me the truth. Don't play stupid games. K: Yeah! Like, if you want to be consoled or helped, be honest! I can't read your mind!

S: Palebird is just a full on mess in this book, huh? And it's really unsatisfactorily handled.  S: Sandgorse gets obsessed over for... the entire book. Palebird, equally bad parent, doesn't really get any kind of meaningful resolution with Talltail. K:  I misread when Talltail first brings the kids into camp, and fully thought that Palebird recognized Talltail and chose to ignore him in favour of her kits. That sadly isn't actually far off from what happens when she does recognize him. K:   He just goes "oh she died and in my leader ceremony she makes me feel like she always loved me and i never should have doubted her" S: I was so furious that her bit was like "a mother's love for her kits" and he's like, oh I can't believe how stupid I was for doubting her. S: She abused you, dude. S:  Being like, "lol jk" after she's dead counts for Nothing. K: It’s awful.  S: "I always loved you," said Palebird. "I just never wanted to interact with you at all when I was alive and I attached all my grief and trauma to your existence, which made it impossible to enjoy time around you, and I never even bothered to get help for myself or you, and I was happiest when you weren't in my life and I could focus on my other family. So I guess I didn't actually love you. I just felt like I probably should have, but oh well." S: I am as angry about her as I am about Sandgorse. K:   Yeah, she just somehow gets a free pass because "that's just how moms are!" -Erin S:  "Mums can say they love you and you have to believe them." K:  What kind of mother did you have/are you to your kids, @the Erins collective. I want to know. S: I KNOW K: Like, please answer for science. K:  I KNOW WE'VE ROASTED SANDGORSE THIS ENTIRE TIME BUT K:  THE NOTES S:  GET HIM S:  GET HIS ARSE K:  “I give you this life for forgiveness. No death need ever be avenged. Forgiveness brings peace far more surely than vengeance.” Talltail felt his ruffled fur smooth, his claws retract into his pads, his breath come steadily. Mercy was his, and always would be. “I’m sorry you had to learn the hard way, Tallstar,” Sandgorse meowed. — HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO MURDER A FICTIONAL CAT S:  YES YES YES YES S:  I was literally about to grab the same note. K:  "im sorry you had to learn the hard way" WHOSE FUCKING FAULT WAS THAT S:  “I give you this life for forgiveness. No death need ever be avenged. Forgiveness brings peace far more surely than vengeance.” It is a fatal mistake to conflate forgiveness with pacifism. K:  It's just. K:  Like I knew it was going to be awful, I knew this moment was going to happen, but just to see it and see the phrasing. K:  "I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way" is just the ultimate slap in the face. You abused and abandoned and neglected this kid. You did this. You were a ghost for 70% of the book and could have told your son that you "died a hero" and stopped him from being an absolute asshole. YOU DID THIS. S:  What peeves me is that I personally believe forgiveness is something you have to do for yourself, and not for other people. A lot of the time, bad people in your life won't ask for your forgiveness and don't deserve it. K: Yes!  Forgivesness isn't earned, forgivesness is given. K:  It's up to you to give people that forgiveness on your own terms, whenever and however you choose. And if you go "I'm not giving this to you" you don't have to! It's for you! It's your choice! S: But all your anger and hate and misery inside will burn you out like acid, so sometimes you need to go, "you're never going to earn my forgiveness, but I am choosing to forgive what you did so I can move on with my life and grow." S: It's why "forgive but don't forget" is a good thing to remember. You can let go of self-harmful anger without ever losing the lesson that person taught you, which was stay the hell away from people like that. S: That's the conversation I want to see happen around forgiveness in this story. K:  Talltail deserves so much better than any of the story we were given. K:  And like. Forgiveness through that specific lens is so compelling. S:  I know. It's something I'm deeply invested and interested in.  K:  It's so engaging, and relatable! It's messy and nuanced and full of a lot of good shit. S:  Yeah, like, and what happens when the person you resent or distrust tries to make efforts to atone, but they always fall a little short, or don't grow the way you need them to?  How do you forgive that, but still choose to walk away, knowing that in their narrative, you're the bad guy? K:  It's hard.  Knowing that they see you as the bad guy is like, the fucking toughest.  s:  It's extremely hard and I think there's so much space in this story for that exploration. K:  It makes it so easy to want to go back in for seconds and explain yourself to try and get them to understand you, even when you know that like, they're not going to and never will.  And it'll just hurt you more to try than to move on and be a better you for it. S: And being able to forgive yourself is I think a massive underrated lesson. K: Yes! It's beyond hard to try and be gentle with yourself and have compassion for yourself sometimes, especially regarding a messy scenario like these. S: I mean, all of this is way out of Erin Hunter's range, but like, ugh. What could have been. K: Yeah, absolutely. K:  Also I'm always here for young upset queer kids growing up to become Better & Cooler & Sexier than you, so don't try any shit dad, S: Anyway! That's it! We did it! K:  Yeah! S:  Honestly this is such a dumb book but it always feels like an accomplishment to get through another Book Club with you. K:  I agree. K: <3 S: <3

[bananban-feature]

Seventeen Members Special

Bias: Woozi

I’m really so obsessed with Seventeen recently! I just love everything they do, from performances to chill and crazy moments in Going Seventeen. I love them all dearly, but I will save my appreciation post for other members for next time. Today, I’ll just talk about my top 2!

Woozi

Honestly, I adore all the Seventeen members, but I really can’t deny - Woozi is one of the backbones (if not the ultimate backbone member) of the whole group.

- I definitely think he’s the most overworked member of Seventeen. Arguably one of the most overworked in Kpop?

- Main producer and songwriter. As part of this, he also checks and approves the lyrics made by the rap line.

I am so convinced he is a music genius!

Great vocals! - I was honestly so surprised when I first heard “Home” raw live vocals in a radio show (in YouTube). Him singing “어쩌겠어 난 네가 없으면” in the chorus gave me chills. It was a short line but it was done so perfectly, so cleanly and powerfully, even better than what’s in the recording. I doubted for a second that it was recorded and if it was really him, but it was 100% live Woozi!

Instrument king - Can play piano, guitar, drums, and even clarinet. There could be more, but I’m already so amazed! (Big fan of instruments here, especially those who were classically trained like Woozi, because classical music really isn’t easy!) If I keep talking about this, I will never end this post. He’s amazing!

Composer, songwriter and producer of beautiful songs! - As I mentioned, Seventeen’s songs are really my vibe, from first listen until now, I really love their music. And I just keep enjoying it more the more I listen to it. Knowing that a member wrote, composed, and produced the song really made me a fan girl. Woozi is so talented! I actually just saw a video yesterday where a popular songwriter for kpop chose Woozi as the songwriting idol that is able to write great lyrics. (Update: I’ve now seen so many professional lyricists, producers, and A&Rs randomly praising Woozi’s talent in random interviews that aren’t Seventeen-related.)

I just wanna add that Woozi is still so young (96 line) but he’s sitting at the top of the list of idols with most song credits, along with other idols who are older than him! And to think he actually composes and arranges whole songs too, rather than just writing lyrics like most people do! He’s already got more than 100 credits, considering he only started about 5 years ago. This guy is a machine! He must be so rich even just with loyalties! No wonder he always treats Seventeen members to meals. (Yes, stan this very generous leader too!)

Great dancer - Just being a member of Seventeen already proves you’re a great dancer (no dance hole of any kind at all in Seventeen!). But I even saw a comment from a professional dancer in YouTube once who said that Woozi is one of the best dancers he’s seen in kpop. (I also just learned he actually used to be in the Performance unit as a trainee and was supposed to be SVT main leader but he declined!)

I’ve never heard him rap, but they say he can rap well too? Not surprising, considering he actually checks the lyrics the rap line writes (and makes them re-write it if it doesn’t fit his standards for the song). Lol I stan meticulous Woozi.

Yes, your bias can produce, your bias can compose, your bias can sing and dance, and play instruments. But how many people can do all of those as good as Woozi does?! True genius.

Watching videos of him in the studio, especially when working with the rest of the Seventeen members, will leave you in awe. He is so wise and handles recordings well.

And you know what’s crazy? With his skill level, it looks like he formally studied all this in a focused school before becoming an idol, but no! Woozi learned it after joining the company, about a year before debut, he learned from Bumzu. Considering how hard being a trainee already is and considering how he was still finishing high school back then, he still managed to learn songwriting and music production and actually be excellent at it. My dear. Bumzu himself said Woozi picked things up easily and he really thinks Woozi is a genius. (I actually don’t know if he actually developed his music production skill more in university or not. If he did, that would be even more impressive because Seventeen was already pretty popular after debut, and going to college/finishing the requirements would be extremely hard on top of all his Seventeen work.)

His brain is already too amazing, but his passion is even crazier. He works so hard on music because he really loves it. He still does so much work for Seventeen at the back end despite the whole group already being so busy!

I am fully convinced Woozi was made for the music industry. The amount of talent contained in this one person is too much! I can’t take it anymore!

At this point, I think I’m just gonna seal it in that Woozi is my ult.

Probably except for Hui (Pentagon), I’m not as impressed by any other kpop idol as I am with Woozi. (I’d gladly accept more suggestions of super-talented idols like Woozi if more people like him exists.)

*Technically, Woozi isn’t underrated because Seventeen is popular and isn’t underrated. But for the amount of talent this sole person has, gee, he really has to be recognized by the whole kpop world, even the whole world.

You might not stan Woozi, you might not even stan Seventeen, but you gotta admit, he is one of the most talented people out there!

//update: May 2021. I first wrote this when I didn’t really know much about Woozi’s character apart from his hard work and passion for music. I’ve stanned them longer now, and I’ve definitely learned more about him. And I now I’m head over heels for his generosity, kindness (despite showing a “cold” side sometimes, like a true tsundere), his honesty (in writing, too) and most especially his humility. He’s also so witty, honestly! And I love how he laughs at everything the members do. Overall, he’s just a truly amazing person. 🥲 I wish there were more of him in this world, but no, there is only one Lee Jihoon of Seventeen. //end of update

Anyway, I originally planned for this to be a short appreciation post on Woozi + Hoshi as my two favorites, but Woozi is too much! He needs a lot of space because he’s too amazing! (So Hoshi will probably be in the next post.)

If anyone is still unconvinced, here’s an entire Reddit thread about him. Yes, shocker, there’s more to learn!