#thematic parallels my beloved

[babytarttdoodoo]

your writing is so so lovely! i’ve been really enjoying the mini fic prompts, and if you’re still taking prompts i was wondering if you could do roy being protective and worried about jamie, romantic or platonic is up to you. maybe split between the man city hug scene, and when jamie’s hurt in the mom city episode? considering he’s physically and emotionally hurt in both of those eps, i’d love to see your take on it! would also love to read more from you if you’ve got an ao3 account :)

have a wonderful day <3

Thank you! And sorry you’ve been waiting so long.

Not sure if this is what you were looking for but it’s the kind of character introspection I love to get my teeth into. I’ve tried to intersperse the two scenes as parallels of each other and I hope it’s not too confusing!

Song rec: Soap (this is becoming my anthem for Roy & Jamie, by the way)

—

It had already been an awful, shitty day. It had been the kind of match that could make a player want to walk away from the pitch forever.

Roy could see it in the slump of the team’s shoulders. Could feel the heavy, depressive weight in the air that had no one speaking above a murmur, every movement slow and exhausted.

Even Ted looked knocked for six.

Defeats like this were as much a part of the game as anything else. Roy had been through more than a few in his time. (He still held a grudge against Charlton Athletic. What a fucking mess that had been.)

He didn’t think he’d ever had a crowd bay so viciously for his blood as the City fans had for Tartt’s, though.

***

Jamie was barely out of the tunnel before the boos started. Roy had expected it, knew Jamie definitely had, but for fuck’s sake. They could at least give him a chance to be a prick before punishing him for it.

He saw the way Jamie looked around, the lines of his shoulders and back tensed to a degree that would completely mess up his pre-match stretches if he wasn’t careful.

Roy couldn’t find it in himself to blame him, though. He knew exactly what (who) Jamie was scanning the crowd for.

***

It had been something of a relief, actually, when that security guy said Jamie’s father was there to see him. It saved Roy from doing something mortifying like going over there to try and comfort him himself.

Bad days just happened sometimes. The real kick in the fucking teeth was when someone came along to make them worse.

The moment the old bastard opened his mouth, Roy knew it was going to go badly. Just the sight of him - unkempt and swaggering with a Manchester City scarf in pride of place - put him on edge. Who came to see their kid play at fucking Wembley and cheered for the other team?

All misgivings at the initial intrusion were quickly fortified by his sneering and jeering, insults thrown about with laughter that painted a very uncomfortable, distorted echo of similar locker rooms just a year ago, a younger Tartt being the dismissive, disruptive voice in the room.

***

He just couldn’t catch a fucking break, could he?

That block was spectacular, something only a handful of the lads on the pitch could even attempt, never mind pull off so successfully.

Jamie had kept Richmond in the game, backed up Zoreaux and his team in a way no one else would have thought to do. But fuck everything if it came at the cost of putting himself out of commission.

When he didn’t get up right away, Roy felt ice in his veins. When he crumpled after just a few steps, it turned to lead.

***

The whole thing made Roy’s blood boil.

He was very familiar with this kind of fan. The ones who rode the high of their team’s victories as if they’d put the ball in the net themselves and took any opposition as the most deep and personal of slights. Vindictive in the most pedestrian way.

Jamie’s reaction, though, was something entirely unfamiliar.

Where from anyone else, from even Roy himself, Jamie had no problem meeting disdain head on, any bravado or assertive attitude had fled his frame completely under the onslaught of his father. His eyes were staring off, unfocused, past the older man’s shoulder. He was holding himself like a tightly coiled spring, not quite hunched over but projecting the effort it took to stand tall.

It wasn’t as surprising as Roy would have liked when Tartt Sr’s bile focused in solely on his son and Jamie seemed to shrink before their eyes.

His defiance was quiet but Roy could see the cost it took nonetheless.

***

Roy couldn’t hold back a chuckle as Jamie goaded the crowd, striding back into the game with all the purpose and bravado that had been missing from his game for weeks.

Whatever Ted said, whatever the medics did, something had clearly done the trick.

The team rallied in kind, their excitement palpable when Jamie jogged back into position, still encouraging the City fans to do their worst with a grin in place. They may as well have been chanting his name and his teammates knew exactly how to react.

As soon as Isaac lobbed the ball towards him, it was all over.

***

Everyone else was frozen in an oppressive spell of inaction right up until that piece of shit laid a hand on his son.

Roy twitched in place, ready to intervene, and was immensely proud to see half of the team do the same, the closest to Jamie seeming ready to jump to their feet.

Turned out they didn’t have to.

Jamie landed a solid fucking punch that sent his old man sprawling. The surge of petty satisfaction in Roy’s chest only lasted until he registered the mocking laughter from the floor and all the colour that had leached from Jamie’s face.

He was afraid. Afraid of whatever his dad was about to do.

Thank god Beard had a handle on the situation, hauling that fucker up and out before he could make good on any of the thinly-veiled threats he was hollering at his son.

His son who was still frozen with that horrible, stricken expression of fear.

***

Jamie was flying.

Roy would never get tired of watching this. A player he’d helped mold, doing what he was built to do and making it look like fucking magic.

No one could touch him. His ankle didn’t matter. Bloody hell, gravity didn’t seem to matter. Jamie ate up the length of the pitch with a single-minded focus on the ball at his feet.

There was no doubt in Roy’s mind about where it was headed. He didn’t even need to watch it happen - but he was so glad that he did.

What a fucking goal.

***

It wasn’t a conscious decision to cross the floor and pull Jamie into his arms. Roy just couldn’t stomach that look on his face anymore.

He held Jamie tight against him, hoping against hope that this wasn’t making anything worse but at a complete loss for anything else to say or do.

And like a dam breaking, after long, tense seconds, Jamie shuddered and hugged back just as tight. The shaking didn’t stop and the small, choked off sobs made something ache deep down in Roy’s chest.

But he kept on holding him together.

Words wouldn’t come, and maybe they didn’t need to.

***

“Brilliant, Jamie. That was fucking beautiful.”

Roy moved in to hug him on his way off the pitch, so full of pride and relief he thought he might burst. He saw the same elation reflected back at him in Jamie’s face, eyes still wet with the emotion of a homecoming he truly deserved.

“Thanks, man.” His voice shook but his smile was genuine and wide.

[myfriendsdontlikehomestuck]

Thinking about the last of us and character parallels.

Started by thinking about Abby II Ellie, which turned into Abby II Joel II Ellie, which turned into Joel II Bill.

I like Bill and Frank's episode in the HBOMax series, however, I don't like the removal of Joel and Bill's parallels.

Bill was what would have happened to Joel if he had lost Tess and not developed a relationship with Ellie (similarly to how Ellie in the end of TLOU2 is like Joel if he'd stayed a hunter [presumably] and Abby if she'd lost everyone and never met Lev and Yara or never got revenge). Bill is calloused and trusts no one after his fallout with Frank, like how Joel was immediately after Tess died.

But in the series, Bill is just happy. Nothing wrong with that, though I'm not fond of the bury-your-gays part. But Bill and Frank being dead and happy is not a parallel to Joel. It's something Joel can never have. Which, I suppose, makes Bill more of a foil or shadow to Joel.

Tl;dr: hbomax took away my Bill-Joel parallels and I'm sad because I love parallels.

[raayllum]

Do not let the past define your future, as I did. Free yourself from the past. Learn from it, understand it, then let it go. / If you think I can just let it go, then you don’t know me at all. You never did. 

[lettertoanoldpoet]

i will never be over the vanishing point/anti-curse parallels. slipping into the undertow nobody knows why don’t feel bad i’ve always been too far down to reach and i was long long gone before you got to me -> i’m swimming back you say you don’t have to make it bad just cause you know how

[cescalr]

I didn't hate Spotify's + instead of ♡ change bc it let me add a song to more than 1 playlist at once, including in folders & and subfolders, which was so great. Unfortunately, now it is my number one enemy because it won't let me add the same song twice to a playlist. Evil. Evil!!

[zahri-melitor]

I read two more issues, to get past the Robins fight, and...still so conflicted.

I can see exactly how, if Damian is your ultimate blorbo and you read for Damian, this story is doing exactly what you want it to do and reflecting back beloved stories.

Issue 5 is explicitly set up as a parallel to War of the Robins from Batman and Robin 2011, and even ends with Damian getting an 'I love you and here have a trophy' speech from Dick, to tie Damian back to Alfred and Dick and the layers of care in the family.

It acknowledges Damian's menagerie and comments that the last thing Damian did before leaving was check in on them. It has Goliath show up and save Damian's life.

It has intense Robin: Son of Batman vibes and the whole repeat of the 'finding yourself on an isolated tropical island and redeeming yourself'.

(I expect the whole Respawn thing to play out with very much the exact themes of how R:SOB dealt with Damian's clones once Damian clues in)

But I keep waiting for payoffs that just aren't happening.

Rose slopes off to call for help for Damian, and then Dick, Jason, Tim and Steph turn up and I'm like "oh! Rose went and called Dick, because she's looking out for Damian on the island in the same way that Dick looked out for Rose while he was training her as Ravager and in a bad place where she was hanging on every one of Slade's words and determined she needed to prove herself as worthy of her father...oh. She called Jason".

And look, I know that there's an underlying push for decades now that Jason and Rose do have a bunch of things in common and would work well together (and also hinting at whether or not they're romantically involved), but a lot of that is inferred off panel stuff while Dick was literally Rose's teacher. If you want themes of 'you don't have to be what your family expect of you' why on earth wouldn't you openly reference that?!?

In terms of who is on this island and is one of Dick's rogue's gallery:

Raptor

Double Dare (both Margot and Aliki)

Lady Vic

Brutale

Nite-Wing (seriously why is Tad here)

Blue Shrike is apparently Shrike's brother???

Is this going to get acknowledged? That a solid chunk of Dick's enemies are here and fighting Damian? That's like half the competition!

Also while I was looking all of this up apparently the Richard Dragon they're talking about is the son of actual Richard Dragon, who apparently got killed in a flashback or something in Green Arrow #32 during n52 and who apparently in that universe worked for the League of Assassins (oh god I am now tearing my hair out, RICHARD IS NOT LINKED TO THE LEAGUE. HE WAS TRAINED BY THE O-SENSEI. STOP DOING THIS TO ALL THE MARTIAL ARTISTS). Huh. Bet that doesn't stick. Richard's too important thematically any time someone wants to write a Question book to be left randomly dead.

And then there's the whole situation that there is a Tengu on this island. I just went down the rabbit hole and this is an import of the Titans villain who is just a Japanese goblin, NOT the Tengu mask that Shiva hands out to people who are trained by her and fighting somewhat under her banner (as seen in Knightsend and in the Circle of Six in Richard Dragon). Which is honestly a waste; if I were going to resurrect a Tengu for this plot, the Shiva and Richard Dragon aligned mask is far more thematic!

And plus, Silver Monkey? Silver Monkey is heavily linked to both Connor's Green Arrow stories, and Shiva (as Paper Monkey), and Deathstroke. It's War of the Dragons and Cult of the Monkey Fist and Brotherhood of the Fist. It's about death and resurrection (as Shiva almost kills Connor and Tim uses his marker with Shiva to save Connor’s life from the time he saved HER life). Is this going to be acknowledged? Because that's where I'd be playing the references by bringing in Silver Monkey.

And look I haven't seen what payoffs we get for Connor yet and there are definitely a bunch of opportunities built in; on top of Silver Monkey you have Constantine Drakon, who's defeated Connor before. Plus there's Artemis Crock, who in DC Comics comics terms isn't linked at all to Connor (she's JSA and Infinity Inc and was in the YJ98 Zandian Olympics team) but obviously has been used for archer purposes in tv and cartoon adaptions.

I keep seeing all these potential stories set up and wondering if there is going to be any pay off on them. I hope so. But also so far the story has slipped around those payoffs unless it's a direct reference to a Damian story.

Also Ra's al Ghul playing the hermit sensei meditating and in touch with the universe on a nearby island is the funniest nonsense possible. Ra's? RA'S? Taking time out to go meditate on the state of the universe? Just so he's conveniently in a place to give Sage Advice to Damian about what personal values he should work on? Pull the other one.

[moonchild-in-blue]

I need everyone to watch Kaos (from Netflix) right now, please and thank you. Quite possibly my favourite modern retelling of the Greek myths / Olympic pantheon.

The story revolves mainly around Orpheus and Eurydice (Riddy), and around Zeus and a certain not-so-great prophecy. Dionysus is one of our main stars and he's great and amazing and hot and absolutely babygirl.

Yes there are a LOT of references and myths and characters beyond the main Olympians (Zeus' famous kids don't even appear). Yes you see Prometheus having his liver pecked. Yes, we do get to see the Minotaur & Co. Hades and Persephone too, obviously. Yes, there is A TON of great poc and queer rep. Yes, there is blood and sex and violence and poignant society AND religious commentary. Yes, you do get old man yaoi. Yes, Jeff Goldblum as Zeus is incredible and no joke my new favourite portrayal of him (Zeus). Yes, they are faithful to the "doomed from the start" narrative of Orpheus and Eurydice. Yes, Hera does have her peacocks.

Please please please go watch it please it's so great and visually beautiful and amazing. Pirate that thang if you must.

My thoughts whilst watching the show - no plot spoilers but be warned for mild thematic/ character/ setting commentary. Generally safe to read if you haven't watched it yet and don't mind a little preview:

SOUNDTRACK IS WOW. Don't Fear The Reaper? On episode one?? The song I've been listening over and over because of a certain beloved band has made a cover of it???

Love how they portray the worship of gods as something that is part of their daily lives and culture without seeming too "gimmicky".

There are clear parallels to Catholicism in the way they conduct themselves (either in favour or against the gods; all the little rituals and traditions), and it's quite interesting to see how would modern society function if Hellenism (or rather the ancient practices. pls correct me if I'm wrong) were the primary (and as far as I got it only) established religion in the world.

The "Vero" declaration with the hand gesture as part of Olympian liturgy? Amazing. Interesting choice in using Latin rather than Ancient Greek, but very cool nonetheless.

A significant amount of casual mentions of horrifying violent acts by the gods, and even some healthy dose of violence/ blood. Thought it was very interesting to see Zeus discussing infanticide and natural catastrophes the way we discuss the weather or grocery prices. They really leaned heavily into the whole grandeur and arrogance of gods in regards to human life which I super appreciate. I'm tired of seeing passive, Cool and Hip and Benevolent Zeus & Co.

Also the amount of criticism by the god-haters (Blasphemes? Non-sympathisers?) feels very refreshing (and on the nose concerning irl organised religions), especially in contrast with the more devout and how they put their life in second place in lieu of worship (yes I'm thinking about the Tacitas AND the Celebration Ritual™ iykwim).

The subversion of the "doomed from the start" narrative surrounding Orpheus and Eurydice is done so beautifully it hurts. Right from the first moment they appear, you know how it'll go. And yet!!

You know what happens, of course. Their story was never meant have a happy ending. But the way they took that and put a modern spin on it it's just!!!! My heart !!!!

I was rooting for Orpheus the entire time, knowing damn well it was a lost cause. I can't blame Riddy, but my God is it painful to watch. LOVED the actor who played him, he just the right amount of earnest love and rockstar flair. Riddy is SO cool - there's not much I can say beyond that that isn't a spoiler but. Yeah. We love complex female characters.

I'm gonna be really petty and pedantic here, but for a show revolving GREEK mythology, set in Olympia / Krete, with sooo many little references to the myths, it is CRIMINAL that they insist on calling Heracles by his roman name (Hercules), and that they refer to Hades as God "Of Death" instead of God "Of The Dead" / King Of The Dead. There's a major difference there - Thanatos would like a word.

Troytown? Where the Trojan refugees (displaced war victims really) are *literally* segregated to (their exact words, segregation), and even use those nose lines/tattoos as way to identify them? Where they face scrutiny and police brutality and prejudice from the Kreteans? As a clear reference to minority poc urban areas and how they are unfairly mistreated and deemed as "others" by the same governments who put them there in the first place??? YES YES YES.

A lot of queer and poc rep. And I mean A LOT. The Fates alone are a whole vibe.

Again, it doesn't feel gimmicky at all, nor does it fall under the "okay they're definitely trying to hit all the quotas so everybody is gay and ethnic and uses neo-pronouns" trend some media are starting to follow, which really just end up falling flat rather than significant (looking at you Sex Ed 4). An actual diversity win.

If you're familiar with the story of Caeneus, you'll love how they portrayed him here.

Dionysus is everything and some more. I love him. Prometheus is incredible. Jeff Goldblum as Zeus goes above and beyond expectations - he brings that Goldblum Flair™ but with an intense violence and paranoia you could only pull off as King of the Gods. Hera is just wow, truly a queen.

Hades and Persephone have an *interesting* dynamic - have never seen him being portrayed like that before. Usually Hades and Persie are the "dom goth Mommy and Daddy" of mythology retellings, and yet here it's completely different. Certainly *A Choice*. I don't mind Hades, but would've liked to see "goddess of spring & dreaded" Persephone.

I understood the vision, but I don't think it worked *quite* as well as the other ones. She's still super cool nonetheless - that sandwich scene was incredible.

Also - VERY COOL how diverse the actors are. With the exception of Dionysus who is objectively Young and Hot, pretty much all the other gods (and adjacent) are middle-aged or up, with visible signs of aging (grey hairs, wrinkles, sagging skin, belly fat, etc), which is cool cus usually the gods are made to be a specific flavour of "hot".

The Furies, who could've been all snatched and sexy and token Femme Fatale characters, are actually older butch women with mean lesbian energy and I think that's very cool and awesome and wonderful.

Even the human cast is so diverse and interesting and REAL, rather than yet another yassified ensemble - it's great to see. Not everyone is conventionally hot and attractive, and THAT is sexy af.

All the little Easter eggs and references to the myths and general ancient Greece culture are SO nice to see. I giggled when Polyphemus first appeared. That first scene on the cereal aisle was very funny. Gagged at Cassandra.

Stylistic choice of the Underworld environment and on-camera portrayal is chef's kiss. That's all I'll say.

LABYRINTH AND DAEDALUS YES. Would smash the Minotaur, 1000%. That Scene™ was. Hmmmmm yeah.

Overall I loved it and high key might re-watch it again. What an amazing show. This was a win for all of us Greek Myth nerds, and I'll be truly devastated if Netflix doesn't renew it for a second season.

[pinkfestivalpeanuttree]

augh damsel-prisoner-spectre/smitten-skeptic-cold parallels my beloved

damsel/prisoner parallels obviously

smitten and cold being foils obviously

getting smitten/cold and skeptic/cold in both gray routes-- unlike the other chapter IIIs, cold is the only voice you can get in the gray

the prisoner route and chapter 1 leading to the spectre being the only routes where you can get the "good ending" (i think)

not really a thematic parallel i think but i've been sort of keeping track of which chapter 2s share a chapter 3 and possible themes they share and interestingly besides stranger and razor those three routes are the only ones without their own unique chapter 3

which. actually. that's like half the chapter 2s BUT stranger and razor are the odd ones out for different reasons

you can't get any other chapter 3 in the damsel or prisoner besides the grays However! both the prisoner and the damsel have varient endings: the deconstructed damsel and the prisoner's head

(also just a side thought but you would think getting beheaded would make for a bad ending but that varient feels more like the "good" option to me, in part because there's not a lot of dialogue if you get chained up with the prisoner but also because the Themes™. the route is all about skepticism and distrust and by trusting the princess and giving her the blade and her trusting you to take her head you are able to escape the cabin! the prisoner's also very proactive in getting herself out, which feels interesting in comparison to the damsel and how she's completely dependent on the protagonist to get her out- and another parallel, the prisoner takes action to get rid of her own chains which have multiplied since last time, and the damsel is reliant upon us to save her despite the fact that her hand slips out easily from her chain (although then again that could just be our perception changing things with the help of smitten brute forcing fairytale tropes and happily ever after logic onto the world) idk it's like the prisoner has more. autonomy in this route? more agency?)

and of course the spectre can only lead to the wraith which you can get with nightmare as well

sorry spectre and skeptic i feel like i did you guys dirty in this post i also love you guys but there are more parallels between damsel/prisoner and smitten/cold

you know what though i would LOVE to see spectre skeptic interactions. i think it would be Interesting.

(modern au murder mystery with skeptic as a detective and spectre as the murder victim who's become a ghost...)

[fandom-flight]

I dont know if anyone's talked about this yet, but Lee Sookyung is such a thematically significant character for someone who doesn't get to be physically fighting alongside the main party most of the time

Of course, as Kim Dokja's mom, she definitely matters to the story, but I think it's so important that she's the reason that Kim Dokja loves stories. Lee Sookyung loves reading just as much as her son does, to the extent that she literally wanted to name him "reader." She showed him how to interact with stories, that stories are primarily a medium of empathy, and when she went to jail, she inadvertently was responsible for making Kim Dokja's life revolve around stories (specifically her fabricated story and the comfort story that Kim Dokja had to rely on as a reason to live). And maybe that doesn't seem like much, but Lee Sookyung's characterization makes it clear that humans' love of stories is hereditary. The first time we come to love stories is often the first time we get told one by our parents. Our ancestors pass down the stories that matter the most to us, and our parents influence the stories that we end up deciding to tell. Lee Sookyung is also the first person to show Kim Dokja the true power of being a reader, a writer, and a protagonist. After she taught him that books are beloved windows into other people's worlds, she then went on to show him the power of controlling the narrative by writing and starring in the book that kind of destroyed his life, but isn't that also the power that Kim Dokja goes on to use to destroy the Star Stream? By taking a story he knew, he inserted himself to change its trajectory, just like his mother took the story that she witnessed and inserted herself to protect her son.

And then there's also the way that Lee Sookyung helps Kim Dokja understand that people are stories that you only really get a small piece of. It's a major theme that people are stories made up of not only the actions they take themselves, but also the meaning that they hold to other people. To Kim Dokja, Lee Sookyung's story is that of a failed mother and a source of trauma, but to the Wanderers, her story is that of an inspiring leader and dear friend. The scene where he realizes that he alone isn't enough to tell her story in full, and that it's necessary for her friends and other loved ones to cooperate to put together a more complete picture of who she was as a person was honestly so beautiful and poignant. And it becomes even more that when this concept of a person's character being made up of who they are to a variety of people becomes the crux of The Kim Dokja Company's most significant attempt to bring Kim Dokja back in full. Just like when Lee Sookyung was dying and needed to have all kinds of people she knew to piece together her story, Kim Dokja ultimately needs all his friends and loved ones to do the same for him. And these parallels are so clear and intentional that I still can't help but want to articulate how clearly conveyed the themes of ORV were. They rarely ever drop a theme that they introduce, and they reinforce the significance of those themes with increasing strength every time. Every theme and piece of the puzzle has multitudes to it when you look at it for even a few extra seconds, and I think that's why this webnovel will continue to linger in my mind for way too long

[my-favourite-zhent]

🦋🍬🐠

Thank you for your ask! Sorry for late reply, I had to do some ruminating on these. 🦋 tell us about your current wip

Ah New Tricks, my beloved. I've never done a long fic before but I'm determined to see this one through. I really only planned for it to be 10 chapters but once I started bridging my plot points things got out of hand.

For those not aware its an adventure/romance featuring Rugan(who would've guessed!), an OC love interest, and the rest of the Waukeen's rest crew as supporting characters.

I would say it's heavily influenced by Guy Ritchie movies, a little bit of the Mummy, and a need to be lore accurate (even though the lore often contradicts itself…)

🍬 a song for your favourite character I'm so terrible at these because my taste in music is very basic! But a fun choice for Rugan I think is The Wanderer by Dion:

A more thematic song for him might be The Good, The Bad and The Dirty by Panic! at the Disco:

🐠 author who inspires you

Inspirational authors! That's a tough one. My descriptions I feel border on terse and I try to put emphasis on making the characters feel real and believable, which is largely influenced by reading a lot of Stephen King as a youth.

Name of the Wind is also one of my favourite books and I can definitely see plotting parallels within NT so I think I'd be remiss not to mention Patrick Rothfuss.

Currently reading the Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt which is great for brotherly banter.

Outside of novels I think I take a lot of my inspiration from film and television, so hats off to the writers of the Ritchie Films, the Community television series and Avatar: the Last Airbender.

As for other fanfiction writers I would say the ones who's works I really admire (for a variety of reasons) are:

@dustdeepsea @fistfuloftarenths @thisaccountisagainstmywill @littleplasticrat @pentuppen and @cloverthebarbearian

Between them is not only excellent smut, but strong characterization, heart-aching drama and just plain fun. I'd like to steal a little bit of talent from each of them if possible. Thank you again for the ask and I hope this was an interesting read for you!

[ourlittleuluru]

Okay... So... I was on a spree taking screenshots for Xavier's Floral Blessing memory, right?

While I was taking the screenshots I heard this VERY SPECIFIC melody and the piano in the BGM of the memory. I could feel my brain just flip a dang switch like some kinda flash back or something...! ∑( 口 ||

Thing is, music is always important to storytelling, especially medias like games and movies.

Now, I won't go too deep into an analysis because there's an amazing analysis and breakdown written by @rose-tinted-kalopsia (i might chip in my own stuff that I noticed in another post in future...)

Some bits of spoilers I guess

OKAY

SO

It's plainly obvious this new Memory of Xavier's is something that kind of comes full circle, making parallels to his previous stories in our dearly beloved traumatizing Anecdote 3 (When shooting stars fall) and his Lightseeker Myths. A lot character building and development and seeing how Xavier's grown as a character.

Not much surpise there.

BUT

listen.. again... when I hear the BGM... I WAS HECKING LOCKED IN BECAUSE THE DEVS ARE VERY MUCH AWARE AND JUST!!!! 😭

I went back through ALL the Kindled of ALL of Xavier's 5 star memories, and took a listen to the BGMs.

As very much expected, all the kindleds just use either one of Xavier's BGM that you can earn from his Affinity Level, one of the more generic BGMs that's shared, or one that is thematic to the series (like No Restraint)

FLORAL BLESSING THO

THE MOMENT I HEAR THAT ONE LINE FROM THE PIANO...

Floral Blessing is using the SAME BGM that is played when you read his Anecdote 3. SPECIFICALLY ONLY ANECDOTE 3! (okay it plays when you're in his Anecdote menu too but it changes after you select an anecdote to read)

AND GUESS WHEN ELSE THIS BGM PLAYS?!

YES, HIS LIGHTSEEKER MYTH CARD, specifically Lightseeking Shadowrend

They are drawing ALL the Parallels, no holds barred

[penguinkyun]

chapter 158 review

well so that was all bullshit

this is literally worst chapter in the entirety of the series so far and it spits in the face of rubys entire character along with the series themes

first of all, how has ruby surpassed ai? no seriously. how? what has she even done to earn this supposed transcendent idolhood? she only has this popularity because she nepotism'ed her way through the industry and stole literally all the work in bh mode from the rest of her group members (who couldn't even stream without her presence) and did absolutely nothing to make it up to either kana or mem (whose other jobs like streaming and acting were also impacted btw), loses any character she had in the incest subplot and then says shes going to surpass ai like a broken record when that was never her goal in the first place!

both sarina and aqua say it - ruby wanted to wear cute clothes and sing on a stage like ai, inspiring others. she never had the goal of "surpassing" ai, she just wanted to be an idol because she loves idols. her arc is supposed to be about connecting with her mother from her idolhood, inspiring others and understanding ai. all that warmth, inspiration, honesty and naivety literally disappears from her entirely. and while a corruption arc isnt bad, you have to actually, yknow WRITE THE ARC PROPERLY.

why does ruby want to surpass ai? theres no rhyme or reason to it. and also what surpass? your ceo adoptive mother made your group for you, your brother scouted your group members and landed you a spot in an idol festival for your debut concert and while i'm not saying ruby hasn't worked hard and/or struggled in her job or life, she definitely has worked hard in her job, but its a bit much to say she "surpasses ai" when if you think about all the factors that made ai's life miserable - i.e. excessive favouritism, exploitation, purity culture, toxic industry and fan standards - none of that has any bearing on ruby's experience as an idol because she is explicitly shielded from all of that by literally everyone around her. everything that made ai's idolhood difficult is nowhere presented in rubys arc as something she has to deal with and so when you try to compare their two careers like this it just rings as incredibly hollow - a parallel for the sake of a parallel

even when kana (rightfully!) blows up at ruby, all the shit ruby put her through in black hoshigan mode is never addressed and its just ruby going "ill be your friend if you like it or not!" as a barest bandaid on the true issues kana has with her and kana just accepts it! she doesn't have to deal with falling outs either because it gets fixed at the drop of a hat!

also what the fuck is that monologue lol. my girl would NEVER say that and would especially never use her beloved mothers death as some sort of embellishment on a speech about the transience of Idols or whatever she was saying there, especially when ai's death was deeply rooted in the toxicity and purity standards of the idol culture of her era, a culmination of her exploitation and entitlement the industry and fans had towards her and was not about how idols can only be idols for a short amount of time because of aging out - ai didn't age out she was fucking murdered in her own home.

which. what narrative benefit does ruby's stabbing even have? ai's death served as both a capstone to her narrative arc, an enormous shift in the series tone and themes, and commentary and indictement on the idol industry and fan entitlement as a whole. what does ruby's stabbing serve? what narrative lesson is being taught here? what arc is being fulfilled here? is she just being stabbed for shock value? because the anime episode is releasing today?

its stupid (and not only because of what it does to nino which i will get to) and also makes this look like a walmart version of ai's death with the same pose and none of what made it actually thematically interesting. also if you wanted to fulfill narrative parallels and death flags, kana should've been stabbed there i said it. she is the ai parallel in bkomachi, she's the one whose viewpoint we view the problems of the industry from, she has commentary on those problems of misogyny and the pressures of the industry, she's the one who should be the focus here because it is her graduation concert tour. she's even the same age as ai!

speaking of kana goddamn im so sorry for you. you lose centre focus IN YOUR OWN GRADUATION, and now your one dream from 151 wont even happen because of this narratively bullshit chapter. you deserve better truly (and i am also really mad they used kana sun moment her best moment where she is literally the fucking sun to compare to rubys inherited ascended form of idolhood)

(also akanes monologue was ridiculous and entirely forced)

also fuck what this chapter did to nino. my girl im so sorry this has been done to you, you deserved better. the twist COULD have been interesting if lacking the set up but noooo we had to make nino as somehow the spokesperson for how ruby has achieved the Final Form of an Idol when literally just over 20 chapters ago she coldly stated ruby was nothing like ai and then had to turn her into a murderer when literally why would she.

especially with her conversation with kamiki, where she very interestingly says "oh you think we can be forgiven for all the shit we've done?" and her apparent response to that is to go commit another unforgivable crime? really? way to reduce your character to just "no one should surpass ai" instead of all the complex feelings nino had before! and also along with making her an idiot this chapter somehow leaning even harder accidentally or otherwise into the "crazy lesbian" stereotype which absolutely sucks.

also ruby did you learn nothing from your mothers death. do you not have door chains. also i refuse to believe neither miyako or aqua instilled safety procedures or kept the door locked especially after their fame skyrocketed. unless they're like. still at miyazaki hotel??? even then did you not check who was at the door, especially after how your mother died like why is ruby being hit with the idiot stick again. this is again another contrivance just like 142 was so heavily contrived.

even madder at the sheer disservice rubys character has been done through the entire past three arcs.

also also the art is just. weird. the way the knife has been framed makes it look like it slipped completely past ruby and the entire panel feels washed out unlike ai's stabbing panel where its dynamic with motion, flowers falling past her, the knife in clear view along with ai's stunned expression. its beautiful in the most haunting horrific way possible and sticks in your mind. i'd forget about this panel in a second. i wish i could forget this chapter jfc. it better be a fakeout

anyways. break next week.........

[henghost]

Twig Liveblog for Arc 11

"too real" of an arc, as plague stories have taken on a special kind of resonance post covid. the plague itself, however, was very interesting. the imagery of red flowers bursting forth from people dying in agony was beautiful, as well as thematically congruent with the rest of twig: there is a potent sort of echo with the stories of the jamies, life flowing from death, ecstasy from torture. it's the circle of life, man....

the bulk of the plot, though, is taken up not by the plague but by running away from the mercenaries, which felt quite wormlike. the line between superweapon and superhero is thin. dog and catcher my beloved! the meeting between them in the bakery where they just start chomping on sandwiches was like the diner scene in michael mann's heat with deniro and pacino, just a few kings at the top of their games, separated only by the razor-thin barrier of the "law." man telling them that gordon had died, gordon who was one of the few people who had made the effort to understand dog--heartbreaking. i hope they end up okay, dog and catcher. a truer bond is hard to find in this story--they deserve to retire and love each other for the rest of time.

the like cynical camaraderie between experiments is really the crux of the matter. what is needed, in my view, is some pan-experimental solidarity. why don't the experiments, the largest, most powerful players on the field, simply eat all the other factions?

i already did a post on sy/jamie but that is the other major component of the arc. they love each other so much 😭 the tragedy of inhabiting sy's best friend's body, the feeling of betrayal, the love despite it all oh my god. tearjerking fr!!!

then the long duncan interlude had several incredible moments. he is really hateable lol but still pretty entertaining. the most grating aspect of his perspective is the way he clearly does not view the lambs as human. ashton et al are just another few dangerous experiments he has to tolerate to advance his career. also, it frames his lust for helen in quite a sleazy light. the detail about how he had to watch helen undress and popped a boner with ibbot watching and ibbot had to be like "😐 unacceptable, please leave" had me fucking dying lmao. i think it also explains lillian's rage (more intense than the other lambs') at him for betraying the lambs: the parallel between duncan/helen and lillian/sy is an uncomfortable one. i think it indicates that lillian feels a lot of guilt and insecurity about her position in society and her position vis a vis the lambs. when lillian and mary see sy again it might just be the most awkward moment of all time. i can't wait.

[raayllum]

so like, all the way back post-S2, I noticed that if you were going to make ATLA comparisons to TDP, the most useful ones were 1) theme and 2) plot structure for smaller character arcs, amid some personality similarities. And that Callum, more than any other ATLA character, consistently tended to parallel Katara in the plot arcs he’s been given. We see this follow through into S3 paralleling the S2 finale (act of love from previously untrained but masterful magic user saving their literally fallen love interest) and into S4 (Aang leaves Katara in a bid to protect everyone else in an early S3 episode, paralleling Rayla’s equally misguided choice to leave in TTM). 

Post-S2 there were also some early parallels drawn between Aang as the Avatar and Aaravos as a villain; master of all four elements / six primal sources, the glowing eyes when they’re in their most powerful state(s), both vanish from the world only to reappear later, etc. Very surface level stuff. Things like TDP taking from ATLA’s “the river as destiny” metaphor was more overt and perhaps had more merit

However, since then, we’ve learned that Aaravos’ prison is most likely under water, just like how a certain Avatar was encased in ice

And yeah, I just think it’s neat

[disgr-aced]

Yay founders cut time!! To avoid spoilery spam I'm just going to put my thoughts and things I really liked below the cut

Episode 1 spoilers below

1. Giving a whole point over to saying that goddamn I missed this, I missed this so much

2. Ranboo touching the urn at the start and hearing flashback memories to begging to die - it's a loop confirmed?? Holy shit?

3. The sound design in this cut is genuinly excellent loving the sound effects mwah

4. They used the shot where Slime looks directly to camera on entrance this time!

5. The whole cooking segment is really tightly cut and I love the repeated cutaways and the energy of the whole scene, really feel that panicky pace this time

6. Slime backstory cutaway my beloved, I'm so glad they included it after he mentioned it in his bts stream from ages ago

7. The glitch to reveal the fridge contents are indeed gore yes yes

8. COOK? I D K H O W T O C O O K

9. Definitely overthinking this but I love the lighting change when Ranboo plays the first tape, like everything in the cabin goes dark and Hetch is the only light? The symbolism of him being the only light in the dark, and Ranboo being able to see him but not follow him because there is a literal television in the way?? Thematic parallels my ABSOLUTE beloved

10. Ahhhh the echoing please when they look at the model house ahahahha

11. 'Frank and I have been through a lot. There's been a lot of piss.'

12. The glitches and lighting flickers when anything touches Sneegs hat? Ohhhohohho lovely touch

13. Oh this for sure means something, Sneeg only starts getting frustrated with The Hero not knowing ahead of time what they need to bring after the slime touches the hat, and given the control method for Sneeg is in his hat, it definitely looks like the slime fucked with his control enough for him to remember some stuff from the last loop

14. This isn't related but seeing that portrait of Charlie reminded me that he said his mum really wanted that portrait of him and that's very funny to me

15. OK at the start of the fight, the Hero says 'Not if I done you...first...what?' as an opening taunt, and the mask flickers. Idk if that was intentional, but I do enjoy the idea that either a) the hero was programmed to say something else, but his control glitched, and he forgot what that was or b) the hero was programmed to say that line, and it was so weird that he broke himself out of control for a second

16. Oh DAMN it was intentional!! Control was breaking when it wasn't their 'turn'!

17. Okay onto ep2 later, but while I love the live version of ep1 and all the little pauses and extra improv and it's still a source of comfort to watch it, this cut is so clean and precise with the extra editing and effects I love it equally, I can't wait to see the other episodes

[lazywriter-artist]

Can we— can we see my vision?— eye color swapsies 🥰🥰🥰

Idk something something thematic parallels any beloved or whatever— World eaters get plague marine green, Tzeentch aligned legions get slaanesh hot pink-, plague marines get tzeentch blue and slaanesh gets khorne red—

It’s fuuunnnn