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xaracosmia · 8 months ago

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ꕥ — WELCOME TO NEFE COSMIA, GIOVANNI SAKAKI. 🌓

ꕥ — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: Twin Age: 21+ Pronouns: she/they ooc contact: Twin_Destinies on Twitter other characters in xc: Nicholas Rush, Hermes, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera

ꕥ — IC INFORMATION;

Name: Giovanni Sakaki Age: 35 Pronouns: He/Him Series: Pokemon canon point: Between red/blue/yellow/firered/leafgreen and Gold/silver/heartgold/soulsilver

app triggers: Child neglect/abuse/abandonment, kidnapping, animal (pokemon) abuse, animal (pokemon) death, implications of gore, gangs, exploitation, world domination, death, murder, general dark themes.

personality: Giovanni is, of course, the kind of man people want to follow. He’s charismatic and easy to look to as someone who knows what he’s doing. Whose ideals should be followed. He’s confident and ready to show the world what he and Team Rocket mean to do at any given moment, no matter how many times he fails. If he has one thing going for him, it’s an unprecedented level of determination and self-confidence that’s difficult to come by.

But with that confidence comes arrogance, and he is not someone who plays well with others. He wants to be top growlithe, and he won’t let anyone stand in his way. He believes in his plans and ONLY his plans and it’s difficult for him to see reason, or to ever admit that he might be wrong about something. His cocky, smug attitude is not just a front- he really is an asshole most of the time. That’s what gets him the respect he craves.

He is a very selfish man who wants what he wants and doesn’t care who gets hurt in the pursuit of it. He has a hard time understanding compassion and tends to blame everyone but himself when things go wrong.

Is there anything redeeming about him? Giovanni is actually a bit more complex than just a villain for the sake of being a villain. Yes, power and using pokemon to take over the world are super important to him, but he values personal growth and can see the strength in others. He enjoys a challenge and more than once getting knocked down a peg has caused him to reevaluate himself and his goals. There’s a certain noble quality to him and even he is willing to aside his goals for the sake of something bigger. He is extremely loyal to his team and seeks ways to ensure they grow collectively.

There’s something inside him, clawing to get to the surface, but so far he has managed to keep it contained. He may not seem to care about much, but there’s a reason he became known as Giovanni of the land. If nothing else, his fascination with ground-type pokemon has made him a formidable trainer who knows the value of hard work. Does he care about his pokemon?

Hm hm. Who knows.

something your muse struggles with: Doing what he truly thinks is right, Facing his issues, Changing his ways.

your muse’s greatest strength: Leadership qualities, Coming through in times of need, not giving up no matter how many ten year olds beat him.

history / background:

Over the years, Team Rocket became known as the largest threat within the Kanto region. There wasn’t a city, port or town that didn’t know about the criminal group or its intentions to use pokemon to take over the world. Team Rocket spread fear throughout the region, and even into other regions as its activities continued largely without conflict. No one seemed willing to try and take Team Rocket down, and even those who did usually met with failure. As the team continued to flourish, Giovanni found himself feeling dissatisfied with his life. Perhaps he had started to realize he had ended up falling for his mother’s wishes, or maybe he was just the type to always crave more. Either way, he started to look for other means of entertainment.

While the Team Rocket Boss was feared by many, no one knew who that man actually was. Giovanni had done well to keep himself directly out of the limelight and anyone who suspected him really had no proof to back it up. Whispers on the wind. It was a golden opportunity, he realized. Why not use his anonymity to further his ambitions? He decided once again to focus on his training, though gone were the days where he thought he might become a normal trainer and have a happy life. Now all he could see were ways of using his skills as a trainer to get whatever power he wanted.

He decided to set his headquarters in the city that started it all- Viridian. There he became the city’s ground-type gym leader, the last stop before proving your worth in the pokemon league. An incredibly difficult gym to battle, and the perfect cover to hide all his criminal acts behind. It seemed to ease the restlessness of his spirit, perhaps because it granted him a portion of the life he had always wanted but had never managed to get hold of. He was a gym leader. A real trainer. He fought trainers and saw their potential as the final challenge before the hardest stretch of their pokemon journey. In the years that followed, his gym leader life felt more like a separate persona rather than a means to hide his underworld dealings. He engaged in it whole-heartedly, even creating the Earthquake TM to give to trainers who managed to defeat him. His training with ground-types continued and he expanded the knowledge of ground types in general, going as far as writing a book for the younger generations to use as a means to strengthen their own ground-type pokemon. Hell, he was the first person to discover that Rhydon could evolve into Rhyperior. Part of his cover? Or a man getting lost in the fantasy of a normal life?

But of course his criminal activities never stopped during that time. Even as he situated in his role as gym leader and progressed the standards of ground-type training, he continued to run Team Rocket, and their reputation continued to spread. It was on a heist in Johto that he encountered something that didn’t fit either of his current personas- love. He met a woman, a trainer, who ended up captivating him like no other. The two fell quickly in love and Giovanni found himself once more facing a complication in running the largest criminal organization in the world. How could he risk loving someone when so many people wanted his head on a platter? But he was still young and foolish, deciding that he could face anyone who tried to mess with his personal life. A decision that was, ultimately, the wrong one to make. After he and his wife had their first son, a red-headed boy he had named Silver, his wife was murdered in a raid. A painful reminder that the criminal world was no place for real happiness. After her passing, Giovanni fell further into the darkness he had created for himself, devoting more of his time to his criminal ways and less towards the things that now seemed like nothing but risks. Giovanni felt he had no choice but to continue leaving his mark on the world. There was nothing left for him but his legacy certainly would be made to linger. He focused his money and resources on a new project:

Creating a pokemon so powerful no one would ever be able to stop him from whatever it was he wanted to do with the time he had left. He funded experiments led by a scientist named Fuji into the development of an all-powerful legendary pokemon recreated and enhanced from the DNA of the mythical pokemon known as Mew.

Eventually, a young trainer popped up and seemed the only one willing to try and stop Giovanni’s schemes, even managing to thwart a couple of his plans. While it really shouldn’t have bothered him, as a couple of foiled plans really weren’t enough to impact a large organization like Team Rocket, he found himself wondering if maybe he was losing his edge. Or was it his interest? He had been the leader of Team Rocket for so long and what had it gotten him? Death, loss… maybe even the illness that plagued him. He was disenchanted. Jaded. Tired. And the trainer… there was something special about them. The trainer had a spirit that reminded him of his own youth. Of his short-lived attempts to escape his criminal destiny. If he had succeeded, would he have turned out the same? A strong-willed trainer with a deep love of pokemon that was clear to anyone? He returned to Viridian after his failure to take over Silph Co, and he found himself seeing the gym as if for the first time all over again. How long had it been since it had last been open? Since he had last dawned the persona of Gym Leader? After running around away from the gym for so long, he returned to be challenged by the same trainer who had stopped him a couple of times before. The gym, for him, had turned into nothing more than a front for him to use to keep Team Rocket’s operations going, but somehow he was eager to fight the child who was responsible for ruining his little plot for Silph. He exposed himself as the leader of Team Rocket, no longer hiding the fact and giving up his gym’s cover in the process. Everyone would know that he was not just Giovanni of the Land, but also Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket and one of the most feared men in Kanto. Of course, he ultimately lost against the trainer after an intense and prolonged battle that brought back all the memories of his past that he had allowed to be buried for so long, and as a result vowed to disband Team Rocket and rethink his position. He pondered whether or not he wanted to keep the team going, or if, just maybe, he had been wrong to use pokemon only for profit. His entire world was now in an upheaval.

He vanished from the world’s view for a long time. Giovanni went on a search to rediscover himself.

For three years, no one heard anything from Team Rocket. But suddenly, they were back, and desperately trying to reclaim their name and call their leader to their side once more. They appeared in Johto, taking over the radio tower there to try and call him out of hiding. Their efforts, however, were useless. Though Giovanni was there, he didn’t appear, and they were stopped without him ever acknowledging them.

powers / abilities: None!

inherent abilities: Nothing remarkable, he is a smart guy but not genius-level. Good marksmanship.

items / weapons:

Key stone (A stone that allows a pokemon to mega evolve if they also have a mega stone matching their species)

Sync stone (A special stone that allows him to sync with a pokemon he has a deep bond with)

Z-ring (A device that allows a pokemon to use a powerful move known as a Z-move if they are holding a Z-crystal),

Dynamax Band (A device that allows pokemon to Dynamax and Gigantamax when exposed to compatible power sources)

Portable PC (Allows him to swap pokeballs when needed.)

Rotom Phone (A phone powered by a Rotom that has a multitude of functions including acting as a pokedex.)

And uh. The pokemon.

starting ability: None

starting item: Mewtwo

extra: None

discord id: PokemonThief#9271

#xc application #mun: twin #nefe cosmia

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margarethx · 4 years ago

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The Sambucky fandom spends a lot of time and energy on calling out writers for using problematic, often straight up racist, tropes in their fics. And rightfully so, because some of said tropes are not only unplesant to read for many readers, but also harmful if they help to perpetuate some awful stereotypes. That being said... I feel like we need to show the other side of the spectrum more often and sometimes focus on people who don’t make these mistakes.

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So here is my personal THANK YOU! to all the writers who have never used these offensive stereotypes in their Sambucky fanfiction and who:

1. Give as much attention to Sam’s side of the story as they give to Bucky’s and do not focus solely on Bucky’s emotions about their developing relationship when it’s a mixed POV.

2. Acknowledge Sam’s trauma and all the loss he experienced in the past (not only in the context where his pain is used to help him better connect with another person who’s hurting).

3. Show other characters (Bucky or not) helping Sam go through his more diffucult moments (bad days, nightmares, painful flashbacks).

4. Show Sam having these more difficult moments.

5. Don’t act like Bucky’s traumatic past is enough of an excuse for his unpleasant behaviour towards Sam. (E.g. they don’t write a story where Sam forgives Bucky every mean, ignorant comment without thinking, just because Bucky’s sad.)

6. Show Sam experiencing variety of emotions - not just frustration and adoration towards Bucky. Show him being sad, happy, disappointed, confused, hopeful, dejected, relieved, terrified, confident etc.

7. Show Sam being the more vulnerable one in the relationship (in general or just in cerain situations)

8. Write scenes where Sam is shy or a little awkward (about his relationship with Bucky or about something else). Also write him being insecure sometimes.

9. Write just as much about Sam’s appearance as they do about Bucky’s. (Both as a narrator and through a character’s compliments or thoughts.)

10. Mention how beautiful Sam’s eyes are... especially if there is more than one line about them. (Plus mention their colour like... at all.)

11. Describe Sam’s appearance focusing on something outside of his smile or muscles. (Not that these are not nice, but there are other things to compliment and they’re hardly ever pointed out.) (Very much including hair or skincolour.)

12. Write Sam making mistakes, but not in a way that insinuates that he’s stupid or incompetent, but in a way that shows he’s a normal person who can sometimes be wrong and own up to it. (Unless he’s the only person in the story who always messes up...)

13. Show Sam being very competent. And show Bucky appreciating Sam’s competence, skills, and knowledge in various fields. (Also write Sam being a badass.)

14. Write about Sam’s background in pararescue, his medical training, skills in combat, flexibility, speed, ability to fly, ability to fix his advanced equipment, strenght, the fact that he’s pretty stealthy etc...

15. Write about the importance of Sam’s relationship with Steve even when Steve’s past connection to Bucky is not relevant to the story at any point.

16. Write Bucky being openly grateful for all the things that Sam did for him and write Bucky helping Sam back even when Sam didn’t specifically ask, because they genuinely care about each other.

17. Write about Sam’s past as a therapist not in the context of him helping Bucky get better, but because it’s relevant to the story and it’s something he has a lot of experience with. Or simply because it’s a significant part of his previous life journey.

18. Show Sam being frustrated or angry without falling into bad stereotypes. And show why his anger was justified and he had the right to react like that, because he doesn’t have to be polite and dyplomatic about everything if other people (Bucky very much included) don’t act respectful towards him in the first place.

19. Acknowledge that Sam is AJ and Cass’s actual uncle. The kids might like Bucky, but they’ve known and loved Sam for way longer... and I rarely see that mentioned.

20. Write about Sam’s past romantic relationships without focusing only on Bucky being jealous about them.

21. Show Sam’s interactions with other characters - not just in a romantic context, but also in terms of friendships (MCU Natasha was closer to Sam than Bucky and fics rarely talk about that), professional cooperation, rivalry and so on.

22. Mention the social commentary brought up in tfatws without brushing it to the side or downplaying the importance of Sam’s race in the formation of his character and storyline.

23. Acknowledge that Sam is human and his body is not enhanced in any way... without making it sound like he’s too weak to do the job.

24. But also... write about Bucky using his super strenght to carry Sam around and to pick him up all the time (for whatever reason), because it’s cute. Sue me.

25. Point out that Sam is slightly shorter than Bucky without always making Sam weirdly insecure about it.

26. Write Sam as Bucky’s first choice... not a second option he picked for the lack of a better candidate for a boyfriend.

27. Understand that Sam has a life outside of Bucky even if their friendship and romantic relationship are obviously very important for him.

28. Write Bucky touching Sam in reassuring, delicate ways. (Holding his hands, cupping his face, touching his hair, kissing the tip of his nose.)

29. Let Sam make harmless jokes, be charming, and be actually a nice person even when he’s not actively helping anyone. Just let him have a complex, but pleasant personality.

30. Let him be sarcastic without making him mean.

31. Add Figaro (Sam’s cat) to the stories about pets. Or show Sam’s emotional attachment to Redwing, even when it’s still a drone, not a bird.

32. Don’t forget that Riley died. And Sam’s parents died. And his close friends died. And other close friend left him without saying goodbye... etc. (Also don’t forget he himself died at one point...)

33. Mention and discuss Sam’s sexuality and romantic orientation (both in the tags to the story and in the actual text). ...I feel like it’s often unspecified for no reason while Bucky’s identity is clear from the start.

34. Give Sam little hobbys and interests that are unrelated to his work or his ability to make other people’s lives better.

35. Write about Sam’s fears and doubts while not forgetting he’s generally a very brave, mostly confident person.

36. Make the audience feel like Sam is a necessary part of the story. Not just a character added hastily at the end of writing just so the author can tag his name, because the ship he’s a part of is currently more popular than before and showind him at last minute will attract some readers to click.

and... 37. Do the things mentioned above in all of their Sambucky stories and use more than one of these ideas at a time.

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To people who wrote stories with these tropes... You guys are doing a great job and I appreaciate your work a lot. It’s easy to focus on complaining, because the Sam/Bucky tag on Ao3 was always kind of a mess, but my day genuinely gets better every time I find one of your stories. So thank you again and keep it up :>

(Side note: if you have any recommendations for fics that use the ideas I wrote in this post feel free to link them in the comments. Because the bar is hanging pretty low at this point and some authors still wouldn’t be able to cross a single point from my list if they examined their - allegendly - “Sambucky” stories... so we should promote the content that is actually good.)

#sam wilson #samuel thomas wilson #bucky barnes #james bucky barnes #captain america #captain america sam wilson #the falcon #white wolf #winter soldier #sambucky #sam x bucky #winterfalcon #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #mcu #marvel

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tommytranselo · 3 years ago

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The NPC ones always had my brain going and I think one of the insults was “Ah fuck off nancy.” Which, as you know, back in the day, was a slur against gay men, so I wonder if the devs queer coded Vito and wanted us to come to the same conclusion that Vito is definitely not straight.-Sal

yeah, that was definitely one of them–i swear there was a second one too, but i can't for the life of me find the video it was in or what specifically they called him. the extent to which other people–be they important characters like joe, henry, leo, brian, or whether they're just npcs–make insinuations about vito's sexuality in-game is just...so extreme and so frequent that i can't believe it's all a coincidence. like damn, even the random npcs are making digs at this guy?

and it's not like they do much of anything to dispel the idea–he has very limited sexual interaction with women and basically all of that is because he was with joe (cathouse, the apartment once or twice), and none of that's even confirmed. he gets super awkward when women flirt with him. he has no (hetero) love life to speak of and the plot basically plays out like a tragic love story–and his attachment to joe is mocked for being allegedly gay multiple times, which...look, i could almost believe the constant jokes about his sexuality were meant to show, like, true friendship is so rare in the mob that the fact he genuinely cares for his best friend has to be written off and made fun of, because of course men don't care about each other unless they're gay...i could almost believe it if not for the everything else about him. and like, random npcs making those comments (both strangers on the street and prisoners, who have no way of knowing about joe)–it implies that people just look at this guy once and are like, "ok, he's gay." what was the reason? they were so thorough with this!

i do feel kinda like a conspiracy theorist saying it. "somebody must've known what they were doing" makes no sense because a video game (especially one that complex, made by a studio that size) is such a collaborative process that it's almost completely unbelievable it was one person sneaking it in, and it somehow feels more ridiculous to assume that they were all in on it. but it's so extreme that i'm willing to say with a fair degree of certainty that we're meant to understand, at the very least, that people think vito is gay. that much seems clear. whether the devs/writers intended anything beyond that i'm less certain on because on the one hand, it's a crime video game from 2010. on the other hand, vito very much respects women, which has nothing to do with his sexuality but it's (sadly) impressive for the genre, so like...who the fuck knows? it's difficult to read him as anything else but a closeted gay man.

#ask #vito scaletta #this shit makes me insane bc i have a hard time believing the queercoding was intentional but also If Not Then Why

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weebrecs · 5 years ago

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Recommended Romance Anime Part 2

Hi Everyone, Someone messaged me asking for straight romance anime recommendations. I already made one list here: (https://weebrecs.tumblr.com/post/157666048002/recommended-romance-anime) and I have included more below. The ones with the *** are movies. I hope you enjoy!!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (9/10) Chiyo is the definition of adorable and loveable, at least for everyone except for the person that she likes. Nozaki is oblivious to the world around him and most of all Chiyo’s interest in him. However, Nozaki’s distance is due to him actually being a respectable shoujo mangaka. In her efforts to win his heart Chiyo finds herself acting as Nozaki’s assistant. Together they undergo hilarious situations and act out possible scenarios for Nozaki’s manga. Nozaki asks Chiyo to help him with brainstorming situations for his romance manga and Chiyo swoons just like the protagonist of the manga, and Nozaki starts wondering where the manga ends and true love begins. It is a great show to watch and has interesting character development as Chiyo goes from a girl that has a simple crush to a girl with real reason and purpose. Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, School Life

Lovely Complex (8/10) If you love height differences then this is the show for you. Meet Koizumi who is much taller than the average girl and Ootani who is much shorter than the average guy. They are known as a Comedy Duo and they are constantly play tricks or making gags at the other’s expense. However, they soon learn that they have more in common then they first realized when their crushes end up falling for each other. Then as soon as they both start to realize that they might be falling for each other too the question of their mismatched heights comes up. Romance, Comedy, Height difference

Ouran High School Host Club (8/10) Haruhi is an insanely bright and gifted girl that just wants some peace and quiet. She sneaks into a music room to get alone and stumbles into the school’s host club. Frantically she tries to remove herself from the situation and shatters an expensive vase. Since she’s a scholarship student without a lot of money she doesn’t know how she’ll pay to replace the vase. However, the host club has an option for her. Join Haruhi as she meets a delight cast of male hosts that slowly find themselves changing due to Haruhi’s influence. Haruhi starts to learn about life outside of books and the boys learn to love someone. I love how relaxed this show is at times and how crazy the characters and situations are. Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, School Life

Skip Beat (9/10) Kyouko is willing to bend over backwards to help her childhood friend, Shou, in his dreams of becoming famous. Out of the goodness of her heart she helps him basically live his life. She thinks that they are perfect together then everything changes when she over hears him telling someone that Kyouko is like is his servant. Furious Kyouko stops supporting him and decides that if she built him to become a famous celebrity then she could do it for herself too. As she grows she meets someone that can help her not only gain her revenge on Shou but someone that might actually treat her right. This is an encouraging love story that shows that people that love you can bring out the best in you Romance, Comedy, Show Business, Revenge

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (8/10) This is a modern retelling of Snow White, but this time with a twist: she has red hair. There are two season of this anime and if you love romance animes with a dash of adventure you’ll love this one. Shirayuki is a skilled herbalist who is noticed by a prince. Terrified that she’ll live a kept life she escapes and is rescued by Zen (who is adorable and perfect…goodness I love him!). Zen brings her to his castle and their life begins. Slowly friendship turns into romance. Romance, Adventure

Akatsuki no Yona (9/10) When I first read the synopsis of this I thought it was going to be one of those off animes that wouldn’t win me over, but I was wrong. This show introduces Yona who is the princess of a well off kingdom, but when the King is betrayed by Yona’s cousin Yona must act swiftly. She escapes danger with her bodyguard Hak (I think you mean Hunk—sorry lol). Together they team up to save Yona’s kingdom. Action, Adventure, Reverse Harem, Romance

Ao Haru Ride (8/10) After risking everything for a boy she met in a rain shelter, Futaba is ready to turn her life around in high school. She is determined to have friends and be liked by everyone. Her plan is foolproof until the boy she met returns and so do her feelings for him. However, he is different from the boy that had betrayed Futaba in the past. Together they need to learn more about themselves and each other. This show is emotional and shows the sacrifices we all make for those we love. School Life, Blooming Romance

Fruits Basket (9/10) This show has recently been rebooted and is expecting a second season. It tells the story of Honda who has lost her mother in an accident and goes to live with her grandfather. However, as renovations are being done at her house she lies to her grandfather and tells him that she’s going to live with a friend. When she is actually pitching a tent in the woods. The esteemed Souma family actually owns the woods that Honda hides in and the prince of the school Yuki Souma invites Honda to stay in his house, but the Souma’s have a secret. They are possessed by the Chinese Zodiac spirits, and will turn into their respective animals if they’re hugged by the opposite gender. This series is adorable and super fun to watch. The characters are all special in their own way. Comedy, Zodiac, Mystery, School Life, Supernatural, Romance

***Hotarubi no Mori e (10/10) I love this movie it is so beautiful. Hotaru has been fond of the mysterious tale of the mountain god since she was six and after she loses her way in the mountain forest, she stumbles into a masked spirit named Gin. Together they begin their unlikely friendship. Gin informs Hotaru that they can play together as long as she doesn’t get too close. They start to spend every summer together and Hotaru helps Gin learn what is means to be human and love someone. Soon they find that the distance that they are keeping between them is slowly shrinking. This movie is epically beautiful, romantic, and heart wrenching. Spirit, Supernatural, Romance

Ore Monogatari!! (10/10) Are you sick of the romance animes filled with beautiful girls and handsome princes? Well then it’s time to watch Ore Monogatari staring an unlikely anime pairing: Takeo Gouda and Rinko Yamato. Yamato is the definition of adorable and angelic; while Takeo struggles with love due to his tall and muscular build. Takeo’s appearance might be a little rough, but under it all he has a heart of gold. However, few ever see it since Takeo’s best friend Makoto is the definition of an anime prince. Without trying Makoto is a girl magnet and Takeo finds that people only talk to him to try and get close with Makoto. But when Takeo saves Yamato he instantly falls for her. He worries that she’s only being nice to him to gain Makoto’s love, but in truth she actually like Takeo and not Makoto. I love how this shakes up the romance genre and I love Makoto and Takeo’s friendship. Every time Yamato is on the screen I swoon. She is precious! Comedy, Friendship, Romance, First Love, Dorks

Your Lie in April (10/10) This is one of those romance animes that you hear rumors about. You know it will hurt you, but you have to watch it anyway because it’s a masterpiece. It is a truly enjoyable watch! Plus, the animation is breathtaking. Kousei is a great piano player and under the tutelage of his mother he excels in the competitions. Then his mother dies and Kousei turns from music and his world begins to turn grey. Until his world us turned upside down by Kaori, an outstanding violinist who is anything but traditional. She is free-spirited and challenges Kousei to join her in exploring music once more. Kousei starts to fall in love with music again and also finds himself falling for the girl that added color back into his world. Together they enhance each other’s musical ability and change each other’s lives. Music, Romance, Mystery, Friendship, School Life

***Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (10/10) The last year is difficult for everyone, but for Makoto it is crazy since she can literally jump through time. She doesn’t really understand this new-found power and must learn how to control it. She fosters old and new relationships and might even fall in love, but with all time travel sacrifices must be made. I really don’t want to say too much because it could ruin the plot, but just trust me—watch it. Mystery, Supernatural, Time Travel, Romance

#anime recommendation #Romance anime #your lie in april #gekkan shoujo nozaki kun #Lovely Complex #ouran high school host club #skip beat #akagami no shirayukihime #Ao Haru Ride #Fruits Basket #Hotarubi no Mori e #ore monogatari #the girl who leapt through time

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 4 years ago

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Mod, who are your top 10 favorite characters and top 10 least favorite?

//I have actually been wanting to discuss something like this, so I’m glad someone brought it up to me.

//I’ll go through with this, but I won’t be discussing my least favorites, since I don’t want to bring any negativity, and to be honest, I enjoy writing pretty much everyone in this blog. I also fear if I share who my least favorites are in the main series, said characters won’t get as many asks, and I don’t want any unfair bias. I can definitely admit to hating Haiji though, because...well...he obviously won't be receiving any questions anymore. Besides, I doubt many people will disagree with me.

Honorable Mentions:

Makoto Naegi

Mahiru Koizumi

Kirumi Tojo

Kaede Akamatsu

Tsumugi Shirogane

Shuichi Saihara

Iroha Nijiue

Mikihiko Koyasunaga

Yoruko Kabuya

Tsurugi Kinjo

Uchui Porosen

Kibin Hatsudoki

//Though to be honest, everyone may as well be an honorable mention because I love writing every single one of these guys. Also, like I just said, don’t let this top 10 affect your asks. I love every character in this blog and I’m happy to make asks for each and every one of them. It was really hard to narrow it down to 10

#10: Tenko Chabashira

This might seem a little surprising, given that Tenko hasn't had a whole lot of screen time and story relevance so far. She's only been prominent in two arcs, Deadly Harmony and Novoselic Revolution, both of which she didn't have as much screen time as most of the other characters. However, not to spoil anything major, I have big plans for her, and what I've pulled out of her so far is something I'm proud of. My main goal is mainly to give her a bit of development, and tone down on the sexism element of her character. Not remove it entirely, mind you, because let's be real, Tenko unfortunately isn't Tenko without it, but basically to not do what the DR dev team did and make it the forefront of her character, while her other exceedingly good traits are just at the back until later on in the story.

#09: Kokichi Ouma

Kokichi is one of, if not, my favorite character in the original DR series. My main goal of him in this series is trying to grapple with his constantly changing attitude, mainly towards the DRV3 cast besides himself. At first he's glad to see them, then he turns spiteful towards Shuichi and Kaede when they try to fight him, then he straight up just abandons them and attempts to cut off contact. As he is right now, he's conflicted about how to feel about everyone. Sure, they all still hate him, but during Cabaret Kyojin's they came to his defense when he most needed it. That whole arc might've seemed pretty pointless and acted as needless filler, but my true intention of it was to flesh out the characters involved, mainly Kokichi and Kuripa. Speaking of which, that's another plot point that I'm looking forward to branching upon: the little companionship those two have going on right now.

#08: Monaca Towa

Monaca is a character I actually tend to struggle with in the grand scheme of things. The reason being that, arguably, she in canon is the second biggest antagonist in the series behind Junko. What I tried to do with Survivor though, is not make her an antagonist, but make her slowly become more and more redeemable, despite her actions. The reason why I went with this approach is mainly due to Monaca's last appearance in the series, where she states to Toko and Komaru that she's kind of just done with everything to do with Junko and Despair. I don't think it would be easy to bring her back as an antagonist because of THAT fiasco, and that is legitimately one of favorite scenes of her...which is funny because it's from DR3 and I kinda hate the anime. Her whole presence in Survivor is based around the idea of trying to seek redemption, but she doesn't outwardly want to admit this, nor does she really think she's worthy or deserving of said redemption. She's an adult now, and she grew a conscience. A guilty one that weighs her down and makes her come back to earth to basically settle things and make peace, and though it's been difficult, I love how she's turned out so far.

#07: Akira Tsuchiya

I understand many have their reservations about Akira after what he did this arc, but he's still legitimately one of my favorite villains in this blog because despite the fact that he's a psychopath who kills and ruins people all just for causing Despair, he's just kinda super relatable. He constantly lives with the attitude of just being done with everyone's shit, and I know a lot of DR fans can relate to that. He's also the kind of guy who marches to the beat of his own drum, which is obviously a very slow beat. He rarely ever does what Tsumugi tells him to do, unless the plan interests him or gives him something to do, and his character in general is based around the idea of "Shut-in NEET who just so happens to have a power complex." Overall, what makes him unique to me is just how normal he is, especially when he's compared to the chaotic sea that is the Danganronpa Villains.

#06: Mikan Tsumiki

Novoselic Revolution had the very important role in the story of mending Mikan. Without her efforts and the sacrifices she made in that arc, there's a high chance that the group would have failed to retake the kingdom from Angie and Mikihiko. It goes without saying that the screentime Mikan got in this arc was some of my absolute favorite moments on this blog from a writers perspective. A lot of people in DR dislike Mikan for her actions and character change in the third case of the second game, which I really don't think is fair. Mikan was just the character chosen to be afflicted with the Despair Disease. Nothing else would have been changed had it been a different character, so her role early on in Survivor is mainly her trying to come to terms with her actions, as well as things like making things right with Hiyoko (and Ibuki by extrension) and reevaluating whether or not she's a good person. Mikan is an emotionally and mentally broken child, and it's my full intent in my writing of her to heal her wounds like she does for so many other people.

#05: Narumi Osone

Easily my favorite Zetsubou villain in the blog. During Novoselic Revolution, I really buttered up how much I enjoyed writing Mikihiko, but in reality, I was just waiting for the Rebirth Duo (her and Akira) to burst onto the scene. She didn't make for as great a twist villain in Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora as I would've liked her to be, but even now, I still feel like she left an impact. I mean, she committed quite the number of atrocities. The main reason why I like Narumi though, is how she diverges from the rest of the Zetsubou group. While most of them are doing their evil things for reasons that constitute to causing as much Despair as possible, she does it for almost the complete opposite reason. She absolutely despises Despair, and the only reason she's with Organization Zetsubou, is so that she can patiently await and watch as the Hope that stems from the people fighting back. It's also plays into her ideal. Narumi is so obsessed with Hope that she believes that anyone and everyone who is without hope, and gives into Despair, doesn't deserve to live (and ideal that also allows her to easily hit it off with Nagito). To name the best example: The UUV. Their revenge fantasy is based around the Despair they feel post Ayumu and Marin's deaths, and not around the Hope of their goal of reforming society, even if by force. When Narumi notices this, is angers her so much she murders all of them in cold blood, believing them to be beyond redemption. As a final note, Narumi's violent nature and lust for bloodshed (and lest not forget her weird obsession with Makoto) is also made all the more tragic when you remember she's literally just a 14 year old kid with not a lot of life experience. For someone to be this far gone at such a young age is pretty depressing, but it also provides me with a lot of great writing opportunities, and god damn it she isn't a fun character to write.

#04: Mukuro Ikusaba.

I could pretty much just copy/paste the basic things I said about Monaca's personal conflict for Mukuro, but on a much more extreme level. This is something that I plan on actually branching on later down the line, but Mukuro's backstory and reason why she has a presence here is briefly mentioned by Sayaka in one post. To sum up what she said, when the Foundation were first starting to use the machines to bring back the victims of the first killing game, Makoto was the one who suggested possibly bringing Mukuro back, something that understandably, his classmates initially were against. However, at the time, Kyoko was still new to being the Foundation Chairwoman, and Makoto very much pressed the issue with her. Kyoko eventually agreed to the resurrection, but in exchange, any and all actions committed by the soldier, most notably any treacherous or bad ones, would subsequently be Makoto's responsibility. Of course, as you can imagine, Makoto accepted these terms, and Mukuro was resurrected. For a while afterwards, many were very wary of her presence, and most didn't outright accept her as a member of the Foundation, even when the Remnants of Despair officially signed up. What you have to remember is that Mukuro wasn't really brainwashed into helping Junko, at least not in the same way that the Remnants were. Most of what she did for Junko is what she did willingly, but Makoto felt that in reality, Mukuro was just another one of Junko's victims and she'd never known Hope in her life, which is why she turned out so chaotic, so his whole intention of reviving her was to redeem her honor, of which he was pretty much successful. The main trait of Mukuro's though that I tend to focus on, is arguably her most serious: her PTSD. Of all the characters who could have been hit hard with PTSD, it makes the most sense for it to be a soldier, and since the beginning of her revival, Mukuro has been cursed by the lingering ghost of her dead Despair sister. Junko's presence in her mind less drives Mukuro insane though, and simply makes her doubt herself and her presence, wondering if it was worth being revived, or whether or not she truly deserves to live. But regardless of how she feels, she's duty bound to the end, and still supports everyone unquestionably, especially towards those in her own branch being Makoto, her boss, the man who saved her, and of course her undeniable love interest, and Kuripa to whom she disciplines, but also acts as a mother/big sister figure to.

#03: Hajime Hinata.

It might just be me, but I feel like Hajime in particular is the fan fav in this blog. I feel he's shown up in more posts than any other character, which is fine by me given he's also one of my personal favorite characters, and is probably my favorite protagonist (it really changes depending on my mood, honestly, I think they're all as great as each other). The remnants of Despair's conflict is an obvious one that you commonly see in post-game fics such as this one, and in Survivor, and my personal opinion, Hajime is undoubtedly the one who has it the hardest. However, out of all of the characters in the series who HAVE trauma (and let's be real, that's undoubtedly a LOT of characters in both DR canon, and this blog) he's also undoubtedly the one who handles it the best. However, there is a limit to how much pressure he can take, and that causes him to lash out (like he did with Mahiru during Misfortune's Revenge, which I know we don't like to talk about but its the most notable example). He's been through a whole load of shit and the pressure is constantly crushing him like a gigantic boulder, yet he still forces himself to carry it. Outside of my own writing, Hajime has so many conflicting thoughts and trauma in other fics, and in Survivor, I don't intend to flat out copy them, but I do desire to live up to them. The reason why Hajime has so many burdens placed upon him, and as of Misfortune's Revenge now has double as many, yet is still able to keep going strong, is because he's no longer allowing himself to be weighed down by events that are in the past and out of his control. What makes his ideal unique, is that he has power, almost limitless amounts of it, but instead of focusing on what he can do with it, he's more conflicted and focused on what he CAN'T do, and changing the past is one thing he can't, and as of such doesn't focus on it. He only ever focuses on the present, and the future, and worries about that. And you've got to hand it to the guy, while it's definitely been better, his life is actually super good right now. He has at least 15 really great friends/found family members, a home on an island resort, an AI companion in his phone who will always help him out and support him, a smoking-hot red-haired girlfriend, a pretty good job and a lot more. For him, it's not simply a matter of abiding by the Foundation and fixing the chaos that he indirectly caused. It's also about the fear of losing what he has, and wanting to protect it.

#02: Ayumu Fujimori.

I've said this one or two times before, but I think Ayumu turned out spectacular, and when I eventually had to kill him off, I felt really bad about doing so. The main reason why I removed him, and why I currently don't have any plans to bring him back, is due to my future plans, having him around would make little to no sense. He serves mainly as a catalyst for the new phase of the story, a much darker one, and with his death, we enter that phase. I know many people are worried about it, but it's not just Ayumu's reason for being in the story that makes him great. While it isn't obvious right away, the main character that I was trying to portray with him, is that he's basically the darker side of Hajime. The two of them share very similar traits in character, personality and backstory. Some notable points would be

Both of them are incredibly self-doubtful, and that self-doubt caused them to become Ultimate Hopes.

Both of them once held huge admiration for a powerful group of people. For Hajime it was Hope's Peak and for Ayumu it was the Japanese Government

Said power called them useless, which led to their transformation

Both have pretty sad backstories, which involve two different types of cruel parents and family's.

They both have a best friend who likes to sleep.

Said best friend ended up dying horribly right in front of them, with them both unable to do anything about it, which eventually leads them both to go insane and make some bad decisions.

Though their methods differ, ultimately, they both want the same thing: a brighter future for their friends and the people they love

Ayumu might be a threat, and an antagonist, but he doesn't really count as a "villain" per se. At the core, he's basically just a misguided young man, who the world treated like shit, so he just wants to get back at it. He's also an influential figure, pulling many people into his fight, and gaining many supporters outside of his friends in the UUV. For the short time he was on the blog, he was an absolute BLAST to write, and you can damn sure bet I'm going to miss him.

#01: Kuripa Kurafto.

This is undoubtedly the riskiest part of this list, especially since we're talking about an OC here, but I also think a lot of you guys saw this coming. I can understand why some of you might disagree with me on this placement, but I'll tell you now, if you're unimpressed, trust me, I am barely scratching the surface of Kuripa's character. As of such, I have to go on this based off of what's already known about him. His whole character I feel comes full circle at the end of the Ultra Despair Gang arc, in which the first monumental event in the blog actually happens: him killing Haiji Towa by stabbing him in the gut and sending him falling to his death. This is then followed by a speech to Makoto, Komaru, Toko and Byakuya, which basically lays out the key part of Kuripa's character, being his ideals. Every protagonist in Danganronpa goes by a certain ideal that contrasts that of their enemies. For Makoto, it's Hope, for Hajime, it's Future, and for Shuichi it's truth. Kuripa is the complete reverse, being a protagonist that represents Despair. He's not outright a villain, or even a generally bad guy, but he definitely has some apparent darkness to him, and is also incredibly violent when at the peak of rage. Of course, it all stems from a huge event in his life, the murder of his little sister Kotoko by the hands of Matta Gyalusetsu, which has led to his over-arcing conflict: his desire to find Matta and kill him as revenge. I tend to hate characters in stories who have the "My Sister is Dead" archetype or trope, but the main reason is because most characters who have that JUST have that, and for Kuripa that's something I'm trying to avoid. One of the most important parts of Kuripa's character is the contrast between his dark, almost psychopathic side that believes murder is a suitable way to indefinitely solve a problem, and his regular self, who to put simply, is a complete and total clown. He's like a walking meme, and makes a total fool out of himself, either through just being a mindless tomfool, a playful perv, or a loveable idiotic otaku. Still, his presence is indeed important to everyone around him, especially seen through his interactions with Makoto, Kibin, Mukuro, Uchui, Kokichi, The Kyojin's and the High Roller staff. This is another thing in regards to Kuripa's conflict that is quite saddening to. Similar to Hajime, as things currently stand, Kuripa has an excellent life. He's a successful animator who makes a lot of money from his work, he enjoys his time at the Future Foundation and really looks up to both Makoto and Mukuro who both treat him with a reciprocated amount of respect, he gets to work in tangent with his best friend, he has many pals, some of which are part of an anime club, and on top of it all, he has a cute girlfriend who playfully flirts back and forth with him all the time. He has everything a guy could possibly ever want, but due to his one track mind, he can never be satisfied knowing Kotoko's killer is still out there, and he will do whatever it takes to avenge her...even if he needs to cut a few people down to get it...

//Doing this kind of self-reflective character analysis is pretty refreshing and fun to be honest, although, doing it makes it sound like I have a big head, and am complementary of my own writing where I know many might disagree with my techniques and opinions. You're free to, believe me, but please keep any criticism constructive.

-Mod

#tenko chabashira #kokichi ouma #monaca towa #akira tsuchiya #mikan tsumiki #narumi osone #mukuro ikusaba #hajime hinata #ayumu fujimori #kuripa kurafto #self reflection

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despiteherself · 4 years ago

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Clover?

alright,,,, the gang’s all here!!!! you get to hear my terrible clover thoughts now if i haven’t been banned from the fandom for my ship opinions yet <3

* favorite thing about them

hmmmm i like that she’s considered competent and feared wildly. like fossa stay away bc of her reputation. idk isn’t it great we finally get our dreamworks warrior girl who rlly is what they say she is? and her journey of learning compassion is just important for her character and the story - that love will heal

idk she’s so fun i love everything about her. she’s complex and writes dnd fanfic about herself, go girl!!! kind of weird, but yeah baby write it!!! and she takes herself too seriously, has a complex relationship with her family and her ideals. We were SO lucky to get clover

* least favorite thing about them

I wouldn’t say it’s my least favourite bc I actually rlly ENJOY it as a character trait bc I think it pushes for a interesting dynamic but I dislike how she immediately, always, encourages julien to do stuff to push the class divide. yeah julien it’s a great idea to make a rule that everyone has to like you <3 I enjoy it bc it’s unhealthy and bad, and they start to grow out of it (most important bit!!!) but she never gets to completely bc she becomes a queen???? But she gets her in with like acting with the “common” people in her future husband’s tribe which…….. like ok. it also makes me feel weird that she’s got an english accent and she’s super big on monarchy lmao

* favorite line

“two words, SHUT YOUR BLEEDING GOB!”

* brOTP

clover & crimson yeah booiiiii

also clover & sage????? their interactions in exiled are so fun. plus Fred the giant scorpion

clover & the royal quartet - plus xixi!!!! the time they all go on holiday together was cute even if clover ditched them to do other stuff. clover & mort get special mention bc i think they have some rlly fun moments that get overlooked.

it would have been nice to see her get more & more friendly with the other lemurs & even strike up tentative friendships with them. she was a “relic” of the old rule, of uncle king Julien, and her loyalty switch to julien, and learning that fun was necessary sometimes could have been expanded to show lemurs stop fearing her (ukj’s iron fist).

although we don’t rlly get it, i especially would like clover and ted to pick up a better report. clover needed to learn to respect ted tbh & ted needed more of her guidance.

* OTP

uhhh??? i don’t think i rlly ship her with anyone particularly and her story is better when it’s about friendship.

i guess i should mention sage. I don’t know how I feel about them. I liked the dynamic - and the dynamic of crimson “stealing sage” and how that was tied into clover’s feelings of self worth and difficult family dynamics - but I don’t know. Clover wanted so hard to create sage into her perfect fantasy man and sage was running so hard from his past mistakes he was self flagellating and it felt like it was really set up well but they weren’t 100% sure how to finish it? going from all that development and understanding in exiled to like jealous proving themselves to married was ???? A lot . I don’t necessarily think it was bad, it’s just …… idk how I feel

* nOTP

not to beat a dead horse, but like as mentioned in my other posts i find the royal quartet to have very strong symbolism around family and it just makes me feel :/// when their love is talked about as if it’s romantic?.

* random headcanon

even tho ahkj set up the start of the movie i kind of consider it a different universe and it wasn’t goodbye when clover left. julien United many of the kingdoms of Madagascar and I think it opened up a trade system that didn’t exist once. now the kingdoms mingle

clover comes over every second week to help train new recruits for the kingtail guard and it’s very fulfilling. the mountain lemurs are already tough and they appreciate her a & her skills a lot, but seeing the change & skills developed by the other lemurs is so satisfying for herself, afterwards the royal quartet has a fancy little luncheon and catches up.

* unpopular opinion

I don’t think I know of any clover unpopular opinions or like, disagree with any known popular ones?

#sorry this took forever #ask #anonymous #ask meme #ahkj #clover #i forgot the giant scorpions name he’s Fred right

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what-a-treat-nz · 4 years ago

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World Book Challenge: China

Officially, the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion. It covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, and is officially divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The areas in dark green are under direct Chinese control; the areas in light green (Tibet and Taiwan) are contested. For the purposes of this challenge, I’m treating China, Tibet and Taiwan as three separate countries. Because I can.

Number of Chinese people in New Zealand: As of the 2013 Census, there were 163,104 people of “Chinese (not further defined)” ethnicity in New Zealand - 10,008 of those were in Wellington City.

Have I been there? Yes! I visited Shanghai with my Dad in December 2011. I bought a really nice coat, had tea that tasted like warm Fanta (it was oddly addictive), and got hugged by Dave Grohl. So, the usual Chinese experiences, really.

I also had Peking Duck for the first time in my life, and holy hell I didn’t know what I was missing. I’ve tried to make up for it by eating copious amounts of it since.

The books

For “China” on my reading challenge, I read three fantasy novels - Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and the final two books of the Poppy War trilogy (The Dragon Republic and The Burning God) by R. F. Kuang, a Chinese-American author.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (魔道祖师 / Mó Dào Zǔ Shī)

(Book 30 of 2021)

Given the fact that I have an entire subsection of my blog about how much I love the live-action TV show based on this book, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I had Mó Dào Zǔ Shī at the top of my list of Chinese books to read.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī tells the story of Wei Wuxian, a loathed cultivator of dark and demonic arts who resurrects 16 years after his tragic death. His return to the world brings him to reunite with the people in his first life, including his soulmate, the honored Lan Wangji (who mourned him for 16 years, during which he branded himself with the same mark as Wei Wuxian and kept his memory alive and I’m okay, I promise). Wei Wuxian then begins to remember his time before his demise 16 years ago, from his beginnings as a young cultivator to his descent to dark magic. Together, they solve a mystery linked to a dark tragedy from Wei Wuxian’s first life, then live happily ever after.

This novel was originally published on the Chinese web novel site JJWXC from October 31, 2015 - March 1, 2016, with additional side stories that continue to be released sporadically. The revised version of the main story was later published online until September 7, 2016. A paperback version was released on December 12, 2016, with a total of four volumes in traditional Chinese. The first of three planned volumes in simplified Chinese, titled Wuji, was released in 2018, but release of the following installments has stalled after the locking of the novel on JJWXC since January 2019.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī isn’t officially available in English, and given that it depicts an explicit danmei relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, I don’t think we’ll ever see an official version. Though there are official translations into Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Russian, Japanese, and Burmese, and the tour for the TV traveled to Toronto, Los Angeles and New York, so maybe one day there will be an official translation.

For now though, you can read the entire novel for free at Exiled Rebels Scanlations, where it has been translated in full by a then-highschooler called “K-san”. It’s hard to actually judge the merits of the writing of the original novel, given I was reading an unofficial translation, but that was actually half of the sweetness of it. It was kinda rough - K-san tweaked the terms they used as they gained more confidence with the translation, and I enjoyed reading the translator and editor notes that accompanied most chapters - especially notes such as “we’re translating as fast as we can, stop asking for faster updates!”. It felt really organic and friendly, and the story is good (though much gorier than the TV show and good god boys, learn what lube is, it’ll make your lives better I promise).

I read the book more as a companion to the TV show though, rather than a novel on it’s own merits, so I’m not sure I can judge it as a novel on it’s own merits. Though the book did teach me one very important piece of information: Lan Wangji canonically smells of sandalwood.

Would I read it again? If an official English translation comes out, I’d probably read that. I’m more likely to watch the TV show again, or dive into one of the sesquillion Untamed fanfics on AO3 ( Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn was the most popular ship on AO3 in 2020, with 12,878 new works about these characters being published that year).

The Dragon Republic and The Burning God

(Books 34 and 35 of 2021)

I read The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic back in September 2019 (when I wasn’t counting how many books I was reading, but I did have a record of them), and I decided to re-read The Dragon Republic because I couldn’t exactly remember where the story was up to.

And it’s a good thing I did, as something I thought happened at the end of The Dragon Republic actually happened at the end of The Poppy War, so oops?

The Poppy War trilogy is a grimdark fantasy novel set in fantasy China, with a Chinese protagonist and written by a Chinese-American author. It’s spectacular. The trilogy draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, though it’s atmosphere is more inspired by the Song dynasty. The conflict in the first book is based on the Second Sino-Japanese War (though this time, it’s the Chinese empire against the Japanese empire), in the second on the start of the Chinese civil war (Chinese empire against nascent Republican movement), and in the third on the end of Chinese civil war (Republicans versus not-Republicans).

It’s a massive trilogy. It’s incredibly complex, with a huge scale and massive numbers of characters, though the fact it’s all seen through Rin’s eyes (with the occasional first and last chapter from the point of view of other characters) helps.

The story follows that of Fang Runin, better known as Rin, a poor war orphan in southern Nikara who trains in secret to test into the elite Sinegard Academy. Throughout the trilogy she deals with racism, sexism, elitism...most of the isms, really. Author R.F. Kuang said that Rin's life is meant to parallel the trajectory of Mao Zedong, and I had fun trying to match events in Chinese history to the events in the book (the easiest ones to spot are the Rape of Nanjing, the nuclear bombing of Japan and the Long March).

I don’t remember Mao Zedong having the power to call on a fire god, however. It’s probably a good thing that’s not something that happened in real life China, as Mao’s policies killed enough people without him literally being able to spit fire.

I described the first book as “If Kvothe from The Name of the Wind was female, Chinese, and allowed to say fuck.” Those two books felt really similar to me - they’re very much your “outsider is accepted to elite academy, winds up pissing off most of their classmates and chooses an obscure major to specialise in before being thrown into a conflict they are key to winning.” But honestly, I preferred the Poppy War trilogy, even if the final book did get super dark.

Rin is a really refreshing character, and the world seen through her eyes is a very different place to one I’m used to reading about. Kuang said that she "chose to write a fantasy reinterpretation of China's twentieth century, because that was the kind of story I wasn't finding on bookshelves", and I’m so glad she did. The world needs more books like this. I’m as pasty and as white as they come, and I loved reading a book where the heroine was authentically Chinese. This isn’t a pakeha author trying to fit themselves into someone else’s shoes - this is someone with a deep understanding of Chinese military history and collective trauma using that understanding and pain to build a new fantasy world.

I loved it, and if you can stomach war scenes, I recommend this trilogy.

Will I read the Poppy War trilogy again? I might do. It’s a bit darker and more desperate than I usually read - particularly The Burning God - but I did enjoy them. So that’s a firm “never say never”.

Bonus book!

These Violent Delights

I read NZ-Chinese author Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights earlier this year (book number 20 of 2021), before I set myself this challenge, so it doesn’t technically count as an entry for “China” in my book challenge. But it is amazing, and I love it, so I wanted to give it a quick shout out here (because if we’re talking fantasy reimaginings of Chinese 20th century history by Chinese diaspora authors...).

These Violent Delights relocates the story of Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai, casting the two leads as the heirs to rival gangs. It’s brilliant, it’s beautiful, there were sentences that made me stop and gasp for the sheer delight of having read them, and there’s a monster made of bugs driving the citizens of Shanghai insane. The way Gong has woven the characters from the play into their 1920s counterparts is delightful (I say this as someone who’s never actually read the play, though I think I saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie because it was difficult to be a tween in the late 90s and not be exposed to his films).

15/10, would definitely read it again, it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks for a very, very good reason. Stop reading this blog and go get a copy. Now.

The feast

I admit, using China as my first country may have been a bit of a cop out, given my familiarity with Chinese food - though, living in a Western country, I’ve probably eaten more Westernised Chinese food than authentic Chinese food.

Which is why I was chuffed to learn that spring rolls are, actually, authentic Chinese food. I always thought they were a Westernisation, like sweet and sour pork or fortune cookies.

For my Chinese feast, I turned to The Woks of Life, a delightful Chinese cooking blog that I can’t open without being inspired to cook like 9 million things.

When I started this project, I originally was only going to cook one dish from each country. I figured I’d go easy on myself for China, and make 花生酥 (hua sheng su), a traditional sesame peanut brittle.

It’s something I’ve made before - I make little bags of it for my colleagues each lunar new year.

I don’t follow the Woks of Life recipe exactly - for example, I’ve never once roasted and shelled my own peanuts. I tend to use a mix of blanched and pre-roasted peanuts in my 花生酥, and I think it comes out okay. Next time I’m going to increase the amount of sugar I use - I find that 270g of rock sugar is not quite enough to cover the peanuts totally. Which is a pain. Next time I think I’ll use 300g, and turn the heating on in my kitchen so it’s warmer, to stop the brittle from hardening before I can properly get it into the tray to cool.

But then I changed my mind, and decided to throw a full on feast.

For the feast I threw, I made two more dishes from the Woks of Life - Easy Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancakes, and 年糕 (nian gao), or stir-fried rice cakes (though I did them with chicken, not pork, as that’s what I had in my freezer). I also cooked up some spring rolls, as I had them leftover in my freezer from my housewarming (for which I over catered, because I cannot do anything but over cater any event I throw). I should have marinated the duck longer. That one was on me.

I also made some 核桃酥 (he tao su), walnut cookies, which were delicious and I definitely want to make again. I think I’ll add some hazelnuts in as well for additional crunch, and make them slightly smaller - they were 12 very big cookies.

But delicious cookies.

Kisu was most distressed that we did not feed her anything from this feast.

The Playlist

I ended up finding this “Chinese Indie & Rock” playlist on Spotify, which I really enjoyed. I could understand none of the songs, but I enjoyed the heck out of a lot of them. I’ll probably keep listening to this playlist - they were definitely my sort of jams.

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pjstafford · 4 years ago

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Letter to The Truly Like Lightning Book Club

I’m a person who likes to write, but I know I sometimes make spelling or grammatical mistakes which annoy people. I apologize in advance.

I do tend to be pretty open and honest about my feelings and I do feel deeply.

I kind of like social media to be upbeat and positive. I don’t really like to knock it too much when it isn’t. What’s the point!? Social Interaction between humans is sometimes problematic no matter what form it takes.

I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When it is triggered I have a flight response. On Twitter that means making my Twitter footprint smaller. I want to be smaller to protect myself. Yesterday, though, it seemed like I was being told that as small as my footprint had gotten, I wasn’t small enough. What do I do now? How small can I go before I’m gone.

I truly don’t know where to go with something that is not a life threatening problem, not a rocket science issue, but is a little thing about a book club. I believe it was The Who who sang this is not a social crisis, but just another tricky day for you. This morning is a Tricky day. I am really wondering...

Do we cancel the book club?

Do we have a steering committee to organize it differently?

Do we go off twitter?

Do we have a different facilitator?

Should I leave social media, maybe shave my head and take a vow of silence?

How I feel about this is extremely foolish and really desperately sad with just a smidge of anger.

I feel foolish because I thought the book club was going really, really well. I have loved the discussion. It has deepened my understanding of the book which I already enjoyed. It’s been fun. Imagine my surprise to find out there are issues. The sad and angry piece is a little complicated. So let me put the issues out first since that is what the club needs to discuss today. This is the fourth book club I have facilitated on Twitter. It has been my most pleasant experience until today. Every club has been formatted exactly the same. Apparently this one might need some restructuring.

1. When is the appropriate amount of time following a book’s publication to allow to pass before doing a public book club where people who may not be in the book club could still see the discussion? People who might read the book in the future or had started the book and wasn’t as far along might have spoilers. It’s a valid concern, but Twitter isn’t known for being a spoiler free zone. If a program drops on the East Coast two hours before my time, before I can watch spoilers exist on Twitter. However this book dropped February 2 and we waited until March 1st to begin the book club. We have a # but when people respond they don’t always use the #. Also some people don’t follow me and they are not part of the book club but because people retweet the questions they were showing up on people’s timeline when they didn’t want them there. So the compromise we arrived at was no body can retweet any question or response and every response must have the #. I’m still confused, though, about the rules. Movies/television =immediate spoilers acceptable, books= a month to six weeks is too soon. I was told it’s not a matter of rules but being nice. Ok. I want to be nice but what is the appropriate time because sometimes I don’t read a book for years? If we postpone the book club for six months, a year, three years, thirty? With the compromise reached, why do I care? Because why are we being so quiet and circumspect about a book I think people ought to know about and read. Sometimes social media helps create a buzz. What a shame that a book club that is reading the book critically and in depth is, to some degree, being told to not be so loud because, you know, Twitter is a spoiler free zone. To be clear, I think the persons who raise the concerns did so for legitimate reasons and out of concerns for future readers of the book, but when we talk about the reasons I am sad and angry you will see why this upset me we much. it’s not their fault but I responded poorly and I’m still coming down from my PTSD spiral.

2. Perhaps, the problem is that Twitter isn’t the appropriate forum for a book club. Maybe Discord or private messages or zoom. Yes. This is the fourth book club I’ve hosted on Twitter. I was asked in March last year if I would start a book club due to quarantine. They’ve all been successful so far. Why do I feel so silenced? Again I don’t think the person who suggested this meant anymore than oh, let’s solve the spoiler problem. But I have a particular reason for not wanting to be silenced.

3. Some people have read the full book already and want to talk about the book in its entirety. I see that. I really do. I just have never had a book club like that. That means waiting longer. Some people like the chapter a day. Should we do multiple book clubs ?

4. Are the questions too serious? The subject matter is complex. Would a different facilitator be more appropriate? One who wouldn’t highlight the controversial and serious issues!

Why am I sad and a little angry? Why did my PTSD kick in outside of it being a bad year and a stressful time at work and I’m tired? Haven’t had a day off I a long while. (No complaints I have a job). I’m tired.

April 2017 I started the Twitter account @hearteyes4david. I had help but it was mostly me. I kind of love David Duchovny’s writing. I have blogged about it and have said someday he will have a break out novel. I believe Truly Like Lightning should be it. But the account showed love for all things David and I believe it gave some fans some fun. I enjoyed being a part of it. We had newsletters and contests. But for me, I an first and foremost a fan of David’s writing. I write. I admire writers. His writing should not be diminished by his other careers. In March of last year with the lock down I was asked to facilitate a Miss Subways book club, then the lock down went on so we did his other two books. Twitter and hearteyes have been my happy place in this year. It’s hard when your happy place feels threatening.

I was fortunate enough to get an advance digital copy of the book to read. Wow. Different! Great! It is not because I am 😍. This is one of the best books I’ve read this century. I am an avid reader. I have a critical eye. I wrote a spoiler free review. Almost immediately a fan contacted me. Because of spoilers you shouldn’t have posted this. Why don’t you do a DM for those who are interested? Don’t do spoilers. It’s a spoiler free review. This fan continued to tell me that it would be best not to post about the book. ( you know, spoilers). Then fans who had not read the book but knew for a fact that every other page was full of sex scenes and drugs and it was essentially exactly like Californication (not remotely) started saying nothing should be posted on the 😍 page about this book. Then a fan who hadn’t read it complained about how it handled religion and said it would cause her personal pain to see anything about this book on the 😍 page. I kept saying. I actually don’t care if you read it or not. My suggestion is you mute, block or unfollow the account if you don’t like the content. “But the pain, could we at least not do the book club? “. 🥺🥺🥺. I was convinced that rather than have the controversy on the 😍 page I would choose to leave my happy place account I had created to start a small account and my fan related activities became far more focused. It might not seem like much, but the decision to leave 😍 was hard, but I wanted to talk about this book. These aren’t the only reasons but the three pronged fans really angry at me for a book I didn’t write which wasn’t even published yet was challenging during the holiday season of 2020. I made my Twitter footstep smaller. I passed the account to Charmion who is doing great.

So then I waited till March to talk about the book. In the meantime “fans” who hadn’t read the book, immediately started to spread lies and mistruths about the book including selective out of context screen shots. So much for “Spoilers”. Still I waited until March. So now I have a smaller account followed by 100 people which very few “super fans” know about and about 5-7 of us are talking about this book. That’s it. For 18 days we have discussed the difficult, complex flawed characters and how the book demonstrates that these characters actions caused harm to other characters and yet left us with empathy for all. We have not always agreed. It’s a book club. Reading one chapter a day.

Yet somehow we are too loud. My tweets were being retweeted. You know, have to be concerned about spoilers. Were there 15 hate filled tweets from people who shared screen caps they were sent of random out of context paragraphs, people who proudly say they haven’t read the book, don’t need to, they’re experts, 15 for every one of mine. Of course. But I’m too loud. You know. Spoilers

So I am sad. Desperately so. I walked away from an account I had poured a lot of love into because I believed in a book I wanted to talk about. After being pretty involved in the fandom, my current activities are pretty narrowed. I’m not sure I can continue to facilitate the book club. I guess my days involved in “fandom” outside of being a fan are drawing to a close. My happy place is kind of gone.

I’m angry because this book deserves to be critically read on its merits. I’m angry because I don’t like my voice to be silenced. I’m angry because I think there are fans who actually like the book who are in fact concerned about spoilers, but they don’t realize by silencing or at least quieting the discussion of fans who have read and want to discuss the book, they are only allowing the space for the haters voices to be heard. I’m angry at myself because every step of the way I should have handle this differently. I’m angry because I shouldn’t care so much. It’s not a Jan 6 insurrection, climate change, or world peace. It’s a book by an author who don’t need me to fight these battles.

Finally I’m simply confused about where or what to do. With an account of 100 followers some people who don’t follow me think I’m too loud because I’m posting about something they don’t want on their feed (David’s book) and someone might repost me. Because I feel threaten by people telling me too get smaller my response is to try and get smaller. So I shouldn’t post about David’s book because there are people in he fandom who don’t want to see posts about David’s book. Ok. I should come on Twitter and never interact because that way no one will ever see a post from me they don’t want to see🤷‍♀️. Mercy, I’m on a lobbyist, have you guys seen the political stuff I post on my other account? Yep, probably just the fandom stuff I need to walk away from except for, you know, being a fan, but never discussing it.

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calliecat93 · 4 years ago

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Top 15 Star Trek TOS Episodes (Part Two)

(Part One)

Continuing from the last post, here are the remaining seven episodes~! Also picking Number One was SUPER hard. I was stuck between it and two for a long while. But I finally picked, so here we go!

#7. The Trouble With Tribbles

Up to this point, I hadn’t been crazy over some of the goofier episodes of Star Trek. Shore Leave was a mindscrew that left me uncertain about what was even happening by the end, though my opinion has lightened up upon looking back. The Squire of Gothos had a villain that I found far more annoying than entertaining and it remains one of my least favorite episodes. The only more silly one I did like was I, Mudd which remains an utter laugh riot once everyone acts as illogical as possible, including Spock. But then this episode came along, and Dear Lord it is hilarious. Our heroes stop at a space station, but it’s also occupied by Klingons. But wait, it gets better! A sleezy guy convinces Uhura to buy a Tribble, these little puff ball things that are kind of cute... until they begin to reproduce so rapidly that they infest the ship and base. To put it simply, it’s not a good time for Kirk. Honestly Kirk is the best part just because of how much he LOATHES every single thing about this episode. The scene where a whole bunch of Tribbles just topple over him and he just resigns himself to his fate and later his epic death glare at Bones when he orders him to figure out what killed the things. And then there’s what makes him come aorund to them, their shared hatred of Klingons. Seriosuly, Kirk is just So Done in this episode and it is amazing~

But seriously, it’s a very entertianing episode. Far more than I thought it was going to be when I read the description. It’s not an episode taken seriosuly, but not in the ‘they just gave up’ kind of way like in certain S3 episodes. The cast seem to be legit having a fun time with this one. The brawl between Scotty, Chekov, and a few other guys against the Klingons was super fun as was Kirk sulking when Scotty revelas that he got provoked over the Enteprise being insulted and not the captain. Poor Jim XD Cyrano Jones was also just a fun delight with how scummy yet amusing he is. The scene with him and the drinks during the brawl had me laughing so much XD Seriosuly there’s just so many good moments. Spock not being immune to the Tribble’s comforting effect and being embarassed at this revelaiton, Spock and McCoy’s snark, the Klingons utter horror at the tiny little furballs, it’s just an entertaining ride from beginning to end.

Not anything to really note flaws wise to justify the ranking. It doesn’t have that emotional or philosophical umph that I normally seek out in shows like this, so it’s here at seven. But that ain’t a bad thing at all. Not every episode has to have deep meanings or complex stories. Sometimes it can just be something fun and amusing, and the effort was still there to make it entertaining. It’s one of those episodes that I would watch above the others on a bad day just so I can laugh. Probably the most fun episode I have on this list, and that’s nothing to snuff at~!

#6. The Doomsday Machine

Our heroes find a Starship where the only survivor is Commadore Decker, his crew having all been killed when he beamed them to a planet that a planet destroyer... well, destroyed shortly after. The destroyer is still active and now the Enterprise is in danger. As Kirk remains on that ship, Decker is determined to destroyt he doomsday machine once and for all, including taking command of the Enteprrise and risking their lives to do so. Yeah, this is a pretty intense one. Decker, while his sucicdal actions were wrong, is VERY sympathetic. His crew was killed through no fault of his own, the machine that did it is still loose, and the losses have left him utterly broken. He’s very much traumatized but as he is the highest ranking officer and they can’t officially prove that he’s too mentlaly unfit to be relieved (which imo is idiotic cause even someone who isn’t a psycologist can tell he’s mentally unfit, but whatever), they can’t do much to stop him. Spock DOES finally manage to do so, and it leads to Decker’s ultimate choice that leads to his tragic end.

This one really gripped me. There’s this tension throughout. We have an unstable, suicidal man taking control of the Enterprise and willing to get them all killed to stop the doomsday machine. It’s scary to see how broken the man is. Again, he’s wrong to be willing to sacrifice everyone on The Enterprise to destroy the thing even though none of them want to die, but you understand why. I mean imagine if that happened to Kirk, he’d probably snap too if his actions in Obsession is any indication of how he handles major losses like that. Then we have Decker’s final act. Once relieved of command, he steals a shuttle and goes at the machine himself. He knows that he’s going to die and accepts that fact if it means some chance, any chance of destroying the machine once and for all. While he fails to destory it, he DOES give Kirk the opprotunity needed to do so with the ruined ship. A move that almost gets Kirk killed, but still Decker’s act was not in vain. It’s a very interesting character study with themes of guilt, trauma, and desperation. Kind of like in Obsession in a way, only Kirk manages to survive and pull himself together before it was too late. Decker’s only goal was to take down the machine that took his crew’s lives, even if that meant losing his own.

As I said, these are the kinds of episodes I live for. I guess self-sacrifice is also genetic consideirng what happened with his son in The Motion Picture, haha. Flaws... ugh... I guess McCoy disappeairng after the first half sucked? But that’s a me thing that doesn’t affect anything. I just remember watching it wide-eyed despite fully well knowing that everyone I cared about were going to be perfectly fine. It really gripped me! A great episode with great character exploration and themes which for a one off character, is pretty dang impressive!

#5. Journey to Babel

Meet the parents epidsode! Yay! The Enteprise is transporting various ambassadors of various planets to the Babel Conference. This includes the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his human wife Amanda, aka Spock’s parents. Yep, it’s time for some good ol’ fashioned family issues! Sarek wasn’t exactly happy with Spock choosing Starfleet and their relationship has been strained ever since. But when Sarek has severe heart problems, the only way to save him is via blood transfusion with Spock the only one compatible. But to make it worse, Kirk gets stabbed and put out of comission, forcing Spock to take command... at the same time that his father needs the surgery. Yeah... it sucks to be Spock in this episode. I know that Sarek is a bit divisive, but I like Spock’s parents. Sarek comes off as good at his job, but not great as a parent. He’s far fromt he worst and we do see that he does seem to still care about his son, he’s just God awful at admitting it and his previous mistakes. Like father, like son I guess. Amanda was a delight, especially when she tells McCoy about the sehlat aka giant teddy bear. Anyone who can make Bones smile that big deserves our thanks. Spock trying to make it less embarassing only made it funnier XD But back on topic, they come off as interesitng characters. They ain’t ideal, but they seem to genuinely be in love, which is nice.

Spock was just great here as we see him in one of the roughest spots he’s been in. He’s naturally not happy about being around the father that cast him aside again, though after his heart issues it’s clear that he IS concerned. Leonard Nimoy once again does such a fantastic job at having Spock express so much but without breaking character. It’s all in the eyes and the strained tone of voice. Then when Spock is more than willing to go through with the tranfusion, Kirk is injured. He has no choice but to take command, knowing that in doing so his father will die. While he COULD give command to Scotty, with the VERY intense circumstances of an assaliant on board and a ship ready to attack wit a number of ambassadors on board, he’s the best bet in handling it. Amanda is of course upset and even smacks him which IS overly harsh, but she’s about to lose her husband and her son, despite clealry hating the fact, has to place his duty above all else. Sarek dying is the least worst outcome to everyone else being killed. It’s the most logical route. Fortunately Kirk is able to pull himself together long enough to take over and the transfusion goes through perfectly despite the fight making it more difficult. Which again, McCoy is the true MVP here for managing to pull that off successfully under those conditions and Thank God that the episode rewarded him by letting him finally get the last word. He earned that one!

It’s such a great episode for me. Family drama, Spock conflict, political tensions, and just some relaly fun bits. Seriosuly, the teddy bear bit will NEVER stop being funny. Hoenstly these last five were all pretty tight and this ende dup here cause the other four had just a little bit mroe to keep me invested for reasons. Spock and Sarek don’t really reach a resolution but we do see that it has the chance to improve, and the movies do show that Sarek DOES truly care about his son and even admits that he had been wrong. It takes a lot for a man, even a Vulcan man, to do that. Although I DID double take when I realized that Sarek is played by the same guy who did the Romulan Captain in Balance of Terror. Guess he was that good XD. But yeah, a really great episode and very much my favorite Spock-centric episode.

#4. The Empath

TRIUMVIRATE FEELS BABY~! Our heroes end up trapped by a duo of aliens and encounter a mute empath woman that McCoy names Gem. They try to figure out how to escape as the aliens known as Vians plan to use them for an experiment as they have others. Shenanigains happen while elad to Kirk getting totured p, and then given the ultimate sadistic choice in having to decide if either Spock or McCoy get tortured to the point of either death (McCoy) or permenant brain damage (Spock). Now the episode has it’s issues, like why the Vians needed to do this to decide that Gem’s people were worth saivng is..l really baffling. But I’m also not a Vian so what do I know anout their mindset? But due to those kinds of plot holes, it landed here at four. It also kind of reads like a hurt/comfort fanfic, which isn’t a surprise when you find out that this was written and submitted by a fan. Which is freakin’ awesome and I can’t complain tbh cause it’s a good hurt/comfort fic. What it fails in some plot tightning it succeeds at in emphasizing the relationship between the main trio and it’s themes of emotion and self-sacrifice. Because OF COURSE that would be relevant for these three numbskulls at some point!

The second half is really what sells it. Kirk of course can’t make a choice like that, so Bones hypos him so that he’ll be spared of it. But that means that Spock is in command and he fully intends to hand himself over to the Vians to spare the two. Just the scene where he looks at Kirk, knowing that it’ll likely be the last time he sees him and Gem touching him to feel his emotions. Her smile sums it sll up. Which sidenote, the actress for Gem was freakin’ fantastic in how she displayed so much emotion and character without saying one word. Excellent acting. Anyways, Spock’s plan seems full-proof... except that he forgot that he’s dealing with McCoy, who promptly hypos him as well and sacrifices himself to the Vians. That was when McCoy became my favorite character, the moment he chose to be tortured to near death to save his two best friends and an innocent woman and even took the time to try and comfort her before being taken away. When we see the ifnal result and are greeted to DeForest Kelley looking at the camera with the most dead expression that he can muster... yeah the image STILL haunts me. Then Bones is dying with the two unable to do anything but try to give him some comfort and Gem is just so distraught and... heah this episode mad eit this high simply because it hit the emotional beats perfectly. That’s not even going into Gem trying to heal him to drive home the themes of the episode, also done VERY well.

This episode really shows how much the three care for one another. They’re all willing to be tortured and die to spare the other two. Ultimately McCoy gets the ‘honor’, but Kirk and Spock were absolutely ready to throw themselves to the fire. The characterization, interactions, and dynamic are just done so well that it’s why I can forgive the plot issues. I’m a sucker for feelings okay?! So yeah it’s not perfect but what it got right it got right. As such, it managed to land here at Number Four with only those plot holes keeping it from Number One. And trust me, I was tempted.

#3. The Tholian Web

Season 3 hadn’t been doing it for me with only one or two episodes really getitng my attention up to that point. This one though? This was the best episode in the seaosn bar none. Our heroes end up in a subspace where they find a starship and it’s crew all dead. Whien they teleport back to The Enterprise, it disappears... and takes Kirk with it. Okay, doesn’t sound liek anythignt hat new right? Kirk goes missing, the crew have to deal without him and find him as quickly as posisble. But this one has a bit of a twist... they cut Kirk out completely. Yeah, from the moment he vanishes in the first act to the very end he is out of the episode. Not only does the crew not know what happened to him, but neither does the audience, this ramps up the fear and emotional weight big time as the longer the crew is int hat space, the influence of it drives them to insanity. Bones wants to get out because of this, while Spock is unwilling to leave Kirk if he is alive. Needles to say, things go off the rails quickly.

With Kirk out of the equation, we keep our focus on Spock and McCoy. Their arguing is probably at the most personal it’s ever been with Kirk seming dead, the crew losing their minds, and it looking more and more uncertain that they can both treat the crew and ge tout alive. While one can say that McCoy may be too harsh here, I think along with the space affecting him in a less intense way, he’s also stressed from all the patients as well as his grief about Jim. Spock is the only one that he can take it out on, especially since his chocie to not leave is why they’re now int he mess that they’re in. Spock is trying to perform his duties despite the hostilities and his own grief that he’s trying to keep a grip on with all the responsibility of the crew and whatever happens due to his choice firmly sititng on his shoulders. What finally starts to get them to resolve this? A tape that Kirk made for them in the event of his death. He gives them his confidence that they can perform their duties withiut him, but that they need to lsiten to and support each other. They CAN go on without him. It’ll hurt but they’re now all that they each have and they need to work together now more than ever. It’s a sobering moment for both with McCoy realizng how ovelry harsh he had been and Spock expressing genuine grief. They do still bicke rone more time, but McCoy catches himself before it goes too far, apologizes, and Spock simply says what Jim would: “Forget it, Bones”. Cue Bones fainting like the Southern Bell that he is, haha!

Now of course Kirk is alive and they manage to save him and get out of the situation fine. But I just loved this because of the focus on Spock and McCoy without Kirk. Why? Because Kirk is the one thing that can unite them. It’s not the only thing, but if anything can make them get over their disagreements quickly, it’s Kirk. So what happens when it looks like he’s gone and never coming back? How will the two deal with it now that that balance is gone? They don’t deal with it well, being at each other’s throats until they see that tape. But it DOES show that if they did lose Kirk, they CAN work together and go on. Like I said, I adore these two’s relationship and while not as slashy as All Our Yesterdays, this is such an excellent one for that relationship as we see that yes, they will bicker but they will also be there for each other when it all comes down to it. It’s such a great episode for that reason and the plot was just well done. Like I said, casitng out Jim and leaving us unsure of what happened to him was an excellent move for this one and I enjoyed the exploration that it allowed.

#2. The Immunity Syndrome

Out heroes are scent to investigate what caused a whole solar system to disappear just as they also receive a message from a Vulcan science vessel. Unfortunately, Spock senses he vessel’s destruction and the Enterprise finds itself against a giant space amoeba that will devour everything unless stopped. That may not sound like much, but it leads into what I think was the most intense situation that the Enterprise has been in. Everything, and I mean everything, is pushed to their limits here. This amoeba can outright destroy galaxies and utterly mindless, so there’s no reasoning with it. But it gets especially tense when, in order to understand exactly what’s going on, Kirk has to send someone in the space shuttle to observe, but in doing so, he’s sending someone to most likely die. And his choices? Either Spock or Bones... yeah.

This is what makes this episode great. Spock and Bones are already on rockier than usual terms due to McCoy treating the Vulcan deaths more like a statistic while Spock sensed all of it outright. That itself is an interesting observation on how we treat these kinds of things, not really understanding how horrific it is unless we’re involved in it outright, otherwise it’s sad and unfortunate but just another number. But then we have the suicide mission. Bones originally volunteers himself, after all he’s a doctor and would have the knowledge to make the necessary observaitons and likely the most fit for it. But Spock is not only also perfectly capable even if not specialized in medical science, but he’s also more fit physically and emotionally to undergo the risk and come out alive. In the end, Kirk picks Spock and McCoy ain’t happy about it. The scene with Spock about ready to go with McCoy still unhappy even when Spock asks him to wish him luck. He does... once the doors have shut and Spock can’t hear him anymore. It’s a very strong scene and it only gets more painful when it looks like Spock is truly going to die and his final words are that McCoy should have wished him luck. Bones’ face says everything.

The episode is just excellent. Great character moments. Great emotional weight. Great stakes that keep going up and up and it truly feels like the darkest hour for the crew. Kirk and Spock outright begin to record their respective final words. Even they’re convinced that this is most likely the end, which is just... dang man. I couldn’t look away during this one. They hit everything perfectly with pretty much everything. If I have any issues, none of them come to mind. It’s just an excellent episode and the best of Season 2. I had a REALLY hard time picking between this and my Number One for the top slot. The top one just had a little bit more emotional impact to get it, but it just barely topped this one. Regardless, it is still an excellent episode and one of the best by far. But what is Number One? Well...

#1. The City on the Edge of Forever

Yeah, yeah, obvious pick I know. I normally don’t go wth popular opinion... but sometimes it’s that way for a reason, and this one I can’t argue about. When McCoy gets badly drugged on accident, he goes into a derranged state and beams onto a planet. The crew is unable to stop him from entering a portal known as the Guardian of Forever that sends him into the distant past where he does something to change histry. In order to figure out what changed and to stop McCoy, Kirk and Spock travel into the 1930’s a few days earlier to cut him off and must now navigate their way though the time period where they end up at a soup kitchen run by a woman named Edith Keller. Which Edith is an excellent character. She’s kind, optimistic, charming, hard-working, ad caring towards those who need it. Kirk ends up falling for her, and... it’s legit really cute. Kirk isn’t being forced to make out with a woman or doing so for information. We see how Kirk is when he genunely likes someone, having been drawn to Edith’s optimism and hopes for a better future. A future that he is from and knows will be reality. He’s really sweet and it’s just cute... which makes what happens at the end all the more tragic.

The 1930’s were fun with Kirk trying to come up with an excuse for Spock’s ears having me dying from laughter. The acting was excellent with DeForest Kelley as drugged!Bones especially being both crazy and scary. I quit doubting that he played villains in Westerns after this episode, haha. But of course Spock soon discovers that the change that McCoy is to make is saving Edith form death, and in doing so she leads a pacifist campaign that delays America’s entry into World War II and... well, things go badly. They are in a time where sadly optimism and peace are simply not options, which is even crueler. In order for time to be restored, they have to let Edith die. Kirk is horrified by this and when the time comes (sidenote, the Triumvirate reunion is utterly adorable), he just grabs Bones, keeps his back turned, and can only listen as Edith screams and is killed via car colission. Whatever grievances I have about William Shatner, he absoluteley nailed Kirk’s utter heartbreak and pain as Kirk just looks utterly boken. His final wordds after they return to the 23rd Century simply being a bitter “Let’s get the Hell out of here” sums it all up perfectly. Bones’ horror at it, especially since he DID have to watch it and him being upset at Kirk is also heartbreaking as he asks him if he knows what he just did. Spock can only somberly inform him that yes, he does.

It’s one of those cases where I wish serialization was more of a thign cause DAMN this is some major emotional baggage for everyone but as per usual. It happens and they go on from there with no lingering development. I guess if I had to complain, that would be it but that’s jut the nature of these shows at the time. Kind of feel like Bones getting as bady overdosed as he did pretty much got forgotten after they enter the 1930’s, but I also know nothing about 23rd Century drugs so... ah well. But the rest of the episode is so good that I can forgive those issues and they clealry did nothing to impact the placing. It had a storgn story, great emotion, great acting, great pacing, and a heartbreaking but fitting ending. The episode has a LOT of history behind it’s making that could be a post all it’s own, but no mater how this episode came to be, it is very much the best of Star Trek TOS. It was fun yet sad and had me gripped form beginning to ed and just htinkign about it now still makes me sad. Thus, it earns it’s place as my favorite episode of Star Trek TOS.

And we are done! There were a lot of really good episodes and some i REALLY did consider. A Piece of the Action, The Enemy Within (that was skipped for... certian reasons), Is There in Truth No Beauty?, This Side of Paradise, and plenty of others that I enjoyed. There were others I.. well, didn’t, but I can’t recall outright hating anything. Regardless I came in apathetic at best, and I left a fan for it’s characters, interesting ideas, and I just had a lot of fun. It’s outdated in many ways, but still relevant in others. Overall, I’m glad to have finally watched it, and I hope that I enjoy TNG just as much. But if not, I’ll always have this~!

(Image Source: TrekCore TOS Gallery)

#star trek tos #callie reviews

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linkspooky · 6 years ago

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Dazai and Chuuya: Ningen Shikkaku

Chuuya and Dazai are one of the most heavily discussed partnerships in the manga. The two of them are clearly set up as foils the same way Atsushi and Akutagawa the main character and the main rival are. However, while Atsushi and Akutagawa are “different, but the same” in a way that makes them come into conflict the partnership between Chuuya and Dazai reads differently to me. Rather than “different, but the same” its “Different, but desires the same” as both Chuuya and Dazai desire to live as human beings but go about achieving that in completely different ways.

For more analysis on “Double Black” or “Soukoku” and their connection to “Ningen Shikkaku” or “No Longer Human” the author Osamu Dazai’s most famous work, read under the cut.

Double Black is a partnership that functions despite the two characters seeming hatred of one another. It’s a rivalry and a friendship in one, because while both of them are constantly competing and put off by one another.

Both Chuuya and Dazai also know each other well. They are so familiar with the other so much so that the other functions as an extension of their own self. Therefore their hatred of each other comes not from being unable to comprehend the other but rather familiarity. They hate each other because they know each other. They also, get the other.

I would go one step further to say both of them see each other as a person, in the others eyes, which is also something that frustrates them. When Chuuya is introduced to Dazai in Fifteen it’s all too easy to see him as a suicidal maniac or a cold blooded mafioso. However, against CHuuya’s own wishes he comes to understand Dazai by the end of the story as someone who wants to live.

1. On Dazai and Human Beings

Dazai as well has a tendency to not see the people around them as people. While not extreme as Dostoevsky is, Dazai is manipulative, and explicitly has been referenced several times to move people around like chess pieces on a board.

It’s important to notice that Dazai’s behavior is not just the result of him being a brilliant mastermind. Though, it is a symptom of him being so smart it is practically a flaw in his character. If you read Dostoevsky as a foil to inform us on Dazai’s mindset (as Dazai tends to be cagey about where his own thoughts and beliefs lie especially to the audience) then, Dazai’s thinking is similiar to Fyodor he can read the thoughts of others so well that it’s hard for him to consider them an equal unless they have the same level of intellect as him.

In other words Dazai is so used to being the smartest person in the room, that it’s done the exact opposite for his development. Oda in general has always had the best read on Dazai.

‘‘That guy is just a child who’s too smart. Just a crying child who’s been left alone in the darkness, a world of nothingness far emptier than the world we can see.’’

Dazai is so smart he can read the situation while literally in jail with little to no contact with the outside world, just because he’s predicted the actions of everybody involved probably weeks in advance, then relay those orders to Ango. His method of planning is always to make plans on his own that predict the actions of others, and then trusting that they will follow through on his predictions of them without even telling them what he expects. Dazai is able to anticipate their actions in certain situations so well, it begins to seem as if they are not complex organisms independent from him with their own thoughts and feelings, but instead pre-programmed npcs on the rails serving their role in his game.

This predictive ability is something that has utterly stunted him as a person. We know nothing about Dazai as a child beyond his relationship with Mori, and the fact that he was already suicidal at fifteen years old but imagine what it must be like growing up when you are already smarter than most adults you meet. Children need adults to guide them in their formative years. However, Dazai who even as a child is already smart enough to see the hypocrisies present in the adults trying to guide him (Mori again, who was probably the worst person to raise someone like Dazai, but more on that later) Dazai is someone who has absolutely no incentive to grow up. Therefore he stays a child in the darkness, therefore he stays lost.

It’s Dazai’s natural tendency to not see people around him as human beings capable of making their own decisions, and with a rich internal world that is separate from their own. It’s also a flaw he has to fight against. This is why we see him despite Akutagawa’s desperation for a connection with him, separating himself from Akutagawa unless he needs something from him. This is why even though he does genuinely trust and value the Detective Agency, why Dazai has a habit of going off on his own, never informing the others of his actions and his intentions until it comes time to make a decision. While Dazai is better than Fyodor, this is still manipulative behavior. Here’s the thing the less information you let another person have the less control they have over the situation. Especially if when it comes time to make the decision you frontload them with all of the information that you were holding back all along with the intention of pointing them to the decision you want them to make. Dazai does this all with good intentions, but he still relies on his tricks from his mafia days to achieve them. Dazai doesn’t trust other people with all the information, up front, and trust them with transparency of his intentions.

In that way he doesn’t give them full free independence to move. Dazai is so good at reading people on the surface, and the way they act externally, that he basically has no interest in their internal worlds at all.

Dazai enjoys humans as a whole, he wants to help them rather than Fyodor who wants to kill them to save them from their own sinfulness. However, it’s important to recognize he still talks about humans as a whole like an outsider of the group. As if he’s an observer looking at the herd of humanity, and something else rather than a human being himself.

Which finally ties to the literary influence in Dazai’s character. A lot of this comes from Ōba Yōzō, the protagonist of no longer human, a troubled man incapable of revealing his true self to others, and who is instead forced to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity.

Yozo speaks over and over again about human beings as a whole as if they were some kind of aliens he was never meant to understand.

In other words, you might say that I have no understanding of what makes human beings tick.

[...]

I might have already been disqualified as living among human beings.

[...]

I find it difficult to understand the kind of human being who lives, or who is sure he can live, purely, happily, serenely while engaged in deceit. Human beings never did teach me that abstruse secret. If I had only known that one thing I should never had to dread human beings so, nor should I have opposed myself to human life, nor tasted such torments of hell every night.

[...]

I have tried insofar as possible to avoid getting involved in the sordid complication of human beings.

[...]

I know that I am liked by other people, but I seem to be deficient in the faculty to love others, (I should add that I have very strong doubts as to whether human beings possess this faculty.)

Especially with the last quote it becomes apparent what Yozo’s real issue is. He is unable to see himself as a human being, and therefore he projects his dehumanization and sense of alienation onto all others. It’s not Human Beings as the problem, but rather Yozo’s complete inability to see, or treat other people as people that leads to his further isolation from them.

Which connects to Dazai’s character really well. He sees himself as some kind of nonliving thing, a corpse that keeps walking around delaying his eventual suicide, and therefore he does not see other people around him as people too. He projects that they are the ones who are far too difficult to understand, who are far to seethrough and transparent that he sees all of their hypocrisies and is afraid of them. Yet, Dazai never confronts his own hypocrisies either even though he is rife with them. He projects outward his fears about himself onto other people, but it’s Dazai who understands himself the least, and it’s Dazai who sees himself as the least human.

Notice that Dazai’s sense of alienation may come from his intelligence, but at the same time his one and only friend and the most important person in his life was not a super genius. Mori is the person who in the Port Mafia who has the most in common with Dazai seeing people as mere tools to move according to his wants, and even attempting to mentor Dazai to do the same. It’s Oda, who is not a genius. Rather, Dazai sees Oda as a good person, something he can never see himself as being.

That’s what Dazai’s lesson in “Dark Era” is. There is no magical components inside of you that makes you a good person. From the way Dazai talks he’s already aware at least what the right thing to do, he just doesn’t do it at the time. The thing is Oda wasn’t born a good person. He just decided to become one in his own way one day. He had the freedom to choose that and define himself. Dazai is so scared of what a bad person he is, he lacks the self reflection to try to define himself and keeps his internal workings a mystery probably even to himself.

Oda was Dazai’s friend and equal, even though he was not a super genius like Fyodor or a cunning manipulator like Mori, because he saw and treated Dazai consistently like a human being. That was the only great secret to the mystery that is Osamu Dazai. The mystery is that there’s not much of a mystery at all, Dazai just fools you into believing that he’s an unreadable ghost because he does not want other people, or more likely himself to understand his own actions. He is a paradox, smarter than everyone around him, and yet deeply insecure and finding himself inferior to all other human beings and their values of righteousness. This is why Dazai’s other biggest foil besides Chuuya is Kunikida, someone who strives for the ideal while Dazai is someone who falls far below the ideal. But those ideals in the first place, are just human concepts that were thought up by human beings, not natural things they were born with.

As smart as he is, Dazai doesn’t get that. He doesn’t understand that the things that sabotage him from righteousness are not supposed inhuman flaws and qualities that he has. Rather, because of his painfully human flaws, his insecurities towards others, his inability to connect, him being trapped inside of his own head, and only perceiving things from his own point of view. Dazai is clearly not intended to be a psychopath, he has emotions as he was clearly distraught by Oda’s death, he clearly has the ability to make connections to other people and values those connections to the point where he’s clearly trying to improve how he treats Atsushi vs how he treated Akutagawa. “I’m hated by righteousness”, and “I’m a bad person” him being an inhuman, unfeeling demon is just Dazai’s own personal narrative to stop him from confronting the weakness of his own character.

The joke of No Longer Human is that Yozo while not seeing himself as a human being, is tripped up by what are very obviously human qualities, his anxiety towards other people, his need to be loved, his fear or rejection causing him to hide his true self. Dazai Osamu is as human as everybody else, but he denies his own humanity, thus he is the human failure, thus he is disqualified from being a human being, thus he is no longer human.

2. On Chuuya and Human Beings

Unlike Dazai, Chuuya has far more of a claim to not being a human being. After all, he literally sees himself as an empty body possessed by Arahabaki who is a weird extra dimensional being.

Chuuya is Dazai’s inverse, rather than someone who actively and habitually avoids his own humanity, Chuuya is desperate to learn about his origins. He wants to fill in the darkness and the gaps in himself, whereas Dazai would rather leave things in the dark.

The irony of course being that Chuuya, even though he has some kind of unknowable void inside of him and his origins are completely a mystery even to him, to the point where he does not know if he was a corpse that was resurrected, a child that was possessed after being used by experiments, and if his current identity is his own, if there are vestiges of his old identity, if he’s entirely arahabaki, or a fusion of the two. Chuuya’s origin is confusing even to him, and this is entirely on purpose. Unlike Dazai who avoids confronting his true nature nature, Chuuya’s true nature is unknowable even when he searches for it. The irony being, that even though one could make the argument that Chuuya is genuinely an inhuman entity, that Chuuya is much more human on the surface than Dazai and gets along with other human beings better than Dazai ever could.

Unlike Dazai who can predict people so far in advance that he does not ned to trust others, and therefore often makes decisions for them, or withholds information until the last moment and infleunces them into making the choice he wants to make, Chuuya is someone who fundamentally trusts others. Even down to his ability “Tainted” using it requires him to trust the fact that Dazai who he supposedly hates and who hates him in return will be there to stop it.

If “isolation” is a central theme to Dazai’s character, then “Trust” and “Loyalty” are what is most important to Chuuya. His entire identity revolves around them. This is also specifically from his origins, Chuuya had nothing, no place of belonging, no memories of the past, just an unfathomable black void in his mind when he was found. That is why he relies on the others around him entirely to give him any sense of identity.

If Dazai’s inability to trust is a flaw. If he cannot see righteousness, trust, or loyalty, because he sees through people too well to believe in those ideals and only sees them as hypocrisy. Then, Chuuya’s flaw is that he trusts too much. That he believes in trust and loyalty to the people around him to the point that he lets them use him. Dazai was only able to find his identity after leaving the mafia, but Chuuya’s identity is so tied up in the mafia, that he could never leave, or never doubt someone like Mori the way Dazai does.

It’s apparent in his relationship with the Sheep in “Fifteen.”

The Sheep insist that Chuuya is obligated to fight for them because he has a strong ability, despite the fact that he’s the leader they almost never listen to him even when he only has their best interest in mind.

Dazai tells him he “acts like a sheep in the eyes of wolfs.” If Dazai is someone who considers himself an outside, like a shepard who can never truly belong in the herd but can guide them in their best interest. Then Chuuya sees himself as a wolf pretending to be a sheep. Not with the intent of eating them, but because he desperately wants to be recognized as a part of the herd. Unlike Dazai Chuuya is much more open about his want to have a sense of belonging with other people. However, instead of being accepted he had the opposite result. Chuuya was a sheep all along, and the others were like wolves deceiving him only to prey on him and take advantage of him. Chuuya had no family or relatives, and he still sees the sheep as better than him for accepting him despite him knowing nothing about himself. He sees himself as someone lower than them because of that inhuman part of his character and the things he does not know about himself. The truth is though, that Chuuya is just another sheep and Dazai can see it as plain as day.

His want to be accepted, his want to have a place of belongings, his want to have a personality, mind, values, the way he takes his identity from others around him, those are all human traits. Dazai sees this, especially since these are desires that Dazai deliberately avoids and denies himself.

Chuuya as a peson is someone who is desperately seeking answers for himself. However, he does not believe he has those answers inside of himself. He sees himself as someone who is unnatural, and therefore far inferior to the other human beings around him. Therefore he relies on the guidance of “human beings”. Which is his exact flaw that always results in him being loyal to the wrong people.

Mori is a bad person, but he also gave Chuuya the answers that Chuuya needed the most, when he needed them the most.

Chuuya believes there is something missing inside of himself, and his loyalty to the port mafia, and the others is something that can fulfill that missing thing, but he’s wrong and such blind loyalty only results in him getting used repeatedly. As he sees himself as an inhuman tool in the first place, he thinks he can be fulfilled by finding someone to use him the right way.

3. Dazai and Chuuya’s Relationship

So, Dazai and Chuuya deep inside of themselves both want the same thing. They both want to find their place among human beings. They go about it in opposite ways. Dazai ran away from the mafia and chose the path of saving people. Chuuya stayed with the mafia and chose the path of loyalty to find a place of belonging.

I don’t write meta to declare characters good or bad people, but Dazai is kind of a jerk. He’s manipulative and does not see other people as individuals but rather pieces he can move around to get what he wants, and yet he is on the side of saving people. Chuuya sees other human beings as individuals and he sees himself as the tool. He is generally much more concerned about the welfare of individual people. He is capable of trusting others. He is concerned for Akutagawa’s well being and treats him much better than Dazai ever did. He fights to protect his friends, and values life a whole lot more. Yet, at the same time he’s on the side of the Port Mafia, he’s on the side of killing people for the mafia.

One of Chuuya’s major weaknesses is he only tends to see those he’s loyal to, and the friends around him as human beings. Even though he’s much better at making those friendships and connections than Dazai ever is. Despite respecting other people, he is also much more willing to be cutthroat and kill those he considers in the “outside group” in order to protect those within his group.

Ironically Chuuya’s behavior is exactly what Fyodor refers to as a “Sinfully stupid” human choice to make, because knowing he’s being manipulated he still chooses to kill the other organization head because it is his best bet to save the people he’s loyal to.

This is why we see Chuuya and Dazai in such opposite positions. Chuuya’s behavior just comes off as a lot more human than Dazai’s does. He genuinely believes in the human values that Dazai rejects. It’s most apparent in their relationship with Mori.

Dazai is someone who despite seeming like the same type of person as Mori, someone who only sees other people as tools to use for their own purposes sees through Mori. He knows the parts of Mori are selfish and only acting on his own desires rather than making decisions for the good of the organization as he claims.

Chuuya is someone who genuinely belives in Mori and follows his guidance. Chuuya and Dazai are such opposites that they even both reacted to their mentors in opposite ways. Chuuya someone mentored by Ozaki Koyo who despite all of her flaws sees her subordinates as human beings. She even eventually aids in Kyouka’s escape from the mafia once she realized she would be better off that way, and only tried to stop her from leaving because she believed Kyouka would hurt herself trying to escape to the light and failing the same way Koyo did in the past.

Chuuya while he does show a lot of infleunce from Koyo, he does treat everyone underneath him as human beings, he takes care of those people like they were his own, at the same time takes the opposite path as her. Chuuya has never once tried to leave the mafia and is uninterested in it. Part of him even loathes Dazai for leaving the mafia because it’s a betrayal against loyalty, which is the most important quality for Chuuya. At the same time unlike Koyo who once tried to escape the mafia, Chuuya believes that he, Akutagawa, everyone elseare better off in the mafia. He accepts the mafia because it gives guidance to the blank stretch of void that is his own life.

Dazai on the other hand, who Mori chose due to their similarities, and tried to manipulate by giving him a purpose and meaning to his life (the exact thing that Chuuya lets himself become a tool in order to have), ends up also choosing the opposite path of his mentor. Mori claims that he became the head of the Port Mafia for the sake of the city. Dazai however, leaves the Port Mafia fo his own personal development, so he can become a better person. The mafia’s values of loyalty, or their roles as the watchers of the night and the controllers of the dark side of the city mean almost nothing to him. Dazai sees through Mori. He refused to let himself be shaped into the right hand that Mori wanted him to become.

We also see a reversal of their situations. Dazai is now fighting to protect a small group of close allies in his organization, even though he manipulates them and orchestrates things in order to protect them. Chuuya is now practically Mori’s right hand man. To the point where he took over command of the mafia when Mori was put out of commission, and everyone accepted his temporary leadership. He took the place that Dazai was originally meant to occupy.

So their rivalry may just originate from the fact that they’ve chosen to take such opposite paths in life, that each one of them think is the absolute wrong path. Dazai thinks Chuuya’s value of loyalty and trust is just something that gets him used. Chuua thinks Dazai doesn’t have any trust and loyalty inside of himself at all.

Their ways of thinking are also opposites. Dazai meticulously reads and analyzes everybody else around him, but he’s very untrusting of himself and lacks self reflection. Chuuya’s style of decision making and deduction requires him to trust in his own gut instinct and follow that through. Chuuya is someone very much aware of what his own values are, and what his thoughts ar, and follows those.

Chuuya seeks himself. Dazai denies himself.

The most frustrating part of all probably to each of them is that they do not want to acknowledge each other, they do not want to see the other as a human being.

Part of Dazai’s conflict regarding Chuuya is probably jealousy. Chuuya despite being you know, pat god void monster whatever, is just a lot more normal than Dazai. He got along with other teenagers his own age. He shows no interest in death or dying. He acts like a normal teenager, bratty, rude, obsessed with looking cool. He is able to be normal in ways that Dazai isn’t, and therefore he is more qualified as a human being.

Whereas Dazai acts in a way that Chuuya is afraid of. Chuuya fears his own inhumanity, that his body does not really belong to him and he’s merely just possessing it. He fears that he’s empty on the inside and the way Dazai acts to him is how he assumes an empty person like him would act if he were not trying his best to belong among other human beings.

That is why both of them actively seek to dehumanize each other. Chuuya just wants to see Dazai as a suicide maniac who wants to kill himself for no reason. It’s easier to see him as someone who just wants to die rather than understanding his motivations for why.

However, against his wishes Chuuya ends up coming to understand Dazai. Once he understands that Dazai is a person with his own motivations, it’s impossible to look away from him the way he previously did.

The same for Dazai, he wanted to reduce Chuua to being a dog. He wanted to deny Chuuya his own humanity, and make it easier for him to control. However, in the end Chuuya always refuses to be his dog. Chuuya is someone who asserts his own humanity to Dazai at every step of the way in a way that Dazai cannot deny. He won’t let Dazai see him as anything other than a human being. While older Dazai may be more mature and does not want to completely control other people the same way fifteen year old Dazai did, the fact that Chuuya is so undeniably his own person in a way that Dazai struggles with seeing other people as people is probably still something that irks him.

In the end, Chuuya and Dazai despise each other because they understand each other. They hate each other because they can’t hate each other. They see themselves as inhuman monsters, but they see the others weaknesses so well that the other is undeniably human in their eyes.

Dazai and Chuuya are both people trying to find meaning to their existence as human beings, and trying to know themselves. However, as Rimbaud already pointed out both of their desires are equally futile because there was no meaning in the first place. Nobody finds meaning in their existence. Everyone, all creatures, live without knowing who they truly are the same way Chuuya and Dazai do.

Rather than trying to find meaning in their own existence that they are never going to find, what both of them need to do is find acceptance of that fact. They are human beings, precisely because the two of them are such human failures.

#dazai osamu #osamu dazai #bsd meta #bungo stray dogs meta #bungo stray dogs theory #chuuya meta #dazai meta #chuuya nakahara #nakahara chuuya #meta

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floatingcatacombs · 5 years ago

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Top 10 Sexiest Mechas

12 Days of Aniblogging, Day 4

Mecha is one of the most intimidating genres for anime newcomers. The plots seem overly complex, the episode counts too long, and the giant robot war settings difficult to relate to. I think that all of these are valid concerns, but that mecha often gets a bad rap when most people don’t even want to try it. What both newcomers scared of the genre and hardcore mecha fans often fail to recognize, though, is that on top of the messages of the series, mechas always represent bodies. They are giant robotic representations of their pilots, the visions of their creators, collective psyches, and/or the work’s central themes. The degree of anthropomorphism, the level of abstraction with which the pilot controls the mecha, the colors and shape and size…all of these bodily elements directly tie back to the mecha’s role in the story. Of course, if mechas are bodies, then they are also vulnerable to sexualization. So let’s take all of that into consideration and chart the top 10 sexiest mechs! I’ll be keeping it capped at one entry per series, and will talk about all media, not just anime and manga.

10. EQUUS from Concrete Revolutio

Starting off the list we’ve got a pretty weird pick, but I wanted to make sure that I shouted out this show. Concrete Revolutio is a kaiju and superhero-deconstructing delight, but when it comes to mechas it really plays things by ear and aims for the coolest setpieces possible. The protagonist’s mecha is essentially a Transformer that unfolds from a car into a centaur mecha. While the car body middle leaves a little to be desired, overall the design is a very good synthesis of Car and Horse. It’s certainly a better implementation of the centaur mecha design than say, Overwatch’s Orsia, who has a very visually muddled walking pattern because her legs are far too tiny and packed closely to each other. I’m especially a fan of the wheel joints on the knees and hooves on EQUUS, as well as the unicorn horn. Much as a centaur is an identity crisis between man and beast, Jiro is constantly in self-conflict over whether he can be a heroic protector of all superhumans or if he’s just a monster in disguise.

9. Metal Gear Zeke from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Metal Gear Solid is one of the most iconic mecha series out there, so picking one specific Metal Gear over all the others proved challenging. The classic boxy REX, the smooth aquatic RAY, the upright Sahelanthropus, the arachnid EXCELSUS…there’s lots of good ones to pick from! It was a tough battle, but ultimately I had to go with ZEKE, the first named Metal Gear chronologically. Designwise, the railgun and Z-shaped legs are a nice touch, but it’s the story arc around ZEKE that interests me the most. A lesbian-sourced war crime machine, ZEKE was created by MSF, the nationless nation of soldiers run by Big Boss. It ended up being hijacked by terrorists from within and nearly caused a globally eradicating nuclear exchange, which is as good of a metaphor as they get for why deterrence is a fucked ideology. Accidents happen, stockpiles become more and more sunk costs, and sometimes anime girl triple agents infiltrate your military base and steal your cool robot.

8. Char’s Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam

Confession time: I haven’t actually seen any Gundam. I’m more of a Macross gal myself. But I felt like not having any Gundam on this list would be like ignoring Star Wars on a space opera list. Anyways, Char seems like one of the most awful bastard characters of any series ever, so I’m happy to use a spot on this listicle for his mecha. The Zaku II is infamous for being “three times as fast” as its generic counterparts despite its only difference being its red paint, but c’mon – that’s Char’s absolute moral purity buffing his ship. You deserve that stat buff if you’ve Never Betrayed Anyone In Your Entire Life, Ever.

7. Deus Ex Machina from Promare

--Promare spoilers ahead--

Promare ends, as all Trigger works should, with a whole lot of Act 3 Bullshit. Plot twist after plot twist until all of the themes dangled at in the first half no longer matter, with nonstop fighting getting more ridiculous by the second. At our protagonist’s darkest moment, their problems get handwaved away and they are handed a deus ex machina of a mecha literally known as….Deus Ex Machina. A fusion of Lio’s jet black triangle armor and Galo’s knightly firefighter mecha, the design of this mecha represents their connection and understanding of each other. Yes, of course they’re gay. Why else would it be glistening in rainbow colors?

6. Terminus typeR909 from Eureka Seven

Another mecha anime I’ve hardly seen.. but one that I definitely want to get around to! Eureka Seven just seems like a genuinely delightful time, and I’m a sucker for romance-based mecha shows as well. Anyways, the piloted mechas in Eureka Seven are named after Roland drum machines, with the typeR909 is named after the classic TR-909. They’re nicely proportioned and there’s something sweet about the cutesy magenta robot of the fleet being piloted by a 30-year old man. I guess I’m just a sucker for the gentle undoing of gendered associations and music gear.

5. Eva Unit-01 from Nylon Genesect Evangelical

All of the Eva units are quite tall and bestial and wonderful, but it’s Eva-01 in particular that really stands out due to its conspicuous tendency to disobey its pilot and go berserk, fully unhinging its jaw. NGE takes the “mechs as bodies” thing pretty damn seriously, but throws in the delightful wrench of “what if it’s not your body that’s being represented?”

4. VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross

Macross was the first popular mecha series to utilize transforming robots. What makes Valkyries so sexy is that they’re not just limited to Spaceship and Gundam forms – they have an intermediary form. In GERWALK mode, the cockpit remains exposed having not folded into the mecha headpiece yet, and the wings are still popped out. However, the Valkyire has sprouted its arms and legs already, making it capable of landing, walking on the ground, and wielding a gun pod as a rifle. It’s kind of adorable! Stuffed to the brim with weapons and tech, Valkyries are the perfect blend of stylized and realistic robots. The Itano Circus will live on forever in our hearts as the go-to tactic when you have plenty of talent on your animation team and your mechas are armed with way too many missiles.

3. Jehuty from Zone of the Enders

While the VF-1 mecha is sexy because of its utility and folding form, the Orbital Frames of Zone of the Enders are sexy because…they’re designed with a sexual angle. They’re famous for their literal cock pits, but combined with their broad shoulders, slim hourglass waists, and pronounced thighs, they exude a strong androgynous energy. Jehuty is one of the most recognizable frames simply by virtue of being the playable mecha, but definitely one of the hornier ones too. Case in point: at the end of Zone of the Enders 2, it receives an upgrade after absorbing its sister frame to become Naked Jehuty, a stripped-down but ridiculously powerful mecha with gold sections emulating bare skin. Yoji Shinkawa’s brain is simply too big.

2. Bohrok Pahrak

Look, I can’t just not include any Bionicle on this list. They’re some of the most formative lil’ robots to me. But which one is the sexiest? That’s not really something I’ve had to consider before. While some of the titan sets such as Roodaka and Axonn have a certain sexual angle to them, it feels contrived, carrying the same kind of creepiness as horny OC designs. The Great Spirit Robot might be the super robot of the series, but its design is rather barebones and reminds me too much of The Iron Giant. So I ultimately settled on the Bohrok, the hivemind villains from 2002’s story. While most Bionicle are a combination of biological and robotic, the Bohrok are strictly mechanical – and piloted by the masklike Krana, making them mechas! You really shouldn’t fuck the Bohrok, but there’s just something so perfect about their design. They’ve got it all – not only transformability and an orb design, but transformability into an orb design. Their hunched-over stature reminds me of GERWALK Valkyries – it’s cute and functional! As for why Pahrak in particular, well, the shields it wields are vibrators. Just ignore the fact that they’re powerful enough to seismically level mountains, and you’ll be set.

1. The Entirety of Heaven Will Be Mine

You can tell that Aevee Bee and Mia Schwartz did their homework for Heaven Will Be Mine. They understand better than anyone else that a mecha is a representation of the pilot’s psyche and body, and that damage to the mecha is indistinguishable from that to the pilot. This is reinforced by the mechas being referred to as Ship-Selves – they are literally an extension of oneself more than anything else. By looking at a ship-self, you can almost immediately infer what kind of person the pilot is, what her position in bed is, and what her fetishes are. The layer of abstraction between pilot and mecha ranges from wafer-thin to nonexistent depending on the character. The side effect of this is that since HWBM is about a bunch of gay girls in space having sloppy ideologically charged hookups, the mechas have to be designed just as sexually as everything else. And by god did they deliver on that front. Some of the ship-selves, such as Mare Crisium and String of Pearls, take clear direct inspiration from Zone of the Enders frames. The Krun Macula takes some inspiration from Char’s Zaku II in terms of color and shape, but its face chimes give it a uniquely divine and powerful feeling with no mecha parallel. This perfectly mirrors Pluto’s powerlevel advantage over all of the other pilots, and her humanoid-but-not-quite ship-self perfectly represents her faction’s goals. On the other hand, the assimilationist Memorial Foundation believes in ending the space program and grounding all ship-selves to prevent the splintering of humanity. Their mission manifests literally in that each member of the faction wears some form of bondage gear to represent their shackles to the Earth, and even their Ship-Self has a spreader bar. Heaven Will Be Mine is ridiculously horny, and it has the vision, design, storytelling, music, and everything else to back it up. Truly, the best of all worlds. And if anyone who worked on the game is reading this post.,.thanks.

#12 days of anime #12daysofanime #mecha #hwbm #mgs #bionicle #macross

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imbellarosa · 5 years ago

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So you think Harry’s and Louis’ album are connected?

I think there is every chance of that! You don’t accidentally reference someone else’s songs (someone you know really well, at that!) multiple times throughout your album (even songs that didn’t end up on the album, at that). Every other piece of analysis under the cut, but this is my tldr haha.

I think that the fact that their albums are both 12 track albums with a sort of “breaking point” or “climax” in the sixth track which says- on both sides- that they feel more vulnerable, that they feel sad, they feel more mature, and that they feel more ready to talk about it is....not a coincidence. Or maybe that one is, but if you add that to all of the other lyrical convos these albums are having. I covered a lot of these lyrical parallels in another ask, so I won’t go through them all again, I’m just going to add some new ones (because ofc there’s more).

An older one, but one worth’s mentioning: Golden (track 1 on Fine Line) says “You're so golden/You're so golden/I'm out of my head/And I know that you're scared/Because hearts get broken” and “Just Like You” (released 2017, right after “Always You” was teased) says “Every heart breaks the same/Every tear leaves a stain/Can I just be the same?”. Like - that’s a conversation that people have ALL THE TIME. One person wants to be normal and doesn’t want to hurt and the other person says “I know you’re afraid but you’re so special”.

And I’m going to use golden one last time, because I think it like. Sets the scene for Fine Line. His super secret verse says something like “...I’m hoping that one day you (he?) could be (will be?) open/And I know that you’re scared because I’m so open” and Fearless says “Tell me the truth, tell me, do you still remember feelin' young/And strong enough to get it wrong in front of all these people?”. And L has said he wrote that song about himself, so it’s still two songs asking one person if they can be strong enough to open up.

Then there’s “Adore You”, which says that he’ll “walk through fire for you/Just let me adore you” and Only the Brave says that “[his love is] a church of burnt romances/And I’m too far gone to pray/it’s a solo song/and it’s only for the brave”. I can’t make this up. Like actually. I couldn’t make this stuff up.

And those are just the parallels. After you listen to those, you turn to the narrative of the album. Fine line is split into four sides: “A” “B” “C” and “D”, with Side A being about falling in love for the first time and thinking that could be enough, those butterflies and the fun times and all the love, but it ends with Lights Up that says “all the lights couldn’t put out the dark/running through my heart/lights up and they know who you are/do you know who you are?”. So as it turns out, if you’re not on the same page, love isn’t enough. There has to be communication, and a similar expectation of honesty (to bring it back to golden Im so sorry I love that song).

Side B is the sad side. It’s loss and grief and misery. It’s losing someone you love and then losing someone for real, and then realizing that you’re not as badass as you thought you were and you want to go home, but you also made a mistake (which, To Be So Lonely does a great job of setting “home” up as a person rather than a place, so when he references it again in Canyon Moon, you can think of home as the person he’s talking about). Anyways back to side B. Now, instead of blaming the other person, he can admit that he also made a mistake (or several), and own up to it. Side B ends with “She” which, imo is one of the trippiest songs on the album, and also one of the most complex. I think there are multiple characters involved, and the speaker isn’t like. The main character. But I think, in the end, it’s characteristic of loneliness and grief and loss and a realization. And that realization ends this side.

So Side C starts with all of the work on himself mostly done (I do love that “work” in both of these albums is never over. You work through the bad times, and then you keep working so you don’t get caught in it again.) Side C is the “I’m coming back to us” side. He gets back in touch with the person he loves in Sunflower Vol. 6, ( at the beginning he’s like “I’ve been trying hard not to talk to you”, but by the end, “ Your flowers just died/Plant new seeds in the melody/Let me inside, I wanna get to know you”, they’re getting to know each other again, as the new people they are, after they had to walk away for a bit). This is followed up up by Canyon Moon, in which he’s going home, so they fixed it, apparently. That idea of rekindling is confirmed in “Treat People With Kindness” when he says “ Givin' second chances/I don't need all the answers/Feelin' good in my skin/I just keep on dancin'”. This is SUPER cool, because by this point in the album, he’s matured enough to know that he’s okay with not knowing why about everything. He’s no longer asking his partner to be more open, because he feels good about himself and that’s all he needs, and so if he’s okay, then they’re okay.

Side D is just Fine Line, the six minute reflection song which ends with “we’ll be alright”. And by that time, I believe it.

On to Walls! Walls is split into two six track sides, “A” and “B”. This album, in my mind, is less of a cohesive narrative, and more like snapshots of moments, feelings, and conversations, which give you a picture of what he’s been through. I think it’s also a bit more difficult to stack this up because I don’t really know when songs were written. I think “Walls” and “Only the Brave” might have been the last two written, along with “We Made It”? Maybe? But I’m going to try anyways.

Side A is a younger feel. It touches on how he needs the person he’s singing about ( “I don’t know what I’d do without you now!”). It talks about how they made it, and there won’t be any more hard times, it talks about outside events, and sets that scene. The other person lost someone (outside of the relationship), as is outlined in “Don’t Let it Break Your Heart” and he lost his mom ( “Two of Us”, which makes me cry every time). And around track 5 ( “Too Young”), he’s ready to sit down and have a conversation, and the other person agreed to it, after two years apart. And I think the rest of the album really outlines all of the things he needed the other person to understand.

He admits that he’d had his walls up, and that he realizes what that’s cost him. He tells the other person that he appreciates being given time and space to put himself back together, but he’s ready to go back to them because the other person makes him better, he explains that he did his very best to move on, but he couldn’t, because he carried them everywhere he went, and he says that he’s going to try and be more open ( “Now if happiness is always measured/ By the life you design, that car on the drive /Then you should feel better than ever/But you know as well as I, it's all lies/..../ Just for tonight, look inside and spark that memory of you/Strong enough to get it wrong in front of all these people”).

And then it sort of seems like they’re back together by Perfect Now, but his partner is...a bit insecure about where they stand, and he’s trying to say that he’s in it, that the partner (he didn’t use genders in is songs, so I’m not going to either, sorry if this ends up confusing haha) is beautiful the way they are, that they should embrace it, and if his partner wanted him to, he’d tell the truth (and what a line that is: “You never do/ but if you asked me to/ I’d tell the truth/ lying next to you/ ‘cause you’re the only one/ when it’s said and done”). It always comes back to the idea of openness and telling the truth.

The last two songs are “Defenseless” and “Only the Brave” which are my favorite two on the album. I think “Defenseless” gives a good snapshot of where the relationship is - they’re together, but it’s hard sometimes, and they still have the same problems sometimes (because things don’t magically go away), but he loves the other person, and the other person loves him, and so he’s going to be vulnerable. And Only the Brave, which talks about how scary it can be, for some people, to be brave, but it’s worth it, for him, because he found the right person ( ( “come on, when you know/ you know”). I think this song has a lot of symbolism and imagery that makes it a very pointed and poignant song, but it also finishes the album in the same way Fine Line does. They’re okay. They’ll be okay. (They being both the artist and the relationship they’re singing about) I think that the narratives are remarkably similar in events an themes even if they’re told in different styles: Fine Line is more of a complete story, beginning to end, and Walls is more of a conversation. He’s talking to someone directly, rather than about someone. But ultimately, like. These two grew up together. It’s not like I picked out two random albums from people who don’t know each other and was like “these two! same thing!” and if it was, that would be plagiarism. They know each other, and they probably write together sometimes. I know that they have different managements, but they’ve worked with similar writers/directors/producers, right? They run in the same circles? So when two people who have known each other well for a while write albums that end up being lyrically and thematically similar, and they both cover the same story and the same ground, the most obvious conclusion is that they’re connected.

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thetypedwriter · 5 years ago

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The Ruin of Kings Book Review

The Ruin of Kings Book Review by Jenn Lyons

Boy, oh, boy, was this a wild ride.

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I occasionally delve into adult fiction here and there. I mainly stick to my vegetarian course of YA novels, but every once in a while I can’t help but pick up a slice of bacon, or in this case, an adult fiction book.

Or, even more specifically, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that it’s adult fantasy instead of fiction. High fantasy at that, which is characterized by a whole new world with fantastical elements and not just a novel in the known primary world with fantasy elements.

With that literary lesson out of the way, let me get started.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons came recommended by one of my favorite book bloggers, Paperfury. She counted this as one of her most recent book obsessions she couldn’t stop thinking about and in general I trust her judgement (although she was way way off on The Queen of Nothing, yikes).

This massive installment is definitely not the short and sweet page length I’m used to with YA, and neither does it have the comforting and large font that makes me feel like an accomplished reader after just an hour of skimming.

No, this installment is large and beefy and could probably give someone a concussion if you threw it at them, so just keep that in mind.

The whole fantasy revolves around a boy named Khirin. Khirin is your typical fantasy hero, equipped with the luscious blonde hair and the sparkling blue eyes and most importantly, the wickedly sharp tongue reminiscent of a male character from the Cassandra Clare universe.

He’s sharp, he’s witty, he’s charming, and he also has terrible, terrible luck.

Or does he?

When you first meet Khirin he is being sold as a slave to the highest bidder. He’s cold, he’s injured, he’s starving, and he’s broken. You, as a reader at this point, are completely and irrevocably confused.

You’re thinking: Who is this boy? What is happening to him? Why are people betting so much money for him? What’s with this necklace around his neck? Where did he come from? Where are we? What world is this? Where is he going? What the hell is going on???

To say that Lyons starts out strong would be underhanded hyperbole. You are forcibly drop-kicked into the fantasy world of Qurr and its many raging empires and states, and putting them all together is frankly daunting and largely impossible until a good chunk of the book is devoured.

Frankly, I still have trouble figuring out all the locations and gods and god-kings and factions and lore and people and how they’re all related, Game of Thrones style. But that’s part of the fun.

One of my biggest complaints with YA is that the reader is generally treated like they’re pretty stupid.

Often a YA author feels the need to explain every single iteration and modicum of interaction between their characters or spend too much time describing things, and it leaves very little for interpretation or inference on the side of the reader. Lyons is almost the complete opposite, which is as refreshing as it is frustrating.

As you are introduced to Khirin and this gargantuan universe that Lyons has created, you will feel stupid. To be fair, I enjoyed it most of the time. I relished the challenge of learning to differentiate all the different families of the Court of Gems, of distinguishing the Goddess Thaena from the Goddess Tya.

I liked when I was finally able to smugly look at the map at the beginning and recognize all of the city states like Doltar or Kirpis or Manol. I liked when I understood the different races like the Thriss or the vané and the implications of what that meant.

If that was a whole load of word vomit for you, that’s okay.

Again, it’s part of the fun.

What I do want you to get out of this, however, is the knowledge that Lyons has created an expansive universe with multiple creatures, including dragons and witches, rivaling royal families, gods reminiscent of the Greek Gods and their interference with human affairs, a rivaling world split with so many seams that you’re not even sure who to root for, an emperor, magical jewelry, demons and even a dose of piracy and musical competition.

This book honestly has a little of everything — which, to be fair, it should, considering how damn long it takes to get through it’s never-ending pages.

To make this as simplified as possible, the plot goes like this:

Khirin is sold into slavery and finds himself in the hands of a group called the Black Brotherhood. Over time, Khirin learns about this group and their intentions, learns more about himself and the Stone of Shackles (the necklace he wears around his neck), divulges his past and how he got sold into slavery in the first place-his upbringing, his musical talent, his stay at the Blue Palace, his eventual betrayal at the hands of someone he loves.

You learn over the course of each chapter what brought Khirin to his current fate and more of what he is trying to do now,: which is to return home and save the world from the likes of the two main antagonists (although not all of them by any means), Gadrith and Darzin.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that is the most bare- bones summary I have ever written. But honestly, this book is about a hero named Khirin and his adventure to rid the world of evil as he learns about himself and his past.

Like many, many, other books before it, this book explores what it means to be a hero, what it means to be a god, what it means to be involved with the fight of good vs. evil. This book is not special in that sense regarding these themes.

However, there are some really cool aspects of this novel that I thoroughly enjoyed that I’ll relay now that the summary (as condensed as it is, sorry) is out of the way.

The two things I enjoyed most about this book were the writing itself and the POV. Most high fantasy novels that I’ve attempted to read have this ridiculous notion that every character must speak in some dead medieval language rife with historical inaccuracies and banal, clipped speech. Lyons does nothing of the sort.

Her characters are creative and crass and downright funny. The dialogue is immersive and natural and oftentimes, other than the backdrop of a dragon or lizard-people, it felt like two modern-day people were having a conversation, which I greatly appreciated.

Lyons is also a very big fan of building up her writing and then smacking you down at the pinnacle. For example:

“Before us lay the Mother of Trees.

I didn’t understand what I was seeing. I couldn’t comprehend. It just seemed like a humongous wall at first, one that had been built up with palaces and verandas, graceful pavilions, and stained-glass windows glittering like jewels. Only when I looked up could I perceive the sweep of branches, the distance velvet of green leaves. This was a tree to hold up the whole world, the sort of place where Galava must live, if any place were consecrated to her. It seemed ageless and immortal, a tree that had always and would always exist.

Naturally, we were setting it on fire.”

I personally found this style of writing hilarious. Lyons often built up the tension, beauty, or conflict, and then would deliver these one-liners that would leave me gasping with laughter. This creative juxtaposition was super enjoyable and one that made the book a big success for me.

Secondly, while this book is told almost entirely (keyword almost -there are some outlier chapters) from Khirin’s perspective, it technically oscillates between present Khirin and past Khirin.

The whole book switches from one timeline to another every other chapter, with the chapter starting with Khirin being sold into slavery being the “present” and told from Khirin’s first-person POV and then switching the next chapter to his “past” and being told from Khirin’s third-person POV.

I loved this. I thought this was so creative, and up to this point, I have never seen this done in another book. The subtle shift from first to third person every chapter, but still from the perspective of the same character, was so interesting and complex.

I loved that we were simultaneously getting current-day Khirin, but also Khirin from two years ago telling us the events that led up to the present. It was imaginative and intriguing, and I loved trying to fill in the holes before the book presented me with it (which even then was difficult).

In addition, throughout the whole book are also footnotes from another crucial character that offer information, clarification, and also humor. While I’ve primarily read footnotes in academic papers to cite sources or offer commentary, these footnotes were just as fictional as the rest of the story, but offered insight outside of Khirin that was often dripping in sarcasm, irony, or humor.

I thought it was another really creative way for Lyons to get across information without boring everyone half to death or releasing a 100- page guidebook to help you along.

Bottom line, people,: This book isn’t for everyone. High fantasy in general is not for everyone. That’s okay. It’s not usually my taste either, at least not the adult fictional kind, but something about this book really intrigued me.

Moreso than the actual plot, which is confusing, I enjoyed the writing, the suspense, and the act of playing detective. It’s been so long since I’ve read a book that’s made me think this hard, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That being said, the same praise is a double-edged sword.

If you don’t want to have to think and draw out charts and make graphs on Excel, then perhaps this is not the book for you.

If you don’t like high fantasy or made-up worlds, or very interconnected family dynamics, then this is not the book for you. This book also contains elements that can be triggering to some, like rape, drugs, character death, violence, imprisonment, slavery, etc.

When I say this book has everything, I mean it has everything. And that can be good or bad depending on the person. For me, I liked it. However, I did get frustrated at certain points at the lack of clarification more than once, just for full disclosure.

Recommendation: If you’ve been bereft ever since the Game of Thrones disaster-of-a-finale, then you are not alone. The Ruin of Kings has everything you’ve ever wanted in a high fantasy book: action, kings, queens, palaces, war, dragons, magic and so much more.

This book was creative and funny and complex, and if you’re willing to sink your teeth and time into a universe that demands attention then you’ll find yourself rewarded with a brand-new world to fall in love with and characters that you can’t seem to forget.

Score: 8/10

#the ruin of kings #jenn lyons #popular fiction #books #book blog #book review #fiction #Book Recommendations #booknerd #writing #fantasy #high fantasy

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