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maddiviner · 1 year

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So, @ceruab13 was asking about books focused on Enochian magic and the Angelical language.

I scrolled a bit, and it turns out that the interest stems from the popular television drama, Supernatural! I actually think it’s kind of neat that Supernatural incorporated the Enochian language into the show. I watched an episode or two back in the day, but have trouble keeping with long shows, so it’s not my fandom.

If people are interested in learning more because of it, though, so be it. I could try to write my own summary of Enochian magic, but other people have done that, and much better than I could, so I’m providing a list of books instead. Some are published and available in ebooks and print; a few are freely available online, either out of copyright or just free to distribute.

This is a short reading list featuring books I’ve read focused on Enochian magic, the history of it, and the concepts involved. It is not a recommended reading list, exactly. It’s just a list of everything I’ve read that might be relevant, with a little bit about each book.

Some are books written by magical practitioners to help others learn the art; others are focused on the history surrounding John Dee and Edward Kelley. I hope you find something worth reading here. Again, these aren’t limited to recommended favorites - it’s just a list of everything that might be, in some way, helpful.

First, before I start listing the secondary sources, I’ll suggest reading some of Dee’s diaries.

They’re actual diaries, and you should keep them handy in a tab if you’re reading more about this. Also check out A True and Faithful Relation, which is a later account of their workings. That link includes (typed) excerpts, but you can find scanned copies through Cornell’s digital library, too. You can keep these handy while reading any of the following works, and it’ll be helpful. Don’t feel discouraged if the Elizabethan grammar and such seems obtuse, and if secondary sources help provide context, let them!

The Essential Enochian Grimoire, by Aaron Leitch.

This one’s really comprehensive, and covers both purist interpretations of the tradition and Neo-Enochiana. On top of that, there’s a lot of good historical context here, too. A lot of the strictly historical authors ignore the existing occult traditions that influenced Dee and Kelley, or just don’t talk about them enough, whereas here there’s entire sections devoted to them.

I really liked the chapter that attempts to outline the worldview present in Dee’s diaries. I recommend this for the willworker who hasn’t got any experience with Enochian, but not for someone just starting out with magic. If you’re used to working in a spartan fashion, you might find the calls for equipment daunting, but the workings in this book are very adaptable.

John Dee and the Empire of Angels, by Jason Louv.

Not a book of practical magic, but a biography of Dee and Kelley. Louv himself is an occultist, and therefore willing to entertain explanations for the incidents that other history researchers might not. He also keeps grounded and admits that none of this can be strictly proven, and that Kelley, of course, could’ve been a charlatan. I tend to see a critical approach to Dee and Kelley (rather than treating them both as sages) as the mark of a decent book on Enochian magic.

Here, the author speculates a lot on what was actually going on, and doesn’t shy away from mentioning the paranormal aspects that are hard to explain. Louv’s tone and pacing are excellent, and the conversational tone of the book will no doubt maintain your attention to the very end. A lot of it feels like juicy Elizabethan gossip (except with citations!), and will give you a feel for Dee and Kelley’s complicated world.

The Angelical Language, by Aaron Leitch.

Whereas The Essential Enochian Grimoire covered the working of Enochian magic in practice, Leitch’s The Angelical Language gives us a narrative of the system’s reception and development, with special attention to the language itself. There’s plenty of practical bits woven in there, and the blending of history and magical technique enriches the experience of both. Also, while I did like this book, I had a tonic clonic seizure while reading it. I liked how the author included pronunciation notes for the Enochian letters, even though I doubt I vocalized them properly.

Primarily focused on the language itself, the book doesn’t include as much practical advice as The Essential Enochian Grimoire. The practical parts he does give look like they’d be easy to adapt to different scenarios, though. There’s not an overt focus on having a lot of tools. I lost consciousness and seized for a good three or so minutes while reading this book on break at work and woke up in the emergency room. I’ll probably get the second volume and read it soon. Leitch himself suggested not reading the Angelical words out loud next time? 😆

Enochian Vision Magick, by Lon Milo DuQuette

Lon really isn’t my cup of tea, particularly since I’ve ditched Thelema and don’t plan on ever going back. This book is notable, though, because he uses really archaic techniques for his scrying operations, making them quite different in energetic texture than the more common Golden Dawn methods. His methods require a lot of “stuff,” so to speak: ritual tools and accoutrement.

DuQuette’s attitude of treating ritual tools as training wheels to be internalized and eventually rendered unnecessary as skills develop isn’t exactly unsound. It’s certainly one method of doing it, but it’s not very accessible. It’s certainly not how most people (who tend to pick up magic in their early years, and may not have a ton of resources) are doing things. I didn’t. I’m mentioning this one for completeness, mostly. Read it to see what Thelemites are doing Enochian-wise, and how Crowley’s influence survives to this day in Enochian magic.

The Vision and the Voice, by Aleister Crowley

Crowley was an abusive piece of shit. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you can check out The Vision and the Voice. It’s available here online. It’s Crowley’s journal of his experience scrying the Enochian aethyrs with his student and service top, Victor Neuberg. They had decided that the Algerian desert was the perfect place for a month-long scrying operation facilitated by a sex magic ritual wherein Crowley took the passive role. In the desert. Let that sink in. 😝

Following this experience, Crowley considered himself to have reached a state of enlightenment. The experiences therein and the visions were, in fact, fairly intense. Oddly, I hadn’t read this when I did my (first) Enochian workings, and didn’t pick it up until much later, and then only for completeness sake. I don’t recommend actually listening to Crowley’s advice on hardly anything, but it’s good to read this to understand his influence and history. You probably shouldn’t listen to one iota of his actual “teachings,” but there’s plenty to be learned from the guy. You can learn a lot about aerodynamics from watching a fiery plane crash.

The Queen’s Conjuror, by Benjamin Woollet

This is more of a straight-up history book detailing the remarkable lives and work of John Dee and Edward Kelley. Woollet provides enough background material to give an ample window into Elizabethan life, occult and beyond. This book gives no practical (or other) instructions and, as far as I’ve been able to tell, was written by a non-magical historian. I consider The Queen’s Conjuror a necessary read for that reason.

Sometimes we forget how magic can intersect with things like politics and science. This biography of John Dee reminds us that it’s all always already connected, and that Dee’s primary impetus was a (highly political) “immanentization of the Eschaton”. This book entertains various theories about the situation at Mortlake, fully admits Kelley may have been a charlatan in some capacity, and features other refreshing takes from an academic perspective.

The Black Lodge of Santa Cruz, by Satyr

Magic, much like fire, can be a useful tool. It can also reduce precious things to embers. This is the memoir of a magician who, in the late 1980s, was part of a small and controversial Enochian studies group in California. Read it here.

Satyr, working with his wife and their easily-possessed mentor, begins a series of experimental Enochian workings. Things rapidly spiral out of control amid already tense occult political situations. The context for this (the Caliphate OTO’s squabble over succession, etc) may feel irrelevant to modern practitioners (it is to me, for all intents and purposes). Nevertheless, we can all recognize the egos, personality clashes, ambition and other factors that contributed to the unique situation in Santa Cruz. In terms of magic itself, this memoir documents a period of great innovation, both inside Enochian circles and in other areas.

Heartbreaking in places and illuminating in others, The Black Lodge of Santa Cruz gives the story of one of the most infamous cases of the notorious “Enochian breakdown” phenomenon people talk about, where someone starts doing intense Enochian workings only to have their lives driven into pure chaos. Recommended reading before you attempt any so-called hell-rides (those month-long scrying operations people keep doing), at very least.

I hope something here interests someone!

#witchcraft #magic #witch #witchblr #enochian #eliza.txt #eliza reads #Edward Kelley #john dee #angels #angelic #angel #Angelical

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mothbait · 2 years

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How would you rate each episode of HB that’s currently out?

Sorry this took so long, I rewatched episodes to remember them better! Also I really like your username

This was originally done like an essay but that was long and boring to read and write, so you get highlights and low points for each episode and an overall score!

Pilot - 3/10

Favorite part: Oh Millie, it’s the only Helluva song I remember the lyrics for

Least favorite part: Using the R word. The jokes about them hurting kids is a close second

Murder Family - 5/10

Favorite part: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esq family was fun

Least favorite part: This one’s just a personal thing but the brief shot of sex in the “you’re a hero” thing. It’s far from the worst part of the episode but actually showing sex in shows and movies always squicks me out

Loo Loo Land - 6/10

Favorite part: Octavia! She’s probably my favorite character thus far and is for sure the one I can relate to the most.

Least favorite part: Stolas going on a father daughter day and then spending a majority of it being horny over Blitz

Spring Broken - 6/10 (take away my least favorite part and it’s a 7)

Favorite part: The incubus with the Slenderman symbol on his shirt (Ace I think), the design of the whole crew is good though. The trans guy in the concert crowd was also nice when they remembered to add the top scars lol

Least favorite part: The joke about Verosika and co. assaulting Moxxie 😐

CHERUB - 1/10

Favorite part: I gotta be honest with you I’ve been struggling with a favorite part on this one. I guess Mox and Mil in the cat suits??

Least favorite part: The jokes in this one felt a lot crueler than they usually do, normally at their worst I wince but I felt the need to skip over a couple sections

The Harvest Moon Festival- 5/10

Favorite part: Millie’s family. I’m a little iffy on the trans rep but honestly we’ve gotten so little for the girls in this show I’ll take what development I can get

Least favorite part: The way they frame Striker knocking out Moxxie. Another part I feel uncomfortable watching.

Truth Seekers - 6/10

Favorite part: The fight with Millie and Loona against the agents or Stolas showing up near the end

Least favorite part: IDK how to word this but, just the whole plot. The most frustrating part to me is the agents gave Blitz and Mox truth serum then didn’t ask questions. Did they know truth serum was gonna act like drugs? What was the point of it?

Ozzie’s - 8/10 (the character designs were fun enough that I’m overlooking most of my problems with it)

Favorite part: Background character designs. It’s my favorite part a lot of the time but those goat girls? I love their colors 100/10

Least favorite part: This is the first time (that stands out to me at least) where they tried to give Stolas and Blitz more depth and try to make you sympathize with them, they’ve both been assholes for almost the entire show and now we should feel bad for them??

The Circus- 3/10

Favorite part: Bird demon designs, the shadowy forms Paimon takes are cool as well

Least favorite part: They did Stella so so dirty. I know they did in the rest of the show too but they really could’ve written her so much better here. Also Stolas and Blitz’s relationship in this episode is gross

#helluva critical #vivziepop critical #ask #stellagoetiaappreciationblog #hi!! <3 #suggestive #<- kinda? tagging it for safety

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i-want-to-talk-about-it · 10 months

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Bloodhounds review

Warning - Spoiler alert

TYPE OF CONTENT - Series (Korean)

DIRECTED BY - Kim Joo-Hwan

STARRING - Woo Do-Hwan, Lee Sang-Yi, Kim Sae-Ron, Park Sung-Woong

DATE OF RELEASE - 9th June 2023

NUMBER OF EPISODES - 8 episodes

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i am not someone who normally watch shows of this genre. i am more of a rom-com or period drama person but having said that, it doesn’t mean that i wouldn’t give a chance to this genre. i really enjoyed watching weak hero class 1 too which is of a similar taste in my opinion.

my cousin made me watch the first episode of bloodhounds even though i have recently started watching another series and i have to say that i was instantly hooked to the show. if i had to talk about one thing that the makers did right then it would be how they ended each of the episodes. each episode ended on such a note that every time i found myself instantly clicking the “next episode” button eager to find out what happens next.

i believe the casting of the show was done really well, Geun Woo (Woo Do Hwan) and Woo jin (Lee Sang Yi) really did steal my heart. their acting was par excellence, especially the action scenes. they definitely worked a lot on their physical training and took special care to come across as actual boxers and it showed. it was evident in their body language and their form when they fought, whether the boxing match or Myeong Gil’s goons. their chemistry was also something that really helped the plot in my opinion.

i also really loved how both of them were such vicious fighters who took out 30 men alone but when not beating up men they were sweet, nice and so kind that one wouldn’t think they were capable of even hurting a fly. they had high morals and i enjoyed how they never once used a fatal weapon, even during the climax scene.

Myeong-Gil too as a villain really did his job well evident from how much i ended up hating him by the end. his evil smirk and his merciless manner of work really gave me chills at certain points of time. i was lowkey not satisfied that Geun Woo didn’t kill him at the end. i would’ve loved to see him suffer. that would’ve been the only thing that could take away the pain of Tae-ho’s demise.

the show really did give me an empty feeling like every good kdrama does once it’s over and it left me wanting more. however, if i had to point out one thing that i did not enjoy then it would be the show’s pace. it felt a bit abrupt. i think they could’ve stretched the show to 12 episodes at least. since there were only 8 episodes, it kind of felt like first six were building up to something and then in the last two something entirely different happened. and while it was good for the shock aspect i think i would’ve preferred if there was a smoother transition between the plots.

overall i would give this show 4/5 points and definitely recommend everyone to watch it!

would love to have a discussion on this show so do hit the comment’s section!!

thanks for reading<3

#kdrama #kpop #korean actor #korean drama #films #bloodhounds #netflix #review #kdrama review

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lonesomedreamer · 3 months

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SNW Liveblog Stray Observations: “Lost in Translation”

I’m going out on a limb to say that this episode is one of the best SNW has ever done. But…

I just like to look at him.

…that’s not saying a lot, and it would’ve been much better without their bland, store-brand version of Jim Kirk.

“It’s the shiniest gas station I’ve ever seen.” Presumably Ortegas has never seen a gas station, since it’s the 23rd century…

I should be so excited to see my favorite character of the entire franchise—but every time Paul!Kirk shows up, I just feel…apathetic.

Do we need a pointless rivalry between the Kirk brothers? And since when does Jim Kirk—“in his class you think or you sink,” “a stack of books with legs,” “absolutely grim [as a cadet],” whose two best friends/soul mates are a scientist and a doctor, respectively—seem like the kind of guy who would disparage someone (much less his own brother!) for “wallowing in a science lab”?!

I think it’s cute that Spock wants to tell Starfleet that he’s fraternizing with his colleague, because it shows that he’s serious about their relationship! But of course we have to have drama one episode into said relationship instead…

Blood and body horror for shock value. On-brand for this show.

Even Uhura, a mere ensign, has huge quarters. They look as big as Spock’s (a lieutenant) and the first officer’s!

“I’m the communications officer.” Sorry, Ensign Uhura is the communications officer? Since when?? Technically, ensigns are officers—but afaik no Trek character ranked lower than lieutenant has ever been at the head of an entire section/division. For obvious reasons.

SNW has a huge budget, but zero extras. This Enterprise always feels like it’s got a crew compliment of maybe 20, not 200+.

An extremely bad CG body flying through space is not what I expected from this show, but…

“You’re like a space hippie.” Again with the twentieth-century language/references…

This is fairly classic Trek/scifi fare. I’m okay with it.

Not such a fan of the rushed climax and resolution, though—Pike acts without consulting his science officer or, indeed, any member of the science division at all. It’s not that Uhura’s untrustworthy! But as far as he knows, she’s on medical leave for exhaustion so severe it’s causing her to hallucinate. He nevertheless agrees to demolish a huge new processing plant for a resource vital to spaceflight immediately and on her word alone.

A totally shoehorned-in meet-cute for Kirk and Spock. I have mixed feelings.

This episode was fine. Serviceable—which I think is the highest praise I’m ever going to have for SNW. There’s plenty of nonsense (references to gas stations, hostility between the Kirk brothers/the canon-defying implication that their parents are alive, Uhura somehow being communications officer as an ensign, Pike consulting exactly 0 members of his science team about a scientific matter), but it was still fine. It had some nice imagery and a classic Trek moral. It even almost remembered that Number One is supposed to be a main character.

Good: a decent Spockstine scene—a pretty nebula—Number One actually gets some screentime—a reminder that Kirk is better at chess than Spock—a solid, if unoriginal, scifi story*—Uhura’s always good, and some Uhura/Kirk? I wasn’t expecting it, but I’ll take it (even if Kirk leaves a lot to be desired)!—I kind of like Pelia, sorry

Bad: some dialogue’s still cringe—pointless gore/scary imagery—Kirk family drama—Pike being sidelined AND being bad at his job—Paul Wesley’s Kirk overall (performance, characterization, and him being there at all)**

*As usual, even for a solid SNW episode, TOS did it better (“The Devil in the Dark”).

**Kirk’s not needed here! Literally any other member of the main cast could’ve served the same narrative purpose (the much-neglected Number One seems like a good choice, or Christine, or even M’Benga) with no loss to the episode as a whole. They’ve now made him central in two episodes of what’s supposed to be Pike’s show, though they don’t seem to know how to write Pike effectively, either, since he now spends more time in the kitchen than the captain’s chair. They also have no idea how to write Kirk—the writers are leaning way too heavily on the pop culture version of Kirk, the cocky “cool guy” AOS Kirk. (“Records are made to be broken,” really?) They need to go back and watch some episodes of TOS!

So, yeah. It’s fine when it could’ve been good. But honestly, 16 episodes in, I’ve learned that that describes this show pretty well.

#luth liveblogs snw

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agnes-come-back-challenge · 3 years

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Who wants a full comparison of episodes 1, 25, and 111 of Welcome to Night Vale? Because I love comparing these episodes and also I have no impulse control. Let’s go

(Spoilers up to episode 111, obviously. Also, I’ll bold every other segment so that it’s easier to tell which ones I’m comparing)

((This is gonna be an incredibly long post. I’m very sorry))

A friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale. (1)

A friendly desert community, where the sun is still hot, the moon still beautiful, and mysterious lights still pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale. (25)

A friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead, while we lay open eyed, watching it all. Welcome to Night Vale. (111)

Hello listeners. To start things off, I’ve been asked to read this brief notice. The City Council announces the opening of a new Dog Park at the corner of Earl and Summerset, near the Ralphs. They would like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed in the Dog Park. People are not allowed in the Dog Park. It is possible you will see hooded figures in the Dog Park. do not approach them. Do not approach the Dog Park. The fence is electrified and highly dangerous. Try not to look at the Dog Park and especially do not look for any period of time at the hooded figures. The Dog Park will not harm you. (1)

One single year since two major events in our town’s history. First, the opening of our lovely, state-of-the-art Dog Park, which is forbidden, and which I will not mention again. (25)

The City Council reiterated for the 1,874th consecutive day that the Dog Park is off limits for both dogs and humans. The fence is electrified and highly dangerous etc. Hooded figures and all that. Since its construction we have shied from and feared the Dog Park. The Dog Park is neither a park nor for dogs, and so what does it even mean to call it a dog park? Why do we use language that means one thing to describe something that is entirely else? I don’t know what the word is for that place the City Council calls the dog park, but I do know it’s time to start searching for that word, and once found, to use it boldly. (111)

And now the news. Old Woman Josie, out near the car lot, says the Angels revealed themselves to her. Said they were ten feet tall, radiant, one of them was black. Said they helped her with various household chores. One of them changed a light bulb for her, the porch light. She’s offering to sell the old light bulb, which has been touched by an angel (it was the black angel, if that sweetens the pot for anyone). If you’re interested, contact Old Woman Josie. She’s out near the car lot. (1)

[none] (25)

The angels, who I can now say are angels, and will say are angels, because they are angels, held a memorial for Old Woman Josie in her house. Everyone in town came, overcome with a feeling that finally they could look at these beings and recognize them for what they were. Even the City Council attended the memorial, but refused to make eye contact with anyone. Of course, this positive, concrete identification only led to more mysteries, for if these are angels, then where did they come from? And what does that mean for us? Even now we find that we cannot voice these questions. Not because we are not allowed. But because we cannot find the words to ask. Instead we ate cake and drank coffee in the living room of Old Woman Josie, which was once just that, a place she lived. Now it is only a room. One by one, we laid our hand on the Angels’ hands, and in that moment of contact each of us, in turn, found ourselves weeping. As the party wound down, we all heard a soft pop outside. It was the lightbulb on Old Woman Josie’s porch, burning out. (111)

A new man came in to town today. Who is he? What does he want from us? Why his perfect and beautiful haircut? Why his perfect and beautiful coat? He says he is a scientist. Well, we have all been scientists at one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here? And just what does he plan to do with all those beakers and humming electrical instruments in that lab he’s renting, the one next to Big Rico’s Pizza. No one does a slice, like Big Rico. No one. (1)

Second, and more important, it is one year since the arrival in Night Vale of our most beloved and singular citizen. (25)

A man who I know very well came into my house today, which is also his house. He laid his head, with its perfect and beautiful hair, upon my shoulder, and crossed his arms over his perfect and beautiful lab coat. I embraced him. We are creatures of touch, humans, and we retrieve so much meaning and happiness from contact. “I have become too complacent,” he said. “When I came here, I understood this town as scientifically fascinating. And then, gradually, it became my day to day life. I could no longer see the strangeness, but only my home.” “We are all guilty of that,” I said. “But I am a scientist,” he said.“Well,” I said. “We have all been scientists at one point or another in our lives.” (111)

Just a reminder to all the parents out there. Let’s talk about safety when taking your children out to play in the scrub lands and the sand wastes. You need to give them plenty of water, make sure there’s a shade tree in the area, and keep an eye on the helicopter colors. Are the unmarked helicopters circling the area black? Probably World Government, not a good area for play that day. Are they blue? That’s the Sheriff’s Secret Police, they’ll keep a good eye on your kids, and hardly ever take one. Are they painted with complex murals depicting birds of prey diving? No one knows what those helicopters are, or what they want. Do not play in the area. Return to your home and lock the doors until a Sheriff’s Secret Policeman leaves a carnation on your porch to indicate that the danger has passed. Cover your ears to blot out the screams. Also, remember: Gatorade is basically soda, so give your kids plain old water and maybe some orange slices when they play. (1)

Parents: Let’s talk about safety when taking your children to play out in the scrub lands and the sand wastes. All children in Night Vale are missing this week, so there’s no current safety issues. Hope we find them! (25)

Just a reminder to all the parents out there. Let’s talk about safety when taking your children out to play in the scrub lands and the sand wastes. You need to give them plenty of water, make sure there’s a shade tree in the area, and keep an eye on the helicopter colors. I asked my best friend and brother, Steve, to talk me through which helicopters belong to which organizations. Obviously the black helicopters belong to the World Government, although I had not realized, until Steve laid it out for me, how closely they are also associated with the Lizard People. The blue ones are Sheriff’s Secret Police, the pink ones are the new Double Secret Police, and the ones painted with complex murals depicting birds of prey diving? Well not even Steve knows what those helicopters are, nor what they want. On Steve’s chart, those are just labeled with the word RUN and then a few hundred exclamation points. (111)

A commercial airliner flying through local airspace disappeared today, only to reappear in the Night Vale Elementary gymnasium during basketball practice, disrupting practice quite badly. The jet roared through the small gym for only a fraction of a second, and before it could strike any players or structure, it vanished again, this time apparently for good. There is no word yet on if or how this will affect the Night Vale Mountain Lion’s game schedule, and also if this could perhaps be the work of their bitter rivals, the Desert Bluffs Cacti. Desert Bluffs is always trying to show us up through fancier uniforms, better pre-game snacks, and quite possibly by transporting a commercial jet into our gymnasium, delaying practice for several minutes at least. For shame, Desert Bluffs. For shame. (1)

In other news, a commercial airliner appeared today inside the home of surprised Night Vale citizen Becky Canterbury, who said she was about to get in the shower when it roared down her hallway and then disappeared, as suddenly as it had arrived. There is no conclusive evidence that this is the same airliner last seen in the Night Vale Elementary gym one year ago, but we have jumped to that conclusion and will defend it against all naysayers, violently and without mercy. Our truths may or may not be true, but they are ours, and we stand by them, even as the experts and skeptics hold aloft clipboards and intone to us about snow and mountains. Becky added that she would like to take that shower now, and that she has no idea how we managed to arrive for an interview mere seconds after the incident occurred. “My doors are locked.” she said. “My windows too. I’ve had my eyes shut for years. How did you get in here?” (25)

A commercial airliner flying through local airspace disappeared today, only to reappear at the fifth hole of the Sagebrook Pines Private Golf Club and Bulk Supplier. This disrupted all golf activities badly, as well as scaring a family of four who were perusing bulk paper towels offered at a discount price in a nearby sandtrap. I feel, for the first time, that I can articulate that this airliner had flown into some other universe, those divisions being particularly thin here in our quaint little community. This also is the cause of things like dead relatives occasionally joining us for breakfast, or the shimmering skyscrapers and crowded cities that appear for flashing moments in the sky. Of course, it also could be the handywork of the East Night Vale Cacti, the basketball team at the new East Night Vale Elementary School. Those scamps are always pulling pranks. Could they transport a large plane through multiple universes? Who am I to say? But probably yes. For shame, East Night Vale. For shame. (111)

The local chapter of the NRA is selling bumper stickers as part of their fundraising week. They sent the station one to get some publicity, and we’re here to serve the community, so I’m happy to let you all know about it. The stickers are made from good, sturdy vinyl, and they read: “Guns don't kill people. It's impossible to be killed by a gun. We are all invincible to bullets and it's a miracle.” Stand outside of your front door and shout “NRA” to order one. (1)

The local chapter of the NRA has begun market testing some possible new slogans. These include: “Guns don't kill people. Blood loss and organ damage does.” “Guns don't kill people. People kill guns.” “A list of things that kill people: 1. Conceivably anything. 2. Not guns.” “Guns don't kill people. We are all immortal souls living temporarily in shelters of earth and meat.” and “If you say guns kill people one more time I will shoot you with a gun and you will, coincidentally, die.” To vote on the new slogan, simply fire a gun at the object or person that best represents your choice. (25)

The local chapter of the NRA is selling bumper stickers as part of their fundraising week. The stickers are made from good, sturdy vinyl and they read “We genuinely do not value human life.” Cute! (111)

Carlos and his team of scientists warn that one of the houses in the new development of Desert Creek, out back of the elementary school, doesn’t actually exist. “It seems like it exists,” explained Carlos and his perfect hair. “Like it’s just right there when you look at it, and it’s between two other identical houses so it would make more sense for it to be there than not” But, he says, they have done experiments and the house is definitely not there. At news time, the scientists are standing in a group on the sidewalk in front of the nonexistent house, daring each other to go knock on the door. (1)

Scientists, and science in general, would like to remind you that some things exist and some things do not. Usually, you can apply the simple test of seeing if it is there. If it is there, it exists. If not, it probably doesn’t, but it might just be currently existing somewhere else. Existence is tricky, the scientists say. Research shows this. For instance, there is that house in the housing development of Desert Creek out back of the elementary school, the house that doesn’t exist. It seems like it exists. Like it’s just right there when you look at it, and it’s between two other identical houses so it would make more sense for it to be there than not. But it does not exist. They have proved this with science. The scientists still haven’t gotten up the nerve to ring the doorbell and find out what happens. Do you want to do it? They’ll pay you five dollars if you do. Just ring it once ok. We’ll be watching from back here. You’ll probably be fine. (25)

Carlos and his scientists, like Luisa and Nilanjana, are renewing their investigation into the house in the development of Desert Creek, out back of the elementary school. The house that doesn’t actually exist. “It seems like it exists,” muttered Carlos. “Like it’s just right there when you look at it, and it’s between two other identical houses so it would make more sense for it to be there than not.” But he says, it is actually a doorway to another world. A world he himself was once stuck in for a year. There seem to be secrets about that year he is keeping to himself. Maybe someday we will learn what they are. (111)

Lights, seen in the sky above the Arby’s. Not the glowing sign of Arby’s. Something higher and beyond that. We know the difference. We’ve caught on to their game. We understand the lights above Arby’s game. Invaders from another world. Ladies and gentlemen the future is here. And it’s about a hundred feet above the Arby’s. (1)

But here, Carlos and I sat on the trunk of that car, his car, looking together at the lights up in the sky above the Arby’s. They were beautiful in the hushed twilight, shimmering in a night sky already coming alive with bits of the universe. [...] We understand the lights. We understand the lights above the Arby’s. We understand so much. But the sky behind those lights, mostly void, partially stars, that sky reminds us: we don’t understand even more. (25)

Lights, seen in the sky above the Arby’s. Not the glowing sign of Arby’s. Something higher and beyond that. One night, years ago, two people, scared and vulnerable and loving and ready, came together for a quiet moment under that sky. And I pretended at the time to understand the lights. But a big part of recognizing the world for what it is, is recognizing when you have no idea. Invaders from another world? Harbingers of future terror? A fragment of another universe, fading into our own above reasonably priced lunch meat? Maybe any. Maybe all. Maybe none. But here is what I do know. The lights are, among other things, a part of my memory, and a part of my marriage, and a part of my love. They are a piece of my past, and I don’t need to understand them to understand that. Ladies and gentlemen the past is here. And it’s about a hundred feet above the Arby’s. (111)

The City Council would like to remind you about the tiered heavens, and the hierarchy of angels. The reminder is that you should not know anything about this. The structure of heaven and the angelic organizational chart are privileged information, known only to City Council members on a need to know basis. Please to do not speak to or acknowledge any angels that you may come across while shopping at the Ralphs or at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. They only tell lies, and do not exist. Report all angels sightings to the City Council for treatment. (1)

The City Council would like to remind you about the tiered heavens, and the hierarchy of angels. The reminder is that you still should not know anything about this. The structure of heaven and the angelic organizational chart are still privileged information. Also, angels aren’t real. “I really get tired of having to say this,” a City Council representative said to a group of disgruntled angels. “Angels aren’t real. They just aren’t.” The angels became unruly and were dispersed by a thunderclap from heaven. (25)

The City Council would like to remind you about the tiered heavens and the hierarchy of angels. The reminder is the Council is grumpy that all of this is not forbidden knowledge, but due to the new laws, they are required to inform you that the angels have made all of that information available. Stop by the house where the angels live if you want to pick up a free packet outlining exactly how all of that is organized. While the packet itself is free, it is likely the angels will ask to borrow five dollars. They tend to do that. (111)

Speaking of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, its owner, Teddy Williams, reports that he has found the entrance to a vast, underground city in the pin retrieval area of lane 5. He said he has not yet ventured into it, merely peered down at its strange spires and broad avenues. He also reports voices of a distant crowd in the depths of that subterranean metropolis. Apparently the entrance was discovered when a bowling ball accidentally rolled into it, clattering down to the city below with sounds that echoed for miles across the impossibly huge cavern. So, you know, whatever population that city has, they know about us now and we might be hearing from them very soon. (1)

Word is in about a disturbance at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. There has been the sound of chanting and machinery from under the pin retrieval area of lane five, and Teddy Williams has changed all the bowlers’ names on the electronic scorecards to “THEY ARE HERE”. This is causing some confusion and has completely ruined Jeremy Godfrey's 50th birthday party, which had rented out a few lanes for the afternoon. Jeremy was last seen drinking a light beer out of a plastic cup, shaking his head sadly as he swished the liquid around and looking out the window at the sky, mostly void, partially stars. Teddy Williams was last seen howling, commanding his militia to surround the pin retrieval area and prepare for an attack. (25)

Over at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, Teddy Williams, its owner, reported the startling news that there is nothing under the pin retrieval area of lane 5. As you may remember, there has been a tiny city of warlike people under the bowling alley for several years now, which has caused some trouble, although not a lot of trouble, because they were very tiny people. But now there is just a hole in the earth under the pin retrieval area, an empty space containing only my own memories of a night that someone I loved almost died before I had a chance to truly love him. So good riddance to whatever that town was. (111)

Carlos, perfect and beautiful, came into our studios during the break earlier but declined to stay for an interview. He had some sort of blinking box in his hand covered with wires and tubes. Said he was testing the place for materials. I don’t know what materials he meant, but that box sure whistled and beeped a lot. When he put it close to the microphone, it sounded like, well, like a bunch of baby birds had just woken up. Really went crazy. Carlos looked nervous. I’ve never seen that kind of look on someone with that strong of a jaw. He left in a hurry. Told us to evacuate the building, but then, who would be here to talk sweetly to all of you out there. (1)

I arrived at the parking lot to find Carlos, perched on the trunk of his car in flannel and jeans, his perfect hair mussed, his perfect teeth hidden. “What is it?” I said. “What danger are we in? What mystery needs to be explored?” He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “After everything that happened...I just wanted to see you.” My heart leapt. My heart soared. My heart, metaphorically, performed a number of aerial activities, and, literally, it began beat hard. (25)

Carlos, perfect and beautiful, came into our studios during the break earlier, and we ate lunch together out of Tupperwares. He had some sort of blinking box in his hand covered with wires and tubes. When he put it close to the microphone, it sounded like, well, like a bunch of baby birds had just woken up. Really went crazy. He asked if I remembered it. He had brought it by on the first day we had met. He had told me that it tested for materials, but he wasn’t actually sure what materials it tested for. He had just wanted an excuse to come by and talk to me. “Anyway,” he said, “I thought it was a nice memento. Back when we were fumbling awkwardly toward this life we share.” “But,” he added, “it’s a real instrument that is detecting some actual materials of some kind, so there is a good chance that everything about this studio is deeply dangerous. Please be careful.” (111)

Settling in to be another clear and pretty evening here in Night Vale. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with, or at least good memories of when you did. Good night, listeners. Good night. (1)

We understand the lights. We understand the lights above the Arby’s. We understand so much. But the sky behind those lights, mostly void, partially stars, that sky reminds us: we don’t understand even more. Good night, Night Vale. Good night. (25)

Settling in to be another clear and pretty evening here in Night Vale, this weird, weird town. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with. I know I do. Good night, listeners. Good night. (111)

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adrinoir · 2 years

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Serious takeaways from Glaciator 2

Okay, so I already knew after the trailer I was going to love this episode just from the mere fact that it mainly focuses on the Marichat dynamic lol. BUT, there was a lot of good takeaways from this episode too that I feel should be talked about more.

Ladybug is more annoyed than usual

So I noticed Ladybug is progressively getting more annoyed and agitated that the media keeps calling them a couple and that Chat Noir eats up that kind of attention. Two things about this:

1) Do I feel it gives her the right to be upset at Chat Noir and take her frustrations out on him? Not entirely. He hasn’t done any of his love confessions in a while and no matter what, of course he’s going to feel at least a bit of joy seeing pictures of them everywhere together and make his dumb jokes - that’s to be expected.

If anything, she needs to take the anger out more on the press for over glorifying their partnership and calling them a couple. Chat Noir used to do that same thing, but not so much anymore. (At least he apologized to her and she understood a bit).

2) It’s been going on for a while, I’d assume she’d be used to it at this point and just brush it off - their faces have been plastered all over Paris for a long time, kissing or not.

She got so annoyed and upset Chat Noir. But the question is why was there that sudden switch of her yeeting him into a trash can and yelling at him, to her spending so much personal time with him as her “fake lover”? I think it’s a mixture of both that bit of annoyance and denying her feelings for Chat Noir.

I feel like when Marinette is Ladybug, she puts up a more “professional” front. She doesn’t want to be a media star or looked at as Chat Noir’s girlfriend - she mainly just wants to work well with him to get the job done. But, it’s been a bit more obvious over time that she’s developed some underlying romantic feelings for him, which leads her to feel even more annoyed with that the media is suddenly hyper focusing on them being a couple. She’s denying her own feelings when she sees them kissing, she doesn’t want to believe she feels that way, and she certainly doesn’t want to feel forced into a relationship with Chat Noir by the media.

Adrien finally broke down

This was definitely the saddest part of the episode. Seeing him and Ladybug’s faces plastered everywhere, kissing and being called “Couple of the Year” was definitely the straw that broke the camel’s back, causing that emotional breakdown.

I get why she’s annoyed and upset (as I stated in the previous section), but she really didn’t have to be as mean to him as she was.

Chat Noir has been put through the wringer by Ladybug this season. Not only is he dealing with his typical atrocious home life, but now he’s being blatantly put on the back burner by his own heroic partner/love/friend (not to mention he had Nino spatting about how much he can’t stand his behavior). It’s really been building up to this point.

Him getting brutally turned down by Ladybug once again was a big breaking point. He ran out of the car and openly cried in public because he just couldn’t take it anymore.

Gabriel noticed with his Shadow Moth abilities and even HE felt a bit of concern.

Then his only solution in mind was to sneak out and cataclysm every billboard of him and Ladybug in Paris. That in itself is proof of how fogged his brain is from all the emotional stress.

Gabriel is hopeless (but he at least tried)

It’s a known fact Gabriel is one of the worst fathers in tv history. This is one of the only times we’ve seen him let Adrien know he can talk to him and acknowledge that he’s been “distant” since Emilie’s passing. The only other time he tried opening that window was in Gorzilla, when Adrien snuck out to see his mom’s film and Gabriel mentions he could’ve just asked him.

I think it’s good that he at least did the bare minimum when he realized Adrien was having a breakdown, not great but better than nothing.

But, what really got me was Adrien not even flinching, just lying that he was fine when his father asked, and him saying “If that were to happen, I would do it, father.”

I was not expecting that kind of response from Adrien. But it’s clear he knows it's not even worth any bit of effort to talk to his father at this point. Adrien gave up hope in comparison to past seasons, which is also really sad.

The Marichat ship is stronger than ever

Marichat continues to be the healthiest ship, this episode further proved that. Despite it not really being okay that Marinette knowingly hurt him with her actions that day (and turning him down plenty of times before, including in the first Glaciator episode), their interactions are so much more genuine when she doesn’t have to feel that pressure of being Ladybug, masking her personal life/emotions and Chat Noir doesn't have the pressure of playing his “perfect model role”.

Marinette made an interesting choice. Instead of apologizing to him as Ladybug after witnessing him destroy the billboards, she distracted him with a favor she needed while just being herself.

Much like Kagami had talked about in the end, these two are definitely falling for each other even more with “the rehearsal” of Marinette’s love confession. Also is it just not the greatest thing ever that she’s telling her confession to Adrien without even knowing it’s him? And he thought it was so wonderful after she made the final confession.

And they lost track of time because they decided to stop “rehearsing” for a bit to go to the movies. They had a serious talk about love, confessions, and what it’s like for him being Chat Noir.

(Also the non-awkward cheek kisses showed a step in the right direction, in comparison to what went down in Weredad!)

Even after fighting Glaciator with Ladybug, he went back to Marinette to help her finish the love confession. *ahhhhhh*

Everything about their interaction was so genuine. They were being so cute and goofy. I loved it so much. It really brought them closer together, and if Marinette eventually confesses to Adrien this season with the same line, it could be a step up towards the reveal.

#ml glaciator 2 #glaciator 2 #miraculous ladybug #tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculers #adrien agreste #chat noir #miraculous #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #ml season 4 #marichat #gabriel agreste

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elffees · 3 years

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why i hate parting ways

okay so i haven’t been in the fandom long but i feel a little suffocated by all the love and worship Parting Ways gets while i hate it with a passion.

this is all my opinion. im not saying people that love Parting Ways shouldnt, im just putting my 2 cents in to stop this spiral of silence thing we got going on and just air my thoughts out.

(warning: long and gets a little rant-y at the end)

im gonna start this off by saying i love all the other endings. for the most part i think they’re written very well (i do think Blood Brothers could’ve done with some tweaking tho) and i love them all for the themes and mix of bittersweetness they have. depending on your playthrough, they each feel right and that’s the reason why i struggle a lot choosing one i deem my personal canon. i really love them all.

but Parting Ways? is lodged down my throat like a stuck bone and here’s 2 of the main reasons why i hate it:

reason #1 -> it feels so out of character

most especially on Sean’s part

now as a choice based game, it’s hard to dive into characterizations sometimes bc a lot of personality traits are shaped by the choices you make. still, in LIS2 regardless if you play with Low Brotherhood or High, it is canon that Sean loves Daniel to the ends of the earth. out of the two, the only one that can potentially express overall hatred or dislike is Daniel. like, Sean’s immense love and devotion to his brother is what episode 4 is all about. that he will do whatever it takes as long as Daniel is safe, happy, and healthy and he won’t ever abandon him especially in a place that threatens him with avid danger.

but i guess that all goes out the window in episode 5 huh? :D

i’m gonna spread this into 2 deeper sections, starting with Sean’s decision to cross the border anyway.

now in a Redemption/Parting Ways playthrough, Sean has done nothing but teach Daniel to follow the law above all else. that stealing, hurting, and killing are inherently wrong. meaning, for example, this Sean likely wouldn’t have gone through with the episode 3 heist as it’s incredibly against his Lawful beliefs.

him switching gears at the end and wanting to force their way through the roadblock isn’t where my problem lies bc that’s entirely choice based. no, PW Sean forcing Daniel into life threatening danger is where i take issue and is where the first instance of ooc-ness takes place. it’s this dialogue right here where i started to go “what the fuck”:

[source]

Sean: Trust me, okay? Just… get us through. Hold on tight.

[Sean starts recklessly driving on]

Daniel: No! I don't wanna! I'm not hurting anyone else!

[Flores and the police open fire]

Sean: It's too late! They're shooting at us, Daniel! This is the only way!

[Daniel is forced to use his powers to clear their way]

to better explain, i wanna make a comparison to Lone Wolf ending. there’s an element of betrayal in both of these. in LW, it’s Sean going against the beliefs he’s taught Daniel, that family should come before the law, by suggesting they turn themselves in. and here in PW, it’s Sean also going against what he’s taught Daniel and saying fuck the rules. the biggest and most important difference is how he goes about these last minute changes.

in LW, Sean attempting to surrender is directly about him not wanting to put Daniel in harm’s way anymore. he wasn’t forcing Daniel to use his power, he wasn’t throwing Daniel in the line of fire, he was clearly suggesting they stand down so no one else got hurt, especially Daniel himself. this fits Sean’s character bc, like i said, one of his never-changing characteristics is that he loves and wants to protect Daniel regardless of your playthrough.

in PW, Sean flips into the exact opposite. and again, no i am not referring to him all of a sudden wanting to break the law. i am talking about his sudden disregard for Daniel’s safety. by Sean forcing them to drive through the roadblock, knowing good and well the only way they’ll survive is by Daniel protecting them, he’s purposely using Daniel as a human shield against his will. it’s horrifying but the most unsettling part imo is that it doesn’t fit Sean’s character at all.

up until this point, Sean has done nothing but try his hardest to keep Daniel from danger, and in PW it’s such a drastic flip it doesn’t make sense for Sean “i love you so much i am willing to walk through hell and even die if it means you’ll be safe” episode 4 Diaz to all of a sudden throw Daniel into the lion’s den himself.

i wanna connect this back to Lone Wolf again and explain why Daniel’s “we’re crossing anyway” mindset makes sense while Parting Ways Sean’s doesn’t. Daniel’s “its my turn to take care of us now” fits that Daniel’s character bc over the course of the game, this Lawless Daniel has proven several times he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect them, including things that are directly against Sean’s wishes.

in episode 3, if you try to stop the heist and Cassidy comes along, Daniel, who believes the heist is a good idea, will choke Cassidy bc he sees her as having poisoned Sean against him. Sean will scream for him to stop and Daniel at first won’t listen bc he thinks by hurting her, he’s helping them. the simple fact he even goes along with the heist regardless if Sean agrees or not is an example in and of itself.

and in episode 4, before Sean can even make a choice, Lawless Daniel will step forward and attempt to murder Lisbeth bc he thinks it’s the right thing to do. now if he continues is based on if you have High Brotherhood or not, but the fact he tried to do it at all KNOWING Sean might not agree is what i’m talking about. like here, look at this transcript of the scene. before you’re given the choice to dissuade or not, Daniel is already 100% prepared to fight Sean on this just in case he disapproves:

[source]

Daniel (to Lisbeth): This is your fault! Yours!

[Daniel uses his power on Lisbeth and begins to hinder her breathing]

Karen: Sean…

Sean: Wait, Daniel…

Daniel: She really did try to use me! And she hurt you! She's bad!

and THEN the player is given the choice to intervene or not after Daniel has already shown he’s prepared to argue if Sean doesn’t agree. and then, if Sean doesn’t agree and has Low Brotherhood, Daniel will straight up ignore Sean’s plea and continue to torture Lisbeth.

there’s a few other examples that show Daniel’s, uh “initiative”, but this is what i mean. playing with a Lawless Daniel, he has already shown time and time again that, even tho it’s rare, he is willing to do controversial things that Sean may directly oppose as long as he thinks the ends justify the means. and this is why Lone Wolf Daniel locking Sean’s door and forcing them through the barricade, while fucking terrifying, fits his character bc he’s done things similar to this several times before. but for Sean to do the same???? doesn’t fit at all.

this is not to say Sean hasn’t tried to force things too. in episode 3, if you disagree to the heist, Sean will try to pull Daniel with him in Merrill’s house. in episode 4, when Sean and Karen are confronting Lisbeth, Sean will try to pull Daniel with him then too. and these instances are both after Daniel has shown a clear lack of desire to leave. heck, you could even include Sean’s unyielding refusal to contact Karen even tho Daniel expressed more than once that that’s what he thinks they should do pre-ep4. but what stands out in these moments is the direction in which Sean tries to pull Daniel to. they are Sean specifically trying to force Daniel away from a situation/person he believes to be dangerous. not to them.

this is again why Lone Wolf makes sense where Parting Ways doesn’t. Sean throws the car keys out the window, putting his foot down and expressing that regardless of what Daniel wants, he will force them to surrender bc he believes it will protect them best. it’s him, again, trying to force Daniel in the direction he believes to be away from danger. but in Parting Ways, it’s Sean doing the exact opposite and forcing Daniel into danger, which doesn’t align with the Usual Ways™️ Sean has tried to force their situation at all.

like, the only time i can think of that may come “close” to Sean deliberately throwing Daniel in harm’s way is if you agree to the heist and tell Daniel to use his powers against Merrill. but even then, that’s hardly similar to what he does in Parting Ways for countless reasons. it’d be more of a parallel/type of foreshadowing if Sean forced a resistant Daniel to do the heist and then straight up shoved him towards Merrill’s shotgun and said “think fast!” when they get caught.

i’d also like to take this time to clarify why Sean’s willingness to use Daniel as a shield in Parting Ways is different from when he stays in the car in Blood Brothers.

for starters, Sean is not actively terrorizing Daniel in BB. even if Parting Ways Sean doesn’t see the tears falling down his little brother’s face as he drives the car, there is no way he doesn’t hear the revulsion and terror in Daniel’s voice as Daniel begs him to stop trying to make him hurt people. we have never seen a time when Sean knows his brother is horrified by what’s happening but keeps going anyway (unlike Lawless Daniel), so for Sean to do this at the most pivotal moment in their lives, feels abrupt and extremely out of character.

and alongside him not terrorizing Daniel in Blood Brothers, he’s also showing nothing but patience and complete trust. this parallels the first border scene when Daniel uses his power to tear open The Wall and Sean stands behind him with supportive hands on his shoulders. in Blood Brothers, it is again Sean, now in the car as to not distract him, essentially supporting his brother in what he’s going to do. to sum up, there is a huge difference in standing behind someone to use them as a human shield and standing behind someone in solidarity and support, and that’s the biggest difference between Parting Ways Sean vs Blood Brothers Sean.

the funny thing here is that all this? that i just wrote? is just about Sean forcing Daniel to act as a bullet sponge in the first place. i haven’t even started talking about the events when Daniel jumps out the car! hoo boy howdy!!

so now let’s talk about what happens after Daniel jumps out of the car. (and mind you, i’m still on reason 1! lmao!!)

after Daniel jumps out of the car, Sean keeps driving and Daniel gets arrested. was i gritting my teeth while typing that? yes. bc

FUCK. THAT.

now personally i can relate to Sean as an older sibling with a large age gap between me and my kid sister. obviously i have never been in the life threatening situations the Diaz brothers have. but if my little sister were to EVER be so completely repulsed and terrified of smthg i was trying to do, that she felt the only way she could be safe and happy was to ESCAPE my presence and FLING herself out of our car, you bet your ass i would do a 180 with a quickness. not to force her back in, but bc “damn i must be doing smthg monstrous and absolutely fucked up. lemme rethink my actions cause this clearly isn’t the move” and then discuss with her where i went wrong.

i do not know how Sean wasnt hit with instant shame, self loathing, and guilt to the point of damn immobilization after Daniel threw himself out of the car to escape him. the fact he just??? keeps driving disgusts me. a lot. and i hate that bc Sean is my favorite character in the whole game.

dude doesn’t even slow down!!! we don’t even get to see if he looks back or not! the only thing we see is that he keeps driving at full speed, leaving Daniel in the literal dust and i. hate. it.

a very popular defense for this that i’ve read around the interweb is that Sean not stopping/turning around is him “respecting and letting Daniel make his own decisions”.

heh :)

this is…. a hysterically funny defense bc, on the same breath, a lot of the fandom agrees that Finn having that exact same mindset just 2 episodes ago was wholly fucked up.

bc let’s be real here, Daniel is ten. hes a child! there’s a huge difference between treating a kid with respect and as their own person versus treating a kid like an adult capable of making extremely life altering and drastic decisions. like?? like?????? (from what i’ve seen) most of the fandom agrees Finn saying Daniel is an “old soul” mature beyond his years is brain rot. and yet, that’s the excuse that gets used for Parting Ways Sean???? sorry but i call bullshit.

this is especially bewildering bc the events of the heist only happen a few months beforehand. it’s not like it’s been years, Daniel has become a teenager/young adult, and is a completely different person than he was in episode 3. it’s only been a few months. in the beginning of episode 5, while the boys are in Away, David motherfucking Madsen even points out that underneath it all, Daniel is still just a kid. regardless of your opinion on David, he is right in that.

now if you don’t think Finn’s “Daniel is older than he actually is” mindset is BS, then that’s fine and those that agree with it, i can see feeling less conflicted about Sean’s…. departure (fuck i’m trying so hard not to say abandonment whoops oh well)…. and apply it as being the same situation. i am just addressing that for those of us that heavily disagreed with Finn’s thought process (not the heist itself, simply his “Daniel is grown” pov), it is hypocritical to shame Finn for it and then go on and use it as a defense for Parting Ways Sean.

it just doesn’t feel like Sean is “respecting” Daniel’s wishes by continuing to drive without him, to me. respecting each other’s wishes is Daniel trusting in Sean’s decision to sacrifice himself in Redemption, or Sean trusting in Daniel to be able to physically and emotionally handle the roadblock in Blood Brothers. no, Sean leaving Daniel in the hands of the feds after just terrorizing the shit out of him feels like abandonment to me. which, as i said in the beginning of this post, seems way out of character bc of how much Sean cares for Daniel and his safety.

and this finally leads me to the 2nd reason as to why i hate Parting Ways.

reason #2 -> Daniel is forced to bear the full brunt of their actions alone

this one might be a tad bit confusing so lemme explain.

in PW, Daniel is the only Diaz left in the states. by him being the only one, almost all of america will focus their Diaz-hate on him and him alone and by staying in america he can do nothing but be aware of it.

The Case of The Diaz Brothers was one that gained a lot of media attention. whether it be the conspiracy bros from Stephen’s reddit thread, or activists protesting Esteban’s death, or the trail of news articles you can find throughout the journey that keep tabs on the chaos the boys leave in their wake. whatever episode, The Case of The Diaz Brothers is one the public has interest in. all corners of american society know of it in some way, from simple online traveling hippies like Brody all the way up to the damn FBI.

in Parting Ways, by Daniel staying in america, he would have to deal with the full force of media and government attention alone. he stays with the Reynolds, Chris becomes his bestie, but literally no one else in the world would be able to help shoulder that weight the same as Sean would have the potential to bc Sean was there (btw i’m absolutely not saying the Reynolds and Chris wouldn’t be good support systems, just that in comparison, Sean would likely be the most effective as him and Daniel were in it together).

i’m gonna compare this to what happens in Redemption. by Sean turning himself in and Daniel staying in the states, the brothers shoulder the weight of american perspective together. Sean goes to jail so no doubt most of the media would pin him as the mastermind. but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t still be news outlets constantly badgering Daniel about everything that happened as well. and the same way there are people in the fandom that hate Daniel’s guts for the simple crime of being a 9/10 year old, no doubt there would be people in-universe all over the Life Is Strange interwebs that would accuse, blame, and send hate his way. like, there is just no way that, even with R!Sean taking most of the heat, that police-supporters, racists, and etc. wouldn’t still scramble to find ways to harass Daniel too.

but at least with Sean also in america, the spotlight would be split in two. like i was saying before, Sean still goes to fucking prison, so it can be argued that the consequences the Diaz brothers face would be like a 70/30 divide. but at least it wouldn’t be the damn 0/100 divide that happens if Daniel stays in america as the sole remaining Diaz, having to bear the full weight of a nation wide racist spotlight while Sean just gets a tan and sips piña coladas on the beach.

this is not to say that in the puerto lobos endings, america wouldn’t still hate them there too. but i imagine that since they’re in a whole different country, it’d be much easier to just go “bro change the channel” and click to a different tv station when it airs negativity about their case, than Daniel staying in america and possibly having to deal with racist harassment on his way to and inside school. and by living in beaver creek, a town that seems to be predominantly white and judgemental (the Reynolds, the marketplace dude who harassed Fnn and Cassidy), there is no way Daniel would just live in complete peace. and personally i just find that really unfair. the complete lack of consequence on Sean’s part and the full force of consequence on Daniel’s.

reason #2.1 -> and how tf does Sean survive???

this is a minor addition but one that came to mind while writing this post. one of the key elements in Lone Wolf and Blood Brothers is us seeing that the Diaz Brothers (or just Daniel) stay afloat amongst gang violence because of Daniel’s powers.

but??? how does Sean…. do that if he’s alone, wtf? did Sean even open the auto shop?? how is bro making a living??? all we get is a pic of an empty beach and a vague selfie????? hello?? confusion?????

BONUS:

(you can skip this section completely if you want. it’s just abt smthg i also wanna talk about but the main focus of this post are the 2 points i already discussed)

okay now that the disclaimer is out of the way, in this skippable Bonus Section i want to talk about another defense for this ending that i’ve seen constantly, that Daniel wanted to stay in america and never wanted to go to puerto lobos anyway.

and to that i say:

because what the fuck are y’all talking about????

“wanted to stay in america” my ass! you know what Daniel wanted? a HOME! what Daniel wanted most was security and acceptance. he didn’t give a fuck where he got it! this logic of Daniel never wanting to go to mexico is like saying Daniel never wanted to go to beaver creek because he liked the damn rickety shack they had in the woods and fans saying “well he wanted to stay there so he should’ve 🤷🏾‍♀️” even tho his health was declining. this logic is like saying since Daniel didn’t want to then leave beaver creek (a place he just didn’t wanna go to), even tho the police were literally on their asses, thinking Sean should’ve just left him behind to get arrested and held in police custody bc “well he wanted to stay there 😀”

the reason why Daniel keeps dreading every time theyre uprooted and forced to move isn’t bc he just Really Loves America™️, it’s bc of what those locations all have in common, the ep2 cabin, beaver creek, etc. its that Daniel thought they’d found a home. little dude couldn’t care less where it actually is, as long as their end goal is stability and a solid place to stay, that’s what he wants most.

and alongside this desire for stability is his very prominent fear of the unknown.

in episode 1, Daniel was extremely wary of them making camp on the trail and regardless of what you do, will have a nightmare while there.

later on after escaping the gas station and before finding Brody, Daniel will continue to show anxiety bc while it’s good theyre away from Hank, he’s still terrified as fuck bc he has no idea where Sean is leading them to.

in episode 2 when Sean first suggests going to the Reynolds, Daniel immediately expresses anxiety bc he’s never met them before.

in episode 4, hes even afraid of Karen at first! like!!!! this boy, who has been beating Sean over the head with how much he wants to see Karen, when she actually shows up, he keeps his distance.

and even without including the brainwashing, this reaction makes complete sense bc of how Daniel’s responded to the unknown before! pre-meeting, Daniel always referred to Karen as their mom. “mom” is an extremely generic title. he doesnt know Karen from a can of paint, but he knows that a “mom” is supposed to care about their children and be a parent. the familiarity of the mother role and simply missing what it was like to have a parent is what Daniel craved. but the uncertainty of Karen Reynolds? the unfamiliarity of the actual human being?? is what causes Daniel to hesitate in ep4. when Lisbeth urges him to go to her, Daniel even straight up says “I don’t know her” as explanation for his wariness.

i bring up all these examples to emphasize that Daniel is just really scared of the unknown. and that connects to mexico bc the reason why he expresses uncertainty whenever Sean mentions puerto lobos isn’t bc he just doesn’t vibe, it’s bc he doesn’t know anything about it. it’s not that he didn’t want to go to mexico, it’s that he wanted to go somewhere with the comfort of familiarity. a place he feels is stable and where they can actually make roots. it’s not puerto lobos itself that he’s against. just it’s strangeness.

like even Finn touches briefly on this.

[source]

Finn: Well, going to Mexico is the ultimate road trip.

(Optional Dialogue) Sean: Not to Daniel. He doesn't even want to go. At all. Instead, he wants to go to Arizona to see his mom... Fuck that.

Finn: It can be tough growing up not knowing your folks... He needs closure, that's all. Give him time. He'll follow you anywhere.

puerto lobos is such uncharted territory in Daniel’s mind that understandably what he chooses to cling onto instead are things he does know. he knows their mother is out there and, thanks to the letter, that she cares about them. and it makes sense based on his fear of the unknown that he’d take more comfort in what he knows of motherhood (“moms love their kids. the end.”) over the sheer confusion that is puerto lobos.

like what Daniel craves most is stability and what terrifies him most is uncertainty. and puerto lobos is nothing but uncertainty.

but uncertainty does NOT equal reluctance! like did people just forget Lone Wolf ending exists? that there’s legit an ending where if Sean refuses, Daniel will try to drag his ass to puerto lobos anyways???? and one of the biggest reasons he does this, and why again Lone Wolf makes sense, is bc LW Daniel was clearly more terrified of the uncertainty that came with Sean trying to surrender than the familiar promise of togetherness that came with making it to puerto lobos.

like those 2 things are all it is guys. Daniel’s desire for stability and his fear of the unknown. he wasn’t averse to mexico itself. Daniel just wants a place to call home, and whether that be in Beaver Creek or Mexico, he’ll be satisfied with either bc the location isn’t what matters. the comfort is. so this popular interpretation that Daniel just hates puerto lobos for some reason? sorry but that’s not for me.

CONCLUSION

okay i have run out of steam and have finally voiced my thoughts. this was kinda therapeutic tbh lol.

so as you can see i really don’t like Parting Ways. it feels 1) extremely out of character and 2) Daniel having to deal with all that shit alone just seems so incredibly unfair and 3) it confuses things bc if the boys could only stay afloat in puerto lobos bc of Daniel’s powers then how tf is Sean living the happy-go-lucky vacation life by himself?? and 4) i really don’t agree with the fan defenses for it i’ve seen, that Sean leaving Daniel behind is “freeing” somehow and that Daniel never liked puerto lobos in the first place. both reasonings i find to be just nuts.

honestly out of the reasons i’ve listed, the ooc-ness is definitely my biggest gripe. like, PW isn’t the first time we’ve seen a character behave in a way that wasn’t previously established, but the fact that Parting Ways’ most integral parts are where i find its ooc-ness, Sean terrorizing Daniel and then abandoning him to the cops, is one of the biggest reasons why i can’t overlook it and just vibe.

i think the only thing i like about Parting Ways is getting to see Chris again and that’s it. which is kinda useless bc we can just see Chris in Redemption ending…. so….. like the only thing Parting Ways does different that i guess is cool to some is seeing Sean’s love interest at the end, but personally i didn’t get attached to the romance in LIS2 so i don’t find their reunion that exciting.

so yeah, anyways. these are the reasons why i don’t like Parting Ways. sorry for the annoyingly long post, but if you read this far then thank you for bearing with me!! 😄

#lexi plays lis2 #life is strange 2 #lis2 #this post is really long i’m sorry #but i had a lotta thoughts! lol

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anime-and-manga-rants · 3 years

Text

Why Jujutsu Kaisen’s First Episode is So Good

Today, I want to take a look at JJK’s first episode and how its structure makes it one of the best anime first episodes I’ve ever seen.

At first, I wanted to make this another installment of my The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly series, but I don’t think the way those analyses are organized would do this episode justice. I’m going to tackle this analysis in a more linear way than that series. I’ll still be giving JJK’s first episode a grade at the end, though. It’s still a first episode, after all. And it’s too fun not to.

So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

...

The episode doesn’t start off on a bad note:

The first character we actually see (Gojo) doesn’t appear again until the second episode, which is a little strange, but it’s nothing necessarily bad. Normally, it’d be best to first introduce us to Itadori. But it’s part of this opening scene’s intrigue, in a way.

Having Gojo be introduced first only to immediately disappear raises some questions throughout the rest of the episode. Obviously, he’s got to be important to the story to be shown first. So where the hell did he go? This, combined with the fact that Itadori’s set to be executed while clearly oblivious as to why makes for an opening scene full of questions. ‘Who are they?’ for one, of course. But more than that: ‘Why does this teacher at Jujutsu Tech want to execute a boy who seemingly has no idea what he did to get there?’ And: ‘What’s Jujutsu Tech?’

Despite this scene lacking a gripping opening line — the opening line is Gojo saying “good morning” — it still keeps us interested enough to keep watching. It raises too many questions we want answered to not do so.

The tension in this opening scene is palpable, and that’s what makes it good. Stories are all about tension.

...

Moving on... the inciting incident occurs at the end of the episode; therefore, everything before then is setup.

Before getting too deep into any breakdown of the setup in this episode, I’d like to mention that setup and backstory are often seen as one in the first episode of any show. But this isn’t so— at least, they shouldn’t be. Setup is necessary in a first episode, but backstory isn’t.

Setup is introducing us to a protagonist’s ordinary world so that we can get a sense of the difference between what they’re used to and what they’re about to face. Backstory is essentially anything that comes before the story, and it’s often what we find in lengthy info-dumps that interrupt the flow of a story. Backstory is needed sometimes, but it’s far better slipped into a story in moderation, not dumped onto a reader at the very beginning. A literary agent would take one look at a heap of backstory in the first chapter of a novel and toss it in the reject pile. If it can be done respectfully in a first episode, then I’m on board. But usually it’s not needed right up front.

Which is why it’s so refreshing to see that JJK’s first episode has not a trace of backstory anywhere. Overall, this episode is really strong, and I think the lack of backstory plays a role in that.

Furthermore, the setup in this episode is tremendously well done.

You see, before the inciting incident, we must first be introduced to our protagonist’s ordinary world. ('Inciting incident’ is the name for the event that sets the protagonist on the story’s main journey.) But their ordinary world is going to be more boring than the new world they’re going to find themselves in for the majority of the story. Therefore, we need some tension to make the setup before the inciting incident more interesting. Because if it’s too boring (or too long), chances are the audience is going to give up before the story gets anywhere.

There’s plenty of tension in this episode, and it’s almost all thanks to Fushiguro and his quest:

Every once in a while, Itadori’s POV is interrupted in the best way possible by Fushiguro on his search for Sukuna’s finger. This is where the true tension of the episode builds. While Fushiguro’s scenes focus on building the tension of the ‘curse problem’ that culminates at the end of the episode, Itadori’s scenes focus on introducing us to our protagonist. The constant trouble that we’re reminded of every time Fushiguro is on screen plus the promise of Itadori somehow being involved (it’s a story, after all—he has to be involved somehow) makes for an engaging first episode.

And we can’t forget how Itadori is plenty interesting enough to keep the audience engaged without all that promise of trouble to come. Not to say that promise is bad! But we get a great sense of who Itadori is in this episode, and he’s awfully likable and fun. We can tell he’s going to be a complex character worth following.

...

Before I start on the next section, I can’t neglect to mention how there’s no trace of forced dialogue anywhere in this episode! Not even in the setup, where it’s most common. There’s no sign of anyone mentioning anything that they know good and well just because the audience doesn’t know it. And nothing is lost because of it!

We still manage to learn that Itadori’s got some superhuman strength (which would be strange if it appeared out of nowhere later in the episode, when he fights those curses with Fushiguro). We still manage to learn that he’s in the occult club. And that he isn’t afraid of ghosts despite his upperclassmen being terrified of them, and he tags along with them when they go to haunted places for moral support. (Which is a form of specificity— it’s something that truly makes a complex and lovable character. And you bet I laughed when that image popped up of his upperclassmen cowering behind him as he strolled so nonchalantly. How could I not like Itadori’s character?)

This is how a first episode should be done. This is showing (rather than telling) at its finest.

...

Just by the way Itadori is depicted in this episode, through his dialogue and his actions, we can tell he’s going to be a complex character. (The best kind of character!) Not only through his dialogue and actions, though. His promise of complexity is ensured the moment the story-worthy problem is introduced.

(There are two kinds of ‘problems’ in stories: the story-worthy problem and the surface-level problems. The surface-level problems are the ones that are easy to spot— for example, defeating Loki in the The Avengers. There are dozens, even hundreds, of surface-level problems in a story. After all, to defeat Loki, didn’t they have to recruit each Avenger, stop Loki in Stuttgart, and take down the Chitauri army during the climax? And those are only three. But there’s usually only one (or a few if there’s a large cast of important characters) story-worthy problem. These are the problems that are associated with a character arc. Take The Avengers again— didn’t Tony Stark demonstrate how he learned to make sacrifices for others when he redirected the missile into the wormhole at the end? Tony’s story-worthy problem was being too selfish.)

The idea of Itadori’s story-worthy problem is introduced in this episode’s setup:

It’s when his grandfather tells him to help others and not to waste his life.

Now, while Itadori interprets this in his own way — I’ll discuss why this is great later — the beginning is there. His acceptance of his grandfather’s advice (with his own twist) is going to be his story-worthy problem. The episode wants you to know it, too. After all, Itadori references his grandfather’s words during his and Fushiguro’s fight with the biggest curse:

(I’m using the manga to keep everything succinct.)

He’s clearly accepted his grandfather’s advice, though he’s taken more to the idea of giving people proper deaths. Of course, this still manifests in him wanting to help people, as not helping them would very likely lead to their untimely demises. Like how he helps Fushiguro in this scene.

The development of his character will be based on this desire to fulfill his grandfather’s dying wishes and how his views of that desire change as he faces more and more surface-level problems. This is what makes it a story-worthy problem.

Every good story needs both a story-worthy problem and many surface-level problems, because a story with just the latter wouldn’t be much of a story at all. We want to see characters change, whether it’s for the better or for the worse. Your story’s surface-level problems would have to be pretty interesting to keep an audience interested for the entire duration if there’s no story-worthy problem to be seen. Even then, your audience isn’t going to leave your work with much satisfaction. The story-worthy problem is what gives meaning to your specific characters being a part of your story. Why not just any old gaggle of characters? The story-worthy problem also what holds the structure of a story together.

The inciting incident is the best place to introduce the initial surface-level problem and hint towards the story-worthy problem. Itadori saying he’s got his own curse to deal with is about as big of a hint as we could get. It’s fantastic! It’s no good when the story-worthy problem is too difficult to even pinpoint.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to determine what event is the true inciting incident of a story. But the true inciting incident will always be wherever the story is kickstarted plus wherever the story-worthy problem is hinted at. Therefore, the inciting incident of JJK occurs when Itadori helps Fushiguro take down the curse and eats Sukuna’s finger to do so. (Usually it’s not quite so obvious what the story-worthy problem is, but it certainly works in this case!) After all, the story-worthy problem is clearly there, and as soon as he eats Sukuna’s finger, he’s secured himself a spot in a world he’s never been a part of before. If he hadn’t eaten the finger, he could’ve gone back to his normal life after the curse was defeated.

Therefore, JJK succeeds in giving us an inciting incident that accomplishes exactly what it needs to do in a way that deserves nothing but praise.

...

Earlier, I mentioned that I needed to discuss why Itadori interpreting his grandfather’s words in his own way is important. Well, it all has to do with agency.

Protagonists need agency. In other words, they need to decide things for themselves. They need to be active. Passive protagonists who are simply dragged around by the plot and do anything necessary to keep the plot going are the worst kinds of protagonists. They’re the protagonists we get bored of at best, hate at worst. I mean, they can’t do anything for themselves. Who wants to follow a doormat through a story?

Itadori is certainly following his grandfather’s advice, but he gave it a meaning that suited him more. He isn’t really following his grandfather’s words blindly. Another example: when he eats Sukuna’s finger. Fushiguro didn’t tell him to do that. Fushiguro only mentioned that the curse wanted to eat it to gain power. It was completely Itadori’s decision.

Therefore, right off the bat, our protagonist is making decisions for himself, even while being thrown (unwillingly) into an entirely foreign world.

...

I can’t end this analysis without first mentioning how well everything in this episode fits together.

I mean, come on... Itadori’s in the occult club, which is how he knew where Sukuna’s finger went, and because his upperclassmen are in the occult club, they wanted to investigate a cursed object. It was mandatory to join a club, and the occult club finishes before five, which is how Itadori could visit his grandfather and hear his grandfather’s advice (which would become the story-worthy problem).

And what about the occult club’s presentation of their research project to the student council president? They theorize that there’s a dead body buried in the rugby field, and that’s why the rugby players kept falling ill and had to be hospitalized...

Then, later, when Fushiguro walks to the rugby field, he spots a curse and asks himself, “Is there a dead body buried here or something?”

This episode is fantastic!

...

Well, I believe that’s about all I wanted to cover in this post. Everything else is a bit too minor to include, and I don’t want to make this too long. So, let’s hurry up and get to the grade for this episode.

I’m giving it an A+. It absolutely deserves it. I can’t think of another anime’s first episode that I would even consider rating this high. (Even giving Dr. Stone’s first episode an A- was a bit generous, honestly.)

Good for Jujutsu Kaisen!

...

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk anime #jjk analysis #fushiguro megumi #itadori yuuji #gojo satoru #jujutsu megumi #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu itadori #manga analysis #anime analysis

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emwritesstuff · 3 years

Text

as the world caves in | ch. 9 | bucky barnes x reader

synopsis: You are a ghost story. A former Air Force pilot who had her plane shot down by Germany in 1945, but here you were in 2023, alive and frozen in your 25-year-old body.

You haven’t seen Bucky since the 1940’s, before his fall, before you went on a suicide mission only to come back alive. You aren’t sure reliving those memories – and being a living memory of everything the man has lost – is the best for him.

But you and Bucky won’t be apart for long.

This will loosely follow the plot of TFATWS - so spoilers ahead, specially regarding episode six (finale). Thread carefully!

masterlist | AO3

notes: thank you everyone for your patience with this chapter. I'm dropping this lil shortie so we can get the story moving. Let's go! (warnings: lil' fluff, lil' angst) (word count: 3K) nine: records

Bucky knocked on your door a few weeks later.

It was late, and you were snug in your pajamas, winding down after a long day. With your identity no longer a secret, the government was in the midst of transferring you to something more… hands-on, and definitely less diplomatic, you were assuming; so much for retirement, but you figured 30 years of it had been more time than you could’ve anticipated.

You almost didn’t hear the soft rapping on wood over Vera Lynn’s mellow singing.

When you finally opened it, you found him standing there, wearing tired eyes and a dark coat. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but I started walking and I—"

“When I said you’re welcome anytime, Bucky Barnes, I meant any time.”

A tiny fraction of a smile was offered your way, and you grasped it tight against your heart at the same time you do his hand, pulling him inside.

His fingers lingered on yours, but before you could start thinking about it he pulled away, taking a seat at the edge of your couch. “I finished it. The book.”

Bucky answered your question before you could ask it. “I just came from there. The last one– the last name.”

“Well. Are you alright?” You sat next to him, your knee knocking against his, and his gaze went from the floor, to the spot where your legs touched, and then to you. He knitted his eyebrows, seeming a little incredulous you were even asking.

“I will be.” His hands intertwined on the space between his knees, and you placed a hand ton his shoulder, getting him to look at you again.

“Yes, you will. Do you want to talk about it?”

One corner of Bucky’s lip raised up, and he shook his head. “Is that Vera Lynn?”

You smiled, turning to look at your record player as if Vera herself was sitting next to it. “It is. Takes me back, I guess.”

“It’s all we’d listen to at the front.”

Nodding, you wondered for a second if Bucky remembered dancing to We’ll Meet Again the night before he was shipped off. Even if you weren’t the only girl he had danced with then, you still asked yourself if that memory was burned on his mind as it was on yours.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. A short-term promise, made back then by hopeful lovers, friends, family members; you had no idea that those lyrics would prove themselves so literal when you and Bucky mouthed them at each other in the middle of a dancefloor.

You let out a breathy chuckle, standing up and beckoning him to where you kept the rest of your vinyl. “Come on. Vera’s starting to feel a little too nostalgic to me.”

Your record collection was pretty extensive, ranging from things of the good ol’ days from the special editions that were still being released nowadays. Bucky joined you on the floor, and together you started to make your way through decades eternized in discs.

“Marvin Gaye.”

You look up from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, finding Bucky making a face at the album he was holding. “It’s really good. Do you want to—”

“No. No more Marvin Gaye.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “You don’t like him?”

“I like Marvin Gaye! Jesus. Marvin is good—Marvin’s jus’ fine,” Bucky rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, and you finally understood.

“Sam’s been preaching you the word of R&B to you too, huh?”

You giggled at the tired look he gave you and silently took Trouble Man out of his hands, stuffing it back with the rest of the 1970’s.

Years ago, Bucky would be delighted to dive headfirst in the new – your trips to countless science fairs and expositions were enough proof of that – but looking at him now, knowing him as you were starting to once again, you figured that just a dip of the toes was more than enough.

You pulled Frank Sinatra from the 1950’s section.

“I know Sinatra.”

“Do you now?”

You put the record on your player, and Vera Lynn’s longing gave way to Sinatra’s swagger and jazz.

“Do you?” Bucky teased, frowning at the most recent items in your collection. As soon as Frank’s voice filled the silence, he nodded. “Yeah, that’s nice.”

“I do know him! Or did. Met ‘im in 1962.” You plopped next to Bucky, who was shaking his head. “What?”

“Show off.”

“No, just been around. Met people on the way. And, you asked.” Your smirk grew into a grin as Bucky mouthed your words back at you. Then his face fell for a second, and your amusement was quickly replaced by worry. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I guess – I guess I just missed a lot.” The same way one of the corners of his lips tug on his cheek again in his attempt of a smile, melancholy tugs at your heartstrings. “I missed out on everything. And I missed out on you.”

Bucky’s head was low as he spoke and you could see the tremble of his hands, even though he clutched one of your records tightly. Nina Simone, 1960’s.

“M’not going anywhere, you know.”

“You still lived an entire lifetime—”

“I did, yes, thank you for constantly reminding me that I’m over 100 years old.” You shook your head at him, sighing softly when he chuckled.

You couldn’t blame him, for clinging to every bit of past he’d missed while he was in HYDRA’s clutches – you knew that was inevitable, but you wished that such sorrow wasn’t so related to you.

“What are you doin’?” He asked as you summoned a small stool from the side of your shelf and stepped on it.

“I want to show you somethin’.” The thing you were looking for was stored at the very top: a heavy, brown leather suitcase that almost made you lose your balance when you pulled it from the spot it had been sitting in for—honestly, years, many of them.

The contents of the suitcase rattled as you climbed down and sat next to Bucky again. Sinatra still playing, telling his lover I've got you under my skin, I've got you, deep in the heart of me;

You almost laughed from the truth and irony of it.

I'd tried so, not to give in

I said to myself this affair never will go so well

You unlocked the suitcase, revealing the gathered memories inside. Pictures, movie tickets, theater playbooks, receipts, trinkets. All souvenirs of the 80 something years of your life Bucky hadn’t been there to see.

Not organized in the slightest, the keepsakes of your life were tossed together and out of order just as in your memory: photographs of you in uniform, and sometimes in party dresses; of when you bought your house; of the few times you had pets. Posing next to famous people and other important ones whose names weren’t as well known by the world.

As you and Bucky went through each of them, you added a story or an explanation, sometimes both, to fill him in on the details of your life events. He laughed at some, frowned at a lot, stared at you intently for all of them.

“Is this Berlin?”

You hummed, nodding. “1989. That party was great.”

“Party?” Bucky knitted his eyebrows in surprise.

“The city was unified, the wall was being taken down, and everyone was celebrating. I’ve never seen that many bottles of vodka in one place.” You laughed, taking a good look at yourself in the picture.

The 80’s were definitely not your best decade, looks wise. You had tried a perm the year before, and the poodle look was only then starting to dial down. The beginnings of a bruise were starting to creep on your left eye, from the mission you had completed just a few hours before.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk.”

Bucky’s surprise intensified, his eyes wide. “We can’t get drunk.”

“Yes we can.”

“No, no we can’t.”

“We can, in fact. It’s all a matter of quantity and, well, speed.” You giggled as Bucky’s mouth gaped more.

“And the hangover?”

“Horrible. Like getting shot on the forehead. Comes quickly, too.”

He grimaced, and with one last look – certainly to register your peculiar appearance on his mind – gently put the picture back inside the suitcase. A stack of papers seemed to call out to him and he picked it up, releasing them from the band that held them together carefully.

Postcards of the places you’ve been: a small note to James Barnes and Steve Rogers on the back of each one.

Bucky’s voice faltered. He let out an anguished little sound, probably something that was supposed to be an Oh, or a What, but had no strength to crawl up his throat.

You brought your knees to your chest as you waited for him.

“You—you wrote to us?”

“I did. You can keep those, they’re addressed to you.”

After all this time, you could barely remember the words you wrote in those postcards; all you knew was that some had longer messages, others a simple Wish you were here.

“After we met in Baltimore, I thought that— that you’d have moved on from us.”

From me.

As if that was possible.

“Well, I stopped writing by 2003, give or take. But really,” You sighed. “It’s hard to forget someone when you’ve always been expecting them to come back to you.”

Bucky flipped the postcard from Rome, read the writing and smiled wistfully at it. “And, I did.”

“You did. And staying away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but—”

“But you’re annoyingly stubborn.” His jaw tightened, then relaxed when he smirked. “I mean, I get it – If the roles were reversed, I’d leave you rebuild your life without me like a self-sacrificing idiot too.”

Alright. That was fair.

Shaking your head, you watched as he slipped the postcards in his pocket, an amused expression on his face.

“That was… a big mistake. Something a self-sacrificing idiot would do,” You screwed your eyes shut in shame, opening them when Bucky chuckled. “but now, I’m right here. And so are you.”

His stubble scratched the soft skin of your palm when you reached for him, and you continued. “We’re a little out of place in this century, that much is true, but if I’m being honest… I’m getting tired of yearning for the past, Buck.”

Good old times – sometimes really good, sometimes bad, every one of them old – tucked away in your heart like your records were tucked in neatly in their shelf, organized by year. As you went through the decades, your enhanced body eternizing you like marble, your heart seemingly stayed at that army camp overseas. Or maybe Sergeant Bucky Barnes had taken it with him, only for them to be frozen together, leaving you with an empty hole in your chest.

You lived your life longing for that missing piece, the one with blue eyes and the dashing smile and the skilled feet.

The one that in many other stories was the one that got away, the one who now believed he was somebody else, but had brought your heart back with him all the same.

The very heart that nearly leapt out of your chest when Bucky rested his forehead against yours.

You’ve never been this close – there isn’t an ounce of past in the gesture. His eyes being tightly closed kept him from seeing the surprise on your eyes and then how they fell to his lips for a millisecond. Then, those lips brushed against yours in a featherlike touch.

I would sacrifice anything, come what might

For the sake of having you near

He pried himself off you when you exhaled, as if your very breath had electrocuted him.

“M’sorry. I—I didn’t—” He said as you stared at the back of his neck, and the shock gives way to disappointment.

I didn’t mean to. Or maybe: I didn’t want to.

“That’s—it’s okay.” You clapped your hands on your knees, still feeling the prickle of his facial hair on them, and got up to change the music.

There was no doubt Bucky was touch starved, and that he probably craved the closeness that comes with a lover. He sought that for a fleeting second in Sam’s sister, and now in you. No point in dwelling on what it might have meant.

Right?

Looking at Bucky, his expression was overcast, furrowed eyebrows as he watched you from his spot on the floor. You offered him a gentle smile, and the crease on his forehead eased up slightly.

Right.

Don't you know little fool, you never can win

The record player made a scratching sound as you replaced Frank Sinatra with your go-to jazz compilation. Instrumental.

No lyrics.

There was one thing you’ve always been good at, regarding the infatuation with Bucky Barnes that has taken over your heart for almost a century now: locking the feelings away and stepping into the shoes of the best friend.

Besides, you’ve said it yourself: no more yearning for the past. Hopefully you and Bucky would be able to do that soon enough.

At that moment, however, you needed to feel the burn of whiskey down your throat and pretend it’ll heal the calcinating rejection spreading through your chest.

The guilt you found in Bucky’s eyes as he watched you sweep around your hardwood floors made you pour a glass for him.

He took it gratefully, frowning when you bottomed the whole thing up.

“There’s a lot in here.” He tapped the edge of the suitcase, skillfully steering the conversation in the direction of the more palatable, calm territory it was in before.

The sight of your autobiographical collection made you smile.

“An entire lifetime,” You said, fishing your dog tags from the bottom. “I suppose that’s where it started. Or at least, where thisstarted.”

Bucky took them reverentially, running his thumb over the imprint of your name and numbers.

He reached for his neck, producing from under his Henley the same type of metal chain he was holding in his hands. The fact that he still wore his like that sent a sharp blow to your lungs, almost knocking the air out of you.

His face softened, a smile so beautiful spreading across his lips, so much that your chest clenched in protest because it was simply not fair, how he still had you entirely.

He deposited both of your dog tags in your hands, and that’s when you saw it, and remembered it.

“Won’t we get in trouble for this?”

“Do you care?”

“Well…No.” You sighed, already resigned. And a little excited.

Bucky knew you well: it had been too long of being a good little soldier when all you were used to was the rush of being a hellion.

“And that is why, sugar, that I’m doing this with you, and not with Steve.”

The words made your heart soar, but you were sure to recapture it before it could fly away too high, still too attached to the sensation of the take-off to clip its wings.

You liked flying.

“And because Steve hasn’t been successful in his enlisting efforts. Yet.”

Bucky looked at you from behind his eyebrows, a reprimand hiding in his eyes, but he decided to shove his uniform hat on your head instead. You grumbled, calling him a jerk under your breath.

It was the night before Bucky was drafted to England. He looked handsome in his uniform, a shining, polished star, brighter than the sun even under the dim streetlight you two stood under.

After bringing his and Steve’s dates home (yours was lost to another boxing match along the way – not that you were crying about that) Bucky had decided he was going to stay up all night, because, in his words, he could sleep when the war was over. Or, more realistically, in the ship on the way to England.

So there you two were, illuminated by street lamps and moonlight, visiting the façades and front windows of your favorite places in Brooklyn like drifters in the night.

Bucky still concentrated on his task, his shoulder hunched slightly to block your sight.

“Let me see! Bucky!”

“ ’Sposed to be a surprise! I’m almost done.”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “It’s not like I haven’t seen ‘em before.”

“You gotta be more patient. Here.”

He dropped your dog tags on your hand. You displayed the small steel plates on your palm, scanning your eyes over the two. One of them, of course, had your name, number, blood type, next of kin – an aunt you’ve never met – and address.

The other had Bucky’s.

James B Barnes. 32557038.

He slipped his own chain over his head, the plate with your name clinking against his.

You brought the tips of your fingers to your lips, feeling a smile begin to form onto them.

“I forgot we did this. I haven’t looked at these in so long.”

You had stopped wearing your dog tags the day the war had ended – Bucky was gone then, Steve too, and the weight of his dog tags slamming against your chest was too much to bear – your heart was already heavy with its own engraving of their memories.

“Steve had a lecture prepared when he gave mine back.” Bucky chuckled when you looked up at him, incredulous.

You shook your head, half exasperated and half amused. “Good grief, Steve.”

“Y’know how he is. Was,” He trailed, lips twitching as they formed a thin line.

You reached for him, your hand hovering in the space between you for a second before Bucky took it, lacing your fingers. Scooting closer, you let your cheek rest on his shoulder.

“He’d be glad we’re reunited.” You said, raising your head to peek at him and the newfound upwards curl of his lip. “And mortified we’re still bickering.”

Bucky smiled and squeezed your hand. “Old people. Old habits.”

Laughter bubbled out of your chest, and you realized a few things.

In that moment, it didn’t matter – the heartache, the unrequited side of your love. It was just a fact, a fact of life, of your life, that you a lot of the times loved him as more than your best friend. You loved him. And that was the core of it, the most important fact.

And you knew he loved you – you had each other – in this big, ever-changing, modern world, you had Bucky and Bucky had you.

You sat in comfortable, familiar silence until your eyelids grew heavy and you felt yourself drifting in and out of consciousness.

“You dozin’ on me, sugar?”

“It’s been a long day.” You said with your eyes still closed, feeling him chuckle beside you.

“Tell me about it. I can go—”

“You know damn well you should stay.” You patted his arm and hoisted yourself up from the floor. “I’ll get the pull-up ready for you.”

As you sauntered towards the office, ignoring his pleads and protests that he’s got it, he doesn’t need sheets or anything, you put your dog tags back on.

They jingled lightly against your heart.

Maybe you didn’t have to leave all of the past behind to start building something good and new, after all.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes imagine

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captnjacksparrow · 3 years

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i had a really fun time reading through the post where you explained sasuke's feelings towards naruto throughout the story. but i have a question for one of the segment which was the "unintentional closeness". in vote 2, sasuke was only getting close to naruto and punching him because he had no chakra left to use rather than wanting to get close. can you name any other techniques sasuke could have done instead of getting on top of naruto to defeat him ? i would like to hear your thoughts 😁

sasuke was only getting close to naruto and punching him because he had no chakra left to use rather than wanting to get close.

That’s why I used the word, ‘Unintentional’, Anon. Sasuke never wanted to get close but he just did it without realizing. He wasn’t even thinking with a composed mind like he did before in many other battles. Even when he was fighting with Danzo, Sasuke lost his mind completely to the point of differentiating between friends and foes. But still he fought diligently using right jutsus by creating clever traps. Compared to that battle, Sasuke looked like he doesn’t know what he was doing in VoTE2.

You know that I didn't write that section citing any romantic intent, right???

The only thing which looked awkward, weird, funny and slightly cute was when Tailed Beast Mode Naruto was sitting on top of Susanoo Mode Sasuke. It wasn't even in the manga.

And you also know I didn't ship them until episode 478, right?

But, Throughout the series, even on my first watch, I paid close attention to every fight sequences without missing any stuffs (I am a sucker for Martial arts and Breath taking stunts). So, on my first watch itself, I was laughing inside and thinking, 'Why is this fool bringing the fight too close?, Sasuke is falling right into Naruto's comfort zone, a close ranged battle!!!'

There were two jutsus I thought immediately. One is out-of-context and another was already used in that battle. On top of it, the author didn’t use these jutsus intentionally.

I noticed Sasuke was a medium to long range fighter and Naruto was a close range fighter. I realized this in the battle of Deidara vs Sasuke. and Naruto vs Pain. Other than Rasen Shuriken, Naruto's jutsus are all close ranged ones.

Throughout Shippuden, There were only two battles where Sasuke was pushed to the point of draining out all his Chakra. Not including the VoTE 2 Battle.

First one, Sasuke Vs Deidara.

[[SIDE NOTE : Even this battle carried various techniques, Man!!!.. In the Manga, this battle lasted for 6 chapters. Sigh!! VoTE 2 sucked at jutsus]]

As you can see Anon, Sasuke was out of chakra at the end of this battle. He didn't get close to him, because Deidara was the pursuer. Sasuke just needed information about Itachi from him.

After losing chakra, what did he do?

Sasuke summoned Manda, the snake, put a Genjutsu on him. Then used Reverse Summoning Jutsu to fly into a different plane.

I think this Jutsu is Out-Of-Context in VoTE 2 battle. Because, Sasuke wants to destroy Naruto, so he can't be running away from the battle like he did with Deidara.

Second One, Sasuke Vs Itachi.

Godd!!! What a clever and painful battle it was.

This is right after Sasuke fired up Katon no Jutsu to the sky. After that he was out of chakra like Itachi says here.

What did he do next?

Sasuke used 'Kirin'. Itachi evaded it with Susanoo, anyway. It's a jutsu which expends very less chakra as mentioned by Zetsu and Databook.

Sasuke never used this jutsu in the Manga in VoTE 2 battle, anon. I know Kishi made that move intentionally. I’ve explained about this at the end of the post.

I mean, Sasuke was not entirely drained from Chakra like the above two scenarios. After falling down from the sky, Sasuke fired up an Amaterasu, which Naruto blocked easily with his Chakra. Then Sasuke used his Chidori to smash all the Naruto clones.

Instead of that Chidori, Sasuke should've fired Katon no jutsu to the sky and should have smashed Naruto with Kirin.

Game Over!!!!!

But then, some jutsu freak like me must have questioned the Anime makers at that time, 'Why didn't Sasuke use Kirin in this fight?'. The Anime team would have, 'Oh, That's right, Then let's make Sasuke use this dangerous jutsu while they are both in this Big Mega-Zord Version. Otherwise Naruto would really die if Sasuke use it during Fist Fight.' LOL.

In the Anime Episode, Sasuke already used Kirin, a jutsu which was not used in that battle in the Manga. And hence, citing repetition reasons, The Anime team didn't use it again.

Sasuke could've used this jutsu after stealing Chakra from Naruto, then Naruto would've been drop dead for sure. Instead Sasuke went closer to Naruto, looked him in his eyes, switched off his Sharingan and got that Upper Cut.

So, these are the possible jutsus that can be used even when the user is out of Chakra. It's not even my theory, it's explained canonically in the Manga and Anime.

If you ask my personal opinion or my theory,

Then I would've saved my Chakra to ram Chidori Sword right into Naruto's heart, instead of any of those useless things Sasuke did.

Even Kishimoto said in an Interview, that the boys won't be using Ninjutsu for the final battle. He deliberately written them to fight using their Fists. I knew this only very recently after writing that Sasuke's Perspective post. You can see it in this link.

LINK

Kishi made Sasuke to use Reverse Summoning Jutsu when he was out of Chakra.

Kishi made Sasuke to use Kirin when he was out of Chakra.

Kishi made Sasuke to sit on top of Naruto and smash him when was out of Chakra. LOL.

I think the author drawn those deliberately knowing full well about his own established facts. And I just happened to observe it.

LESSON : IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY SOMEONE WHOM YOU KNOW SO WELL, NEVER FIGHT THEM UP CLOSE.

#ask #naruto analysis #sasunaru #sasunarusasu

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liberons · 3 years

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so anyways have a weird pseudo-meta on the 239894 ways levi’s character could’ve been better used story-wise

tbh i do believe yams had it in him to write a nice, tight, cohesive story where everything could’ve fallen in place well enough -- at least to the point where actions made sense with reference to established character personalities and arcs within the story. i have no issue with regression, but you can’t make it half-assed or just. entirely left-field and leave it at that and ok moral of the story i’m like, 90% sure come from being far too invested in the fandom as an author. NEVER change your story because of someone else’s opinion when it’s SERIALISED y’all.

SECTION I . KILL HIM OFF !

let’s be honest !!! this is the most obvious !!! we get it he’s popular, you’ll get backlash, yaddi yadda ya girl’s tired.

( i . ) why didn’t eren kill him.

why

remember what levi was actually established to DO early on? the whole “i’ll take care of eren if he goes manic”? his WHOLE NARRATIVE PURPOSE? would be great if we, you know, played with that At All.

how fucking FRIGHTENING would eren’s final form be if it just fucking nipped levi in the bud? if levi, completely fine and uninjured, stayed true to his word and lead to handle eren, just to be fucking annihilated? eren has like 60 fucking titans inside him INCLUDING the activated founding. I THINK IT’S PRETTY FAIR TO REDEFINE HIM AS BEING FUCKING OP NOW.

just define some real form of tension come on.

this could’ve also just. so naturally shifted the tension in mikasa’s direction. literally everyone instinctively has mikasa jotted down as second-best-next-to-levi, both in and out of canon. it would make sense for other characters to just eye awkwardly in deciding mikasa ‘has’ to be the next one to try through the framing bias that presents.

right now it’s like it’s not even her choice but everyone decided it would be for no goddamn reason. why does mikasa need to be ok with killing eren at all??? why cant one of YALL do it????????? and like mikasa kills him but then presents absolutely no real conclusion in doing so. we get 0 insight into what’s really going on in her head and WE DONT EVEN GET TO SEE IT !!!!!!!!!!

( i i . ) zeke if yOu’Re goNnA do it dO it RIGHT

to stay more true to canon, here’s way better ways zeke could’ve actually been rid of him that aren’t. regressing and dumb lmao:

zeke’s still a war chief, he’s had YEARS of troop strategy / planning up his sleeves. why didn’t he use turning levi’s squad into a means to set up some real traps because what’s he gonna do to a bomb, huh? Fight it?

or better yet, spike more than just levi’s squad and just have swarms and waves of mindless titans coming in to provide that distraction.

or have more help?? there’s all the yeagerists at your disposal and not ONE can secretly set something up with you?

overall like zeke should know levi’s skill and levi shouldn;t have to assume zeke’s not ?????????????? “willing to die”??????????? WTF????? AREN’T YOU WHY WOULDN'T HE BE?????

god anyways

zeke kills levi u know what that sets up? the fact that he’s pretty fucking clever and powerful on his own???? so now when eren & zeke team up to cause the rumbling, regardless of zeke’s original intent, would make them Far more horrifying to the rest of the crew;

tbh i feel like this should mean moving the ‘reveal’ of eren’s betrayal to the very end of the manga when eren explains everything through path visions bc at least it keeps his moral grey area more.... grey.

we know by the end that he betrayed zeke so it’s like ok So Yes He’s Doing Summ For The Greater Good But What and at least this would balance the scales of mass murder a lil by not snipping all the men i fucking Guess lmao god

( i i i . ) RUMBLE HIM

step on him

but really he can just??? die during the rumbling???? point blank??????????? why were there not more major character casualties lmao boi

if the colossal titans are just far too many and far too boring, all the previous titans on eren’s back is so delicious and should’ve been drawn out im not sorry about it.

where’s the 349873 iterations of character x character teaming up and slowly getting better at absolutely Slicing these bastards? WHERE ARE THEY?

i want my warriors x stray marleans x survey squads just dedicated to keeping the 9 titan iterations out of eren’s neck.

he could’ve finally killed zeke here too but i’m gonna get to that whole thing lmao god.

we've also established him getting wounded when others are involved (à la leg injury helping mikasa) so have him??? sacrifice???? to help others like finish his empathy arc

let him sacrifice himself by keeping the titans back while armin blows up idc

and for all of these — it doesn’t even have to be a quick death. let him lose a body part and die of blood loss. let his organs fail. let him get infected like yo not every death has to be in 3s flat.

SECTION II . OR DON’T !

like. let’s just say there’s absolutely no way your publicist is gonna let you kill this character. you love him too much / he’s become a weird self-insert. ok sure. YOU CAN STILL DO SOMETHING.

( i . ) why does he just. not grow.

he’s five three but does his heart have to be?

anyways fr he’s literally a huge fucking asshole and he doesn’t grow out of it. no one ever point out that it’s terrible. the biggest blacklash he gets is historia punching him like pew. and it’s not even addressed why she did that. it’s just like haha, yep.

can we get him some uhhhh??? clear empathy ???? some actual growth?? like we know he went from the guy beating eren up Excessively to forcing historia to be queen to giving armin the colossus, and then back to just slicing zeke up uselessly and caring about one (1) thing. like he was clearly on a path somewhere.

like first of all, holy fuck get over it. it’s like he had a manic episode for 4 years just obsessing over killing zeke when the game changed buddy??? it’s been established that the issue is No Longer zeke why are we so hard on this. his entire character just becomes kill monkee because his arc is DONE so if we’re going to keep him around find something else?? or CONTINUE to develop him.

make him grow his soft skills as a leader. make him learn how to stick around his team and know exactly how to fall back.

if he’s injured, make him LITERALLY stay back and learn how to handle those he has to keep back with him.

make him struggle keeping morale.

make him argue with some of the non-paradisians, or even those from paradis that are like what the FUCK and just learn to offer his perspective.

if he’s so obssessed with zeke maybe uh?? address that with someone???? talk it out with your therapist buddy you’ve clearly not come to terms with the fact you let erwin die and he has no reason to be so caught up by that and if he does like lmao ok let us see and understand it???

( i i . ) do something with the ackermans

that’s it that’s the post

idek what else to put here i want this fucker dead

#❛ ⍀ 𝟎 𝟎 𝟔 ．» ᵒʰ ʰᶦ ᵐᵃʳ ∕ ooc ．#next time i'll be logging into my ymir blog to talk about how to better treat ur lesbians #i could probably write this properly but the disarray feeds into my fury #i was going to work on more drafts but instead i just sat here seething in my rage the Second i thought about the last arc again #those Fill In The Blanks games with character names and we could probably write a better final arc #anyways

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miraculouscontent · 3 years

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It’s so bizarre because Miraculous already felt like they were either pressed for time or had this need to constantly pad things out (I’m really starting to despise writers who insist that “every episode has a purpose” with the whole thing of Astruc referring to “Gigantitan” and being like “well we learned that Marinette’s friends know about her crush on Adrien” as if that justifies creating an entire episode around) despite the fact that they clearly have material to work with and they just don’t want to. There’s material in other Miraculous media about the creation of kwami and Mylene wanting to go into politics (which Mylene desperately needs because she leaves the least impact on me out of the girl squad), but they’re so focused on their love square that seasons tend to feel like they have no substance.

Now, could they hypothetically have five+ seasons without any padding at all? It’s hard to say and also probably depends on the definition of padding.

If the show was rich on the relationships between characters and the fandom considered learning about said characters to be fulfilling enough, then yeah, I think there’s potential. I mean, we’ve basically all talked about how the show introduces characters and then does nothing with them, so they could’ve done something. We could’ve gotten actual build-up on the Gabriel+Nathalie relationship (and more of a hint as to when Nathalie knew that Gabriel was Hawk Moth), more details on Marinette “officially” becoming friends with certain characters, more on Kitty Section and how Ivan got into the group (if Luka was really retconned to be Juleka’s twin, for example, he could've been in the same class as Ivan at one point), not to mention all the potential plots with characters really learning about each other.

But as is, yeah, no, I’m screaming too.

#category: salt #category: staff #other: ask and answer #((oh my god speaking of relationships))#((i just realized that there's another relationship I missed in my ramble about how the show's terrified of directly stating them))#((Jagged and Anarka))#((it's all hidden in music and pirate metaphors.))

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inspector-montoya-fox · 4 years

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here’s why Thieves in Time is a bad game

before y’all try it, i just want to say that i’ll be as unapologetically petty and sarcastic as i want and fucking rip this game to shreds. yes, this is how i’ve spent my days since Thieves in Time came out. sitting alone in my room, staring at the wall, crying and complaining. because it has since been my life’s aim and dream to think about it every day, state the negative things about it, and become an evil essay witch on this half-dead website. *evil laugh*

Story:

References: i want to start with the smallest problem, but one that annoys me to this day. in the original trilogy, there weren’t a lot of references but the ones that were included were meticulously researched and well thought-out (i’m specifically referring to that Neil Diamond Carmelita vinyl gag, but can’t find the original post). the references in Thieves in Time however, were obviously just the creators’ interests. Turning Japanese, Clan of the Cave Bear and Bentley’s “hacksona” presented as Rambo just scream 1980s (which i’m assuming is the decade the creators grew up in), and Of Mice and Men is classic literature about the Great Depression, which subsequently started being taught in school in the US during the 1980s. it feels like the creators just went ‘let’s discuss what our lives had in common during our teen years and put that in’ instead of researching it first. and, here’s the thing: when you’re adding references, in order to make them funny or interesting, they have to fit in with the property or the character that’s connected to them in some way. Don Octavio was an opera aficionado so his episode’s title card pays homage to the Phantom of the Opera, young Muggshot was influenced by the movie “The Dogfather” because he’s a gangster, etc. these were funny because they were so spot-on with these characters. if every character in the Sly Cooper universe references the same type of stuff (from the 1980s) and shares the same interests, it’s just claustrophobic and uninteresting. i’m pretty sure i’m not the only one who had to look up these ultra-hetero, scrotum references when the game came out. that’s because they were specifically tailored to be funny to them, and not their target demographic which were kids in 2013.

Narrative: now that we got that out of the way, let’s look at the narrative. at the end of Sly 3, Bentley says he’s building a time machine. Sanzaru took that joke and decided to run with it as the premise for their game. ok, not the best idea, but i get it - you’re literally picking up where the last game left off. since all the storylines were wrapped up, they could’ve done something different like Sly’s kids or Bentley and Murray’s families, but this isn’t an essay about suggestions so...... time travel (i want to say that it’s, again, an 80s reference but whatever) was pretty ‘out there’ in 2013. i mean, even Plants vs Zombies 2, which was released that year, had to do with time travel (yes, i’m referencing an app). but Sanzaru had the advantage of applying this premise onto already established mythos and lore. the story had definite potential: someone is threatening Sly’s lineage so he has to travel back in time to save the day. the player would get to explore new locations and iconic eras in history, and, of course, the main selling point: playable ancestors. how could you screw that up? welp.... let’s think about the plot holes here for a sec. Bentley’s device would take the gang back in time when given an item from the specific era. stop. this right here is called ‘over-complicating’. how did they know the items would take them directly to the point where the specific ancestor was in danger? the Feudal Japan period lasted for 700 years: how did the machine know when and where to drop them off? and if the gang could return to the present at any time, why didn’t they do so when they were in trouble? oh right, the machine was broken. so how did they return the baddies to the present after they defeated them? i mean, why did they use the Grizz’s crown to travel to Medieval England if they went back to the present to drop him off to Interpol first? and on that note, how did they drop the baddies off to jail without getting caught and without Carmelita being around? i can already hear you thinking but these are total details that aren’t important, you jerk! well, yea, they truly are details and i truly am overthinking it. and yes, i truly am a jerk. but let me tell you something: when Sanzaru chose to make a new Sly game, did they not think ‘oh we’ll have to follow up Sly 2 and Sly 3′s stories’ which were well thought-out narratives with depth and various themes and didn’t have huge plot holes (as seen by my analysis through the episode project) ???? and did they also not think that their game would come out eight years after the last one, having expectations at an all-time high???? yea, that’s what i thought.

Characters: i’ll make a different section for Sucker Punch’s characters, so this is for Sanzaru’s original ones. name one iconic original character from Thieves in Time. i’ll wait... nope. not one. that’s because all of them were absolute shit. and here’s where i want to touch upon Sanzaru’s over-reliance on the trilogy. Ms Decibel (perhaps the most obvious copy) is a mix between Don Octavio, Miz Ruby, and the Contessa. El Jefe is Rajan if he went to the gym. Toothpick has Sir Raleigh’s temper and tendency to grow in size. and the Grizz is... whatever the fuck he is. (don’t worry i didn’t forget Le Paradox and Bob). there’s a difference between studying & creating similar characters and blatantly plagiarizing older characters because you lack the creativity. oh, boo-hoo this evil jerk’s telling it how it is. this set of villains is so lacklustre, i don’t even know where to begin. El Jefe is a tiger, even though we’ve already had two major tiger villains and one tiger flashlight guard. ok. Rajan could summon lightning because of the Clockwerk heart but El Jefe can do the same, how exactly? Toothpick is an armadillo (good) from Russia (better) with an obsession with the West (excellent) who can also grow huge (very bad). it’s never explained how or why. why?????? just tell me why. i want to know. i really want to know. Ms Decibel is an elephant who got into a tragic accident which left her with the power of hypnosis. music and hypnosis have already been done, but ok, i’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. so how do we use this character? spend the entirety of her screen time making jokes about... wait for it... her weight !!! this is top-notch comedy... really? like... really? the creators’ humor is a crime, at best. fart jokes and fat jokes all around. oh, and then there’s the Grizz. what the fuck where they thinking? just, what the fuck. i guess the guys at Sanzaru thought black people speak in rap? is that it? apart from it being extremely offensive, it’s also a blatant copy of Dimitri’s backstory. like, his introductory cutscene even has his paintings thrown at him and into the trash, like the intro cutscene for The Black Chateau. honestly, all of these villains caused me several types of pain, but not as much as...

Bob & Le Paradox: the absolute worst. i can just imagine the meeting going something like this: Sly’s ancestors are awesome! i wish we could fit them all in the game... here’s an amazing idea! what if we use one of the game’s few levels to introduce a brand new ancestor! yea! let’s make him dumb as fuck, strip him of any athletic prowess, and retcon the entire lineage by having him be the first Cooper ever! the kids will love a prehistoric level! ..... could you kindly point out where and when did ANYONE ask for this? i remember @ironicsnap saying something like the game is good until Bob. no, it was already bad - Bob just lowered the standard. like, a lot. people love Murray and his gameplay is neat, but no one ever thought ‘oh i wish we had a Cooper character with Murray’s game style’. why would they waste the opportunity to bring in Henriette, Thaddeus, Otto, literally any ancestor? why??? but they went ahead and created their own Cooper, and that wasn’t even the end of it. they had to make him dumb. they had to make him unbearable. they had to ruin the Cooper ancestry by adding this mess to the lineage. Sucker Punch made sure that all the ancestors were unique, but at the same time made all of them suave and funny and slick and you wish you could be them! well, fuck that. also, his name is Bob. Bob Cooper. it’s been 7 fucking years and i still can’t wrap my head around it.... so now, let’s talk about Le Paradox. i don’t have to mention the previous main villains, but i will. Clockwerk killed Sly’s ancestors and father, and was seemingly an eternal threat. Neyla was a psychopath who fooled everyone on her journey to becoming immortal by resurrecting Clockwerk. Dr M opened up the possibility for Sly’s dad to be a jerk instead of a hero, and died trying to unlock the Coopers’ legacy. how does Le Paradox compare? well, he’s a sleazebag skunk who was mad because of his dad’s downfall to the Coopers. that’s it. no twist, no depth, no clever dialogue. nothing. there’s nothing there. this is a new character, unfamiliar to everyone, who was hyped up for 5 levels and defeated in the conclusion. why was he a match for Sly? i don’t know. how did he fight for his life and ultimately tricked Sly into helping him? i don’t know. how the hell did he kidnap Carmelita? i don’t know. was it the power of persuasion? no, he’s revolting. so i literally don’t know. there’s no backstory, no fleshing-out the character, nothing. all we’re given to work with is a brief info-dump about his dad and how he escaped prison. i don’t know what else to say apart from how big a humiliation this was for Sanzaru and their team of writers. you had 8 years to work on something and this is what you came up with? anything would be better. anything would best this utter cliché of a villain, a distasteful misogynist, crybaby, idiot with an accent. literally anything.

Arcs & Themes: let’s take a look at the formulaic subplots for the gang’s members. apart from dealing with Le Paradox, everyone had a small arc. Sly had to deal with his break-up with Carmelita. Bentley had to deal with his break-up with Penelope. Murray had to deal with playing second fiddle to Bob. Carmelita was a damsel in distress and sex bait for the ancestors. the ancestors had their own mini storylines along with reacting to Sly’s presence. there you have it. i summarised it all for you, nice and neatly. are there any themes like in the previous games? nope. i promise you i’m not lying when i say that i tried hard to come up with something, even some speck of a detail i could use to over-analyse the story and come up with some ideas on themes. nothing. there are no themes. the subplots are character-driven and the player gives it 0 emotional investment. there is nothing to analyse, nothing to talk about. maybe even a theme for each level, like a spooky level or something? nope. the levels are dependent on eras and historical periods. the variation here is ok. Feudal Japan, Wild West, Prehistoric Australia, Medieval England and Ancient Arabia - pretty good selection. i’ll give them credit for it. but that’s it. due to the absence of themes, the hubs feel empty. there’s no replayability factor. after you collect the bottles and masks and treasures, there’s nothing. i would spend hours revisiting the trilogy’s hubs, just roaming around. the hubs here are huge and empty. there’s nothing to reminisce about. nothing to recall. oh that’s where this mission went down. no, nothing like that. the aforementioned subplots are resolved during mission cutscenes and then they’re gone. you don’t have to explore spooky Prague alone as Bentley to have him overcome his fears, you don’t have to find out miners abducted Murray’s beloved Guru and search the Australian outback for him, you don’t have to hold back your tears when you’ve reached the end of the Cooper Vault and Sly asks his dad for help. nothing.

Gameplay:

Controls: as soon as i laid my hands on the controller the first time i played the game, that fateful afternoon, i knew something was up. Sly would respond 1 second late after you pushed something on the controller. it felt clunky, is what i’m trying to say or, as my sister put it, it felt heavy. and she was right. the controls were clunky and heavy and didn’t feel light, like playing as a thief should feel. i don’t know shit about game mechanics but this definitely didn’t feel right. the hubs are also chunky in design, the cliffs are huge and so cyclical or hexagonal, that when you parachute your way to them and are just an inch close, Sly will automatically just drop because he can’t grab onto them. running as Sly doesn’t feel fast, silently obliterating guards from behind feels slow, and swinging, grabbing, pickpocketting, and hanging aren’t fun anymore. presentation-wise, @designraccoon goes into detail here, in an absolute gem of a post. in short, the gameplay animations make Sly look less sneaky. Sanzaru didn’t even consider a thief’s movements.

Missions: why the fuck would you remove the player’s option to choose between which mission to do first? why would you do that? the game lays out what goes first, sometimes having only one mission available in the hub. and the missions aren’t even enjoyable. firstly, the loading screens take up to 5 minutes, maybe even 7-8. secondly, there’s hacking every 2 missions. the missions don’t have any dialogue to make them fun, lack in interesting puzzles, what more can i say? they’re overly easy and lack any challenge whatsoever. at least there’s variation in gameplay (hacking, RC car, fishing, costumes, ancestors, turret etc.) but because of the controls, even these get tiresome. the missions are solely there to progress the story and that’s why the operations are merely ‘storm the main baddie’. the trilogy had some pretty interesting missions which made sure to complete jobs required to take down the big bad. e.g. kidnap General Clawfoot to take down the security, hack Contessa’s computer to make sure Carmelita will be freed, steal voices to tempt Neyla, and then take down the Contessa. the missions in Thieves in Time lack substance and variety. and the hacking (all three styles) sucks.

Collectibles: here’s another fantastic idea: have players collect costumes in order to collect bottles in order to collect treasures in order to collect masks in order to unlock funky Sanzaru logo-themed merch! what was the reason for the collectibles? in previous games, collecting all bottles would unlock special abilities. that was it. it’s the same thing here too, but there’s less incentive? i mean when you have to collect 1000 things, what’s the point? the treasures are random and very few are references to the trilogy, so whatever. and the masks unlock... superhero costumes for what reason exactly? oh, and then there’s also the achievements for your Playstation account, like ‘open the map in every single location you visit’. what fun! if the reason for collecting the treasures is to play godawful hacking minigames in order to get masks, what’s the point? decorate your paraglider with the Sanzaru logo? or have Bentley dress up as discount Robocop? i mean including masks in the interior locations was cool, but the bottles were always supposed to be something you could do whenever your soul desired. sometimes i left them last before the operation, sometimes i collected them before the first mission. so i was pissed when i found out that, in some cases, you had to unlock the episode’s costume in order to get the all the bottles. so, fuck off.

Animation: i’ll keep this short. the animation was terrible. do you remember that tumblr blog from a while back, where she dedicated the posts to pointing out the mistakes in the animated cutscenes? yeah. point is, there were lots of them. the animation style was bad, the character design was ugly, the characters’ movements were unnatural. everything about it was shit. looking past the bad decision to drop the trilogy’s comicbook-style animated cutscenes, couldn’t they have hired someone better? someone with more experience? their concept art was awesome. couldn’t they hire that guy and have it be comicbook style if he wasn’t trained in animation?

Legacy:

The Players: let me ask a genuine question: who was this game made for? kids growing up in 2013? maybe so. because it feels like Sanzaru didn’t even consider the fans of the trilogy. actually, it felt like a huge fuck you. Sucker Punch made their trilogy for whoever. there were great stuff for kids, but adults would pick up and appreciate the references, the real-life setting (e.g. tobacco use, existence of nightclubs, spice instead of drugs, etc.). that’s why all three games are timeless classics. judging by Thieves in Time’s humor, the game wasn’t targeted for adults. so, it doesn’t make sense to use an already established property, beloved by its fans, to attract a new audience consisting of nine year-olds who’d laugh at Murray dressing up as a woman. if they really wanted to appeal to the fans of the original, why retcon everything? why change who the first Cooper was? when the gang’s stranded in Saudi Arabia, why have Sly say ‘i couldn't remember a time since we've teamed up that we felt so defeated’? the gang’s been in way deeper shit before. why the ‘Sly’s dad vs Le Paradox’s dad’ deus ex machina? Sly’s dad wasn’t famous because of stealing the world’s largest diamond, what the fuck are you even talking about? do the guys at Sanzaru have such big egos and bravado that they needed to change the original games’ lore? were they so preoccupied with leaving their signature on a property which was never their own? i don’t know who needs to read this, but i’m stating FACTS.

Characters: now let’s talk about Sanzaru’s treatment of the Cooper gang and the ancestors (female characters will get their own section). why would you change the characters like that? if it wasn’t for the voice acting, i’d say this is a completely different Cooper gang. there’s no wise-cracking band of best friends, going on heists and being proud of their brotherhood and bond. all that is replaced with the formulaic story arcs for each member. the trilogy’s cutscenes and dialogues made sure to establish how Sly, Bentley and Murray have lived together since they met at the orphanage, play videogames all day and order chinese food and pizza and whatever. through missions and their adventures, they face obstacles they have to overcome as a gang, and when Sly 3 came around, their friendship was put to the ultimate test when they almost disbanded. Thieves in Time was too lazy to add to this. Sanzaru thought ‘oh the trilogy showed how they’re best friends so we might as well have them focus on their own stories separately’ and if this is truly the case then i ask again: who was this game made for? because new fans would never know how tight the gang was just by playing Thieves in Time. there’s a lack of genuine friendship moments. like, what happened when Sly came back after faking his amnesia? that’s completely ignored. where’s the witty banter? the ‘wizard & sitting duck’ type of jokes? nothing of the sort. what we get is fart jokes and Murray wanting to dress up as a woman. on that note, what was that all about? ok, have him dress up as a geisha to get in. fine. have El Jefe slap his ass, have him perform in a painfully lengthy dance sequence, have him dress like that during the rest of the episode, and then have him be persistent about getting the belly-dancing gig? the hell? Murray was always kinda goofy but this just feels kinda homophobic? it feels dragged out and unfunny. and then there’s the ancestors. i said it once before and i’ll say it again, Sanzaru deprived me of a buff Arab daddy Salim Al Kupar and gave us that elderly shit instead. all jokes aside, the redesigns were uninteresting. why take away Tennessee Kid’s facial hair and give it to Galleth? i legitimately think all the ancestors were boring. i mean, their gameplay was cool, especially Tennessee Kid’s guns, but in terms of character, they were just some dudes. did they believe that Sly was their descendant from the future? maybe. did they care? nope. they all had the same storyline of dealing with Sly’s arrival, flirting with Carmelita and getting their canes stolen. that was it. the fans waited for so long to get even a glimpse of the ancestors in action, and Sanzaru downplayed all of them. they reduced them to useless idiots too occupied with women and food, incapable of getting their canes back from stupid Le Paradox. and they didn’t even stick to the lore. no ma’am. let’s make Rioichi the inventor of sushi !! because that makes total sense and would defo fit in with the character and the property! why. just, why. you were handed the lore !!! you were given all this rich backstory and you threw it all away to replace it with trash !!! complete trash.

Changes & Inconsistency: i want to briefly mention some changes that pissed me off. where’s the laser glide move? it was an important turning point at the end of Sly 3, so why did they get rid of it? Sly is a master thief who’s traveling back in time, so you’d think they’d actually make him a master thief. also, the changes in the binocucom and Bentley’s slideshows in order to modernise them. if Sucker Punch managed to place the mission starting points at locations where the binocucom would show the objective clearly, so could Sanzaru. instead, they chose to have it be a moving camera, floating around the hub. and Bentley’s slideshows were absolute classics, opportunities to include gags and have Bentley show off in his own way. you just had to change it into a tablet, didn’t you. omg you’re still looking at small details like these? yes sweetie, i consider the details because i think they shape the game more than anything. if i didn’t consider the details, then my opinion on the game would be incomplete. when i praise the trilogy i don’t only look at story and gameplay. because i’m unbiased like that. here, i’d also like the mention Dimitri. what a fucking waste. you either include him in the game or you don’t. but don’t give me some half-baked shit on how he’s working for the gang back in present day. Dimitri staying home, waiting on the gang to call him in order for him to give them details on the villains. how does that even slightly resemble anything about Dimitri’s character? they didn’t even include his voice, some greasy sweet Raccoonus Doodus dialogue.

Female Characters: you know it’s all been leading up to this. this is the crux of the Thieves in Time hate. i don’t want to say the game is misogynistic so i’ll call it anti-feminist. why? just answer me. why? why did you have to disrespect Carmelita like that? right off the bat, they swapped the pants for the skirt. in what world does an active inspector who’s always on the scene wear a skirt? Carmelita now wears a skirt because her only role in the game is to be the love interest. Carmelita now wears bright red lipstick and has a new hairstyle, which would be ok if only it wasn’t Carmelita. Carmelita now plays up her inner sassy Latina because she’s pigeonholed into the ‘angry ex girlfriend’ role. they compartmentalised her, tried to sexualise her because she couldn’t possibly be one of the boys. nope. let’s take a respected woman, high in rank and as physically able as Sly, and turn her into a cliché, an angry ex girlfriend for comedic relief, strip her of her abilities and have her be kidnapped twice, have every exchange with her be about how attractive she is, have almost every male character in the game flirt with her, have her boyfriend be jealous of his own ancestors because they’re flirting with her in order to create purposeless love triangles, and then, after all that, dress her up as a belly dancer and distract some guards while the rest of the gang do the heavy lifting. that last one was really the nail on the coffin. did Bentley have other ways to enter that door? absolutely. so, what the fuck? why did i come back for a good Sly game 8 years later and receive a game where you have to shake your controller to have Carmelita shake her ass? why did they have the guards’ eyes pop like that? why did no one stop them? and it isn’t just Carmelita. it’s Penelope too. god forbid we have a female character who doesn’t have a waist smaller than my finger, and a voluptuous physique. why was the redesign so drastic? the story stuff is also nonsensical. why did she leave? wasn’t she happy with Bentley? i watched her speech about turning on the gang about a thousand times and it still doesn’t make any sense. like, i literally don’t understand. what was her motive? and why reverse her story of overcoming the Black Baron persona and the connotations of a meek woman hiding behind a man’s disguise? why repeat it, shamelessly? do the guys at Sanzaru only know women who have recently broken up? why does Carmelita, Penelope and Ms Decibel all go through break-ups during the game? why does Penelope go against Bentley before they even break up? why waste the opportunity to introduce a new, well-written villain and use it to repeat something already done? why???? no woman is safe from Sanzaru because Ms Decibel... boy, did i feel bad for her. apart from continuously reminding us that she’s haha fat!! she’s also presented as a blind lovefool. love? what a silly concept only women believe in! Ms Decibel had a crush on Le Paradox (for some reason i can’t even fathom) and for that she must pay by being utterly humiliated. and what do ALL women do when a guy breaks up with them? they get so angry! yikes, stay clear guys! ....why does Sanzaru hate female characters? i’m genuinely curious. i mean, what forced them to depict women like this? i’m sorry, i can’t take much more of this.

Ending: and how do you end a disappointment that came 8 years late and didn’t even have a sequel guaranteed? yeap, you guessed it! a cliffhanger. but not just any cliffhanger - a total fuck you to anyone and everyone. with a single move Sanzaru instantly screwed over the franchise. the fans, the creators, the characters, anyone looking to continue the series. everyone. WHY would you trap the protagonist in the past? WHY? did you feel defensive about something that wasn’t even yours and went ‘well you can continue the series but the sequel will have to do with time travel’. why did you think it was a good idea? how does it even slightly resemble a good ending? someone fill me in please. because i don’t think i’m being unreasonable, i’m just telling it how it is.

Conclusion:

i did it. i fucking wrote it in all its motherfucking glory. the idiots at Sanzaru could’ve given us an amazing game but instead of working on how to make it better or including extra levels, they wasted their time on deciding what killable baby animal to include in each hub or what the backstory for each treasure should be. how fucking distasteful. and to think i’m an idiot myself for trying to force myself to like it because i was so in denial about how bad it was. i’ve just outlined everything wrong with that cursed game. i’m exhausted.

#yOu'Re rEaLLy pEttY ! sOrRy hAd tO UnFoLLoW #i think i covered everything #THIS IS AN AMAZING ESSAY #this is the crown jewel of my time on tumblr #i love myself so much #sly cooper #anyone who even remotely comes for me because of this WILL get blocked #the birds really think i care about my rep on this fucking hellsite #HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

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maipreciation · 3 years

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a comprehensive list of my WIPs hopefully to be worked on in 2021, sorted by priority. had to add a read more because the list is embarrassingly long. any snippets I’ve posted of these stories/ asks I’ve answered about them are also linked below!

fics that should’ve been finished, like, yesterday

watching you watching me ch 5: the final chapter of the zukka fic I started over the summer during what was probably the peak of the atla renaissance. have I lost interest in this? yeah, a little. am I still gonna finish it? absolutely. x

the world laid out before you: second person pov highlighting some of the ladies of atla and impactful moments in their lives (including more detailed backstories I’ve made up for characters like song, jin, and smellerbee). katara and azula’s sections are just about done, but I still have eight more people to write. x

with every breath: an exploration of aang’s grief throughout the series in five parts (with maybe a bonus part 6 somewhere down the road). one of those fics where I have such a strong idea of the vibe I want to convey that I’ve procrastinated actually writing it out of fear that I won’t be able to measure up to my own expectations. x x

fics I’m excited for (and will definitely work on) but not entirely sure where they’re going

the first five years: a series of moments from zuko’s early reign as firelord. fifteen chapters planned and counting, probably won’t start posting until at least a few sections are done. x

swallow this valley whole: exploration of azula, mai, and ty lee’s relationships with food, femininity, ambition, and power. x

treacherous (i like it): mailee moments we did and didn’t see throughout the series from first meeting/ friendship to end of the war/ beginnings of a relationship. x x

hanging in the balance: a bunch of unrelated potential aus about how the night of azulon’s death/ ursa’s disappearance/ ozai’s ascension to the throne could have gone. x

vignettes: tiny moments in mai and zuko’s lives from the fountain incident when they were kids through adulthood/ old age

uncle: the impact uncles can have on their nieces and nephews- mai and the warden and zuko and iroh. x x

three people: three people mai kisses, three she does not, and one she kisses again. eventual maiko but with some diversions along the way. x

mutually generative elements: zuko’s understanding of the elements grows far beyond anything iroh could’ve taught him. begins at the western air temple and continues through the ember island players, though doesn’t rehash each episode- it’s more like moments that could’ve happened between zuko and members of the gaang as they slowly warm up to each other

like a sparrowhawk singing: season 2-ish timeframe? early on their hunt for the avatar, mai and ty lee get separated from azula and run into the freedom fighters. not knowing that these two formidable young women are fire nation, jet tries to recruit them. mai and ty lee discuss loyalty, honor, obligation, and what freedom means to them. eventual mailee?

love like a brother: ursa’s second pregnancy is a difficult one. azula is born frighteningly premature- her lungs aren’t fully developed and ozai writes off her potential for firebending as nonexistent (he’s wrong ofc, he’s wrong about most things lmao). greatly weakened from the birth, ursa falls ill and dies after months of struggle. meanwhile azula survives against the odds and is mainly raised by her brother- resulting in an unshakable loyalty between them. basically zuko still gets banished but this time has azula on his side- not with him physically but back in the fire nation playing the ‘perfect daughter’ to ozai’s face while working behind the scenes with mai and ty lee to help zuko (and eventually, once zuko switches sides, the avatar)

the last eight years: the story of zuko and mai’s relationship, told in the style of the musical ‘the last five years.’ (alternating povs, mai tells the story backwards- beginning with them breaking up after the war, zuko tells the story in order- beginning with them meeting for the first time as kids, with one scene in the middle where they overlap)

fics I already know I’m not gonna work on (but they’re going on the list anyway for the sake of completeness)

all night i’ll riot with you: just read this post. I may actually end up writing this, who knows.

cardigan: modern au zukka, a coming of age/ rekindling of friendship type fic that just barely turns towards romance later on. x

the tea shop: modern university au where iroh franchised the jasmine dragon and zuko, mai, and ty lee work at the location on their campus, make friends, struggle through their degrees, and also develop crushes on some of their frequent customers along the way lmao. featuring zukka, tysuki and jetmai; past sukka, maiko, and (non-toxic) jetko. takes place in what’s basically my fictionalized version of nanyang technological university in singapore

roommates: modern au zukka where sokka has been in love with his oblivious roommate for years, only to realize in the end that he’s been the oblivious one this whole time. cheesy and cliché, I wrote one funny scene where zuko says the phrase ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ and then got bored with the whole fic

being neighborly: yet another modern au zukka fic, this time with sokka and zuko living across the hall from each other at university. sokka is a mechanical engineering major with a drawing minor, zuko is polisci with a dramatic arts minor. nothing much happens

miscalculation: starts beginning of season 3 when azula and zuko return to the fire nation. ozai somehow learns the avatar is still alive after azula claims zuko killed him in ba sing se, and this revelation causes him to re-evaluate his daughter’s loyalties. ozai reveals his knowledge on the day of the eclipse and confronts his daughter; zuko saves azula from their father’s wrath and takes her with him when he leaves

in a strange land: tales of ba sing se- azula, mai, and ty lee edition. featuring azula vs one very stubborn joo dee, mai’s solo adventure in the lower ring in which she chases a certain person in a blue spirit mask, and ty lee visiting ba sing se university’s libraries/ allusions to her great grandmother being an air nomad

lu ten lives/ vigilante cousins au: exactly what the title says- lu ten is secretly alive and goes with zuko on his banishment. a lot of stuff happens but I’m pretty sure I’m never gonna actually write it out in full

#ashlei stop talking about what you want to write and just write it challenge 2021 #the last section of this list is proof that i can't ever seem to follow through with modern aus #also putting this whole thing together really made me thankful for everyone who has ever liked/ commented/ asked me about my writing #officially making one of my new year's resolutions to interact with fics/ fic writers more and really let them know when i like their stuff #because it seems like such a little thing but really means so much #ashlei writes sometimes

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andreycoded · 3 years

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I’m gonna write a messy, short essay here about the spn finale. I know we’re all enjoying analysing and ripping it apart because, oh god, if you just look at all the pieces, all of us could’ve written so much better, and they all deserved so much better, and it hurts. but all in all i haven’t had that hard of a time forgetting about the finale, and the reason is that the minute that episode started I went. fuck. they really made a nostalgia episode for the last one.

i’ve got a really complicated relationship with nostalgia. i get high on nostalgia, like everyone else, that’s why all of us distanced spn fans went off the rails on november 5th. generally, i keep getting stuck on things that were good in the past and i love reliving those things by remembering. but not thinking about personal experience, i hate nostalgia. hate itttt. it ties so much into bad things these days and there’s two aspects in which it is relevant to the finale: firstly, how nostalgia is monetized, second, how white (cis? straight? i don’t know who specifically had a hand in writing the finale and i’m not gonna look it up for this, feel free to argue) males especially think of nostalgia. for example, disney owns our brains in the most crucial developmental phase, so the way they’re capitalizing on that childhood nostalgia is a good example of the bigger picture going on with it. right now, it’s really easy for all companies that have to do with entertainment to go the route of just evoking those sweet sweet memories. nostalgia has to do with emotion, emotion is a really easy way to persuade people to buy things, because invoking those familiar feelings is a way to instantly make you care. so if you think about ending your series (or beginning a sequel, looking at you the force awakens, actually probably the whole trilogy, whatever) what do you think is the surefire way to get that emotional punch out of people? now, we know that that surefire way is to do the work required, do a little original thinking and pick up the pieces of the narrative that still need completing. but if you were someone not privy to this understanding, if you were feeling lazy or if you possibly were someone thinking about things from a commercial point of view, you would most likely think oh! all the classic supernatural things, that’s what’ll make the people happy. and that probably did make a section of the fans happy! some people are happy with the endless churning out of remakes, as long as the industry is willing to do it (looking at you winx remake). i find it hard to blame them, especially when the future is sometimes looking really grim. but it’s also making me feel desperate, because we need to get out of the past to get original things, we need new stories, and the industry isn’t funding them because original ideas monetarily are a risk, a gamble. (now i’m rambling) so all of the things about the finale rang to me like remember this thing? remember this thing? remember this thing? the sympathies and narrative positions of the writers would factor into this and figuring out what they were thinking with all of this, like whether the last hunt or dean filling out a job form was supposed to feel (soul-crushingly) sad so that the death felt sad - idk, as i said i haven’t really looked into it and i don’t know the writers that well. now obviously, it’s hurting so much to think that in the end dean was that daddy’s blunt instrument, what with going on a hunt taken from john’s diary. but if you didn’t have a brain and were writing that, wouldn’t you maybe think that this is where it all started, it’s so emotional to remind everybody of that. bring back the hunt, the diary, the brother dynamic, that one vampire lady nobody remembers but it’s still a callback? i can’t remember what else there was but the ”plot” in the start of that ep was trying so hard to be season 1. and the pie. that’s nostalgic, that’s emotional. right? riiight. all of these cheap emotional cues left no room for actually dealing with anything that had been going on. (i don’t need to say that but i said it anyway: 101 of writing, there’s action and then there’s reaction, rinse and repeat.) not paying attention to the possible versions of the finale that there may have been before covid, even the decision to start everything as it started makes sense from this point of view, thinking about all the things from the earlier seasons that you could reference. oh my god, remember how sam wanted this in the beginning, always wanted to get out? and how dean said this is how he would go? how fitting! god this is way too long. ok so idk, i faintly remember that some of the writers have stated that they wrote the story for themselves. it might be a different writer than those who wrote the finale (i don’t know, sue me) but there’s definitely a pattern of white male writers lapsing into this nostalgia narrative. and supernatural was meant to be relatable to young white men, right? this time it’s not that kind of ”remember when everything was better” narrative that it usually is in politics, but definitely related to the question of ownership and entitlement. i think that personally a white man writing this (or star wars, or other things) might think of it like this is what was important to me. this is how it started, so many years ago and it’s so meaningful to me and reminds me of those years and feelings. this is my story and i want to end it on that emotional nostalgia that i feel. so to wrap this up somehow, i find it really hard to take the finale seriously when i think of the bigger picture. this is not to say that i don’t acutely feel everything about how dirty the characters were done, and i cherish and relate to every single post analysing that episode. I love to talk about it and debate it, but when it comes to being a finale denialist, it’s easy. after the primary reactions of laughing and then feeling angry when i thought about it, it just makes me feel flat. that was somebody elses personal version of a finale. that was a symptomatic, sad consequence of the larger theme going on, of men claming ownership to stories and/by taking into account only their own subjective experiences of it. and the fact that largely the entertainment industry is counting on everyone else doing the same right now. it was just a sad shortcoming that is entirely removed from the overarching story and plot (both pretty damn original and emotional) some of them were committed to doing. btw there’s a good article about how “originality is always traded for nostalgia” by writer khadejah jones. even though i’m high on that s1 rewatch nostalgia right now, let’s also remember to look for new things. i know a lot of you are going to be the ones creating those things and i’m looking forward to them, so let’s try to nudge the industry that way while we wait.

#spn #supernatural #spn finale #15x20 #supernatural finale #finale #idk just spamming tags #jensen ackles #dean winchester #finale denialists rise #i KNOW i didn't say anything new ok but whatever!!!! just putting this out there anyway #and i KNOW we're on slutty mountain man and questionably spread misha scandal high rn but #my post

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