#TIME FOR A INSPIRATIONAL TRAINING MONTAGE

[certainchopshopcheesecake]

Me after learning ive been taught some of the main stuff in my sport wrong for the last 8 years

#I MEAN I HAVENT BEEN HEAVY DUTY OVER THE 8 YEARS #Skipped like a year between being really busy and a broken arm #BUT I WAS FEELING DRAMATIC OK #i mean my friend has it too (we found out at the exact same time) #thats what i get for being like ½ self taught ig😭😭 #i havent even started learning the right way and its been like 2 weeks #but its so cold outside yk #TIME FOR A INSPIRATIONAL TRAINING MONTAGE #i mean apparently when ive retrained myself ill play better which is fun #thats fun #just trauma dumping yk😘 #IM BEING SO OVERDRAMATIC ITLL TAKE MY LIKE 3 MONTHS IF I WORK HARD #IF YOUR STILL READING #im being overdramatic #I WONT DIE #HELP I HAVENT CARED UNTIL RN #ive been chill abt it till now #why am i still rambling #byeees <3

[indecisivemuch]

Scandalous

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Reader

Summary: The reveal of a scandalous detail about yours and Luke's relationship left you both flustered and everybody else gaping. Inspired by one line from So It Goes - Taylor Swift (fluff, established relationship).

Warning: allusions to sex, but no explicit details.

Word count: 2k

You and Luke have been going out for well over a year now. Yet, he never failed to make you feel like it would be an eternal honeymoon phase: whispers of sweet words about a lifetime’s worth of promises, delicate and sacred touches, looks filling in for unspoken words.

Loving Luke was as easy as having a daily routine - so natural and almost like a grounding thing from the life of a Demigod.

Currently, Luke was training with Percy. You were not too far away either, sparring with Clarisse. Despite the area being occupied by many other Demigods engaging in similar activities, Luke could not help but frequently glance over at you.

Luke has always been mesmerized by the way you combat, which he metaphorically compared to a ballerina. So precise, yet deadly. Every move was with intention and purpose. 

The way sweat glided down the side of your face, your cheeks flushed from fighting, eyes darting with strategy, heavy pants in between dodging and attacking your opponent, the smirk hinted on your face - all of it made Luke’s mind grow flustered. Somehow, he found everything you do attractive.

If he was honest, his mind seemed to be doing nothing lately but think of you, especially when you’re not beside him. The memories he has harvested over your time together only transformed his brain into a cinema, which constantly played montages of you. Every morning, he’d wake up from a dream about you to the sight of you in his arms - that is before he had to sneak out of your cabin back to his. You constantly occupy every cell in his mind, like an uncontainable virus spreading. Yet, for some reason, he was not scared. He welcomed this feeling with his whole arms wide open.

You broke eye contact with Clarisse to look at Luke. Almost instantly, your eyes melted into ones filled with adoration and his own eyes mirrored the same emotions - if not tenfold. 

You were absolutely enamored with how Luke looked at you. Even before dating each other, people have mentioned the eyes he was giving you. But being oblivious, you did not see what they were talking about. However, it all became clear when you started dating. You started noticing how he would look at you like you were a rare artwork he would most likely never see again or a shooting star - a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence kind of thing that left him in awe all the time. He would do it so endearingly as if it would help to absorb every detail of you and imprint them into his memory. His looks have always made you feel loved - like you were the only thing that mattered to him, as if he has not told you this verbally and through actions already. Usually, you’d feel slightly insecure if somebody was staring so intensely at you, but he did it in a way that made you feel like your flaws were created to be loved for. 

However, a gasp escaped your lips as Luke was showered by a wave of the ocean. Everybody else also drew their attention to the head of Hermes’ cabin and the newly claimed Poseidon kid.

When Luke looked back at Percy, he was faced with a sheepish grin.

“I had to get your attention somehow. I tried calling your name like ten times already,” Percy shrugged his shoulder with feigned innocence, but the glint of mischief told Luke that the kid was anything but feeling guilty about soaking him from head to toe. 

“Percy,” Luke groaned as he could feel the fabric of his clothes cling to his body. Percy bashfully chuckled and offered another sheepish look to the counselor who was meant to train him. 

The cool water did offer a temporary fix to the boiling summer heat. But mixing that with sweat, combat, and Luke's long-sleeved shirt underneath was disastrous. The Hermes boy sighed as he slowly took off the bright orange camp shirt. After struggling slightly, he managed to pull the shirt off from over his head. However, the gray shirt he was wearing underneath got pulled up more than slightly from the extra friction between wet fabrics, revealing the majority of his back to Percy and others. 

He did not think much of it until gasps - including yours - could be heard as this happened. Chris even whistled as he and everybody else spotted what Luke did not notice.

“What?” Luke asked as he pulled down his gray shirt and started wringing his camp t-shirt, trying to rid it from being as wet as possible. 

“Damn, did you get mauled by a minotaur or something?” Percy asked. 

Almost immediately, Luke paled at Percy’s words as he realized what the kid was talking about.

Indeed, as Luke’s gray shirt underneath got pulled up, which revealed the majority of his back, this had also put on display the scratches down his back left from nights that he spent with you. Some were evidently old and healing, as seen by how Luke’s skin was patching itself up and matching closer to his skin tone. Others were somewhat freshly red, while a few were like wounds being reopened. To make matters worse, they could spot the occasional crescent shape bruises that were indentations of your nails. 

Considering your guys’ relationship was not a secret, there was no room to deny it if somebody pointed fingers at you. You blushed as people now averted their eyes to you as if this was the most scandalous thing all year. Clarisse and Chris, on the other hand, were both smirking. 

The whole camp knew you were the one who left those scratches there, and you sincerely wish you could dig a hole to hide yourself from all the attention right now.

Luke’s eyes darted to you, and you offered him an awkward smile as your face grew a darker shade of red.

“No, seriously, dude, you gotta get it checked out at the infirmary. How did that even happen?” Percy only continued, somehow actually clueless about the cause of those marks. You could see Annabeth sending Percy a somewhat side-eye from nearby at his words while Grover let out a deep sigh. 

You started approaching the two, hoping you could intervene and save the both of you from this situation.

“Uhm…well,” Luke started, unsure how to even answer the kid or divert the attention elsewhere as his cheeks flushed and ears tinted pink from trying to ignore memories of what you two had done the night before.

The Hermes boy has jokingly sweet-talked you before on how he might walk out shirtless after one of your rendezvous to show off the marks you left on him. Never would you two think that that idea would ever happen like this.

“Yeah, I reckon you should get that checked out,” you decided to say as you reached Luke, settling your hand on Luke’s lower back and greeting Percy. “Thank you for worrying about him.”

“Yeah, no problem. I mean, it must have been quite a minotaur to land that much of a number on him,” Percy somehow carried on and was utterly oblivious to Clarisse and Chris, who almost bursted out laughing at his latest comment. You, on the other hand, squinted your eyes at the kid. You turned to Luke and you could see it in his eyes that the boy was on the verge of laughing as well. You were sure he would have done so if it were not for your glare.

“Well, we best go heal those wounds now, right Luke?” you gave your boyfriend a look, hoping he would get the message to play along.

“Right,” he agreed almost instantly. 

“Alright, bye, Percy,” you hastily spoke, before dragging Luke by his hand away from everybody's eyes.

“Bye guys,” you could hear the kid’s voice as the both of you retreated. It felt like a walk of shame as the semi-crowd parted ways for you two to leave the scene. You immediately let out a deep breath as soon as nobody was near anymore.

“Gods, that was so embarrassing. The kid basically repeatedly called me a minotaur.”

“I mean…you can be my minotaur?” Luke cheekily jested, trying to tease you a bit more over the situation.

“Oh, no, no, no, we’re not making that a thing. No, absolutely not are you ever gonna make that a nickname,” Luke only laughed at your reaction before wrapping his arms around your shoulders and bringing you into a hug. As he did so, you wrapped both your arms around his waist, face colliding with his chest the way it would usually do when you guys cuddle. He gave you a few peppered kisses on your forehead, close to your hairline. 

“They’re never gonna let us live that down, will they?” You asked after letting out a muffled groan against his chest.

“Nope,” Luke admitted. Despite the Hermes boy usually easing away your worries, even he knew this would be the talk around camp for a while. Nevertheless, he unwrapped his arms around you and cupped your face with both hands. Using his callus-filled hands, yet gentle touch, he soothed your furrowed eyebrows by rubbing over them to urge you from scowling.

“But…you know what? I’m kind of glad this happened. Sure, it might be awkward and a tad bit embarrassing. But now, they finally get to see how lucky I am to have been given a chance by such a gorgeous and sweet Demigod. And…” he paused, giving you a quick kiss. “This way, any guy potentially still after you know to keep their hands off.” He cheekily winked at you after saying so. 

Gods, you remember how jealous Luke would get before you were together. It was lowkey hot to see him so riled up. Though, after the both of you got together, you have always reassured him that you had eyes on him and only him. 

“I guess that also means any girls still thinking they could steal you from me would know they have no chance?” you questioned, smiling ear to ear when he nodded eagerly at your words.

“Exactly. That’s a win-win in my book. I’m not embarrassed they saw what you left on me. They could talk for all I care. So stop worrying, or else you’ll start getting wrinkles,” he lightly flicked the area between your furrowed eyebrows. As you were about to complain, he quickly kissed you right where he previously flicked you, and that immediately melted away any bit of feigned irritation you had with him. He chuckled at the sight of your furrowed eyebrows untangling itself.

“Thank you,” you muttered, showing your gratitude towards Luke. 

If Luke had a superpower, it would probably be calming you down. He has always managed to tame your emotions whenever they were drowning you. He was like an anchor to you, always grounded you during chaotic times. Sometimes, you wonder how you got so lucky. 

You peered up at him sweetly, and the look alone made him lean down to capture your lips with his again. You chuckled at his action and kissed him back with just as much passion as he was leaving on your lips. Your hands started playing with the hair close to the nape of his neck. He let out a content sigh while still showing your lips just how much he loved them and you. However, he abruptly pulled away before dropping a question. 

“Are we really going to the infirmary?” Luke hesitantly asked, bringing up your words from earlier. He watched as you gave him an amused look.

“What did you think?” As soon as his eyes met yours, he knew exactly what you wanted. He gave you a sheepish grin before the two of you quietly giggled to each other before walking further away from the training grounds.

Let's just say you two did not follow through with your words of going to the infirmary, and neither were you tending to his “wounds”.

——————————

masterlist

Join my Luke Castellan tag list

#luke castellan x reader #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan x y/n #luke castellan x you #luke castellan oneshot #luke castellan #luke castellan fanfiction #pjo fic #pjo #charlie bushnell #pjo imagine #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo tv show #pjo series #fluff

[criminalamnesia]

thinking about reader and simon who are tied together and have a hawkgirl/hawkman fate.

aka they’re forever cursed to find each other, fall in love, die, then reincarnate and do it all over again for the rest of time.

(timeless by taylor swift is inspiring this lol)

every time the two of you die, when you’re reborn, you don’t remember a single thing. you don’t remember until your eyes meet each other’s again, and then it all comes flooding back.

it scares the hell out of you each time because what the fuck?

you just asked the tall, masked, burly man who was also in the cereal aisle to grab you a box from the top shelf.

and then you meet his eyes and suddenly decades— centuries are flashing through your eyes. you know this man. have know him through many different years, in many different lives.

the flashbacks suddenly stop, and your eyes are wide as you stare up at him.

“did you—” you begin, and he nods.

“what the actual fuck,” you mutter to yourself, glancing down at the cereal box in your hand.

he grunts, and when you look back up, he’s walking away.

“hey— where are you going?” you call after him.

“to a fucking shrink or somethin’. think I’m going fucking mad.”

you shove the cereal box back onto the shelf and hurry after him. he moves fast for such a big man.

“wait, shouldn’t we, like, talk about that or something?”

“what’s there to say?” he replies, not bothering to slow his pace for you as he approaches the exit doors.

“um, I don’t know, maybe ‘hey so we just had a shared flashback montage of us loving each other then dying brutally throughout the last however-many-years?’ maybe something like that?”

he doesn’t respond. you huff as you jog after him. he’s walking to his car— a black truck, and you’d almost roll your eyes at how predictable the vehicle was if it weren’t for the blaring of a car horn.

it’s a split second, and it gives the two of you all the proof you need that whatever the fuck those memories were, they were real.

a car comes skidding into the parking lot, making a beeline straight for you. you turn as the horn cuts through the afternoon air, your eyes widening as you’re about ten seconds away from getting well acquainted with the hood of the car, and then—

the car crashes into the man’s truck and you’re still breathing.

“what the fuck?!” you shriek as adrenaline courses through your veins.

as you attempt to get your bearings, you realize the man is on top of you. he’d saved you, had tackled you out of the way.

“you— you were— you shouldn’t have—” you pant between quick breaths, eyes wide in shock as you stare up at him.

“I…I just had a feeling…” he mutters, and it’s more to himself than it is to you.

he climbs off of you, brushing off his jeans before holding a hand out to help you up. you place your shaking hand in his, and he lifts you with ease.

you look at the crashed car, his ruined truck, and then back to him. bystanders are yelling now, and people are starting to approach the two of you.

“I’m simon.” he tells you, his eyes trained on the wreck.

you tell him your name and he nods.

“guess we’re stuck together now, huh?” he says, and you nod.

“yep. guess we’re stuck together.”

#simon riley x gn reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon riley #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley #ghost x gn reader #ghost x you #ghost angst #ghost call of duty #ghost x reader #ghost cod #ghost #cod mw2 fic #cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #ghost fluff #soulmates #soulmate!ghost #timeless by taylor swift #taylor swift #ghost drabble #ghost oneshot #simon riley drabble #simon riley oneshot

[hijackalx]

Headcanon thingy, but how would the companions + Gortash react to their lover taking a blow meant for them? (Sweetheart survives, but they'll definitely need some time to recover)

this post would get realllyyyy long if i did all the companions so i did the male companions + gortash, but let me know if u want me to do a separate one for the female companions too 💗💗

GN!reader, small mentions of violence

GORTASH

he’d prefer for you steer clear of any conflict— he considers it beneath you to get your hands dirty— but he doesn’t like to argue. he imagines one of these times you’ll learn your lesson, meaning he’s fully expecting you to come crawling back after a good whooping while promising to never do it again

when he’s approached by an angry subordinate, shaking their fist and yelling profanities at him, he easily maintains composure— he knows his steel watch could reduce anyone to a skid mark on the earth with a simple command. his scrappy sidekick however…………… 👹

he’s only slightly embarrassed when you jump in front of the aggressor, telling them off for their disrespect. suddenly their anger is directed towards you, resulting in a nasty pop to the face that sends you onto the floor. his eyes widen at the sight of you injured for his sake, and with one sharp inhale, he orders his steel watch to destroy your attacker. (and their family. and their friends. and their acquaintances)

he stays at your side while you get bandaged up, threatening the healer’s life every time you wince. he asks what you learned from this experience, hopeful. you think “i need a thicker skull” probably wasn’t the right answer, seeing as his immediate response is “🗿” LMAO

WYLL

he loves to be the one who swoops in and saves you. it really gives him that “heroic” feeling (even if you have to pretend to be his damsel in distress). you guys are always giving your enemies the ick 😹😹

this all goes to his head though, and he can get a little too cocky— like when he jumps in to take on too many enemies at once, and is clearly having a hard time defending you both. he tries to maintain his heroic persona, but you can’t help noticing how you two are getting backed into a corner

while he’s distracted and putting on a show of chivalry, you see an enemy going straight for his blind spot. it’s too late to retaliate, but you do have enough time to jump out in front of the attack. he watches you fall to the ground in pain, HORRIFIED by the fact that he failed to protect you. he forgets his knightly act in a fit of desperation, fighting as dirty as he needs to so you two have the opportunity to scamper away

he criticizes himself SO badly over your injuries. the hit may have broke your face but his failure broke his soul... 💔 LMFAO. he vows to you that it’ll never happen again, and that he’ll be more vigilant than ever from then on out— cue his extremely rigorous and inspirational training montage

GALE

he usually stays toward the rear during battle, using long range magic attacks while you take care of things in the front. he’s not adept at wearing armor and his robes don’t offer much protection— it’s just smarter this way

now imagine how his feeble wizard bones begin to quake when an enemy sneaks past you and sprints his way with a melee attack LMFAO. he’s a planner, not an improviser, so his brain races a million miles a minute trying to think of which spell to use. he needs to cast something powerful, but your close proximity makes him hesitate

you notice his stutter and quickly reach out to off the enemy. unfortunately, this results in you turning your back to another and opening yourself up to a sneak attack. you’re hit hard, and it takes you out of the fight. luckily, the last enemy has 1 HP, so he can easily finish them off with a hasty bop on the head from his staff 💥

afterwards, he’s STRICKEN with worry, cradling your face and trying to get you to speak to him clearly. once he realizes that your injury is healable, you get whiplash from how fast he switches back and forth between admiration and concern. “that was absolutely amazing! 🤩 ” “I THOUGHT YOU DIED!!! 😵”

ASTARION

you guys are super playful in battle. seeing who can kill the most enemies, doing fun combos together, trash talking (it’s giving legolas and gimli). fights with him on your team are rarely serious

he’s quick and alert, so he’s an expert at dodging attacks— it just so happens that you’re standing behind him one of these times, and you end up taking the full force of the blow in his place. he’s used to teasing you for your misfortunes in battle, so his first instinct is to point and laugh 😭

when you don’t get up and give him a bloodstained grin, he realizes something is seriously wrong. a wave of panic washes over him, and the last thing he remembers is switching into feral vampire mode to get you two out of there safely— i’m talking ripping out throats with his teeth 👹

you’re immediately scolded once you come to; “imagine how bad that could’ve been!”, and “you scared me half to death!”— a.k.a he feels SO BAD for letting this happen LMAO, and he 100% blames himself for not knowing you were behind him. he admits it was his fault after you promise to be more careful, and he promises that he will be too (with a little leg room for fun, of course)

#I LOVED WRITING THESE SO MUCH OMG #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate headcanon #astarion #enver gortash #wyll ravengard #gale dekarios #astarion x reader #enver gortash x reader #wyll ravengard x reader #gale dekarios x reader #x reader #my headcanons #asks

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - a shocking upset to the rankings

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - It remains absolutely delightful. We already knew this pair does boyfriends damn near perfectly. It’s a pleasure to watch them as a couple, coupling all over our screen. The relationship does feel a bit rushed but frankly I like the pacing, it’s kind of Korean style which makes sense considering the original IP. 

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 1 of 10 - You know what this is? It’s FUN is what it is. I haven’t felt this way about a BL in a while. Sure is has an uneven story, fight sequences, pacing, and acting but still… yay! Billy is great, he very good at thirst. It’s a crime Lee Long Shi isn’t in this, but otherwise weeeeeeeeee!

(Also was that Bangsean I spotted?)

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - The montage of them learning and training together was so stinking cute I can hardly contain myself. Plus a little language play? (Did you catch the added “na” on to thank you? Gah! So sweet.) Have mercy. I love the banter that these two can execute so smoothly. It reminds me the most of TayNew back in their Kiss days. Or Nanon & Ohm in Bad Buddy.

There’s this breezy casualness to friendships and long-term relationships that Asian BLs seem to find really hard to execute (I’m thinking about something like Hospital Playlist as the best example). It’s more a friend chemistry than a lover chemistry, although of course it can morph into that.

Anyway, I am waffling, but I’m loving this show. (The bit with the teacher made me cry.) I also really love how much actual Bangkok we’re getting from it for a change. 

Finally... how much did @respectthepetty and I love the pink milk shirt moment? SO MUCH. Color theory, plot devise, fashion, food, and a trope reference all in one. Well done GMMTV! Very well done.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 4 of 10 - I would like it if we got onto the BL section of this BL. Please and thank you. 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 2 of 14 - it's delightfully trashy, btu slightly less trashy than last week because they introduced AlanJeff who are my new babies of age gap delight and you cannot have them. THEY ARE MINE. Also Way. WAY IS MINE. Also, I decided to do a trash watch.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - It’s nice. It’s fine. Atmospheric and pretty and full of deserts. What’s not to love? Is it inspired? No. Definitely has an Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). But I do love food based cinema. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 3 of 8 - What’s annoying is that this could’ve been so good. It’s a poster child for squandered potential. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - Because of the temporal paradox, and Thai BL not being all that great on narrative consistency anyway, this is a confusing piece as well as a painful one. Now Ongsa seems to be nothing more than a stalker who cries all the time. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 2 of 14(!) eps - This really feels like Thailand is trying to relive the gory days of Japan's pinks. I wasn’t into it then and I’m certainly not into it now. It’s a mess and weirdly mechanically not sexy. I’ll stay watching it but, like Only Friends, I don’t think I’m gonna warm to it. I just don’t like shows where there are no likable characters. 

Also imma say it, so plug your assears. This is about as deep as a dildo can go. Which is to say, the size queens seem to be finding it more deep than the rest of us who are already bottoming out. Just make sure you're taking adequate lube prep with your psyches.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 14 of 24 - No thank you. 1/10 

I've decided, for spreadsheet reasons, that each of these is going to be tracked as its own 2 part show.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - The shopping together scene was absolutely darling. But I’m getting a little frustrated not knowing exactly what happened in the past.

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1-2 of 10 - Of course it starts with the crash into me trope, oh Taiwan. It’s cute enough, I love the support cast, and it’s always nice to have something from my favorite tiny island on my dash. 

You tell me: is it safe?

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - This one finished. It's an adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like and dnf'd) about a clerk who nearly dies and ends up cohabitating with an angel. Thoughts? Is it sad? Is it meh? TELL ME!

It's Airing But...

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes if you can find it.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off. If told it's good, I'll binge.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). Giving me Luminous Solution vibes, so I'm waiting to binge if told it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep one. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

In case you missed it

I posted 20 BLs with the BEST Thirst! and decided to distinguish the different type son need in BL as follows:

Thirst wants to slide a hand under his waistband right tf now and grind.

Horny wants to rip his clothes off, and probably pop buttons and laugh about it.

Yearning wants to run both hands up his back while they kiss deeply.

Hunger wants to lift him by the ass and slam him against the wall.

Next Week Looks Like This

(Today) 11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

11/30 For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in!

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Look at how gd cute they are!

Ah yes... (both Last Twilight)

We stan a supportive bestie/brother (orphans together? - not sure on the backstory)

It is a rule universally aknowledged that an cutie in a baceball cap must get his brim tweaked. (all from The Sign)

Way is the best.

I kinda love the BTS for Pit Babe.

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #bl review #My Dear Gangster Oppa #thai bl #the sign the series #Last Twilight #gmmtv #JimmySea #TayNew #ohmnanon #One Room Angel #japanese bl #pit babe the series #Twins the series #playboyy the series

[kookies2000]

Some movies that stylized their animation before Spider-Verse in 2018.

Fantasia 2000 by Disney in 1999. It takes CGI and 2D animation and mix them together.

The Peanuts Movie 2016 by Blue Sky's. It was mostly 3D, but the expressions and motions had 2D in them. Which is beyond creative because they only had dots for eyes and a line for a mouth. Which limits expressions, but the 2D lines they had, like when they fall or jump, really add expressions to the charaters. The background looked very flat as if the characters were standing in front of a painted scenery and were performing on stage. Super cute.

Captain Underpants 2017. By Dreamworks. Same as Peanuts' Movie. Made to look like they were in a book, and the movements were very Loony Toon style.

Trolls franchise 2016 by Dreamworks. I can go on for hours on how creative this franchise got with their animation. They used scrapbook materials to build their world. The water is fabric, the waterfall are streamers, the waves are marbles, the sand is glitter, the forest is fuzzy, the ground looks like a carpet, the fire looks like troll hair, the Funk Trolls kingdom are mirror's and reflective material, the Rock Trolls kingdom is leather, the Classical Trolls kingdom are cotton balls, it's endless creativity. They even hired a professional to sculpt a forest with fabrics and glitter so they could get an idea of how they were gonna make this world. AND they created a whole new program just to animate glitter. The same way Spider-Verse had to create one to animate Hobbie. Yeah, Spider-Verse was not the first film to do that. It was Trolls 2016. And then the franchise adds in live action and 2D animation here and there, and that makes it more unique and gives an 80s style to the film.

And then we have other films that also made their world building look unique. Book of Life made their characters look like traditional puppets in Mexico. Lego Movie made it look like toys were moving around. Like if a kid were actually playing with them. Is their any smearing in the Lego Movie? I swear every frame is clear with no stretching or smearing.

Finally, the one that I feel like deserves a lot of credit because it was the one that was experimenting with 2D and 3D animation waaaaaaaay before Spider-Verse.

This is just the intro to the 3rd film.

Kung Fu Panda franchise 2008 by Dreamworks. The 1st film has a small dash of 2D in Shifus flash back. I think. But the 2nd film in 2011 100% has that mix of 2D and 3D. Epically during the training montage for Po and Shen. The lighting looked 2D on 3D modles. And there were times in the 3rd film where it was meant to look like Chinese art. And you see this combination throughout the entire film. The animated shorts are meant to look like traditional Chinese art as well. And they look great!

I have no problem with Spider-Verse being the one who finally broke the mold and inspired other animated films to do the same. But can we acknowledge that Kung Fu Panda was the one that was experimenting with it the most? Unless there's one that I'm over looking way before 2008. But the Dreamworks Kung Fu Panda franchise was the one that walked so Spider-Verse could run!

#spider man #across the spiderverse #spider verse #into the spider verse #peanuts #peanuts movie #captian underpants #dreamworks trolls #trolls dreamworks #trolls #book of life #lego movie #kung fu panda #kung fu panda 2 #kung fu panda 3 #2d animation #animation #3d animation #i really feel like people over looked Kung Fu Panda big time

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Idia, Silver: Somehow I’ll be Strong

Silver casually doing his usual knightly duties and Idia being shocked at such Chad behavior will never not be funny 🤡 but seeing Idia passionately share his hobbies in the vignettes was wholesome! (The story about Idia singing with Ortho as they went to the bathroom together at night was also adorable 🥺)

Idia’s legs are so damn long, everyone’s been memeing them to the Underworld and back 😂 … Okay, but wtf is up with THAT face he’s making in the groovy?? That’s on a whole new level of sinister 💀 Is this really your mans, Eliza—

asiulbdg8yoadasbqerqo I'M HYPERFIXATED ON ONE OF HIS VOICE LINES where Idia threatens to flick your forehead if you get in his way but then he also confesses that his finger will hurt from doing that so you'd feel bad for him... bro, how weak ARE you...

A Tale as Old as Time.

Gazing upon the good and righteous was nothing new for Idia. He had pored over countless manga and light novels, binged shounen anime after shounen anime.

Here was another hero, bathed in bronze sunlight, posing triumphantly, a sword to pave the way forward and a battered training dummy to protect. His trusty winged steed beside him, a stout, wizened satyr, his mentor, hanging off of one bulging bicep. True, the arena they stood in was empty, save for the training equipment scattered about—but there was no doubt that the world would soon know his name, and his face written in the stars.

A platinum frame divided Idia from that legendary man.

Clutching onto one limp, flabby arm, he quietly scoffed. Haaah, it looks like a scene straight out of some musclehead's training montage...

"You're admiring this painting too, Idia-senpai?"

Idia's thoughts came to a screeching halt. Goosebumps prickled his skin, hair standing on end. A young man with a build similar to the hero in the artwork had appeared, handsome-face framed by moonlight locks.

"E-Eep! S-Silver-shi?!" His voice was pinched, a reverberating squeak.

The knight bowed his head. "Hello. It sounds like you're in good spirits."

Idia took a step back, as if he were the night making way for the encroaching day. The shadows were where he felt the safest, wrapped up in a cloak that granted him near invisibility from the average onlooker. Not with Silver. He who cast a revealing light wherever he drifted.

"Y-Yeah, what a n-nice painting..." Idia mumbled, not bothering to summon the effort to lie. He attempted to skitter away, cutting the conversation short, but—to his dismay—Silver continued.

"I look up to him too. There's many historical heroes we can look back on and learn from," Silver said with a nod. "I refer to them when I consider my own training regiment. They're inspirations to us all."

What's this?! Idia paled. Obviously I was trying to signal to him that I was gonna go AFK but this guy just starts spamming the chat!! H-Have I accidentally tripped an event flag...!? Or does he lack even more social awareness than an introverted otaku like me!?

Silver regarded him seriously—innocently, even. "Can I ask if this is the one you aspire to?"

Idia grimaced at the suggestion. "You're joking, right? Th-There's no way I could be a fraction as buff as he is!!"

The second year blinked, seeming undisturbed by the flustered response. “I don't think that's a concern."

“How’s it not? A hero can’t do crazy godlike stunts if he doesn’t have the right stuff…”

Silver shook his head. “My father has told me stories of warriors who were able to overcome their lack of strength with other provisions. A woman once pretended to be a man to infiltrate the military. Her wit saved their entire country from collapse."

"This man too…” Silver indicated the placard below the platinum frame. “… He gave up his strength to protect someone he loved. It was his noble heart that made the heavens recognize his godhood."

“W-Well…” Idia but his lower lip. He knew the tales as well as Silver did, but still he hesitated. “That’s true, but… isn’t it too unrealistic to think ordinary people could rise to those kinds of feats?”

His grip on his sleeve tightened.

The main character in Star Rogue... He started off as a zero and became a hero. But that's just a video game. Can something like that really happen in real life...? When true heroes are one in a billion?

Silver-shi makes it sound so easy.

His stomach lurched, wrenching into distorted shapes.

“If you have the drive, you can go the distance and somehow become strong,” Silver told him. His tone, reassuring yet firm.

“Somehow? H-How vague can you possibly get? That’s no way to achieve results…”

“It’s not brawn alone that determines your worth as a hero. Please have more faith in yourself, Idia-senpai."

As if just saying that will make my faith meter shoot through the roof! Anxiety-induced sweat beaded on Idia’s forehead.

M-Maybe if I tell him what he wants to hear, he’ll leave me alone… He warily eyed Silver. “O-Okay… I get it already. I’ll try, so…”

Please stop talking to me!! I-I don’t know how much longer of this pure-hearted anime protag speech I can stomach!

“You will? That’s great.” Silver smiled softly. His expression, Idia realized, reminded him of that of the hero in the photo frame.

A sparkling face, full of hope for the future.

A hero in the making.

That could be you, a tiny voice in his mind whispered.

A weight in his chest steadily lifted, then dropped again. Like a lost soul bobbing between life and death. Unsure of which way to go.

No, don’t be deceived. Life isn’t a game route that plays out with an easy ending. One misstep, and I’ll be floating in the River Styx.

Idia cut away from his underclassman. The hero’s big grin snagged in the corner of his eye.

Perfect, pearly, perky. Not a visible crack in a man seemingly chiseled out of marble.

But nobody’s perfect, not even the immortals. Everyone has a weakness or two in their systems, a security flaw, bug to exploit—and the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Trust in excess turned into gullibility. Willingness to help could become one’s hubris. Goodness twisting into other shapes.

Suddenly, the hero was no longer infallible. His courage, painted foolishly.

If a hero could crumble, then so, too, could those at their lowest points rise up and rebuild a city. Make something of themselves. True one way, and true the other.

Someday, somehow, he’d be strong enough to face the odds—turning the impossible into the possible.

A slow, sinister smile crept onto his lips. Eerie, gleeful laughter filled the air. His shoulders, shuddering.

“Hihihihihihi…”

Silver’s ears perked. He inclined his head toward his upperclassman. It looks like Idia-senpai is reinvigorated. I’m glad I could encourage him.

#twst #twisted wonderland #Idia Shroud #twst imagines #twst scenarios #Silver #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #spoilers #something no one asked for #chad silver vs virgin idia/j #Idia birthday takeover #I am so sorry if this one felt a lil sloppy #I was so sleep deprived writing this www

[vykodlak]

one time I told my bf that whenever I'm in a situation where I'm anxious or insecure I think "what would goku do" because goku is too stupid to even notice any of that shit enough to be anxious or insecure about it. now whenever I'm sad about being in pain or unable to do anything he plays me goku training montage videos or videos of him beating some guys ass set to inspiring music

#and you know what. it works #text

[ultraviolet-cello]

Yo what's up it's me, ya boi, [horrendous infection that knocked me down for a couple days]

Anyway I'll be catching up episodes 3 4 and 5 tomorrow/day after, but for now I just wanna do my thing with ep 6. 6&7 are possibly some of my favourite episodes in Tristamp, so I'm hyped to show off my theories/details about them.

Once again spoilers for Trimax [HEAVY spoilers in this case, we're talking about Legato and Razlo]

TL;DR there's something fucked up with Tristamp Livio and by extension Razlo, and I need more of them all the time.

@tristampparty I'm back in the game!

So a lot of these theories and details will link to episode 7 :]

So of note in this scene is (obviously) Wolfwood's weird red eyes which. Pretty cool ngl. But I do think there's something to be said about the way he pauses and carries the Punisher in this scene; there's a pretty popular theory that Wolfwood gets extremely overstimulated when he takes a vial and the way he pauses and wobbles with the Punisher here is, for me, more evidence for the list.

Also that they won't give this man a CAR. Give him a Thomas or something??? I think it speaks to the dehumanization of Wolfwood by EOM that he doesn't seem to get to use transport like a normal person - always set to wander the desert, because he can survive that! Not like a normal person, of course. Only the Punisher is inhuman enough to do that.

I'll have what he's having [I love that Nightow's wanted poster gets in the magazine despite being. Yknow, 30 $$]

I'll talk about this more when I actually get round to analyzing episode 5, but Roberto calling out Vash's not-being-human and then immediately going "well I'm not risking my life for that" is interesting because he's, well, a reporter. It speaks to his experience that he's not willing initially to chase down something that could be a big scoop. But also,,,, Vash looks like. 20. Roberto is probably about in his 30s-40s, which means he's probably heard of Vash since childhood [Since Tristamp Vash has a much longer reputation history than Trimax/98]. I really wonder what Roberto thinks of that; did the picture not come as a shock to him, or did he already know? Does part of the reason he keeps letting himself be talked into following Vash stem from a lifelong curiosity? Much to think about.

This plant HAUNTS me. Why does she have such a different tank? Used to power the Ion Cannon, maybe, but there's the possibility people adjusted it so she can better power the sandsteamer and that's,,,, There's a complicated relationship between humans and plants (obviously), but little implications like those adjustments make me go !!!! [My friend @millions-dykes has a Plant Engineer oc, Enigma, who focuses on that concept. She's very cool]

LIVIO SIGHTED. Let me get this out of the way quickly, but y'know that panel that is often cited as inspiration for Tristamp Livio's design? Yeah that's. That's Razlo.

Which is really fucking funny to me because it's foundational to Tristamp Livio - love that for him, but trimax Livio specifically does not wield Punishers, and the page that this appears on is when Razlo is getting Livio to tell him he's the strongest (Which then goes into this training flashback montage page which is Razlo-centric). Which again, extremely funny to me.

Not necessarily analysis, but something all iterations of Trigun do great at is a sense of Scale. The sandsteamer is massive, yes, but so is the desert. There's some great shots with the moons later on, which I love as well.

Wolfwood really doesn't try and keep it secret, huh? I mean, in every iteration Vash Knows[TM], but tristamp Wolfwood in particular just,,, doesn't keep the secret. I wonder what other conversations they've had, when Wolfwood realized Vash knew.

Being always able to see Wolfwood's eyes gives him a layer of emotion that I really like - Trimax Wolfwood is a little more reserved, because he's more developed, further layered into those coping mechanisms and repressions that make up his character. Tristamp Wolfwood hasn't quite had that yet, and it's reflected in his design. It's sick as hell

Time for me to be so normal about Livio and Razlo ^_^ so I've built up a bit of a study case on the differences in when Livio or Razlo are fronting [Trimax], and once you start looking into paneling and shit it's Very apparent! Which is cool! And I'm starting to build up one for Tristamp Livio, which,,, well, you'll see. Anyway take note of his movements here - slow, even footsteps and steady guns.

The mask here is. Also a red flag for something being Off. The eye moving independently suggests that either they have some Weirder Than Usual Body Stuff going on, that Trimax Livio and Razlo can do that and nobody comments on it because they're being polite or - My theory - the mask having those electrical components are embedded somewhat in Livio's face. I will explain in just a second.

Livio as a kid being so upset about his parents interests me - In Trimax, Razlo kills Livio's parents because Razlo was formed as a protective alter due to heavy childhood abuse, and Livio doesn't seem too upset by that specifically, more just being,,, alone. I wonder what happened with their parents in this specific timeline, or if Razlo just hasn't presented yet.

Now I've uh. Kinda semi-intentionally blocked out some stuff I've read in the Bible, but I do remember someone being crucified upside down. St Peter that was it! I don't remember anything else but I'm sure people more well-versed in the Bible will have some imagery to point out lol

Legato's outfit seems a touch inspired by that one July flashback in Trimax. Which, given that Tristamp is a leadup to July, is a nice touch!

Legato might be a bit protective of his hair. Can't imagine why.

On a more serious note, it makes sense for Legato to have such a protectiveness around his body and physical appearance, especially if Knives had an influence in it.

sands undertal

I really do wonder what Legato's ability is in this. Like unless they retrieved Vash's arm from the. Wherever it got sucked into when it was amuptated they can't go the 98 route. But the wire explanation of Trimax also doesn't quite seem to fit. Something new, maybe. Could be related to Plants!

I wonder if Vash here is thinking about Rollo. That Wolfwood was willing to kill Rollo out of mercy, and he's going to do it again to Livio. Except this time, Wolfwood knows Livio. Vash doesn't know Livio, but Wolfwood does and it's going to hurt Wolfwood if Vash lets him carry on with this. So he goes to save Livio, and save Wolfwood as well. Similar to Trimax, where Vash kills Legato to save Livio as a remnant of Wolfwood's memory, Vash here could be protecting Livio to protect Wolfwood.

Okay here's where my crack theories come in. So I do think that Razlo is elbowing his way into front about here, not even necessarily because Livio is getting his ass handed to him, but because of the mask. He's probably not fully There, because the progressing fighting style continues in Livio's movements, but the eye changes are. Well, it's Livio and Razlo you can never be too careful.

So Livio hits the mask here and is down for the count for. A Bit. What's important here to me is that the mask does of course have an electrical component. Now, what would that be for? Well, gathering that Livio seemingly has a bit of trouble after this (early episode 7, this is a two parter theory), that the mask is used by EOM to force a switch remotely. After the mask seemingly malfunctions, we get a lot more Razlo-esque movements and traits in episode 7 before Livio seems to come back in and have his little meltdown.

It links in with both dehumanization of neurodivergent people (In this case, a system) and the usage of Razlo and Livio by EOM. Razlo's very often portrayed as Big Scary Murder Alter by EOM for scare factor, whereas when we get a bit more into Razlo's head in the Elendira fight we see a bit more what he's actually like - protective alter groomed into assassinhood by Chapel - and lends more understanding to the character. EOM being able to force trigger a switch would be viscerally horrifying for that loss of autonomy theme in a way that speaks to many neurodivergent people. Thanks for coming to my ted talk????

#cli speaks #trigun #tristampparty #trigun stampede #cli analysis

[pinkacademic]

How Barbie: Princess Charm School engages with Class Inequality

Barbie: Princess Charm School engages with class inequality by presenting a story of someone being given the opportunities to escape their class experience. The twentieth film in the Barbie movies franchise of pink powerful (mostly) princesses is the tale of an unwitting princess raised in poverty and “unlocking her princess potential.”

In the fictional land of Gardania, Blair Willows is a hardworking young woman who is granted the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the titular Princess Charm School and train as a lady royal, giving her the skills necessary for a job in a royal household. It would put her up, likely for life, and allow her to fund her sick mother’s medical care and give her sister opportunities that Blair most likely hadn’t had at the same age.

While Blair does discover that she is in fact the long-presumed dead Princess Sofia, true heir to the Gardanian throne, she actually spends the majority of the movie’s runtime fighting the uphill battle against class inequality as the only commoner among the future princesses and well-off lady royals.

To preface, herein is an analysis of the plot and how aspects of Blair’s class background affects her character, but also brief interludes for speculation, though, as often as possible, it is inspired by or compared to real-life equivelents, due to Gardania being a fictional place.

A Brief Summary of Barbie: Princess Charm School

For those who do not follow Barbie movies as closely as gospel, like I have no shame in doing, Barbie: Princess Charm School is the story of Blair Willows, a young woman who wins the opportunity to attend a prestigious school, and who during her time there, discovers she is the presumed-dead Princess Sofia. During her time in Princess Charm School, Blair uncovers cruel plots by the devious Dame Devin, who is determined to put her daughter Delancey on the throne. She also meets Headmistress Alexandra Privet who tutors her in the skills she’ll need to pass her year in school, and Princesses Hadley and Isla who become her confidantes- and provide the necessary exposition.

Blair also meets Delancey Devin, who goes against her mother’s wishes and helps Blair, Hadley, and Isla to discover the truth, and places Gardania’s Magical Crown on Blair’s head, which reveals her to truly be the heir to the throne.

You can tell she’s Not Yet a Princess

Blair’s background is established from the opening scene of the film, which is a montage to the song “You can tell she’s a Princess.” While obviously the song is direct and blatant foreshadowing Blair’s identity being revealed later, it also sets up the movie’s key ideal that “there’s a princess in every girl.” How Blair shows this is through her hard work.

We see in the montage that Blair opens the Café Gardania in the morning, performing all of the necessary duties such as setting up the tables and chairs outside as well as the sign, and setting out the baked goods. We see her serving customers throughout the day, picking up tips to take home, and closing up the café in the evening.

Speculation: It is unclear who owns the café, and if it is a chain etc. Blair is the only worker seen, and what I consider to be likely is that the café was originally owned by her mother, with Blair working in it and possibly dropping out of school to help as her mother’s illness progressed, finally taking over.

Speculation: Blair gets access to all of the tips due to the café having belonged to her mother before her illness became too much for her. Blair has taken over in recent years, with it being likely that she never finished school and dropped out to make money to keep her family afloat. This may also be why the family are able to survive for a short period of time when Blair goes to Princess Charm School.

Regardless, it is clear that Blair is working hard in a working class position, establishing the position from which this essay will operate. As a note on the nature of speculations made within the essay, the majority of real-world comparisons will be made with Los Angeles, California due to it being a major city near El Segundo, the home of Mattel, and Malibu, the home of the character of Barbie Roberts and her family within her fictional universe separate to Gardania.

Living in a Blight

This establishment of Blair’s working class status indicates the first aspect of Blair’s class that is addressed in the movie, and that she works against over the course of the story: housing. Of course, not everyone can live in a castle, and while Blair is of course not expected to before Princess Charm School, the castle does serve as a vehicle to convey how Blair is faced with housing inequality.

When Blair gets home from her long day at work, we see that the Willows family lives in what is notably a “poorer area,” as Dame Devin later describes it as. We see the train track, which would cause noise polution, immediately making the area seem less-desirable. Blair also states that she wished they could live in a “better area,” and hoping for a “better place for [Emily] to grow up,” making it clear that it is not the place that Blair would ideally choose for her younger sister.

Speculation: It is implied also that the Willows family had to move from a nicer area, likely due to needing to save money for Blair’s adoptive mother’s medical bills. It is stated that Blair was found on a doorstep, heavily implying that the family used to have a doorstep, and a nicer home attached, likely in the suburbs.

Naturally, moving into a private school attached to a palace could certainly create feelings of inadequacy in Blair, and shows the stark contrast between what she had just come from. According to privateschoolreview.com, typical private school tuition in Los Angeles is over $16,000 USD in 2023, and according to salary.com, average waitress salary in Los Angeles is in the range of $23,000 usd, which means that without the lottery, living in Princess Charm School would be inaffordable for Blair. But it isn’t just the cost that makes the housing inequality obvious- it is the ammenities that Princess Charm School offers; this is not in reference to ammenities that might aid in education such as the ballroom and pool, but rather the vault and the security system.

The palace has an extensive vault full of trinkets beyond just the famous Magical Crown. It features references to Barbie movies such as a nutcracker toy, but what it represents is security beyond literal security for one’s possesions: it represents the financial security for possesions worth keeping secure.

When Blair enters her home, we see no visible lock, and while it presumably exists, it doesn’t quite compare to the impressive bank-type vault storage room in the palace. Vaults of this nature are comparable to the likes of Fort Knox, which, while it is significantly less-penetrable than Dame Devin’s date-based passcode, holds a significant amount of the USA’s resources.

On the same note, Hadley is familiar with the laser security system that is seen outside the main body of the vault. While laser systems as shown in the movie only exist to add drama in cinema, the kind of system can be implemented, and one to the scope of the vault would be expensive to set-up. While according to homeimprovementcents.com the upfront costs can be inexpensive, “if you want a more advanced system, you will need to pay more (…) you can spend more than you anticipated or within the budget range you had initially hoped for.”

It doesn’t appear that the Willows family have the kind of budget for even a lower-level security system. And of course, they don’t seem to have much worth stealing, with value of the sentimental variety being the key worth anything seems to hold.

One of the most major plot points of Barbie: Princess Charm School, and the one that largely prompts Delancey towards her own redemption, is Dame Devin’s plot to displace the less-fortunate people of Gardania, including Blair’s building specifically, in order to build a park. This is an aspect of housing inequality related to class as it is a distinct parallel to the history of Central Park- or rather, Seneca Village.

Note: While Los Angeles and wider California have similar issues, Central Park’s history as Seneca Village is an on-the-money comparison, as well as being arguably the best known.

The official Central Park website explains the history of the park:

“Before Central Park was created, the landscape along what is now the Park’s perimeter from West 82nd to West 89th Street was the site of Seneca Village, a community of predominantly African-Americans, many of whom owned property.”

The website also relays the destruction of the Village, noting that, “[t]here were roughly 1,600 inhabitants displaced throughout the area,” and that “[a]lthough landowners were compensated, many argued that their land was undervalued.”

This history strongly parralels not only similar events in the areas surrounding Barbie’s home of California, such as Bruce’s Beach, but also of Blair’s home in Gardania. Dame Devin refers to Gardania’s “poorer areas” as a “blight to the otherwise beautiful community,” announcing her plan, in Delancey’s name, to “bulldoze the buildings” in order to make room for “beautiful, rolling parks.” Upon Blair’s protests, Dame Devin states that the poor families will simply move elsewhere, to which Blair points out that those people can’t afford to “just pick up and move,” as Dame Devin implies.

“Comfortable? She should be all better!”

Taking a trip back to the earlier scenes, as Blair settles down in front of the old tv that has to be hit to function, we meet the representation of the next aspect of Blair’s class inequality. The reason for Blair being the sole-earner is her adoptive mother’s ill-health. While it is unclear what her mother ails from, it seems to be an on-going medical condition.

According to the Guardian, “[m]illions of Americans – as many as 25% of the population – are delaying getting medical help because of skyrocketing costs.” We can gather from dialogue that Blair’s adoptive mother has seen a doctor recently, but the jar of loose coins emphasises the scarcity of money to pay for these visits.

Meanwhile, to compare to one of the only living monarchs in real life, an article by StyleCaster states that “King Charles’s net worth is $600 million.”

It can be assumed that the princesses and non-commoner lady royals would be able to pay for Blair’s mother’s medical bills, but Blair does not have that kind of money. Even if we were to assume that princesses are more like senators than real-world royals, given the sheer number of princess graduates in Blair’s class, we can compare to Senator Alex Padilla of California who, according to incomepedia.com ”earns anywhere from $174,000-$200,000 annually.”

While that’s not exactly comparable to King Charles, it is not exactly comparable to Blair’s hypothesised $23,000 either.

Ultimately, any of the princesses could likely pay for Blair’s mother’s medical bills, and Blair just would not have that money without the Princess Charm School scholarship.

Royal Skills put to the Test

The mention of the scholarship thus brings us to the point that dominates the majority of the plot of the movie: education inequality as a result of class. Blair is awarded the amazing opportunity to attend Princess Charm School on a scholarship as rewarded by the annual lottery, which Headmistress Privet refers to as a chance to “change her life forever.”

However, while sprites such as Grace exist in Princess Charm School with the role of personal princess assistants, the lottery win is not the magic-wand solution Blair’s sister Emily seems to have hoped.

Headmistress Privet informs Blair that “only twenty-seven percent” of the lottery girls even make it to graduation, meaning Blair has just over a one-in-four chance of getting the “better life” for Emily and her mother.

This chart by slate.com highlights the very same point that Headmistress Privet warns Blair about: how likely it is that she will not be able to complete her year in Princess Charm School. She asks Blair if she “has what it takes,” but as this chart displays, it might not even matter how hard she works: If we compare becoming a princess or lady royal to a bachelor’s degree, Blair as a low-income student has to give it her all just to have a comparable chance to a middle-of-the-road princess.

Speculation: It is unclear as to whether Princess Charm School is more comparable to a university or high school setting, as it seems to be a one year course. That said, most of the students seem to have an established knowledge of how the school operates, indicating that it is more like a high school and they have all been there for three years prior to the film’s beginning, especially as we see classes going on as Blair enters.

The last point of the speculation is the most crucial, however- classes ongoing implies that Blair is either joining mid-year or before the start of the final year of multiple. It puts her at a distinct disadvantage compared to her peers.

The system of Princess Charm School, regardless of unclear details of the nature of the institution, works against Blair as she tries to advance, with her family as her constant motivation. Just like how the same article on slate.com references that:

“sociologists Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton documented the ways that one large state flagship university sacrificed the needs of poorer undergrads in order to cater to the desires of mediocre but wealthy students looking to spend four years tailgating and doing keg stands,”

Dame Devin shows favouritism to Portia, a princess who is visibly failing a class exercise, over Blair, who Dame Devin actively wants to saboutage. In her poise lesson, Dame Devin instructs the princesses and lady royals in how to maintain correct posture and walk elegantly while balancing books on their heads. Dame Devin gives harsh criticism to the majority of the class such as comparing one girl to a “migrating duck,” and suggesting another seems “crazy,” but Portia, who is shown to seemingly be one of few friends her daughter Delancey has is “doing fine” even though she is carrying the book over her head.

In fact, Dame Devin sighs and put her head in her hand upon witnessing Portia’s inability to perform the task, in a way that implies this might be a common occurance. Teachers in Princess Charm School are well-used to Portia’s incompetance, and yet, it is Blair who is “utterly unfit for the royal life.”

Speculation: Portia’s kingdom is considered one of the most important to maintain a relationship with for Gardania, hence her getting away with this when no one else does, and hence her being Delancey’s friend.

Dame Devin’s petition to Headmistress Privet for Blair’s expulsion is also an indication of another aspect of education inequality as a result of class, as, instead of expelling Blair, Headmistress Privet offers to tutor her personally. This in and of itself has aspects, the first being another addressing of income, as Tutors.com states that “[o]n average, a private tutor costs between $25 and $80 an hour.” And, again, Blair’s potential income is not likely to account for such things.

But also, noting Headmistress Privet’s earlier note of only 27% of lottery girls making it to graduation, would more of them have succeeded if they’d also been given the same chance as Blair? Is the vast majority of these girls failing a result of lottery girls being as “unfit” for the world of princesses and lady royals, or is it a result of a failure in the system that Blair was luckily handed the opportunity to avoid?

An article in the Guardian outlines a tutoring scheme that involved university students volunteering as tutors, and highlights that one student says “the one-to-one support has “really made a difference” to her understanding of the key concepts in biology.” So, if that same logic could have been supplied to many of the lottery girls that had come before Blair, who knows how many could have become lady royals with their “pick of any lady royal position,” just as Headmistress Privet said Blair could.

Blair’s friendship with Hadley and Isla, while both of them lift her up as best as they can, serves to emphasise the gaps in knowledge Blair has as a result of class-based education inequality, be it due to losing time in school from having been working, or by the lower standard of education she’d have been used to at that point. Going back to the article on slate.com, “the Department of Education found that slightly less than ten percent of high schoolers from poorer families had top math scores, compared to 48 percent of those from wealthier backgrounds.” While the example here is maths, Blair’s history knowledge of her own country compared to her royal counterparts is lacking to a similar degree. It is Hadley and Isla who tell Blair about Gardania’s Magical Crown and the rumours about the car crash that killed Queen Isabella and King Reginald. Without their knowledge, the trio would never have placed the true heir of Gardania on the throne.

Mother and Daughter: Pulling up the Ladder, and Lowering it Back Down

Making a return to the devious Dame Devin, her actions are an example of “pulling the ladder up behind oneself,” which addresses an issue in class-climbing that can be prominant in leadership positions. We learn from Hadley and Isla that Dame Devin was once a lottery girl too, but is now hellbent on Blair’s distruction, appealing to Headmistress Privet for her expulsion from the school. Of course, we learn later that it is due to a far more sinister plot for power, but nevertheless, Dame Devin’s actions represent a huge class-related issue. The Australian newspaper The Sunday Morning Herald wrote an article about women in positions of power who, according to Lucy Brogden, “were refusing to help other women repeat their success.” If Dame Devin had had half the heart that Delancey has of her own volition later on, she could have recognised herself in Blair, recognised her own struggles, and been the one to tutor her. She could have helped every lottery girl between herself and Blair.

Instead, her jealousy and her desire for the throne- and her desire to keep her murderous past hidden, no doubt- kept her from showing kindness, and ultimately led to her downfall.

But Delancey chooses another path:

The other key aspect of why the plan succeeds is Delancey’s reformation. Her leaving a window open for the girls within the palace walls is what allows them to get anywhere near the vault. Going against her mother, Delancey is able to lower the ladder back down. Where in the Sunday Herald article Mrs Brogden states:

“Women argue that far from nurturing the growth of other female talent, they see colleagues pushing aside possible competitors by undermining their self confidence and professional standing,”

Delancey chooses to stand against that, stating she “want[s] what’s right.”

And actually, that’s a rarely-seen example of class interaction: the wealthier choosing to join a lower class status and handing the higher status to another, which is the undoing of Dame Devin. Because Delancey handing Blair the crown, lowering the ladder to her is how Blair is not only able to climb up too, but to offer something back: Delancey’s lady royal tiara.

Crowns on our Heads, Lights in the Air

And thus leads us to the concluding point that the film wants us to reach. While not every working class young woman can be the secret princess, Blair and Delancey’s swapping of roles is proof of Blair’s final words that end the film: “there’s a princess in every girl.” This is a representation of how Barbie: Princess Charm School engages with class inequality- by addressing many aspects of class, the damage that can be done, and how much work it will take to undo that damage- but by working together, Blair, Hadley, Isla, and Delancey and able to create something more powerful than the differences between them.

Barbie: Princess Charm School represents the class struggle of a young woman who did not have access to the same things as her princess peers by showing every aspect of class that Blair has to overcome in order to arrive at the position that she is in at the end. But it also shows that, it is the actions of those with the privileges that truly make it possible for Blair to attain the crown.

It is Hadley and Isla who bridge the gaps in her knowledge, Headmistress Privet who teaches her the skills she’ll need to govern, and Delancey who hands her the crown. Even tiny acts of kindness such as Miranda handing Blair a slice of strawberry swirl are the kinds of details that keep Blair going, and without which, Dame Devin would be using her daughter as a puppet to drive Gardania into the ground.

Blair’s hard work gets her far, but it is her Princess Charm School allies that allow her to overcome class inequality once and for all, which is truly the most important aspect of how Barbie: Princess Charm School addresses class inequality.

#long post #sorry #essay #pink #academia #pink academia #pink academic #barbie #barbie movies #barbie princess charm school #class inequality

[wonumatics]

✰ jeonghan x gn. reader ; fluff, suggestive ; 0.8k

note: this was inspired by that one ep from b99

22:54, Tuesday.

Yoon Jeonghan was a man of pretty smiles and interesting opinions on Stieg Larsson’s works. It was a lonely night for you and he happened to be a wonderfully single drinking partner. You did the honours of initiating the experimental kiss at the local bar which soon led you to his place. He was great, on and off the bed. He’d even offered breakfast earlier this morning, but you declined with the excuse of work. You were satisfied with exchanging numbers for now.

10:07, Thursday. 

"You see that fucker over there?"

Frowning, you turn from your place in the courtroom’s gallery to follow Doyoung's gaze. Nicknamed Mother Doyoung by your co-workers, he never resorted to swearing unless the situation called for it. 

"That's Jeonghan. Thanks to him, I'm back in court today for— "

The rest of his words get drowned by the sight that greets you. Yoon Jeonghan, dressed in a crisply ironed white shirt, blazer, and slacks, stood near the entrance as a defence attorney, representing the perpetrator you helped Doyoung catch on Tuesday. 

Pause. Rewind. A montage of that night plays in your head. His hands were around your waist, lips tracing your jawline, and oh, what have you done?

You were a cop. You helped society by catching the bad guys. Jeonghan, on the other hand, helped free the aforementioned bad guys, undoing all your excellent work with legalese.

As if sensing your eyes on him, Jeonghan looks away from the sheave of papers he held and into your eyes, his calm and calculative look washed away by recognition. Mustering all your strength to keep your expression neutral, you tear your gaze away from him, wishing the earth would swallow you whole. If word got around your precinct that you slept with your antithesis and, worse still, enjoyed it, you halt your train of thought. Some things are better left unfinished. 

Doyoung pats your shoulder. "Don't glare (name). We know they're satan spawns, but we've got to keep things professional." 

Things between you and Jeonghan were far from professional. Nevertheless, you nod along. "The evidence is watertight this time." You lean into your chair and fold your arms. “We’ve got this.”

21:19, Thursday. 

The trial ends with the jewellery store robber walking free because, according to Jeonghan, the fact that the two of you found a bag containing glass cutting tools and shards of glass (from the store’s main window, obviously) right before the trial seemed too coincidental to be unfabricated evidence. 

Is he a despicable menace to society? Yes. 

You stare at the empty shot glass in front of you, the noise around you fading into the background. You were supposed to be here for a celebratory dinner for winning the trial, not a pity party hosted by you, for you. 

“Detective (name).” 

Think of the devil and he appears. You look up to find the version of Jeonghan you had first met, the one minus the courtroom persona. "Abettor of thievery." You say by way of greeting.

He raises an eyebrow. "The court acquitted him of all charges." 

You roll your eyes. "Whatever." 

He leans against the counter, lips curved into a smile that either makes you want to rip his hair apart or kiss him; you don't know which.

"Me versus you and the scores are one and nil." He pauses to inhale deeply. "Your defeat smells wonderful, love."

Jeonghan definitely deserves to get his hair ripped out. But you're stopped by your choice to be the bigger person. And the small part in you that recalls the way his eyes lit up when you’d asked him about the straw hat-wearing rock seated on his bedside table. “That’s Dolljong”, he’d said excitedly before picking them up from their artificial habitat and briefing you about their routine. 

Is he cute? Heck, yes.

You settle with "Shut up," and busy yourself with your next order.

He stares at you, expecting you to say a little more. "So, you're still down for the date on Saturday, right?" 

You blink, not expecting a question about the conversation you'd both had the previous day. “You're not your work, (name)” were the words Irene, your sergeant, had told you when you'd offered to do overtime during the holiday season. This statement applied here, didn't it? You were at odds against him professionally but you did not have anything against the guy himself. 

You sigh. “It'll be a mess if anyone finds out.” 

He chuckles. “No kidding, Sherlock.”

You wrinkle your nose at the nickname. "Don't call me that and—" Your voice trails away, warmth travelling up your neck. He'd moved closer, face a breath away from yours. 

"Yes or no?"  

"Yes." You mumble before giving in and tugging him by his collar, lips crashing against his and his hands settling on your waist, You break apart, satisfied with the dazed look clouding his eyes. 

"Are you free right now?" 

His eyes dart between yours and your lips but not for longer than a moment. 

"Yes."

#.yjh #jeonghan x reader #jeonghan x you #jeonghan x y/n #jeonghan fluff #seventeen fluff #jeonghan scenarios #jeonghan drabble #seventeen imagines #jeonghan imagines

[jesncin]

Sons of Mars refs and nods pt1

I put a lot of references into Sons of Mars and I thought it'd be fun to have a post detailing all the nods and research from the comics there are!

The title is a spin on the Martian Manhunter solo (written by John Ostrander and drawn by Tom Mandrake) collection title.

We pulled the idea of J'onn and Ma'al going on a pilgrimage as a form of revisiting their origin story from the first issue of the "Son of Mars" collection, Pilgrimage. This line is lifted more or less from the comic (we even wanted J'onn to be talking to Clark like he does in the source material).

Double Stuff the cat is from Action Comics #1037 Martian Manhunter: A Face In The Crowd (written by Shawn Aldridge and art by Adrianna Melo)

This line about memories being passed down as a form of history is from In my Life (pt 1) (written by Ostrander, drawn by Eduardo Barreto). We pulled most of J'onn and Ma'al's relationship from this comic, since it goes into a lot of detail about their origin.

The general look of Mars (from the martians to the environments) largely pull from Martian Manhunter 2019: Identity (written by Steve Orlando with art by Riley Rossmo). I really like that they clearly took their time to develop a unique visual language for Mars, especially the organic look of the buildings and the fun shapes of the spaceships. Rossmo does not get enough credit for creating such a fresh take on not only the environments but the martians as well! All the martians look unique and have different outfits, which we wanted to do as well!

Our only rule for the environment was that we didn't want any pyramids. Because ancient astronaut theory is racist garbo and I don't want it in my Martian worldbuilding!

This page with Sha'sheen and M'yrnn is a direct homage to their page from In my Life. Idk how it happened but the parents look very t4t in our version lol

Another homage to In my Life. I wanted to imitate the color scheme and the martian outfits here too.

More In my Life homages! This time it's the manhunter training montage.

Telescope romance scene is from MM 2019: Identity! The color scheme and the vibes were already great, I didn't change much haha. M'yri'ah's characterization, J'onn geeking out about other planets, and J'onn's parents' disapproval of M'yri'ah as a partner are all from Identity. I really liked how that story fleshed her out as a character.

I also based M'yri'ah's design off of her Identity true and public forms. I went for less pixar-mom hourglass shape and more buff and built since she's a fighter in our version. We wanted her to be as much a renaissance man as J'onn is often depicted as.

M'yri'ah refers to Earth as Thu'ulc'andra and Mars is referred to as Ma'aleca'andra in our comic. This is a continuation of Ostrander referencing CS Lewis' Space Trilogy for how martians named other planets. However! In Ostrander's version he named earth Per'elandra, which is what Venus is referred to in the Space trilogy. This was later changed via community poll by Orlando for Identity.

Kind of a homage to In my Life (pt3): Earthfall, but really I found an opportunity to continue the tradition of showcasing martian boinking that always happens in J'onn's origin story for some reason.

Not a Martian Manhunter reference, but more a new spin on White Martians. Inspired off of the Draag from the French film, Fantastic Planet. I love colossal set pieces~

More In my Life parallels :>

That's all I can fit into one post for now! Pt 2 coming soon :)

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3

#martian manhunter #sons of mars #dc comics #j'onn j'onzz #justice leauge #jlu #jl remix #ma'alefa'ak #ramblings #watch me geek out about martian comics

[blackjack-15]

sydcarmy breakdown 2X03!

opening with a futility montage for syd -- tight shots for her as well, but centered on her rather than to the side like carmy's? predicts evasion for carmy and head-on tackling of anxieties by syd. business as usual for these two

the BEAUTIFUL widening of the frame from carmy blitizing the crap outta some nuts with his knife, alone in a kitchen, grey sweater blending in with the rest of the background, to show syd in bold tints -- carmy's black and white, note, while he's in a "muddied" version of his colors -- is insane. establishing the lone man, the stress, and then to widen it to show syd and have typical banter start? i see you i see you

"you know what most restaurants suck at?" "how much time do i have to answer that question?" carmy is so, so dry, and i adore it.

THE COPENHAGEN CHEKOV'S GUN. VINDICATION.

them finishing each other's thoughts and sentences is so beautiful here, the way that he can follow her train of thought without missing a beat, the way that he doesn't find copenhagen a "wild" suggestion at all...it's beautiful. these two really are at their best in a small space, alone, with nothing directly hanging over them

"happy?" ohhhhh that's a loaded bit of dialogue. happy with the food? happy with the agreement on sending marcus to copenhagen? happy being there in his kitchen? syd of course takes the most literal interpretation, but bless her, she always does

"you marinated it for too long, but it's okay, though" "i mean it's not, it's twice in a row" "that's why we're doing this" carmy's best aspect by far is his ability to never make the exact same mistake twice, and to incorporate what he learns from others into his important relationships (especially syd). he knows he futzed up by not telling her what her risotto/cola ribs recipe was missing, so he comes out of the gate here with it. he feels bad for yelling at her after a mistake, so he offers support and a way to move past it, to normalize it as part of the learning process.

oh. okay this is breathtakingly vulnerable for syd in a way we really haven't seen yet.

syd is kinda thirsty for praise, especially from carmy -- not a bad thing at all, it's a very neutral character trait. but here, instead of staring wide-eyed at him and pretending she doesn't care (like when he doesn't eat when she preps family in s1), she voices it -- "you're sending me home?" you can almost hear the implied "did i do that badly?". it's a very vulnerable thing to say for syd, who tends to attack things head-on

look at her face there. she is honestly worried, but she's willing to speak up, she's more comfortable and confident in her and carmy's relationship than she was in s1

"no, i'm not sending you home, i'm sending us out for...inspiration" first. just tell your pretty friend that you like her and wanna go geek out about food together, carmy. i know it's not Repression Chic, but. honestly.

second, he's demonstrating that he knows how syd will take this -- how she does end up taking it, by the irritation at herself that she displays here. he knows she's impatient -- with everything and everyone, including herself -- so he tries to show her that this isn't a fault thing, it's just what they've gotta do

and when she doesn't get it and he knows she's mad at herself? "and syd?" "...yeah?" "this really was almost perfect." again, he's learned from the cola ribs and risotto. this conversation is a great mirror to that one, where he starts with praise (it's tremendous) and then tells her "i didn't say it was perfect" as a follow up. he starts with the critique, assures her that it's alright, and then, knowing she's unhappy with herself, praises her.

It doesn't take, but he's doing it right. which means, since carmy opens the episode in Repression Town, things are about to go to pot

#the bear #liveblogging #2X03 #dinner break but hoping to be back in a little bit #but hey! back on the wagon! #also carmy is so friggin soft with her here i'm crying #and he has another sweater than the trauma blue swater!!! it's not a Good sweater color-theory wise but #but it's a sweater!

[abbinurmel]

So, for a good....maybe 87% of my life, this one specific scene from the 90s animated sequel movie "Fievel Goes West", has lived rent free in my head. And thing is, despite that I have not actually sat down and WATCHED the film as an adult. And. I finally saw a clip of it on YT and well...just look at it.

No but really look at it. Look at this brief comedic 'hero training' montage clip, and you realize this simple, cute little family blockbuster sequel, had WAY much more mind-blowing effort put in than it ever had to.

-To start, that clearly is the famous classical music piece "Hoedown" being used to inspire the soundtrack here, but it's being made somehow almost even more triumphant and fast in a span of under a minute.

That kind of 'cleverly deliberate homaging classical well known songs but not so much it's obvious or a ripoff' scoring takes a compositional genius. You don't know it's even in there til you listen for it! Exactly as bone-chilling good to listen to as the original and as much now as it was decades ago. My brain was shocked that it still evoked shivers, watching a fat orange cat doing rope tricks. Speaking of which-

THEY DREW THIS. And PAINTED ALL THIS.

Every single bit of it OVER. AND OVER AGAIN. BY HAND.

Watch this clip again, slowed down. Watch all of this cat's many tiny fur tufts and fat rolls, and the wrinkles and expressive motions on this sheriff dog character. Someone had to draw all those moving around. They never had to. Who is the madman responsible for this. It wasn't some iconic Disney legend like Milt Kahl, and we know Do .Bluth was not here, so who the hell was it!

-The whiskers on Fievel and his tail being unnecessarily curled and punching IN TIME TO THE SONG as he is rooting his friend on.

-All these 'mummy' ropes, and the shadow on them.

-The shafts of light and the falling dirt and cave water drips at the beginning when Tiger prances about mockingly in the mine tunnel entrance.

-At 2:17 the bottle glass all reflecting OUR view of Tiger then shattering and the smoke on his slingshot and the excessively cool way Tiger twirls it around and then pockets it like a gun, complete with "action movie/fancy anime fight" style camera panning round and down his body in towards the holster.

-Look at the part at 2:06 with the punching dummy, from the clouds of dust and tiny straw bits that fly out when Tiger hits it, to all the different camera angles and the way they chose to bounce from third to first to third person again: look at when Tiger rushes up at the scarecrow with a pitchfork. They add 'camera shake' as a way to simulate the off balanced way he as a fat, clumsy, but now highly enthused excitable character specifically would run!

-ALL THOSE FEATHERS

OH MY GOD

They drew the movement of ALL THOSE FUCKING ***FEATHERS!!!!😱***

This isn't even a major scene. But it's taken so thoroughly seriously. This is pure art. This is pure gluttonous showing off. That is brilliant. I really cannot believe how strong this lives up.

Well done brain, you rightfully deserved pushing this on me for so many years.

#fievel goes west #animation #classical music #furries #steven spielberg #movie soundtrack #epic moments #training montage #tiger #cowboy movie #don bluth style #nineties animation #kids film #special effects #film stills #adhd brain #2d animation #nostalgia #vhs #Youtube #an american tail #anthro #inbetween #richard williams #amblin #storytelling #traditional art #bogleech

[canmom]

animes 2023

i didn't watch a ton of seasonals but i watched more than usual so... looking back? very somewhat brief comments! obviously inspired by @kbnet doing the same.

Tengoku Daimakyou

fave anime this year was probably Tengoku Daimakyou. easily the one that stood out the most from an animation perspective, the wonky brain transplant gender thing was a lot of fun, and for better or worse i seem to have now trained a pretty high tolerance for an impactful but questionably necessary sexual assault subplot in the finale.

I kinda get it, it'd been telegraphing a fascination with what makes gender, with power and exploitation, and in general the difficult experience of sexuality from pretty early on. there's a lot of ways that Robin could turn out to have clay feet when we meet him. they went for about the nastiest possible; that episode becomes a bit of a rape-revenge plot. the real question will be how they handle the aftermath.

and honestly? I am really looking forward to where it goes. I'm intrigued by what will happen to the psychic kids, I'm enjoying the main pair's meandering journey. it can deliver an impactful episode plot that hits hard, but it also definitely feels like it has narrative momentum towards something.

technically it stayed insanely strong throughout: the characters are distinctive and expressive, the animation is super lively, the backgrounds gorgeous. love to see Production I.G. firing on all cylinders like this.

Oshi no Ko

Oshi no Ko from the same season was also very solid, like it definitely dangles a pretty wacky premise, but it turns into this very earnest thing about acting and the many tensions and violences of the entertainment industry. Since watching that I've read all the manga that's available in scanlation, and it's a pretty direct beat for beat adaptation, but it's interesting how pacing that felt kinda laboured in the anime felt a lot snappier in the manga.

Probably the most interesting challenge for the animators was how to take a story that really hinges on the question of what makes for good and bad acting and make it convincing in animation. In the end, they still rely a lot on framing and symbolic elements like the star eyes to get it across, but there's still some really key moments where the animated acting shines.

I was curious enough to start reading Kaguya-sama: Love Is War by the same author and it didn't do a lot. I wanna check out the anime though bc it seems to be really highly respected.

16-Bit Sensation: Another Layer

16Bit Sensation has a lot of endearing aspects. The mc is endearing for her big himejoshi energy even if they're blatantly angling to push her together with the guy. The wilder turns taken at the end are fun (a lot to be dug into with the 'what if moe evolved in the states' thing) although it kind of quickly falls into a pretty conventional hero-villain save the day thing. I liked the yuri-lite subplot with the girl who the protag helps to buy some eroge who then becomes a gamedev herself. The concept can be read as a fascinating kind of CCRU thing with the concept of moe reaching back in time to create itself. That could be fun if you delved into it more.

If there's one thing it's kind of lacking it's like... any actual details on PC98 game dev, which mostly happens in offscreen montages. I was watching it with a friend who's a real big nerd for old computers so it was fun to share that with her, but ultimately the most it has to say about the actual games is that the girls are cute (one of them says uguu) and also dithering is a thing. The finale involves this escalating gag about strapping PC98s together in parallel to make increasingly unlikely compute stacks, which is fun but also it's kind of just using the PC98 as a symbol at that point as you get further and further from the actual capabilities of the machine.

What is that symbol? There's an odd kind of quiet nationalism in it. The significance of the PC98 is that it was the last successful home computer to be made domestically in Japan; likewise the stakes of the finale are the culture of Akihabara as an otaku space, with the alternative being gentrified blocks of flats and American cultural domination. I haven't had a chance to see the finale yet so I'm wondering how they're gonna resolve it. I feel you could do a lot more with the ideas they raise in this alternate timeline, but it's playing pretty loose at this point with a very protagonist centric story, so it can't really get into them.

Trigun Stampede

Can't say too much about this one because I only saw half and I was watching it unsubbed for immersion practice, and it was a bit beyond my level. It's interesting from a character design trends perspective. Orange are undoubtedly the kings of 3DCG anime, but I didn't like the lighting style here as much as I did Houseki. Need to watch this again at some point subbed.

NieR Automata ver 1.1a

Hard to know what to say here. This was one of several big production collapses of 2023 - a two cour anime that went on a long hiatus before finishing even one. I kind of fell off at that point, so I still need to finish it.

I went in with a sense of trepidation. I didn't like what I'd seen of the designs and photography, and the first episode seemed to confirm my worst fears, with some incredibly shoddy CGI and weak action. Thankfully, the later episodes all improve on matters a great deal.

This would be a terrible substitute for the game, but as a companion piece, it's pretty cool - it jumps between the main beats and fleshes out some of the side characters, or focuses on some odd poignant little stories. I was honestly surprised how many notes it could hit. Of course, Keiichi Okabe's music does a lot of heavy lifting - the animation is sometimes strong (if a bit melty) but I don't love the designs and photography style in general. Still this anime grew on me a lot and I do mean to finish it - it's NieR after all, practically a religious obligation at this point.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season: The Final Chapters: Part 1: Dream Drop Distance

lol

So like a year ago I watched through Attack on Titan with mogs, came to a somewhat questionable redemptive reading of it as not being the fashiest anime ever but charting a rather muddled break from a nationalist worldview into more of a Gundam type story of enemies putting aside their differences, the futility of military sacrifice, etc etc. (we later watched Tanya the Evil, continually waiting for the other shoe to drop with it being straight up a nazi propaganda power fantasy - it never did, that anime is straight up irredeemable lmao). anyway I said at the time that the finale would confirm or deny my interpretation of what it's about, determined by the question of how it addresses Eren's ideological turn. I think I was maybe out waaaaay on a limb with all this shit lmao. ngl mostly I watched this cartoon because the story is so deranged and I want to see for myself what insane turns the guy will pull next.

Anyway MAPPA spent a lot of animators on this, bc they're MAPPA, so it naturally had some very impressive scenes. Any sort of thematic resolution was still deferred and I'm 99% sure it's gonna be some sort of pathetic copout... oh apparently they released the finale like two months ago lmao, guess I'll finally get to find out. What a weird franchise to have driven the 2010s anime boom honestly.

Magical Destroyers

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. A lot of anime these days feels very sanded down and predictable, and whatever it is, Magical Destroyers definitely isn't that. It has a great OP that writes a lot of cheques that the show itself sadly isn't really up to paying...

...and there's a lot that's interestingly odd about it; it's got this cheerfully enthusiastic attitude towards explicit sexuality, it's got a very online weeb sense of humour, it honestly kind of feels like of if the people who do 'Otaku Vs.' on youtube got to make a series.

Anyway at some point I saw a 20 minute summary of the rest:

The explanation behind all this turns out to be: the creator is a 24 year old Japanese-American guy who's spent half his life in California, skating and drawing for clothing brands and DJing and stuff like that after he didn't make it as a mangaka at first, and somehow his connections turned into an anime deal. Ostensibly Undertale was an inspiration although it's not entirely clear how. The result is something incredibly disjointed that doesn't go anywhere, with incomprehensible meta turns and barely existent characterisation, but it certainly stands as something different.

Zom100

I watched this because Sakugablog covered it. It's very nicely animated for sure, with great use of saturated colour, but I dropped it after three or four episodes because I couldn't connect to the power fantasy, the only girl was way too overdetermined by being the obvious love interest, and it really didn't seem to be going anywhere. Also the flight attendant episode just felt mean-spirited, especially how little impact it seems to leave on our protagonists. I get that the whole point is the MC's sunny attitude being completely at odds with the apocalyptic setting, but I ended up finding him grating.

There's also some unfortunate irony in the fact that after the pointed jabs at the animators' former studio OLM in the first ep, they apparently ended up crunching pretty hard by the end.

and...

Damn is that really all I watched this year? Still haven't seen a few much-hyped ones like the Scott Pilgrim anime or Frieren. I guess mostly I watch stuff through Animation Night still...

As far as movies: Boy and the Heron/How Do You Live only just came out in the UK, gonna see it in a week. Haven't seen Suzume yet, or the whiskey one, or The Concierge. I wrote my comments on Kaina of the Great Snow Sea (disappointing), Tunnel to Summer: The Exit of Goodbyes (decent summer movie), Lonely Castle in the Mirror (solid and affecting) and The First Slam Dunk (actually incredible, made me understand sports) during Annecy - technically most of those came out last year anyway lol. Apparently there's a new Psycho-Pass movie too! When Psycho-Pass is good it's great, so I'll give that a shot.

Outside of anime - been meaning to check out some TV donghua like Link Click; also very excited to dig into Scavenger's Reign. I'll certainly report back when I do.

Animation Night's kinda fallen apart in the last few months - it would happen sooner or later, the project has kinda run its course and achieved "social connection" and "speedrunning an education in animation history" lol. but I'm glad I've kept it going as long as I have. I'm gonna try and bring it back in the new year, it would be nice to reach that big 200 before I wrap it up for good.

Thanks for reading my blog, nerds!! Let's see if I can make 2024 the year I go from just talking about animation to making my own short films.

#anime #seasonal anime #Youtube

[smilesatdawnmain]

Here’s a challenge! I dare you to explain the entire LMK show/lore 😈

... (clears throat)

There was a kid who delivered noodles for his boss/dad.

Kid found a magic stick

Kid ran away from others who wanted stick

Kid's best, Dragon girl, saves kid

Kid, dragon girl, and family go on trip to protect the world

Kid's family is also possible the reincarnations of a story that kid really loves, but we won't touch on that more and only drop hints until season 3

Kid found original owner of stick, a cheeky monkey who caused a LOT of problems in the past

Monkey taught kid how to use stick.

Kid, now hero, often picks fight with "evil rival" Red Boy

Monster of the week montage for a while

The monkey's ex's keep showing up and ruining the kid and monkey's fun. This involves another monkey, a spider, and probably a lion but we'll get to that.

Red boy helps defeat spider. Friendship kind of confirmed?

Ice witch shows up. Witch doesn't like the monkey.

Ice witch not fun

Poor innocent girl gets possessed by witch

Monkey leaves due to witch. He's got an issue with leaving. Doesn't inform kid of the danger

Kid struggles.

Kid really struggles.

Doesn't tell friends and family of struggle. (Might have learned this habit from Monkey)

Witch wants the stick.

Monster of the week filled with witch building her evil scheme

Monkey picks fight with roller blading god child

Monkey "breaks a few eggs to make an omlette" and almost kills himself and roller blading god child to get a magical scroll

Monkey realises kid is in danger from witch

Monkey shows back up but is too late to save stick but saved kid.

Kid, Monkey, Family and friends go on journey to defeat the witch.

Both monkey and kid are week and need time to build power back up

Other monkey, witch's current unwilling puppet, is in hot pursuit.

Kid needs to collect three rings for an abstract super weapon while also avoiding other monkey.

Rings are hidden in strange locations invovling cooking, singing, and having a sleep over with Red Boy

Monkey, is little help during this time.

Monkey not good at communicating. Often an issue.

Monkey has a deep secret about a fourth ring

Opts to wait until last minute to reveal this. Choas ensues

Roller blading god child appears and has a bone to pick with monkey

Other Monkey also appears and beats the snot out of Everyone~

Kid's bestie, dragon girl, gets unimaginable power due to lack of monkey communication.

Dragon girl is fourth ring. Yay~

Dragon girl is abstract super weapon now

Other Monkey is freed from Witch's control, but dragon girl runs off as she is a walking time bomb

Monkey called out for his many mistakes

Monkey leaves in shame to take on witch alone. This is also a mistake.

Kid goes after monkey with roller blading god child

Too late to save monkey.

Monkey becomes puppet to witch and almost kills kid

Roller blading god child sees no break and is pummeled into the ground.... but he's okay...

Red Boy appears and helps dragon Girl with "Some fire trainig~!" and off screen training montage

Kid tracks down dragon girl, accidentally leading possessed monkey to her, and dragon girl is captured.

Kid regroups with family with Red boy at his side.

Family quietly panicking over an existential crisis that they are the reincarnated allies of Monkey from the past

...But there is a witch to focus on so put that to the back burner!

Other Monkey, for some reason a friend now, agrees to save monkey and the world with kid.

This... doesn't go well for other monkey

But Monkey is saved regardless

Red Boy inspires dragon girl and she escapes!

Family unlocks OP "friendship is magic" cinematic final attack

Witch is gone~

Kid is traumatized by Witch's last words.

Kid, trying to live a normal life and not be crushed by his guilt that all these problems are his fault, finds weird scroll.

Monkey gets eaten by scroll and trapped.

Kid's family also gets eaten and trapped.

A lion shows up. Probably another of Monkey's ex's. (unconfirmed)

Lion plays nice guy. Helps with scroll.

Long trip through scroll and the past

Finally talk about family being reincarnated old friends of monkey, but they are their own people now and will not be held down by the past

Kid tormented by shadow version of self/curse of the scroll

Kid questions life and lack of knowledge on his own life

Lion not so nice.

Kid might be a monkey too? (unconfirmed)

Kid and family escape the scroll. Monkey still trapped though.

Lion is a "good guy" that uses backwards logic and goals

Lion frees his criminal friends a bird and a elephant

Elephant is cool, bird not so much

Lion and evil co go to retrieve others and reform the world

Kid leaves to find himself

Kid is sad and going through existential crisis

Dragon girl and family going through training montage

Other monkey finds kid gives backward advice and cheers up kid

Kid saves dragon girl and family

Roller blading god kids down for the count again- give this guy a break

Big Jade god is killed and Lion becomes all powerful

...Also unstable...

Kid goes back into scroll with other monkey to find monkey

Kid witnessing monkey and other monkey break up (Platonic break up... probably....)

Monkey sad.

Kid gives pep talk

Monkey okay now

Monkey officially retrieved!

Battle plan commences. Plan made- surprisingly followed

Lion appears and gets whooped by a cheeky and unconfirmed cheeky monkey first day on the job

Kid, probably- like, definitely a monkey and possible Harbinger of Choas

Lion regrets actions just a little too late

World is saved but at the cost of the lion

Beach celebration to cheer victory! Friends and old enemies all invited!

Other monkey and monkey kind of bonding and reconnecting

Evil outside force mentioned- the monkeys both know something...

are still terrible at communicating

The end~

THERE! I DID IT!

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk mk #answer #lmk wukong #lmk macaque #lmk mei #lmk red son