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lemonyinks · 1 year

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thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece

Okay, but seriously, it was something I never noticed when I was young and reading One Piece for the very first time. Back then the emotional scenes were just that, emotional scenes. I never seen the parallels or the way the themes would often reappear in different ways. Now that I'm an adult and I'm reading it once again, it has become a whole lot more apparent just how much of a reoccurring theme they both are, and how they go hand in hand together. I've also begun to realize just how much impact on the narrative these scenes have on future events.

Shank's sacrificing his arm for Luffy is literally one of the first things to happen in the manga, which he did because he obviously loved and cared for Luffy. He calls him a friend only a few pages earlier. He would gladly lose and arm if it meant Luffy would live. It was right after this event as well when Luffy finally stops asking Shank's to take him out to sea with him and vows to become a pirate on his own, just before Shanks gives him his straw hat.

And that wouldn't be the first time someone would sacrifice a limb for someone they cared about in this series. Zeff quite literally ate his own leg so that he could give all of the rations they had to Sanji, hoping that the kid would live long enough to carry out the dream that the both of them shared. The All Blue may have been the initial reason he had for saving Sanji's life, but he undoubtedly grew to love Sanji like a son and I don't doubt for a second he would make that sacrifice a million times over for him.

And then comes Bellemere an arc later. Nami and Nojiko were her reason to keep living, she dedicated her entire life to taking care of those girls and she loved them with her whole being. To her, it was an easy choice to give her own life so that her girls wouldn't have to leave the only home they'd ever known and possibly die all alone out on the sea.

Hiriluk is a bit of a different sacrifice, but a sacrifice nonetheless. His decision to commit suicide was ultimately due to him not wanting Chopper to feel guilt over his death. He loved Chopper, he knew that he was only ever trying to help and that he loved Hiriliuk in return. The doctor couldn't just let that love and desire to help turn into what caused his death. So he chose to take his own life instead so that none of the responsibility landed on Chopper's shoulders.

Once we reach Alabasta, there is of course the iconic Pell scene. He was willing to throw his life away, not only for Vivi, who he loved dearly, but also for the country he served and it's people. I know some say that this scene isn't as impactful as some of the other sacrifices since he didn't truly die in that moment, but in my opinion that doesn't matter. He did it because he loved them all. His feelings were just as strong as those who died or lost limbs, and the Vivi's reaction is equally as real as the other's reactions to the sacrifices made for them. His intentions were to save everyone, and he did just that.

In water 7/Enies Loby (an arc that is itself basically one big love letter) we are introduced to Saul, who had only know Robin for a very short amount of time before the navy showed up to kill the scholars. And yet, in that small period he grew to care about Robin and had a real desire to protect her and ensure that she would not only live, but end up happy one day. He was willing to give up his own life so that this little girl, who he barely even knew, could live on.

Thriller Bark is where we see on of the most memorable Zoro scenes. While this isn't the first time one of the protags has sacrificed themselves for their crewmates, it is one of the most notable. Zoro here takes on all of Luffy's pain, simply because he loves his captain and believes that his dream is worth living on for. He was willing to give up his health, as well as what he thought would be his life, if it meant that Luffy would be able to live longer and carry on with his journey.

And this of course leads us to Marineford, where Ace threw himself in front of Akainu's molten fist in order to save his baby brother with zero hesitation. Ace loved Luffy deeply, he would never have allowed harm to come to him. The two of them loved each other deeply and would rather die than allow the other to be hurt.

Now comes a sacrifice that really parallels Bellameres, even down to their last words to their kids and the way that the both of them died. Cora cared for Law, he really did. He couldn't stand to see a child so young talking about how they were going to die and he wanted to help him, so much so that he all but abandoned the mission he was with the Donquixote pirates for in the first place just so that he could find a cure for Law's sickness. He inevitably came to truly love and care for Law. He gives his life in the confrontation between him and his brother, even going so far as forcing himself to hold on longer in order to let Law escape silently, just so that the child he'd come to love could grow up and live his life.

While Pedro may have sacrificed himself so that the strawhats could go farther on their journey, he didn't really do it for them. He may have thought of them as friends, but in the end his sacrifice was for the people of Zou. He did it for his people, because he loved them and wanted to do everything in his power to help save them from the cruel fate they were being subjected to. He knew that the only way this would be achieved would be if the Strawhats made it out of Big Mom's territory, so he did what he thought he had to in order to help them escape.

Finally, in Wano we have Oden's sacrifice. He let himself be boiled alive in a pot of oil for an hour straight while holding up the weight of nine other people, simply because he believed it gave his retainers, his family, the people he loved, a chance to escape the same fate. But he didn't just do it for them, he gave his life so that his entire country may have the chance at a better future. To the very end, he loved his country and he loved the other samurai.

And these are just a few select examples that I could think of at the time and some of the most memorable ones to me This doesn't even account for Nami giving up her childhood and teen years to free her village, or Sanji saving Nami and Luffy from the avalanche, or Tom turning himself in so that Franky wouldn't be killer, or Robin giving herself up to cp-9 to promise the Strawhats passage, or Luffy letting himself be tortured by Porchemy to keep Sabo and Ace's secret, or the way Dadan stayed behind to fight Bluejam for Ace, or how the Whitebeards all put themselves on the line to try and save Ace, or Pound stopping Oven several times to save his daughter, or when Scarlet tried to feed her starving daughter, or Sanji freeing the crew from Bege, or Killer eating the SMILE and doing Orochi's bidding to give Kid a chance to live, or Law giving himself over to Hawkins to save Bepo, Sachi, and Penguin, or Momo giving up his childhood, or the two times Bon Clay gave themself up to give Luffy time to escape, or the Going Merry sailing on despite being in no condition to, or how the minks allowed themselves to be tortured, or how Rouge literally killed herself to bring Ace into the world. It doesn't even cover the more subtle sacrifices like Usopp lying that there was no pirates so that his village wouldn't have to be afraid, or even Luffy's hunger strike.

There are countless sacrifices within this series that I don't think I could ever really hope of covering them all, unless I were to spend several hours that I don't have on them. But one thing is certain about every single one of them; they are displays of love. I mean, who else do you make sacrifices for, if not for someone you love.

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hexjulia · 25 days

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anyway found a book with an incredible premise.

"'The Book of the New Sun (1980–1983, 1987) is a four-volume science fantasy novel. It chronicles the journey of Severian, a journeyman torturer from the Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence who after helping a client kill themselves is exiled in disgrace to journey to the distant city of Thrax where he is to live out his days as their executioner. Severian lives in the ancient city of Nessus in a nation called the Commonwealth, ruled by the Autarch, in the Southern Hemisphere. It is at war with Ascia, its totalitarian northern neighbour.

It is a first-person narrative, ostensibly translated by Wolfe into contemporary English, set in a distant future when the Sun has dimmed and Earth is cooler (a "Dying Earth" story). '"

WHO thinks of making his protagonist a "journeyman torturer"....i love it and I don't think that's something you'd easily publish as a fantasy writer today.

But it gets better.

"Severian, the main character and narrator of the series, can be interpreted as a Christ figure. His life has many parallels to the life of Jesus, and Gene Wolfe, a Catholic, has explained that he deliberately mirrored Jesus in Severian. He compares Severian's profession as a torturer to Jesus's profession as a carpenter in The Castle of the Otter:[4] It has been remarked thousands of times that Christ died under torture. Many of us have read so often that he was a "humble carpenter" that we feel a little surge of nausea on seeing the words yet again. But no one ever seems to notice that the instruments of torture were wood, nails, and a hammer; that the man who built the cross was undoubtedly a carpenter too; that the man who hammered in the nails was as much a carpenter as a soldier, as much a carpenter as a torturer. Very few even have seemed to have noticed that although Christ was a "humble carpenter," the only object we are specifically told he made was not a table or a chair, but a whip."

........ jesus made a whip this one time so it makes sense to make my professional torturer protagonist a Christ figure - a catholic, apparently.

#i NEED to read this

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kuzann · 7 months

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Got this chapter done in a week! \o/ It's 12.2k words this time! Vlad sets his sights on acquiring a new artifact, but runs into trouble when he was to bring Danny along. Relevant Characters: Vlad, Danny, Imago(OC), Jack, Maddie Triggers: Some Blood, Non-Lethal Strangulation

Chapter 8: Heart's Desire

Excerpt:

The door swung shut without a sound once they were through. Beyond it was a massive cave of glittering gray twilight; every wall curved in large angled facets rather than natural shapes, giving it the appearance of a mass of connected mirrors. It stretched up so high that the ceiling was lost in gray fog, and so deep that the floor below was a mere strip of molten mercury between the walls. The light had a silvery quality to it, diffused enough to avoid sharp shadows but easy to see by all the same. It flowed between the mirror walls like water and seemed to shift whenever Vlad or Danny moved.

“So what kind of ghost is this supposed to be again?” Danny asked out of genuine curiosity.

“A shapeshifter with a mirror association,” Vlad replied. “The accounts aren’t clear on what its true form is. Its main method of attack seems to be copying anyone who enters its domain.”

“So kinda like Amorpho?”

“If we’re lucky,” Vlad replied; he’d dealt with Amorpho before and while his tricks were annoying they were easily dealt with once the specter’s ruse was unmasked. “But it appears we’ll have to look for them before we can discover that.” He led the way, passing between a pair of walls that ran parallel to each other. The infinite multiplicity of reflections held by each was a tad dizzying given the walls’ scale.

They continued for a while with no end in sight.

“So why are you here?” Danny asked suddenly, as Vlad flew up to find a better view of the place.

Vlad sighed and considered leaving the question unanswered; Danny was clearly doing it to annoy him. It was only as he glanced at the boy in one of the mirror walls that he noticed something amiss—the logo on his chest was facing the readable way in the reflections.

Which meant—

He ducked away just in time. The green ecto-blast hit the wall beside him and ricocheted off, then bounced off another and another, dancing between the walls with no discernable pattern. Vlad dodged a second blast only to be hit by the first as it doubled back to their location.

Vlad fired a blast in retaliation and knocked the fake Danny away—his logo was backwards as Vlad had noticed earlier, the only way to tell him apart from the real thing at a glance. This was, undoubtedly, the shapeshifter who called this little pocket realm home.

Which meant he’d lost the real Danny somewhere among the mirrors.

#Danny Phantom #Vlad Masters #Vlad Plasmius #Danny Fenton #Jack Fenton #Danny Phantom Paradigm Shift AU #Kuzannfic

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kamenstranger · 11 months

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Well, this was a big one, wasn’t it? I guess Ultraman was the big one, but getting a Kamen Rider movie released in the US, that was a big shock. Not without some compromises, but even so, it’s surreal to see a Kamen Rider in a theater. It was certainly an experience in itself.

But, I’m dancing around the meat of the subject here; the movie. Cool factor of a Kamen Rider playing in theaters aside, is it good?

The short spoiler free version is yes… but I do have issues.

First, some solid positives. Ruriko is great, a lot of the superfluous aspects of her character were cut down and she plays a much bigger role than either the Manga or original series. She puts up a cold logical exterior that hides her true emotions, but you get the impression there’s a lot more to her than she lets on, and Minami Hamabe does an excellent job showcasing different personas as the characters opens up.

Hongo is great, Sosuke Ikematsu brings a real tragic humanity to the character that perfectly embodies the sadness of being a Kamen Rider.

Likewise, Tasuku Emoto’s Hayato is a sharp contrast to Hongo and one of the best parts of the film, if tragically underutilized.

There are some great action bits, fun callbacks to the original, iconic musical beats. We even have a take on Ishinomori’s interest in Gaia theory being incorporated. Visually the film’s a lot of fun, great over the top set pieces in a way only Anno can deliver- some of the night scenes notwithstanding.

That said, the film is also front loaded pretty badly with a lot of exposition, a couple superfluous Kaijin-nigen or rather “Augs”, a lot of the fights are clunky, and the film often feels more like a series of vignettes strung together, feeling more like several episodes condensed into the time span of a movie rather than something written with the framework in mind. That will probably be the biggest sticking point for a lot of people.

I enjoyed the movie, I saw a lot of good, I saw a lot of blemishes. It’s a mixed bag that has its ups and downs, it's probably not going to be seen as good as Shin Godzilla and Ultraman.

From here on out, I’m getting into spoiler territory.

So let’s discuss the pacing, because more than anything that’s the biggest issue.

The first 45 minutes are the most uneven of the entire movie. The opening sequence is however fantastic, it hits the ground running and sets the tone for the movie perfectly. But once Spider Aug is killed, that’s when things start to become noticeably sloppy. We’re hastily introduced to two Government agents that really don’t have any character to them, they’re just two agents who recruit Ruriko and Hongo to take down Shocker, while also keeping tabs on them and providing some limited support like safe housing. Yes they’re exactly who you think they are.

It’s at this point in my viewing I realized there’s a lot of exposition and set up being jam packed. Even before the two agents show up we have a big info dump in the middle of the Spider Aug section spent explaining what Prana is- which is basically the life force of the universe. A soul, the conscious, etc. It’s what all augmented Cyborgs run on, so get used to hearing it a lot as an explanation for everything. Nano-machines, son.

After Spider is killed and they introduce the agents, we get another exposition heavy scene on how SHOCKER came to be (Which despite the whole parallels with real life cults, never amounts to any sort of major social commentary) It comes off sloppy. They’re trying to cover all the things that are needed to set the foundation, but at the cost of presentation. The opening 20 minutes is basically Action scene> Massive info dump> action scene> massive info dump.

A complaint I’ve seen is Anno's reverence for the original series hampering the movie, that there's perhaps too much fondness or nostalgia- but never explaining exactly what that entails except maybe some of the visuals and the opening basically being the first two episodes of the OG series. Undoubtedly you've seen the locations that appeared in the original '71 series, or the use of snap zooms. That's not really an issue in my book, as it doesn’t seem to simply come from a place of nostalgia, but Anno recognizing that the locations and editing style also invokes a certain tone and visual vibe beyond the simple act of "I recognize that" out of the audience. They ostensibly serve the same purpose they do as originally intended. Sure, nostalgia is inevitable, but it's not the only point. It's also a small part of the movie.

No, where I think the film gets tied up is insisting on having certain monsters for the sake of having them. After that big info dump with the agents and our heroes allying with them, Hongo and Ruriko begin systematically take down SHOCKER’s senior members, the hybrid soldiers (And in one case a group of agents taking down Scorpion) Even though it’s only two monsters, it feels very cobbled together and disjointed with the rest of the film. Bat’s entire segment in particular feels like it’s there because they had to have a Bat Monster after the Spider, and they had some really cool ideas. The concept for a fake out, a kick ass curb stomp, and checking a monster off the list all came first– trying to fill in a story around it and justifying their inclusion came second. Bat easily could’ve been cut entirely and it probably would’ve helped the pacing immensely. Scorpion is there so they can have the Shocker Combatwomen and because her venom is used later by the agents to kill a surrendering Aug, which has some fucked up implications that’re a bit glossed over. A hybrid of Chameleon and Mantis Man; Kamakiri Chameleon, also pops up down the road with almost no set-up beyond revenge for Spider Aug.

Thankfully things mostly get better once we get to Wasp. The story is better paced out, has more coherence, and we have some hints that Ruriko has a history with Wasp as she’s more emotional than previously seen, and Wasp, Hiromi, treats Ruriko like an old friend. Ruriko also has some nice quiet moments with Hongo that adds to the humanity of the two. In fact, I would go so far as to say the scenes between the two carry the film a great deal, particularly with so much action/exposition in the first act, it’s nice to slow down and focus on two characters and their personalities.

In particular it makes you appreciate just how Ruriko had the best change ups. No nonsense with thinking Hongo killed her father, she was a part of SHOCKER and is augmented, she’s a researcher and computer expert allowing her to upgrade Hongo’s gear. I like this take on the character, it’s different and allows her to be more involved. She has a real chip on her shoulder regarding her father who was always distant, she doesn’t even think much of his death, but by the midway point the facade starts to crack and open up.

After Wasp however, there’s not a whole lot left story wise. It’s mostly about taking down Ruriko’s brother, Ichiro Midorikawa (Mirai Moriyama), the Butterfly Aug, and assumed final Senior member. And man, Anno really wanted to use some other Ishinomori characters thrown into a blender. Ichiro turned on humanity after his mother was killed in a random attack when he was 6, and eventually his entire family is killed off over the movie. So he has a thirst for vengeance and is a blue Butterfly with a double half typhoon… this man is a V3 and Inazuman OC. I’m not even mad, but that’s what he is. (He also goes by Kamen Rider 0, which is a term that goes back to the OG series as a planned failed prototype Rider, and would later be used as a placeholder for New Kamen Rider/Skyrider, Black, and Shin. References!)

Ichiro has a cool calm demeanor, and his power is absorbing the prana of others and placing them in a purgatory-like realm, his goal being to do that to the world so no one else has to die a senseless death like his mother. He’s framed as being ideologically the opposite of Hongo, and there is something there about order and chaos, control and freedom. Sadly, I don’t find him an interesting villain. Moriyama does a great job in the role, but I don’t think he has enough to work with. Ichiro simply isn’t that developed nor does the film utilize the themes surrounding him. He’s someone that would make a great series villain, have flashbacks to his old self, the relationship with Ruriko. Really build him up overtime. But for a film? Not so much. And I shouldn’t have to read a prequel manga to fill in the blanks.

That aside, it’s Ichiro who’s responsible for turning Ichimongi Hayato into 02, and I want to re-emphasize; Hayato is great in this. He’s more upbeat and jokey than Hongo, he contrasts wonderfully, is a lot of fun, and we do not get enough of him in the film. We don’t even have much of him interacting with Hongo. You have the initial fight, a few words after, and then their only other interaction is during the climax.

Thankfully, while the narrative is a bit light after Nigo is introduced, the film wisely maintains character interactions with Ruriko that play a substantial role in providing much needed heart, showing a vulnerable more human side, while Ikematsu once again is bringing his all to showcase Hongo’s sorrow.

I should also mention Hongo’s backstory at this point, and it’s…weird. It comes very late into the movie and primarily is there to contrast with Ichiro.

The short of it is his father was a policeman that refused to use his gun in a hostage situation and it got him killed. Hongo took that kindness and willingness to help others to heart, but unlike his father, he is willing to use that power, the destructive means. And I get the intent there; it’s the same basis as the story Ishinomori told about hitting a bully. You have to use strength sometimes, not because you enjoy it, but because you need to, even if it breaks your heart to do it. There is something still a tad uncomfortable about the whole ordeal about Hongo wishing his dad shot someone, but I also suppose that’s the point. There is another important element to the story, which is that the end of the movie has Hongo giving up his helmet at the cost of his body. He has, in essence, given up the gun like his father. That’s something I would want to analyze on a rewatch. But my initial reaction to the backstory is “This isn’t good or necessary.” I don’t think we need to be given a reason for why Hongo is a kind person willing to use force, that can just be who he is. But Anno can’t help but impose parental complexes on a character.

I suppose the last thing to mention is that, yeah, Hongo “dies” during the final battle, but similar to the manga, his mind lives on. But instead of being a brain in a jar somewhere, his prana inhabits the helmet given to Hayato. It’s a nice twist on the concept.

Also worth mentioning that this is the most open-ended of Anno’s Shin series. Hayato gets a new suit, becomes Kamen Rider 2+1 (love that name) SHOCKER has a new Cobra Aug, and the film ends with Hayato riding off.

Oh, I also didn’t mention K, because he doesn’t appear to do anything important. Emphasis on appear.

So, Shocker was founded by a Japanese billionaire who created an AI system called I, a big machine, and later J (looking a lot like Kikaider) and the third and final before his suicide was K. K is an observer throughout the film, showing sympathy for fallen Augs, but also the heroes, never intervening against them. He just watches in secret, and I’m wondering if a sequel intends to develop a conscience for him and turn him against Shocker. That’s the only reason I can figure he’s here because otherwise it’s a very unnecessary and weird cameo. It feels like the Kyodain siblings appearing as villains in the Fourze movie, it’s just an out of place re-imagining for the sake of a reference.

But that's just one half of Shin Kamen Rider. While the story leaves a bit to be desired to say the least, how to the visuals fair? Well, it's a bit mixed as well.

If I give Anno anything as a filmmaker it’s that he’s typically visually engaging, goes extra hard when needed, but also knows when to dial it back. Even with all the Wikipedia level exposition at the start, the camera’s always moving, always making the frame look interesting, usually providing additional footage as a character explains a backstory. But, when we get to Ruriko and Hongo having a heart to heart, things are more simple, because it’s the characters drawing you in more than anything else.

Of course, where the visual truly lets loose is the special effects. When Anno is on, he is fucking on. The above is the perfect encapsulation of the film at its best going extra on the style, and the best I've ever seen at invoking the speed and power of Ishinomori's Manga panels. Transformations and finishers are unsurprisingly the biggest highlight. The editing and fight sequences are another matter...

We’ve got probably 3-4 different things going on here in terms of styling. There’s snap zooms and smash cuts like the 70s series, which… can look a little archaic, but I kinda like it. There’s a charm and sense of love there.

You’ve got more modern rapid cuts showing the impacts during fights, which never gets tiring. It adds a speed and franticness to the battles while still providing a clear shot of the impact.

It’s also just fun watching SHOCKER combatmen get their heads squished, or blood splatter against a tree like a bucket of paint. Speaking of, the fights are very violent, almost on par with Black Sun’s level of gore. Again, I’m fairly certain some of the monsters were thrown in here simply to have them be turned into a smear under Ichigo’s boot.

The other more predominant style is…not so good. We have quite a lot of fights that use a very shaky cam combined with rapid smash cuts and obnoxious closeups that invokes the absolutely worst in action scenes, devolving into an incoherent mess of blurry visuals that makes a Taken film look refined. You can get away with a little bit if it’s meant to show the chaos of what the opponents are facing, but not an entire sequence. The audience still needs to see what’s happening. The Scorpion Aug in particular has one of the absolute worst. I remember thinking to myself it looks like they shot this on a damn phone… later learning that several scenes were shot on goddamn iPhones.

Another thing I’m not crazy about is the night sequences, or areas that are dark. As much as SKR wants to replicate and build off of the OG’s visuals, these are lit worse than the Showa era stuff. The entire fight with the Shocker Riders in the tunnel system is barely visible, it’s an absolute mess of what could and should’ve been a highlight of the film. Even with the glowing eyes, nothing looks as visceral and raw as when the OG put the heroes in the dark.

However, the fight between Hongo and Hayato is really fun. This is going full Shonen ham with showcasing the Riders running at incredible speeds, jumping high into the air, and flipping great distances. Most of the fight is in CG, which is okay, not great looking, but I’m happy they didn’t do it at night to try and hide it. Although I do wonder why doing wire work and green screen wasn’t used for some sections.

Also, there’s a bit in the fight where Hongo’s leg gets injured. I laughed.

But while I do enjoy this particular battle, this also highlights a limitation of Shin Kamen Rider’s fight scenes, which is that the only really good bits are either quick cuts only showing the impacts, or heavily CG’d. Suit actors having well paced and well shot choreographed fights simply aren't here. And that’s made all the more damning by the currently airing series, Geats, having some of the absolute best choreography in a Toku in years. Hell, the fight between Black Sun and Bilgenia had a more interesting structure. Sure, Ichigo and Nigo having a DBZ fight is fun, having Wasp move at an inhuman pace can only be done in CG. But so many fights devolve into watching a cutscene.

One thing I can give credit towards being consistently amazing is the sound design. Every hit feels destructive, crunchy, squishy, and incredibly satisfying to the ears. The opening battle sets a pretty high standard and it never disappoints. Numerous subtle sounds, too. The film has multiple sequences where we’re keyed in on the sound of leather and zippers. Kinda sounds kinky, doesn’t it? But it is oddly enjoyable. Probably my favorite is Hongo removing his glove, which really doesn’t want to come off, like the armor is a part of him, with a sound befitting that.

We might as well get into some of the miscellaneous general aesthetics and visual choices, because we get a blend of everything here. I don’t want to spend much on the main suit itself beyond just how amazingly simple the design philosophy was. Take the original suit, mix some of the Sakurajima colors in there, add panel lines and some techno stuff. Bam, something modern that stays more true to the original than "The First" did and looking miles better.

What I find more interesting is how the suit is treated as a separate piece, it doesn’t just form, it’s something that has to be put on. Or, as is the case here, almost never taken off. It’s not dissimilar to what was planned for, uh, Shin. Likewise, the helmet is a separate part that has to be put on before transforming, like in the Manga and numerous conceptual ideas for other Riders.

They even go as far as to require Hongo to gather wind to transform, while Hayato can just easily take the wind in at a standstill. And that’s maintained, Hongo never even fans his hands.

The Riders are also monstrous under their armor, though not to the extent of Black or Shin. It’s a very subdued look comparatively, but very unique as well. It’s Showa-esque in a way; red eyes, green skin, and some clawed hands with spines. And I think that’s probably the best way to take later iterations of Rider and retroactively fit them to the 70s Showa inspired aesthetic.

I also like the speenlines on the Shocker masks, kinda reminds me of the Big Machine in the manga.

Ooooh boy, what a ride. We’re kinda at the part I’ve been dreading, and that’s my final thoughts.

So, when I was in the theater, I was struggling to figure out what my thoughts on the film were, and it’s something I’ve mulled over for a couple of days since. I undoubtedly did enjoy my time, but it also felt off, and there were a lot of issues bugging me. That’s a recurring thing with me and Anno’s films. I’m always happy to see the man’s work, he’s unabashed in what he does and I truly respect that. But there’s always some element here and there that irk me, even going back to Shin Godzilla.

I thought they had a great nuanced take criticizing the Government’s response to natural disasters, the overreach of the US’ influence, and a cynical outlook from officials where the biggest concern wasn’t loss of life, but economics. Yet all the same, there's a message of hope that there are those that care and are trying their damnedest. At the same time, the film is nearly undermined by a lack of a much needed human element from those disasters. We see property destruction, but never the people caught up in it. I thought it was toothless in that regard, less so than a film made in the 50s which had the gall to show a mother and her children in a sea of flames. Shin Godzilla has a lot of appealing elements, particularly visually, but I found it flawed.

With Shin Kamen Rider there were certainly more flaws than Anno’s previous outings, but the thing that I came to realize above all else is that it doesn’t feel like Anno wanted to make a movie, he wanted to make a big budget Mini series and crammed it into two hours. The number of ideas in here feels like they could be expanded upon and made into 4-6 roughly 45 minute long episodes for a first season. Spread out the expository dialogue, do more with Bat, Scorpion, and Chameleon/Mantis, build up Hongo and Hayato's relationship so they learn to work together before the finale, and expand on Ichiro. That sounds like a far better medium for the story being told here.

I enjoyed my time with Shin Kamen Rider. I'm glad I saw it. There's a great deal of love, knowledge, and admiration for the series.

But it’s clear that the ideas were too big for a movie, too expensive for a series, and the compromise is noticeable in the final results.

I have to wonder if Anno was drained after the combo of Eva 3.0+1.0 and Shin Ultraman but pushed himself to make this.

Meanwhile, I am once again here, knowing that I enjoyed the watch, but how much I enjoyed it is hard to pin down and I think all I can manage is: good enough.

Because when I step back and take a look at what SKR does with all its pieces relative to the 121 minute run time, the characters, the setting, themes, the filmography… I think it does less than what Kamen Rider ZO does with its 48 minute runtime. Shin Kamen Rider feels like a production that was poorly planned, exacerbated by the pandemic, with a script that ballooned beyond the means of its intended format.

Even with the things I did enjoy, it feels like every positive comes with an asterisk. The finishers are incredible- the pacing is ruined to incorporate several of them. The speed and power invoked in the transformations are perhaps the absolute best of the franchise- but all the fights are more expensive yet less fluid and visually engaging than a television production. The pace improves midway- that quality is not consistent.

I’m bummed saying this, but it’s just how I feel on the matter. Again, Shin Kamen Rider wasn't a bad time, I wasn’t miserable. Hell, the audience I saw it with was clapping. If you got a ticket for the June 5th showing, I hope you have fun. Seeing a Kamen Rider movie on the big screen isn’t something you get often, ya know? Just don’t expect it to match Godzilla or Ultraman.

As for the possibility of a sequel, well, Anno’s already teased wanting to do Mask World, and I hope Anno gets to make it. Thankfully he’s taking an extended break, something I feel is much needed since, again, I think he was burned out while making Rider.

And I’m getting burned out on this review, so I think I’ll end it there.

As always, thanks for reading. If you like what I do, you can donate a dollar to my Ko-Fi page or simply reblog this post.

#tokusatsu #review #kamen rider #Shin Kamen Rider #Toei

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vickyvicarious · 2 years

Text

But I shall baffle this fiend or monster, for I shall tie my hands to the wheel when my strength begins to fail, and along with them I shall tie that which He—It!—dare not touch; and then, come good wind or foul, I shall save my soul, and my honour as a captain. I am growing weaker, and the night is coming on. If He can look me in the face again, I may not have time to act....

"For life be, after all, only a waitin' for somethin' else than what we're doin'; and death be all that we can rightly depend on. But I'm content, for it's comin' to me, my deary, and comin' quick. It may be comin' while we be lookin' and wonderin'. Maybe it's in that wind out over the sea that's bringin' with it loss and wreck, and sore distress, and sad hearts. Look! look!" he cried suddenly. "There's something in that wind and in the hoast beyont that sounds, and looks, and tastes, and smells like death. It's in the air; I feel it comin'. Lord, make me answer cheerful when my call comes!" He held up his arms devoutly, and raised his hat. His mouth moved as though he were praying.

I found it really interesting how Mr. Swales seemed to sense Dracula's approach. He noticed the ominous fog and made the jump to death coming to town... except he went in a different direction. The death he foresees is his own, and that due to nothing more than old age. It's even imagined as a gentle death, one he welcomes or at least accepts, and acknowledges as the natural consequence of life.

Meanwhile, for the captain on board, he is the one for whom death is "comin', and comin' quick" while he is "lookin' and wonderin'." They even make the same comparison of the wind bringing their fate. Except, unlike Mr. Swales' good (or at least natural) wind, the captain is undoubtedly facing a foul one. The death aboard his vessel is not sent from heaven, and if he succumbs to it he certainly will not be going there himself. It is only the distance from the true nature of this death coming that allows Mr. Swales to interpret it as anything remotely holy. It is as unnatural as you can get, in fact, and cutting short lives in their prime (he's fed mostly on children and relatively young adults so far. I mean, he's eating everyone he can on the Demeter, but there seems to be a preference for robbing away all the life left to live to revitalize himself, rather than those who like Mr. Swales are old and ready to die).

And yet, their imagery echoes one another very well. They both speak of Dracula as something nearly divine, as that post from the other day pointed out about the "He" that is often used for God (contrasted immediately with "It" which almost makes me think of the nearly-as-powerful Devil, ala "number of the Beast" and so on). He is an unearthly power that it seems impossible to fight. Mr. Swales has determined not to try, the captain has given up on his life, and hopes only to retain his honor and soul. They're both praying shortly before death, in vastly different contexts.

This is one of the first times that something like this was still close together in the original book, unlike those other parallels between Seward and Renfield to Dracula and Jonathan, or when Jonathan is in despair and we cut away to Mina happily enjoying her summer, etc. These passages were always close together and always meant to have that immediate sense of cruel irony. However, in the original they were reversed. We got Mr. Swales's take first, then our attention was brought to the ship, and soon after we got the entire article with all the logs pasted into Mina's journal. And... I dunno, I just find it interesting how that's happened and how it changes the way I read Mr. Swales' words (not completely, because the nature of the story means I always knew it was Dracula approaching - but the way I linger on that divine comparison blown in on the wind, etc. is different).

#dracula daily #dracula meta #my meta

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theredhairedmonkey · 2 years

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Oh my god, here comes the big one!!

youtube

The closest thing to a Rayllum clip we’ve gotten so far, and man do I have thoughts:

The whole moment is a callback to when Viren and Harrow spoke about the threat of the Moonshadow assassins. To the point they even had the whole “Harrow/Ezran walks to the end of the balcony to speak with Viren/Harrow” so they’re really laying in to the mage-to-king parallels here pretty thick, even if who is helping whom is reversed here.

The vines on the castle just look like smeared paint. Could have been animated a bit better. Just thought I’d point that out here lol.

“Why aren’t you celebrating?” I realize that this is mostly just to catch the audience up on why Callum is so down right now, but I would have thought that emotionally intuitive Ezran would have caught on by the first anniversary as to why he’s so hurt by this particular day.

When Ez asks Callum if everything is ok, his first response is “Yea,” before he admits that it’s not. A subtle moment, but while Callum isn’t as closed off emotionally as Rayla, it does show he isn’t as willing to be open about his feelings as he used to be.

Why a “pineapple” cake? Because Callum’s favorite treat is fresh summer fruit. Great attention to detail here, kudos to the writing team!!

Callum connects his birthday to Rayla leaving him, which even two years later, seems pretty reasonable. Even if he wants to move on, this was a pretty traumatic moment, so no wonder the wound is still there.

Side note, Rayla leaving Callum on his birthday was absolutely insane. Was leaving the day after his birthday so difficult? Viren was not going anywhere.

In many ways, Rayla leaving Callum does mirror Rayla’s parents leaving her in some ways (especially since young Rayla and Callum both thought that they’d be strongest together). But that moment led to Rayla developing some rather problematic traits (reluctance to showing vulnerability, perfectionism, over-dedication to one’s craft). Does Callum develop similar traits? My guess is absolutely yes.

Notice how he doesn’t ever answer Ez’s question as to whether he still loves Rayla? Undoubtedly he still does, but it just shows how much it hurts Callum to admit this out loud.

“I don’t even know if she’s alive.” Going back to Callum being unable to move on, and this is why--he is left with no closure. He has no way of determining whether he can hold out hope or not. That’s rough, buddy.

Ezran thinks Rayla is alive. Storytelling 101, this does mean she is alive. Like, that’s basically what this means. To anyone who thought Rayla was dead, while there was an astonishingly low chance of this being the case before, it’s pretty much zero now.

“She loves you too.” This kid is just dropping truth bombs left and right, isn’t he?

Side note, there were a few people who saw the teaser and thought Ez was taller than Callum now...at twelve. Seemed a bit silly to me, I don’t know, but I guess it’s good that this scene cleared that up?

Like, I think that Ez will be taller than Callum when they’re both adults, but there’s no way that he'd just jump a foot in height in two years. Best guess, he’s 5′3″ right now.

And Callum wraps this up with a manly tear. Sorry, I know this is a somber moment (and it is), but no sobbing? Not even a wince? Wow, Callum is one cold mfer now.

The moon is a waxing gibbous right now (meaning just one phase before full). I just think that’s neat.

And that’s it for now! Just (at most) two months to go. Home stretch, folks!

#rayla #callum #rayllum #ezran #tdp #the dragon prince

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wordsandrobots · 5 months

Note

Oh hey you're playing one of those ask games! I haven't seen them on my dash in so long. 3, 4, 17, and ..uhhh.. 23? ( the one about a super specific thing about a character that hasn't made its way into any story) Thanks ~

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

Because at some point, inevitably, it will involve going for a walk.

I do a lot of composing in my head before I start writing, especially for dialogue. And I think best on the move (which is why it wasn't great for me to switch to working from home due to COVID but that's another story). Therefore, it helps to take the occasional break and go wander about somewhere. Especially if I've hit a block and can't think what to do next.

Which is why I can occasionally be found on the bridal path near my house, having muttered conversations with myself as I try to work out pieces of a story. Because I do often literally say my character's dialogue aloud to get the feel of it, it's the best way to make sure speech sounds like something somebody would or can actually say.

Luckily, I live in a university town so I probably don't look especially unusual.

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

I can't think of any off the top of my head, possibly because I put much more thought into the overall texture of a text than I do the individual words. Figuring out what sounds right for the particular character I'm writing and so on. I don't tend to have favourites, though I undoubtedly have habitual phrases.

And I don't think there are any words I hate per se (beyond ones that are in obvious bad taste). It just depends on context. That said, I've always thought 'ineluctable' sounds weird.

[Edit: I just realised another possible answer to this which is less a single word and more a class of word, namely British swear words and specifically the bit that makes me spit blood is when they get used *wrongly* in media. There is a specific cadence to swearing and it is really noticeable when writers don't understand what it is for the place they're setting something. This is obviously a general issue with writing about difference places; I just get the visceral 'that's not how it works' when people muck up UK-style profanity.]

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

The title (Ragnarök in G Minor) -- as well as being a blatant Reconguista in G reference -- is influenced by Mozart's use of G minor to convey tragedy and Bach's 'Polonase in G Minor', which is my hypothetical leitmotif for a particular character. That is to say, I thought of the blatant reference first, then discovered it was extremely justified in context.

Goibniu Base (where much of To Catch a Falling Star was set) is the same Calamity War facility shown briefly at the start of History of a Catastrophe. This can be 'seen' in one of the chapters in this next one but I don't state it outright.

'High-Horn Sweepers' was not so much a reference as me hurriedly grabbing words that approximated the form of a company name. It nevertheless functions as a composite Gundam Wing call-back and joke about what the company does.

The politics of the Martian Union, particularly the influence of the moneyed classes and those previously in positions of power under Gjallarhorn, assays some of the broad strokes of Indian history. I know far too little about the subject to make it a direct parallel (and wouldn't anyway) but that's where my mind went in thinking through how independence worked.

The Jupiter Stations are considerably larger than standard space colonies, having been upgraded and expanded with Jupiter's role as a producer and exporter of industrial raw materials. But I'm still not quite sure what they look like.

I considered describing 598 as having grown a beard, to go with picturing him growing up to look like he belongs in the Hells Angels. Alas, I wussed out.

Kudelia and Atra's marriage is long-distance for about three weeks out of every four. They manage time together via a Rube Goldberg sequence of misdirections that allow Kudelia to visit the farm unremarked and give Eugene's security team a massive work-out in the process. This is not because their marriage is a secret; it's because they refuse to put Akatsuki in the public eye. That kid is getting as near to a normal upbringing as is possible, damnit.

Martian Union military vessels all have two-part names e.g. Dawn Chorus, Bright Heart, Ice Flower. That's an actual in-universe convention and any others I introduced would follow it.

Colour-wise, Martian military mobile suits are desert camo red for ground deployment and orange for space deployment. They comprise a mix of Shidens and Hekijas supplied by Teiwaz and newer Leopards bought from Gjallarhorn. They probably have some Hloekk Grazes too but that's not come up.

There are two things I regret not finding a way to bring back as I wrap everything up: Gundam Paimon and the stun-baton Chad filched during The Ares Affair. Seriously, whatever happened to that thing?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

My version of Shino is, left to his own devices, vegetarian.

He doesn't have Yamagi's moral objection/disgust over eating meat (side-note: I love how that scene in ep. 27 implies Mikazuki dislikes the idea of eating meat from a living creature too, because that is such a beautiful character note). However, with the positioning of meat as a luxury in the Iron-Blooded Orphans setting, Shino sees it as strange and unusual and he's never found a version of it he genuinely likes. This is, of course, not especially unusual among Tekkadan. He *is* open to new culinary experiences but he's generally just more at home with vegetable dishes.

The only time this has been even remotely relevant is when he ordered the breakfast fry-up at Sampo's caf on Avalanche Under Two.

For an ask game

#writing #gundam ibo #fanfic #words in answer #closet-trumpet-monkey

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pandoraimperatrix · 2 years

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Wandering Worlds

DickKory | Core Four Centric | Cannon Divergence | Longfic

Summary:

Dick Grayson is dead. His life taken by his own brother. The Abel to Jason’s Cain. Consumed by grief, Rachel gives in to despair, losing control, a portal opens, but from it no destroyer of words come through. Instead a man who looks just like him, how can he be?

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*90's infomencial voice* Tired of Dick Grayson getting no character growth every season? Can't stand the lack of development? The fact that we barely got any DickKory content since season one? I have just what you need! *normal voice* Okay, so in this fic Dick died, and Rachel pulled an alternative version of him from a dying universe, a version of him that will not take his family, Kory and his life for granted, he's not perfect, but he's doing his best.

————————————–

Part Four – Voyagers

But when all’s said and done, I’d surrender to you in other ways. Even though each time, I know I’ll see you again, I always wonder is this the last time? Is that really you? And what if you’re perfectly happy without me? Ah, but I don’t blame you; I’ll never burn as brilliantly as you. It’s only fair that I should be the one to chase you across ten, twenty-five, a hundred lifetimes until I find the one where you’ll return to me. 25 Lives, by Tongari

Chapter Twenty-one – A free man with nowhere free to go

“What?” his question floated heavy with the weight of the satisfaction their afterglow provided. Heavier than the bliss, only her gaze, at first he thought nothing of if, but, after a while, he noticed it’s heat what was preventing the darkness of sleep to claim him, her insistent stare anchoring him do conscientiousness.

“I was thinking, you know, about what you said once, that we might not be exact copies from… You know,” she undoubtedly felt the change in his body as her words crowded the room filled not so long before only by the two of them. Beside their bed, summoned by her words, the haunting of the past stood, unfinished. “Have you noticed something about me? Something different... from her?”

He fought the urge to grimace by smiling, his face stiff with the effort.

“Why? You were the one who said you couldn’t pick us apart, are you trying to tell me you found something now?”

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, he could see she was itching for insisting on her question, but he wondered if, to her too, curiosity and fear ran shoulder to shoulder in regards to their parallel counterparts. Koriand’r moved from her place beside him, climbing on his chest, one arm folded under her chin, her hair moving a little slower than the rest of her body, floating around her in a mess of auburn curls as if it was its own separate entity.

“Actually, I did.”

Read on AO3

“Oh...” He sighed, “good different or bad different?”

“Just different,” she smiled, and reached out, cupping his face, thumb tracing around his eye, as if she was drawing the mask she had just presented him the night they decided to give happiness a chance. “Your eyes are so light sometimes, like scotch... And the right one is almost blue in places... His eyes were darker.”

Dick shut his eyes, the darkness dissolved his memory, she was gone. And he was back to the present, where his chest was empty and his bed cold.

He sucked on a shaky breath, hating the hot tears burning his eyes and gritting his teeth. He had gone through worse. He had gone through the end of the world goddammit!

Still, instead of fighting, instead of shaking off all that despair, Dick curled into himself. He slept.

Dick was pulled from nonsensical anxiety inducing nightmares by the metallic click of the door opening.

“Gar?” he panted, still being able to taste despair although he couldn’t remember any of the dreams, the memory of Koriand’r flying away into the oblivion burning in front of his mind.

The boy gave him what seemed to be a valiant try to smile, but never he had looked so fragile, not even back when they had that difficult conversation in the woods when Gar had confessed his worst fears. Losing Koriand’r being a threat even then, a threat Dick had dismissed. How stupid, how irresponsible. When would he ever learn?

Happiness was something that didn’t belong to this world, to any world where he could dwell. And every time he tasted it, loss would be right in the corner waiting.

“Hey…” The boy saluted in a barely there voice, his lips trembling.

“You alright?” Dick asked, grimacing at his own choice of words. “Where’s Rachel?“

“Rach is up,” Gar said, although he had been better, he didn’t look like someone who had seen the end of the world either, in his oversized hoodie and flat hair falling over his forehead. “She’s trying to make an omelette. And I…” He sucked air though his teeth, his shoulders shaking a little. He was very young, his Gar. “Well…”

Dick wanted to ask, he did, but he didn’t think he needed to.

“An omelette?” he asked instead. “So she’s not…” they exchanged a knowing look, a concerned look.

The trip back home last night was not pretty.

“Stop looking at me like that! I’m fine! You don’t have to worry about me or Trigon, I’m nothing like your daughter!”

And then she stormed into her room and locked the door ignoring his pleas to let him in.

He had stood there for a long time, and even longer sitting on the floor in dread. However, after a while, when no sound came from inside, no apocalypse, no sign that the reality was being ripped apart to give away to out-worldly evil, Dick was forced to acknowledge that, he wasn’t so afraid of that Rachel. He was afraid of having to face the constraint of his bedroom alone.

“She,” Gar started in a tone that didn’t hide his endearment and maybe a little pride too, “is worried about you.”

Dick blinked in astonishment, and then fumbled around his bed for his phone.

“What time is it?”

“Around noon,” he sat on Dick’s bed then, and pulled something from his pocket, “looking for this?”

This, was a broken melted mess that had once being Dick’s cell phone.

“Fuck,” Dick breathed, examining the ruined gadget in his hands. Maybe it was because of Gar’s body, but it somehow was still warm. It crossed his mind the notion that a melted cell phone would be the last thing of his, Koriand’r would ever touch and a sob escaped his chest before he could stop himself.

Dick rose terrified eyes to Gar, hand covering his mouth. No. Not in front of the child. But the was no use, the other sobs followed, bringing hot tears and a mix of shame and powerlessness.

It was with horror, love, and infinite gratitude that Dick let his boy wrap his arms around an undeserving, poor substitute for a father.

“What is happening?!” A rushed Rachel appeared at the door, spatula still in hand.

Dick unclenched an arm away from Gar and rose it towards her who lost no time before joining them. Father and daughter exchanged a look, there was no need for spoken apologies, not between them. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, pain and bliss and despair and so much love filling him and she laid her head on his shoulder.

And for tiny moment, it was enough.

“It’s really good, Rach,” he said, munching on a generous piece of over salted egg with scraped burned parts.

Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled the plate from his hands, throwing the food in the trash bin.

“Gar, call the pizza guy,” she said over her shoulder.

“On it.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Rachel asked crossing her arms and leaning against the sink, all business, which made Dick feel ever more confused and guilty. “Have you called Bruce?”

He frowned.

“Bruce? What for?”

Rachel looked at him as if he was being absolutely stupid on purpose.

“What you mean what for? We need to get a spaceship or some other way to get to Kory!”

Oh…

That would explain why she didn’t let Trigon out. She had hope still.

Dick clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, looking down at his daughter as if she was a bomb he was trying to disable. Maybe she really was. Maybe, he was the one about to go off and blow everything.

“I don’t think she wanted us to follow her,” he managed to say in a voice so strangled he barely recognized as his own.

“Bullshit!”

“Rachel-“ Gar tried to intervene.

“No!” she shouted, shaking from head to toes. “I am not giving up on her, Dick,” she sobbed, “I’m not! I can’t! You, from all people, I thought… I thought you would understand.”

Dick stared at her, his heart hammering against his ribcage. He had, from the fatidic moment she flew into the sky, been wandering in a nebulous place inside his mind. Numb and lost, all alone but for a voice that laughed at him for believing that he, from all the more deserving people lost in the swamp of despair that his home world became, deserved a fresh start, deserved happiness. And now, came Rachel, always her, offering him once more, hope.

What good more hope can do, though, when you already hang yourself?

He looked away from Rachel’s disillusioned face to Gar, the boy too looked like he was shipwrecked and waiting for him to throw a lifeline, lifeline Dick didn’t have, dancing in the air, praying for the agony deliver him to the darkness of the nothingness, end of pain.

“What you think, Gar?” he forced himself to ask in a small voice.

Gar exchanged a look with Rachel, it was like they were having a whole conversation that excluded Dick. It had been a while since he had felt so alone, so detached, so much of a stranger.

“I agree with Rach,” Gar finally said with a fierce look.

Dick breathed in sharply. Seeing the betrayal in Rachel’s face turning into gratitude made him feel worse somehow.

“You heard her,” he argued, in a faux calm voice, “you heard what Koriand’r said,” saying that name aloud ripped his heart, but he continued. “Rachel didn’t, and I understand her reaction now because of it. But you heard her, Gar. She wasn’t kidnapped, nobody forced her to leave, she went willingly,” he spat the last three words, numbness condensing into a storm of rancour.

Rachel bit both of her lips tightly, and cleaned a tear that slid down her cheek in a stiff gesture.

“I know,” she retorted in a hard voice. “I saw the video. And I know Kory. She didn’t want to go.”

“What someone wants or doesn’t want matters nothing, it’s their actions.”

She gave him an offended huff, her expression becoming more and more angrier.

“Like how you want to get her back but is choosing to act like a douchebag right now?”

“Rachel!” said Gar scandalized.

“No Gar, you know he’s full of bullshit and he knows too,” she took a raggedy breath, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes firmly. “God! I’m tired,” and then she walked past them, leading to her room.

Rachel’s words and betrayed look had punched Dick hard and let him reeling.

Once more, he felt like a failure. Rachel had saved him, given him back everything he had lost, and that’s how he repaid her.

Gar followed after a while, giving Dick a pat on his shoulder before disappearing into the corridor.

Something caught his eye as he stood there nailed to the ground and afraid of stepping back into the end of the world at any second. He picked the object, mostly whole in its sparkly heavy duty phone case, except for a crack on the screen that lit up at his command. Her wallpaper was a picture from the gala, his arms around her waist, her head on his shoulder, her golden soft glow surrounding the both of them. As if they belonged together.

It didn’t matter it last so little, it was enough for his to build a castle of dreams, a whole future with her.

Clearly, it had not been the same to her.

But she still had responsibilities to Gar and Rachel. He couldn’t care a rat’s ass if her weird mess of a planet needed her, fuck them. Gar and Rachel needed her and he would not let her just leave them.

Because been left behind was hard, and that is what he became after losing so much, hard. And Dick would be damned if he would let that happen to his children.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring his stinging eyes, Dick typed her passcode and chose a number.

“Miss Anders! I thought-“

“It’s me. I need a favour.”

-------------------

Sorry for the short chapter after taking a while to update. I have been having a few bad depressive episodes.

What you think about where this story is leading? What are your theories and expectations?

#DickKory #Dick Grayson #Koriand'r #Nightwing #Starfire #Kory Anders #Richard Grayson #Titans LA #DCU Titans #netflix titans #Titans Live Action #HBO Titans #WW #Wandering Worlds #my fic #edit I forgot the poem

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melop-sia · 1 year

Text

for @elphabaoftheopera

WOOT WOOOOOT!!! TO CELEBRATE THE FINAL CHAPTER BEING RELEASED, ME AND MYSTIC THOUGHT OF A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN REGARDS TO LFAY!!!!!!!!!!! TO SHOW OUR GRATITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was your overall experience / journey reading the fic?

esper / melop-sia: when i started reading, i was instantly hooked. i genuinely don't think i have liked a fic this much as this one. i loved it so much that id actively check my gmail inbox every hour or so to see if a new chapter was posted 🥲 the most chapters i read in a row was 6, and that was when i first discovered the fic!!! after, i became a slow reader and soaked up every little description you wrote because i didn't wanna miss anything– thats probably why i noticed so many parallels 😁!! doing that also let me take it your writing and it's awesome! even awesome enough to get me back into reading stuff! hell, this fic was a reason why i bought gregory maguire's wicked novel 😅 it lit back a love for reading that i hadn't seen for a few years at least! and back to parallels, they were undoubtedly a key part of enjoyment in my journey with lfay! i always got so excited when i found one and wouldn't hesitate to kick around all energised 🥳🥳 im so glad that you went the extra mile by adding the parallels, it vastly improved my reading experience!

mystic / mystic-oni: Okay I've gotta admit I'm not usually the romantic type but they r so cute omgggggg 🥺

I think if i could change anything about the story or my experience reading it i would leave everything the same. It was just something fun, exciting and immersive i could go to after a rough day and although I am guilty of sometimes having one or two chapters stacked up after forgetting to read 😅, I was never finding myself not wanting to read it unless I was trying to savour it for a time when I would need it most. Plus gave me something extra to talk about with esper/melop-sia 😁😁😁

Especially if we were both reading a chapter at the same time. O ye and the characters are so well done and like the ones we all know so sometimes i just forget i'm reading something fan made because it's that good. I actually sometimes finding myself just melding the two together on accident (i mean thats probably expected considering i'm still somewhat new to the wicked fandom but still it wouldnt be possible if the characters weren't portrayed accurately)!

What about the AU stood out to you (in comparison to the adapted material)?

esper: i think what really stood out to me was how much more you fleshed out each character in comparison to the musical. i loved how you gave everyone another layer of personality along with the ones already set by the musical, yet keeping dialogue and interactions so on point 💓! one thing that is so important to me is a character's personality being accurate. i have so much less enjoyment with a fic when characters are written completely different to their "source", so it was a relief and delight to see the consistent characterisation ⭐️⭐️⭐️!!! a bit off topic but i also really liked how you included some references from the book!

mystic: Well, i've only seen one of the musicals on yt (so far, might read the book cuz esper has it and she said she could lend it to me after they had finished it 😁😁). I really felt though from my experience with wicked (not much but anyways 😅) it really fleshed out more of the characters, like how elphaba has nyctophobia cuz it just added another like, obstacle and really added to her character and existing challenges. Also like the letters were a crucial part of moving this fic away from the original material, im rlly proud of myself because while it was in the part of the story where letters were most important, i noticed a lot of familiarity with something but i couldn't figure out what. Then i remembered i had seen the movie "You've got mail" and it was one of the inspirations which i love and made me enjoy the story even more just because it felt familiar in a way.

What was your favourite chapter? Why?

esper: wooof that is a hard questionn 😯😯 i have a few favourites, but ill try to limit it to one or two...... after a bit of thinking, i think i have to say 11 and 19: each for pretty different reasons admittedly 😅. for one, i loved 19 particularly because of how sweet the fiyeraba date was!!! it was the [infodumping gf] and [polite listening bf] dynamic that i lovee so much 🥺🥺🥺 it was so cuteee!!!! the angst was saddening to say the least, but i really enjoyed how you wrote their dialogue and how they finally came to an agreement.

and. onto 11. that chapter was just insane /pos. it was so good i reread it multiple times and thought about it for a while and, at the same time was utterly speechless. i can say one thing though: the yearning. THE YEARNING!!!!!!!! the yearning was so good dudee!!!!!! i usually don't even like yearning but it was just wild how caught up they were both getting and the suspense was palpable. it was so impactful and therefore one of my favourites. close runner up for most favourites is 9 i loved how it finally broke down the established initial barrier and tension between elphaba and fiyero in an engaging way!! another runner up is 21 for an awesome sequence of scenes that made me feeeellll 🥺 soon to be elaborated on!

mystic: Oke im gonna be honest, in order to answer this question i found myself skimming over a lot of chapters that i had remembered i liked and i cant decide on one because they were all so great or had an important event that i couldn't compare to other chapters. I was planning on going into specifics but since i'm so torn im gonna save it for the moments question 😭

Tysm for the indecisiveness cuz all ur chapters are soo good u should be proud. Also it gave me a reason to look back to try and find my favourite and although i didnt get a clear result it was really refreshing reading the older chapters again.

What was your favourite scene or moment? Why?

esper: I HAVE A FEW FOR THIS ONE TOO!!! the first one that comes to mind is fiyero getting to kick jozsef's ass 😁 i absolutely loved how he got back at him after so long and im just a sucker for people getting what they deserve 🥳!!! it was an awesome inclusion and i was so satisfyed with how that turned out. alsooo i loved fiyeraba's bickering pre-museum break in, it definitely wasnt the first or last time i audibly laughed at something in this fic! and elphaba playing go fish with dorothy was hilarious and not near anything i expected for the last chapter of the main story 😅😅😅 that as well as her warming up to dorothy was simply amazing to me!

onto a more wholesome moment, i loved the dance between fiyero and elphie in the empty ozdust, it was such an intimate and romantic moment between them and i couldn't help but love them more after 🥺 following that, the scene of glinda and elphaba making up with each other and becoming friends again! it was just amazing and all around so pleasant to read!!! another few follow ups, glinda confronting fiyero and forgiving him, as well as starting the party! it was a nice flow of funny to touching and then hopeful!

mystic: oke for me its gotta be those bits where elphie does something cool or funny, like in chapter five when Jozsef was tryna splash her with water and she just dumped it all back on him, like that was pretty badass. Also the petition bit in chapter 7 had me dyinggggggg 💀💀💀 (especially the intimidation and fear, i found it pretty funny and also smart how they used that to get people to support their cause). Also the closet bit in chapter nine was really memorable, and exciting to read and I think most people really liked that part. Just the awkwardness and tensionnnnnn aaaaaaah!!! 😁🥲👏👏👏

Okay, and im sure the Ozdust in chapter 13 had everyone on the edge of their seats (Depending on whether u were sitting 😅) when all the secrets were revealed and the truth was spilled everywhere. Ending with quick escape and a great cliffhanger that kept everyone wondering about the chapters to come. There are so, so, so many more but I end up forgetting where after I try to reread (maybe i should have written notes or something idk 😆). Once again thank you so much for making these truly ✨magical✨ moments for people to enjoy.

Thoughts on the ending / last chapter?

esper: i know i already wrote my thoughts in a comment before, but now we have the epilogue so i can talk about that too!! for one, i don't think i would've had the ending any other way. 34 just had a great balance between presented aspects: it was heart-warming but bittersweet. not to mention such a satisfactory read after keeping up for the last month or two!

honestly im so happy about 35!!! honestly after the roller coaster of the "act 2 chapters" im glad we got a tonn of fluff. it was a wonderful peek into fiyeraba's new life and it was sooo cute 🥺🥺 genuinely loved it so much, another one of my favourite chapters❣️ im glad their story got to continue on into a fulfilling lifestyle for both of them 💗💗💗

mystic: Perfect. I didn't think too much about the last chapter before I read it because i didn't really want to go in with a predetermined idea of what I thought would happen because I just knew it might ruin the experience although I was very excited for it and did ponder for... maybe a minute or two 👀, and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't really sure where they would be next, but the fact they got to be together in the end without disturbance was good enough for me. I feel like the mood and especially the dialogue at the end of the chapter and just everything was more than I could have wanted, it was really good and never did I expect she would still be able to help the animals even after she moved and decided to try and just live a quiet, worry-free and normal life with Fiyero. Also just about the chapters before the epilogue, which i also really enjoyed, like how well Elphie got along with Dorothy, how she ultimately beat her final obstacle - her enemy since the beginning, the dark. Also Glinda in charge and Morrible in prison 😈✨🥳 yayyyyy 🎊

Final thoughts

esper: i thank you so much for this fic, it has really helped me through these few weeks and i commend you for making a fic worth all the praise given and more!!!!! im a little sad to see this journey over now, but im glad i was able to be part of it and get my friend into it too! ill likely be rereading as well as consuming some of your past content in waiting for your next project!! i really hope to experience that too 💖 sending much love and support

mystic: One of the only times that I can't help myself from writing "also" way too much because there are so many things I loved about this. Love, Fae & Yero was an adventure that I really felt apart of, and I hope I'm not too attached to let go of it now 😭😭😭

Me and esper spent a while writing this and they and I really want to thank you for your hard work, we tried to have this finished by a certain time and spent a while thinking of our questions as well as the most important things we should say. Hope we weren't too late 😅

AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WRITING!!!!!

FROM ESPER AND MYSTIC 💚❤💖

#lfay #love fae and yero #elphabaoftheopera

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selinascatnip · 2 years

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WIP Wednesday Thursday Friday?

Sunday

My sweet @ambeauty tagged me ages ago, but as I've been suffering with writer's block and a terrible case of real lifeitis, I was not able to answer earlier.

“What?” his question floated heavy with the weight of the satisfaction their afterglow provided. Heavier than the bliss, only her gaze, at first he thought nothing of if, but, after a while, he noticed it what was preventing the darkness of sleep to claim him, her insistent stare anchoring him do conscientiousness.

He fought the urge to grimace by smiling, his face stiff with the effort.

“Why? You were the one who said you couldn’t pick us apart, are you trying to tell me you found something now?”

“Actually, I did.”

“Oh...” He sighed, “good different or bad different?”

Dick shut his eyes, the darkness dissolved his memory, she was gone. And he was back to the present, where his chest was empty and his bed cold.

He sucked on a shaky breath, hating the hot tears burning his eyes and gritting his teeth. He had gone through worse. He had gone through the end of the world goddammit!

Still, instead of fighting, instead of shaking off all that despair, Dick curled into himself. He slept.

I'm tagging @dasakuryo @meetmeunderthestarrynight @ships-bynoa @doumekiss and you, if you so want to share your WIP too <3

#wip tag meme

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justanerdgirl · 2 years

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Alexandra Priymak, essays on Japanese literature (part 1)

It is my translation of this article from textura.club. English is not my first language, so I'm sorry in advance for all the misspellings and strange-looking grammatical constructions. Please, enjoy:)

"Superfluous Man"

"It was the second level of a bookshop. Twenty years old, he was climbing a foreign type ladder leaning against the shelves, looking for new books. De Maupassant, Baudelaire, Strindberg, Ibsen, Shaw, Tolstoy,....."

Thus begins "The Life of an Idiot" (1927) by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, a work written shortly before his suicide. Akutagawa's suicide was sugnifical for the Japanese "bundan", i.e. literary circles, marking the end of an era. In this sense, Akutagawa's summing up of his own life can be considered as summing up of Japanese literature until the end of the Taisho era (1921-1926); just as Akutagawa examined the books of his foreign colleagues, so other Japanese writers looked to the West in search of inspiration to create a new national literature. The situation is, in general, familiar to Russian writers. The problem of choosing between Asia and Europe is still facing us. In this aspect, Japan is surprisingly similar to Russia, but the Japanese have considered Russia as Europe long time ago already. In general, while Turgenev was looking towards France, Japanese people were also looking in his direction from the East.

Despite the fact that nowadays, when the words "Russian writer" are used, the average Japanese is likely to say "Dosutoefusuki" or "Chehofu", it was Turgenev who shocked the minds of Japanese writers first. It is believed that the translations of his works by Futabatei Shimei laid the foundation of the Japanese literature as we know it now. Kunikida Doppo studied narrative construction and landscape painting with Turgenev. And it was Turgenev, not Pushkin and not Lermontov, who gave Japanese literature the type of a superfluous person: Tayama Katai, looking at Turgenev's characters, became the ancestor of the genre 私小説 (watashi-shousetsu, ego-novel / I-novel).

The first watashi-shousetsu is considered to be the novel "Futon" (蒲団, 1907). It is a kind of confession in the style of Rousseau, which tells about the love of the main character, Takenaka Tokio, for his young student, Yoshiko. However, as Humbert Humbert is still half a century away, and the Katai's does not dare to show his feelings, they come out only in the conclusional part of the novel.

"Lust, sadness and despair squeezed his heart soon. He spread out the futon, put a blanket on it and began to cry, pressing his face into its cold, stained, corduroy edge."

Instead of the main character, Yoshiko is seduced by her peer named Tanaka. The love triangle, in the culmination of which Tanaka leaves Yoshiko, but the main hero doesn't win her favor anyway, reminds greatly of a similar development in the "Diary of a Superfluous Man", where Chulkaturin doesn't get Lisa even after her hopes for an engagement with Prince N collapse.

The readers, however, do not have to look for the literary parallels themselves. Tokio utters, "I am Turgenev's superfluous man". The term "superfluous man" surprisingly successfully fit into the context of the Meiji era (1868-1912), the era of rapid modernization, during which Japan turned into a completely new state. According to Friedrik Richter, "homelessness, break with one's own origin, anxiety born of the era of change — all these are constant topics that worried both Katai and other important authors of the Meiji era". The Japanese intelligence, lost between the old and the new world, felt exactly like "superfluous people". Tokio, in this sense, is a typical representative of his social class, which is clearly noticeable in his arguments about the changes that have taken place in Japanese society and, in particular, comparisons of his old-fashioned wife with Yoshiko, a representative of a completely new type of women.

The Russian audience will undoubtedly notice that Takenaka Tokio is much more alike Turgenev's Chulkaturin compared to Pushkin's Onegin (alas, less popular in Japan). The unsettled state of Tokio in the circumstances of the new world manifests itself in his apathy to the environment and constant longing (foreign researchers, for lack of a similar term, call this feeling a "quasi-metaphysical ailment"). The invariable byronic loneliness is attached:

"Worldly affairs did not matter to him, he did not even have enough enthusiasm for working on the main masterpiece of his life, but as for everyday life – getting up early in the morning, going to work, returning home at four in the afternoon and seeing, as usual, the face of his wife finishing dinner, going to bed — as for this monotonous existence, he was completely, absolutely bored with it. He was hopelessly lonely."

It is this loneliness that becomes the key factor for creating the image of the protagonist in "Futon" and I-novel in general. Appealing to the reader's empathy, it transforms Tokio from a man of dubious moral foundations into a charismatic libertine of the Pechorin type. For the same purpose, the third-person narrative delves so deeply into the thoughts of Tokio that it almost becomes a first-person narrative. Seeing the events from the perspective of the main character, the reader cannot help but empathize with him. It is easy to guess that, just as in European literatures, this type has become popular with the Japanese public. It would later be developed by Osamu Dazai, the avowed genius of I-novel. In the title of his most famous work — "Human Lost" — one can guess the development of the theme of superfluous man. Katai did not translate the term into Japanese: in the original "Futon" it is given in English («ツルゲネーフのいわゆる Superfluous man ! だと思って、その主人公の儚い一生を胸に繰返した»). Dazai, in his turn, allowed the superfluous man to finally settle in Japan and the Japanese language and introduced his own phrase, which was destined to assimilate later: 人間失格 ("Ningen Shikkaku", an inferior person).

To be continued.

#literature #japanese literature #akutagawa ryuunosuke #katai tayama #kunikida doppo #dazai osamu #bsd #bungo stray dogs

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