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florasletter · 1 month

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i am gonna rant, tomorrow is the oscars, i need to say something ive been wanting to say for a while

any fucking filmmaker that makes drama/comedy (taika, gunn, greta, etc) movies would make barbie, its easy marketing, hoards of money, its a low risk investiment since its a popular, PG 13 movie, colorfull, appealing for everyone, has all the IP to make money, WB is thirsty for good press and is swimming on money, they will give its full support, its a story everyone knows for 60 years of a ficctional character or a doll the whole world knows. i like barbie it was a good movie. greta did a wonderful job for what was giver her. period.

now tell me

a book about a historical controversial figure, boring ass talks abt nuclear war, ww2, communism and cold war, phsysics stuff, relased in 2006 and won a pulitzer prize.

no director dared to make a movie abt it. very high risk, why?

the pandemic and its inflation and new habits of consumption post super hero (very saturated) cinema era in an era quick shitty streaming movies bc they dont need theatrical release, little effort, just pump movies out, no control wheater is good or not no one (as many would think) would want a 3 hour movie, with heavy dialogue (bc it needs it to tell the story properly) with many black and white scenes, Rated R, nudity and s3xual representation scenes about this historical controversial figure. tiktok and reels era, most people are obssessed with a 30 seconds videos in their hands, keeping a very bad habit of zero attention span and quick serotonin, unable to enjoy the development of a full story that is longer than 30 without a pop music playing on the background can't go around marketing the movie like its super fun and colorfull for the entire family ahah cool, lets make it a competition like ahaha BARBIEMHEIMER ahah so fun lol why dont they get into it too? it would help their marketing bc lol who wanna watcha 3 hour R rated movie abt a physicist lmao get real!!! No buddy, you wanna scrutinize what happened the people of japan? this guy was scrutinized by its own country after everything he was asked to do? no, you cant market it like that, its harder, but thankfully the ppl making the movie ARE THE MARKETING. also the ppl saying "who cares abt nuclear war lmao, it wont happen" guess who just did a speech abt it the other day abt using them?? i am not gonna say his name yall know who it is. now invest 100mi on a movie like this. didnt see all the others directors around rushing to make a movie abt oppenheimer like chris did, he thought it was very interesting and passionate abt it, he had a vision for it, to contextualize yall: he has been wanting to make something biographical for years (will we ever see his howard hugues movie? thanks martin for doing it first??? will chris ever recover from this? poor bby). and ffs this movie didnt even use that much computer VFX, so much amazing pratical effects it didnt even an oscar nom for it, any other director could have done with the computer technology from 10 years ago. buddy literally asked for black and white imax films, no one did this before. buddy dark knight came out 16 years ago, the first movie shot in imax, back then there was 4 or 3 cameras in the world and this idiot i love even managed to break one of them during the shooting (see the behind the scenes of dark knight its amazing and hilarious). what other filmmaker is going this far for a biography? they could have made this movie but

they didnt make it. period.

i am not here to say that this is better than every other movie, oppenheimer should be forever praised (it is not in my sincere opinion chris' best movie, neither my fav of his) but this is for the ppl whining abt barbie and putting oppenheimer against it.

the reels i saw the other day "greta could make oppeneimer, but nolan couldnt make barbie" HONEY... WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS INFO? IS THIS SUPPOSED TO ME HER LOOK GOOD ? you are not helping her at all... if she can make oppenheimer why didnt she make it before? is it bc it would be hard to pitch? it wouldnt be easy to make money from it or get funded? it would just be another oscar winning box office flop? bc lets be real, many amazing oscar movies i love, they were commercial flops, and its ok, BUT YOU SEE IT RIGHT?

marvels endgame was a huge commercial movie and a great box office, no one here is screaming the russos to get noms

"ah its a groundbreaking movie bc of feminism"

honey please there's more groundbreaking movies better than barbie, are you fucking kidding me. this is the stuff that makes me ashamed of saying i am a feminist.

also who cares abt margot, isnt it abt to be feminism or is it white feminism ? i wanna see support for lilly gladstone who did and insane work in KOTFM than emma stone in PT.

i am biased, i am his fan afterall, i have no hate for the others, but i am a realist. chris has been making movies for 20 years, groundbreaking breathtaking beautiful stuff, i am not here to throw the party like "visionary director" but i wanna put things on the table, he has been way past what the academy considers cinema, he has been snubbed for so long it became ridiculous. he has been doing an imppecable work of supporting filmmaking and the theater industry, supporting the craftsmanship of filmmaking the studios' inverstors and companies look down on just for profits. to end my rant now, the last thing i wanna say is: i don't care if yall say "ah just another cis het white man winning/being nominated" yes honey, it is.

if anything, this is the "cis het white man" who you just can't believe has not won yet. insane right? he has been snubbed by other cis het white males who would believe it right? lmao

now i am done.

we take in the sheets tomorrow evening. have a great saturday yall

#christopher nolan #oppenheimer #cillian murphy #rant #oscar 2024 #BEEN WAITING 10 YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT I HAVE ALL THE GUNS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN DONT THIS AWAY FROM ME #be a nolan fan you have to suffer even through the wins

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strykingback · 10 months

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@krowsselfindulgy How bad is Black lagoon? Since you compared it to RWBY I feel concerned for the formers quality.

Okay just before I begin. Black Lagoon is in no way means of bad. I was just saying that it was better than RWBY. Since on twitter someone was making some idiotic comparisons on how RWBY was better than [anime name]. But I'll happily tell you that this IS WHAT A GOOD MEAL IS LIKE IN A SHOWWW!!!

But before I go ahead. WARNING: There will be spoilers for the First Two Seasons of Black Lagoon . (I'll cover the Roberta's Blood Trail Arc another time) Also Further warning! The following triggers will contain blood, gore, violence and I mean lots of violence. N*zi's, R*pe, G*re, and some racism, including Police Brutality (Also this was done during 2006 like this was a time when things were unhinged!) ___________________

Now I think we're gonna go through a few of the characters, some favorite moments of mine from the series. Then we'll just leave everything for a second part? Perhaps? Because seriously theres a lot of memorable characters and moments from this show and its no wonder why everyone is hoping for a Season 3 one day! Okay where do we start? Well why not with the fact that any RWBY stan is gonna complain and say there are no "strong women" in Black Lagoon. Yeah you know what thats kind of true y'know I should agree with them. . . .

FUCKING DEAD FUCKING WRONG.

Lets start with someone from our main cast of characters shall we?

Enter Rebecca "Revy" Lee, an Chinese American born woman who lived in an impoverished part of New York City where he would have to suffer both Physical and Sexual abuse from both her father and THE POLICE. Which leads her to have a very nihilistic viewpoint of the world and its religion as she states herself (Mostly from the Manga) that: "God didn't do shit" for her because of all the abuse she had to suffer. Not to mention at one point when she was arrested SHE WAS LITERALLY- Um.. hold up a minute. Ahaha! Redo of Healer'd!

Oh and by the way she was also killing and getting in fights with the police all at A YOUNG AGE. Oh my god she was literally putting on Black Timberlands instead of Black Air Forces..... this was until she met Dutch who she would join him as the brawn to the ELCO PT Boat, the Black Lagoon.

However her greatest flaw is her "Whitman Fever" which can lead to her violently killing anyone who gets in her way (with a few exceptions). However, its also most possible that the reason why she shoots and kills is a way to cope with her trauma...... as anyone who treats her with genuine kindness instead of attempting to betray her and somehow... this person was none other than our Rock that we'll be talking about another time. but for now... lets show some memorable moments.

Such as.. her terrifying Speech towards our Other Main Protagonist Rock (Which we will :

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Or WHEN SHE AND DUTCH GOT ON A BOAT THAT WAS HIJACKED BY NEO-N*ZI'S AND SLAUGHTERED THEM ALL.. LIKE DEAR GOD LOOK AT THIS

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Then there comes our second character and dear God she is.... fucking legendary... THE FORMER SOVIET VETERAN OF WAR HERSELF.

ENTER SOFIYA PAVLOVNA AKA BALALAIKA My god this woman is the definition of "I am the Shit and I dont sit around and fuck around" unlike Salem and her dumbass sitting on a Grimm throne for the past like what oh wait.. one (Volume 4), two (Volume 5), three (Volume 6), Four (Volume 7), and FIVE (Volume 8) Goddamn times! Like holy fuckin shit Salem is one of them lazy villains. but for Balalaika, she is the true meaning of Fuck around and FIND OUT.

She was a former Soviet War Veteran who participated in the Soviet-Afghan War before being disavowed and thus, she would join Hotel Moscow and regain her soldiers who were all also former soviet paratroopers. When i say she will get shit done I MEAN SHE WILL GET IT DONE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Such as when someone was blabbing about when they were going to assassinate the entire Lagoon Company (Which who Revy is part of) and she pulls up on him and gives off the MOST HELLA DARKEST GLARES EVER.

YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHE'S LIKE THIS IS TERRIFYING TO LOOK AT CAUSE MY GOD SHE IS THE SHIT. SALEM EAT YOUR FUCKIN' HEART OUT!

Lets not forget when Roberta the Maid (I may have to talk about that another time....) pulled up, Balalaika did her research and found out who she was and cornered her with her Vysotniki (Basically her personal army of Red Army, VDV, and Spetznaz soldiers) and still...she commands the respect of all of them. ....

Theres also the fact that she went to "war" with many gangs but when Hotel Moscows Japan branch was having trouble. She pulled up and had the Yakuza running for their life. The only thing that would be capable of saving them would be Kazama Ki- Oh yeah thats right he was still in Prison and didn't get out until 2005. Still she blitzkrieged the Yakuza quickly and made them beg for mercy!!! But no joke. Balalaika has the respect of her men has the skills of a leader, even to the point where she would happily do a favor for a dear friend. Because at one point Dutch did rescue her and she returned the favor three times.

It was no joke that Revy said that Balalaika gets off on war.... cause boy howdy she was right...but that doesnt mean shes all but a war maniac. Somewhere deep inside she has a soft spot for her men she served with as she would go as far as to avenge them by any means necessary.

Like during the Vampire Twins Arc... and I kid you not as I say this.....

BALALAIKA HAD TO SIFT THROUGH 250 SNUFF FILMS IN ORDER TO FIND THE TWO TWINS THAT KILLED HER MEN....

There was going to be no way that I would be able to get through even be able to get through the first five minutes of just ONE. Like I said before... Balalaika. DOES NOT FUCK AROUND.

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Such as when Balalaika gets her vengeance on one of the killers

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Or her meeting with the Kosa clan when she makes fun of the guards FLIMSY GUN AND SHOOTS THEM BOTH WITH IT!!

Okay so enough of that cause it is 7:30 PM over here... and I think I may have to save this for a part two um... so have a REALLY Funny moment from Black Lagoon that gets me rolling.

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#RWDE #Does this count as RWDE #//Apologies for the wait on this #Youtube

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riddle-me-ri · 11 months

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Hello!! :D Hope your day has gone well!!

What are your thoughts on various Mad Hatters? Which one is your current favorite??

(Also could you recommend a Jervis comic mayhaps?? Been wanting to try read Batman Rogue comics ^^)

💤

Asdfghh where how where how...where do I begin with the mad lads asdfghh I'll give a tiny explanation as to why I love the versions I write for, that's a decent place to start lol. So, sorry not sorry you've opened the floodgates lmao, because of that there's a read more tab, sorry if you weren't quite expecting this lengthy response.

Arkhamverse Jervis: Definitely one of my favorite voices for him by far (Roddy for BTAS/TNBA is still a huge favorite). Also, his voice tapes with Strange in City absolutely twist my heart every time (not to mention the end of his mission when you go back to see him. He only wanted a friend hng), I think they could've done a lot with him, his short mission in City left much to be desired. The Wonderland hallucination in Origins and the storybook from Knight where amazing. While the writing is a wee topsy turvy, I do adore how they showed progression to his unyielding mental state (via, rhyming, literally Batman or anyone being Alice, and any word associated with Wonderland must be a part of it in Knight). And in City hinted at just how unnerved Jervis can be about himself and how he feels when he's lucid. I definitely get inspired by a lot of his character beats and traumas for sure (in my writing btw lmao)

BTAS Jervis: Ahaha the golden mad lad, my first Hatter encounter! I've always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland when I was watching BTAS (wanting to know what the hype was about as an animation student) so when I saw an episode called Mad as a Hatter I was intrigued lmao. I had no idea Jervis even existed and what a super strong intro episode too. Again Roddy is probably my favorite voice for him. Just...it's so warm and pleasant to listen to. I also appreciate that they didn't make this Hatter a one-trick pony? Nowadays a lot of DC writers sorta stick to the kidnapping/murdering women thing but BTAS Jervis literally tried to stop Batman before Batman could even do anything, so he can get Batman out of the way, he stole from Gotham's elite so he can run away on an island of his own? Also probably one of the more mentally stable of the Hatters and definitely the most romantic.

TNBA Jervis: Aww Ratter, sweet mad lad. I love rodents so the fact that the fandom has dubbed this version ratter and for the right reasons makes me so incredibly giddy. He's supposed to technically be BTAS just a different design, and as jarring as the changes may be, I think it still works, and again we see different motivations of Jervis other than him finding an Alice.

Secret Six (2006) Jervis: Hehehehe definitely one of my favorite Jervi. I absolutely love this mad, brilliant, druggy, powerful, silly nudist. This version is a prime example of just how powerful Jervis can be and why he should be depicted more as a threat (I have a thought that most of the time, Jervis leans more into his whimsy/playful attributes as a way to catch enemies off-guard, that's not to say he isn't that way in general, but I can see him using it to his utmost advantage). Also just wanna point out that this version was written by a woman, Gail Simone, who has canonically pinned Jervis to having amazing rizz and not to mention fangirls/fanboys that wanna marry him (and has an incredible "head" game) and I will forever love her for that.

Joker's Asylum Jervis: Aww, ohh, dear sweet mad lad, gotta grab tissues for this guy. One of the stronger of the Mad Hatter-centric comics. This comic delves into Jervis' psyche which a lot of DC writers almost refuse to even look at or consider (like...guys, I can do it...if I can do it I KNOW you can too). This comic shows what the Arkham games hint at, and that's that Jervis has/feels REMORSE. Probably one of the few rogues that do, he genuinely can't help it. He wants to get better, he wants to not be a threat. He wants companionship but fails miserably every time and the cycle continues. When I read this comic, it wouldn't leave my head for days. It is definitely what inspired my fic Love and Suds because my story is somewhat of an "what if" scenario like what if he did have someone there when he was spiraling and trying to fight off the delusions and madness.

Gotham Jervis: asdfgjkjj it...it took some time for me to like this one lmao. I have grievances across the board with Gotham as a whole. What they did to Jervis is no exception to that, he's interesting that he's a pure hypnotist and how apparently there are rules to that. It's one of the first (if not the only time?) Jervis isn't a scientist, but purely a hypnotist (before becoming a hypnotist criminal, it happens). I won't go too deep into him, esp. if you haven't seen this version but yeah just...he has potential he really does, he's just another example of a Jervis done dirty (and not the fun way)

Harley Quinn The Animated Series Jervis: red-head jervis, red-head jervis, red-head jervis my beloved. I love Jervis with red hair almost as much as blonde (and that's just personal preference cause I'm blonde lmao) From an artist stand point, his design is just really, really appealing to me. The bright complimenting colors, the wild spiky hair, the teeth, and the coke fingernail was a neat added detail (a buddy for S6 for sure). He was so criminally underused I will never forgive the show for what they did (him and other rogues as well). He's also very giddy, fun, but also still demented and violent.

To say the least...I can't choose just one current solidary favorite, I have grown to love them all in various ways, from their design to their personalities and voices. But my top three will definitely have to be; BTAS, Arkhamverse, and Secret Six. Joker's Asylum is also a super super close fourth. When I write for my "general" Hatter, I usually borrow traits, traumas, and mannerisms from these four.

As for comics I would recommend, here's a couple Jervis-centric ones to get you started. Also be weary and make sure you have an ad-blocker just in case. You shouldn't have to know too much backstory from other comics to understand them.

Secret Six (2006) Issue #1

Joker's Asylum: Mad Hatter

Sorry this got so long lmao, but thank you for letting me infodump and fixate on the Mad Lads, I've been having a rough time lately, and this has definitely lifted my spirits thinking about these guys lol.

#ri rambles #ri answers #sleepy anon 💤#high key wanna nickname you dormy lol #what are your thoughts ask meme #long post is long #I'm so sorry #but also I couldn't help it lol #I hope y'all don't mind

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catonator · 8 months

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Space Opera GX and the art of watching Gamescom from The Shadows

Ahaha. Monthly blog. Yeah.

So this past month has been a bit of a recovery period. I put myself through the wringer during summer while working 40 hours a week, doing college stuff and also trying to push projects forward. Needless to say, it didn't go so well.

So, what would make for a better way to recover from burnout that a little crunching! Yay!!

Opera GX wanted to make an arcade cabinet for their Gamescom 2023 booth. Arcades need games, so our little team ended up being picked as the people to work on the game, due to our work previously on Operius and (Mini) Idle Aura. This time they wanted a really hard shmup, but a more traditional one, unlike Operius from before. We only had about a month to work on it due to unrelated previous agreements and Idle Aura.

That game ended up being Space Opera GX. You can play it at Gamescom! Like, right now!! Maybe I'll end up elaborating on the production itself a little later when I have... less prickly opinions about it. The game turned out pretty well regardless of any background shuffles that happened during its making.

So instead I want to talk about how surreal this entire experience is. I've grown up surrounded by E3 hype. I followed the show from 2006 to its death in 2021, but since I live in Finland, it hasn't exactly been realistic to expect to be able to attend the LA convention before (and it probably won't happen now... good night sweet prince). I'm very used to seeing games demoed in the form of photos and videos of booths with people waiting to play the games shown off there.

Gamescom seems to be continuing this tradition, moreso than E3 even, since Gamescom doesn't seem very focused on the conferences taking place at the show floor. So I've been seeing a lot of footage of people standing in rows to play a game at-- hey wait a minute.

That's my game. I worked on that. People are waiting to play it. That's nuts. It's extremely phantasmagorical to witness your own work being demoed and tried at the show and only seeing a sort of fly-on-the-wall perspective to the whole shebang. Probably could never have imagined this situation while I was 12 and using forums online to talk about images exactly like this one.

Hoping to make it to Gamescom myself next year, this time with a game of our own design, from Distant Illusions!

#gamescom #gamedev

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elfynevans · 3 years

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F1 CAREER: FERNANDO ALONSO

Years: 18 Teams: 5 Championships: 2 Wins: 32 Podiums: 97 Points: 1904

happy birthday anna! @gp2engine 💙

#fernando alonso #formula 1 #f1 #f1edit #dailyf1 #*#gifs*#lp #long post for a long career lmao #had to do that 2006 one ahaha #bdays*#thank you lou my footage saviour <3 #hope you have an amazing day anna <3<3 #f1career*

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gramarye · 3 years

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A summary of a Higurashi Gou interview

Hello! I made a long-ish summary of the recent interview Ryukishi07 gave about Higurashi Gou.

You may read the original Japanese interview here!

Spoilers for Higurashi Gou. He touches upon the anime's themes, the creation of it, voice actors, the future of the series, connection to Umineko, etc.

↓ ↓ ↓ A summary in the read more below ↓ ↓ ↓

- He came up with the idea while having tea with an anime industry person, saying "I wish I could make it an anime again" and they responded with "If it's a remake, why not transform it into a new work in the middle?"

“So I started coming up with new ideas for Higurashi.

- It wasn't what he originally envisioned. He wanted to respond to fans that said that they want to "erase their memory and read Higurashi for the first time again". Making it a different story would serve that purpose.

- When asked if he found it hard to write Higurashi again, he said they were "back in his heart immediately".

- When asked about why Satoko is the protagonist, he says it's because Satoko was much like a "damsel in distress" in Tatarigoroshi with Keiichi being the "prince", so he wanted Satoko to be a real protagonist now. He wanted to really dig deeper into Satoko's mind this time.

Interviewer: Satoko has grown into quite an unexpectedly impulsive child... R07: Ahaha, right. I've already shown the duality of Rena and Shion, so I wasn't sure if Satoko's shift would surprise anyone, but I'm happy it did.

- He said the director and animators understand him well, coming up with suggestions that he already had in mind and only had to correct a bit. He felt as if he'd bought 200 kg of tuna (expensive lol) and handed it over to the animators, and they did a great job with it (as a chef would).

Interviewer: Akio Watanabe's character designs sure are nice, they feel fresh yet nostalgic. R07: Yes, I wanted someone who could make Satoko look as good as possible. (especially fangs)

- The voice cast is the same to create a sense of familiarity. He did not inform them about the plot beforehand, and Hanyuu's seiyuu Horie Yui was shocked that she appeared in episode 2, saying "isn't it too early for me to appear?"

- He did not tell Yukari Tamura (Rika's seiyuu) about her role, but he did consult Mika Kanai (Satoko) and told her "it'll be quite tough to act Satoko this time".

Interviewer: All episodes are broadcast on TV, and people are making a lot of theories. How do you feel about it? R07: I think it's the ideal way to experience Higurashi. Back in 2006, it wasn't quite so easy to access social networking services. I think it's great we live in a time where exchanging opinions casually is easy.

Interviewer: There are certainly many people watching it, from core fans to first-timers. R07: That makes me very happy. Higurashi was always meant to be less of a traditional mystery all about the murderers and the tricks they used, and more about the investigation and process itself. However, when it first aired, it really was seen as a game of guessing. I appreciate discussing our opinions and communicating over seeking what is the right or wrong answer.

R07: "I think social media has changed the way we enjoy content, and while it makes me happy there are people who are seriously thinking about (the logistics), I'm happy there are many ways to enjoy it.

- He says there are people who already have it all figured out, but whether or not your theory is right or wrong, the most important thing is to have fun while thinking about it. Wrong or not, it is a wonderful thing.

- He loves the old Higurashi anime and appreciates what Studio DEEN did, and does not want people to compare them and say "I liked this better" nor to make them uncomfortable.

- On the connection of Higurashi and Umineko: "I think people easily misunderstand it. Higurashi is a work that is complete within itself, you don't need Umineko to enjoy it. It's just that when you add Umineko to it, it may give you a new interesting perspective to think about.

- They compare it to Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix". They are independent stories, but the same characters appear in the stories. In his head, they are a connected integrated world, but that's just how he views it. So, Umineko is not necessary, but of course, he would like you to read all of his works.

- He discusses how things go differently between the characters in the arcs, a tragedy occurs nonetheless, ie. Keiichi handing the doll over to Mion but things going awry regardlses. It's all original from Nekodamashi-hen on. He likens the end of the anime to how Matsuribayashi explains how Takano came to be the way she is, but this time, it explains Satoko's perspective. He says Satoko is certainly a hindrance to the future Rika wants, but he wants you to try and understand her emotions.

- The themes of the previous games were communication and relying on your friends, but this time, he does not want to reveal the themes out loud.

- He says the series is not over, and that he would love to expand on it if he ever came up with more Higurashi related ideas.

- One idea for a new story is Keiichi's children.

That’s it. Thank you for reading!

#higurashi no naku koro ni #higurashi gou #umineko no naku koro ni #ryukishi07 #07tth expansion #tessalations

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qqueenofhades · 4 years

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I want to hear about gay knights. Please.

Ahaha. So this is me finally getting, post-holiday, to the subject that was immediately clamoured for, when I volunteered to discuss the historical accuracy of gay knights if someone requested it. It reminds me somewhat of when my venerable colleague @oldshrewsburyian volunteered to discuss lesbian nuns, and was immediately deluged by requests to do just that. In my opinion, gay knights and lesbian nuns are the mlm/wlw solidarity of the Middle Ages, even if the tedious constructionists would like to remind us that we can’t exactly use those terms for them. It also forces us to consider the construction of modern heterosexuality, our erroneous notions of it as hegemonically transhistorical, and the fact that behaviour we would consider “queer” (and therefore implicitly outside mainstream society) was not just mainstream, but central, valorized, and crucial to constructions of medieval manhood, if not without existential anxieties of its own. Because medieval societies were often organized around the chivalric class, i.e. the king and his knights, his ability to make war, and the cultural prestige and homosocial bonds of his retinue, if you were a knight, you were (increasingly as the medieval era went on) probably a person of some status. You had a consequential role to play in this world, and your identity was the subject of legal, literary, cultural, social, religious, and other influences. And a lot of that was also, let’s face it, what the 21st century would consider Kinda Gay.

The central bond in society, the glue that made it work, was the relationships between soldiers, battlefield brotherhoods, and the intense, self-sacrifical love for the other that is familiar to anyone who has ever watched a war movie, and dates back (in explicitly gay form, at least) to the Sacred Band of Thebes. Medieval society had a careful and contested interaction with this ideal and this kind of relationship between men. Because they needed it for the successful prosecution of military ventures, they held it up as the best kind of love, to which the love of a woman could never entirely aspire, but that also ran the risk of the possibility of it turning (homo)sexual. Same-sex sexual activity was well-known in the Middle Ages, the end, full stop. The use of penitentials, or confessors’ handbooks, as sources for views or practices of queer sexual behaviour has been criticised (you will swiftly find that almost EVERYTHING used as a source for queer history is criticised, shockingly), but there remains the fact that Burchard of Worms’ 11th-century Decretum, a vast compilation of canon law, mentions same-sex behaviour among its list of sins, but assigns it a comparatively light penance. (I don’t have the actual passage handy, but it’s a certain amount of days of fasting on bread and water.) It assigns much heavier penalties for Burchard’s main concern, which was sorcery and the practice of un-Christian beliefs, rituals, or other persistent holdovers from paganism. This is not to say that homosexuality was accepted, per se, but it was known about, it must have happened enough for priests to list in their handbooks of sins, and it wasn’t The End of The World. Frankly, I am tired of having to argue that queer people existed and engaged in queer activity in the Middle Ages (not directed at you, but in general). Of course they did. Obviously they did. Moving on!

Anyway. Returning to gay knights specifically, the fact remained that if you encouraged two dudes to love each other beyond all other bonds, they might, you know, actually bang. This was worrisome, especially in the twelfth century, as explored by Matthew Kuefler, ‘Male Friendship and the Suspicion of Sodomy in Twelfth-Century France’ and Ruth Mazo Karras, ‘Knighthood, Compulsory Heterosexuality, and Sodomy’ in The Boswell Thesis: Essays on Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, ed. Matthew Kuefler (Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 2006), pp. 179-214 and 273-86. I have written a couple papers (in the ever-tedious process of one day being turned into journal articles) on the subject of the Extremely Queer Richard the Lionheart, some material of which can be found in my tag for him. Richard’s queerness has been argued over for a long time, we all throw rotten banana peels at John Gillingham who took it upon himself to deny, ignore, or minimize all the evidence, but anyway. Richard was a very masculine and powerful man and formidably talented soldier who could not be reduced to the stereotype of the effeminate, weak, or impotent sodomite, and the fact that he was a prince, a duke, and a king was probably why he was repeatedly able to get away with it. But he wasn’t alone, and he wasn’t the only one. He was very much part of his culture and time, even if he kept running into ecclesiastical reprisals for it. It happened. If you want a published discussion that covers some of my points (though not all of them), there is William E. Burgwinkle, ‘The Curious Case of Richard the Lionheart’, in Sodomy, Masculinity, and Law in Medieval Literature: France and England, 1050-1230 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 73–85. Also on the overall topic, Robert Mills, Seeing Sodomy in the Middle Ages (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015).

Peter the Chanter, a Parisian cleric, also wrote De vitio sodomitico, a chapter of his Verbum abbreviatum, fulminating against “men with men, women with women [masculi cum masculis […] mulieres cum mulieribus]” which apparently happened far too often for his liking in twelfth-century Paris (along with cross-dressing and other genderqueer behaviour; the Latin version of this can be found in ‘Verbum Abbreviatum: De vitio sodomitico’ in Patrologia Latina, ed. Jacques-Paul Migne (Paris: 1855), vol. 205, pp. 333–35). Moving into the thirteenth and especially fourteenth centuries, this bond only grew in importance, and involved a new kind of anxiety. Richard Zeikowitz’s book, Homoeroticism and Chivalry: Discourses of Male Same-Sex Desire in the 14th Century (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), explores this discourse in detail, and points out that the intensely homoerotic element of chivalry was deeply embedded in medieval culture – and that this was something that was not queer, i.e. unusual, to them. It is modern audiences who see this behaviour as somehow contravening our expected stereotypes of medieval knights as Ultra Manly No Homo Men. When we label this “medieval queerness,” we are also making a judgment about our own expectations, and the way in which we ourselves have normalized one narrow and rigid view of masculinity.

England then had two queer kings in the 14th century, Edward II and Richard II, both of whom ended up deposed. These were for other political reasons, but their queerness was not irrelevant to assessments of their character and the reactions of their contemporaries. Sylvia Federico (‘Queer Times: Richard II in the Poems and Chronicles of Late Fourteenth-Century England’, Medium Aevum 79 (2010), 25–46) has studied the corpus of queer-coded historical writing around Richard, and noted that while the Lancastrian propaganda postdating the usurpation of Henry IV in 1399 obviously had an intent to cast his predecessor in as unfit a light as possible, the accusations of queerness started during Richard’s reign, “well before any real practical design on the throne […] and well before the famous lapse into tyranny that characterized the reign’s last few years. In poems and chronicles produced from the mid-1380s to the early 1390s, and in language that is highly charged with homophobic references, Richard II is marked as unfit to rule”. E. Amanda McVitty (‘False Knights and True Men: Contesting Chivalric Masculinity in English Treason Trials, 1388–1415,’ Journal of Medieval History 40 (2014), 458–77) examined how the treason trials of high-status individuals centred on a symbolic deconstruction of his chivalric manhood, demoting and exiling him from the intricate homosocial networks that governed the creation and performance of medieval masculinity.

This appears to have been a fairly extensive phenomenon, and one not confined to the geopolitical space of England. Henric Bagerius and Christine Ekholst (‘Kings and Favourites: Politics and Sexuality in Late Medieval Europe’, Journal of Medieval History 43 (2017), 298–319) traced the use of ‘discursive sodomy’ as a rhetorical tool employed against five late medieval monarchs, including Richard II and his great-grandfather Edward II, John II and Henry IV of Castile, and Magnus Eriksson of Sweden. In all cases, the ruler in question was viewed as emotionally and possibly sexually dependent on another man, subject to his evil counsels and treacherous wiles, and this reflected a communal anxiety that the body of the king himself – and thus the body politic – had been unacceptably queered. Nonetheless, as a divinely anointed figure and the head of state, the accusations of gender displacement or suspected sodomy could not be placed directly on the king, and were instead deflected onto the favourites themselves, generally characterised as greedy, grasping men of ignoble birth, who subverted both social and sexual order by their domination of the supposedly passive king.

None of this polemic produced by hostile sources can be read as direct confirmation of the private and physical actions of the kings behind closed doors, but in a sense, this is immaterial. The intimate lives of presumably heterosexual individuals are constructed on the same standards of evidence and to much greater certainty. In other words, queerness and queer/gay favourites could not have functioned as a textual metaphor or charged accusation if there was not some understanding of it as a lived behaviour. After all, if the practice did not physically exist or was not considered as a potential reality, there could have been no anxieties around the possibility of its improper prosecution.

This leads us nicely into the deeply vexed question of adelphopoiesis, or the “brother-making” ceremony argued by some, including John Boswell, as a medieval form of gay marriage. (Boswell, who died of AIDS in 1994, published the landmark Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality in 1980, and among other things, controversially argued that the medieval Catholic church was a vehicle for social acceptance of gay people.) Boswell’s critics have fiercely attacked this stance, claiming that the ceremony was only intended to join two men together in a celibate sibling-like relationship. A Straight Historian who participated in a modern version of the ceremony in 1985 actually argued that since she had no sexual inclinations or motives in taking part, clearly it was never used for that purpose by medieval men either. (Pause for sighing.)

The problem is: we can’t argue intentions or private actions either way. We can understand what the idealized and legal designation for the ceremony was intended to be, but we cannot then outrageously claim that every historical individual who took part in it did so for the party line reason. Maybe medieval men who joined together in brother-making ceremonies did live a celibate and saintly life (this would not be surprising). It seems ludicrous to argue, however, that none of them were romantically in love with each other, or that they never ever ever had sex, because surprise, formulaic documents and institutional guidelines cannot tell us anything about the actions of real individuals making complex choices. Even if this was not always a homosexual institution (and once again with the dangerous practice of equivocating queerness with explicitly practiced and “provable” sexual behaviour), it was beyond all reasonable doubt a homoromantic one, and one sanctioned and organised according to well-known medieval conventions, desires (for two men to live together and love each other above all) and anxieties (that they might then have sex).

The medieval men who took a ‘brother’ would probably not have seen it as a marriage, or as the kind of household formation or social contract implied in a heterosexual union, but as we have also discussed, the definition of marriage in the Middle Ages was under constant contestation anyway. The church was constantly anxious about knights: their violence, their (oftentimes) lack of religiosity, their proclivity for tournaments, swearing, drinking, and other immoral behaviour, the possibility of them having sexual affairs with each other and/or with women (though Andreas Capellanus, in De amore, wrote an entire spectacularly misogynistic handbook about how to have the right kind of love affair with a woman and dismissed same-sex relationships in one sentence as gross and unworthy, so he was clearly the No Homo Bro Knight of his day). So, as this has gotten long: gay knights were basically one of the central social, religious, and cultural concerns of the entire Middle Ages, due to their position in society, their necessity in a warlike culture, the social influence of chivalry and their tendency to bad behaviour, their perceived influence over the king (who they may also have given their Gay Cooties), their disregard of the church’s teachings, and the ever-present possibility that their love wasn’t celibate. So yes. Gay knights: Hella Historically Accurate.

The end.

#history #medieval history #queer history #gay knights #long post #i have a lot more to say but yes #the old guard meta #for reference #though this post was originally written in december 2019 #anonymous #ask

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checkoutafrica · 4 years

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Manu Grace; the multi- insturmentalist

South African songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Manu Grace is one of the most striking acts to emerge from the South African alternative music scene. Her sound can be described as ‘Sensitive Pop’ — unguarded and groovy; appealing to both heart and feet alike. Raised in a creative family, Manu grew up with plenty of room for her imagination to thrive. For as long as she can remember, music has been her primary interest have always had a piano in the house, Manu begged and begged for lessons until her hands were finally deemed big enough. She later picked up guitar and bass, using her precious screen-time to print guitar tabs off the Internet. At 15, she wrote her first full composition the day her baby brother came home from the hospital. “It was a sweet tribute to the new little pipsqueak”. From there, songwriting became second nature and although she was shy in regular life, she had an innate drive to get on stage at any possible opportunity. “It’s weird how you can be so drawn to something with such a deep sense of knowing”.

No Room for Error. This EP reflects Manu’s inner and outer world over the course of an eventful couple of months of love, loss and visa runs. It trails her travels chronologically and the project reads like a story. No Room for Error is a bold unlocking of freedom and femininity — unabashed about desire; vulnerable and fierce. “I approached the process with a sense of freedom and fearlessness — no idea was ever too wild, and I really love working like that.”

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#fetchtheboltcutters (life is so wacky)

Sending love. Another offering later this week

A fun one ; can’t wait!

A post shared by MANU GRACE (@_manugrace) on Sep 1, 2020 at 4:19am PDT

For those that have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

That one is hard, hmm I don’t know? For a long time, I was allergic to the word pop but I think alternative pop is a good way to put it – there’s a lot of storytelling and maybe it’s too honest. I don’t know, I like to call it sensitive pop if that is even a thing ahaha.

You say you grew up in a creative family, so since you’re a musician, what do the rest of your family do?

My fathers an architect by profession but he’s an incredible poet and writer, my moms a novelist and screen writer, my brother is a film maker so we each kind of picked our niche! However, I do think that sometimes we can get a little over-involved in each others projects, like at the start of lockdown my older brother, myself and our two little brothers – we were all in our moms house, stuck at home and he’s a cinematographer so we shot a music video in the house with the children, the chickens and the dogs, so that’ll come out soon if we don’t change our minds ahaha.

What did you learn from being in a band – the Aztec sapphires”

It was a very short- lived experience but very fun. This was my first time playing with anyone, I did classical piano and my version of music was always me writing my own songs then playing base guitar by myself so they deffo taught me lot, especially in terms of performing.

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TikTok circa 2006 Try telling this kid that in fourteen years' time she'll have a single racking up tens of thousands of plays in just one week.

A post shared by MANU GRACE (@_manugrace) on Aug 11, 2020 at 2:41am PDT

No room for error what is it about?

I started on it last year may, I work with two collaborators – Russ and Robin and they were in cape town in may – whenever we’re in the same city we just cram. Then rob moved to berlin and Russ moved to London and we started working on a few tracks, I went to Italy to au pair in order to afford to be able to go to Berlin and record with them, with the intention of bringing the songs that we had already been working on. So we worked on it in Berlin, I spent every waking moment in the studio for like 10 whole days and it was really really fun, then i had to come back to cape town because of visa stuff, then I went back to London to finish all the vocal recordings. The intention was to move to London, i initially only came back thinking id be here for two, three weeks but thanks to lockdown I’ve been here ever since ahahaha

How does it compare to your debut ep June?

It feels a lot bolder, if i can say that. I just feel that over the course of making it I was growing a lot as a human and i think it shows. it’s also a lot less careful if that makes sense, I really love it, I don’t know if i can say that but I am really proud of it. It just feels really authentic. It feels more confident because I sound more confident

Do you have any expectations for your new ep, especially with how successful the last one was?

I just want to create music.

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World premiere of my new single 'Two Weeks' on @zanelowe 's @beats1official radio show in 30 minutes!!! Beside myself — I've been itching to have this music out in the world. Tune in on @applemusic at 18h30 SAST to be the first to hear it, and to get the scoop on my misadventures in Italy last Summer

Link in bio x

: @taofarren

A post shared by MANU GRACE (@_manugrace) on Aug 3, 2020 at 9:01am PDT

If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?

I think about that all the time. I have no idea because I feel like I have limited myself so much that there is no backup plan so this HAS to be my thing. But I don’t know, I mean I have done lots of things, I studied English at UCT and I have done teaching – teaching piano but I am realising now that whenever I have needed money, I have always gone for odd jobs that you can’t really turn into a career.

I saw that you used to be a shy person, over time have you gotten over this and gained more confidence?

I’ve always been quiet shy socially, but weirdly the performance thing has always come naturally and to this day I am still perplexed by it. It’s a very strange phenomenon

What valuable lessons have learned from Ross and Robin (of Beatenberg)

With them, it’s really fun because we’re really good friends and I just feel so safe with them and I don’t know, with this project especially, I was encouraged to have no inhibitions and I felt free to do what I wanted to do creatively. The whole process was really freeing and fun. I miss them!!!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Obviosuly the dream is for my music to go as far as it possibly can, I just want it to be heard, if i can sustain myself all my life from just doing music then that’s it. That’s literally just it.

Listen to her top tracks here;

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#Interviews #Music #African music #african musician #alternative pop #interview #music #south african

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syncopatedid · 5 years

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Kazetsuyo Novel: excerpt from Chapter 9: Sprinting Towards the Other Side

The scene is a follow up interaction between Yuki, Shindo, Kakeru and Haiji. Also, you should know my feels for Haiji went pretty deep reading too much into this excerpt and it absolutely wounded me.

Disclaimer: This is a Mandarin to English translation and I do not have an original Japanese copy to compare and reference from, so nuances may vary between the two.

Onward to Hakone! 🏃🏃🏃🏃

Chapter 9, page 285 ~ 287

[The scene takes place in the middle of the Ekiden race, where the runners are already scattered (but in pairs) at the different race sections.]

While waiting for the train to arrive, Kiyose picked up his phone and started dialing again.

"Are you calling Yuki?" Kakeru asked.

Kiyose nodded. The call managed to connect this time.

"It's me."

As Kiyose spoke, Kakeru immediately reached over for Kiyose’s device, switching its settings to speaker mode. The platform was noisy anyway, so it should not bother the people around them. Kiyose cocked his head, a perplexed expression showing on his face. Kakeru grabbed his hand and positioned the phone between the both of them.

“How’s Shindo’s condition?”

“I don’t know.”

Yuki’s voice was on the line.

“I can’t see his complexion, and the guy refuses to let me check his temperature. I don’t think he’s doing so good.”

“Can’t see his complexion? What do you mean?” Kiyose raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you with Shindo and taking care of him properly?”

Yuki should have been waiting at Odawara Station along with Shindo, who is running for Section Five. They are supposed to be together, yet Yuki is saying he can’t see his complexion? This made Kiyose extremely unsettled.

“Shindo’s next to me, all right?” Yuki clarified, “But he’s got his whole face buried in a scarf from the nose down, plus he’s wearing a mask--- make that two masks on top of that; the normal type you use for colds, and one of those Karasu Tengu types for pollen allergies. Never mind his complexion, I can barely see his face. Can you even breathe like this, Shindo?”

Apparently, Shindo was so afraid of passing his cold on to Yuki that he had resorted to taking this drastic measure as a precaution.

The phone appeared to have changed hands during this time.

“Hello?”

Shindo’s voice sounded just like a kidnapper who had called to demand for ransom money. It was muffled and hard to make out.

“How high’s your fever right now?” Kiyose cut right to the chase.

“What, my temperature’s perfectly normal.” Shindo replied casually. “Is Kakeru there?”

“I’m here.”

At Shindo’s behest, Kakeru leaned in closer to the phone.

“Could I ask you to help me buy some face masks and bring them over? I’ll be leaving mine with Yuki later.”

“If your temperature's normal, did you need to be so anxious and take precautions to this extent?“ Kiyose pressed.

“You can hear me, Haiji?!”

Shindo sounded a little flustered, thought Kakeru to himself. That’s because they were on speaker mode!

“Understood. I’ll get you the masks, don’t worry.” Kakeru answered.

“Make sure you take in plenty of fluids, Shindo,” Kiyose ordered. “Even if that means you have to run and piss at the same time, it’s better than getting dehydrated.”

“I’d rather not do either, thanks.”

Shindo smiled and hung up.

“So there was such a convenient function...” Kiyose glanced at his phone.

“You didn’t know?” Kakeru asked, after disabling the speaker mode.

“I hadn’t noticed at all.”

What did you think that button was for then? Kakeru wondered as he ran over to a shop on the platform to purchase the masks. He hurried back to Kiyose’s side, just as the train for Hakone-Yumoto was pulling into the station.

Kiyose lowered his head as he stepped inside the train.

“...I couldn’t tell Shindo not to force himself to run.”

Kakeru slipped the masks into his pocket and quietly followed Kiyose in.

======================

Footnotes:

1. I really have no clue what Yuki was saying about a ‘KarasuTengu’ mask, since actual Tengu masks are masks used for theater and do not in anyway filter pollen, but my guess is it’s probably one of those heavy-duty respirator masks and it’s Yuki’s way of describing how ridiculously bundled up Shindo is.

2. The “train” that’s mentioned in this passage likely refers to the Hakone Tozan Train... which imo, calling it an electric tram would have been more accurate, but I decided to stick with “train” because that’s the official name it goes by. Don’t get me started about trains because I can probably start a whole essay about my other interest, ahaha.

3. I know this novel was published in 2006, but Haiji not knowing there was a speaker/hands-free function on his phone makes me cry because he sounded like some grandpa who can’t figure his way around a modern-day gadget.

4. There is a line that I had decided to omit in Haiji’s last statement before he got on the train. He says【我很难过], which in Mandarin literally translates as “I am sad” or “I am saddened” (that he couldn’t bring himself to tell Shindo not to force himself to run). I don’t want to overreach, but “sad” just didn’t sound like the right way to translate it, and without the Japanese text I am unable to determine what is originally said. So I felt leaving it out was the best solution, as it leaves room for readers to draw their own interpretation.

5. But if you want to know my personal thoughts on this scene, when Haiji said “I hadn’t noticed at all”, I felt that line was also him talking about Shindo, (that he had failed to notice Shindo was ill or that it had gotten that bad). Haiji’s “sadness” isn’t just that he’s depressed, but one that suggests that he is torn and wrecked with guilt -- he definitely knew Shindo was lying, and he could have ordered Shindo to drop out of the race but he didn’t. Was he trying to be considerate towards Shindo? Or was it because he was willing to put his teammate’s health at risk to fulfill his own selfish desire? It frightens him to answer that question, and for that reason he is “sad”, and I am destroyed.

#Kaze Novel Translations

#kaze novel translations #kaze novel things #kazetsuyo #kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #run with the wind #Haiji Kiyose #kakeru kurahara #iwakura yukihiro #Takashi Sugiyama

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izupie · 5 years

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November, December, and Ancient.

From this ask~

Thanks so much for the ask!

>November: Do you have any rituals or requirements for getting in the mood for writing?

I need peace and quiet, then I need my music. It’s so weird - my background sounds need to be quiet (I work best in libraries!) but I still need my music - it gives me a mood to work with. I also have a little stress ball shaped like a cat face, so when I lean back in my chair to consider specific wording or what should come next or reading it back to check whether it makes sense, I squeeze the stress ball to have something to do with my hands.

As I said before, I really love writing with a hot cup of tea. It gives me good vibes!

I usually reread everything I’ve already written before I continue a piece, so I’m back in the world before I keep going. If it’s a oneshot or it’s at the beginning I find it best to just launch into it without too much thought and let the words just flow before I tidy and polish it up later.

>December: Have you ever gifted a fic to someone?

I have! ~

‘One Little Question’ was written as a gift for you from your prompt! Aha

‘Pre-Exam Pancakes (or not)’ was written as a gift for JelloJolteon

‘Popcorn Blanket’ was written as a gift for SingingCookie

‘Memories That Make Us’ was written as a gift for FaintBlueIvy

>Ancient: The first fic you ever posted online?

Oh boyyy, I don’t have the link to it anymore - I deleted it a long time ago from FF.net because it killed me to reread it one day and realise this was actually on the internet,,

It was a Kingdom Hearts story I wrote when I was something like 14 years old? I’d finished playing Kingdom Hearts 2 and I wrote a Sora/Riku fic mostly because everyone online was really into that ship just after KH2 at the time.

Gods it’s awful ahaha - but everyone has to start somewhere right? 14 year old me had great fun, and that’s the important thing.

I have never in my whole life deleted a fic from my personal files - I have them all. Including this one.

Here’s the opening and the proof this relic was from 2006...

Don’t ask about the authors note at the beginning, ask anyone who used to use FF.Net many years ago - everybody did it ! aaaa

#thanks so much for the ask!#I had fun writing this one because it forced me to read this god awful fic again #lmao #izu replies

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threadsketchier · 6 years

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11 Questions

Tagged by @thatginchygal THANK :D

(I felt like I could actually answer these, lolz)

1. What was the first fanfic you ever read?

Duuuuuuude, that’s lost to the pre-teen netherregions of my brain, but - I do remember one of the weirdest ones I read from like ‘97-’98 had something to do with an evil Dark Side guy who could only invade Luke’s mind when he was asleep and little Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin kept trying to help him fight back in his dreams or something, LOL. Weird but cute, I guess.

Ah, the days when I’d print out phone book reams of fics from the library printer and stuff them in binders, I made forests weep...

2. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote (if any)?

A super-cringey Luke & Leia post-ROTJ sibling fic where they’d fought a battle on a beach and Leia thought Luke had been killed, but it turned out he’d played dead by practicing his first hibernation trance. XD And then they had to jump off a cliff and try not to drown or freeze to death while they hid among some rocks out in the water to avoid the Imperials. Han shows up with reinforcements at the end. Super dramatic, as usual, pfffft.

3. Your last text message is the title of your next fanfic. What is it (and a brief summary)?

...Preeeeeeetty sure nobody wants to read something titled after the fact that I got my 200 monthly minutes and 31 service days from Net10. XD

4. Do you keep your fandom interests a secret from your RL family/friends?

...Yeeeeeeeah. :( Mom doesn’t know about my Tumblr escapades.

5. What is one of your favorite scenes between your OTP?

Ngl, I’m all about that moment where Mara’s got Luke pinned down on the Myrkr forest floor with her arm wrapped around him and her holdout blaster jammed in his jaw, RAWR.

6. Do you have a playlist for your OTP?

AHAHA, WHY YES, DO I EVER, IT’S 125 TRACKS LONG AND 7.5 HOURS. (Ok, it’s for a fic, but still.)

7. Why do I suck at coming up with these questions??

BECAUSE I SUCK, OK

8. Would you want to live in the ‘world’ of your favorite fandom?

Uhhhhhhhhhh...look, I know I’ve seen that post about how horrible the SW universe actually would be to live in when you really think about it, but that also means there’s plenty of mundane places to exist in and jobs to do, so sure, I could probably handle being a boring lower-middle-class data pusher someplace where the legendary Luke Skywalker and his righteous ass-kicking are far far away. ;p (Catch me on the newly liberated Holonet fangirling over said legendary Jedi ass.)

9. What is your favorite piece of fandom merchandise?

The sweet, sweet lightsaber props I used to own. A moment of silence for their loss. *sheds a tear*

10. Have you ever drifted away from a fandom only to be sucked back in (perhaps by a new season or change of storyline)?

Yeah, after the prequels were finished I was kinda bored/burned out (because I fell prey to the loudmouth “EWWWWW PREQUELS SUUUUUUCK” bashing) and I briefly fell head-over-heels for Superman/DC Comics from 2006-2008 (oh look at me drooling over another gentle and kind yet badass farmboy with rock-solid morals from salt-of-the-earth adoptive farm parents, I have A Type™), but I AM A MONOGAMOUS FANGIRL SWAN, I CAN NEVER FORGET MY FIRST LOVE

11. Do you prefer canon-compliant fanfic or AUs?

I will take ANYTHING as long as it’s gooooooooooooood shit. *finger guns*

Once again, I’d prefer not to tag individual peeps so nobody feels left out, IF YOU SEE THE THING DO THE THING, if you wanna. :D (I don’t have time to come up with interesting questions *sob* so just keep looking at thatginchygal’s set, because they’re great!)

#my blabs #in the meme time

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hagarenmovie · 6 years

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[Translation] Special Interview with Hiromu Arakawa

Source: http://natalie.mu/comic/pp/hagarenmovie02

“Fullmetal Alchemist” [Hagane no Renkinjusushi, or “Hagane”] is premiering on December 1st. So, whose heart was beating faster than anyone else and called the movie “a celebration”? It was Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of the manga. Previously, “Fullmetal Alchemist” had been adapted into other media formats such as anime and games, and to Arakawa, who seemed to be enjoying the “celebration” more than others, said “I can see a new [incarnation] of the work again!” As part of Comic Natalie’s special celebration with the release of [“Fullmetal Alchemist”], we interviewed this Arakawa. In addition to getting the scoop on the highlights of the movie, [she also had] a message for the passionate fans of the original work.

Yamada-san did a really good job bringing the comical action scenes from the manga to life

── Could you tell us your frank impression of the time when you know about the decision to adapt [your work] into live action? At the end of volume 15 of "Fullmetal Alchemist" released in 2006, there was a panel where everyone was speculating "What if [FMA] is made into a live action adaptation?"

When I heard about the live action adaptation, the first voice I made was “Hoo!” (laughs). When we were drawing the panel, I remember everyone was [just] noisily blurting out [whatever came to mind]. Although it had already been made into anime, games, etc, when I heard that it will be adapted to yet another medium, as the creator, I felt a wave of excitement that “I can see something new again!” I was looking forward to the completion of the film.

[T/N: I was hoping she would talk about the fantasy casting of Ed, but yeah, based on the published date, she / staff were thinking about a different Yamada.]

──The protagonist, Ed, is played by Ryosuke Yamada, a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.

Didn’t Yamada-san appear in “Grasshopper” (the movie was released in 2015)? So when Director Sori (Fumihiko) told me, "I want to cast Yamada-kun as Ed", my first thought was, "Oh, that killer!" (laughs).

── (Laughs) Yamada-san was playing the role of a knife wielding killer in "Grasshopper."

I thought Yamada-san's movements in that movie were amazing. At his opening scene he was getting rid of a gang of thugs, the way he killed them was like a dance. Since [watching that movie], I absolutely think that he will be great with action scenes. The director also mentioned that, and actually, when I saw the [finished “Fullmetal Alchemist” movie], Yamada-san was even able to perform the action scenes in a comical way like they were in the manga. Ed in the manga rarely runs in a cool way (laughs). Yamada-san even conveyed that [detailed] movement strongly.

See the scene from Grasshopper here:

youtube

── Certainly, in the [early] scene where Ed was running, I thought "Oh, that's how Ed runs!” Yamada-san himself seemed to be committed to [this style of] running; he said he was influenced by the manga.

There was a hasty desperation in the running, and he did it in a comical way just like the manga. Ed’s comical but great physicality was on full display in the opening action scene, and I thought, "He is as good as I expected, this guy!"

The “Leaving the job to the Specialists” Stance

── By the way, like Yamada-san, Tsubasa Honda-san who plays Winry and Hongo Kanata-san who plays Envy are also long-time fans of "Fullmetal Alchemist”.

Looks like it. That said, I feel bad that they might feel bound by the image from reading the manga. Because I don’t not mind having them perform with their own interpretation [of their respective characters].

── Didn’t Arakawa-san give any orders to the cast or the director?

I checked the script that was submitted, but basically, I left [the making of the film] to the director. It's just not how I do things, I think believe in “leaving the job to the specialists”. So I simply think, "I'm looking forward to the finished work." That was the case with the anime as well, but I feel that I should “apologize for being an author who does not work" (laughs).

── So it is best to leave the animation to the anime producers and the filming to live action producers.

Yes. I think that there is no need [for them] to worry about the original work separately. So I said, "please do whatever you want.” I am the type that do not care about how the character looks visually as long as the [essence of the] character is expressed, so when I first saw Winry, who is originally blonde, I asked myself, "does Winry have to be blonde?" Actually, when Winry’s blonde hair became brunette, it matched the background colour in the train scene, it looked like it fit right in! If a character stands up [to the original] in a live action adaptation, I think that it is perfectly fine even if there are changes from the original. That's why Tucker-san (played by Yo Oizumi) who has a lot of hair also exists (laughs).

── Ahaha (laughs).

I am interested in Oizumi-san because he is also from Hokkaido. He is the star of Hokkaido (laughs). In the movie, there were a lot of Tucker, when I saw it, I thought “Ooh, you have come out here.” It was also a highlight.

── How about the other cast?

I was shaken by Colonel Mustang’s (played by Dean Fujioka) coolness. Hughes-san (played by Ryuta Sato) was still Hughes (laughs). For Ed and Winry, it seemed that Yamada-san and Honda-san were already on good terms, so it was very good that they were able to make use of this delicious feeling. And as expected, the Homunculus group was amazing ....

── The degree of realization of the Homunculus group of Lust, Envy, and Gluttony was especially high. When the visuals were revealed at the fan event, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

I never thought Matsuyuki (Yasuko)-san would accept [the offer] to play the role (of Lust) (laughs). Uchiyama (Shinji)-san conveyed the bad feelings of Gluttony, right? Hongo (Kanata)-san’s Envy also felt very cocky. Jun Kunimura-san who played Marcoh did not appear a lot, but he attracted me with his subtle eye acting, which I thought was truly amazing. There were many cast members who usually played as a leading role portrays great supporting roles in this movie, it was truly a magnificent cast.

I purely thought “I want to see it”

── Although you said you basically left the live action adaptation to the director, how did the “Fullmetal Alchemist” that was shot from Director Sori’s point-of-view look through Arakawa-san’s eyes?

Even though I am familiar with the original work, [familiar] scenes were combined with original material for the movie, which gave me a sense of excitement like “what will happen next?” The main story-line was the same as the manga, and the curve-balls they threw [at us within the movie] were interesting. Even though I know the [story] developments, I held my breath in spite of myself when there was a good scene coming up.

── The use of CG for the alchemy scenes was also impressive.

When the movie was in the planning stages, Director Sori said in his meeting with Square Enix, "I could not have done it with the CG technology years ago, but now I can make "Fullmetal Alchemist". Please let me do it." Upon hearing that, I purely thought, "Oh, I'd like to see it."

I am talking about how the presentation of manga will be fused with reality. Even when I look at "Ping Pong" [T/N: a 2002 film directed by Sori], I thought Director Sori was able to effectively use the CG to bring the manga to life, so I was looking forward to seeing [what he did] with "Hagane".

── In this movie, Al was entirely made with CG. In the scene where Ed and Al were fighting, I heard that Yamada-san, who played Ed, had to shoot the [fight] scene hitting at nothing [in real life].

Yes, yes. They made the scene by adding Alphonse’s CG to Yamada-san's acting. When I watched the movie, it seemed like Al was really there and was the one who was beaten. At that time, I kept thinking with my head down about how much time and effort was spent to make this scene. I was surprised at the pace at which Japanese CG is evolving.

Hiromu Arakawa looking back at the manga “Fullmetal Alchemist”

── Even though it has been 7 years after the completion of "Fullmetal Alchemist", it is still beloved by fans all over the world, and there were great reactions when the live action adaptation was announced. What was the reason that drew Arakawa-sensei to draw "Hagane" in the first place?

I enjoyed sketching on my bed, floor, or wherever, so in the beginning, I thought it would be fun to put my work into manga-form. From there, [I did] research on various things like "alchemy" and "philosopher’s stone”. Although there are occult elements, I am someone who has always grown up with “moo” beside me (laughs). As I was looking into this further, I thought "alchemy is interesting", so I added these elements into the story. After that, I felt that the elements related to life such as homonculus cannot be overlooked, so I should include them as well. I was inundated with thoughts about life, so the philosophical question, “what does it mean to be living?”, became the central pillar that filled the pages of the story.

── I think the heavy human drama is the charm of "Fullmetal Alchemist".

"Hagane" was quite hard[core] from the opening scene. One person had parts of his body taken from him, and another had his whole body taken. I had to enter the story from this deeply emotional place. As it was a departure from my favourite type of [positive energy filled] shonen manga, I continued drawing with the intention to not make it dull for the readers. I added comical elements, or tried to put in scenes to give readers a break [from the tension]. Since I drew [the manga] with this balance in mind, the end result had that sort of [frenetic] energy.

── Within the serious developments [of the story], comical elements were inserted to lighten the heavy narrative; it is one of the reasons why “Fullmetal Alchemist” is loved by so many people. Previously, in a magazine interview that was published immediately after completion, someone asked you, "What does Arakawa-san think is the greatest appeal of the work?", and Arakawa-san answered, “I do not quite understand.”

Ahaha (laughs).

── Since seven years have passed, and having viewed the work [again] through a different medium like a live action movie, I think you would be able to view parts of it more objectively, so I ask again, why you do you think people love “Fullmetal Alchemist”?

Where to begin… Whether it is an anime, a game, or this movie, the story is filled with “brotherly love” and “brotherly bond”, so objectively speaking, I think that is it.

── Even for Arakawa-san, was there any part that you really cherish and felt really important to draw?

It was the sins and burdens that the brothers were carrying after committing the forbidden act of human transmutation. Since there were two people who had this awareness, I felt that it was important that they took care of each other. As for me, Ed was Ed and Al was Al, and since I wanted each of them to be his own person, I drew Alphones as Alphonse, not the brothers of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Even in the manga, the brothers had been separated and faced different battles, like the scene where Alphonse said “I have to do it” and advanced steadily. You also see Ed worrying a bit about his younger brother, so I really cherished the parts where Ed and Al respected each other.

Thank you for making this a celebration!

── The moviegoers will get a souvenir of a "Special edition comics" that includes new episodes specifically drawn for this film.

It was about seven years since I last drew the manga! In the beginning, I was worried [with things like] “can I still draw it”, “the pictures, did it change [from before]?” (laughs). The feelings for the characters came back quickly, so I was OK, and [the thoughts] got changed into pictures one after another. In between, I also drew a little bit for the “Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition” and I was relieved because [my drawing style] had not changed so much (laughs).

── In addition to the movie this year, there is also the "Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition", since you have to draw the new episodes, your encounter with the work has increased again. Compared to the serialization, has there been changes in how you approach the work?

At the time of serialization, I had to have an awareness of the various [responsible] parties, but now, there was an air of excitement surrounding me, so I felt like I was riding the wave and my concern for the various parties was unexpectedly low. I saw it as, "It’s a celebration! Wohoo!" (laughs). "Thank you for making it a celebration! Let’s get excited together!"

── It seems that Arakawa-san yourself is enjoying this the most (laughs). After all, "Fullmetal Alchemist" is a very popular work, so I think a lot of people felt a bit uneasy when it comes to live action.

When I read hear that a manga I am reading is getting the live action treatment, I am the type who thinks "you can see a new ●●!". Even though if I saw differences from the manga, I don’t think about things like, "Eh, that is not the image [of ●●]", [rather,] I enjoyed the differences, like “oh, they did it this way!” I feel that it is fun to think about “How do they convey the intention of the creator in this scene?”

── I see. You are coming from the point of view of the creator a little bit here.

I maybe looking at this from the point of view from a creator. When [the film] contained elements different from the original, I felt that there is a spirit of trying something new. An adaptation is a new challenge in the first place, so I felt that it is a kind of frontier spirit. "Hagane" had already been the animation and games treatment, in addition to the live action adaptation, will [it be adapted to yet another medium]? However, with each adaptation, I think I will look forward to it (laughs). But then, everyone had their own image of Ed and Al firmly planted in their heads, so [I understand why] people felt uneasy.

──I think that Arakawa-san’s Ed and Al have been around forever.

That means that everyone has been reading it. Thankfully. Manga is manga, anime is anime, so as long as [the story] is firmly in your mind, it will not be destroyed [by another work], so I think that it would be fun [when you watch the film] by not taking it so seriously, like, "Oh? A new challenger is coming?"

── In that sense, Arakawa-san is having fun at this "Celebration!", and that it is good to go with the feeling of “Let’s all go celebrate together!”

#fullmetal alchemist #fma #fma live action #translations #interviews #arakawa hiromu #hiromu arakawa #comic natalie #yamada ryosuke #honda tsubasa #hongo kanata #dean fujioka #matsuyuki yasuko

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femslashy · 7 years

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What are their coffee orders (I would say Starbucks but I'm too young to remember if that was a thing or not in 2006)? What's their Hogwarts house? What do they like on pancake? Cat or dog people? (Also sorry you're sad, hope you feel better!)

neither austin or adam are huge coffee drinkers (austin prefers to get his caffeine from energy drinks tyvm) but when they do find themselves at starbucks austin gets a medium--he refuses to call it tall and the baristas hate him--americano--again he just calls it regular coffee--no milk lots of sugar and adam gets a vanilla bean frappuccino with no whip that austin keeps stealing sips of despite claiming to hate “girly drinks”

austin is a gryffindor and adam is a hufflepuff :D

butter and syrup! but austin prefers his with blueberries in them while adam just likes his plain (the american style ones ahaha)

dogs all the way ^__^ austin has a golden retriever named gracie that his parents got him in 10th grade after his childhood dog (a beagle named maggie) he’d had since he was six had to be put down and adam’s grandma--who he lives with most of the time--has three chihuahuas and a yorkie

(thank you!)

ask me about my ocs!!

#this is all like #them pre-book #just in case anyone starts to hate austin after learning more about him lmaooo #my boy is a bit of a douche yikes #wtsib #bazwillendinflames

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misstinapie · 15 years

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Komikon Summer Festival 2009 (5.16.9)

For years of not being able to join Komikon, here we are back again (now I’m on the group as the Editor with nothing to do) to sell the reissue (if there was any word like that) of the first one! Some of you maybe on the acknowledgements part. If we converse often you’re probably there. I’m just too lazy to add a snapshot of it... My peers came late (need I say again? This must probably my karma for being late on Shizen) again. By the time we came at UP (for the first time on a cab) there was a long file of people, thank goodness they haven’t started. Good thing participants don’t need to be on that line (yey!) but I was disappointed we won’t be getting any loot bag. We are paying the same after all plus aren’t the Indie groups the entire purpose of this event? We chose (well the marshals haven’t told us if we were in any other place) but that was the only table not taken anyway so we sat and started collating (as usual). Not only were we late but we are also not ready to sell yet. As we were collating, Mark noticed his freebie was missing a page so though inconvenient, he came back to print it back in the office in Ortigas. When he came back he must probably be so pissed spending on going back and forth. It was hard to sell Indies nowadays, we haven’t been joining for what, 2 years and the community has grown so huge it seems like we’ve been away for far much longer. Not only that, most of them have multiple issues, color printed covers, packaged on plastics and other things to sell as well. The only assurance that the ones we have are at par is the fact that this particular issue have won on the 2006 Komikon which is quite handy on the marketing. I haven’t seen Sputnik and Lyndon though, but the regular exhibitors were there plus local comic artists (I have most of I could snap a photo of on the accompanying album) who are very accommodating and are always there whenever they can (teary-eye moment #1). I don’t know it with the others but seeing them there is like moral support already who, with their mere presence encourages the rest of us that it’s possible to be ‘someone’ someday, and at this early stage, we are, in a way, an important part of the aggregate of the Filipino artists and writers striving to fuel our local literature. Teary-eye moment #2 was this girl (oh I should have asked her name!) who said she ‘missed’ us, and she was looking for us and was glad we were back. She was the only one who remembered the team and I think I’m saying this in behalf of the group that that was very touching and was enough to cover all the bad feelings resulting from the suspicious looks and the failed attempts of selling them to those who have already procured so many indie comics but won’t even purchase ours. Now imagine what established writers/artists must feel whenever someone asks for their autograph. Teary-eye moment #3 was when a certain Sir Donald (or Ronald?) was rounding all the indies if they were any interested in selling our works on his shop and even suggesting were best to do this and that. I do salute people like him who are genuinely interested in Filipino talents. I hope we meet more of them in the future. My next teary-eye moment was not really ‘touching’ at all it was more of the feeling of being scared to death by being INTERVIEWED with a reporter from RPN 9! It was after I purchased and talked to Sir David on their booth that I was cornered and bombarded with questions I was too dazed to answer. I wasn’t really cool with the fact I was on their booth while I was interviewed, the mic and the camera too close on my face especially when I was holding too many comics on my hands! To the local viewer I might have looked such a geek! I’m not afraid of being caught dead seeing what I bought (good thing the rest was on my bag on our booth ahaha) but you know how it feels when the camera just focused on those zooming and magnifying. Argh, I don’t want to think about it anymore. I had my last autograph for the day when I finally saw Sir Medina with his usual amiable aura. I bought the very first PB to be signed and promised never to be like that one who I believed just had all 21 issues signed all on one sitting. I’m enough with the only signed issue I have but I would eventually have another given the chance of seeing him again. Sir Freely was very nice (his booth actually sells Kulas 20 php cheaper than the publishing booth) he even insisted we both have our photos taken and Sir Manix, gosh. Such dedication of painstakingly lettering (I forgot how’s it called!) and doing drawings on each copy was so inspiring it is my top teary-eye moment. By October we’d be changing venues for the first time, now at Megamall Megatrade Hall 1. I don’t know if it would be any better, I’m a bit selfish in keeping the event on a sort of ‘exclusive scale’ (I mean, I am the only *one I know of who would travel from Cavite to QC just to attend! And I don’t need to be bribed!) which keeps the posers away. For some reason I do believe that holding it on Megatrade Hall takes the purity of simply loving the craft and just like in Ed’s words, making the rest ‘join in on the wagon’ (or something like that, sorry Ed... too bad of a memory). I have nothing against cosplayers, I do, but there is more to Komikon and it’s not like in other events that showing up on costume is enough to make of it. I doubt the heavy-Jap fans would even care seeing Indies unlike their mainstream manga. I remembered in Shizen I’ve only seen one Indie group and I don’t think they are much accepted as they are on Komikons. I do hope I’m wrong with that. Oh and by the way, visit us if you’d ever come to the event next time. It’s the SALIMPUSA booth and it goes true to its name. We are still the simpletons we always are but I’m telling you now, we are exceeding expectations for an Indie. As Jin would always say, it’s the quality that counts, and that’s what you get with every single copy. Hopefully we’d have funds so it would be better in the future, neh?! *Of course there would have been more of my kind, and I am proud for all of us. I am just being sarcastic. ^_^ More to read at http://zyrie15.multiply.com

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