#i think one of my biggest gripes at this point in the arc (and all shows rlly that deviate between a big plotline and monsters-of-the-week

[starswallowingsea]

okay finished link click season 2 finally. augh augh augh (review thing under the cut)

so i wasn't entirely sure about the season since the pacing felt kind of all over the place and the threads felt very messy compared to last season but it was also a fuller narrative arc than last season (i was thinking that i missed the episodic nature of the first half of s1 but i don't foresee us returning to that any time soon).

with the finale i am very happy with how the threads finally wove together, although it still felt kind of messy and fast and loose but not in a bad way all the time if that makes sense. i can't decide if i wish we got more or less time with li tianchen and li tianxi or not just because i feel like either option could have strengthened the narrative just a little bit by either hiding a bit more of what we know now or allowing us to get to know them better and get a better attachment to them as characters, though the cinematics of the flashback in the last episode were GORGEOUS they really do not miss on that holy shit. but i have very mixed feelings about their arc that i can't quite articulate at this moment specifically.

i did also appreciate an increased presence with qiao ling in the narrative and i hope we see her relationship with lu guang develop more since both of them have seen cheng xiaoshi's death scene (what with lu guang apparently being able to enter photos too now and qiao ling potentially being able to see memories? or just received xixi's from an overwhelming release of power condensed into a tear. i do wonder if that's how lu guang gained cheng xiaoshi's power in the future moment we saw too if death can give someone the other person's power or something? i am curious about that and how that will play out with qiao ling specifically).

and lastly. the fight choreography the whole season was amazing. fantastic the entire time. i appreciated that the fights were very even the entire time and you never knew who would come out on top until the very end. just a nice touch that doesn't always come through in fight scenes but they nailed it the entire time.

overall i'd rate it like 8/10. not terribly happy with the plot pacing but i can overlook that with how it all came together and the stunning visuals + interesting hook for a third season (which i'm hoping will be the last one. i don't want it to be one of those shows that keeps raising the stakes for infinite seasons until it just gets ridiculous and ruins the entire series u know? i think what we got from the hook, s3 would be a great way to end the show no matter how it ends up playing out and i'm looking forward to it whenever that happens). i'm hoping that they can just tighten up that pacing for the final season and make everything count though

#shay speaks #link click #link click s2 #ah i should tag this as #link click spoilers #since i did mention plot points from the finale and all #i think my biggest gripe for the pacing came from the focus we had on qian jin #i get why it was necessary but sometimes it felt like too much and that time could have gone elsewhere #i know he was the reason for everything but imo it was like they couldnt decide to focus on him or the twins more #and kind of just half assed both arcs and i'd rather just focus on one if they couldnt do both #and i'm more biased towards the twins rather than qian jin tbh #that's just my opinion though you are free to disagree and tell me ur opinions or just ignore this post ig

[cineflections]

You know, if there was one manga that would be adapted to live action and succeed, I never would have guessed it to be this one.

I'm ofc talking about the One Piece Live Action on Netflix

A whole day binge right after release, I was READY, and thankfully, I was not disappointed. There are cuts and streamlining of the story, characters coming in earlier than in the manga/anime, and some of the emotional bits don't hit as hard as in the original. Still, I can feel the love the production team has of One Piece. The characters are goofy and lovable, but they are also serious and straight-faced.

One thing that I noticed throughout was the constant close up to faces and sometimes straight on, as if almost breaking the 4th wall. The very first scene with Luffy is like this, but there he DOES look into the camera directly, but the pov of the camera is revealed to be a newsbird. It's like a statement that they know this is a silly pirate romp, they know that some people will not take this seriously, but they will not do 4th wall breaks silly, but in-universe silly. Does that make sense?

I laughed at several points in the show, big and wide smile on my face and pointing at the screen several times...

But I do wonder how much of my laugh was on the show's on merit or if I was only calling back on the the source material. At times I did feel the straw hat crew not being as iconic as in the manga/anime. The extreme reactions, the over the top noises and actions, at the same time I realize that real people generally don't act like that.

I appreciate the show runners attention to details. Putting stuff in to tease future arcs, adapting some cover stories, some of the complete unhinged behaviors of characters (Garp I'm looking at you!).

This show adapted Romance Dawn, orange town, syrup village, baratie, and arlong park.

There are so many moments that are almost scene by scene taken from the manga. Luffy in the barrel and meeting Koby. Alvida with her giant spike club. We got to see some pre-captured Zoro moments (particularly him killing a baroque works agent!), Nami being a sneak.

Then we meet the one and only clown Buggy! They hammed him up, they made him a showman and a real clown (with a real bulgy nose as well, props!). I loved Buggy. Goddamn what a show stealer. Excellent casting, his devil fruit was show cased so well and it looked good!

Usopp's introduction is the most changed. The kids are gone and the Black Cat pirates never call in the entire crew or Jango. Instead of the fight on the slope by the beach it's instead in Kaya's house from which they cannot escape. The actor for Kuro nailing the mannerism and hand movements, altho his "teleporting" looks a bit wonky.

With Baratie we are finally introduced to Sanji! Who's British now 😆. And Mihawk's introduction tho! Badass and just so over the top and goofy. I love him so much! This is where we got the biggest change where we instead get Arlong and crew coming in smashing the place up (a tiny bit). Arlong may not be as tall as he should be but I love the practical approach instead of CGI, which means he actually feels present! All the fishmen we see are guys in costume and prosthetics!

Arlong Park felt a bit more rushed than the earlier parts, but I do think they nailed *that* scene tho.

If the bar for live action adaptation was below the ground, I would say now there's a new bar, which is on the ground 😅. I think it's a solid show but it might be my bias talking. I do have some gripes tho.

One thing that was constant in East Blue Saga was how much village people hate or are scared of pirates. I think they got the marines right, and the pirates, but they failed to really have the village people be a character in their own right. In the manga and anime the villagers are mostly a monolith who will think and act alike in situations and be part of the happenings either by watching or fighting. We got just about none of it here, except a mention in Arlong Park. They did some really good and cool world building with lots of people populating the sets in the background - but that's it, they're just extras to fill out the screen. There are ofc a few exceptions but I felt it was not enough.

I wish they had Luffy be more agile when using his gum-gum powers. Whenever he springs a pistol or a whip is stands in place, which I found boring (and they did so well with Zoro's fights!). I do think the explanation is that they decided for Luffy to be coming into his powers as we go. That we will learn with him all the things he can do (him not knowing he can blow himself up like a balloon proves this). I hope that in season 2 (please netflix!) they show the growth in his fighting!

But to end this long post. I just wanna say how much I fucking love the dude playing Mihawk. Goddamn he's so fun. MVP.

For the straw hats, I would say that Usopp feels the closest to manga version, and Luffy feels the most distant from it. But I don't dislike this, and I think the actor for Luffy has so much potential to really make the role his own.

It will never be "just like" the manga and anime, but that's ok! It's a new adaptation (in live action) made by people you can tell loves the source material and really really tried to make it work! I respect that, and I respect this show. Please watch it on Netflix! It's a fun and silly time, just like it should be!

#series #one piece #one piece live action #op #opla #monkey d luffy #roronoa zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #dracule mihawk #monkey d garp #buggy the clown #netflix

[microcomets]

can i ask for your thoughts on the netflix atla adaption? 👉👈 value ur opinion on media

aw, thank you!!! i admit i'm only halfway through watching s1, so my opinions may change as i reach the end of the season, but i can outline some of my thoughts so far!

pros:

overall, with a few exceptions, i think the casting so far is really solid. the asian and indigenous representation within the show is something they clearly took very seriously, and it shows! especially for a netflix show, that's something really groundbreaking and important and refreshing to see; and obviously a huge improvement on past whitewashed adaptations. overall, i think most of the effects are good, despite some weird cinematography choices — there are a handful of moments where the CGI looks particularly egregious, but overall, the bending and choreo look COOL. the opening scene of the pilot had me by the throat, even as it made very clear what a different kind of adaptation this would be. overall, i tend not to be too fussy about an adaptation altering things from originals to make more sense in different formats (with caveats, as i'll mention in the cons lol), so i wasn't mad about the way they've fused some of the storylines to make it flow better in a 60-minute format. (although i do question bringing in s2 stories so early, such as the secret tunnel.) there have been some moments where they've either built out character relationships (like zuko and iroh) or brought in supplementary canon from korra and the comics, which i have also enjoyed as a huge fan of the original. there are a few additions that i've really loved and had fun with — zuko's dream journal, for one, lmao, and his and aang's street fight in omashu.

cons:

honestly, my biggest gripe so far has been the alterations to characterization and character motivation. the cast and crew were sort of smugly talking about removing misogyny from the original and "updating" it, which is ironic because i think the live action is actually more sexist in many ways.

my BIGGEST disappointment has been katara, with no shade to the actor. this is one of the characters who means the most to me from the original, and the character that has hands-down been the least recognizable in natla. her fire, her temper, her unruliness, and her bossiness — all to say, her human traits — have been completely sanitized, presumably to avoid drawing any kind of criticism that she's "annoying." her anger is quite literally what kickstarts the entire show: katara losing her temper with sokka cracks open the iceberg that releases aang. katara's anger is, in a lot of ways, an outlet not only for her sense of injustice in the world, but also an outlet for coping with 1) immense colonial trauma and 2) the burden of being parentified. this, in my view, is IMPORTANT for young girls and particularly young girls of color to see — that anger doesn't have to be something you shy away from, but that you can embrace as a weapon of resistance. this anger is missing entirely, except in small snatches, from natla katara. the moments that make katara a flawed, interesting character — such as her stealing the waterbending scroll and getting jealous of aang's natural prowess — have been scrubbed completely. it is nearly impossible, at this point, to imagine this version of katara bloodbending or taking vengeance for her mother in s3. i think the re-characterization is a big misstep, due more to poor writing than anything. even the agency of katara's bending is "unlocked" and coached by male characters like aang (ep 1) and jet (ep 3), when katara is supposed to be the one teaching aang!

the inversion of sokka and katara's relationship — that is to say, parentifying sokka and making katara more of a "little sister" figure — is also a huge misstep IMO, because it misses a lot of the characterization fundamental to katara's arcs in the original, and even her later conflicts with other characters like toph. in s3 in the original, sokka says when he pictures his mother, he can only picture katara's face — this is, again, a central aspect to their dynamic and to katara's character! my guess is that they removed katara's overmothering qualities to avoid accusations of being anti-feminist, but ironically, by not acknowledging that in-text the way the original does, it bakes misogyny unspokenly into the atla world rather than explicitly acknowledging and challenging it. to clarify again, i have NOT seen the end of the season yet — i am curious what they do with katara's confrontation with paku, which is one of the biggest grapplings with misogyny in the original text. but for me, removing katara's motherly qualities/parentification, and above all her unsavory traits, are not accomplishing anti-sexist work the way the writers think they're doing, but rather sanitizing the original's social commentary on gender altogether.

one of my biggest squicks thus far has been suki and sokka's relationship; i saw suki's characterization described by someone here as a farmer girl p*rn trope where a naive village waif looks to a man to show her the outside world, or w/e, and i hate that this is what they did to suki's character. they keep her warrior qualities, yes, but this is undercut for me by the cringe comphet romance tropes of making her a wide-eyed blushing virgin around sokka. the insta-romance in the original makes more sense to me, obviously because of the format, but because in the span of 20 minutes, suki has taught sokka what it is to respect and reevaluate his relationship with women and femininity. the writers bragged about removing this from the natla representation, so what we have now is that suki doesn't really teach sokka anything substantial about himself, other than some moves. rather, it's sokka teaching suki about what it is to be "worldly" and how to unlock carnal desires. tbh, i hate that! lol! but that's just my onion.

zuko has been one of the strongest and most well-acted characterizations by far, but i do have a gripe with how they shifted his primary motivation from regaining his honor to reclaiming the throne. zuko at his essence has never been a power-hungry character. his entire drive, as we are told exhaustively through both the show and memes of the original, is regaining his honor — which is also an important cultural trope for many japanese warrior characters (though others not me can speak far more in-depth to this). his search for lost honor is incredibly important, if not central, to his entire character arc, which is zuko discovering that his honor does not come by acknowledgement from his abusive family or even imperial power, but through his own integrity and ethical code. so to have him make several lines about rightfully regaining what's his, the throne, and to make that the primary point of contention between him and azula.....is a misunderstanding, again, of the crucial aspects of zuko's character.

my other nitpicks with the characters are smaller — i miss sokka's slapstick, which has been substituted with very dry humor (and i understand this makes more sense for live action). i am still on the fence about how i feel about making ozai and azula such central characters in s1; i understand why they felt this was necessary for live action, but having those two be shadow figures in the original s1 was a really cool narrative effect for not only establishing zuko initially as a villain within his own right, but for building narrative suspense as to the fire nation's motivations.

ultimately, there's just some secret x ingredient that's missing from the live action that the original nailed effortlessly — maybe it's the sense of fun and wonder? i haven't really had fun watching this adaptation; i'm more just spectating, like watching some pretty fireworks before i move on with my day. my opinion may change slightly, as i hear the show is stronger in the second half; i wouldn't even say it's a BAD adaptation, but overall i feel like it's just kinda....meh, and i still question why it needs to exist in the first place when there are some things that animation as a medium just does far better.

also i just want to point out that i find it extremely frustrating that this show leans very hard into showing the atrocities and Moral Evil of genocide in literally the first 20 minutes of episode 1 and that while netflix wants the virtue-signaling brownie points for that, they'll still continue to give giant paychecks and platforms to brazen zionists. because after this dies down, the stranger things promo cycle is going to start up.

#anonymous #asks

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

So this is mostly a Choices blog but some of you know that I've recently started playing Romance Club as well because 1) there are some really good books on RC, 2) the art, and 3) to compare both apps. I could probably make this a series(?) to compare and contrast the two but here's one of the main things I've noticed playing both apps:

The Difference in Pacing

Background: The clear reason for this is because of how the books are set up. On Choices, each completed book is approx. 16 chapters (like a movie) while on RC, the book is typically 3 seasons with around 10-12 episodes (like a tv show). So a book like Open Heart, for instance, would be 3 seasons under one title instead of 3 separate books since they occur within a close period. This is different from a series like Heaven's Secret, which has two separate books that span ten years apart.

I bring this up because I assume this difference explains why the pacing in both apps is so different. I can use Blades II, Kindred, Theodora, and DALS as an example.

I've brought this up already, but one of my biggest gripes with Blades II was the very odd pacing. The beginning of the book (in my opinion) took longer than necessary to start the plot and there was a little too much filler with less time to focus on new lore the themes ate tho and I'm grateful we got another book.

Kindred has a similar issue. The concept of a witch book was cool and they had a good plot, but 16 chapters weren't enough to explore everything they wanted to with the book. The ending was rushed and it felt way too easy to defeat the Wraith King. Do I still love this book? Yes. Do I think the authors did well with the amount of time they were given? Also yes. But the rushed plot does make it hard to recommend it since PB is capable of handling a lot of plot (RE: Blades I).

On the other hand, Theodora has 3 seasons and the whole immortality arc (the premise of the book) wasn't explained until near the end of S2. We had an entire season to explore the character and at least half of a second season to explore her life after she realized she was immortal but without knowing why (human -> immortal -> realizing how she became immortal and starts controlling her power). As a result, it becomes easier to get attached to her since we spent more time getting to know her still one of my favorite MCs.

Dracula: A Love Story still can't believe it has 4 seasons spent an entire season before revealing Vlad's identity even though it's in the title. In comparison, PB would have done three chapters of leaving MC in the dark before revealing who Vlad is with the rest of the book being allotted to helping him. I get that we needed to see all the visions and stuff but personally, I feel like I was more invested in Lale and would have read an entire book about her, Aslan, and Vlad. I swear I don't hate DALS please don't be offended lol.

Am I saying I prefer RC to Choices? Not necessarily, I have problems with RC too mostly regarding representation, and I also know it wouldn't be fair to compare the apps since they are set up differently. I just thought this was something interesting to point out.

#mir's musings 💬 #playchoices #romance club #choices vs romance club #open heart #heaven’s secret #rc theodora #dracula: a love story #blades of light and shadow II #kindred #blades of light and shadow

[gendrie]

what are your thoughts on arya and cat i mean just like their similarities and connection and reunion bc idk arya’s asos arc in particular drives me insane. the chapters AFTER the red wedding are some of the bleakest ive ever read. its so interesting how cat’s death haunts arya so much more significantly than the others. i also wonder what an AGOT interaction between them wouldve looked like and why george didnt include it if he knew stoneheart was gonna be a thing.

the fact that we don’t have an interaction between arya and catelyn on page (and never will!!!! lmao!!!!!) is truly one of my biggest gripes. esp bc it was so avoidable all grrm had to do was draw arya i out for a couple more pages and then we wouldve had at least one scene to serve as a counterpoint for arya and lsh’s meeting if nothing else. its even more frustrating bc we know in grrm’s earliest imagines of the asoiaf he intended for arya and catelyn to have a prominent relationship. they were supposed to go to KL, escape to WF, retreat to the wall and beyond it - together! i mean:

Ned will be accused of treason, but before he is taken he will help his wife and his daughter Arya escape back to Winterfell.

When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Arya.

Abandoned by the Night's Watch, Catelyn and her children will find their only hope of safety lies even further north, beyond the Wall, where they fall into the hands of Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall, and get a dreadful glimpse of the inhuman others as they attack the wildling encampment. Bran's magic, Arya's sword Needle, and the savagery of their direwolves will help them survive, but their mother Catelyn will die at the hands of the others.

this is a significant amount of plot they shared. but things ran away from grrm, the story moved at a much faster pace than he anticipated, characters took on life’s of their own, the plot was tweaked here and there and everywhere, ect. in that process arya and catelyn got lost. they were “ripped apart” and then the opportunity to have them interact on page disappeared. in the end, they only had that tragically small window in agot (a mere 8 chapters?) before bran falls, catelyn has her breakdown and arya leaves winterfell. to his credit grrm is on record acknowledging this and regretting it [x]. 

so, we didn’t get that arya and catelyn interaction in her first chapter, but there is the line foreshadowing arya pulling catelyn’s body from the river via nymeria. even as the series was evolving that still made it on page bc catelyn becoming undead appears to be one of the oldest intact plots points. which is a major reason i am so convinced that arya and lady stoneheart have always been destined to meet. 

but its everything. the red wedding most of all. told thru arya and catelyn’s alternating povs, mother/daughter, one inside and one outside, surrounded by this slaughter that will seemingly be the end of it all. catelyn not caring what happens to her if she can only save robb, arya’s “we have to get my mother.” (honestly, i don’t think the fandom even appreciates the fact that arya was literally at trw. like its the most horrific event in asoiaf that haunts the entire narrative mostly wrt the north and house stark and arya was there. she is one of the very few survivors.) the way it ends with arya and catelyn both losing consciousness - one killed, the other knocked out but......they both wake up. 

arya’s reaction is the sum of everything pulling her down into the depths of depression. i think catelyn’s death being the hardest for arya to cope with is because she just wants her mother’s love and doesn’t think she has it. that hurts so bad. its like this open wound that can’t heal. which is why i neeeeed to read lady stoneheart’s monstrous undead hands touching arya’s face. she’s not catelyn anymore. catelyn stark was betrayed and murdered. but mother merciless’ last bit of humanity can be reached by the girl who was her daughter. its terrible and its beautiful and im going to cry about it. im really hung up on arya giving catelyn a proper funeral too. idk how realistic it is but regardless its high on my wishlist. like............please grrm.......the tullys drew their strength from the river and it was to the river they returned when their lives had run their course.

i could go on about the connection between arya and catelyn for a decade (oh wait, i have been lol) but this post is already long enough so i will just say i love the depth of feeling i get from both their characters and i like that they’re very active in the narrative - fighting for what matters most: family. thats the greatest similarity between them imo. 

#asoiaf nonsense #ask #arya stark #catelyn stark #these are my thoughts today #but honestly tip of the iceberg #funfact: my very first asoiaf edit was an arya and catelyn picspam from 2012 lol

[splashink-games]

Getting to the end is not what's important.

Did I not do a good job?

I am absolutely astounded by SANABI by WONDER POTION.

trying to be as spoiler-free as I can.

Good lord.

I was not expecting such an emotional experience.

Even after I spoiled myself a bit because our daughter (I'm okay to call the child that right? collectively, yours, mine, and our main character's (who is also ours to share)) had some very gif-able moments for me to look up and save.

ugh.

Don't even get me started on how incredibly wholesome the intro sequence is! Or mostly any memory for that matter.

Let me move on...

I heard that this game is often compared to Katana ZERO. I haven't played Katana ZERO but I've watched a friend speedrun it, and I get it, though I can't compare the narratives. But that's not what's important.

SANABI is an incredibly well-told story with fast-pace gameplay. The storytelling succeeds because it gives the player information while keeping that same information from the main character, along with hints to a conclusion that we, as the player, can infer.

and that inference builds and builds, cracking the reality that our main character (MC for short) is experiencing in Mago City until it crumbles.

this is a story is about loss and acceptance.

Our journey with these two vastly different characters, Mari and MC is nothing short of exquisite.

it's hard to put into words without spoiling anything.

each character has a very strong goal. MC is out for revenge, while Mari's is pretty vague until the midpoint, but we can surmise it also as revenge. from the onset, Mari tells you that their goals currently align. and every plot point serves an obstacle in their progress (as it should in a game).

but with every obstacle, their determination and sense of reality is affected. the two grind each other's gears. but also get back to a moderate peace. well, until they can't.

mysteries are thrown around. answers can't, or won't, be given. things happen. the situation changes. Mari and the MC change.

and when the pair finally gets to their destination, it's nothing like they expected. Getting to the end is not what's important.

Mari has an amazing arc. you know what she's after part way through the game. and it becomes clearer how desperate she is. like, what a fascinating character Mari is for being able to act in the manner she does. for being faced with the situation at hand until she can no longer bear it.

MC has an equally fantastic arc. for being such a one-track minded character until he isn't. until he thinks for a moment about everything that's happening. but no answer are given.

it's hard to describe how deeply rooted in emotion these characters are. and I think the experience of them is worth it.

with all that being said, the gameplay was rad.

for me, SANABI puts into perspective how much you can do with a few buttons. for reference, I use a Nintendo Switch-style controller. you never use the B button or the bumpers. you start using Y and left trigger halfway through the game. and I never needed to use the right joystick, even though I could.

my biggest gripe, gameplay-wise, was the ground-less boss fight. I don't know if I'm just bad at the game (I am, though) or if I have a problem with having no ground to stand on. I think the biggest issue is the inability to save oneself at the bottom of the screen. it's a very air-centric fight, so I guess it gets a pass, but it's definitely not my favourite.

everything else was smooth as butter. the introduction of new mechanics was never out of the way. the main mechanics themselves (grappling, swinging, and hooking enemies) were great and ties itself well to the narrative.

even as I was speeding through the finally sequence of the game, I still enjoyed swinging along. in between narrative sequences.

SANABI is a wonderfully crafted game, focused on delivering a thoughtful story with smooth mechanics as its vehicle.

This game is definitely a must-play for anyone!

As always,

Enjoy gaming!

#ink reviews #game review #video games #gaming #SANABI #this game was fr. can't believe I skipped out on this for a game that was still good but was obviously less of a banger #I apologize if it sounds like I'm repeating myself through but it's really something you need to play or watch

[theflyindutchwoman]

I honestly hate the Lucy UC storyline now. 1) she’s been in THREE Documentaries, one specifically about her going UC so it makes no sense (also not to mention Isabel outting her as a cop to that guy’s daughter, so maybe that’s were the storyline will go, he’ll try to get revenge on her for being a cop) and 2) she was upset about them not seeing each other much if she moved to a different station yet they wanted us to believe that she would have no problem going on a UC for 6 mths to a year and not seeing Tim (or Tamara)?!?! Like come on 🙄

For what's it worth, you're definitely not the only one feeling this way. I personally don't hate it, but I get it. This has been a bone of contention since s3, even more so lately. My biggest gripe at the moment is that, this storyline has been stagnant for so long, it's time to either commit, or give Lucy other opportunities. I wasn't sure if you were merely venting your frustrations or if you wanted me to answer : in case it's the latter, I'm gonna address your points but by no means am I trying to invalidate your feelings here. I'm just sharing my perspective on the matter.

Let's start with the documentaries. Honestly, at this point, I think we should simply take them for what they are : an opportunity for the writers to develop ridiculous plots and have fun, even though they don't make much sense… The last one was so over the top that I loved it - but I can understand that it's a bit hard to suspend your disbelief here… especially regarding the UC arc. I didn't mind Lucy being in them at first - or Nyla for that matter. Not to stereotype here, but I'm not sure the criminals she goes after watch these type of documentaries. And even if they were, they would still have to remember her specifically and there wasn't any particular reason to do so back then. I mean, so far, only one person in-universe has ever referenced these documentaries… and that lady was a director herself (5.06). That last one, on the other hand… Let's just say that outing Lucy as an undercover cop was definitely a choice… I almost feel bad for the criminals who went out of their way to be creative so they could get their hands on those UC lists, when really, all they needed to do was sit and watch true crime episodes. No respect for the craft! But more seriously : when the promo aired, I thought for sure that this issue was going to be addressed. I even wondered if I had missed a conversation or something after watching the episode. I guess, we're just supposed to pretend that it doesn't matter since not one single person raised the issue of Lucy being in the spotlight when she should be in the shadows. Then again, the LAPD doesn't see a problem with advertising a whole conference about covert operations… We clearly have a very different definition of secrecy. That said, maybe this will come back later and someone will recognise her. That's always a possibility - though it would seriously make the whole department look incompetent for not considering that ahead of time…

Another option would be to reopen the Teska plotline, as you suggested. The writers did leave the door wide open with all the loose threads, starting with how abruptly Lucy ended the op. Or how Isabel outed them as cop to the daughter, that's true. I have to say, I'm not completely convinced he would want to get revenge on Lucy. Sure, she lied to him about who she was. At the same time, she saved his kid's life, pushed him to make amends and get another chance with her and let him go free. She technically could have had him arrested : between the possession of a firearm and the conspiracy to commit murder, she had more than enough. I'm not saying the guy would become bestie with Lucy but out of all the people she's met while undercover, he's not the one with the biggest motive. Actually, I feel like Isabel would be a bigger target : after all, she's the one who infiltrated his gang and sent him to jail in the first place. Not to mention that his daughter knows how to contact her. But yes, he could always come back to wreak havoc. And as I mentioned earlier, he's not the only one. There's the female gang that might hold a grudge against Lucy. There are a couple of cartels that were crippled thanks to her. Any of her missions could come back to haunt her. But, and this is only my opinion, after spending three seasons filled with various vendettas from La Fiera, Elijah, Rosalind and whatnot, another plot like this would get old real fast. I don't think we need any more of these. Especially since Elijah is not fully over yet and we still have the ramifications from the finale to deal with. I'd rather Lucy just gives up on UC because she realises this is not for her. At least, it would be something different, you know what I mean?

And that leads me to your last point… Here's the thing : as upset as Lucy was at the idea of spending less time with Tim, she was still ready to move to another station, she still helped him get a new position that is notorious for their killer hours and she was still studying for the detective's exam. This didn't deter her at all. Obviously, this is different than being away for months on end, but she has been consistent in that regard. I understand the confusion and how illogical it sounds… But just because she was distressed about seeing Tim less, doesn't automatically mean she won't be able to handle being away. And just because she could handle it, doesn't mean she will want to do it. Speaking from personal experience here, it's a bit more nuanced - and complicated - than that I'm afraid. I only wish we would hear her perspective on all of this.

I also don't think that the narrative, or Lucy herself, was implying she would have no problem whatsoever with not seeing Tim (or Tamara) for a long period of time. I'm assuming you're referring to that last scene in 5.20, when she was worried about Tim not handling long term UC. As I see it, it was more about her trying to finally have an honest conversation with him about undercover, so they could hash everything out. This was introduced in 5.16, with Noah opening the can of worms, but they didn't get to the bottom of it since they had another conflict to take care of. Undercover is a bit of a sore point for Tim - for good reasons - and she knows it. She was there for the end of his marriage, she remembers his knee-jerk reaction when he found out she wanted to pursue undercover… He may fully be supportive now but she wants to gauge how he is truly faring with all of this. And after the events of the day (Isabel's return, their mini UC op…), it gave her the perfect opportunity to try to address this. She can guess he has been soldiering on for her and she doesn't want that. A place of honesty, remember. That's why she starts their conversation with : "Can I share something vulnerable with you?". She's putting herself in a vulnerable position by confessing how much she loves doing this job. She's trying to bring up the underlying issue in a way that wouldn't make him defensive. But a part of her has to also be afraid of his reaction. This isn't an easy situation. When she answers him "No. Um… I'm worried that you won't", it's because in that moment, her concerns are about him. Let's be honest, out of the two, he's the one more likely to have issues with this due to his past. She doesn't have the same baggage as him. And she's right to ask the question : how many of us have asked it? Apart from when she was his rookie or when he pushed her to go to the Academy, they've never talked about it. Only it's an important conversation to have if they want to spend their lives together. And they finally had it after her last mission. Another reason is that, in her case, she has something to counterbalance the hardship of not seeing Tim : doing something she loves. He, on the other hand, doesn't really have anything to outweigh this downside when she's away. However, he knew all of this from the start and still decided to start a relationship with her : simply being with her eclipses this drawback. This is what matters to him. But I can see why she would want to check with him if long-term undercover is something he can handle beforehand. It doesn't mean she doesn't have her own fair share of doubts. Now whether she can truly handle it… For the moment she thinks she can - and so far, she has. Maybe she's underestimating how hard it would be… and to be fair, it's not like she really has a frame of reference here. Listening to other people's experiences can only go so far…

If it helps though, I doubt Lucy will do too many long-terms undercover mission - if any - so all of this might end up being moot anyway. But I still believe the whole point of that conversation was to try to address the elephant in the room… They started opening up to each other, after several attempts, so maybe next season they will take a step further in that direction and explore Lucy's side of this, share some light on whether she has any doubts or worries. And hopefully, this storyline won't be in limbo for much longer. But again, this is just my perspective :)

#ask & ye shall receive #the rookie #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford

[smokestarrules]

This is not a criticism of TOH at all, but obviously there were plot points and episode ideas and the like that had to be majorly condensed or dropped due to Disney being stupid. If Dana had had a full Season 3, what would you have liked to see?

Oh, there's a bunch of things. I loved the s3 we got and maybe even wouldn't trade it for something else, but the shortening of the show will always haunt me. I don't have the mental processes to go through everything right now, but here's a few of my thoughts:

An actual redemption arc for Alador. My biggest gripe with the entire series is that man and I know for a fact that with more time they actually could've made me like him in the end. I believe this with all of my heart.

I'd also have loved for Gus to have another episode or arc that focused on him; I think his power is one of the most interesting things and I would have loved to see him grow and branch out with that.

And. I mean. I'm a hypocrite for saying this considering the literal essay I'm writing about the opposite being good right now, but a Caleb & Evelyn & Philip episode would have been SO......... [explodes]

#toh #toh spoilers #juuuust in case #smokey answers #anonymous

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Ms Raven! I just wanted to ask what're your thoughts on the new twst manga chapter?? Personally, I'm not the biggest fan, but give credit where credit is due; the art is gorgeous and I love the Leona's characterization. I still have gripe with the MC change and I still feel it was unnecessary, I feel Yuuken would've been the same in the role if he wasn't replaced by Yuuka. I can't help but think that the MC change was for self insert purposes than anything else 💀

I believe I went over my initial impression of the Episode of Savanaclaw’s first chapter in this post. To summarize: pretty art (especially the eyelashes) and nice visual storytelling that expands on what the visual novel format of the game laid out as groundwork. (However, if I had one minor qualm with the artwork, it’s that I don’t believe the mangaka’s style necessarily suits TWST in all scenarios; for example, sometimes the characters make expressions that, while beautiful, make them appear like completely different characters for like a single panel.) Overall, I thought the chapter was pretty good, if not a tad bit long due to all of the exposition and recap we had to go through again.

One element that I didn’t really discuss in that reaction post was our new Yuu, Yuuka Hirasaka. This is largely because I personally don’t have an vested interest in the Yuus 💦 and quite honestly, the introduction of another one (which replaces a previous one) made me equal parts excited and disappointed. I don’t have anything against a new character, but I’m disappointed that no manga!Yuu will ever receive a fully realized character arc; each one will (assumedly) be cut short to make way for a new Yuu, which means I can never see myself getting invested in one of them (since I know they’ll just go away at the end of the episode). It just doesn’t feel satisfying to me, and I’m moderately concerned about how reintroducing the Yuu and the episodes leading up to the current point in the plot will work for future episodes which get continuously lengthier, more complex, and build on the relationships established in previous episodes.

Yuuka is also just at a point where it’s too early for me to judge whether I like her or not (though I know many are excited at the prospect of a Yuu that is a “strong independent woman that takes no one’s shit”; this seems to be the popular fandom interpretation of her). I’ll reserve my judgment for now; I want to see more of how she interacts with the characters and the world first.

I understand that everyone may have their own reservations about Yuuka (and it’s totally fine if you find yourself not enjoying her), but let’s be careful not to point fingers about it 😅 For all we know, the changing of Yuus per episode could be a very deliberate and story-driven move (a la the popular “time loop” theory). We can’t make assumptions about the intent behind it, especially when we don’t yet have the context of the entire main story being completed.

Additionally, while it may be validating for the (largely) female fanbase that self inserts to have its representation in a female Yuu in official TWST media, I don’t think the change was just to appease a demographic. It may be such that it opens up interesting avenues for engagement with Leona (who, canonically, “respects women”). As I’ve stated in a previous post though, I don’t think the change will be that big, but it could expand more on Leona’s character by demonstrating how exactly he interacts with women whom he supposedly “respects”. We’ve only really had vague information and fandom speculation on this point, and I, for one, welcome any and all new lore 😌

Yuuka offers a slightly different perspective than Yuuken because of little details like this, and that is one advantage of changing the lenses through which we view the story every episode. Again, not everyone will be happy with the direction of the manga, but let’s try to look at the positives ^^ Lots of Yuus also means lots of possibilities, yeah?

#Leona Kingscholar #twst #twisted wonderland #twst manga #twisted wonderland manga #Yuuka Hirasaka #Hirasaka Yuuka #disney twisted wonderland #question #notes from the writing raven #spoilers #advice #Yuuken Enma #Enma Yuuken

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

What are your opinions on The Untamed? I got into MDZS by stumbling upon the donghua whilst the first season was premiering and devoured fan translations of the novel and kept up religiously with the manhua. I found out I think a year and a half ago that a live action existed and tbh, I'm not that interested. I think it's because of all the changes I've heard were made to the story and the themes and tbh, I'm not very into the graphics 😅 But my primary gripe is it supposedly not being a faithful adaption and instead a very loose one. Since on Ao3 it's somehow impossible to escape the grasp of The Untamed and I've seen so many silly fanons floating around accepted as canon due to the influence of CQL, my feelings towards it are even less generous. So many fans take CQL as the canon story instead of the novel, and its like we've read two different stories, because in many ways, we have. Still, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan look gorgeous, and so do the rest of the cast so I'm a bit torn.

I LOVE the Untamed! (I say as I write up essays on why it's dumb and ruined themes and STUPID)

I only recommend it as a VERY loose retelling of what Mo Dao Zu Shi is. The Disney Ariel to the Hans Christen Anderson unrequited gay love letter to the world. So to speak. My one glowing compliment to it is that thankfully after fan pushback, the director, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were able to give us the scenes that stood out finally. And probably why we get the whole "Uncut" version of it that is solely focused on their scenes alone.

I don't recommend it as the first foray into the MDZS universe as it changes about all points of importance for a sanitized story. Themes and arcs are vastly lacking in the Live Action that the novel closes very neatly. Don't get me started how pairing Jiang Cheng with Wen Qing makes him EVEN MORE of an asshole regarding the entire Wen massacre and him letting her be burned to death. And somehow despite being an equal love story to the canon on screen Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan and the implied Wangxian, that just gets dropped from relevance??? BAD WRITING YANG XIA.

A lot of people of course came to fandom from the Untamed as of 2019, the book was very niche since it originally finished in 2016 and was issued physically and officially by Pinsin in 2018. A year before the Untamed aired. It was culturally a HUGE DEAL... due to it being danmei and so known as being such for it to be such a cashcow. But not for the West. For the West it was one of the biggest things since probably Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for the genre of Xianxia and Wuxia to be renewed as an interest, or spotlighted once more. But a lot of its initial spark was because it was such an inversion of the usual standard xianxia and wuxia tropes. It places emphasis on the human of the genre over the fantasy.

CQL, tried to make it more in line with typical xianxia and wuxia out there. Doesn't quiet work as well when you have the original source turning all of these tropes and character arc expectations around and the Live Action drops those essentially for on air compliance.

The good the bad, can't be taken as the same between either because the intentions were different. Thematics cannot be scrubbed out from the original and the adaptation claimed to be the true source. The book is what the original intention was for, and worked. Sometimes adaptations lose out the canonical intention of the original but it is not the be end of it when it was reproducing what is already there.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #cql #cql negativity #I guess #it's bad and pales in comparison to the book #but damn if Wang Yibo isn't pretty #he's so pretty i want to cry

[psychewritesbs]

How do you feel about Gege's overall writing style?

Am I wrong to think that sometimes he introduces stuff, interesting stuff that could be further explored but just drops/brushes past it?

Cause ngl I'm genuinely fearing for Megumi right now. The way Gege had handled the Zenins before, the politics, the clans, the higher ups - all intriguing plot points that led to nothing of notable consequence, makes me think he's fully capable of ditching a proper closure for Megumi despite all the build up. I'm also quite disheartened that, for a shonen manga that has enough awareness to question the idea of 'child soldiers', it doesn't seem that eager to delve deeper into the root cause - which is the jujutsu society and how it affects generation upon generation of sorcerers.

The Zenins are my biggest gripe with regards to this. I know not a lot in the fandom care for them but tbh I found Naobito, Mai and Naoya pretty interesting, esp. Naobito. I find him pretty reasonable and that bit of exchange wherein he tells Maki he'll put her under trials befitting her goal of becoming the Zenin clan head, made me think he had potential to be more nuanced than just a misogynistic prick. But, then he dies and gone he is along any possible character arc.

And with his death we got to the Megumi becomes the Zenin head plotline which - didn't lead to anything meaningful in the overarching narrative (at least so far, but I don't really see Gege backtracking and picking this subplot again). All of this gone to waste just so Maki could get a power up. Even Naoya seemed like he was just written to be a punching bag for one character. And while I know loads in the jjk fandom loved this mini arc, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Now, I'm not a Maki hater. I liked her before, but after her power up she just became bland to me. And I hate how so much subplot was wasted just for her. Megumi didn't even benefit from any of this. We didn't even get to explore his dynamic with the rest of the Zenin which is just criminal. We could have delved into generational trauma. We could have had Megumi finding out more about Toji which could lead to an emotional conclusion if he ever gets told the truth about Toji's death. As it stands, I don't get why finding out would even matter to Megumi atp, since he doesn't have any emotional attachment to Toji and the story doesn't seem inclined to rectify that even just a bit. Like, we could have explored more of Megumi's character and other relationships. Cause contrary to popular opinion, and while I may seem like I'm being contradictory just for the sake of it, but his relationship with Yuji and Tsumiki is the least interesting thing about him for me.

I know that Yuji and Megumi's bond has more bearing to the overall narrative of the manga (and basically even to Megumi's character as well), but I feel like while Yuji gets to be explored in the lenses and relationships he build with other characters (like Junpei, Nanami, Todo, Choso, even Gojo just to name a few), Gege doesn't seem all that interested in doing the same with Megumi. We barely get scraps of interactions between him and other characters. And it feels like Gege is purposely limiting him to just Yuji, and Tsumiki, although we know how this particular one turned out. Once again another possible character relationship introspection gone to waste. Tsumiki being treated like a plot device felt like an insult to Megumi tbh. That's one of the only 2 developed relationships he had but, again, it gets brushed off.

Now I'm probably just overreacting, but I'm highly pessimistic with Gege's writing and execution of Megumi's character. Not to say he's not well-written, the reason why I'm this pissed is because he is the exact opposite and I think there's so much more to him that could be expanded upon beyond his relationship with the MC.

Hola! Welcome back to our regular programming with JJK confessions Sunday! Not on a Sunday.

Ok so you ask two specific questions:

How do I feel about Gege's overall writing style? I love it. Although I'm looking at writing style from the perspective of how Gege conveys his vision and not necessarily the technicalities. This kind of requires that I am in tune with that vision. While I do feel like the technicalities have room for improvement, I'm so focused on the vision that I am not concerned with the technical bits. I also see Gege as a an amateur writer who is having his first major commercial success and who is doing a really good job for how long he's been writing. I often talk about CLAMP, right? And I by no means want to make it seem like their first commercial success (Tokyo Babylon) was bad. I LOVE tb and it is well-written. But there is a marked improvement in storytelling and writing that you can follow along throughout CLAMP's career. So I kind of see Gege in the same light as someone who is going to improve his craft.

Am I wrong to think that sometimes he introduces stuff, interesting stuff that could be further explored but just drops/brushes past it? No, you aren't necessarily wrong.

Let's taco'bout it under the cut.

I was actually having a similar conversation with a moot about this because I don't necessarily think that Gege is leaving loose ends, I see it more as two things happening:

First, patience grasshopper! In a couple of interviews with the cursed cat that have surfaced lately where he talks about his writing, he makes reference to writing as a craft. When I read those interviews, the way he talks about how he writes feels like he's very intentional about how he chooses to plot, develop characters, etc.

Problem is sometimes we don't see a payoff for some time. i.e. I don't remember the actual chapter number, but the enchain clue was dropped as early as somewhere around chapter 12, but we didn't get a payoff for another 200 chapters.

We also learned about Gojo becoming "The Strongest" as early as chapter 70something, but we don't learn how that identity hindered him for [insert maths here] chapters.

The other thing I see happening (and I can't necessarily back this up take a shot for every time I use the word necessarily in my answer) is that Gege is a metaphorical thinker.

Regarding this, someone in an ask before said something that made sense to me: Gege might not be grounding his vision into the page in a way that is concrete and understandable to everyone--I agree.

As a highly metaphorical thinker myself, I struggle with communication because the way I use language to convey meaning is too flexible, ambiguous, and dependent on people picking up on the mental images I associate with the words I use when I speak. And... unfortunately for my infantile desire to be understood in my own terms, communication doesn't necessarily work like that.

All that said, from reading you, I have the feeling you are a natural meta-thinker, and that you have a very good imagination that is very expansive.

So it's only fair and understandable that you'd like to see Gege expand upon the themes you mention. After all, they ARE good and interesting plot points and you can see the untapped potential.

The part where I'd disagree (although I am not necessarily disagreeing), is that, while these themes are touched upon, they aren't necessarily the sole focus that Gege might have in mind for the vision he wants to convey. Exploring these themes in depth would also necessitate a much longer manga, and it seems Gege has an end in mind that he's trying to reach.

I swear if I say necessarily one more time.

So yeah... I can see why you feel like he's brushing past these themes, but to me Gege is simply exploring "depth" in a way that is perhaps not aligned with what you'd like to see.

For example, you might disagree and I could be wrong, but I see the whole "child soldier" theme and looking for "the root cause - which is the jujutsu society and how it affects generation upon generation of sorcerers" theme playing out through Kenny's desire to push the evolution of mankind. There's something here about how Kenny's goals are a sort of continuation of Geto's will.

As for Megumi lacking some sort of emotional connection to Toji, you have to remember that Megumi says one thing and feels differently sometimes. Saying "I don't care" is a conscious defense mechanism for wanting to suppress "caring too much". Again, I could be wrong, but from a psychological perspective, we are inevitably emotionally bound to our biological parents. So we have yet to see how this plays out. Clearly Gege has something in mind.

Sticking to Megumi--I want to write more about this, because I used to agree with you about Tsumiki. I don't know how to explain in concrete language yet, but the more I think about it, the audience was never meant to see the real Tsumiki, and that was the whole point. Tsumiki existing in Megumi's imagination is the whole shebang because she represents his anima, which he has to integrate into consciousness as part of his psychological development.

The way I see it, what Gege did with Tsumiki, is both 100% shameless plot device and masterful Analytical Psychology and Psychology of Fairy Tales in action.

As for your grievances about execution. Here's where I join you 😂. God did I hate the Sakurajima arc! I l liked things about it, ofc. But Naoya coming back and getting his ass kicked again just made me want to move to Alaska and lock myself up in a cabin and become a recluse.

I can see the arc's role in retrospect (reading people's meta about it really helped with it), I acknowledge it, and I still didn't like it. 'Tis what 'tis.

I think every manga has that one arc you are just not going to vibe with.

Love your comments about Naobito and Naoya being interesting characters too! Mai also strikes me as a well-executed example of Gundam Seed's Flay Alster.

So anyways, you might disagree with what I say but, in writing this, goal is to invite you to think differently about what you mentioned if you feel inclined to do so.

Thanks for stopping by anon and here's to hoping Gege doesn't drop the Megumi storyline.

#ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

[transmascsonicthehedgehog]

GOOOOOOOOD AFTERNOON TUMBLR I'M FINALLY UP AND AT 'EM (<- WAS LAYING IN BED). SEASON 3 THOUGHTS START NOW.

my biggest gripe with season 3 was the ending. you can really, really tell that this was supposed to be a much bigger series but it was literally cut in half due to corporate meddling. netflix is known for doing this so i wouldn't be shocked.

another gripe, A VERY SMALL ONE mind you is that i feel the battle on the grim dragged a bit too long but there was more than enough enjoyable moments between characters and pretty visuals to make up for this me thinks...

that being said, let's move on to my positive thoughts and get the biggest fish out of the water out of the way first;

SONIC AND SHADOW BEING SO WELL WRITTEN IT ACTUALLY FUCKING HURT. sonic realizing just how fucking deep the consequences of his actions were, sonic going back and forth between wanting to just play hero and tie/fix things up in a neat bow and slowly realizing the only true way of fixing the universe really was to accept what he had done and "give" himself up.

self sacrificial either way, but the end with him telling nine he was willing to risk dying to save the universe crumbling away into nothingness, with nothing but the purest intent of saving everybody and giving them a second chance while he, potentially, gets killed, actually made me fucking cry. sonics character arc throughout this series was probably the best i've seen in a LONG long ass time.

shadow on the other end of the coin... he was mad. justifiably mad throughout the run; sonic had destroyed everything and wasn't treating this as seriously as he should. but as the two spent more time together, he softened up. he realized just how much sonic was hurting and how he was this close to crumbling all together.

i never thought i'd get to see shadow trying to comfort sonic, reassuring him ( in his own ways of course ), protecting him from danger ( i.e s3ep1 ) and just being there for him in general. i NEVER thought we, canonically, would get a scene with shadow showing genuine worry for him.

as someone that goes absolutely fucking crazy over body language and expressions i literally fucking gasped. the way he held his breath, his arm and expression dropping, the way his eyes shrink. oh my fucking god. amplified by the fact that every time sonic would "glitch", that stoic mask would crack again.

he cares. shadow is a caring person, whether that's about sonic or not. he was created to match maria's heart and spirit and it really, really shows in certain scenes of this series, not just season 3.

THAT BEING SAID! shadow was much more closed off this season and i know why. it's because it wasn't just him and sonic anymore, they had an entire group of people with them.

i have so many thoughts about these two specifically but this is my thoughts on season 3 as a whole, so let's move on. my closing thoughts on them is that shadow had some of the best fucking writing since the 2000s here and i mean that.

THE AMYS!!!!!!!!!!! I KNEW THEY WOULD ALL COME TOGETHER AT THE END LIKE SISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! the way they bounced off of one another, the way they flowed together so smoothly and were receptive to each other was literally so touching. i loved every single fucking second they were on screen and i wish we could've had more, something i can say about the rouges, bigs and knuckles' 100%. to me, it felt like a part of their personalities coming together at the end despite their "original" selves being long gone by that point...

the way everybody bounced off each other whether negatively or positively was a fucking treat. i loved seeing the egg council interact with everybody, seeing them bicker amongst themselves and letting their shitty egos shine was HILARIOUS. i don't care what people say tbh dr. babble is hilarious. dr. deep and renegade knux were ESPECIALLY funny, what the hell was their beef with each other SPECIFICALLY???? HELP........

the grim big reveal scene was fucking hysterical. it was tense as hell but it was SOOOOOOOOOO fucking funny seeing sonic pound the ground and curse nine while everybody ran and panicked i DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! speaking of which...

the tails'. oh my god. when they "died", i cried. i cried a lot watching this season actually. seeing sonics everything fall apart upon seeing them "die" made me fucking cry. he thought he lost them. i think a piece of him broke, and i don't blame him. if i saw my brother seemingly perish, i would've snapped too. i absolutely do not blame him. i got so stupidly emotional when they revealed they WERE okay.

like i said, my two gripes with the show were the ending and the battle on the grim. that was a half lie. my other gripe is that we never got to see much of rouge until the final few episodes, nor did we get much with her counterparts. yes, what we got was GOOD! but i wanted to see MORE of that. but that's not their fault, i'm blaming netflix entirely for why this felt so rushed and incomplete.

on a small note: the grims ability that was given to sonic is probably my absolute favorite out of the bunch, next to the boscage claws. it was fucking awesome and i won't hear anything else sorry. (JOKING)

now. let me talk about nine.

oh. my god. nine. where do i even begin with him.

season 3 has an opening involving sonic and tails cooperating and defeating eggman. together. then it cuts back to sonic and "tails", torn apart and distant. this tails felt as though he had nobody and for the longest time, he didn't. sonic didn't exist in new yoke. he was alone.

nobody saved him.

nine had to save and raise himself, for better or for worse. and we see this tough, apathetic, power hungry wall he puts up quickly turn to dust as the episodes go on. his pained expressions and looks of absolute fury were so painful. the brief fights between him and sonic were painful.

sonic didn't want to hurt him. i don't think nine wanted to either. but he felt as though he had no other choice.

and the moment with renegade knux beating his shield, trying to wear him down and wear him out, the look of stress and fear evident on his face coupled with sonic just watching. sonic watching and slowly realizing he didn't want this. all he could see was a horrified kid. a kid that needed to be talked through. a friend that he needed to save. i'd be lying if i said i didn't cry.

and i DEFINITELY cried when nine finally accepted sonic and hugged him.

i have. so so many thoughts. so many more thoughts that i want to put into words but i can't and it PAINS ME BUT OH MY GOD. I NEED MORE OF THIS SHOW. I NEED MORE. I NEED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. i know this is within the game/comic canon, but please..... something. i'm so scared we're never going to get something this well written again. i love what we got, but the ending hurt me because that was... it. the fact that it ended so abruptly too felt so. unfair. i can't explain it.

is it perfect? no.

but it was great. it did its job and did it as well as they could with the limits they had. i love you sonic prime.

#note that i did NOT comment on the visuals/animation because it goes unsaid #as an animation dork i absolutely fucking loved every moment of it #sonic sez #sonic prime spoilers

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

i saw ur post abt black star right after reading it and I'd love for u to elaborate lol my biggest problem w it was Akira disliking/not forgiving akechi... like i know it was written before royal and im not even THAT big of a shuake shipper but reading akira as anything other than in love with akechi is just. Wrong. my only other problem w it was how it treated prison like the only other option for akechi besides death, and anyway akechi would have chosen death regardless. It's crazy how both of those huge flaws were disproven in royal and how they're most likely the cause for fan misinterpretation today. still a good plot and i liked the other characterizations but like. the conclusion of akechi going to jail and akira supporting that above all is just so wrong

Oh yeah Akira's feelings toward Akechi were a huge reason why I had to dnf, easily one of the worst aspects by far. And it sucks because otherwise Akira's characterization was SO good. OP understood him but they did not understand Akechi and that extended to Akira, sadly.

And yeah, the jail thing is both baffling and Bad. Akechi does not need to go to jail. Can we please stop believing in punitive justice even when it makes no sense. Akechi doesn't even get what he deserves anyway because he doesn't go on trial for most of his crimes (like, you know, the murder) and then he gets off easy getting to join the shadow ops months into his sentence. After all that set up about him needing to get what he deserves/justice being served only for that to Very Much Not Happen. Because if Akechi DID get what he "deserved" under our justice system he'd get life in prison at best. It's hypocritical.

Possibly my biggest gripe other than the stupid insistence that Akechi go to jail is Akechi's characterization, though. It's alllll wrong. And like, to be fair, it was kind of impossible to know that it was wrong at the time because Royal hadn't come out yet. In black star Akechi is portrayed as absolutely, 100% unremorseful and gets angry at the idea of having to pay for his crimes. Which just. isn't. in character for him.

I kind of went into this with my recent post about Akechi and regrets, but there's another aspect this take on Akechi is completely missing. And that's Akechi and debts. He absolutely recognizes that what he did is wrong. He did it despite knowing it was wrong. But his reaction isn't going to be "how dare you suggest I turn myself in." It's going to be "I should be in jail already and I will do my best to repay my debts as far as I am able." Not in a guilty sort of way (at least outwardly), but a pragmatic one. There's a reason Akechi turns himself in for you, and it's not just about making Shido pay. It's about making things right, both to Joker and the world in general.

Akechi thinks of justice in extremely punitive terms. If you do wrong, you deserve to have wrongs done to you in turn. This applies to both others and himself. It's what leads him to his actions, and why he willingly sacrificed himself and then later turns himself in. It's why he hates the idea of being granted mercy in Maruki's reality. In his eyes, he doesn't deserve anything more than death and/or prison. He hurt people, and so now it's time for him to reap the consequences.

The author of black star has it completely backwards. Akechi's arc shouldn't be learning that he needs to face consequences. He wants to face consequences. He wants to die/go to jail because he thinks he's worthless and doesn't deserve anything better. That's his starting point of any post-canon arc. Giving him jail time is giving him exactly what he wants.

Personally, I think punitive justice as a concept is complete bullshit. I'm not gonna get into the nitty gritty of that here. But my point stands regardless--and whether you believe in punitive justice or not, objectively the more interesting direction to take an Akechi redemption is to force him to live life to the fullest. That is unironically the worst punishment you could give him. Force him to face the consequences of living when he thinks he should be dead, of going through the painful and difficult process of recovery, and being forced to interact with and reconcile with the people he hurt after acknowledging that hurt not pragmatically, but personally.

I don't want to read a story about Akechi learning to accept that he has to go to jail. it's stupid, out of character, and counter to my core values as a person. That's why I stopped reading black star. I want to see Akechi learning to live. To me, that is a far more in-character and interesting concept to explore.

#sera answers #anon #also you are extremely correct when you say akechi would have chosen death regardless lmao

[onceuponalegendbg]

Alright so, my thoughts on what is hopefully the first season of the One Piece Live Action adaptation.

I really really enjoyed it.

Oh my god the pacing of this show, for the most part, is so good. The pacing of this show didn’t make me want to pull my hair out. I feel like that’s one of my biggest gripes with the anime, because of the nature of what it is, it will draw things out forever and by the time we get to the point I’ve already lost interest. Not a problem here… for the most part, but I’ll touch on that in a moment.

The overall look and feel of the show is actually what it needed to be. It didn’t take itself too seriously, especially at the beginning, was fun and captured the spirit of adventure the show has. The sets were also just incredible and I have to applaud the use of practical effects where they could. Really helped make things seem more tangible… because it was. And the CGI they do use, for the most part, looks really good. Not completely realistic but not “oh wow that’s cheap.”

Do you realize how hard it is to make a character like Arlong actually seem threatening in live action? And not come off looking incredibly stupid? A lot of that is due to the make up team obviously, but also the voice and presence of the actor. Mckinley Belcher III really pulls some weight, despite obviously not being as giant as his anime/manga counterpart.

The cast for this show was spot on. People have been praising Inaki Godoy, as they should. He deserves it. He’s a great Luffy. Mackenyu was great as Zoro, perfect amount of swagger. Jacob Romero was fun as Usopp, actually made me kind of like Usopp. His chemistry with the actress playing Kaya (Celeste Loots) was so good. Taz Skylar was good as Sanji though I feel he really didn’t get a whole lot of time to show off.

Though unsurprisingly to me, I think my favorite performance was from Emily Rudd. Nami was already my favorite of the crew members but Emily really just hit all the right notes for me. Those screams when the Marines are taking her money? Perfection. But also everything leading up to the Arlong Arc, her trying to keep her walls up but also realizing she cares about this ragtag group of weirdos she’s found herself with, the subtleties in how she’s absolutely torn because she knows it can’t last forever. And when she’s playing tough amongst Arlong’s crew it doesn’t come off as cheesy or forced, she sells all of it.

I think overall there was only one weak performance for me but they still did what they were supposed to.

Alright, now with my positives out of the way…

I feel like we spent too much time with the Marines. Don’t get me wrong, the development for those characters was fine, but the more we cut back to them the more I was like “really? Again?” This was really my only gripe with the pacing, cuz it felt like a lot of the time we were just having Koby discover the same thing again and again. Koby is idealistic, oh no the Marines/Garp do something to threaten that idealism, rinse and repeat rinse and repeat rinse and repeat. That’s why I almost completely stopped commenting on that side of the story.

As much as I dislike saying it, outside of the great acting from everyone involved, the Arlong Arc kind of felt a little weak to me? Don’t get me wrong, I knew it wasn’t gonna beat the anime. The way you can emphasize things in animation is just more dynamic than live action. So I knew to keep my expectations somewhat more grounded. Still.

I lot of my issues are with how they told the story. I feel like a lot of the punch for the Arlong Arc came from Nojiko and the village knowing. They pretended to not know so Nami wouldn’t feel guilty abandoning them. And then that moment where all of the village is ready die fighting, Nami realizing she’s about to lose everything anyway after eight years of trying to protect it, that all leading into her breakdown… Not to mention Nami just continuing to deny Luffy’s help, throwing dirt, crying, telling Luffy this has nothing to do with him until finally finally she asks for help. Heck, we don’t even get Bellemere’s name spoken in this show! And the emphasis on Luffy destroying Nami’s prison! I just feel like we needed a bit more time with this story, which we could have got if we cut a couple Marine scenes.

Obviously, again, I wasn’t expecting a complete one for one retelling. I don’t mind changes as long as it still carries that emotion.

Would I still feel that way if I hadn’t seen the anime? I don’t know. I like to think I’d still be a little concerned about the pacing of that arc but that’s only speculation on my end.

It also just felt a little off that we had this big climax with Arlong and then we had to throw in that little confrontation with Garp. That kind of took some wind out of my sails. I get why they needed it, especially since they probably weren’t sure if they were gonna get a second season. Still.

All of this being said, I must reiterate that I really enjoyed this show. It wasn’t perfect but for an adaptation of an anime it was pretty spectacular. There was a lot of passion and love put into this, and it definitely shows. Hopefully we’re getting that season 2 eventually, and hopefully Netflix doesn’t do what they do and cancel it after that second season. *knock on wood*

#spoilers #one piece #one piece live action #opla

[murphallo]

Your thoughts on Chenford and their relationship moving forward?

Thoughts on 5.13?

i’m having a bad time lol

i’ve been ranting and raving about this in detail for the better part of two months so i’ll try to keep this to bulletpoints. i think the way they got together was rushed (yes, rushed), poorly written, and i think they cut the burn off before the part a LOT of people waited so long for (angst, pining, arc, plot whatsoever) i think it was a bonkers decision to get such a well set up ship together in the midseason bc they were just like “eh fuck it here is good” and i have no beef with people who are satisfied with how it went down but i think when people who are disappointed express their gripes on their own damn account, people tend to purposely misunderstand. examples include “how can chenford be rushed if they took 4.5 seasons to get together?” to which i’d answer a. we are not saying chenford is rushed we’re saying the way they got together was rushed. b. it’s funny to me how people think that investing years of time and effort and heart to a ship should make us LESS invested in how they get together. c. bruh i’m asking myself the same question it’s actually kinda impressive that they managed to rush a ship after that long.

as for the story going forward, i’ve kinda lost hope in 5b at least. it’s beautiful to see them so enamored with each other and i will watch the scenes and smile at them bc they are adorable in a vacuum but as for the big picture, i find the writing overall to be quite dumb lately. i find it dumb that their biggest boundary to being together was work and they solved that in one episode in the most boring way they could muster. i find it dumb that it seems like we did not get to see the team find out they’re together. i find it dumb that we were given no reason for them “taking it slow” and then giving in after a couple weeks even though that pre sex makeout was hot as hell ngl (see what i mean?? in a vacuum!!) i find many many things dumb and weird and even though the scenes give me buzz, chenford used to have chem and story for me and tho the chem remains higher than it’s ever been, the story has, in my opinion, been shot in the face.

last week with the work thing was kinda my last straw so i am taking a break from the rookie and watching the chenford scenes on twitter bc i was getting way way too hateful watching week to week. i’d rather be a positive presence in a fandom im in so i don’t go out of my way to stare my displeasure publicly, i only do to reach out to other people who feel the way i do and want to vent bc nothing starts internet friendships like a good bitching session. i do feel like because the relationship is hitting the gas like this, we might??? be on our way to the other shoe dropping and me personally………. my prayer is a breakup lol i’m hoping they break up and then we’re actually given some proper angst and pining (even though i think we should’ve gotten that BEFORE they went canon but what do i know) now… i don’t know what they would break up over with the work issue out of the way and it would probably be something, say it with me, DUMB, but i would be willing to consider tuning in again if my trust miraculously grew back lol so YEAH those are my thoughts.

if you’re happy with how they got together, i truly honestly do not care and i’m happy you’re satisfied lol at a certain point it all comes down to personal preference, and for me personally, it feels like they went out of their way to miss every box on my checklist which is a bummer bc i used to love literally every scene interaction and bit of writing between them and now… not so much. i still love them, and i love the first four seasons, i just think the writing took a huge ass stumble at the literal worst time possible. but it would take a stronger person than i to turn my nose up at gifs of the 5x12 makeout so if absolutely nothing else, at least i’ll always have that 🤡🤡

#this got longer than i meant it to #i feel like this is poorly written but at a certain point i kinda just started ranting for my life #chenford #murphallo #murphallo asks

[fairygeek777]

Okay I'm 5 episodes into Sailor Moon SuperS. Oh boy.

I honestly haven't enjoyed a single episode of this season yet 😅

What does the 90s anime have against Usagi? Why do they have to show her in such an immature and unflattering way??? Episide 5 was a CRINGE fest. I thought I would enjoy it because mamousa! But no. You know they wouldn't have to write characters reacting to how young Usagi is compared to Mamoru if they just idk kept the original age dynamics. Just saying.

Thinking about it she still hasn't entered high school yet has she? Oiiiii

And why does Chibiusa insult Usagi at the drop of a hat?? Like yea they bicker and name call each other all the time but it just feels like every character finds a reason to insult Usagi and jumps at the chance to compare her to others too.

WHERE IS DIANA???? BRUH

My biggest gripe is literally this kitten not being in the show yet while they tease her in the opening 🤣

Episode 4 didn't even have Usagi in it until halfway into it. And Mamo didn't show up until the end as Tuxedo Mask.

Super Sailor Chibi Moon is supposed to have a moon kaleidoscope too. Justice for Chibi Moon.

I'm sorry I'm really trying but when I say this is hard to get through I mean it. Dream arc was literally everything I love in one story. But this season is not only dragging, but it also is not doing any of its characters justice. By this point I was enjoying S season. I can't say the same for SuperS.

#sailor moon #anime #pretty guardian sailor moon #sailor moon super s