#this episode is so interesting to me from a specifically these 3 characters perspective | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

katemagic · 3 months

Text

okay once again time for some cherry magic th thoughts lmao but I'm thinking about the show's emphasis on comfort and how it's really interesting in the context of a character whose main deal (so far) is being in unrequited love with achi

bc I think it's so easy to get swept up in how we do hear karan's thoughts and therefore specifically how a;ldkfja;lkds wild his behavior is re: achi (researching cakes for a month!! buying bespoke pajamas for achi to wear at some point!! perfecting cooking eggs to make him breakfast one day!!) that it's sometimes hard to remember that, at least at this point in the story, if we remove all that and just look at his actual behavior towards achi he really.... isn't being intense or weird at all? what makes achi uncomfortable isn't karan's behavior in and of itself, it's that he knows the intention behind it which, yes, admittedly is very intense and uhaul-y

but it really is only when achi hears something he shouldn't that he feels that discomfort. like for example in this week's episode, achi reflects at the start on how he's getting comfortable with karan and feeling really happy in his presence (and we as the viewer can interpret that he's becoming aware and comfortable with liking him romantically, even if he says in that scene that he's not really sure what his feelings fully mean yet) but when he hears karan like "ah married life <3", THAT'S when he freaks out and puts distance between them. which makes sense looking at it from achi's perspective and understanding that his brain is a Complex Space (and I have additional thoughts about achi's perspective on events lmao that I should probably put in a different post) and also understanding like... it is an intense thing!! karan has a lot of intense feelings given they have not even been on a date yet and literally seem to have even only started regularly speaking recently al;jdksk;lad but it's also not something achi is supposed to know, because karan ISN'T actually being forward with him about his feelings at all with him or, IMO, crossing any lines

like the reason karan invites achi to stay with him at the end of ep 1 isn't motivated by anything sinister- we see him thinking in his head like "it'll probably take him an hour to get home, then he has to shower, and he won't get a good night's sleep" and that's why he asks him. he literally even treats saying goodnight to achi and lowering his sleep mask as some kind of transgression to be forgiven? like at every single turn in the show he is so worried about making achi uncomfortable and feels immense guilt over it when he perceives that he has made achi uncomfortable- we don't see his thoughts when they're directed to kiss during the game at the restaurant, but he doesn't look particularly thrilled (bless tay tawan for his perfect unreadable karan expressions) and he stops it as soon as he can tell achi is afraid (and says "please excuse me" in his head before kissing achi's forehead instead). he even feels guilty for defending achi against the guys trying to attack him in episode 3, chastising himself for inserting himself into achi's business and, again, for making him uncomfortable. in episode 5, he sees how he's being jealous and unfair and, again, immediately chastises himself for thinking those thoughts. while doing my ~research for this post I truly was kind of shocked at how frequently karan uses the word uncomfortable to talk about how he perceives himself as making achi feel, and it's a really sad aspect to the show, but also very interesting one

...alright this is long let me put the rest under a cut lmao

like I think it's a really fascinating thing about his character, that he does really care about achi's comfort beyond all else and is CONSTANTLY beating himself up when he feels he's crossed a line. after the kiss dare thing which literally is in no way his fault, he feels awful about how scared achi looked and says that he's the person who makes achi feel the most uncomfortable, and apologizes in his head to achi for falling for him because if he hadn't, achi wouldn't be uncomfortable, and like... that is so fucking sad!!! he's literally punishing himself for his thoughts that he isn't even acting on and the love he feels that he can't control. and honestly I am fascinated by the show including him saying "no guy would be comfortable kissing another guy" in the rooftop scene after the game- it's clearly a way to make the situation less weird and sort of give achi an out, IMO, to not have to discuss it or make it a thing like yeah!! of course no guy would want to do that!! but it is interesting in terms of the show not shying away from homophobia being a thing (and I have a LOT of thoughts about how a lot of karan's reaction to his feelings and behaviors towards achi and how extremely cautious he is could be read as having to do with internalized homophobia but this is already SO long lmao) and also how, again, he emphasizes comfort in his response

but I think the thing that is extremely sweet is that despite alllllll of achi's reservations and insecurities and stresses in the start w/r/t karan's feelings for him, when he hears karan feeling awful about making achi uncomfortable at the end of ep 2, he tells him about his inexperience and explicitly tells him that he isn't uncomfortable with the idea of kissing him. he admits something that he at the very least thinks makes him Uncool to the person he thinks is the most perfect guy in the world just because it clearly feels so wrong to him that karan feels guilt over something he shouldn't feel guilty for, because I do think on some level achi does realize that what's making him uncomfortable isn't really anything outward that karan is doing. at the end of episode 3 when karan puts distance between them by not sitting by him on the bus, achi again recognizes that karan's doing it because he thinks he's made achi uncomfortable, contemplates whether he IS actually uncomfortable, and realizes that he isn't. that he's actually very happy that karan sees him and cares for him and views him in this incredibly loving light that achi doesn't view himself. and so, similar to the end of episode 2, he takes a step towards him and tells karan to sit by him and they have that whole lovely moment, and I think this shows a lot of bravery on achi's part too, and a lot of care for him as well. achi is genuinely the person who makes the most moves which is FASCINATING to me.

I could go On and On but there's just this wonderful repeated emphasis on both of their parts to not want to make each other feel bad or uncomfortable and doing all of these little things to take care of each other, and how they're both being very brave despite having reasons not to be because they care about each other that much, and that is simply very beautiful to me and I feel a lot of things about it!!

#cherry magic th #cherry magic th meta #I am so sorry for how long this is #karanachi #disclaimer as always that I am spoiler free and if I’m completely off base DONT TELL ME YET JDJDJDJ

56 notes · View notes

dipstar1489 · 1 month

Text

Bad Batch Clone X Theory

Me: Okay, maybe we could narrow down who CX is by checking the voice actor-

Me: Well shit.

Props to Baker for his vocal skills, but DAMN IT!

Got a main person of interest for who CX is, so spoilers underneath the keep reading.

I suspect CX to be Tech. CX is shown to be quite skilled with weaponry, trajectory, and intelligence if the hacking into the vehicle was any indication.

Now, people forget that Tech is the weapon’s specialist on the team and that Crosshair isn’t the only one who knows how to work a gun, with Tech bearing two DD-17 hand blasters and a DD-15A blaster carbine. Tech was also the one who would place mirrors at specific angles for Crosshair to shoot more effectively, so it would make sense for Tech to be a great shooter.

Another major detail to consider is the fact that CX didn’t shoot Omega when its shown that CX seems to disobey orders when observing his interaction with Wollfe. Considering how Tech rebelled against the empire and his growing relationship in season 2, maybe Tech is able to recognize what he was going to do and the hostility towards Wollfe is him taking back his identity.

We also need to consider CX’s relationship with Crosshair, maintaining great hatred towards him and criticizing Crosshair for not conforming to the Empire. Tech seemed to hold little grudge against Crosshair, but he also seems to be willing to harm Crosshair if it comes to it. Going from the perspective of Tech being CX, he more than likely snapped when Crosshair, the guy who tried to kill him and his clone squad while claiming they betrayed the Empire, ended up killing Lt. Nolan and revealed the Empire was planning on replacing the Clones. No shit this major shift of perspective is going to confuse CX who’s been inducted by the Empire.

Also, not certain on how on the nose they’re trying to be, but CX falls QUITE A LOT in episode 7. Do I even need to bring up what happened to Tech in his supposed last moments?

“Tech died at the end of season 3,” I hear you say, and to that I say, did you forget how Echo’s “death” at the Citadel went? Echo was seen on screen seconds before the scene pans out to the impact of the explosion, with his helmet role towards the scene. This presentation of Tech’s death echoes, well, Echo’s “death,” with Tech looking up, we pan out to see how high he’s falling, and the proof of his death was shown through his cracked goggles. We also need to remember the fact that Star Wars was never afraid of showing dead bodies ON SCREEN, such as when we saw the aftermath of CX killing rebeling Clone Troopers in season 3, episodes 6 and 7, so why would Star Wars hide Tech’s body unless they had extra plans for the character? To be frank, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tech lived.

#dipstar1489 #Bad Batch #Star Wars #CX-2 #Clone X #Theory #theories #Tech #Crosshair #Wolffe #Omega #tw gun #tw death #tw character death #tw bomb #tw explosion #clone wars #Tw spoilers

34 notes · View notes

theodysseyofhomer · 2 months

Text

this is not to single anyone out, but i have a lot of new followers, and i would just love for you all to know... the search function on my blog is operational. if you search for epic the musical, you will find that i have dabbled in it. it is slightly annoying to be asked over and over whether i've heard of it, even by lovely, enthusiastic, friendly people.

i have another reason for not answering those questions, which is that when someone is being enthusiastic and friendly to me, i don't want to be mean to them. but if i'm going to speak from my heart as an odyssey lover, i don't think epic the musical is that good. it doesn't especially interest me as a standalone piece, but i also don't find it provides much insight on, or compelling points of comparison with, homer's odyssey. i'm glad you're all having a good time! please stop asking me about it.

bullet point review below the cut, for those who are more curious about my opinions.

things i like about epic:

astyanax's murder doesn't get brought up a lot in stories that are sympathetic to odysseus. it's optional when adapting the odyssey or the iliad, but i am definitely of the opinion that odysseus did it, and even if he didn't, he convinced the other greek leaders that it needed to be done.

the athena/odysseus duets.

i found the reframing of polyphemus' blinding compelling, where he's doing the same thing he does in the odyssey for a different reason. i also liked that the audience doesn't learn his name until he reveals it to polyphemus. that's a neat touch.

earwormy as hell.

the fanart! i saw odysseus fanart maybe 3 times a year before the troy saga dropped. i'll take that trade (for my sanity when i try to navigate the tags).

jorge seems to be invested in odysseus/penelope, which is like the bare minimum to hold my attention, but still.

anyhow jorge seems charming; all his videos and interactions with fans seem nothing but excited about what everyone can contribute. commissioning wolfy to animate a trailer? widely regarded as a great move.

things i don't like about epic:

as gutsy as i think it is to start with astyanax's murder, the main thing to me is not whether his hands physically threw the baby, but whether he is in some way responsible for it. more than that, astyanax's death isn't divinely mandated: it's a ruthlessly pragmatic preemptive strike against vengeance that the greek leaders are afraid of. it's 100% human. so framing it around zeus, known troy stan, forcing odysseus to do it and he feels so so bad about it ????????

baffling to me to start with a moral conflict about infanticide, and after committing it, odysseus is still like... maybe kindness is brave? maybe i'm not a ruthless person? please be serious. you murdered that baby.

(been talking to @littlesparklight about this but you could have started out with some version of sophocles' ajax, a death caused by the gods that odysseus actually is complicit in when he didn't necessarily want it to happen. i digress.)

don't like the way the fandom talks about astyanax, specifically, as if odysseus raising a kidnapped trojan boy whose people were destroyed and whose mother was sold into slavery in another land is ever going to be a fluffy au and meanwhile odysseus did very much murder that baby, so!

the songs are not... good. like i said, they're earwormy, but that's also because they're repetitive and predictable. the lyrics are distractingly bad at times, not only from a character perspective, but in the sense of using words wrongly or awkwardly to try to fit them into a rhyme scheme.

i like the reframing of the polyphemus episode. not so much the aeolus one. at that point, you have odysseus doing the opposite of what he did in the odyssey for opposite reasons, which makes him a character bearing no resemblance to odysseus at all.

and this happens while other characters (mostly gods) try to drag him kicking and screaming into his actual homeric characterization.

like, odysseus is haunted by the war in the odyssey, but not because he regrets what he's done as a moral injury. he chose violence on purpose. the gods did not force him to be this person. it's a narrative throughline that serves only as a bid to make odysseus more sympathetic.

... and in doing so, strips away his agency — in sacking a city, in lying and obscuring the truth with his crew (his lies are more than a quirk that endears him to athena, they have consequences!) — some might say his personality. i do have sympathy for odysseus, even at his worst moments morally, because i find his character as a whole compelling. you don't need to try to absolve him of these things! they tell you about what kind of person he is! they are evocative (and provocative) already! take them away and he is boring, because he is not choosing to do anything.

the new wave of odysseus fans seem unable to handle homeric odysseus' complicated aspects and character traits, and to a degree i blame this on the musical characterization. it's allowed to be its own thing, certainly, but now i regularly get people arguing about whether he's a good person when all they know is something epic made up and that was never the fucking point, anyway.

are we really going to pretend he didn't have sex with circe and calypso at all

#anna.txt #a tag for bitching

43 notes · View notes

heliza24 · 11 months

Note

Love your blog and all your analysis!!

Many people didn't like S2 because Simon, according to them was just a tool to drive Wilhelm's story, a love interest only and didn't really have his own story. In particular, many are frustrated at the lack of narrative on the video's effect and Simon's subsequent trauma. Of course, everyone's allowed their opinions but seeing as you have experience in the world of writing and making tv magic, wanted to get your insight on this. Thanks, a S2 fan! 💜

Hi anon! Thanks for the question.

I’ve already written pretty extensively about Simon’s arc in season 2 and why I like it in this post. In short, I think he grows a lot in season 2, but his growth takes him towards emotional vulnerability and openness, which is not something we’re used to seeing in characters (especially not male ones).

I also don’t mind how they address Simon’s trauma in season 2. I’m going to approach this momentarily not as a writer, but as someone who has been in therapy for years. There are some traumas that have happened to me (like a serious car accident when I was a kid) that are very concrete, with a set beginning and end, and that began to affect me right away. (I had ptsd symptoms pretty immediately after that accident). But there are other traumas that feel like a series of small cuts instead of one big punch. It’s harder to decide where they begin and end, and their effects are more subtle. Sometimes it takes me years to even realize that they were traumatic and that they are still affecting me. (The medical trauma I’ve experienced as an adult over several years is like this). To me this is more what Simon is dealing with with the video. Once the video goes online, it’s not coming down. There’s no set end date, and Simon spends most of season 2 not even knowing who the perpetrator was. He’s in the kind of no-man’s land between the initial blow and coming to understand how the whole process has affected him. That being said, I do think we see some changes in him that reflect what he’s gone through. He seems to care a lot less about his academic classes than he did in season 1. He’s writing music in an attempt to process what he’s been through. And you could even see his attempt to have sex with Marcus as a trauma response. The last time he hooked up with someone his agency was taken from him. So it makes sense to me that he’s eager to have sex again but fully on his own terms, to partially erase that feeling of not being in control. I don’t know for sure if this will happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more traditional ptsd symptoms from Simon in season 3. If there’s some sort of legal action against August that would signify a sort of “end” of the video trauma, and would also probably be re-traumatizing in a lot of ways. I also think interacting directly with the royal family might stir up some things as well.

Ok, now I’m going to totally switch gears and approach your question from a writing perspective. Let’s talk about story structure for a minute, specifically TV story structure. Most TV has an A plot and a B plot (and sometimes a C plot too). In old school cable procedurals, the A plot would be the mystery of the week, while the B plot would be about whatever was happening in the characters’ personal lives. If there was an overarching mystery or storyline that tied the whole season together, that would be the C plot. As you can guess by how they’re named, the A Plot would take up the most time and do the most to drive the episode forward. The B plot is next most important, etc. Once shows started to become more serialized in the age of streaming, the concept of A and B plots changed a little bit. Now the plots are divided by character and theme. The A plot will be headlined by the protagonist and will explore the main themes of the show. The B plot will be headlined by a secondary protagonist, who doesn’t have as much to do as the A plot lead, but is still answering a dramatic question that relates to the central themes of the show. A lot of times the primary and secondary protagonists’ actions influence each other, but they don’t share a ton of screen time. (If they did, their stories wouldn’t be separate.) You can think of the A and B plot protagonists as two sides of the same coin. They’re intricately connected, they’re exploring the same ideas, but they rarely come face to face, and they often represent different perspectives on the same themes. Black Sails is probably my favorite example of this. (I’m not as active in the Black Sails fandom as I am in the Young Royals fandom, but Black Sails is probably my all time favorite show and I absolutely love all the ungovernable pirates over in the Black Sails tag. Shout out to them). James Flint is the main protagonist and headliner of the A story, but Max is the secondary protagonist that headlines the B story. Both are struggling with the question of how to achieve and wield power in an unjust world, and their political maneuvers consistently influence each other’s plots. They share a lot of secondary characters across both of their plots, but they themselves never interact. So that’s one example, and if you look around at your favorite shows you’ll be able to find lots that adhere to this formula, including, I would say, Young Royals.

I think a lot of people are kind of subconsciously looking for this kind of structure, and have decided that Simon is the protagonist of the B plot. I understand this, because we all love Simon. He’s really well written and acted, his personality is so compelling, and his chemistry with Wilhelm is great. I spend a lot of time writing him in fic (I’m the writer of all the Simon content in Heart and Homeland) so I understand this impulse. But if you were looking for Simon to be anchoring the B plot in season 2, you might have been disappointed. Because in reality I don’t think he’s the secondary protagonist. I think Sara is.

Sara is set up as a foil to Wilhelm, the main protagonist, in so many ways. I always say that the driving dramatic question of Young Royals lives with Wilhelm, and it’s something along the lines of “should I conform and live the oppressive life that was designed for me, or rebel and find my own path to happiness?” Sara is wrestling with a similar question that’s kind of the inverse of this; for her settling into a prescribed role in the Hillerska class system initially seems like a relief. So maybe for her the dramatic question is something along the lines of “is the price of fitting in worth it? Will it lead to true happiness?” They feel so much like opposite sides of the same coin to me.

So Sara and Wilhelm are both trying to define themselves in relation to their families and also the class system. This comes up in the similarities of their family structure (they both feel very connected to their class position through their families; they both have complicated relationships with their mothers and bad to negligible relationships with their fathers; they both have a deep connection to their siblings) and in the relationships they choose to embark upon. They’re both navigating a very serious and complicated first love. They’re both dating across class (in the opposite direction, a perfect example of the “different views on the same theme” aspect of primary and secondary protagonists). They both have concerns about how and when their relationships become public, and by extension are both playing in the sandbox of themes around privacy and authenticity that define so much of the show.

Both have difficulty regulating and recognizing their emotions. Sara seems to exhibit alexithymia, a common aspect of autism that makes it hard to recognize one's own emotions. Wilhelm has been taught to repress his emotions, which he does well until he explodes (like when he got into the fight at the top of the series or when he yells at his mom on the phone). He’s also managing a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety.

Both also struggle with questions of justice and how to make things right. In the beginning of season 2, Wilhelm is initially determined to destroy August because he thinks August will never repent, but by the end of the season he’s starting to realize that this was the wrong technique. He realizes this largely because of Simon; he only puts down the gun and walks away from August because Simon does first. Sara makes the opposite journey: she starts by trusting that August will change and repent on his own, but then she is forced to confront the fact that this is not true, and that she needs to use the legal system to bring August to justice. She makes this realization largely because of Simon, and seeing the ways that she has hurt Simon, in the same scene with the gun.

The other big argument in support of Sara as the secondary protagonist of the show is that she and Wilhelm never directly interact. Their actions affect each other all the time, but they don’t share a scene together. They’re living on parallel but separate story tracks.

Simon is a crucial character in both Wilhelm and Sara’s stories, but the fact that he is close with both excludes him from being a protagonist of his own plot line. (I would say the same about August, who is a catalyst for both Wilhelm and Sara.) That doesn’t mean that Simon isn’t well written. He has a very compelling character arc, motivates much of the plot, and his relationship with Wilhelm forms the heart of the show. But I think the reason people were disappointed in his story in season 2 is that they were expecting something from him that the structure of the show doesn’t support.

If you’re interested in reading more about A/B/C plot structures I found this website really easy to understand. Also shout out to @bluedalahorse for talking to me about Wilhelm and Sara and helping me articulate what I was trying to say here.

Thanks again for the ask, anon and for the vote of confidence in my analysis! I really appreciate it. If anyone else has a Young Royals scene or question they want me to break down from a writing or cinematography perspective, my ask box is always open.

#young royals #my meta #ask box #writing break down #simon eriksson #wilhelm young royals #sara eriksson #prince wilhelm

98 notes · View notes

critical-hazbin · 2 months

Note

Thoughts on Alastor so far? He’s probably my favorite character in HH, but after the poor writing that came from HB episodes 3 and 4, one part of me is worried the crew will ruin him when Hazbin Hotel eventually starts getting episodes.

(This ask was sent in a long time ago, sorry it took me until now to finally answer.)

Spoilers for Season 1 of Hazbin

I was almost certain they were going to mess up Alastor's character horribly. I did not have much faith in the writing for Hazbin. With Alastor specifically, there is a lot of room for error in terms of characterization, and I found personally that he was the trickiest one of the cast to write correctly and consistently. Between fandom woobifying, conflicting information, and a lack of insight into his motivations, Alastor's character has seen many varying interpretations over the years.

Well, now that the show is actually airing, I have to say that I don't think they ruined Alastor's character: they actually did a great job with him. I do understand the perspective of those who disagree with me, and miss the pilot characterization. But as a long-time Alastor fan, I feel the writers gave him surprising depth and found his flaws intriguing.

Pilot Alastor (Ed Bosco and Gabriel Brown) was goofier, more lighthearted, chattier, and more openly affectionate. Nothing really seemed to rattle him, and direct signs of his deviousness were minimal. He had more extensive radio sound effects and was truly a product of the thirties (reflected in dialogue through specific phrases), but had a smaller range of emotional expression as a result of his "radio broadcaster" persona. Husk seemed to owe him a favor, as opposed to Alastor owning his soul outright - "I suppose I could cash in a few favors" - and this was a common fan interpretation, not just a misinterpretation on my part.

Series Alastor (Amir Talai) is more temperamental, prideful, openly intimidating, reserved, and less prone to rambling. The radio effects are minimal unless needed for dramatic effect; his smile is sharper and less genuine. We see a wider range of emotions (frustration, anger, fear) from this Alastor, all with the smile still in place. There's a certain coldness about him, from his demeanor towards Husk (whom he keeps as a pet in an abusive soul contract) and his annoyance at others (Charlie, the Egg Bois, Sir Pentious) that contrasts his superficial warmth from the pilot.

It's a subtle but definitely noticeable set of changes for a character many fans had grown attached to. And yet, I found I liked the new version of Alastor, and felt that the writers added depth to a character who could have easily been a flat, all-powerful "Gary Stu" archetype. We see how these character flaws come back to bite him in the finale and how his limitations imposed by his deal set up his character for other, more interesting developments. Him having a breakdown and then immediately returning to the others with a smile on his face like everything is fine? That's the kind of Alastor that I knew was in there, and it was amazing to actually see it on screen. (I always figured he was a mess beneath the mask. That last scene was not shocking for me the way it was for many others.)

This fascinating characterization hasn't stopped other people from saying they "miss the pilot Alastor" and "wish he was still like that". I get that, I really do. If pilot Alastor was how Alastor wanted to be seen by others, series Alastor shows us who he really is. Unsurprisingly, not everyone is going to like that.

Side note: Ed and Gabriel did a perfect job voicing Alastor. Amir is also doing very nice work. I still miss the pilot voices, even though I like the voice he has now.

#hazbin critical #still not sure if that is the right tag for this?#Hazbin hotel #alastor #pilot alastor #series alastor #responding to criticism #alastor character analysis #alastor analysis #asks

24 notes · View notes

clacing · 7 months

Note

Hi, I'm dumb so forgive me if this question has an easy answer; is there a viewing order for Revstar? I'm trying to get into it, but I have been putting it off because I couldn't tell where to start

I assume you just mean the anime, but since there are also a bunch of stage plays and spin-offs and a gacha game, here's an overview and my personal opinion on a good viewing order:

You should definitely watch the anime first. It's only 12 episodes but it spends so much time developing each and every character and making you truly feel for them, plus it's the most experimental piece of media in the franchise and where the Utena influences are the most visible, so it's a treat to watch. I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion or what, but the stage plays didn't do nearly as much to develop the characters or their relationships with each other due to the obvious time constraints, so if that's your first run-in with the franchise you'll probably be disappointed

3 OVAs which take place during the finale and which I didn't know existed for the longest time. They're short and sweet and have some good character interaction, though you don't really have to watch them

I know there's a manga prequel with nine chapters introducing each of the nine girls + a bonus chapter that takes place after the finale. I haven't read it though

Rondo Rondo Rondo: it's a movie recapping the series from a slightly different perspective and including new scenes. You don't have to watch it but I'd still check out the new scenes on Youtube at least, especially the one after the end credits which is a direct lead-in to Gekijouban

Gekijouban Revue Starlight: the sequel movie. Absolute masterpiece, required viewing, budget was off the charts, elevates the series to new levels etc. etc.

As for the stage plays, again, I recommend watching them after the anime if you're interested. Doesn't really matter if you watch them right after the anime or after Gekijouban because the stage plays have their own plot that is only tangentially related to the anime, but they do have to be watched in a specific order:

The LIVE #1

The LIVE #2 - Transition

The LIVE Online (prequel to #3, not really required but a fun time)

The LIVE #3 - Growth

The LIVE Seiran - Blue Glitter (spin-off about characters introduced in #2 and #3, though I believe because of COVID it ended up coming out before #3 - personally I haven't watched it 'cause I don't really care, but I've heard good things)

The LIVE Edel Delight (I'll be real I know this ties in to the gacha game somehow which I don't play, so I haven't seen this either and don't really know how this fits into the timeline)

The STAGE Junior High Regalia (prequel about characters introduced in Edel Delight)

The LIVE #4 - Climax (this only came out in Japan this year so I don't think there are subtitles yet, but I'll be watching when they come out)

As for the gacha game, I don't play it but there's a lot of content which cross-references either the anime or the stage plays so I'll just direct you to this post (meant to just share the original one but Tumblr won't let me click on the original post to get the link) which also includes a guide about the viewing/playing order. Overall I think you could start playing after watching like, the anime + Gekijouban + possibly the first two stage plays?

PLEASE don't feel threatened by all of this btw. You can just watch the 12-episode anime and Gekijouban and be perfectly fine 'cause everything else is just extra. I've only watched the anime stuff and the first four stage plays I mentioned 'cause the gacha game and later stage plays add too many characters for me to keep up with

#revstar

39 notes · View notes

autisticbokutoenthusiast · 7 months

Text

ok @thatgirl4815 reminded me of its existence so now i need to revisit ray being called a burden in episode 1 for the millionth time but this time from a post episode 7 lens

(also yes i can read the room and am aware now is not the time in this tags history for a ray sympathy post but wtv) (also i already made a post about this??? i don't really remember august was years ago at this point and i have new thoughts apparently)

to start off, i think the only times ray's been called a burden is by boston and sand. in episode 1, boston is the only one to actually say it but i also think this moment could say a lot about the friend groups reaction to ray in general and how it hasn't really evolved.

boston: in general a lot of the time if boston is addressing ray its to hurt his feelings [see my other post about it here for more in-depth up to episode 5] (episode 1 see below, episode 2+7 boston provokes ray about mew, episode 3 bostonray conversation at the pool party about how much boston pities ray's shitty love life, episode 5 saying rays whole ass is owned by mew and telling sand about ray's crush after seeing them be happy, episode 6 ray confronts boston about whether he really slept with top while top and mew were dating and leaves believing he's a bad person and crying) and i wonder if we'll ever find out why.

but anyway boston calls ray a burden specifically because (in my opinion) he KNOWS it will hurt rays feelings at a time ray is already upset about top flirting with mew.

ray upset = boston's bitchmode activated

and while we don't know how much boston knows about ray's suicide attempt, and its fair that me might not even have known it happened let alone why, the conversation afterwards implies that the friends all know feeling loved or believing he's lovable is something ray at least struggled with if not still does (in their minds they may not know how he feels in the present about it, we as the audience know these feelings remain for him)

so that just feels like a cruel jab at ray, but like what else is the bostonray dynamic if not this.

cheum: cheum not only doesn't say anything when ray gets called a burden but she gets confused as to why he gets upset at it (i believe she specifically says "he gets so emotional when drunk"). my thoughts on whether or not she knows about ray's attempt is the same as i thought about boston, she probably knows something (she's the one that says "screw those who don't love you, i love you", but then also lists qualties that would make him desirable in a relationship and not really as a person, so she either doesn't get what ray's self-worth issues really reflect or wasn't told).

i don't want to say she's oblivious to ray but it kinda feels? that way. i think it would be interesting to look further into her relationship with april for this, the way she values having a happy relationship over an honest one, chooses lying over telling a truth that could potentially hurt.

i don't think she's purposefully ignoring ray to keep her peace, but i think it would be interesting from a character perspective to know if she's so desperate to keep the friend group together she tries to underplay threats to it or to her friends (very different context but in episode 7 she says the group should "throw away personal issues" which lowkey makes the most sense in terms of finishing a project but still feels relevant to this) or if she doesn't look for underlying issues within the friend group while they're all pretending to be ok, and instead waits for something to blow up. like how in episode 7 she realizes ray was upset more then just being drunk and pissed off only after she knew about top and the tape, which reveals she didn't think there was a deeper reason why ray was up on that stage screaming crying and self-sabotoging in the moment it was happening. or earlier on in episode 1 when ray is saying he loves his friends as their dragging him home and boston says "i know what he's gonna say next" and cheum says "he will keep saying he loves us" but boston says "he'll say guys don't leave me", which is a small moment but i wonder if it was intentional for boston to acknowledge a sad truth about ray (especailly since he only does it when hes drunk) and cheum just repeating the much more positive thing.

i also am thinking about her telling ray "why wouldn't you think to call us" after finding out days later he was in a car accident, when her and mew talked about ray before but they decided he wasn't responding because he was just drunk and then didn't check up on him.

[side not im obsessed with her saying "im mad you told april about me, but i get that you were trying to tell mew about top and ton" like does she 1. not know mew already knew about the tape when ray got on that stage and 2. think that ray was airing EVERYONE'S issues just for the topboston reveal?? like is it just me or were there obviously A LOT of reasons ray started yelling everyone's dirty laundry out to the bar while crying and trying to fight people, also 3. ray never apologizes to cheum for it, which maybe they don't feel like he has to, but like cheum says im angry at you and ray responds to something else she says and then the conversation shifts, like it feels like both of them are not addressing tension within the group purposefully]

I wonder if she is naive about ray and his issues, if she's the kind of person that needs someone else to reach out before noticing someone's issues, or if she doesn't want people close to her to be in pain, or leave her and so she chooses not to acknowledge problems (hoping for a cheum arc pls pls pls)

(i am not a mew hater i don't know why i kinda come across as one here im not criticizing him im just interpereting his actions through the lens of someone predisposed to be hurt by them)

Mew: when it comes to hearing ray get called a burden by boston, he doesn't do anything, which maybe he just doesn't remember what ray said to him the night from the flashback (which fair i was in a similar situation and i've completely blocked that night out of my memory), but if he does and let's other people repeat to ray the same phrases that convinced him his life isn't worth living then… yeah… (actually i am now leaning towards mew maybe not having that night ingrained in him, like if someones final goodbye to you includes them saying their unlovable and a burden and you don't react to them being called that later on in the future then maybe he's just forgotten)

i'd also say that maybe mew doesn't fully get ray's issues, like at the beginning of episode 6 he tells top that because of his moms, he never felt lacking in love because he always knew he had sources for it, so maybe he didn't fully process all of what ray was saying that night, or the role he holds in ray's life.

it could also explain his attitude towards ray in the entire rest of the series. like him commenting on ray bringing out the flask again (the fact the flask went away and is now coming back haunts me so much more than i think it was intended to)

and showing concern but also saying he can't be ray's emergency staff all the time (translated into attachment issues as: you're being a burden again, i can't handle you)

or the conversation in episode 6 where he assumes ray is in the bathroom because he's drunk or getting high (translated into attachment issues as: you're letting me down like you always do or you're not good enough for anyone me) he asks ray why he doesn't love himself (translated into attachment issues as: your letting people down or theres something wrong with you or just general confused noises at a concept you can't comprehend) he tells ray he'll die before he's thirty (im not gonna really comment on this one besides, 1. if it was up to ray and not the characters that save him then yeah thats the point, and 2. he's not only seemingly inherited his mothers addiction issues but he seems to believe he's destined to follow in all of her footsteps…) [side note, but ray then saying "don't worry about me" with a smile on his face while seeming to be somewhere else entirely… kinda reminding me of him saying he won't be anyones burden anymore in the bathtub tbh. actaully in general i can't get over how tired he looks in this scene and how determined he is to paint on a smile for mew]

[[second side note, rays face after mew tells him 'lets be friends forever" yeah….. no one talk to me about it]]

this scene in general seems to have an underlying emotion that i can't really define (if anyone knows pls tell me) but watching the scene on its own now that time has passed really does make it feel like a goodbye and i wonder if the scene feels sad because mew picks up on that too, or maybe he's just confused at ray's behaviour and ray is feeling conflicted about his own emotions, either way fucking ouch.

i guess my point with mew is that i don't think he has bad intentions but i don't think the things he thinks are helping ray actaully are, which, yeah why would mew at his big age of like 22 at the most know how to save ray. i think it shows he cares but that throughout this show so far there isn't enough communication between ray and his friends to truly get what they're dealing with here, that ray buries a lot of his feelings and that he seems to be operating on a different scale of pain. and in terms for my thoughts on how this evolves throughout the series, mew makes an effort with ray but we as the audience (especially compared to sand's scenes) see the ways he falls short, i think mew being with ray will give him the potential to learn more about ray or realize how much he doesn't know/understand. i hope it opens up communication between them, but i can't lie and say im not lowkey looking forward to them dealing emotional damage to eachother on a scale we didn't know possible.

like all my analysis posts i lost the point like 3 sentences in and just started rambling but curious on anyone elses thoughts on this now we are on episode 7

(also im not trying to be over critical of the group of 22 year olds, i was just projecting as the person in their 20s in a friendgroup who feels like a burden, i don't think any of these things make any of the characters bad ppl or anything it just creates interesting dynamics, peace and love <3)

#only friends the series #only friends meta #only friends analysis #oh ray #ray pakorn #only friends ray #ray only friends #again not trying to be mean to any characters just thoughts i was having #i love all of these characters because we can criticise them and also understand why they do what they do #except boston i don't get why he's so mean to ray still hope we'll find out

34 notes · View notes

firestorm09890 · 2 years

Text

Last Minute to the Castle Oblivion

Most of the Kingdom Hearts novels were localized into English, but some were not- namely, the two volumes of short stories that went with kh2′s novels. Because of that, and because of how old they are, they’ve kinda fallen into obscurity. I’ve seen maybe two people ever acknowledge their existence, and that’s such a shame, since they’re pretty good. Which is why! I’m making this post! Both short story volumes have lots of cool stuff and I’d like to look into them more another day but this is specifically to spread the good word of the 5th chapter of volume 2 because I do not control the special interest That chapter, titled Last Minute to the Castle Oblivion, is essentially a collection of Organization XIII drabbles. It starts with the Chamber of Repose/Awakening scene from KHII Final Mix, and leads up to Roxas joining the group. Pre-Roxas Organization XIII interactions. Casual ones. Some characters get more attention than others (*cough* Axel) but they do all show up in some capacity and let me tell you it is everything I could have asked for Here’s the best translation I’ve found while scouring the internet if you want to read it yourself. https://khenglish.wordpress.com/index/kingdom-hearts-2-short-stories-vol-2-axel-seven-days/episode-5-last-minute-to-the-castle-oblivion/ Thank you Goldpanner for your service Summary of its contents for the curious:

novelization of the Chamber of Repose/Awakening scene with Zexion and Xigbar, now featuring *gasp* two new lines!!! (from the perspective of Zexion, which is highly amusing at times)

Larxene’s induction (Axel’s perspective)

Larxene and Axel first interaction, which is fuckin’ incredible (Axel’s perspective)

Demyx playing music late at night and Xaldin coming to his room to tell him to shut up because it’s 3:00 in the morning (Demyx’s perspective! Exciting)

Axel and Luxord playing cards and also Xigbar is there (Axel’s perspective again)

Marluxia and Larxene’s first interaction (Marluxia’s perspective)

Zexion and Lexaeus conversation about Castle Oblivion (Zexion perspective again)

Xemnas finding Roxas cutscene novelization

Axel and Saïx interaction (Axel’s perspective... again)

I’m not kidding about that Demyx and Xaldin one btw. Several of these scenes feel like things you would only find in fanon, but no. Larxene really does say she’s interacting with Axel because she doesn’t want to talk to crusty old men and he really does respond by listing off all the other Organization members who aren’t crusty old men. This is an official piece of Kingdom Hearts media Throughout, it contains a whole bunch of nuggets of interesting information (dubiously canon, as with all the novels, but still), like:

Xigbar was the one to find and recruit Larxene

Organization coats magically change to fit the wearer

Zexion was doing research much like Vexen and it had something to do with memories

There’s a Demyx depression soliloquy. I just wanted to point that out

I have. So much to say about this. But that’s for another time!! This post was simply to spread the word so more people can enjoy. But also I’m going to explode so please look at some of my favorite lines

In conclusion please please please read Last Minute to the Castle Oblivion it’s everything to me and I need everyone to know about it and I hope someone remembers it some day and localizes it because I want to own it in my house

Here’s the link again just in case you scrolled all the way to the bottom and missed it

236 notes · View notes

wren-writes-things · 2 months

Note

I mean personally for me I would appreciate at least 2 Sasha episodes in Season 3a to help flesh out her arc more cause I LOVE her but I feel more screentime around 3a (and maybe) a bit around Season 2, would have done wonders for her arc. It’s almost criminal how little we know of her bad homelife other than her parents are divorced.

What would you personally add to Sasha’s arc?

So my biggest issue on Sasha’s arc (and honestly most of season 3 aside from Andrias) is just how much is left unsaid. And a lot of that does come down to her family.

Everything we see regarding Sasha is her learning to turn a set of poor coping mechanisms (seeking control, aggression, etc), into something that could benefit those around her (being a leader). The problem is that there are just large chunks of that development that are missing, specifically the origin and most of her improvement. Which are both kind of important.

Now I will say I think these flaws stem from an aspect of the show that in some scenarios (namely True Colors) was incredibly important. And that was the use of Anne as the protagonist, and really the only character you ever see the POV of. What I mean by that is that unless a character directly explained their motivations on screen in front of Anne, you really don’t know it (even then you still got Sasha’s POV though so this isn’t a strict rule). The thing is though is that this doesn’t necessarily apply to season 3

Anyway yeah back on topic, like I said a big thing for me would be stating Sasha’s perspective on things back on earth. I’m not for suggesting a full backstory episode because I don’t see that flowing well with the overall show. However starting a Sasha centric episode with a final flashback to the day of the that they stole the music box (similar to Reunion and True Colors) I believe would work quite nicely to address Sasha’s dynamic with her parents and her friends. Additionally Anne speaking with the Waybrights and Wus (not Zeus autocorrect, no one wants to speak with Zeus ever) instead of writing a letter could allow an outside perspective on how both families were handling their missing daughters. This also avoids the issue of addressing this situation in Sasha’s apology to Anne (which seemed to be what the writers kept getting hung up on based on interviews).

That being said I’m not certain how exactly I would handle Sasha’s family dynamic. I don’t think it was necessarily healthy aside from the divorce based on her actions in The Third Temple flashback and throughout the show. But… I don’t think I’m necessarily qualified to handle that topic without a lot of research. Might come back to it though because I have at least a guess that I find interesting.

Anyway, I think my next big thing would be just making season 3 more Sasha centric. (And honestly if I were doing a full rewrite I would probably take tharrb’s approach and split S3 into two seasons, I think there just wasn’t enough time to address everything even if you took out the filler episodes especially with how large the main cast of the show is). Season 3a has a lot of potential ways that it could go but overall her arc was one of the most important ones to develop in that period.

Specifically I would want to show her developing a connection with the rebellion members and learning to lead the rebellion in a way that took all members concerns into account without endangering the group. And also her dealing with her feelings regarding Marcy and Anne. Which is a lot of aspects hence why I said you honestly would need to divide season 3 up.

My one additional point because I have opinions about it, is addressing the full reason why Sasha had her change of heart. Because I was reading on the topic and it just kind of bothered me.

Like that is a pretty important aspect of the show to address and for some reason it just never is mentioned. Which is especially weird considering that she clearly had a change in perception by the season 3 finale and that is just such an interesting development that I want to see.

Anyway yeah, there’s a few other aspects to my overall take on Sasha. Like honestly I probably would have added another episode focusing on her in season 1 but my main issues with her arc are in season 3 so that’s most of what I addressed. Also this was very general so if you want further exploration of any topic I am always open to explaining it.

#amphibia #sasha waybright #answered asks #this took way longer than it should have to answer #but I really struggled to break my opinions on Sasha apart from my opinions on the rest of the show #wren’s amphibia stuff #wren's random analysis

11 notes · View notes

zonedelicious · 28 days

Text

Defending Ben 10 Alien Force Season 3 With My Life!

(An analysis of Ben's character and why I find it consistent up to this point)

This essay thingy is part one of a bigger project where I rewatch all of Ben 10 and look back on the series. A sort of retrospective.

Originally I wanted to watch all the shows, and then write one big post. But I decided to do it in parts to make it easier. And since the final season of alien force is largely hated, I thought I should focus on it specifically (since I have very different opinions than everyone on this).

Now when starting I did expect to see Ben's character be inconsistent, going from classic, to alien force, to season 3 of alien force. That is the popular opinion online and the one I had as a kid. Ben goes from childish kid, to mature teen, to an even more childish kid.

So I'm sure a lot of people are going to be shocked when I say that not only do I completely disagree with this perspective, I found Ben's character strangely consistent through both shows and I think he only becomes more nuanced and interesting by the end.

First I think most people who say Ben is either childish, or mature, or a psychopath, don't really know what these words mean, or don't even understand how Ben's character traits work.

(the psycho thing we'll get to in the next post since we haven't gotten to ultimate alien yet)

Does being mature mean you can't be petty or selfish sometimes? Does having negative traits automatically make you a child? This is the kind of flaw in ben 10 discussion I have noticed with this rewatch, we associate bad traits with regression and good traits with development. But that is very shallow way to look at fiction. Characters can have more than one trait, they can even have conflicting traits. And character development can also include negative development.

I think Ben's maturity is something that's greatly overstated, because his personality in Alien Force is a trait he has shown in the classic series many times. And by boiling him down to childish and mature Ben, it takes away a lot of the nuance he has as a character.

So enough about that, let's go back to the beginning.

Ben 10 (the original show)

The start of the series shows us that Ben is a kid who just wants to sit back and enjoy life, but hates bullies and wants to help others. And also he really loves his grandpa (this is a clue that will help us later).

Throughout the first season Ben struggles with being a hero. He struggles to differentiate helping people selflessly, and helping people because he gets a kick out of it. For a 10 year old his behavior is very realistic. Of course he wants to be seen as a big shot and be validated for his actions.

It isn't until Max is hospitalized that Ben finally realises the dangers of the world he's in. That's when we see Ben drop the hero act and turn into a scared kid. We see him at his most vulnerable. The first look at the real Ben.

Ben and Max fight a lot in the original show, but despite that Max is probably the most important person in Ben's life. Even more than his parents. And I think it's largely because Ben wishes he can be more free like his grandpa. Living in an rv and going wherever you want. So losing Max for 10 year old Ben is the worst thing that can happen to him. He not only looks up to grandpa Max, he idolises him and wants to follow in his footsteps. Which becomes more obvious once Ben finds out about the Plumbers. And now season 2 is about Ben becoming an even bigger hero.

The first season definitely has the most consistent narrative of the classic series. I think Ben doesn't really learn much until the movie. He does learn to be closer with his family, but there's no real challenge for him like the first season. People will say this is the show recycling his character arc, which I sort of get, but it's not the same to me. Ben isn't being challenged on the same level, he's just going through episodic cartoon plots. A lot of it isn't serious so Ben isn't really being serious. To him he's the cool alien with a badass grandfather and can solve any problem. It's all a fun adventure to him.

Even when he meets his future self the message is that Ben being a kid and having fun is what makes him Ben. It's future Ben who has to learn to have fun and be a kid again. A clever twist on the time travel trope.

Despite that Ben is shown to be more responsible with the hero stuff. He tries to help others not just by literally saving their lives, but also talking to them, or standing up to villains. Kevin being the best example. Ben tries to befriend him many times, but will also risk his own life to stop Kevin from hurting Gwen. Which at the moment Ben didn't even have the Omnitrix at the end of season 2. We see that despite being a kid he's also gotten braver.

Another note, Gwen and Ben have a pretty good relationship from the start. While they do fight it's never anything serious, they're just being kids and fooling around. The kind of childish arguments you forget in an hour. Yet they're very close and love goofing around together. You can tell that they care for each other despite the petty banter.

Of course once we get to the secret of the Omnitrix (the true ending of the first show imo) Ben's character is finally given its conclusion for the classic series. Here Max's role is swapped with Tetrax, Ben looks up to Tetrax in a similar way, and while Tetrax is friendly, he's also the guy who really knows how to get Ben to reflect on his actions. Once Ben thinks he has lost Gwen he is back to the scared vulnerable kid. We see all his aggression, how he blames himself, how all that weight is really hard for him to process at such a young age.

What's even better about this is how the movie starts with Ben causing trouble for Gwen and they get in a fight. But Gwen still sneaks into Tetrax's ship to help Ben. So losing Gwen is not only him losing his cousin. Ben's losing someone he felt responsible for. He's failing Gwen, himself, and grandpa Max all at the same time.

Of course Gwen is alive but it doesn't change that Ben has finally opened up about his insecurities and we finally get a full look into his inner self. Which brings us to...

Alien Force, the show that made Ben mature (or did it?)

Now remember everything I said about his character? Now think about the plot of alien force. Ben realises his grandfather is missing, there's an alien conspiracy that his grandfather entrusted him to solve, and even an old foe is there he needs to ally with.

Ben is essentially forced to take up the role of grandpa Max in the story. And for a 15 year old that's a lot of pressure to take.

I'd say Ben's character shift for Alien Force is not only organic, it's the natural follow up to his character arc in the classic show. As someone who's always seeking validation now finally being put in a position where he has to be the person he always looked up to. Sure the stakes were high in classic, but Max (and Tetrax) was always there to help and give Ben motivation.

There's an aura of tension early on as Ben still doesn't even trust Kevin. He doesn't understand the new Omnitrix or the new aliens. He has to watch max die and still keep his cool. Because he was trusted this role and can't let Max down.

I don't think Ben matured, he was forced into a role of being the mature adult at 15.

Even Ben's parents are mad at him for doing all this. As they should because Ben is still a kid. He shouldn't be risking his life. He should literally be at the club. The first thing he does before he puts on the Omnitrix again is talk to Gwen. Because he needs her help. And Kevin. Later from other plumber kids too. He isn't doing it all by himself, and he understands that he can't do it alone to an extent. But despite that there's still that urge to be the leader. The one who has to be in charge all the time. He wants to prove himself after all.

Ben's ability to befriend others, is ultimately his strongest trait in the first 2 seasons. It's what ends up saving the universe after all. Something that wasn't all that present in the original show, but can be seen through characters like Kevin, who Ben tried to help many times. And now he's his best ally.

A lot of this is very subtle, and some of it might even be my own interpretation of the story. I don't know if the writers intended all this nuance I'm describing. It is only interesting to look back and analyse it.

The mystery and the slow lumin threat of the highbreed is a good plot for Ben's arc of taking up responsibility. It's something he can't directly solve as easily as in the classic show. Where in the classic show any problem he faced was over in 1 or 2 episodes. All mystery was behind the scenes with him not being aware.

But now it's different. The mystery comes crashing into him. He literally got a football medal the same day he found out his grandfather has went missing because of a secret alien invasion that's been going on for a long time. Again the pressure he's put under comes at him suddenly and he has to adjust to it all in the moment. He's 15 years old.

And despite all odds Ben comes through and stops the invasion, saving the entire galaxy. With the help of all the people he befriended of course. Ben finally proved himself to his grandfather and to the entire universe that he is worthy of being a hero. In the classic series he showed he was a hero, but was still a kid who had learning to do. But now he proved he can stand on his own as a man at age 15.

So naturally Ben took a break.

The part where I shamelessly defend season 3 with my life

The shift for season 3 is off (especially when the first episode starts with an argument we have no context for) and I understand some of this was a mandate, yet I love it. It's a strange shift at first until you start to think what is actually going on in Ben's head.

He finally did what he always wanted to achieve. Become a great hero like his grandfather. The galaxy loves him. And all that validation is more than enough to tell him to relax for now.

Ben had to take a break after all the pressure that was placed on him. He needed a break. He needed to be a teenager again who watches cartoons and has fun. It's important for his mental health after all.

Of course this is a cartoon and he isn't real. But this analysis isn't about that, it's about trying to understand what kind of person Ben is.

Still i do not see how Ben is stupid or childish in these episodes. Relaxed and silly yeah, but in a teenager way, not a 10 year old Ben way. With the gold poop episode for instance I went in expecting to hate it, but now I love it. It's a decent mystery, and Ben's chill attitude makes sense for the situation. It's a celebration and Ben loves to party. Of course he'd be silly with the little aliens.

What I have noticed however is despite Ben being relaxed he's still pretty clever and mature throughout season 3. His quick thinking is actually a major part of this season. With it being directly referenced and even being how he saves the day at the end of the season. I did not expect the show to directly point out Ben's most useful trait and then focus on it durring what's basically his downfall arc.

To reference a few times Ben does this in this season:

In the vreedle episode, Julie emergency calls Ben and Ben shows up seconds later. He didn't wait to think, he arrived as fast as possible once finding out she's in danger.

In the episode where Ben is trapped in the null void without the Omnitrix, we see him actually surviving and doing smart things like covering himself in mud so he won't get spotted.

In the plumber kids episode, Ben is playing the role of the villain mastermind and he has to quickly adapt to the situation and train these kids while not breaking character.

In Charmcaster's debut episode, Ben calls out Kevin for not trusting Gwen. Ben being the mature one in this situation.

We see Ben hasn't changed at all from previous seasons. Season 3 having some of his best moments even. What has changed is the context and circumstances of his actions. He's trying to stay cool and simple because he wants to live his childhood stress free, even if the universe keeps calling him back over and over again, he wants to stay a kid. And that's interesting. We haven't seen that in ben yet. In the classic show he was trying to be a big hero. But now he's tired of all that weight on his shoulders.

Unfortunately the universe keeps calling for his return. The moment Ben tries to relax Vilgax is back. He has taken over 10 planets. And has killed the galactic enforcers trio (they are 100% dead he literally killed 3 side characters just like that). And Ben of course does the reasonable thing and tries to hack the Omnitrix yet again. With horrible results.

People try to use this as an example of Ben being dumb but you gotta realise he's panicking and not thinking straight, and the result is him causing a mess for himself and Kevin. The show is aware Ben is in the wrong here and his actions have consequences. The rest of the season will spend its time exploring Ben's actions and how his quick thinking is both his strongest weapon, as well as his biggest flaw.

Anyway the fight with Vilgax is brilliant and really shows how much Ben had grown. With the return of Diamondhead being both nostalgic and a great way to show his growth. As well as giving Ben another victory that increases his huge ego.

But I must also mention the visuals being beautiful themselves. Season 3 of Alien Force has a subtle upgrade in visuals that I never see mentioned. Everything is more colorful, backgrounds more interesting, the animation more smooth, and the storyboarding is simply wonderful. Don't know why people never talk about this. I guess it will ruin the narrative this is the worst season ever made because of like 4 boring episodes. But I digress.

Still apparently people hate this fight too and claim this scene RUINED Vilgax. How? The only argument I see is he got defeated too easily which.. Have you watched the classic show? Vilgax gets defeated in one single episode by a 10 year old. Vilgax is actually stronger in Alien Force if anything. I don't get how this ruined him at all.

Don't get me wrong. I also prefer his original design and personality. I think this was a poor choice to change him so drastically when the point was bringing back an old foe. But that doesn't mean he's weak. He's clearly stronger. He does a good job fighting Ben. And has even killed 3 characters that you'd expect wouldn't die considering they showed up in a ben 10k episode.

(remember when I said I will be fighting for my life here? I wasn't kidding)

The rest of Season 3 is very episodic ,which is an interesting shift from the previous 2 seasons since they didn't have to make it like this. They had more episodes this time too and cartoon network wasn't against plot or lore. So I'd say this was more of a creative choice than a mandate. Ben's more relaxed so we go back to less world ending threats. Which is good imo because the best standalone episodes are in this season.

Notably Gwen and Kevin get a good focus here (even Julie who should have been the 4th member). With Gwen's best episode so far is in this season. We get more character development for the other 3 protags. And it's very much needed.

Gwen I think didn't get much in the first 2 seasons. She did feel a bit of a downgrade from her classic self. Now however her rivalry with Charmcaster is back, she has her magic, and she has one of the best episodes in the season. The time travel episode is beautiful both visually and naratively, not to mention it's basically writen like a Doctor Who episode, and you gotta love that. But what I love more is how we see Gwen making a huge mistake. Gwen so far hasn't been writen with flaws, unlike Ben and Kevin she isn't given as much depth. So to have an episode that gives Gwen time to make a mistake and fix it, while showing all the effort she'd go through to help Kevin. It was very much needed. Her character deserves more moments like this.

Julie's relationship with Ben is given a bit of drama but in a way where they do communicate and aren't in anyway toxic. I hear this is when their relationship fell off but I don't see it. Their arguments are something Gwen and Kevin often have too and are only there to strengthen their bond. Julie definitely needs to be characterized outside being Ben's girlfriend though, but she's never in a position where she's just Ben's girlfriend. If anything her friendship with Gwen is given more spotlight. Her last appearance for the season being her hanging out with Gwen. Julie definitely deserved to be more than just a side character.

On the other end Kevin gets a huge upgrade with his story line being imo significantly better than what they originally had planned. Originally the story was going to have Kevin turn evil and I am grateful they saved that story line for a later season while this one builds up to it more organically. Here we see how desperate and insecure Kevin is. He even goes back to his more evil self at times. But never too much. His badness is due to his circumstances. He wants to turn back to human. He gets angry. He doesn't trust Gwen. He teams up with villains. But all because he's being pushed into being vulnerable rather than him turning evil suddenly. It's a good small arc that builds up to something bigger later.

As you can see I value character flaws as much as their positive traits. To me a character is less interesting if the story avoids giving them a human element. That's why the character assassination of Ben Tennyson that people talk about to me is one of the best things to ever happen to him.

One episode I HATED as a kid, but now love is the one where the gang go to an alien planet to solve a conflict between 2 identical armies. Kid me hated this because Ben kept messing up and there was no solution in the end. Now however I see the political genius that it is.

While I think this was meant to parody the political system of the US (one group being red and one blue doesn't make it all that subtle), i think the other message I got from it is showing the problems with white saviorism. Ben comes to a planet he has zero political understanding of, and decides he knows how to solve all their problems and can save the day in like 3 hours. Of course he won't and of course he'd end up making things worse.

If you're expecting things to actually be solved and characters to make logical and satisfying actions then this episode is definitely one of the bad ones. But for me, someone who likes to see how characters mess up and the story to collapse on them I really found this episode enjoyable. It's also just very funny. Ben comes off as very comedic to me in his attempt to be helpful and reasonable. He's not being immature but he's being very self centered and too up his own ass to notice that he's coming off as a dick.

I think that's what this season is focusing on. Not Ben becoming immature or childish as like a singular character trait he switches to. No, what the season is telling us is despite Ben being a great hero and a quick thinker, he's also easily able to fall into the arrogant asshole type if he doesn't control himself.

In the ghostfreak episode we even see how despite being his quick thinking self, he doesn't trust Gwen and Kevin as much as before. His ego is getting to him and others are taking notice.

Ben's behavior to me comes off as very realistic. I cannot hate a character who's flawed in a way that a real person is flawed. I don't see a switch in personality. I see one person displaying their traits in different ways depending on the scenario they are in.

So why people hate this season so much I will never understand.

Anyway let's talk about the worst episode in alien force.

Primus

Okay people you're right about this one. Primus sucks. It's bad. It's meaningless. It's confusing. And it's counterproductive for what it's trying to do. Honestly it feels like a rough draft of an episode before they actually start writing it.

Ignoring the fact that the concept itself is flawed, there's no time given to even show us Primus or make us understand it. And it ruins Vilgax's arc by giving him the Omnitrix WAY TOO EARLY. It kind of ruins the finale too since Ben giving the Omnitrix away is part of the climax of this season. Both Vilgax and Azmuth are pretty dumb this episode and it's weird watching them here. Vilgax is a bit better until he gets the Omnitrix and becomes dumb for no reason. Couldn't they just make it so Ben is the one with the key to activate the Omnitrix? Azmuth also what do you mean you turned into Rath to fight Vilgax instead of like way big? Ben isn't dumb in this one though. His trick to get back the Omnitrix is smart even though the way it was written is dumb. And we do get to see him vulnerable after losing the Omnitrix. Still this episode should have been replaced with something better and the show would have been better off for it.

This episode is brought up often because it is the weakest and if it was your impression of the season you'd think it's bad too. I don't even think Vilgax is bad this season but he definitely is poorly writen here.

So yeah this episode is very bad. Like couldn't they have replaced this with an extra Tetrax episode? That man deserves it.

Oh right Tetrax

Tetrax episode is peak fiction and I don't care about the haters. I'd argue it's one of the best episodes in the series and the fact we never got a follow up is baffling.

For starters Tetrax is Ben's real dad. Let's be real. He fills the same role as grandpa Max and so Ben has the urge to prove himself to him. That's why watching Ben fulfill the propercy of the diamondhead people and save Tetrax's planet is one of the most satisfying moments in the series for me. Tetrax destroyed his planet. He made a huge mistake that Ben could have easily made if he didn't have a mentor figure. And now once he sees he has an opportunity to bring everyone back he goes straight to shattering Ben into pieces with no explanation. (Tetrax pretty much is Ben without grandpa Max if you think about it)

This episode is a meme for the Jesus bits. but it works. It's good lore. And it's a great conclusion to a character arc and storyline.

The fact this episode is a follow up to Tetrax origin and incorporates a new alien into it is really smart. Obviously they didn't plan this at first so it's great when things work out like that.

It works as a Vilgax episode too because we see how big of a threat he is. Everyone's struggling to fight him, even Tetrax and Ben. He's not some pushover as people claim.

But more importantly Ben redeems Tetrax by saving the diamond people and that's something he wouldn't be able to do if he's some dumb kid. Ben is a true hero again in this episode. He sees what the threat is and he solves it with his quick thinking and courage. And I think it's thanks to Tetrax's presence that Ben is back to the more serious role, because he wants to prove himself to him.

(if only Tetrax had a bigger presence)

And now the ending

The ending is what made me want to take a different look at this season before rewatching because I remember how cool the Azmuth and Ben scene was. On a rewatch i was not disappointed.

For starters animation was really good and the fights with Albedo specifically were choreographed well. Kevin and Gwen were even using their powers in a unique way.

Then we have Vilgax weakening Ben by taking away Gwen and Kevin. Seems simple at first, but when you think of the narrative of this season you realise it's about making Ben vulnerable both physically and mentally.

And once Ben loses the Omnitrix he has a full mental breakdown and this entire sequence is one of the best moments in Ben 10 ever. The way he runs off into the forest. The small chat with Gwen. How he begs Azmuth for help. The little mutual understanding at the end of their argument. It's peak fiction at its most peak fictionest.

For the entire season Ben tried to relax, he tried to be more straight forward, not looking for others for help. But now he's back at being the vulnerable kid he was at the start of the entire series. And I think it's not just that he lost his powers that's hurting him, but that he's also taking out all the pressure he had building up inside. And now he's asking for others to help him.

This moment makes this season work for me. We see a deconstruction of sorts of the kind of person Ben is. Not mature or immature. But this kid who wanted validation until the pressure was too much for him. He tried to act cool like nothing happens. But then he messes up and he's the one who needed to be saved.

This emotional moment was what Ben needed to come up with a genius plan. Go to Vilgax's ship and activate the self destruct feature of the Omnitrix. Honestly I forgot about this part on my rewatch so it came out of nowhere for me. Ben making a bomb threat as his great 4d chest move? You just gotta love that. Remember he's got nothing on Vilgax right now. Vilgax can easily kill him. So for Ben to confidently come in and threaten to blow up the Omnitrix, that he cares about too, it takes courage.

If there's one thing I'd change about the ending it's bringing back Tetrax. He seemed like he would be a part of this and it would have probably mad the mental breakdown of Ben Tennyson more impactful if Tetrax was there too. Or maybe I love this minor character a bit too much. Maybe way too much I admit.

Conclusion

For me what sells season 3 of Alien Force is Ben's character downfall that builds up to this ending. It's not just that he becomes dumb and then is told to stop being dumb. It's that he's struggling in the role of hero. He's struggling to be both the serious badass and a goofy kid. And letting go of the responsibility and trying to act normal only created a different kind of pressure.

Ben for me is a character who was forced into a role he wasn't prepared for and we get to watch how that affects him. Naturally he will have shifts in how he acts. His environment will affect his behavior. That's just life. That's what being a teenager is like. You're always gonna be screwing up in one way or another. Ben's flaws in season 3 aren't about him being childish. He's not dumb or less mature. Ben still does smart things and is shown to care about Gwen, Kevin, Julie, Tetrax, and everyone that comes to his aid.

And of course his ideas and actions aren't always good. They can be stupid or selfish. And that's also fine. Because he's only human. And his humanity is what makes him Ben. Take that away and he'd grow up to become the Ben 10k who refused to transform back to human.

Most of this is my interpretation of events. Other people watching will have different takes. And that is fine. I'm fine with knowing I'm like one of 10 people who loves season 3 of alien force. I'm just here to write a different perspective and hopefully it will encourage more deeper readings of Ben 10 as a series. But mostly I'm fine knowing someone else read all this. So thanks for getting this far.

See you next time when I will be breaking down the neoliberalism of shadow the hedgehog the video game.

/jk

/or am I?

#zone analysis #Ben 10 #Ben 10 retrospective #Alien force #Season 3 is good #Tetrax should have appeared more though #Long post

9 notes · View notes

jajanvm-imbi · 2 years

Text

Alright it's almost Hispanic Heritage month again yall. Here's a list of Animated characters that I, a Latina, cried over when I found out they were Latin American

For clarification, "Found out" means, having no previous knowledge of said characters and within the context of the show/movie they are confirmed Latin American.

(From the perspective of a Costa Rican 🇨🇷 specifically)

The entire Madgrial Family (Encanto)

The moment I saw the teaser trailer for Encanto I started crying. I was so BEYOND EXCITED to see real, true, positive beautiful Latin American representation in a Disney movie. I'm not even Colombian but seeing something like this become so popular made me so happy. Being able to fully understand "Dos Orugitas" in Spanish just hits so different, its not the same in English. It's such a beautiful step for Latin American representation, and I'm so excited to see what comes next for us. (Still holding out for my Latina Disney princess tho. And no, Elena doesn't count) I've also been told I look just like Mirabel and seeing a character that looks like me in a Disney movie just made my heart soar.

Luz Noceda (The Owl House)

Bruh a bisexual Latina with mommy issues AND she's bilingual??? She's just like me fr.

Lance McClain (V*ltron Legendary Defender)

He was my absolute favorite character in V*ltron and I will NEVER forgive them for ruining his arc and making him sad forever. He deserved a happy ending. He's NOT "just a boy from Cuba", he's so important and lovely.

Miles Morales (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse)

I'm not a comic book reader, so Into the Spiderverse was the first time I met Miles. Finding out he was Afro Latino made me heart soar. He's a sweet boy, such a good character in the movie, and definitely deserved the Oscar. Can't wait for the sequel.

Claire Nuñez (Tales of Arcadia)

Claire is literally such a badass. She's amazing, an amazing character, her story with Jim is beautiful. Love it when she's speaks Spanish. 10/10 character (Watch Tales of Arcadia it's really good)

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (Ducktales 2017)

King of my heart. Wholesome dork. Voiced by Lin Manuel Miranda.

Gosalyn Mallard (Ducktales 2017)

What I literal icon. I really really REALLY hope that the rumored Darkwing Duck reboot uses the DT 2017 versions of the DW characters cause this Gosalyn is a QUEEN

Hector Nieves Aka: Hi-Five (Glitch Techs)

Glitch techs was such a cute show it deserved to keep running. Screw Nickelodeon for canceling it just as it was starting to get interesting. Anyway this dork is adorable. Bilingual gamer king.

Troy Sandoval (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts)

Hi this cutie patootie is a literal king. He and Benson are so cute together. (GO WATCH KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS ON NETFLIX I PROMISE YOU'LL LOVE IT)

Honorable Mentions:

(From top to bottom, left to right. Tumblr only allows 10 images at a time so I had to combine them)

• Señor Hueso and Capitan Piel, who together make the icon Don Suave (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2018):

I literally laugh my ass off whenever I watch the episode "Hidden City Job" and they do the whole Don Suave bit. Like it's so over the top yet accurate to telenovela characters that I can't help but laugh every time. When they first introduced Capitan Piel, I instantly laughed so hard before they even translated it because they did the whole Skin and Bones bit and I just thought it was so clever. 10/10 duo I'd love to see more of them. (GO WATCH ROTTMNT PLEASE THEY NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEY CAN GET IF THEY WANT A SEASON 3)

• Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel)

People were giving Vivziepop shit accusing her of making Vaggie the "angry Latina stereotype) and I couldn't disagree more. Vaggie is perfectly fine as a character, and I can't wait to see what they do with her in the official Hazbin Hotel series!!

• Isabella Garcia-Shapiro (Phineas and Ferb)

Phineas and Ferb was the first fandoms I was ever in, and Isabella holds such a special place in my heart. Love her to pieces

• Marco Diaz (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)

Svtfoe was also one of the first fandoms I was in, so seeing one of the leads be portrayed as Mexican made 12 year old me so happy.

• Miguel Rivera (Coco)

Coco is such a beautiful movie, and I ONLY watch it in Spanish. Miguel is such a sweet and special boy, he really brought the joy of music back into his family.

• Soos (Jesus) Alzamirano Ramirez

Gravity Falls was ALSO one of the first fandoms I was in (PnF, GF, and Svtfoe were my main 3 for a time), and finding out this loveable goof was Latino made me really happy

• Princess Elena Castillo Flores

Now she may not be an official Disney princess (she doesn't meet all the requirements to be part of the franchise) but that doesn't mean she isn't excellent representation for young children. Although the show doesn't represent one specific Latin American country/culture, the show does have bits and pieces of many different LatAm cultures, and even some indigenous inspiration here and there with all the mythology aspects. It isn't perfect, but I do still appreciate Elena's presence in Disney.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month everyone!!!

331 notes · View notes

someidiotwithalaptop · 1 year

Text

Alright: What the FUCK happened to Summer???

Because something sure did, and every new thing we hear about her gets more disturbing, and it haunts me.

So, I'll start with stuff that's fairly certain and like, small leaps of logic before I go full tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist. We have very little actual info about Summer, nearly all of it from different characters talking about her.

From Yang we get the basic facts from her family's perspective: Summer was a Huntress who went out on a mission and never came back. We also get the characterization of, "Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters."

From Qrow, we learn that 1. She was a brat, which like, honestly STRQ was probably just "oops! all brats" 2. He thinks she would have pressed on if she knew the truth, which, uh, she almost definitely did. "We don't have to kill you to stop you," is not the sort of thing you say to Salem if you don't know she's immortal, that's all I'm saying. 3. Whatever her final mission was, she didn't tell him or Tai or Ozpin. I'm inclined to believe Ozpin when he says he genuinely doesn't know what happened to Summer, since his biggest secret is already out—plus he's been genuinely repentent about the mess his lying caused in Volume 6 and is taking steps to do better in the future. It would feel really weird thematically if he knew and was keeping yet another giant bomb of a secret. So Summer went on her final mission alone, or at the very least, she didn't tell any of Ozpin's inner circle where she was going.

We'll get to speculating about why not later, but I think this point is probably going to be important in Ruby's character arc—whatever Summer's ultimate fate, she got there because she tried to save the world alone, and we've seen Ruby do something similar. Like she's not running off after Salem by herself, but she's definitely trying to shoulder the burden of leading and inspiring everyone to keep going all on her own, without asking for help as that responsibility has been slowly yet systematically destroying her mental health. I mean ffs she's been literally carrying her team on her shoulders for two episodes now.

HOWEVER: Oz, Tai, and Qrow don't know anything about what happened to Summer, but it's possible that Raven might. When Ruby tries to reach out to her and convince her to work together, because they'll have a better chance than if they try to do it alone, Raven says, "You sound just like your mother," in truly the most bitter, disdainful-ass tone I have ever heard. And then she opens a portal for Cinder to throw a fireball at her. Whether this is about a more generalized friction that maybe contributed to Raven leaving, or a specific moment when Summer tried to get her on board with whatever she was doing on that final mission, is kind of uncertain. Or it could be both!

(And it might also be she married my ex bitterness but, admitting my biases here, I hate that fucking trope with a fiery passion and I think it's more interesting if her anger at Summer is actually about Summer.)

Regardless, if Summer did ask her for help, then based on how Raven reacted to Ruby I don't think she got it lmao

And then. Oh, and then. We get Salem!

"Your mother said those words to me. She was wrong too."

"Her again?"

So like. Salem definitely met her. Had a whole-ass conversation with her, even.

And that fucking smile??? Salem did some shit to Summer. It's just a question of what, exactly?

Right. Okay. So after they kill the Hound and realize WHOOPS that was a person and he looks an awful lot like Ruby! and everyone reunites, Ruby says this:

"When I saw its eyes, I knew. Salem used to kill people with Silver Eyes, like Maria. But she’s always wanted me alive. Why would that change unless, when she met Mom, she learned she could do something new?"

Timeline-wise, this seems accurate! But I'd like to also insert TR into the equation. It's a little hard to tell given the uhh, body horror of it all, but he definitely looks younger than Qrow (which is maybe not saying a lot given that Raven looks at least ten years younger than Qrow and she's his twin lmao) and, more to the point, like he's probably younger than Summer.

Like, yeah, hard to tell, but I don't think this man is past forty. And even if he is, it doesn't seem like Salem's had him for very long, seeing as she never sent him after Ruby or the relics in previous volumes. So he's probably an example of what Salem's been doing to SEWs after Summer.

Also, Salem calls him an experiment, and says that so far she's pleased with the results. Meaning Summer isn't exactly a Hound, though I wouldn't say that puts grimmification off the table. Just that it's not in the exact same way he is. And it's worth pointing out that the way TR has been grimmified, it's left him completely without agency and unable to disobey Salem. Even after Ruby blasts the Grimm off his head, he's still left repeating "Take The Girl" over and over without any sign of whoever he used to be coming back to the surface. It's possible that is what Salem is referring to when she calls him a successful experiment.

So the way Salem has dealt with people with silver eyes has gone:

Maria (kill her) > Summer (?!?!) > TR (an... experiment) > Ruby (bring her to me alive)

Adding TR into the mix, it seems unlikely that the "something new" Salem learned she could do from Summer Rose would actually have been, y'know, a Hound. Plus from a narrative perspective, I don't think we're going to have Ruby literally saying exactly what happened to Summer into the camera only for her to turn up, Hound-ified just as expected, a couple volumes later. So, some possibilities:

Ruby is actually exactly correct about what happened to Summer, but she's not going to show up later so there's no reason not to just tell us. Personally I doubt it's this, given the way the mystery has been unfolding over eight volumes and counting. It'd be kind of weird to just tell us instead of showing us, or indeed having the Hound literally be Summer. Also, if Summer is a Hound too then why is TR an experiment?

Summer was Grimmified but didn't survive the process, so she gave Salem the idea but she's not actually a Hound. This also seems a bit odd to me given that would mean she's basically just dead like we assumed, but with extra steps. Like it's upsetting but it doesn't represent the kind of dramatic upheaval to the sisters' worldviews that it feels like this is building towards. It doesn't explain how fucking smug Salem is about the whole thing.

Summer was Grimmified, but didn't actually lose any agency. This would explain why Salem is still experimenting, and why she's so pleased with TR—he's even more singleminded in carrying out her goals than Tyrian is. It also fits with the way the Grimmification worked on Salem. Even after she jumped into the goop, she was still very much herself—it's possible it influenced her, but she was definitely capable of showing love and affection to both Ozma and her daughters. She just, uhh,,, was also willing to try and murder them. But it's unclear to me how much of that was Evil Goo and how much was just that there's no way a human being spends any significant length of time as the Last Woman Alive without some unpleasant side effects. We're social creatures and we do not generally do well when completely deprived of company.

Summer wasn't Grimmified at all, the whole Hound thing is a red herring.

In either 3 or 4, regardless of how much body horror happened, Ruby is wrong about what happened to Summer. And in order to not undercut that moment of utter despair at what probably happened to Summer... I feel like what actually did happen has to be. like. worse.

AND IT'S A TAD DIFFICULT TO GET WORSE THAN THE HOUND.

So. Time to put our tinfoil hats on: what if we add an element of horrible betrayal?

Yes this is a Summer-joined-Salem conspiracy post.

But hear me out okay! Circling back a bit, why wouldn't Summer tell any of the inner circle where she was going? If she talked to anyone, it was Raven, who had already noped the fuck out by the time Summer went on her final mission. Now, if it was just Tai and Qrow I'd say she might've kept it from them for the same reason everyone always keeps that secret—she didn't want them to lose hope. But... Ozpin already knows. There'd be no reason not to tell him what she was doing, unless she knew he'd try to stop her.

Now: my goal here is to make all this make sense, without altering the first foundational piece of characterization we get for Summer. Namely, "Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters." I'm not saying Summer learned the truth and went, welp, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. Because both Summer and Raven tend to act as foils to Ruby and Yang, and "gave up immediately" doesn't feel like an interesting foil to Ruby's perserverence. But, if you find out that there's an existential threat to the entire world, and she can't be killed...

Isn't it worth trying to negotiate?

Especially if, say, you were absolutely desperate to end this war in your lifetime. Because Summer knows that if it's really impossible, if Salem can't be stopped, then Ruby will get dragged in whether she likes it or not. All because of a trait that Summer passed down to her.

Salem's been killing people with silver eyes, probably for millenia. It's easily possible that Summer had her own visit from someone like Tock, or noticed the same thing Maria's father did, that there's a suspicious lack of people with silver eyes considering how useful they are against the Grimm. As long as Salem is a threat, Ruby is going to be in that same danger. Forever.

So she has to do something, right? If there's even the tiniest chance she can end this now, before Ruby will ever have to suffer for it, before she gets pulled into an impossible war and Yang comes charging in after her, because of course she's going to try to help her sister... isn't that a chance worth taking?

This is why I think Raven knows some shit, by the by—when she's telling Yang about Salem, she actually kind of indirectly drops the same bomb that went off in Volume 6, it's just that she didn't do it in the same explicit terms that Jinn did. "She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until Humanity crumbles at her feet."

"Can't be stopped" is Raven's translation of can't be killed, since "We don't have to kill you to stop you" seems to be a flavor of terrifying exclusive to Ruby and apparently Summer. But "can't be reasoned with" implies that somebody tried. And like, let's be honest. Do we really think Raven was the one who decided to give diplomacy a go?

Not to mention this line, which I'm like 90% sure is referring to Summer:

"Or... you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others."

It really seems like Raven knows something she's not telling us. Like, if that is a reference to Summer's fate, does that mean Raven knows what it is, or is she just speculating like everyone else? Does she have a portal to Summer, and is that giving her information the others don't have? All that, combined with the fact that she's also way more bitter about Summer than everyone else, seems signficant.

Anyways. Let's say Summer decides to have a chat with Salem.

She can't tell Ozpin. He'd try to stop her, because he'd see it as a suicide mission. Qrow or Tai both might tell him, or agree with him and get in her way, so she keeps it from them too. Maybe she goes off completely by herself—or maybe she goes to Raven, because she's the only one who might be able to help who Summer knows won't breathe a word of it to Ozpin. Either way, Raven doesn't help her. She's not getting anywhere near Salem.

And then... well. Salem got here by manipulating people, by swaying them to her cause. Summer asks her what she actually wants out of all this. Isn't there some way they could resolve this without this endless war, all this endless death?

Important to note, I don't think we've heard Salem's motivation in her own words. At least, not since the Lost Fable, when she wanted to rule with Ozpin as the new gods of Remnant. I think it's safe to say at least a few things have changed since then. Closest I can think of is what she says to Cinder in Volume 8, "In pursuit of a new world, no cost is too great." Which is ominous, but also quite vague, and says nothing about what she plans to do with the relics.

Instead, we get a whole lot of people guessing. Ozpin thinks she wants to die. Tyrian thinks she wants to destroy the world. Hazel and Mercury think she wants to remake it, with no Huntsman Academies, with them as the new top dogs.

There's a pattern here—Salem never actually says what she wants, and other people have a habit of projecting their own motives onto her actions. Ozpin wants to die, Hazel wants to destroy the Huntsmen Academies, Mercury wants to be the one with the power so he's not getting hurt, and Tyrian's just in it for the chaos.

And it's not like Salem hasn't done stuff like that on purpose. By the time she started growing her army against the gods and telling people they would all steal immortality like she did, she'd already tried to kill herself. She didn't want immortality. She just let people think she did, because it was more convenient for her.

So if this agent of Ozpin's comes to her, absolutely desperate for a way to end the fight before it can come for her daughters, well... why not just tell her about the gods? About how Ozpin plans to one day reunite the relics, and submit Remnant to their judgment? About what might happen if he does?

(TBH I don't think Oz will ever do that, not because I think he's decided not to or anything like that, but because I doubt he'll ever see a humanity united enough for it to be worth trying. We're an argumentative bunch.)

But like. To Summer, all of a sudden there's this other, even bigger existential threat. And Salem isn't like Ozpin. She does have a plan! She wants to destroy the relics, so that the gods can never be resummoned, because of course she hates them and so she would never want them to come back!

(Again, not saying this is actually true, my best guess is that she's trying to bring them back so she can fight them again slkdfjlskdj)

And then, if they succeed, not only will the gods not be a threat anymore, Salem won't be a threat either. She'll have gotten what she wants!

"This can all... be... over..."

Summer has to finish this. There has to be a way for her to do this by herself, to save everyone, to put a stop to it all in time to protect her children! (Raven can't be right, it can't just be hopeless!)

From there, all Salem really needs to do is be a bit careful how much she tells her other followers about what she plans to do—which it seems like she has—and eventually find a way to either hide what relics she has or convince Summer that she's trying really hard to destroy them, definitely, pinky promise!

(And, as an aside: if true, it's very possible that the reason Salem's so insistent on keeping Ruby alive isn't that she wants to turn her into another Hound, but rather that was one of Summer's conditions.)

All this, of course, may or may not come with a sprinkle of Grimmification. Because why not add some body horror to the good old-fashioned betrayal horror! Though, if I'm right and not going completely off the wall here, I suspect it's probably more in the vein of Cinder than TR. Namely, like, consensual.

Regardless, it definitely feels like Summer has been idealized to a point that's just sort of... begging for trouble. She's the perfect Huntress. The best of us. The one who would have pressed on. And like, historically putting people on pedestals like that has not gone well in this show (see: Pyrrha). Not to mention the way trying to be the perfect Huntress that Summer was has been affecting Ruby over the years.

Also, definitely totally unrelated to all of the above: I think paragons that turn to evil despite or indeed because of all their wonderful paragon qualities FUCK SEVERELY and I would like to see it.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 9 #tbh only very briefly but I wanna be safe #summer rose #ruby rose #salem rwby #tinfoil hat time #cw suicide mention #(Salem's canonical failed attempts)#long post

99 notes · View notes

lesbicona · 4 months

Note

why is season 6 of community your favourite /genq im just curious !! :]

the short answer is frankie

the long answer is: im very particular about endings, not in that i need them to have specific qualities (like sad or happy or epilogue-esque or what have you) but in that i need them to have narrative intent. we came close to living in a universe where basic story and basic sandwich closed community's story, and as much as i do genuinely like those episodes (mostly for comedy reasons), i only like them in the context of the full show we have now. i was not old enough to appreciate the show as it aired, but looking back i can see opinions at the time of the ending were divided. season 5 in general, honestly, seems close to season 4 in people's minds- in the post you're referencing where i expressed this opinion, season 5 received literally 0 votes. season 4 is controversial, but season 5 commits a worse sin- it's forgettable. (and i do like it, i really liked prof hickey which is truly a take on this webbed site, but this is my impression of the public opinion of it).

so in just existing, season 6 elevates my personal opinion of the show, but i mentioned public opinion in the paragraph prior because season 6 often gets lumped in with 4 and 5 as 'bad'. now while i have my own set of takes about even just season 4 (really guys, it's fine, it's just an ok season of tv in an excellent show, but it's not BAD) i will try very hard not to get into here, it is an objective divide between the widely acclaimed seasons 1 through 3 and the more controversial rest. my opinions of season 6 are very influenced by this, because it's like my little meow meow i must protect from the haters.

i feel season 6 closes up the themes of community, as evolved and changed as they are, in a satisfying way, and gives the characters themselves a logical narrative end. i especially enjoyed the themes of growing up continued from season 5, which are very pressing in a show about college. of course i realize this is a silly sitcom we're talking about, so i'm not saying that it put forward anything groundbreakingly subtle or even new, but any long-running show (especially one which could not keep the entirety of its main cast) that can wrap up so satisfyingly deserves praise.

and yet, because of the season 4 hurdle, which leaves many people with a bad taste in their mouth for the rest of the entire show, it is not as acclaimed as i think it deserves to be. i don't think people realize how much the show was probably going to change in season 4 even without dan harmon's departure. the idealized season 4 in people's minds seems to be season 3 part 2, which could not have happened for a successful season of television. seasons 1 through 3 are all already very different from each other despite being clumped together. yet people despise every single change to the show from season 4 onward indiscriminately. so of course season 6, with its many, many changes, is so far from season 3 that people blinded by the latter's glory cannot even see the former.

but most if not all of the changes season 6 brings are purely beneficial in my perspective. frankie and elroy are excellent additions to the cast; they are great comedic forces, with a strong role in relation to the others. they both play the almost-straight man jeff used to be, normal in reaction to most of the shenanigans of the original cast while bringing in their own insanity. they also represent the aging of the show. by bringing them in instead of, for example, freshmen students, the new, more grown perspective of the show is reinstated. the bits of their lives outside the committee that we get to see are interesting, funny, and bring them depth.

of course in particular im fond of frankie, who's normal to the point of pathology, whose line deliveries have a 90% chance of obliterating me on the spot, and who is just like me fr fr (a lesbian). she does not budge in her responsibilities, leading to her fluctuating role in the eyes of the cast, antagonist in some episodes and co-lead in others. her presence adds something new for each character to compare themselves to, for the better. in particular, annie, jeff and the dean are all improved because of her.

britta also receives some focus she hadn't since a few seasons past, and while i do not agree with the narrative framing of all of it (as clearly the show itself does not side with her in disliking her parents, as much as she, as a character, has proper reason to), the contents are extremely enjoyable to me. getting a chance to analyze the wannabe-therapist's relationship with her parents is perfectly ironic just as a concept.

season 6 offers some of my favorite comedy of the whole show. while my favorite line forever remains "i need help reacting to this" (which i saw you also enjoy <3), i was in tears of laughter at the end of a majority of season 6 episodes on my first watch. elroy's addiction to encouraging white people is absolutely unforgettable.

sorry for the Whole Fucking Essay! the medium answer, which you unlocked by reading the long answer, is: though perhaps not the objective best community has to offer, i love season 6 twice as fiercely to protect it from its undeserving haters. stan frankie, bring me 6 cans of olives, goodbye.

#thank you for the ask <3 #i think this is the most original words ive written on this blog ever #fun fact: wikipedia doesnt count s4 finale as a paintball ep LMAO

11 notes · View notes

kolbisneat · 3 months

Text

MONTHLY MEDIA: January 2024

I know folks say January feels like a long month but it kinda felt normal to me? I dunno. Anyway this is how I spent the last 31 days.

……….FILM……….

Asteroid City (2023) The artistry is top notch and spoke the loudest but I feel like I'll need to watch it a couple more times to take in the quieter voices. I can't tell if it's me or specifically this film, but it felt...sadder than Anderson's other work?

Saltburn (2023) A lot of false starts, or rather a lot of pivots from what I thought the movie would be. And then also a lot of false endings? I dunno. I found the whole thing...indulgent (take that for what it's worth). A lot of beautiful and memorable imagery.

Spice World (1997) Technically a New Year's Eve watch and a great way to wind down 2023. Truly a wild ride and so many great cameos. And for anyone who doesn't know the Spice Girls I actually think it'd be a pretty great introduction to them.

……….TELEVISION……….

Delicious in Dungeon (Episode 1.01 to 1.04) Digging this adaptation so far! If you haven't heard me ramble on about how great the manga series is, this is your chance to see if you dig the tone and concept.

Daisy Jones & The Six (Episode 1.01 to 1.10) Gotta love the Fleetwood Mac fanfic. Feels both familiar and wholly unique and the brief documentary-style character moments are a lot of fun too. I strive to be Warren the drummer.

Blue Eye Samurai (Episode 1.05 to 1.08) Really great season of television. The last episode stuck the landing in an unexpected way and while I didn't looooove it, I respect it. Still suffers slightly from "just wait til next season" but one misstep amongst a season of perfect steps is okay by me.

The Crown (Episode 6.07 to 6.10) Having not watched the rest of the series (outside of a few eps of the Diana-centred eps this season) I really found the finale...moving. Elizabeth and Philip really do feel like the end of an era.

……….YOUTUBE……….

This Candyman Makes a Wonka-Style Candy Feast | WIRED by Wired Certainly didn't realize how interested I'd be in the process of making candy, but here we are. Really great breakdown and watch it if for no other reason than to learn the backstory behind the "drops" in "lemon drops". VIDEO

How YouTubers Can Avoid Burnout by Extranet Shaquille While specifically talking about YouTubers, this succinctly captures my approach to working in the creative industry: push yourself but not for the sake of exponential growth. Any creative could benefit from hearing this alternative to those pushing the grind mindset. VIDEO

……….READING……….

Full House by Zeke Masters (Complete) Picked this up randomly at a thrift store and it didn't disappoint. Not quite as horny as I expected an "adult western" to be, but that's okay. An easy read and if I see more of "Zeke's" books I'll definitely pick them up.

There Is A Tide by Agatha Christie (Complete) Plenty of twists and I think it all played fair as everything Poirot revealed made me think "oh yeah that was mentioned earlier". Great introduction to Christie's work and excited to pick up more!

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Complete) Heart-wrenching. Such a deeply personal reflection and perspective on Canada's relationship with oil and the people who take it from the ground. While the entire read is a blend of very fun and deeply sad, I found the written epilogue to contain the biggest gut punch. Should be required reading for anyone who drives a car.

Richard Stark's Parker: The Score by Darwyn Cooke (Complete) It's incredible just how cinematic Cooke's work is. So much style and substance with such little brushwork (and only two colours)! If you haven't read any of the Parker retellings then know each pretty much stands on its own and are all worth checking out.

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 3 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Really enjoying this reread while also catching the Netflix series! It's interesting to see the little details peppered in that really shows the whole thing was developed from the beginning. Go watch the show and if you like it well enough then the books are, as cliche as it is, even better.

……….AUDIO……….

God is Dead by Twin Temple (2023) Satanic doo whop? Heck yeah. Their first album was great but something about this follow-up really clicked for me. Maybe it's the the track "Be a Slut (Do What You Want)".

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) My Tuesday crew is knee-deep in Ozian politics. They're allied with a few different parties and many of those parties are in conflict with each other. Classic. Anyway you can read all about their antics here!

And that's it. See you in February!

#Monthly Media #Andrew Kolb #Kolbisneat

10 notes · View notes

rei-caldombra · 3 months

Text

Delicious in Dungeon - First Impressions Review

This is based off the first 3 episodes of the anime and does contain spoilers. Please be aware that I have not read the manga and am not spoiled.

I actually got to watch the first 2 episodes of the anime live at Anime NYC last year. It also came with a sampler manga volume that includes a bit of the first volume of Dungeon Meshi. I’m glad they gave this out, this is a cool and unique item. It was nice being able to look at the manga art while waiting for the panel to start, so then I could compare it to the anime. I think the visuals match the manga very well and think both look great. I think there may be slight differences in facial expressions but nothing notably different or anything I would notice if I was not intentionally looking closely while writing this. The visuals of the anime are very high quality. The animation and art are clean, detailed and smooth.

I like the intricate details of monsters. The mollusks in the armor in episode 3 are fantastic and easily my favorite part of the show. This is creative, unique and fascinating. This was completely unexpected. It is so interesting and inventive. This took a classic fantasy enemy and explained it in an entirely new way. If they can pull this off every episode, I would be ecstatic. I hope we get to see more reimagining of classic creatures on top of one's original to the series.

I also enjoy the cooking aspect of the show. It's very satisfying to watch. I do like very detailed cooking and eating animation. I think the show is at its best when it presents an interesting creature followed up with an interesting way that they are cooked. Again, this is done well in episode 3, where we see the multiple ways that the living armor could be cooked.

Another specific moment I loved was the detailed look into traps in the dungeon. Traps in any kind of dungeon-like structure are a staple, but usually they are breezed past as the characters avoid them. It was great seeing how these mechanically function. And even greater to then see how these traps can be used to cook food. This is another time where Dungeon Meshi does something truly unique and inventive.

It’s also decently funny. I do not think it’s laugh out loud funny, but there’s good jokes. I do think Marcille’s reluctance may get a bit repetitive if it keeps getting leaned into so hard but hopefully it won’t be too bad if we continue the same pattern of each episode featuring a new monster or two that they show us how to cook. I am totally down if it primarily wants to continue the trend of creature cooking of the week for now.

When it comes to the characters, Laios is the main one I have much to say about. I think he is a solid main character. He is pretty straightforward but with the funny flair of being concerningly fixated on eating dungeon creatures.

It creates lots of great rapport between the characters, and I am totally up for this simply being a weird hyper fixation of his. I enjoy when writers embrace characters having weird specific passions like many real people do. I think there is potential for there to be some more depth to him through his responses to his sister being in danger, but sadly I do not think that element is being hit properly, at least not yet. I hope going forward we will get more perspective from Laios on his sister that makes me care more about her and them as a family.

The previous point is a good transition into my primary gripe. I think the main premise of saving Falin clashes with the tone of the show. You’d think they would be rushing to save his sister but it does not come across that way at all. And I do not feel like this is out of caution for moving through the dangerous dungeon or any reason along those lines. I understand that the dragon probably digests slowly but it still doesn’t change that this is between life and death. Falin being in danger does not feel very relevant. A lot of the time it feels like they are taking their time and enjoying themselves. Which is not fundamentally bad, but feels strange when the reason for them being there is to save the main character’s sister from dying. It feels so irrelevant that I genuinely forget that she existed for a time. With the general tone and content I think a serious motivation like his sister being in danger isn’t needed as a plot point. They could just want to finish where they failed, and Laios just wanted to go through it but be able to cook the monsters this time. And I think nothing would need to change. I think a simpler and less serious motivation would be better. A more dramatic plot like someone slowly dying would fit better if the series seemed to have more intent on being dramatic. But I do not see many attempts at that so far. Even at the very beginning when they realize she is down there we do not see much emotional expression. It seems focused on just having fun with its concept of cooking in a dungeon. Which is totally fine, but for me this creates a very poor tone. If I want to just be invested in the cooking and adventuring then I do not see the purpose of Falin being slowly digested being in the back of my mind while they relax with some food. If I am supposed to care about Falin then it doesn’t feel right to see the characters spend time and effort just to test if they could use trap oil to safely fry something when she is being digested by a dragon. For me there is clear tonal whiplash that harms my investment in the show.

I will definitely continue watching as I am enjoying the fun adventuring and cooking. Hopefully the tone will be improved as we go forward. The anime is already slated for 24 episodes so we have a lot ahead of us. I do like the basic episode structure of “creature of the week” but I do worry about it continuing to be interesting for 24 episodes 24 weeks in a row. But I think and hope we will get some more dramatic elements eventually and more focus on Falin being in danger while they take their time cooking. Thank you for reading!

#dungeon meshi #delicous in dungeon #anime #review #blog #winter 2024 anime

7 notes · View notes