#(operating on all three at the same time is just unrealistic. there's no reason to have more than one per operating table)

[villainsidestep]

evil beckers thought….. just how many autopsies Did they send chen ?

[razorwrites]

Was Light Yagami Kira? A dissection of Light’s motivations.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!! FOR THE DEATH NOTE ANIME/MANGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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We can all agree that Death Note’s protagonist, Light Yagami is the Villain of the story, but I don’t think that becomes apparent to viewers in the first few episodes.

Whenever I see people online talk about Death Note, most agree that Light started out with good intentions but later became corrupted in his pursuit of power. I disagree. I don't think that there was ever a time when Light was killing criminals out of a sense of moral obligation. From the moment Light picked up the Death Note in episode one to the moment he was caught in episode thirty-seven Light’s motivations stayed the same, power and a means to sate his boredom. The first volume of the manga is called “Boredom” after all.

I believe that Light's descent from idealistic vigilante to delusional authoritarian wannabe with a god complex— try saying that five times fast —begins in episode four and is fully cemented in the narrative by episode seven. That is not to say that Light had pure intentions in the beginning. That couldn’t be further from the truth. However, I don’t think that Light’s sadistic tendencies are supposed to be apparent early on. Sure, his plans were overzealous and unrealistic from the start, but they did seem to come from a good place. Even if it was sort of twisted.

By not showing Light’s darker characteristics in the first couple of episodes the viewer gets to know the charismatic, intelligent kid with a strong sense of justice that the rest of the characters do. Which makes it all the more jarring when his true colors begin to show.

I know that when I watched Death Note for the first time I was rooting for Light, granted I could not have been older than eight so my worldview was very idealistic. That said, it was during this stretch of episodes that younger me realized that Light was not on the side of justice, instead he was looking out for his own personal gain.

The fourth installment of the Death Note anime is a turning point, not for Light but for the viewer. The way you’re meant to view Light as a character fundamentally shifts in the episodes that follow. Throughout the first three episodes, we see Light in a way that is for the most part favorable. Without getting into the ethics— or the lack thereof —of the death penalty we can all agree that when people do bad things they need to face the repercussions, so Light can’t be evil if he’s just feeding criminals their just deserts right?

That is exactly the way the writers want you to think during those early episodes. And it is in episode four that they begin to challenge that thinking making, you reevaluate everything you know about Light and his motivations.

What makes this shift in perspective evident is the character Raye Penber. Penber is one of twelve FBI agents sent to Japan to investigate the Japanese police and their families. Unfortunately for him, he was assigned to investigate the Yagami family, specifically their teenage son.

When Light notices he’s being followed he devises a plan to find out his “stalker’s” name. Using the death note he makes a criminal who had yet to be taken into police custody hijack a bus that he and Penber are riding. This puts Penber in a situation where he has to show Light his ID.

Ironically this feat takes place on the last day Penber would have been investigating him and his family. Light was already cleared of suspicion by the time he learned Penber’s name.

(Light is narrating)

And if he truly was only concerned with the betterment of society there should have been no reason why Penber had to die. But of course Light does not operate that way, instead, he sees this FBI agent doing his job as a personal slight. Light wants to send the message that he is god and anyone who thinks of opposing him will burn.

When Light claims Penber’s life in episode five along with all the rest of the FBI agents he does so not because they would have hindered his efforts in ridding the world of evil, the death note is an untraceable, undetectable method of killing. There is no way investigators could prove that Light's writing in the notebook has anything to do with the deaths of criminals, Light even says so himself.

Instead, he does it to make an example out of them.

Light kills those FBI agents to feed his ego, using their deaths to send a message to L and the Kira task force.

Up until this point Light had only killed criminals and people who were directly opposing him. Penber’s death was the first innocent to die at his hand or rather his pen. It is satisfying that Light’s choice to kill Penber resulted in an oversight that caused L to look into him more closely and ultimately led to his downfall. Especially since Penber’s death was completely unnecessary.

Side note: Light using Penber to kill all of the FBI agents in Japan is extra evil because people who use the death note can’t go to heaven or hell. So Light didn’t only kill the man, he ruined his afterlife as well.

Naomi Misora was a former FBI agent and the fiancé of Raye Penber. Before the events of the series, she worked under L in the Los Angeles BB murder cases. We learn of her sharp intellect and detective skills back in episode five when she correctly intuits that Kira was responsible for the bus being hijacked when Penber tells her about it.

After Penber was killed Misora began to theorize about Kira. She figures out that Kira can kill in more ways than a heart attack and that he can control his victims’ actions before they die. It is both random and unfortunate that when she went to share this information with the police she ran into Light who was dropping off a change of clothes for his father.

From the moment Light hears her mention the Kira investigation every action he takes is carefully measured. It’s almost predatory how swiftly he manages to lure her into a false sense of security. First, he walks up to the receptionist and loudly states his name and relationship with the chief of police.

Then when the receptionist recognizes him from his time spent helping his father with previous cases, Light pretends not to recognize him, causing the receptionist to explain out loud that Light has worked with the police before. All in earshot of Misora.

When Misora is sent on her way because no one from the Kira task force is available (They are meeting with L for the first time) Light offers to walk with her and allow her to use his phone to speak with his father if he calls back, revealing to her that his father is the lead investigator on the Kira investigation.

Keep in mind, at this point Light has no idea what information Misora has, whether it's something the police already know or if it holds any weight at all. For all Light knows she’s a harmless conspiracy theorist wasting the police’s time. It was already confirmed to us, the audience, that she knows what she is talking about but Light has no way of knowing that. To Light none of that matters. He still asked for her name— presumably in order to kill her —before he found out what intel she was so desperate to share. He even offers up his own name first, spelling included as if to make her more comfortable in sharing her own.

However Misora was cautious, she knew her fiancé died shortly after being put in a situation where he had to show a stranger his badge, so she gave Light a fake name when he asked. And when Light tries to write her name on a page of the death note nothing happens. Though in the brief period between writing down her alias and discovering that it had no effect, Light inner monologue says something disturbing:

When Light learns that this woman was the fiancé of Raye Penber he uses his knowledge of her loss as fuel to manipulate her.

And finally, when he manages to trick Misora into giving him her name, by appealing to her desperation to speak with L, He mocks her as she walks to her grave.

Clearly, he’s taking pleasure from the amount of power he has over the people around him.

It is a popular notion in the Death Note fandom that Light Yagami is the mask and Kira is who he truly is. I don’t believe this to be true. Before I can explain why I think this way, I need to define what Kira is in the first place. Kira is not an alter ego that Light created, rather it was bestowed on him by the public when they interpret his crimes as acts of God. Light may have referred to himself as “the god of the new world” before this point, but it is public perception that grants him that title in any meaningful way. Furthermore, it is the same public perception that decides that Kira is a force for good. Kira to the general public is a saint who damns the guilty and protects the innocent. However, we know that’s not what Light is about. Light doesn’t kill criminals out of a sense of moral obligation, he does so because he wants to exert power over others. Killing criminals just makes it easy for him to justify his actions.

In reality, both Light and Kira are characters that our protagonist is playing. He is neither the perfect son nor the god of the new world. Light isn’t motivated by altruism or a sense of justice. He is driven by a need to assert that he is better than everyone around him. He acts out of pride and boredom, not a moral obligation like he’d like you to believe. Death Note’s protagonist is special in the way that he manipulates everyone around him, even the audience.

It brings to mind a line of L’s from episode twenty-five.

Only we, the audience, don't realize how deep L manages to cut with this question, considering Light hasn’t been honest with us either.

I hope you enjoyed reading my take on the mind of Light Yagami! Did you agree with my takes? Did you disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings about this meta. Feedback is greatly appreciated as I am new to this style of writing, and if you’d like to discuss any point in this work further don’t hesitate to use my ask box! Have a good day/evening/night <3

[hero-israel]

I don't think the Biden administration has been withholding intelligence, I think that was just some really poor wording in the Washington Post article. all other reporting shows that there has been freely shared intelligence. the Biden administration want the intelligence that's being given to be used differently but it would be absurdly foolish for a very long list of reasons and go against standard practice to withhold it.

anyway so about realignment/reshaping operations. basically it's targeted strikes with the specific goal of creating a power vacuum which sucks other people into leadership positions who are more willing to sit down at the negotiating table and transition away from warfare. neither politicians nor the general public particularly like this method bc it's time-consuming due to the amount of intelligence gathering needed to ensure the ideal people are maneuvered into the ideal position. this method mitigates civilian casualties, doesn't flatten cities, and works far better than a ground offensive in situations like this and, given the small size of Gaza, a peace deal might have been possible by now if this had been done from the beginning.

as I said before, conventional warfare against an unconventional force doesn't work; it escalates the situation by turning the bystanders into sympathizers and turning the already sympathetic into being active in the movement, whatever the movement may be and for better or worse. this holds true in other situations as well; consider any situation with a state force vs a non-state force, such as the Boston Massacre, Bloody Sunday, and anything involving police violence. to quote the article in the post you linked regarding the Houthis: “And the use of force against the Houthis in the past […] has merely allowed the group to refine its military capabilities and portray itself as a heroic resistance movement, bolstering its legitimacy at home.” because even when the non-state force is the agitator or bad guy this still holds true. hence the IDF having to return to northern Gaza bc hamas has reemerged there and the unhinged people in the west supporting terrorists that they claim are heroic freedom fighters. hamas knows this on some level as well. they know they have no chance of winning in combat but they can win the propaganda war whilst recruiting new combatants to replenish what they lose after each new round of violence.

I do disagree with the author of that article about using an entirely diplomatic response in regards to terrorism bc that's unrealistic and frankly silly (and, as an USAmerican I'm compelled to quote the meme, don't touch our boats). but at the same time, to quote the article again, “[…] the United States has only bad options because of its failed approaches to Yemen over the past 20 years. Washington must not repeat its mistakes. Decades of experience have shown, by now, that military efforts to dislodge the Houthis are unlikely to be effective. Instead, they may merely further devastate the lives of the already struggling people of Yemen.” the author isn't wrong there. the USA spent two decades in the region with little to show for it, and unless Israel changes its method of taking on hamas soon then you guys will be speedrunning the same mistakes we did.

you can't fight an unconventional force via conventional means nor can you do diplomacy with undiplomatic people, but there are options other than doing nothing and fighting forever wars. I'm not as versed in armed conflict and counterinsurgency operations as I am foreign policy and propaganda, but there's been a century's worth of research into such things and this is what it indicates according to the experts.

the USAmerican advisors/admin are also aiming for a three-point plan of a multi-national regional security force to ensure everyone stays chill upon a ceasefire, supplying tons of stuff to rebuild, and a functional Palestinian Authority/government to lead the way to actual statehood. which seems to have some growing support among Israeli officials and surprisingly even neighboring states seem to be on board. this could actually result in a real end to the conflict though it may remain tense for some time and people may have to choose between getting justice or getting peace, similar to the aftermath of the Troubles in Ireland. there's no way this ends with confetti and parades. it will likely be depressing for both sides and have many variables that could cause everything to go off the rails and back into a cycle of violence. but despite the risks and current horrors, long term peace and stability seem more optimistic now than they have ever been.

I'm not among the people who expect a simple solution that magically solves one of the longest and most complicated geopolitical issues on the planet. and I don't have an opinion on what the course of action should actually be, I'm just aware of the likelihood of various things helping or hindering peace and wanted to at least try to explain some of the foreign policy stuff that tends to go over most people's heads. (I'm so sorry for this being so long)

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[in-starkestday-in-bannerednight]

The MCU doesn’t understand Peter Parker.

Civil War did a good job introducing Spiderman into the fold organically and Homecoming was a nice starting point for Peter. BUT The MCU does not allow Peter Parker to face the consequences of his actions & grow on a personal level via his own journey (unattached to others like Tony). A lot of people praised Homecoming for how accurate the teenager vibes were yet that authenticity and insecurity is limited to Peter Parker and not extended to Spiderman’s world. In Infinity War, Peter’s jump into battle with Tony makes sense due to the foster parent relationship and hero mentality, but after they save Dr. Strange on the ship, Spiderman’s confidence should start to waver. Tony warns him this is a one way trip, and Peter shows no signs of hesitation or fear despite a clear lack of experience (which for an awkward & clumsy teenager is unrealistic AF). Instead the MCU uses him as comedic fodder, throwing movie references and innocent child-like naivete to brush aside the potential for a very human and relatable situation where a kid is trying to prove their worth, in way over their head, and could experience doubt, anxiety, and embarassment over the choices made and about to be made. Consequences do not carry over the MCU for Peter and that is a huge lost opportunity. Flash forward to Peter literally DYING AND SENSING DEATH ARRIVING at the end of Infinity War. A brilliant emotional beat and twist...that in no capacity ever affects Peter in Endgame or Far From Home. Tony Stark experienced immense PTSD, nightmares, and near heart attacks from just witnessing alien invaders. PETER FOUGHT A GOD IN SPACE & DIED and never is shown to be emotionally or psychologically effected. Instead all his character’s emotional capacity is put toward Tony Stark. Again. So this comparison and idea of legacy is more important than the characters arc or journey as a superhero earning his keep? If you don’t commit to consequences, the risks or stakes lose value. Peter doesn’t want to bring his suit to Europe because of TONY’S DEATH not HIS OWN. What about the notion of a uniform that places burden on oneself (LIKE a cop, a doctor, a soldier, or other roles that require immense willpower and are associated with heroism).    There’s no exploration of how his secret identity is damaged by the actions of his public one/vice versa? Tony Stark himself faced terrorist threats because of his Iron Man displays, Steve Rogers BEST FRIEND IN LIFE was purposefully used against him as a weapon that nearly killed him, Natasha Romanoff forgave Clint Barton for killing SHIELD operatives because she made difficult decisions fighting him and surviving THANKS to him when she was a teenager.

Where is Peter Parker’s personal struggle and when does it EVER manifest in the MCU? Will it ever NOT be undercut by jokes? You’d think after dying, he would question the choice to be Spiderman at all. In Spiderman 2 (Sam Raimi version) Peter concerns himself with how capable he is at saving and helping people. This fear and indecision leads to him LOSING his powers, a huge consequence and moment for audiences to relate to those everyday anxieties or responsibility and how capable a person can be. In the MCU this never happens. Peter knows other heroes exist and can fill in the blanks as he figures out his mental well being. If what’s left of the Avengers at the beginning of Endgame could handle Earth’s problems, post Endgame why couldn’t he ask one hero to fill in for New York (like DAREDEVIL) while he deals with everything he endured? The answer is the same reason why Peter Parker and Spiderman are consistently detached from one another’s actions; Tony Stark. Tony being a father figure is fine. But the MCU’s obsession with Peter taking that role and position means there’s no room to dive deeper into Peter’s intentions and Spiderman specific journey. The comics always explored the roots of very human choices and difficulties Peter faced, both in and out of costume, and WONDERFULLY manifested his human problems into hero problems by evolving those issues. But comedy and Tony Stark disable Peter from actively carving his own path and mark on the MCU. In Far From Home, at his lowest point, instead of having to deal with all the consequences thrown his way and created by his actions, Happy Hogan shows up in a cozy private plane, he jokes about Peter renting P0rn in Germany, gives him a half-assed pep talk about TONY, and suddenly building a new spiderman suit is all Peter needs to OVERCOME his emotional, psychological, and physical betrayal by Mysterio? What. The. Fuck.

Lastly, the MCU has used any consequential story thread for Peter and Spiderman as a punchline.THREE TIMES. In Civil War post credits, Peter jokes about being bullied is given a whole UI from Tony, gazes like a kid on christmas (with no regard as to how he almost died just for Tony Stark’s benefit). In Homecoming Aunt May finding out his secret is a joke and never analyzed deeper, making it a surface level punchline gag and removing the moral and familial weight of May and Peter’s relationship. In Far From Home Peter has his identity revealed at the end of Far From Home in the exact same punchline gag way. In the end, I think a big part of why Spiderman/Peter Parker are so disconnected is the creative team behind the films (solo ones especially). Directors are a dime a dozen, and while consistency is important (specifically for Avengers films) I think fresh ideas and perspectives are more important. I’m disappointed Jon Watts is returning for Spiderman 3, I was underwhelmed with Far From Home. Please let Peter Parker be himself, stop relying on Tony, CUT BACK THE JOKES that interrupt emotional beats, and give someone else the directing reigns. Please.

[seeds-and-sins]

F**kin' Diabolical (Chapter One)

Master List

Pairing: Homelander / Original Female Character, Billy Butcher / Original Female Character

Rating: M (Strong language, sexual themes)

Decription: Carly Danvers is a reporter/radio show host/annoying little piece of- For reasons unknown to Vought, she decided to start a one man investigation on Vought's operation. Her efforts had been quite successful so far, so much so that Stillwell would have done anything to see the young girl dead. Turns out Stillwell didn't have to do anything at all, while one piece of evidence against Vought causes Danvers to fly too close to the sun. And Homelander flies after her.

Notes: Carly Danvers is basically a play on Kara Danvers, A.K.A. Supergirl. Except my own take on it.

The hard part wasn't getting in, any idiot would know that, the hard part was getting out. For as fortified as the building was, she didn't really need much to bypass the security. They were used to pretty girls strutting themselves into the building, either for the Deep, or for an expo. Which these reasons often explained such an occurrence, and in this case, an expo was scheduled for the next three hours, a gala afterwards, pretty girls were in high demand for these events.

Her taking a walk through the main lobby of the building didn't go unnoticed, but it was long ignored after she 'accidentally' stumbled into the nearest security guard, mumbling something about the bathroom. With her head down she entered a small crowd of businessmen and women, making their way into the elevator. She would soon get off on a different floor, nobody would ask questions as they moved higher up the building's ladder. Corporate on top, Heroes on top, lobby on the bottom, events and offices all in between; marketing, studios, etc.

Of course, she was the last to exit. Stillwell's office was on the top floor, along with the board room, the helipad and the apartment style living quarters for the Seven. Carly wasn't by any means nervous, she had infiltrated Vought before and her failures didn't deter her from doing so. Her one drive, that Vought was a bunch of liars, that the Seven were as corrupt as anybody could be. She despised that they were lauded, hated that they got away with crimes normal individuals would otherwise not get away with. Supes had issues. She, as a reporter, wanted everyone to know. For years she had been slithering her way around Vought, capturing evidence, posting it online, getting eye witness testimonies, publishing it. She had grown a small base around the facts, that Vought wasn't all that great, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Her biggest accomplishment was just around the corner, a surprise interview with Madelyn Stillwell herself, a chance to finally get the answers she wanted.

She snuck her way out of the elevator as proud of herself as ever for making it this far, usually she was ransacked on her way through the double doors of the tower. She smugly made her way down the hall, taking glances at the obnoxious photo shots of the Seven hung up on the wall. She was so close too, if only she had been more vigilant. Even being vigilant though wouldn't have aided her mission.

Within seconds she was being slammed harshly up against the wall, a hand at her throat was all it really took. She kept herself calm, and unafraid, knowing that if she moved wrong the man before her could crack her neck with his pinky alone. His grin pierced her soul, and she soon returned it with her own grin, which only suited to make the Homelander more intrigued. His hands fell flat against the wall, on either side of her, barring her in with those thick sheets of muscle and superhuman power.

"Oh Carly, Carly," He taunted, one of his fingers brushing away the blonde strands that fell out before her face. She peered confidently into his steely gaze with her own brilliantly blue eyes. "Don't we have a restraining order on you?"

"Actually..." She piped in, with a tone as condescending as his own. She reached down into her jean pocket and retrieved a security card, from the guard she bumped into earlier. "I am not Carly today."

"Oh, of course," He chuckled, reaching down and inspecting the photo on the id. "Indeed, so you are Gary, is that correct?" He returned his hands to either side of her head, grinning at her, hoping to make her all the more inferior. But Carly's blood pressure never even so much as peaked and her heart rate was always the same as it had been before his presence was known. He never understood how she, compared to so many, remained so kempt under his sterling supervision. "A middle aged white man, that weighs over three hundred pounds?" She nodded her head, giggled a bit and he licked his lips.

"Exactly." Homelander rolled his eyes, haphazardly tossing the card over his shoulder.

"Seriously though, you shouldn't be here, its against the rules." His expression dropped into a stoic glare, but his eyes continued to intensely run up and down her body, almost hungry, hungry for something he could never have.

"When have you ever known me as someone who follows the rules?"

"That's a fair point." He nodded his head, "but seriously," He deadpanned. "I could kill you right now for trespassing, couldn't I? And it would be reasonable as you were the one breaking the law, wouldn't it?" She didn't react, which at times annoyed him, but he wouldn't give her the benefit of knowing that. He much rather preferred the playful banter to be honest, it made things so much more interesting for him.

"You aren't going to kill me, Homelander. It would look bad on Vought's part, wouldn't you agree?" She leaned in closer to his body, knowing she was playing with fire, hands pressing against the somewhat unrealistic pectoral muscles of his suit. "One of Vought's greatest enemies on the opposition, disappears after finding themselves in Vought's tower." Homelander glanced back and forth, up and down the hallway, as if he himself wouldn't hear the footsteps of an oncoming bystander from a mile away. "Oh, Homelander, does your dick cup need adjusting, or are you just happy to see me?"

"That's enough, citizen." He snarled between clenched teeth, shoving her back against the wall and she sighed her irritation with the whole situstion. She got so close to getting that interview, only a few steps away.

For a moment, she wondered why he was always so gentle with her. Obviously he was never slamming her up against the wall, or pushing her around at his fullest capacity, she was grateful for that. At the same time, it did hurt, he had left bruises on her arm before, he had nearly broken her wrist once. None of this was anything new, she had been between Homelander and a wall many times before. It seemed to be his favorite way of addressing her, but she could never tell. Homelander's intimidation tactics had stopped working months ago, so Stillwell had resorted to just discrediting Carly, ignoring her, but Carly was still determined.

"Urgh, I just wanted an interview with Stillwell."

"How did you even get in the building, huh?" He gave her some space, surprisingly, taking a step back and interlocking his hands behind his back. She crossed her arms and leaned on her hips, staring him down.

"How else do people enter this building? I walked in."

"Hmm, those fucking idiots." Homelander mumbled under his breath, making his way back towards the elevator. He expected her to follow close behind and she did. If she didn't it would be pointless, he would catch her and most likely carry her to the elevator as if she were a piece of paper.

"To be fair, they did suspect me at first but I'm just so pretty, ya'know?" He snorted at her remark and stopped at the elevator door, pressing the button and then tilting his head down over at her tiny self.

"Next time, it won't be so easy." The elevator dinged and the doors opened, Homelander smiled at her.

"I still will find a way, Homelander." She backpeddled into the elevator and he winked at her.

"I'm sure you will, Ms. Danvers, you always do."

"And you waiting for me on the other side, always makes it better, doesn't it?" He ignored that question as the doors closed shut, his smile falling into a grimace.

"Its not like that." He explained, turning to face an authoritative Ms.Stillwell, who had been patiently waiting for him to finish his conversation with Carly.

"Sure its not, no matter how many times I ask you to get rid of her, you let her go every goddamned time." Stillwell stomped past him, her perfume wafting into his super senses and he sighed.

"Fuck." The human had made him soft, that was a fact, and Stillwell knew it as well as he did.

"Hello! My lovely diabolical hero haters, my name is Carly Danvers and we are here for my favorite segment on the show, 'Not so Super Superheroes'." An applaud from a fake audience, a foghorn blasted out loud and she exploded with laughter. She adjusted the mic towards her, along the headseat on her head. "So anyways, I have this guy that's been trying to get on my radio show for legit months now. I was advised not to allow it, but he brings some interesting superhero fallacies to the table. Without further a due, I introduce Doctor Miles Porter. Miles, how are you doing today?"

"I'm doing good, Carly. Fantastic actually."

"That's good to hear, so are you an actual doctor, or what?"

"Yes, actually, I have a PhD in Chemistry."

"Wow, very interesting, and you are a hero hater just like us?"

"Actually no, but I had a recent falling out with my job under Vought so I decided nows a good time as any to become one."

"Oh, alrighty then, this is perfect timing by the way. I heard you know a little about this conspiracy with the blue dope, would you like to elaborate?"

"Well, its not 'blue dope', its a compound..."

"JESSICA! Get your ass in here, right now." Stillwell shouted, hands clenched into fists at her sides as the one named Miles Porter further explained the elements of Compound V over a Live radio station.

"Uh sure, doc, but with all due respect I don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. Do you Allen?"

Stillwell exhaled a breath of relief for a moment, taking the file on Miles Porter from Jessica's trembling hands.

"Nope, not one bit, Carly." Allen was Carly's partner in crime so to speak, they had been friends since childhood.

"I mean, there are notable studies on evolution that completely debunk the blue dope conspriacy."

"Those studies are falsified by Vought, they just want us to think that heroes are natural so they can continue to profit off of them. Do you really think that you are just gonna spout powers out right now?"

"No, that's a bunch of bs, doc, and you know it. Evolution doesn't work like that. I'm just saying, a few generations from now all of us might have super powers. Who knows?"

"You're supposed to be a hero hater!" The doctor exclaimed.

"Now you listen, and you listen well. I never said I hate heroes because they were birthed from some stupid conspiracy juice. I said I hate them because of the shit they do, they don't apply themselves to the law. We don't need heroes like that."

"Well, at least she isn't feeding into the Compound V, scandal." A voice sounded out from behind Stillwell, she physically flinched and then turned to face Homelander. She flattened her pencil skirt as she did so, then waltzed over to her desk, the radio still playing in the background.

"Her following is quite strong, not enough but strong, and just the fact that its being talked about is despicable."

"Homelander is cool though." Carly said, Stillwell rolled her eyes and Homelander grinned.

"Yeah, I knew she'd say something along those lines." Homelander chuckled, Carly was an amusing blood bag that's for sure. He knew one day he'd probably have to kill her, but for now he will let her live. Stillwell can't control every aspect of Homelander's decisions.

"Oh hell yeah, Homelander is cool." Allen agreed, Stillwell nodded to Jessica, who was standing idly off to the side, to turn the radio off.

"Let's ask some of our listeners what they think, we've got father of two, Joe here. Hey Joe, what do you think about the blue-"

"And that's a wrap for us today on, The Not So Super Superheroes segment, thanks to everyone for tuning in. Don't forget to say sassy and hate heroes." Carly harshly threw her headseat off her head as soon as the 'On Air' light flashed off.

"Geez, man, you got so angry." She snapped at Doctor Miles, sitting comfortably in the seat across from her.

"Look, I thought this show would have been a good platform to release such information."

"I'm a girl about facts, ask Allen." Allen scratched his matted beard and nodded his head, "You embarrassed me, doc, and I don't take that lightly." She stood up, grabbing her papers and then moved to leave the room. Allen followed, only for them both to be stopped at the door.

"Wait!" The Doctor scrambled to his feet with a sigh, "I will show you! I can show you!" No one could hear them on the other side, the room was fairly sound proof when nobody was on air. The other employees tidied up, went over takes and funny sounds to use in tomorrow's segment on the Deep and his fish friends.

"I thought you were fired." Allen's dull voice reminded, the Doctor nodded his head.

"I was, but I am sure they haven't changed my card access, yet. I can take you to one of their labs-"

"No, thanks dude, you're crazy," Allen answered, turning into Carly, who was still standing solid at the door. He narrowed his eyes at Carly's face, thoughtful, curious. "No, Carly."

"It wouldn't hurt, Allen. Besides, whether he's telling the truth or not, getting into one of Voughts labs, what a story that is."

"Yes, exactly," The doctor snorted nervously, "I can show you everything you want to see."

[msindrad]

an insanely long crazy-ass post about the dollars trilogy, I’m so sorry y’all

I FOUND THIS POST. I DID IT. I FOUND IT. JESUS. I spent the entirety of my yesterday searching for it.

I’m going to tag everybody who participated in this discussion and whose posts I‘ve found while searching for this discussion on the off-chance that they still might be interested in, yeah, discussing these films.

@clinteastwood-blog @geekboots-blog @istadris @sybilius @bleak-nomads @thenotsobad-thebad-andtheugly @bloncos @mcicioni-blog @unrealthings @stephantom @colonelmortimer

Also, please feel free to ignore me and my analytical outburst if you don’t feel like talking about the films or talking about them with my crazy hyperfixated ass specifically, lol. I didn’t mean to be rude by calling you out of nowhere, it’s just that sometimes people get excited when there is an enthusiastic newbie in the fandom and gladly return to their beloved canons.

Anyway. The dollars trilogy.

I’ll start with The Good, the Band and the Ugly (and will probably make myself instantly unlikable by nitpicking things, (sigh)).

As stupid as it might sound – the film being an absolute masterpiece, a cultural milestone that is timeless, epic, work of genius, love it, will write and draw about it with pleasure etc. – I’m kind of inclined to find the GBU the weakest film in the trilogy storywise. Don’t get me wrong: the plot is interesting and strong, every scene is entertaining, smart, and instantly quotable… But.

There are a few things that make the story, taken holistically, weak to a degree, especially in contrast to the other two films. Now, let me explain my bold-ass claim.

The first reason I couldn’t even pinpoint for myself until my best friend asked me: yeah, it’s all cool and fun, but what has really changed at the end of the film? They stopped the battle/blew up the bridge (kudos for the pacifist message), they killed a few folks on the way including Angel Eyes, but what did the story amount to in the end? Was their relationship changed? Have they themselves learned something about life, universe and everything? Tuco is still on the rope, Blondie still shoots the rope. They both got their money, split it 50/50. Sure, now it’s an insane amount of money but will it make them reconsider their ways of life? I don’t know, and I don’t necessarily think so. They’re really back to square one. If you consider the graphic novel The Man With No Name canon, then (spoiler) Blondie gives his money away to help rebuild the monastery of Tuco’s brother, and Tuco himself doesn’t really invest his share in anything other than booze, and sex, and troubles, so. Then, Angel Eyes got killed off, but he had even less backstory/character arc than, for instance, Captain Clinton, not to mention that his image, as memorable as it was, kind of lacked certain complexity, so, does it really matter storywise (although he is a great, stylish character, but I hope that you get what I mean)? (Note: Angel Eyes should have been the film’s ultimate personification of the war (inhumanely ruthless, only interested in money, extremely goal-oriented etc.), which, the war, kind of is the main antagonist of the film if you think about it; but the way he was used in the plot, the way he acted, and was generally presented, communicated it only in a limited way, imo).

Everything about the adventure was fun, smart, entertaining, one of the best films ever made, I agree 100%, and I rewatched it with pleasure many times. But I believe that stories have to bring about some palpable change in their world in order for them to be successful and finished. The GBU, in my opinion, doesn’t do it because it doesn’t want to be a story-story, and it’s fine with just letting its characters exist in a magic Western/a cowboy fantasy/a fairy tale. And I guess it’s also one of the reasons why the story didn’t go anywhere from the GBU – there is nothing to add to a basis like that. And I can’t help noting that it’s super ironic that the only film in the trilogy that truly seems to be all about money-money-money has no “dollars” in its title.

Another thing that I think is super important: there is almost no female energy or presence in the film. And it’s not even a matter of representation that bugs me, although I think it’s very important. It just feels like there is a deficit of something vital that renders everything even sort of unrealistic. In AFOD we have Marisol and we have Consuelo Baxter, and they’re relevant for the plot, and they have goals, motivations… lines. In FAFDM we have Mary, who has only a few brief moments, but she’s memorable, endearing, and she has a small story/motivation of her own, and we also have Mortimer’s sister, who is EXTREMELY important, and who also isn’t just symbolic, she herself makes a plot-relevant decision on screen, although a really horrible one from my personal moral standpoint. In the GBU we have what? A prostitute that’s beaten up by Angel Eyes (I never watch this scene), another woman at the hotel where Blondie stays in that is shut up and called an old hag or something like it, and another woman that makes a comment about Tuco’s hanging. None of them are memorable or have motivations on their own, and to me it makes the film lacking some really important counterpoint in terms of dynamics etc.

And nobody needs me to describe all the things that the film is awesome at because everybody knows that the film is one of the best films ever made, so painfully gorgeous that it’s difficult to praise it. So, I’ll move on to the other two films but will briefly talk about Tuco and Eli Wallach.

Eli Wallach is considered one of the best actors ever to appear on film for reason, so, I’ll just say about my personal impressions from his performance: he really made me emphasize with Tuco. His acting is incredibly rich, nuanced, concentrated, and, imo, just leaves you no choice but to think of Tuco as a real complex human being, not a film character. And Tuco is a superb character. Over the course of the story he gets to be loathsome, humane, funny, silly, terrifying, and cunning, - often all those at the same time. That’s one hell of a captivating character who’s just very, very interesting to watch and to analyze, regardless whether you like him or not.

Then, we have A Fistful of Dollars. I’m a huge fan of classic adventure stories that are gen, plot-driven, and have smart main characters figuring out a way to get what they want without being destroyed by other characters for wanting or trying to get it in the first place. I think it’s very difficult and very rewarding to write a good story in this genre. AFOD is exactly this kind of story, and this kind of stories is only as good as their protagonists’ maneuvers are. And Joe is, like, a tactical genius (the barrel! the fire!). And it’s much better to rewatch the film to remind yourself of how smart he is than have me talking about it, so.

But apart from that he is also humanized by his deeply personal motivations that appear completely irrational especially in contrast to his clever manipulations of the Baxters and the Rojos. And he doesn’t do it egotistically, to “get the girl,” which wouldn’t make him particularly sympathetic one way or another. Sure, he makes a good buck at the end, but his primary motivation still is justice for Marisol and her family (and then protection of his friend). Additionally, Joe gets his fair share of punishment for providing said justice, which further humanizes him and kind of makes you worry about him. And Silvanito with his scolding, humor, and skepticism helps with it a lot, too.

And then, there is the fact that the film wants the audience to either want to be Joe or want to be with him, sometimes both at the same time. Everybody on screen is a single Joe’s wink away from swooning because how he practically oozes charisma (only Silvanito is immune to his charms). I can’t blame them, though.

And I also want to point out the last lines of the film: Joe says that he doesn’t want to get involved into politics because that would be too much for him, and I think that it’s very fitting. The film just showed how cool he is, but he knows his limits, and he knows that he operates on a different plane.

So, all in all, it’s a masterfully done story.

Finally, we have For a Few Dollars more. I love all three films, but FAFDM is my favorite, there’s no doubt about that. I’ll start with the fact that it’s perfectly structured and perfectly balanced. We have three big players, Mortimer, Manco, and Indio, and the film shows how dangerous and how smart each of them is, so that the conflict between them ends up being very, very suspenseful. Not to mention the fact that it takes Manco and Mortimer almost 40 minutes, I think, to finally properly meet – by that time we are already speculating who will be the winner in the end, how will they react to each other, how will they interact, how will they work together etc. We get to know them quite well first, and then their relationship allows us to explore their characters even deeper through their interactions, their differences, and their similarities. For some time, storywise they become a single unit. While the story of Indio’s assault on Mortimer’s sister is revealed parallel to the plot.  

Indio himself is terrifying as hell without being cartoonish. He is a really dangerous, broken man that is also methodical, smart, and ruthless. He is so bad that he kills the opponent’s family just to make him bitter enough to draw on him. And he is so bad that he is okay with killing off his own gang.  

Speaking of which, Indio’s gang is colorful. He has interesting interactions with them at the beginning, in that church. And Klaus Kinski made his Wild stand out to me. I swear, the moment he almost cries in that saloon when Mortimer takes away his cigar, I feel bad for him every single time. And when he recognized Mortimer, it was tense. He even had a cool witty one-liner after Mortimer said that he should come to him in ten minutes to help him light that match and smoke: “In ten minutes, you’ll be smoking in hell!”

By the way, Indio’s tendency to get unnecessarily physical with his gang looks even more unnerving when he touches Manco to check his wound/shares a smoke him with some clearly visible eroticized subtext, which gets even creepier when you realize that he is a rapist. I swear, I was worried about Mortimer when I saw the film for the second time – that is even though I knew the plot – because Manco brought up that family resemblance between Mortimer and his sister, and we all know what Indio did to her.

What else? I could bring up all sorts of things, the action, the final duel, the small smart details that allow the plot to happen the way it happens (e.g. how Manco manages to hide the bag with all the money on that tree before Indio’s gang capture him and Mortimer – only to re-collect that bag at the end of the film), the humor, the street kids and all the other cool-cool secondary characters (Joseph Egger’s informer probably is my favorite), the opening sequence and the title card (oops, already rambled about this one) really, anything and everything including the perfect chemistry between Manco and Mortimer.

But I’ll just say that the music in this film is special to me. Every single composition by Ennio Morricone is special, unique, memorable, and intriguing, it’s true, and so it feels redundant and banal to say something like this. The Ecstasy of Gold is almost extraterrestrial, the main theme of Two Mules For Sister Sara imitates actual mule sounds, how genius is that, etc., and you must be dead to not be enticed and mesmerized beyond words by the main theme of the GBU, which is a hymn of all spaghetti Westerns now, a universal call for adventure (I feel like a bad person saying this, but I’ve always wanted to joke that Ennio put sexy back into the “waah-waah”… no, I regret nothing).

BUT. To me personally, the music in FAFDM is as personal as the film itself, and dare I say even more important to the story than in the GBU, despite the theme of the GBU being a kind of Greek choir throughout the film. The personalized sounds for Manco and Mortimer accentuate their personalities to the point where they almost create a reflex in you. The pocket watch chime is literally part of the story and plays a huge, crucial role in the plot! And it’s decidedly one of the saddest musical scores I’ve ever heard. It’s minimalist, mournful, and yet also nostalgically bittersweet. It feels like a reminder that there’s no going back whatever that might mean in the actuality. And the famous moment where Manco asks Mortimer whether his question was indiscreet and Mortimer says that the answer could be… I feel personally touched whenever I watch the scene. For me, it doesn’t feel like just an amazing scene, it triggers some deep emotion that is hard to express and almost gives me the urge to cry. Something along the lines of respectful and compassionate “I’m sorry that it happened to you,” “I’m sorry that I can’t help you.” The feeling of personal tragedy is conveyed infinitely better than a three-volume backstory ever could.

And then, there is this huge potential for all the stories about Manco, and Mortimer, and Blondie, and Tuco, and Angel Eyes, and even Joe to explore... Well, I better stop here.

So, yeah. It turned out to be a crazy long post, and I‘m grateful to anybody who reads it till the end. And if you haven’t watched these movies please do. Cheers.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

6 Extra Episodes in S10. This May Be What We’ve Been Waiting For!

Yeah, you might say I have a “few” thoughts on the extra 6 episodes, lol. I think this is fantastic. I really think this is what we’ve been looking for for 5 years.

Of course, that said, I must caveat this with the fact that this is just speculation and no one knows for certain. But man, is this exciting!

When I heard for myself Angela announce the 6 new episodes for S10, the question I kept coming back to is…why? Why would they do that? Even putting Beth aside, never in 10 seasons have they ever extended a season at all, and 6 is a lost of episodes. (I can’t help but run through every episode 6 of every season and how many Beth clues we’ve found in all of them.)

But more to the point, why make them part of season 10? Why not finish them and make them s11 so they can show how awesome TWD is and that it hardly missed a beat. You know, on to season 11!!!!! But they’re smashing them into s10. Why? That’s a REALLY big deal.

So let’s state some things we know MUST be true about these six episodes:

1. Obviously, they’re special. For some reason.

2. They MUST have been previously filmed. They haven’t filmed anything since November and with CoVid, no way they could have. And yes, you could argue that they were filming secretly, away from cameras, as we often say that about Beth. But even so, they wouldn’t have had enough time before CoVid hit to film six full episodes. So these must have been filmed sometime before that. And then there’s those missing scenes we’ve PROVEN were filmed and never aired. Just seems like too much of a coincidence that this wouldn’t be that.

3. It must be something related to what happens in the finale. Maybe that seems obvious, but the reason I say that is because, in terms of Gimple’s we’re-working-on-seeing-what-happened-to-characters-early-in-the-apocalypse thing, I think there’s a few possibilities for what he could be talking about there. One of them, obviously, is Beth. But they’ve also long-hinted at an Abraham/Eugene early apocalypse spin off. So, it’s POSSIBLE he could be talking about that or some other storyline they have in mind for a future spin off. Now, I have more reasons for why I don’t think that’s the case, which I’ll get to in a minute, but this is what I mean about these 6 episodes needing to be tied to the finale. Putting in an Abraham—or anyone else’s flashback story line, for that matter—would make no sense here. It would be really jarring for the viewers because there’s been no hint of anything like in the show.

And of course a non TD-er would probably argue that there’s been no hint of Beth either, but we all know better, don’t we? There’s the Connie stuff (that convo between Daryl and Carol was the first on-screen mention of Daryl’s love life since…what? S3? When Carol asked him jokingly if he wanted to screw around? I mean, of course the fans were talking about it with Beth, but none of the on-screen characters were. And of course there’s the symbolism, dog stuff, Emily’s music being in it, and all other social media hints and attention she’s gotten. It just makes sense that if the last 5 minutes Nicotero keeps hinting at is her, then it would naturally follow that we’d then see her backstory.

And, I gotta say, the six episodes is perfect. This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. We’ve all gone so back and forth about how they’d do this. We knew her backstory would take more than a single bottle episode. Or even two. And having a full 6 or 8 episodes for it deviates too much for too long from the main story and the other characters. So we always figured it might be a spin off or “special event” or something. This works perfectly for that mold, and may explain why they’re just “extending” S10.

But I’ll say more on that in a minute. Let me get back to Gimple’s comment.

Three things really stuck out to me about what he said, all of which make me think his comment was about Beth, rather than some other spinoff.

1) He made a point to say it was something that happened early in the apocalypse, not pre-apocalypse. And while that would work for an Abe/Eugene spinoff as well, it just jumped out at me that he wanted to be very clear about that.

2) He said what they’re working on that he’s referring to isn’t an entire series. That specifically suggests that a) it’s probably these 6 episodes he’s referring to, because rather than making them their own series (like TWB) they’re just mashing them into the main series. And b) what I said above about any other character spinoff: it would make way more sense and be way less jarring to have it be its own spin-off event because it just wouldn’t fit into the main series.

3) He suggested it’s what they’re actively working on right NOW. So, let me be the devil’s advocate here. That could possibly mean two things. Right now they can either do remote stuff to work on what they’ve already filmed or they can plan for stuff they’ll be filming when they get the okay to do so.

Let’s say I’m wrong and what Gimple said refers to some other spin off. Well, you could actually argue it either way. Maybe (again, we’ll use the Abe/Eugene thing as a placeholder, though it could feasibly be anything) they already filmed another spin off, secretly, and it’s just that no one knows about it. They could, technically, have done that at any time since MC left in S6, right? So Gimple could be working on that. Or, if they haven’t done any other filming, he could just be planning for the next thing beyond S11, right?

But that just doesn’t seem particularly realistic to me. Given that they’re trying to get stuff out for the fans, and the way CoVid has thrown a wrench in everything, I think all other projects would be backburned and they’d just be pushing as hard as possible to get the rest of S10 and S11 out to us. That’s what they have to be working on now to fill the gap of CoVid and make sure the fans don’t riot. That’s pretty much what Angela said and Gimple, Nicotero and others all agreed.

So of course, it’s not proof or anything, but it just seems obvious to me that what Gimple meant is what’s in these 6 episodes and nothing except it being about Beth makes sense. Nothing else would fit into the story at all right now.

Okay, I’m going to give a few thoughts about the suspicious pushing back of the finale and then I’ll stop.

In many ways, them pushing back the finale makes MORE sense to me in light of these new episodes than it did before. You both know I’ve always thought it was hokey because, after getting the filming done, everything else, by definition is done by computer and therefore can be done remotely.

So here’s what I think happened. Remember that even after CoVid hit, they still got several episodes aired, and didn’t tell us until—I don’t remember exactly when; episode 14 maybe?—that they wouldn’t be airing the finale because it wasn’t finished. I still think that was a lie. I think it wasn’t so much that they didn’t get the finale finished, but that they looked at what was happening (CoVid) and understood that everything would be shut down for an extended period of time and there would be a gap. That they wouldn’t get S11 filmed until the new year. But overall, S11 isn’t even really the point. Like I said, hearing about these 6 episodes has brought me some clarity.

So this may explain both why they held back the finale and why they’re mashing these episodes into S10, rather than making them their own thing. Now, maybe they were always going to do that. I obviously couldn’t speak to it either way. But I think the time frame is the thing here. Understand, I’m operating under the assumption that these 6 episodes will be Beth’s backstory, the missing 17 days, the white church, all of it. So, assuming that’s true…

If they always knew they were going to air these episodes soon after 10x16, they probably want them aired very close to (soon after) the reveal of Beth being alive. Think of it this way. When her being alive is revealed, there will a collective, fandom gasp. And then tptb will hype everyone watching the next episodes so we can find out how and why this is the case. But if they’d aired the finale back in February, it would have been 9 months before got those answers, and they would have lost the hype of the initial shock. Not to mention, while obviously the break would have built up plenty of hype for Daryl and Beth, it also would have allowed the haters to rail for months and months about how unrealistic this is, which might have infected others in the fandom in a negative way. I think Gimple and Kang are smart. They know their fandom very well, and are doing everything they can to guard against that sort of thing.

So, I think it’s possible that they were going to present these six episodes in a different way originally, like a spin off or special event (maybe, maybe not; I could see it either way) but they decided to make it an extended part of season 10, specifically because we won’t have s11 for a while and they want to push people through these episodes as quickly as possible after the finale.

I also think it’s terribly interesting from a psychological standpoint that they plan to start airing these things in October. Exactly when we SHOULD have gotten S11. Like I said, the writers are just smart that way. All we’ll actually be missing time-wise this year is the finale. And yes, other things like Fear and TWB were suppose to air in the interim. But in terms of the main series, which blows all the others out of the water viewership-wise, we’ll be sticking to the same schedule of getting more TWD in October, exactly when we should. I’m sure that’s purposeful. And by the time they air everything they’ve already filmed (S10, Fear, TWB), they’ll probably be ready to start airing S11 by then. Hopefully.

Okay, sorry. I said I’d stop, but two more minor things I want to mention. When Nicotero mentioned the last 5 minutes thing again, he said it would take everyone in a “whole new direction.” That gave me a lot of hope. Yes, I know hyperbole and exaggeration are still a thing, but I think we get it less from Nicotero than from Gimple, and I just don’t feel like he’d call it a “whole new direction” if he was just referring to Father Gabriel’s death or something. So once again, I think that “whole new direction” will be something completely unlooked for that will push us into those 6 episodes. That gave me some hope.

And finally, on the topic of FG’s death, I really think that could be a thing. Did you notice Angela’s giggle? I think it was right at the end when they were asking her what to expect from the finale and she just did a rundown of how all the characters were doing important things in important places (Negan has some exciting scenes, Carol has a redemption arc, Daryl’s leadership is important, etc.). And when she mentioned FG, she did this weird smile/giggle thing. She didn’t do that mentioning any of the other characters. It was like she got nervous and was trying to cover something. Just a little too shifty-eyed and giggly for me. So I kinda think we might be right about him dying in the finale.

But of course that remains to be seen. Thoughts?

[jokertrap-ran]

Amnesia: LATER ~Clover World~ Route Translations (New World: Kent Prologue)

Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (水嶋ラン) Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut !

Orion: Right. So Kent's...There he is!

Orion: He's standing over there with Ikki.

Kent: ...Hm? What is it? Do you require something?

Ikki: Ken, that's not how you should be asking someone if they need something, is it?

Ikki: It's going to be her free time soon, so don't you think she approached you only because she wishes to speak to you?

Kent: Is that so? That's a rather commendable act. Well, I suppose it works out for me too.

Kent: I was just about to call you over as well, actually. Kent: But I was rather stumped since I didn't know how I should approach you.

Kent: I never had the chance to ask a girl out for something as rude as a midnight drive...

Orion: Huh? A drive?

Ikki: Ken? You're getting the order all wrong.

Ikki: Say, Ran? How about the 3 of us sneak out of here and go for a ride together?

Ikki: There don't seem to be any fireflies here. And from what he says, we should be able to find some if we head down to Shinano.

Orion: ...Shinano?

Orion: The same one on the news? Isn't that really far away?

Kent: Taking the news from the last couple of days into account along with the ecology of fireflies, there is a high chance that we'll find them.

Kent: And it'll also only be about 2 and a half hours' worth of travel time if we take the highway.

Kent: Therefore, heading to Shinano from our current location is not an unrealistic goal. It is in fact, rather achievable.

Kent: But that's just how long it takes for a one-way trip. I doubt we'll be able to return in the same day if we leave now.

Kent: I'm concerned if we should be spending the day with a girl like you travelling together with us.

Ikki: But I've already told you earlier. She lives alone and tomorrow's also her day off from work. Besides, it's also summer break for universities.

Ikki: I'm sure it's normal for a university student to spend the night out.

Kent: She's still a minor. So it's not really recommendable for her to be wandering around that late into the night.

Ikki: You just need an adult to supervise the trip then, yes?

Ikki: You and I are both splendid adults, so I'm sure we can pull off being her guardians.

Kent: I see... No, wait. Aren't guardians only a role that close relatives can take up!?

Kent: And it's a far bigger problem if a girl, who's a minor, is being led around by the nose by two fully grown adult men!

Ikki: Ah... what a spoilsport, really. And you were all too pleased to invite her for a drive as well.

Kent: ...! I'm only interested in observing the anomalies that the fireflies are presenting. This has absolutely nothing to do with her!

Kent: The objective of this entire thing is that we reach Shinano in the end. The drive in between has no meaning whatsoever.

Kent: I won't say that the drive will be utterly lacking in the element of fun, but that's a matter only between Ikkyu and me.

Kent: I still don't think it's a good idea to be taking a woman along this late in the night; with a car that can also act as a secret room.

Ikki: But there are still three of us in there, even if it might be a secret room of sorts. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

Ikki: You'll definitely stop me if I ever made a move towards her, yes?

Kent: Obviously.

Ikki: On the flip side that you decide to make a move on her... Well, I'll probably stop you too.

Kent: I'm personally not prone to such violent acts but, what's with that "probably"? You ought to stop me with all your might.

Ikki: But it'll be rather uncouth of me to stop you if she does get into it, won't you say?

Kent: T-That's...

Ikki: You can't deny the possibility of it, can you? Because men and women are impossibly hard to understand at times.

Kent: ...That will never happen regardless of how far our relationship progresses tonight! Ikki: That's why you don't need to overthink it. You won't lay a hand on her and you'll also stop me if I try to do the same.

Ikki: See? Problem solved.

Kent: You impossibly smooth bastard. But still-

Kent: ......

Kent: Enough about that. Let's leave the final decision up to you, Ran.

Kent: I offer you a drive with me and Ikki. Our goal is to hunt for fireflies in Shinano. You'll probably end up back home tomorrow.

Kent: We're a group of two men standing in front of you but you have my word that we won't do anything to you. It's up to you to believe me or not.

Kent: What will you do?

Orion: He asked for your opinion, but...

Orion: I think it's better for you to go with them. What about you?

Orion: I mean, they'll continue to be absolutely fixated on those fireflies if you stay here; so I'm sure there's some reason for you to join them.

Orion: There might be a chance that our situation will be exposed if we were forced into a 1-on-1 conversation, so that's a terrifying thought...

Orion: And I'm fairly certain the conversation will still go on since there are 2 people with us.

Orion: Yeah, I think we should take them up on their offer so that you can grasp some clues regarding your memories, Ran.

Orion: Like the reason why everyone's inviting you to see those fireflies out there. I'll accept the invitation with them. Please!

Kent: I see, so we've come to an agreement. Very well then, let's head to my house after we've stopped by yours.

Kent: We'll all catch a cold if we head there dressed in yukatas since the temperatures are lower there. We ought to grab coats or a change of clothes.

Kent: There's no way I can drive while wearing getas either, so I'll have to change them out for normal shoes back in the car.

Ikki: Stop. Hold up.

Kent: What's the matter, Ikkyu?

Ikki: Don't you think the way she responded earlier was a little strange?

Ikki: She seems way too enthusiastic about the drive, so much that her answer sounded a bit rushed.

Kent: Still, I'm a little concerned with how she used polite speech. We're not associated with her in that manner.

Ikki: Oh? What kind of relationship then?

Kent: It is hard to define in a single word, but we're in one that allows us to debate matters.

Ikki: I don't really catch the gist of it, but do you two just like arguing with each other?

Kent: Let's just say we like debating with each other. She has always tried to argue against my point, so it's obvious that I have to stick up for it.

Kent: It's calmer between us in the cafe since we both work as staff members there, but our relationship has always fundamentally been that way.

Ikki: ...Right, I see. Hmm... I don't actually keep an eye out on the cafe floor, so I wouldn't know.

Ikki: Well, I suppose you're unique enough, considering how you're able to keep up with his 'debates'.

Kent: ......!

Ikki: I mean, you know. I'd love to see the two of you... Hey, Ken? Why are you stiffening up?

Kent: Why did you speak in such a manner? I never thought that I'd ever hear you speak so politely outside the cafe itself.

Kent: Are you trying to create a psychological gap to throw me off in hopes that I'd make a miscalculation in my logical explanations?

Kent: If so, then you're only partially successful. You're clearly still an amateur since that tactic only works when it is utilized in the middle of a debate.

Ikki: Huh? What's with that? No matter how you go about it... Aren't you just overthinking things? Reading too deeply into it?

Kent: Ikkyu. You're not aware of my usual debates with her. That's why you're capable of saying such generalized and daft things.

Ikki: ...Yeah, you guys just love arguing.

Kent: I'd prefer it if you call us friends of the debating art.

Kent: It's calmer between us in the cafe since we both work as staff members there, but our relationship has always fundamentally been that way.

Ikki: Arguing buddies, debating buddies, or not; we're still going together, right? Ikki: And it'll also be rather difficult making a round trip in one sitting, so how about we make a booking in the lodge over at Shinano?

Ikki: We still need a base of operations, regardless of whether we're sleeping there or not, right? We can't keep a girl in the car forever either.

Kent: I see, very well. I suppose a base is thus required. Could I leave you to make the necessary arrangements, Ikkyu?

Ikki: Of course, I'll get it settled before you get the car down here. I'll try to find an available lodge via phone.

Kent: Let's make haste then. We should be able to reach Shinano by 10 PM if we head out now.

────♡♤♢♧────

Ikki: ...In other words, I came right from Ken's home, having changed into a yukata there. I wasn't quite sure how to put it on.

Ikki: Most of it wasn't a problem until we reached the obi... He's really good with obis, belts, buckles and the sort so I got him to help me out.

Ikki: Toma and Shin chose your yukata, I bet. It's frustrating to admit it, but I must say that they have some pretty good taste.

Ikki: It really suits you. I'm not in the habit of saying this too often, but you're more beautiful compared to the other girls.

Ikki: Ken was sneaking glances at you all the time while we were caught up in conversation. I'd say he's pretty conscious of you being there.

Ikki: Say, is there really nothing between you and Ken...?

Ikki: Being debate buddies isn't just an excuse you two cooked up?

Orion: Eh? H-How should we answer that? Ran... You don't know either, do you?

Ikki: I mean, I for one am surprised that there's a girl out there that he frequently talks to.

Ikki: Most of the girls that approach him tend to run away after they've lost a debate with him.

Ikki: But nevertheless, you stayed on and continued striking up conversations with him, right? ...Why?

Ikki: Why do you continue to argue with him? A rebellious streak? Curiosity? Or...?

Orion: W-We wouldn't know the answer to that question even if you asked!

Orion: You didn't even know that the two of you were debating buddies until today!

Kent: Ikkyu.

Kent: What do you intend to do by interrogating her?

Ikki: My, I see that you've returned.

Kent: She's not someone who'd break under your interrogations. Still,

Kent: it's not exactly polite to be inquiring after me, especially when I'm not around.

Ikki: But it's not like I'd get a proper answer out of you even if I ask nicely with a cherry on top. Even if we're conversational buddies.

Ikki: You're clearly giving me a look that says that's not all there is to it.

Kent: Cease your unjustified suspicions. And stop bothering her unnecessarily.

Ikki: Unjustified suspicions...?

Kent: Indeed. Anyway, I've brought the car around so let's get going. You all just have to get on board so we can finally leave.

Ikki: Humph... Well, forget it. Well then, Ran. How about you come sit next to me in the back seats?

Kent: Wait, Ikkyu. Aren't you taking the passenger seat?

Ikki: Hm? Surely you no longer need a navigator sitting next to you since we've already been to Shinano once?

Ikki: Plus, isn't it a little sad for a girl to be stuck sitting in the back all alone?

Ikki: Oh. Would you be happier if #Name[0] sat in the passenger seat instead?

Kent: ...Regardless of whether I'm happy about it or not, isn't there another reason why she should be in the passenger seat and not behind with you?

Ikki: Heh? Another reason?

Kent: What if she gets car-sickness?

Ikki: ...Oh no, now I have it coming.

Kent: It's still quite a distance we're travelling, even if we're on a relatively stable highway.

Kent: And I've heard that it's much easier to get car-sick when one's sitting in the back seats compared to the front seats.

Kent: You can go sit in the passenger seat if you're prone to car-sickness, but otherwise you're fine to go sit in the back.

Kent: What will you do?

⊳Choice: Hop into the passenger seat with Kent.   

Kent: ......

Kent: I see, so you're prone to car-sickness. Come right up to the front then. I'll take caution to make it a smooth drive.

Kent: Come on then, the car's parked right opposite us.

Ikki: So... I'll tell you this because he doesn't seem to realize it himself.

Ikki: That's just his way of telling you that he's elated to have you sitting with him up front.

Orion: What? Really!? I really didn't think of it that way...

Ikki: He was silent for a while, right?  That's his sign of internally blissing out.

Ikki: It's hard to gauge his emotions when it comes to his ever-lying poker-face. So, even though he looks unfriendly on the outside, he's really sensitive inside.

Ikki: Please treat him gently.

Orion: Well...

Orion: I can't really think of it as anything other than him poking fun at Kent with how he worded it, though.

Ikki: I think he'll be rather confused and shaken up if you do treat him as such. Ikki: It's amusing to just imagine.

Orion: ...He was poking fun at him, alright.

Kent: ......

⊳Choice: Get into the back seat with Ikki.   

Ikki: Huh? You're okay with sitting together with me?

Kent: I suppose that's because she's not prone to car-sickness. It's natural to want a conversational partner when embarking on a long journey.

Kent: It's also quite the arduous task to converse between the front and back seats.

Kent: I'll leave her to you then, Ikkyu. I'll go bring the car around.

Ikki: Hmm... I apologize. I might have overstepped my boundaries.

Ikki: You were just trying to be considerate when you decided to get in the back with me, right? You should have just gone up front.

Ikki: It's unusual for there to even be a girl with whom he's capable of holding discussions with. So I suppose I couldn't help but poke fun at him...

Ikki: And he seems to be sulking a little now. I suppose I've gone and done something bad.

Orion: Wait, that was him SULKING!? He's... Yeah, he's rather hard to get a read on...

Ikki: He'd be even more sulky if you offer to sit in the passenger seat now, so how about you go sit with him up front when we return?

Ikki: No hesitations this time.

⊳Choice: Could I lay down in the back?   

Kent: I see, that's fine by me. The journey there will take 2 and a half hours so you should be able to get ample rest.

Kent: Let's get going then. I'll bring the car around.

⊱ ────♡♤♢♧ 𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊…♡♤♢♧ ──── ⊰

[thepeakyfckingblinders]

The Death of Me || Tommy Shelby x reader

⤠ MASTERLIST⤟

Anon requested: Tommy & prompt #15? I feel like that's something he would literally say especially when you try to fight him on something whether it's the right thing to do or not. welcome also! excited to read your work, sending you tons of support 🥀-  (love you baby) Summary:  n.15 from my prompt list: “I won’t repeat myself a second time” (Bossy Tommy is hot like black leather car seats on a mid-august day)

Warnings:  swearing, swearing, swearing, bossy tommy, swearing

Author’s notes:

Fucking.

@namelesslosers asked if I could tag her in this, so here you go, love.

I don’t know if it took me too much to post this, if yes, I’m sorry, but writing is never just easy, it demands concentration and effort, plus I don’t want you to be disappointed, so I’m always extra accurate while working.

Let me know what you think and tell me if this is what you expected  ♡

I’m Italian, English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for every possible mistake I made. Also please, help me improve my writing by telling me if there’s something wrong

ENJOY!

If there was one thing that you knew for sure, it was that being a Peaky girl was anything but simple. Needless to say you loved your new family, they were the safe harbour you’d never had and you were grateful for what you got, but nonetheless, being a Shelby entailed a whole range of huge risks and duties leading all of you to incessantly teeter on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

You had been Tommy’s secretary for three years now and his fiancé for two, as a matter of fact he had trusted you with his life, always considering you his equal since you were nothing but one of his several employees. Indeed, as soon as you applied for the job, your sharp intelligence absolutely dazzled him, and that, together with your guts and innate ability to think out of the box, made you the perfect candidate for filling the vacancy at the Shelby Company Limited. For these same reasons, even though the two of you had developed feelings for each other over the years, Thomas kept on fully treating you as one of his co-workers, never hiding anything about his business and always letting you take part in all of their operations. However, when he started dealing with the Russians, things inexplicably changed: Tom’d become overprotective of you, almost paranoid, he literally put you under escort, having Finn, Isaiah and a couple more of his boys chase you everywhere and, despite that, he was still personally checking on you whenever he could. Anyway, you were perfectly aware he only wanted to keep you safe and that the reason behind those apprehensive behaviours was his immeasurable love for you, so you didn’t object to the new safety measures, at least not until he proposed to send you away for a while.  That would’ve always been out of question to you, you were immovably staying by his side, no matter what; yours was a dangerous life, actually too dangerous, death was constantly around the corner, for you knew that every second might have been the last and you didn’t want to waste any of your time together. Eventually, one morning, you totally lost it when, entering your workplace, you found on your desk a bunch of papers, including a train ticket and major details on your presumable new house. -What the hell are these?- You stormed in Tommy’s office, boldly waving those documents, before slamming the door hard behind your shoulders. -Good morning to you, love-  he sarcastically mumbled since he was busy lighting the cigarette held between his plump lips. -Do you want a drink?- His witty eyes met yours as he asked that silly question on purpose, perfectly succeeding in his intention of getting on your nerves. -Are you fucking kidding me, Thomas?!- You shouted angrily, but he just shrugged and took another avid draw from his cigarette. -No?! It’s fine, ‘think I’m gonna have one- A nearly amused look remained on his face as he expertly poured some gin into a glass, absolutely ignoring your previous question once again. That was enough for you to lose your temper and soon the papers were smashed with a certain violence on the huge wooden bureau, right under his vigilant eyes, nevertheless his stoic expression didn’t change at all. - I asked what the bloody hell are these!- In three years you’d never ever come to the point of literally growling in his face, actually, the two of you never had a serious argument until that precise moment. -These- that single word came out of his mouth in a long breath - these are the records of the place you’re moving to, tomorrow- Tommy spoke calmly, taking a sip from his drink and adjusting himself on his arm-chair, it was almost like he was talking about the weather and you really couldn’t believe it. -Fuck no! I’m not going anywhere, damn no, Tommy!- Thomas brought a hand upon his eyes, starting to massage that area as if it was the only way he had to find relief from your wild screaming, then he quickly swallowed the entire content of his crystal cup and glared at you with austere eyes. -You’re going to pack your bags and leave tomorrow morning, y/n. I won’t repeat myself a second time-

He somehow managed to keep his cool, despite the exasperated expression progressively taking over his features, still you couldn’t just shut your mouth and nod like one of his usual toy soldiers. -I said no! You fucking prick, you didn’t ever bother telling me about this! Do you realize how...- You interrupted your frenetic stream of conscience when Tom abruptly stood from his chair, lighting the second cigarette in a row, clear sing of his rampant irritation. -I don’t fucking care! Do you hear me?- His loud, hoarse voice made your flesh crawl -I can’t think straight, I can’t fucking concentrate knowing you’re not out of danger! And if I can’t concentrate on my bloody business, I’ll get us all fucking killed!- You watched as his brows rose unrealistically and his hands furiously gesticulated, half a cigarette still held between his thumb and index finger, the veins in his neck pumping scarily as he continued his impetuous speech. -Do you want me to get us killed?! No, you fucking don’t! Now you’re gonna go home and pack those fucking bags and tomorrow you’ll fucking jump on that damn train! Because I fucking need to know that your stubborn ass is safe, if I want to win this war!- He stopped yelling once he was already a span away from your face and, when he took a minute to simply look in your y/e/c iris, all his rage, together with yours, seemed to vanish in the fresh air of his office. Thomas let out a strong, deep breath and closed his eyes, before his right hand went through your hair and his lips unexpectedly collided with yours in a rough, but passionate kiss. -You’re going to be the death of me, y/n-

[houseplant-central]

Adaptations of Old Stories

I watched "Atanarjuat (the Fast Runner)" (2000) by Zacharias Kunuk yesterday for my Canadian Cinema class (film 3401), and it's got me thinking about modern adaptations of old stories.

Folkloric legends have inspired many a film adaptation, but some (ie. arthurian tales), have been done over and over well while others have been done over and over terribly, and still others have been passed over by adaptation writers. "Atanarjuat" is a story that comes out of Inuit legend, and works amazingly well a film because of its strong, visual narrative. It was filmed in Inuktitut and directed by Inuit filmmakers and is viewable in Inuktitut, with English subtitles, making it a groundbreaking film. Besides the strength of the narrative and the visual appeal of its sweeping, epic nature, I think part of the reason "Atanarjuat" resonates strongly with a multicultural audience is that, just like old stories from anywhere else in the world, the main themes of "Atanarjuat" include universal values, like resilience, loyalty, and trust.

"Atanarjuat" also obviously comes out of a tradition I am not a part of. Although I am now very interested in seeing more films by Zacharias Kunuk and the studio that "Atanarjuat" came out of, the stories there are  Inuit ones and should continue to be told by Inuit filmmakers.

A story that is from a background I belong to is the aforementioned King Arthur. Although there have been a billion retellings of the knights of the round table, I still find myself drawn to the story, and wanting to retell it. I think, interestingly enough, that it would apply itself well to an "Avenger's" style series, with solo films for each of the six main knights, and then a crossover film they meet at Camelot and come to be under the employ of Arthur. Many of the "original" arthurian tales fit a set up like the Marvel Canon Universe-- there were origin stories for many of the knights, and then there'd be stories with all the knights together, and then there'd be solo stories where certain knights had to go off on different quests to prove themselves or get something for Arthur ect. ect. "Original" is the operative word here, since many different authors are considered "original" sources for the arthurian canon, with the first mention of King Arthur and Mordred being a "historical document", and the first mention of Uther Pendragon at Arthur's father being in a collection of English tales. Lancelot was added many years later by a frenchman who wrote essentially his own adaptation of the stories, and at the time, wasn't considered "an official character of the canon" (of course today he is considered official to the original story). With such blurry source material and modernly applicable morals, it's easy to see why we keep adapting these stories, but I think a series of films (as wildly unrealistic as that proposal actually is), would probably be truest to form of the originals, and tell the story well. As a bonus to this "Arthurian Canon Universe" proposal, it's worth noting that Avalon is somewhat the same as England, but not really, and so the physical descriptions of the knights really can vary to allow for more diversity onscreen, since there's no reason they need to look English if Avalon is only kind of England.

The other story I want to talk about is Beowulf. It's an epic poem, and the first piece of fictional literature to be written down in the Anglo-Saxon language. It originated as an oral poem, and its narrative is one of grand proportions. It's told in groups of threes, and would apply itself wonderfully to film. (I've read it twice, so I will summarize it quickly). A king and his people in Denmark are being terrorized by a monster that attacks at night and rips its victims to shreds. Because of an old agreement, the Geats send over a young hero, named Beowulf, and a group of his men. He kills the monster in the Danish great feast hall and hangs its arm over the door. The next night, the monster's mother hears of this and (because it is her blood right), challenges her sons killer to a fight to the death or she'll kill all the people. Beowulf travels to her underwater lair and fights her and wins. He goes home to the Geats and becomes king for many years, but then hears of a dragon that is burning the countryside and goes to fight it. He wins, but dies in battle. Because it originated as an oral story, there seems to be add-ons to the original tale of Beowulf versus the monster terrorizing the Danes. Despite this winding aspect to the narrative, it think it could easily be written either into one epic-feeling script, two scripts (with the first two monsters in film one, and the dragon in film two), or into three films with a monster battle per film (if plot and context and travel was written in). I think the themes of Beowulf -- be brave, be honest, be loyal -- translate well into current values, even if the customs of the characters are old fashioned.

I was startled to realize there have been two notable film adaptations of Beowulf that I have never seen, one in 1999 and one in 2007. (And as I went to double check those dates, I realized the 2007 version was co-written by Neil Gaiman one of my favourite writers, so clearly I will have to watch it at some point). From what I can ascertain, neither of them had sticking cultural memory because neither of them were very well liked. The 1999 version was set in a post apocalyptic world and had a weird forced romance between the original king and a monster, and also between Beowulf and a character who didn't exist in the original. The 2007 version was made in some sort of terrifying uncanny valley cgi motion capture and had the monster's mother be naked cgi Angelina Jolie. In both versions, they leave out the final battle with the dragon, and in both versions it's implied that Beowulf has sex with the monster's mother (the 2007 one more graphically). Neither of these films at all captured the basics of the story: epic journey, hero of outstanding honour and valour, hero fighting evil monsters. And I don't think it's because those things are no longer what audiences like in a story-- both of the writers for the adaptations just made weird choices about how they were going to change the narrative and characters.

Epic fantasy with a hero of valour fighting monsters (not for the reward of a king's daughter, and not because he wants to have sex with the monsters, but just because the monsters are evil and he wants to bring peace to the land) is still a narrative in high demand, and although I am planning to watch both film adaptations of Beowulf, I think a proper adaptation is still in order sometime in the near future.

source:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/atanarjuat_the_fast_runner_en/

[nevillwallace97]

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[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #165

Summer shenanigans are a staple of the manga and anime work, though how much you can expect the clichés to actually happen depends on how much effort you’re willing to put into making it a reality. Fact is, summer is never as fantastical or memorable as we’d like to dream. You only get three(in Japan) high school summers in one lifetime. But as they say, it’s who you spend it with, not what, that will stick around with you. 

Chapter 165: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Enjoy My Last High School Summer Break 

Hey, if Futaki wants to be a professional gamer girl (minus the bathwater), she’s gotta stay on top of the new releases. 

Mother always knows. Always.

There’s a fine line between persuading and threatening, Katou. Just saying.

I can already see the (not totally implausible) jokes about Mako and Yoshida secretly meeting to hook up. Even though that’s 99% not what will happen, Mako’s vagueness is something to note. The way I see it, Mako doesn’t want Yuri to feel left out, so she’s downplaying the “fun” she’ll be having with Yoshida.

Or Nico Tanigawa are blatantly ship-teasing. Either or.

Nemo’s got a pretty sweet LINE avatar.

Even through her messages, Nemo is still passive-aggressive, like she expects Tomoko won’t listen to her unless she’s demanding in her tone, exclamation points and all. She still gots a way to go to meet Katou’s level of intimidation, however.

Summer school?

Oh, the beach.

The greyscale nature of the manga medium makes this beach look a lot prettier than it probably is. Those delightful memories involving washed-up stingrays sure doesn’t help. 

I’m not entirely certain just how studious Yuri is as a student, but I imagine she’s playing up the “all work, no play” angle just to free herself from Nemo.

Nemo makes a fair point. Getting too cooped up indoors where it’s comfortable can make it difficult to study, especially when you're surrounded by distractions. A change of scenery can clear your head and make it easier to retain information. 

Of course, that sort of environmental shift doesn’t work for everyone. Someone like Nemo may appreciate the summery atmosphere, but a girl like Yuri would get agitated by the heat and humidity. Having external stimuli is ideal if you’re the type who operates better when your attention is dispersed. But for those that need to be focused on a single task to complete, it can be quite difficult.

Next time on Mythbusters...

But in all seriousness, I would like to see if there have been any real-life studies on certain sounds–waves in this case–improving one’s ability to concentrate and overall performance. My amateurish theory is that a lot of that “improvement” is a result of the placebo effect, or that there are otherwise too many extraneous factors to make a clear correlation.

In that respect, I think Yuri and Nemo’s arguments are both valid.  

A recent trend I’ve been noticing with Yuri is that she looks to Tomoko for validation. She acknowledges that they’re not the same, but having Tomoko back her up probably makes her feel more confident in her opinions, if for nothing more than having an equal-to-majority rule.

Of course, when Tomoko does disagree with her, that’s when Yuri has to either stubbornly stick to her guns, or honestly reassess herself. And thanks to the beauty of character development, the latter’s been happening more at a healthy pace.

OUCH.

It pains me to see Okada call out Yuri like that.

It pains me even more that you can’t really call out Okada for it, either.

Introverts are generally self-conscious about the very traits they embody, even when it’s that’s their comfort zone. Much like how an otaku will get uncomfortable when non-otakus hype them up. Sure, Okada probably meant it as a compliment when she called Yuri talkative, but it’s based on the idea that Yuri’s quiet nature was an incorrect assumption, which can feel kind of demoralizing.

It’s not an easy thing to address, and I’m curious to see how they’ll work through it going forward. 

Quick, someone go update their Wiki pages!. 

Reality ensues. All those amazing anime-esque summer plans can be deterred by something as simple as unreliable weather.  

Although, having to make your own wave sounds kind of defeats the purpose of being there, doesn’t it, Nemo?

Now playing...”Eroge BGM” Playlist.

Set on autoplay.

I’m glad that no one’s complaining about translating this text, cause let’s get real. The amount of redraws that would take is ridiculous, especially for an unofficial translation. 

If you think that I’m going to screencap every image of Yuri smiling just so we can bask in her cuteness...

You’d be absolutely correct.

Oooh man, this is arguably worse than calling out the quiet kid as “talkative”. At least during that time, it could pass as just an innocent observation. But being able to smile is one of those things they supposedly instill in you during primary school. Bringing it up like that suggests that Yuri is a child who purposely tries to hide her smiles. Again, Okada meant no harm, obviously, but if they’re going to push for an OkadaxYuri friendship, there’s going to be a lot of hoops to go through.

Tomoko may have opened her mind up more about the negative stereotypes about “normies”, but the positive stereotypes still persist. In this case, it’s the idea that her more sociable peers would enjoy school simply because they can hang out with their friends. Little did she know, that’s often not the case...

PINEAPPLE-CHAN DEVELOPMENT, BABY!

Ahem, pardon my outburst, but I’ve got a lot to say about this. We’ve known for a long time now that Okada is part of the “semi-in-crowd”, and it was easy to assume that all her socializing–going to karaoke for example–were just things she always enjoyed.

But what if it wasn’t. From what Okada’s implying, she sometimes ends up hanging out with people that she would rather not. Perhaps its a friend-of-a-friend type of struggle, where she hangs with people she doesn’t really like out of politeness for a mutual friend. And even if Okada is harboring a few dark thoughts, there’s plenty of reasons to not like going to school, as she said. As someone who’s relatively extroverted, having to work through the more solitary parts of school like studying can be especially difficult.

In short, hidden depths are great.

I can’t really blame you, Tomoko. When you secretly put people on a pedestal like that, it’s hard to acknowledge their human sides that show how they struggle with everyday problems just like anyone else. Even the most well-adjusted of people have their share of frustrations. 

This was totally Nemo’s plan all along.

All these panel shots of Yuri off to the side while everyone else gallivants fills me with those paternal feelings of a father wanting their daughter to make friends. It goes against everything I know about Yuri’s character, but I guess you shouldn’t underestimate the power of moe.    

This is a pretty good example of the line that separates Tomoko and Yuri. They have very similar perspectives, but it’s Tomoko’s status as an introverted extrovert that allows her to go in the ocean, while Yuri’s extroverted introvert personality lets her stay on the sidelines. 

Poor Beach-kun is not having a good day.

So even the others are noticing how Tomoko is like Yuri’s social floatation device.

Another person probably would’ve taken the sentimental route, going on about “saving these precious memories” or “I want you to experience this with us”. The kind of things Yuu-chan would say.

Thing is, Tomoko would get too embarrassed saying that touching crap, so she has to go the indirect route instead. Using pseudo-logic so she doesn’t have to exaggerate her emotions (which are there, just more reserved). 

Either way, it still sounds vaguely creepy coming from her.

Thankfully, it actually works here because Yuri has trouble articulating her emotions, too. Tomoko probably knows subconsciously that touching crap doesn’t work on Yuri, so it makes a great deal of sense that Yuri would be more responsive to dumb logic. Especially if it’s from her loveably dumb friend.

I can get used to Tomoko and Yuri unknowingly showing Nemo up.

Off in the distance...

“Getting tangled up in gross seaweed so you can spread your own grossness to other girls? Gross!”

Okay, so I know Tomoko is probably just genuinely startled by what's happening here, but you can’t tell me that her face doesn’t scream, “NOW’S MY CHANCE FOR A GROPIN’!”

lewd.

Okay, let’s be honest. I’ve watched enough anime to know that shots like this are easy fodder for fanservice. Conveniently transparent wet uniforms, amirite? And to be frank, I don’t think the mangakas are totally playing the innocent game. Sure, it’s not as blatantly objectifying as a lot of other series tend to do in scenes like this, but the posing of the girls and angle of the camera just seems too opportune to be anything but deliberate. Be careful when walking that fine line, Nico Tanigawa.

On a more positive note, I’m glad Tomoko’s first instinct was just to help them up. Though heaven knows she’s gonna milk this for all it’s worth back home.

Oh, Yuri and your accountability issues.

When life gives you lemons...you know the rest.

The best part about watching the crazy shenanigans you see in anime is that you can omit all the boring and troublesome real-life consequences. So yeah, accidentally getting splashed by beach water may seem fun in the moment, but the annoyance of having to wash your clothes afterward just isn’t worth it.

Sometimes, summer just won’t give you a break. 

Yes. Yes, you did.

Ignoring Tomoko’s embarrassed (or lewd–it’s kind of interchangeable) expression, this is probably the most wholesome summer chapter is the series’ run. That’s not to say that the chapter is “unrealistic” in any way. Sure, the end shot of all four of them reeks of 4-girl slice-of-life moe, but it actually deconstructs it a little. Instead of a fun memory, the memory itself is decidedly bothersome and more trouble than it’s worth, but there’s a sense of enjoyment to be gained from that. As Tomoko once implied, doing stupid, embarrassing things isn’t so bad when you can share in the experience. There’s a reason for the saying, “A few years from now, we’re gonna laugh at this,” after all.  

It may be Tomoko’s final summer in high school, but it will most certainly be her fondest.

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 4x11 The Other Side

Now that I’m finally on my vacation and have the time to write these posts, I need to catch up. I actually rewatched up to 5x04, so now I need to go over 7 episodes so I could continue my rewatch of season 5.

Season 4 is one of my favorite seasons of The 100 mostly because of its last 3 episodes, which are all among my all-time favorites episodes of the show. While I still think that 2x16 is the show’s strongest finale, season 4 has the strongest finish with 3 amazing episodes in a row. It helps that this is both the stage of the season when we’re past the plotlines about Grounder politics and religion – never my favorite part of the show, though it was better done in season 4 than in season 3 – and where the focus was on what made season 4 so good: human drama and conflict between people and within people’s minds and souls, in the face of the end of the world and an enemy that cannot be defeated: climate change in its most extreme version.

One of the three storylines in 4x11 is the tense standoff about who will be in the bunker and survive, which turns the main characters against each other, including Clarke against Bellamy, but where none of the sides are villainous and everyone has good reasons for what they are doing. The show prides itself on grey morality, but it doesn’t always get it right – this is one of the times it does.

But while that storyline is the usual story of people fighting for survival (for themselves, their loved ones, whoever they consider “their people” – since the morally right goal of saving everyone is impossible), the other two plots are about people who have decided that they don’t want to survive, or who are struggling to decide whether they want to live or not.

It’s also the episode remembered for the first death of a main character who was a part of the original cast at the start of season 1 since episode 2x08. It’s one of the saddest deaths on The 100, but also one of those that felt most unavoidable.

“See you on the other side” is one of those repetitive catchphrases on The 100 that has changed its meaning so much over time Jasper said it several times – I remember that he said it in The Pilot, just about to cross the river (just before he got speared and nearly died), in 3x13 just before drinking the potion that Luna’s people gave him and others so they would lose consciousness before they take them to their oil rig – and he tells it to Monty as he is about to die.

This story of PTSD was done much better than whatever the show was doing with Finn. There is a parallel between Jasper and Octavia in how damaged they were after  to the deaths of their first real love, but while Octavia mostly directed her grief outward into violence and, for a while, murder (an with a dash of death wish), Jasper was only verbally aggressive to others – and more so in season 3 than in season 4 – but his psychological state mostly manifested in his loss of a will for survival.

This storyline is very controversial, from the fans who started hating Jasper and calling him annoying – because the show was honest about the fact that depressed people are not always pleasant to be around – to people who were upset that the story didn’t get an uplifting outcome with Jasper overcoming his problems. But it wouldn’t be realistic if everyone in the show overcome their traumas. In reality, some people just break and stay broken. And I think it’s important to show that, too. It doesn’t make the story hopeless and nihilistic, because, at the same time – and in this very episode – we also get stories of people – Harper, Raven - who do manage to overcome trauma and decide to live.

I’m still glad that the show didn’t go with their original idea – Jasper shooting himself in the season 3 finale, right after he wrote his suicide letter. Not just because his death would have been overshadowed by other deaths that season, and because it would’ve made season 3 way too dark, but also because, in a way, his season 4 arc and suicide was less bleak, odd as that may sound. Season 3 Jasper was focused on his pain, anger and despair, while season 4 Jasper was reconciled with the idea he would die, and focused on going out having some fun before his death.

I also think it would be very unrealistic if, in the face of such bleak future – probable death of radiation or years of possibly awful life stuck in a bunker – at least some people wouldn’t make the decision to live out the rest of the days with an end-of-the-world party and go out in their own time, at their own choice and in a more pleasant way, such as overdosing of drug-like tea. And knowing how things turn out in the rest of season 4 – and that most of them would probably be condemned to death of radiation, anyway – and how horrible the life in the bunker ended up being (and that it took the lives of almost 400 out of the 1200 people), I can’t really say that those who stayed behind in Arkadia and committed suicide made a wrong choice, even if it’s not a choice I would make.

Jasper’s death scene, his last moments with Monty, is beautiful and heartbreaking. But I still didn’t cry during that scene in this rewatch, which surprised me. Then I was even more surprised when the tears only came later when Monty found out that Harper was alive and she told him she loved him, which she had tried to deny before, because she wanted Monty to leave her and not risk his life for her. I think it’s because, for tears, you need some kind of catharsis, a relief, and there is nothing like that in Jasper’s death scene. It’s like watching the Buffy episode The Body – similar to dealing with deaths of people close to you in real life, where you’re just frozen and you’re not getting any kind of closure or seeing any kind of meaning. Monty keeps fighting and trying to stop Jasper from killing himself even after it is already too late, or getting angry that he can’t do anything about it anymore. because it’s not in Monty’s nature to give up hope. And that’s why he doesn’t even say “I love you” when Jasper asks him to, until it is too late and Jasper cannot hear it anymore, because to say it would mean to accept his death.

Monty has lost so much at this point – having to kill his mother twice, now losing his best friend who was like a brother to him, that the moment when he thinks that Harper is dead (seeing a dead body of a blonde woman, who turns out to be Bree), and then realizes that Harper is alive was such a big relief both because of Harper and because Monty has managed to save someone he loves, and his arc is not all grief and darkness.

Oh, the times when Raven used to be really a main character and had a great arc about struggling with her pain, disability, and (temporary) loss of mental functions! (I love season 6 and it may end up as my favorite season, but it pretty much made Raven a side character and didn’t do her too many favors.) Though the Raven episode most often compared to 6x07 Nevermind is 3x11 Nevermore (because of the similar title and same writer), Raven’s story in 4x11 actually is more similar to Clarke’s story in 6x07: it’s an internal struggle where she is deciding whether she wants to live, and where she talks to dead characters, who are actually embodiments of parts of her own mind, pulling her in different directions and fighting for her soul. Here they are “Becca”, tempting Raven to die, because a part of her doesn’t believe she can still be the brilliant mind who solves all the problems – and “Sinclair”, who helps Raven find hope and fight to live, and come up with a solution how to heal her brain. She does it by basically “rebooting” herself through temporary “death” – which is similar to how Gabriel brought back Clarke in 6x10. Considering the fact that Sinclair is just a product of Raven’s mind, it’s a bit funny when he tells Raven that she shouldn’t compare herself to Da Vinci and Mozart etc. because she’s better than all of them – but I guess Raven is imagining Sinclair as giving her huge amounts of praise in order to give her faith in herself. He was always the mentor/friend who gave her a chance to work as a mechanic on the Ark and believed in her even when she didn’t believe in herself.

The bunker drama

I wasn’t happy with the way 4x10 put Clarke is a pseudo-antagonist role, by focusing on the Conclave (an incredibly stupid way to resolve the question of survival of the human race) with Octavia as the hero, and making the viewers forget what the situation was when Clarke made her decision. Add to that that she is pitted against Bellamy, and that she is siding with Jaha, and you have all the ingredients for the fandom to see Clarke as a villain. But in fact, her decision made most sense in the circumstances – not only was Octavia realistically unlikely to win, but the most likely outcome was that Luna would win and doom the entire human race to die. But this episode corrects that and explains her reasons – and that they are different from Jaha’s. Once that the news comes that Octavia has won and decided to share the bunker – which was Clarke’s suggestion that all the Grounder leaders ignored in 4x09 – the situation changes completely, and it’s obvious that Clarke, who already didn’t feel good about what she was doing, started having doubts, while Jaha was very sure that what they were doing was right, and insisted that it’s all about saving their people.

Clarke, on the other hand, thinks that Skaikru need to be in the bunker because they are the only ones who can operate machines that ensure such things as air and water in the bunker, so they’re essential for the survival of the human race. Which is true. But sharing the bunker would also solve that. However, at that point, no one is sure if Grounders already know about them stealing the bunker and if they will start killing all of the Skaikru. Bellamy has faith that Octavia can stop it, but not everyone does.

Of course, even if Clarke had good reasons to steal the bunker, the whole thing with kidnapping Bellamy and keeping him there against his will, chained, while he was desperate to save his sister, was another messed up thing to do, and Clarke clearly didn’t feel good about that, either. It’s the understandable why she did it, to save his life, but I’ve never been OK with the “kidnapping/imprisoning you for your own good” thing, whether it was Lexa kidnapping Clarke and keeping her prisoner for a week in Polis, Bellamy handcuffing Clarke to make her prisoner in Arkadia, or Clarke keeping Bellamy chained up.

That said, I’m not sure how certain Clarke was sure that keeping the bunker closed was the right thing to do, either, because when she was explaining her reasons to Niylah, she seemed to really be talking to herself and trying to convince herself, and Niylah was just a sounding board. That relationship always consisted of Niylah being Clarke’s friend who was there to comfort her when she needed some human touch but wasn’t able to turn to anyone she had stronger emotions for – and while they had sex a couple of times in the past, this time Clarke just needed someone to lie beside her and put an arm around her, but when she talked about the reasons, she had her back to Niylah and not even looking at her, but looking somewhere into the distance.

The relationship between Clarke and Jaha is a pretty interesting one, and I wish it had been explored more, but they did do some of it here. He was a close family friend she grew up with, almost an uncle figure, then he became the symbol of everything she hated, the person who executed her father and imprisoned her for a year. Earlier on in season 4, she was still calling him out on what he did to Jake, but then, having to do things like make the list, she started thinking that she was turning into Jaha. In this episode, even though Clarke was the one who came up with the idea to steal the bunker, Jaha was the one who was confident about what they were doing and acted like he was in charge (prompting Bellamy to make the good observation “I don’t remember the election that made you the chancellor again”) convincing the uncertain Clarke that their path was right. It reminded me a bit of the dynamic between Pike and Bellamy in S3.

This whole situation was pretty complicated: on one hand, Clarke was telling herself that she was saving the human race by saving “her people”, but if everything was resolved without bloodshed, sharing the bunker would mean letting more people potentially survive, because the bunker had the capacity of holding 1200 people, while there were just a little over 400 Sky people. So, one could argue that the “big picture” favored opening the bunker ASAP. For Jaha, it was all about “saving our people”. But what does “my people/our people” mean? Everyone defines that according to how they feel. Jaha sees it as the collective of people from the Ark that he feels responsible for – but 1) it’s not like the lives of people from the Ark are inherently more important than the lives of people known as Grounders, and 2) some of those “our people” were not even in the bunker. Kane, Octavia, Raven, Monty would be left to die, among others. On the personal level, who is more “your person” than your lover or child or sibling, or close friend? But Jaha has always had a rather tribalistic vision and cared more as his people as a collective, than the individual people in that group. Kane was the closest thing to a friend Jaha had at this point, but he was OK with leaving him to die. But it was obvious that Bellamy would never agree to leaving Octavia to die, and Abby would never agree to leave Kane. And if Bellamy or Abby were outside the bunker, I’m 100% sure Clarke wouldn’t agree to leave them to die, either. However, after his wife’s and son’s death, Jaha didn’t have anyone he loved so much that he couldn’t sacrifice them. And since he kind of sacrificed his son to the “big picture” – by putting him at risk of death (which kept haunting him), I think that Jaha doubled down on his belief in his messianic role to save the Arker,s and that he had kind of convinced himself everyone else should be able to sacrifice their loved ones to that.

Which is why he didn’t see it coming when Abby stuck a syringe in him and knock him out, to go and help Bellamy go and open the bunker door. I remember that I saw that coming the first time I watched it and even guessed Abby’s reply to Jaha saying that he’s sorry about Kane’s inevitable death: “He was a good man”. – “He still is”. Jaha was also wrong to bring up Jake, because I think that Abby’s guilt over betraying Jake (which led to Jaha executing him – which she did not anticipate) only made her more determined to do differently this time and save Kane and not betray him. Oh, the time when Abby doing things to save Kane was something you could root for and that didn’t cross the line into creepy, misguided and deeply morally wrong!

This is one of the very few times in the show where Abby and Bellamy had significant interactions – even working together. And they managed to fool Murphy.

I love the fact that Bellamy made himself look self-destructive, by injuring himself while chained, only because he had a plan how to get out and open the door.

This is one of the two or three times in seasons 3-4 when Bellamy tells Murphy that he has no idea what it’s like to love someone, and Murphy has to keep explaining that he’s wrong and referencing his love for Emori.

Being focused on the big picture and trying to save the human race, as Clarke was doing throughout season 4, made her have to repress her feelings and almost severed her human connections (e.g. leaving some of her best friends out of the list, stealing the bunker even though some of the were outside and she was leaving them to die). She’s never been more “Head” than in season 4, because she believed she really had to be. But Bellamy was always her one soft spot where her ability to repress emotions for the ‘greater good’ would hit a brick wall. Bellamy (and Octavia, probably because of him) had to be on the list, not because of any objective reasons (which doesn’t mean that Bellamy isn’t very valuable for his leadership qualities, but that wasn’t why she put him there), even when she was leaving out a genius like Monty. We’ll never know if she could have stayed strong if ALIE had tortured/threatened to kill Bellamy (because the show hinted he was her biggest ‘weakness’ but never allowed that to happen), but she did let hundreds of people die in bombing mostly to protect him, she gave up 50 spots for her people to survive, when Roan blackmailed her by threatening to kill Bellamy, which Roan knew would work because threatening to kill Bellamy got Clarke in season 3 to give up fighting and let him take her to what she thought would be her death at Nia’s hands, and now, she was convinced that she was ensuring the survival of human race by not opening the bunker, but she still couldn’t bring herself to shoot him. But even the fact she thought she could do it shows how out of touch with her emotions she was at that point: Girl, I could have told you there’s no way you would be able to.

I’ve always thought – after seeing how the next two episodes of season 4 went (and then the next two seasons confirmed that) – that the moment when Clarke couldn’t shoot Bellamy and ended up crying, was the moment when she finally faced up to how she feels about him, and that she’s been aware of her feelings ever since. (Even if you disagree on that, there is no way you could spend 6 years on her own, radioing him every day, without realizing exactly what you feel.)

In 4x10, Bellamy was worrying that he wasn’t able to tell his sister that he loves her. When Bellamy and Octavia reunite and hug, Bellamy tells her “I love you so much” – which is the first time we’ve ever seen him say “I love you” to someone. To date, Octavia is the only person he’s said it to on-screen.

Octavia exiles Echo – pulling the “I said your people will get to survive, not you” trick, and considering all her experiences with Echo up to that point. I don’t blame her at all. She correctly guesses that Echo won’t tell the other Grounders (other than Indra, who is playing along) that Skaikru stole the bunker, since she will still die anyway. Echo indeed turned out to be more concerned with survival than revenge. 

Timeline: The episode starts two days before Praimfaya, and ends exactly a day before Praimfaya

Body Count: 11 Arkers who killed themselves, including Jasper, Bree, another Delinquent, and Riley.

At least 60 Delinquents have died (4 in season 4), while 40 are still alive. But not for long.

Rating: 10/10

[getflatbelly88-blog]

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[takaraphoenix]

Is it me or are riordans books lsoong it’s charm? I mean I like the idea of different stories told by other prospective and other mythology but when is you keep making sequels and spin offs over and over and not just end it it loses its fun. Also didn’t rick kill of Jason?

I mean, you’re talking to the girl who abandoned the books after HoO due to a loss of quality and also… for the ridiculousness of cramming all the mythologies together.

I stand by the fact that TKC didn’t do as well as hoped and that’s the only reason he tied it to his big property. To make more money. There is literally no other reason than CHASE being highly recognizable among the PJO fandom, that’s the only reason Magnus was Annabeth’s cousin.

If he’d kept all of those vastly different series separate, that might be a different tune. But he knows Percy is his money-maker so he forces Percy into everything else to effectively make the PJO readers also read his other work.

That’s the reason why we’re on sequel number two for the PJO series and why TKC turned out to be in the same world and why Magnus had to be Annabeth’s cousin. Whatever he’s gonna do with the Celtic gods - and let’s be real that is 100% where he’s going to go next now that he went through the three biggest pantheons - Percy is definitely going to find his way into that too.

It’s just… frustrating because this greed just… made his world completely fall apart.

If all the gods operated on the same rules, I’d buy it all being one world, but how he mashed them together…?

But his “they moved on and changed into Roman” completely falls apart considering the ““Greek”“ gods we met in PJO, because by that logic, these were not the Greek gods, they were the American gods - Poseidon in a Hawaiian shirt, Zeus in a suit, Hades owning a record label. They moved on and adjusted according to the new worshippers. But somehow those American gods are treated like the Greek gods, while the Roman aspects are just 100% old-fashioned proper Roman.

No. No, either you say Greek and Romans both live in modern US and have them proper!Roman and then also proper!Greek, or you say they move on to a new place of worship and change accordingly… and thus remove the existence of “Roman” demigods in the US, because effectively there would be neither Greek nor Roman demigods there since the gods as a whole moved on and evolved into a new American aspect - which was what I had assumed happened prior to him retconning Romans in and making the whole thing make zero sense.

Not to mention, what? Will Magnus Chase then get a spin-off where he has to fight a civil war against the Germanic gods? Aka, the other aspect of the Norse gods? Wodan and Donar and company??

Also, you know, just how fucking forced it is to have the two Great Prophecies that have been laying around for millennia… just take place half a year apart. It’s bullshit. If he had tackled that second prophecy with a full new set of demigods in the future, yeah sure. But he had to make it about Percy too, because as mentioned above, Percy is what makes money.

Look, I’m not saying it couldn’t work to have all pantheons be real. But the way he does it is forced and not very thought through. So literally every single pantheon moved to the US, huh? What’s Europe, dirt under your fingernails? We are most definitely not doing shitty enough to be treated that way. Why would our gods move to the US? All of them? Why would the Egyptian gods be moving all the way up there? It’s… It’s started being really fucking offensive, to be quite frank.

The way he did it with the Greeks, with only one pantheon that also accordingly adjusted to being American, it was an interesting concept. It was also 2005.

In the past 15 years, the world’s view on the US has shifted drastically. They are most certainly not the center of the world or in any way or shape a symbol of progressiveness and the place where all the gods would move. It’s incredible narcissistic and it is also incredibly rude.

Because, at its base, what he’s doing is stealing from other cultures. Oh, sure, after the Egyptian gods he stopped taking gods from POC. But… uhm… I know this site doesn’t like to hear that but white people have culture too? Those ancient gods are part of a culture, whatever the fuck the primary skin-color of the people of that culture are. And to just rip those gods and myths out of that culture and forcing them into America, completely removing them from their actual cultural background, is in fact cringeworthy at this point.

If you take one, it’s still all fun and games somehow and hey it’s for the children and the theory of the gods moving on, it’s kind of intriguing.

But if you just keep stealing the gods from their country - and yes, considering he at this point goes out of his way to make it all take place in the US, that quite literally is stealing them out of their countries - then it’s really getting cringeworthy.

And yes, I know, overall this hellsite thinks white people don’t have culture and white people culture are American suburban soccer moms or whatever the fuck, but you gotta… you gotta look beyond America for a change. Every single country has its own, unique culture. Yes, even countries that are pre-dominantly white, even they have their own culture and history. And taking huge parts of any country’s cultural background, ripping it out and making it take place in your own backyard centric around your own people with absolute disregard of the country of origin, that’s… seriously, that is not really cool. Not even when you take it from white cultures.

If he’d at the very least would make an efford to make them take place in Europe too - I’m not even demanding each mythological series should take place in its country of origin (even though that, of course, would be ideal, seriously), he’s not even trying to bring Europe in on this.

When the Argo II went to Rome, there was nothing. Rome, literally the center where the Roman gods came from… but… no Roman camp. This would have been an ideal chance to show that his bullshit nonsense of ALL the gods can ONLY be met in the US and ALL demigods HAVE to move to the US is actually factually wrong. He could have introduced a Roman camp in Rome, have them get back-up from European demigods. That would have been his chance.

But no. Absolutely all of those gods completely moved to the US and left nothing behind in the countries that shaped them. Go to Rome. Walk through Rome. See all of the statues and fountains of the old gods, you can not tell me that if the Graeco-Roman gods were real, they would not also manifest there and they would not also have a camp there.

Especially considering Silena Beauregard was born in Paris, the gods very much go to Europe still apparently. But only to sire kids that their single parents then have to ship to the US because fuck Europe, am I right?

Look, I’m not saying he can’t work with the gods of other countries. I enjoy seeing interpretations of gods and I’m fully aware no one gives a rat’s ass who’s adapting mythologies from pre-dominantly white cultures, but I think that if you really do make a living only out of using other country’s mythologies, histories and their culture, then you sure as shit should also bring a basis level of respect toward that country, regardless of what country we are talking about.

He shows an extra amount of respect for other non-white cultures by not even touching them himself anymore and instead helping young authors from those countries show-case their own takes on a PJO-esque world - and that is absolutely amazing and really good him, honestly. Like, I genuinely think that’s a great thing to do from him and a good way for him to use both his fame as well as his white privileg, because let’s be real being a straight white man helps there a lot.

But the very least he could do about all those mythologies he keeps using would be to pay a baseline respect toward their cultures too and not forget that they too come from countries that he is not intimately familiar with, that they too are part of a culture and that he could, at the very fucking least, be respectful enough to them to not pretend that a Greek demigod born in fucking Greece would have to be shipped to New York because that’s where it’s at and where everything turned completely American centric. Like, that’s literally all I’m asking. Take into account that those gods came from somewhere and respect their origins and stop treating modern day Europe like it’s some garbage dump or something.

Well, that sure took a detour there. But then again, it really had to be said. Yes, a huge part of why this is losing it’s charm is because he keeps dragging new pantheons into this same world but under the same conditions of “America first, Europe, uh, never” and with every new mythology (and every time it moves closer toward the now), it becomes more and more cringeworthy and, for me as a European, also boring and unrealistic.

And yeah, he killed Jason. Because sure, we had the second Great Prophecy, what was supposed to be a huge-ass war but eh we’re fine with 9 demigods who should be 7 and literally no one of importance died in that world-changing war. But now in some supidass side-quest - yeah, I’m calling it as it is, Apollo getting deaged and them having shenannigans is in fact a side-quest because for fuck’s sake the two last series were each about a millennia old Great Prophecy and a giant (or titan, heh) war - the son of Zeus dies.

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Lies Sleeping - A Review

Lies sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch 

Chances were I was going to like this book - I liked the rest of the series after all. So how did Lies Sleeping compare?

The spoiler free bit -

This book was one long call back to the first book, the most obvious being the return of Mr Punch (not counting this as a spoiler since its announced in the blurb). As with the previous books I found there was no way I could really follow what was happening - I'm no good at remembering names of people or places and these are often key to "getting" the plot. Not only are you bombarded with people and places and companies and names, so much happens and you aren't sure what's important and what's a random side trip somewhere. I think there are a couple of reasons why that has never bothered me historically with this series and why it didn't bother me this time round.

The first is that the books are still an enjoyable read (even Foxglove Summer) even when I don't have a clue what's going on. Another is that things do make sense in retrospect with a second read, and I really do enjoy reading these books a second, third and even in the case of approximately 60% of the series (skipped Whispers Underground and Foxglove Summer) a fourth time. Four times is by no means a personal record for me rereading, but these books still have a lot of life left in them and I don't see myself getting bored of them anytime soon.

There is another reason why  I tend to give these books a pass at the fact the plot absolutely escapes me, given that this would normally be within my top three complaints (others being boring/unnecessary and/or boringly unnecessary love interest with bonus points for tired clichés applied lazily, and character (lack of)). It only really occurred to me in Lies Sleeping, but the flood of information is (probably) what an investigation is like. A series of events and you have to figure out what's connected and how. Aaronovitch tends to be clever enough with his foreshadowing that I connect enough dots to keep me happy, but the hints are hints enough that I'm never 100% sure of myself so that if I'm right I get to feel smug and if I'm wrong I get to feel delight at being tricked.

An example of this from Lies Sleeping, kept to a spoiler free minimum but expanded below the cut, is the sense that this book was a gamechanger. I thought it would be as such before I'd even read the first sentence: the reintroduction of Mr Punch in the blurb and the fact The Faceless Man was unmasked suggested this book would further change the status quo somehow.

That's probably all I can get away with saying spoiler free so I'll carry on below the cut.

So continued from the point above I knew we'd end on some kind of shift in dynamics. By the time I was approximately two thirds of the way through I had narrowed this guess down to a) Nightingale dying or b) Martin Chorley actually accomplishing what he wanted to do which somehow altered magic's status possibly even bringing it into the public consciousness. What we got, of course was Peter being suspended. I didn't expect it but I didn't feel cheated in any way. And then there was the second game changer - Beverly being pregnant. In retrospect comments about Peter acting as Abby's parent have more weight - at the time I took them to be hinting towards a baby but maybe in a couple of books time. I'm actually really excited about Peter and Beverly having a child because I think it will bring an interesting new dimension to Peter - will he act the same when he has a child to think about? Is he still going to be as reckless? Will magic start to worry him?

And of course there's Lesley.

If I liked the Peter being suspended thing and the baby thing, I loved Lesley shooting Chorley. It's going to add another layer of changed dynamic and world shift. Peter isn't fighting a "Faceless man" (pardon the pun) anymore, someone he doesn't have any particular personal history with other than the two repeatedly trying to outwit and maim each other. Now it's Lesley and that's a whole different kettle of fish. I really like how Lesley's arc mirrors that of Mr Punch. Lesley has always seemed preoccupied with law and seemed more frustrated than Peter whenever she saw someone from the magic-world apparently getting away with crimes, just as Mr Punch was originally fond of the law and order the Romans brought. You could argue that Lesley is now slipping into chaos, however much she believes that she is trying to make things better: shooting Chorley for instance is not something I could see her doing in previous books but it felt right at this point in her journey.

I'm very interested to see what happens next with Lesley and where she's going to go. Did Chorley have something in the pipeline in case the whole Arthurian thing didn't work out, that she'll now take over? Or perhaps she'll go her own way.

One thing is certain: this book felt like the end and a new beginning and I think the series will continue to shift from here. It's not just the big details that have changed: this was the first book where it wasn't just Nightingale and Peter helped somewhat distantly by whichever police were involved in the crime of the day.  With magic seeping into the police as a whole and what with the exchange about other societies not revealing magic between Peter and Nightingale I wonder if we are going to start dealing with magic becoming common knowledge as was my original prediction for the ending of this book.

I'll leave the speculation there - I'd like to re-read Lies Sleeping, and possibly the whole series - before I get into any serious guess work. I'll finish off this review for now with some little things I enjoyed that weren't to do with the ending as well as my one little niggle.

The first thing I really liked was the introduction of Foxglove (which I'm only know realising ties into Foxglove Summer - yeah I'm slow). I didn't really have much to say for the reveal that Molly might be high fae. It didn't annoy or upset me but equally it didn't really interest me. But with the introduction of Foxglove and the links to the Pale Lady, the Pale Nanny and the awful strip club I have changed my mind on this revelation. I really like how threads I thought were finished with come back later on - as confusing and haphazard as the worldbuilding can feel at times, I enjoy when it comes back together and pulls tight. On a more basic level I just really like that Molly has a friend.

I enjoyed the way the book followed a trajectory of Rivers of London, while remaining it's own story. It'd be more precise on this but I'm lending out Rivers of London at the moment so can't check on all the things that felt familiar but the more obvious ones are the back through history to meet Mr Punch ending, the actor's church, Mr Punch being in it at all. As a beginning and an end this provided a nice symmetry.

Nightingale is  my favourite character by a fair amount and so I really enjoyed that we got to see more of him being kickass. I especially enjoyed his command of magic in the interview with Patrick Gale. I mean I enjoy any and all magic Nightingale does, but after seeing his explosive, fighting magic seeing him perform something more subtle was a treat and gives us a better indication of what he really could do if he set his mind to it. Let's all be glad he's on the side of the "good guys". Continuing with the Nightingale is incredibly powerful line, the list of reasons why Nightingale is absent to allow Peter to get into all the dangerous situations is fantastic. One of the problems with having one significantly more powerful character is the well why haven't they just stopped the bad guy already? Nightingale's absences from key moments allowing Peter to get into trouble are noticeable, but they do feel organic enough that though I find it funny I don't find it distracting or unrealistic.  

On the magic front I also enjoyed hearing more about everyone's signares. The first description of Nightingale's as being "as heavy as a mallet and as sharp and as controlled as the point of a needle" was a great description that completely sums up his character, while the later descriptions of it as the precise tick-tock are lovely. Lesley's being a combination of Nightingale's, Chorley's and a cry like a seagull screaming was both hilarious and somehow completely fitting.

On the favourite character front my favourite rivers (plus possible war spirit) are Lady Ty, Effra, Oberon and Ash. I was disappointed to not hear much from Effra, Oberon and Ash therefore (he wasn't even at the Summer Court) but I wasn't surprised either. Can't have everything. I did, however, greatly enjoy the Lady Ty scene where Peter offers her a sacrifice as well as the return of the original Tyburn who I love as much as his modern counterpart.

Continuing with character for a moment is my one niggle with the book. I'm not sure if it was because this book had more continually high stakes, as the team tried to predict and forestall Chorley, but there didn't seem to be as many character moments. As many isn't no, and some were really unexpected but lovely such as Seawoll reminding Peter and Guleed to look out for each other and talk to someone if the pressure gets too much.

I think the main place it was noticeable was the reunion between Nightingale and Peter, or lack thereof. And I know Nightingale isn't the sort of hugging, crying, making a scene sort of guy, and they had other operational priorities at that moment as well as an audience. I wasn't expecting a huge scene at that moment. But information later on in the narrative about what Nightingale had done to try and find Peter would have been fitting in with the character and the time limits the characters have - could have come as an offhand comment from Guleed or someone else during a conversation about work for example. A kind of well we know Nightingale can do a-awesome-thing because he did it while searching for you thing. Or even Nightingale looking tired, Peter commenting on it and someone, probably Guleed or maybe Abdul, answering it was because he'd barely slept while looking for Peter. Nightingale has shown he feels responsible for Peter, so the lack of acknowledgment of the fact Peter was missing for a considerable chunk of time just felt like a missed opportunity to me.

Still it wasn't enough to ruin this book for me by any stretch of the imagination and I'm excited to re-read it and connect all the dots I missed the first time around. A great, read and a solid addition to the series that has me desperate for the next book.

Lies Sleeping: 5/5