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what2watch2night · 3 years ago

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TITANE. LAMB. ANNETTE. (Who Did It Best: "The Creepy Child" Edition!)

Halloween decorations are now long gone but let's keep the freaky spirit going with this 2021 triple bill about creepy children from hell! TITANE, LAMB, and ANNETTE

What they have in common, despite having a particularly cool one-word-title, is that they are somewhat magic or surreal, and play like fairy tales filled with bizarre events and weirdos having even weirder... progeny. These movies are definitely of the “WTF Did I Watch Today" variety (and maybe a tad NSFW - depending on where you work!) thus are not to be recommended to everyone, which somehow might make them even more precious. Sure, they are considered niche and maybe will appeal more to cinephiles, cult-film-like lovers, possibly the "hip and hype movie-folks'', and those like us on an ongoing quest for the odd & unusual...

In fact, if this titles could talk the convo will be akin to something like this:

TITANE (for France): ‘We present to you “car baby” kinda like Transformers...'

LAMB (for Iceland): 'Hold my beer - We present to you “lamb baby...'

ANNETTE (for Leos Carax!): 'Hold up, did somebody say baby but make it weird...'

The End!

Make of that what you wish but the additional good thing about the 3 films of the night is that they are award-season material (all premiered at Cannes) with TITANE and LAMB respectively representing France and Iceland. And ANNETTE…. representing, what a collaboration between the Sparks brothers and Leo Carax - and Adam Driver - would look like! So, ready or not, ready yourself for these unforgettable films...

*And an "uncanny valley fest"!?

TITANE

The 2021 Palme d’Or is a horror film by Julia Ducournau (the second non-man, after Jane Campion, to win the top prize in 74 editions!). It stars newcomer Agathe Rousselle as Alexia who was a creepy child herself with a strange obsession for automobiles... However, after a car accident, she has to be implanted with titanium that will give her a signature later on in life as a grown-up badass sexy dancer at… auto shows! Her life is pretty much all gloom and doom until things get even more bewildering and violent. After an “unfortunate series of murderous events,” she has no choice but to try her best to impersonate a missing man named Adrien. Alexia goes to live with the lad's overprotective part-psycho-part-loving father, Vincent (played by the great Vincent Lindon) who happens to be a firemen captain living in a jail-like fire station with many other young firefighters. Naturally, Vincent wants his "son" to be a “real man”, and a fireman, but their relationship is, to say the least... problematic. It doesn’t help that Alexia is a woman of few words going through an “unnatural” transition...

Moral Of The Story: 8.5/10 ****

This is the one film of the year 2021 that you will remember forever and ever as there sure ain’t nothing like it anywhere else! TITANE should have been our favorite film of the year, having all the peculiar attributes we cherish so much (and also you know being a Cannes winner - they sure are chosen well!) and altho it might not be, it still is a solid (like titanium!) movie that might just be short of a masterpiece. It seems at times uneven (ranging from good to amazing) with the middle part dragging a little, but at the same time, we are treated to basically 2 films in one. In addition, the performances are spectacular, especially Lindon who is as transformed as Roussel transforms herself throughout the movie. But there is no doubt the bonkerz premise and original story is what makes TITANE a must-see. Despite having its fair share of body horror it is probably not as shocking as RAW, and the horror or violence have more “poesy” to it but is also more fun! Guess having something magic, lyrical, gory, extreme, and melodramatic is possible! So, we should thank Ducournau for being so free with a clear vision and unashamed of her crazy kinky idea!

LAMB

Lamb is, believe it or not, the feature debut of its Icelandic filmmaker Valdimar Jóhannsson.

The drama stars Noomi Rapace (speaking in Icelandic cuz she can!) as Maria living on a remote farm in the middle of nowhere with her partner Ingvar. They are very credible as hard-working farmers tending to their land and sheeps, even giving birth to lambs, until one day they bring a quiet “newborn” lamb home. We are not sure why, but it is what it is, and it seems this couple was desperate for a child. We can sense they had this void to fill and it is confirmed as they actually had a crib and all the “equipments” necessary to take care of a new baby. They live a happy life with this mysterious child, but despite the sweet joy of this simple family life in this peaceful valley surrounded by heavenly mountains, we can sense something strange, unnatural, and ominous is bound to happen... Oh yes, there is also Ingvar’s brother coming to the farm to threaten their blissful household and the safety of “the child”; but that should be the least of everyone’s worry… Remember a few years ago we had the excellent Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Film RAMS about feuding bros, and, well, rams. So, in LAMB we also got those and more!

Moral Of The Story: 8/10 ****

Regardless of the horror-ish aspect of the drama, LAMB makes for a soothing viewing experience with its appeasing colors and the magnificent vistas framed so perfectly coupled with fitted direction and "mood”. It is delicately crowded with vast emptiness and fine and gentle performance, and it appears it could have been the perfect “Covid movie” with 1 location in a beautiful rural setting with a handful of actors. Moreover, it could also be the perfect Icelandic movie, making the most of the gorgeous scenery and the cliches! The story is one-of-a-kind but the actors, and particularly Rapace, are great here. They make this naturalistic yet fantastic drama very grounded. They also give it its easy-going and dark vibe. Some levity and “monotony-breaker” likewise help make the flick less heavy thanks to some well-timed nordic humor. LAMB comes across as a slice of life “at the farm” with a slice of stranger things! Additionally, the film bears the mark of an “A24 horror entry” having this little distinctive “je ne sais quoi”, so it is a win-win-win all around!

ANNETTE

This latest Leo Carax film is an ambitious drama musical - with music by none other than The Sparks - that works as both an homage to LA and/or musical classics, and a modern-day cult classic for high-end camp or grand bizarro projects!

ANNETTE is mostly about Annette’s parents.; they are the protagonists of this love story (cuz duh! Yeah of course it is also a Luvveeeee story, cuz they “love each other so much” like soooooo much yall! But seriously, somebody please nominate this song for an Academy Award for Best Original Song; not because it deserves it by being so good, but because it would be mad to have Driver and Cotillard on stage singing those same verses over and over - with the Sparks brothers in the mix of course!)

Adam Driver plays Henry, a highly performative stand-up comedian/entertainer with some weird sense of showmanship and delusion of grandeur. His lover, Ann (Marion Cotillard), is a superstar opera singer. As mentioned they are consumed by a fiery passionate love and are the talk-of-the-town (Los Angeles) being both famous and a power couple, but like in a Greek tragedy, drama happens! It becomes a tale of jealousy and betrayal… And bad parenting! Because the pair have a kid...A weird weird child. It is played by a puppet and looks like a child from hell named Annette. The precocious girl is magical and so it brings magic to this whimsical rocambolesque fable of love and psychopathic behaviors!

Moral Of The Story: 7.5/10 ****

It's great that the ANNETTE doesn’t take itself too seriously and knows that some of the most bonkerz or uncomfortable scenes are best to have some fun and funny elements sprinkled on top for breathers - and for the audience to laugh not at but with. In the end, this film is unlike any other for better or worse. It is a wild ride in its field (if there is such a field!) and is probably the most off-beat film of 2021. Viewers will be rewarded if they hang in there and are open to some of the “BOLD” artistic choices made.

Driver is now no doubt the king of “unusual actors” but he was mindblowing in this role and playing this over-the-top character to perfection. Think if Phantom of The Opera was an odd megalomaniac, introvert-extravert, privileged hipster! It is perhaps the most versatile part he’s done so far. The physicality of Driver’s performance makes ANNETTE an interesting work and might end up being the film’s real shot as gold (the man might be pulling double duty come award-season with his HOUSE OF GUCCI role too) which might help the film get more views despite its... Huh… "Specific flavoring”! Although ANNETTE seems to have some mainstream appeal, one has to admit that like many of Carax’s it is not the most “accessible” and - like TITANE - is probably one of the most divisive films of its year.

Cotillard did her best with her character but not sure she was the person most would have cast in this role or this movie filled with eccentrics and weirdos. But guess she grounds this project and brings her panache to it. She plays the soft-spoken delicate and ephemeral Anne, though one has to truly suspend disbelief to believe her to be an opera singer! Maybe they should have gone extra camp and cast someone from, let's say from Broadway, like Aubrey McDonald or Idina Menzel, or dunno like Lady Gaga (it would have been an interesting year having her and Driver playing a couple in two flicks! *Plus fun fact: they actually wanted to go the celebrity-singer route with Rihanna, and that could have been super intriguing - and also brought some “color”...) Ultimately, not sure if many other people would have been able to bring the mystic Cotillard instills this character.

Then, there is the unique screenplay coupled with The Sparks music & lyrics making the whole thing poetic and unconventional! One can argue that ANNETTE would’ve probably worked better if it was more subtle in terms of its dialogue and lyrics, but guess one will find joy watching this film and it’s a brand of humor if one is willing to disregard the idiosyncratic aspect of the latter (think parody-like 80s musicals!). Nevertheless, there is no denying that the tunes and lyrics are catchy and sometimes also beautiful (again Oscar-worthy even!)

So, in a nutshell, ANNETTE is indeed completely bonkers, probably the most nonsensical cinematic gem we’ve seen in a while, so what’s not to like!

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thewickedmerman · 3 years ago

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Winx Club - Enchantix

It's finally time for the FINAL transformation (Which is gonna STAY the final transformation)! The fan favorite, ENCHANTIX! I am making some changes both for aesthetic reasons and for character reasons. They will all have the Bloomix wings because those are the best wings out of all of the transformations. I will be doing them in order of who earns their Enchantix.

Layla

Starting off with the BEST fairy! I didn't make too many changes, apart from the makeup, the color, the wings, and the skirt. I made the skirt a flowing high-low skirt that resembled a waterfall and a wave. I still included the straps but made both pink and kept the yellow seaweed looking things. But I also added a transparent pink thing to the skirt to make the front a little longer and to add some dimension to it. Layla has had the colors of her Enchantix outfit change from blue to green in the actual show, which I guess was because of how Bloom earned her Enchantix and they didn't want two of them to be in blue (Even though Layla's color always should've been blue and Bloom's really should've been red). However, I stuck with blue but also made is an aqua shade just like all of her past transformation looks. I also add some painted toenails because I wanted to. I changed her makeup because my girlfriend, who is half-black and is very protective of black females (Particularly full-blooded dark-skinned ones), pointed out that her makeup in her official Enchantix didn't look quite right because the lips were too light. So I used a slightly darker shade to fix that, as well as made her eyeshadow purple instead of green because it just looks better. Also, just wanted to point out the two little white things by her eyes because that is part of her original Enchantix form as well. They look like two little dewdrops. She still earns her Enchantix by using the last bit of sunlight to healing the queen of the mermaids instead of restoring her sight that was stolen by Valtor. Also, apparently the queen is supposed to be her aunt, which I'm guessing is more of an honorable love like family thing because of how the royal family of the merpeople are clearly not black and aren't even the same species as Layla. Anyway, I hope you guys like it.

Stella

Stella's Enchantix went through A LOT of changes. Don't get me wrong, her original Enchantix was gorgeous but I didn't feel like it showed enough of her sun and moon powers. I also wanted to give her a more Greek inspired look and went with her prototype Enchantix hair, which is so gorgeous and suits her and the outfit so much. I still went with her hair being lighter just like with her official Enchantix because I feel it does show her moon powers. I just really love the way she turned out. She still earns her Enchantix by saving her father from a dragon.

Musa

Musa's Enchantix went through A LOT of changes. Her original Enchantix was gorgeous but I felt that it should've ditched the pigtails and had more of an Asian influence to it. I went with her Bloomix hair because it is very Asian influenced, though I just added chopsticks, which was suggested by my girlfriend. I also tried to make her makeup look Asian inspired to just add to the look, which I really love. The blue of the outfit was almost gold but I changed it so that it would match the wings. The outfit is mainly purple, which I have as her signature color, but also made sure there was red because of how it is an important color in Asian culture. I made sure to add a music note on her top because of how she is the fairy of music and it goes with her wings. I really love her look and I'm pretty proud of how she turned out. Musa still earns her Enchantix by refusing to leave Princess Galatea behind and nearly dies protecting her. However, I also have Galatea be Musa's cousin because I'm keeping the 4KIDS canon of Musa being a princess, though one that is the daughter of a prince that denounced his throne. I feel like Musa being royal adds to the story of her parents because of how her mother rejected her classical training and her father rejected his royal title in order to have a career in music. However, they still didn't have much money and that added her mother dying because they couldn't afford the right medical attention. This resulted in her father giving up music forever and deciding to beg his family to let him back into the royal family, in order to keep Musa from struggling like he did and would have the means to have proper medical attention, so he wouldn't lose Musa either. He was let back into the royal family for the sake of Musa. However, her father would not be the one to inherit the throne, which would go to Galatea's father. So this means that Musa isn't just saving the princess of her planet that is a friend, but also saving a family member. I'm just assuming that Galatea is Asian with blonde hair (I mean, Musa has blue hair, so why not?) because her father is shown to look like a Chinese Emperor and the planet of Melody is very Asian influenced. Sorry for rambling.

Flora

I really didn't do any changes to Flora's Enchantix, apart from the Bloomix wings because Flora's Enchantix is perfection. She still earns her Enchantix by saving her little sister, Miele (Yes, I prefer her actual name over her 4KIDS name, Rose).

Tecna

For Tecna's Enchantix I really wanted it to be the most revealing of her fairy outfits (Well, tied with Sirenix) because of how I had her starting to show off more skin for her Believix form and it shows how she's grown and opened herself up to others and let herself be emotional instead of just logical all the time. Just because she isn't skinny it doesn't mean she has to alway be covered up. But I did adjust the length to make it more tasteful (Even though her original Enchantix wasn't distasteful). I also wanted to add some elements from her Bloomix form besides just the wings. I added the technology pattern she had on her leggings because they looked so amazing (But were a pain to do) and gave her that transparent fabric she has in that form. While Tecna's hair has grown in this transformation (Just like with all the girls), I didn't want to make it more than a few inches below the shoulders because her short hair makes her unique. I didn't add sparkles to the armor because I wanted to make clear the difference in material. Since I have her color being green, I did have to mess around with the coloring a bit and I love the way it looks. The way she earns her Enchantix is my favorite of all the girls because she saved not only her home planet, Zenith, but other planets by closing the portal to the Omega Dimension on Andros. That's just a whole new level of sacrifice. She doesn't die and does manage to escape, of course, but the impact of what she did is just a staple in the Winx Club and how much she means to the group and what an awesome character she is.

Bloom

Bloom's Enchantix was one I was VERY excited to do because of the GORGEOUS hair and how I really wanted to make her dress look like fire. This has gone from one of my least favorite Enchantix forms to one of my favorites. Don't get me wrong, her original Enchantix form was gorgeous but really didn't feel like it suited her powers. I did combine this with her Bloomix form because for one, the hair is just GORGEOUS and I really wanted to include the scales from the form. I wanted to have the top also have some flow to it. I especially wanted that with the skirt. I wanted it to appear like actual flames with red, orange, and yellow. I also blended the colors as they transitioned. I added blue-looking flames because of how fire does have a hint of blue to it, which is the hottest color. I decided to make her gloves orange to go with her fire powers and made her jewelry gold to go with her fire powers, as well as purple gems to go with her wings. I gave her a dragon necklace because it looks really badass. I went with a fiery-looking eyeshadow with blue and orange, which was easier to do because of how her hair isn't orange here. As for how she earns her Enchantix, I am NOT having her earn it by that bull crap of it being sheer force of will, which I know that my amazing friend @bellatrixobsessed1 will appreciate VERY much. Also, just so you all know, I'm keeping her birth parents and the entire population of Sparx DEAD! Yes, it's tragic but it's also something that gives Bloom a huge layer of depth. Anyway, what I decided to have happen is that she is on Pyros doing all she was doing in the show and basically trying to cheat to get her Enchantix with the help of Maya. However, Valtor, wanting to destroy Bloom once and for all and knowing that Pyros would be where she was at and that he couldn't enter because of a barrier that kept out dark magic decided to get Bloom to come to him by going to Earth to put her adopted parents in danger. Bloom, deep in meditation learns that her parents are in danger because her sister, Daphne appears to her in a vision to warn her. Bloom in desperation to save her parents begs Maya to help her to Earth. Maya warns her that if she leaves now that she may never be able to earn her Enchantix and that without it, she could die while trying to leave Pryros. Bloom says she doesn't care because Valtor may have taken her birth parents from her but she was NOT going to let him take her adopted parents. Daphne and Maya, reluctantly, use their magic to help Bloom get to Earth through a portal. Traveling through the portal was physically painful for Bloom but she kept on going and refused to give up. She nearly dies but as she arrives to Earth, just as Valtor was about to kill Mike and Vanessa (Bloom's adopted parents), a weakened Bloom with what little strength she had left threw herself in front of them to save their lives. She was close to death but this selfless act saved her life because of how it was what had her earn her Enchantix. Why? Because Faragona said that in order to earn Enchantix, you have to save someone from your home world and make a big sacrifice in the process. Home doesn't mean a place you are born in but rather a place you're loved and have a life. Earth is her home world, so saving her adopted parents allowed her to earn her Enchantix. Bloom, now more powerful than ever was able to fight off Valtor, forcing him to flee. Did you guys like my version of how Bloom earned her Enchantix? Let me know.

My final group picture of the Winx Club in their final forms. This was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a lot of headaches. I couldn't have done it without the help of my girlfriend, @keeloves, who gave me suggestions and ideas, as well as feedback during the process. Thank you guys so much for liking my stuff, even if you didn't leave comments. I'm really happy to be done with this and I'm grateful for all the love this has been getting. Also, I have the girls flying instead of just standing like I did with their Magic Winx, casual looks, and Believix.

Credit for the bases goes to SelenaEde of DeviantArt

Credit for the wings goes to AstralBlu of DeviantArt

Credit for the backgrounds goes to xKaJot of YouTube & Keerene and SparxGuardian

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bitchapalooza · 3 years ago

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More hetalia highschool AU, 🌟magic team🌟 edition :)

Under the cut bc it is long ❤️

Vladimir is that one kid obsessed with Twilight but only for the vampires; it was his first ever exposure to vampires thanks to his dad thinking Twilight was an appropriate book for a 11 year old. Team Edward going strong for five years, he'd proudly declare like it actually mattered. He tries his best to dress goth at school even though his uniform gets in the way. Fake ear piercings(his parents won't let him pierce them yet), over the top makeup, he's dyed the top half of his shoes black because his parents were concerned about his obsession with black and wouldn't buy him the black tennies he wanted— "mom look, these are marked down for back to school! Can I pleeeease get them???" "....may I know why the black ones specifically?" "They match the ever nothingness of my soul." "Yep! The white ones it is then!" "Mooooooooooom!"— Vladimir has been dubbed the cringy vampire kid of course.

Lukas is into pretty much anything concerning cryptids and magical creatures because they can't be proven to be fake or real, which intrigues him. He carries a book about mushrooms at all times and info dumps on pretty much anyone about identifying poisonous mushrooms and which mushrooms are safe to eat. His backpack is covered in buttons and pins to show off his interests. He keeps an amethyst in the front pocket of his backpack, reason unknown other than to just randomly pull it out and let Mikkel look at it. He's that kid that always wears his hoodie no matter the season, he never takes it off. Under his hoodie is always a crude worded t-shirt that the school would not approve of, much less his parents. He's relatively quiet and because he's quiet he's considered a weird kid.

Arthur can't decide if punk is his style or if goth is. Either way, his way of self expression at school in addition to the uniform is horrible. Checkered black/red shoes his grandma got him with his older brother's hand me down worn out greying socks—"can I PLEASE just have my own clothes???" "we have perfectly good clothes for you in the garage! I can fix them up to fit you better and everything!" "but I want cool NEW clothes!" "those are cool clothes and as far as the other kids know, they're also new. Now get your transformer backpack and get to the car. I put a new patch on it last night so that should hold it for the rest of the year."— Old Pierce the veil shirt, with holes chewed into the collar from his older brother Dillan, peeking out from under his white polo. A black and red choker to match his black and red slowly tearing apart too big flannel on top of a black pull over. A deep blue beanie, the hoodie of his pull over almost constantly on top when outside the school. He dyes a part of his hair a different color every month. He spikes his hair using too much gel and is convinced he looks good. He talks too much about bands and always gets Vlad and Lukas going on and on about fictional creatures he does not FULLY believe in himself. He does, however, believe in magic and loves Harry Potter, more specifically the Weaselys, to bits.

Natalya is a sophomore, a year behind the boys, and she just kinda pushed her way into the friend group until they eventually accepted her into it. They were the only three she knew who liked occult related topics. She's on the baseball team because she wanted an excuse to hit things with another thing and NOT get detention because of it. She wears the khaki uniform skirt and takes full advantage over being able to wear any kind of tights underneath; skull pattern, plain black, blood splatter pattern, fire pattern. Anything that makes her feel like a badass. She's always talking about antiques and forging weapons, more specifically knives. She has a whole collection of fidget toys but her favorite is this pea pod keychain her father gave her. She's always talking about how she'd like to be a medical examiner and to just prove that she's serious, she'll bring up a picture of a human model and point out the difference between a self inflicted fatal wound and a homicide. She puts up a charade of being able to see and talk to ghosts to freak out Alfred, her extended friend first met through Tolys.

They collectively believe they're cool and that other people know this. They're genuinely blind to the obvious snickers sent their way, being called losers and nerds. They're really knowm for like really pathetic things like; Natalya is Ivan's, tallest and most intimidating member of the wrestling team, weird younger sister by a year. Lukas is just the weird quiet kid that reads by the courtyard garden during lunch. Vladimir is not only the vampire goth kid but the kid who's parents believe the teachers are giving his son low grades on purpose and will yell at them for it. And Arthur is just. He's another Kirkland, immediately assumed to be a massive trouble maker because of his now graduated brother Alistair and one grade above him brother Dillan. Everyone loved his eldest brother Darick and sometimes compare him to Darick.

Compared to what others THINK they do, such as witch craft for some odd reason, the four of them do pretty typical teen activities. Like hang out at the mall. Do their honework together. Play video games and D&D when they have the chance. The boys do have sleepovers still as they have since meeting each other in middle school, Nat not really being a fan of sleeping where she doesn't live but comfortable enough to go to their houses and just chill for the day. They have become friends because of their related interests but thats not what they're ALL ABOUT.

Fun facts/stories about these losers I thought about while bored as fuck:

• Lukas, in his freshman year, went on a nature hike field trip with his lit class after reading Into The Wild. And he brought his mushroom book of course. They walked around, looking at the sights, talked about the book. Lukas just stops at one point, falling behind the class. He picks up a mushroom, goes to the teacher and is like "You see this? Its not poisonous." And straight up fucking eats it without warning. The teacher called an ambulance even though Lukas kept telling him he was fine and that that mushroom was 100% okay to eat raw, but for sure better off cooked. Lukas calmly shows the paramedics his book and they're like "yeah that actually was safe to eat, we don't need the book to confirm that, but um. Please don't ever pick something off the ground and eat it again. Just. Please don't do that, son." .....he did it again before leaving to go back to school but this time he didn't tell anyone.

• In elementary school, Natalya brought in a model of the human brain she asked her dad to borrow. He had to say yes because she was his only child genuinely interested, not bored of, his medical profession and he found it very cute and honoring. So she's at show and tell, its her turn right, and she silently goes up to the front of the class and pulls out the model brain. Teacher tries to step in because, hey, these are 6 year olds—AND WHY DOES THIS 6 YEAR OLD HAVE A PLASTIC BRAIN??? But Nat just shooshes her. In surprised shock, the teacher is just quiet as Nat begins to explain parts of the brain and their function— which was all wrong actually. She knew the words and everything but she didn't get the locations right. She sounded confident and smart and she was telling this to a bunch of 6 year olds so they believed her of course. End of the school day, her dad is having a hilarious conference with his youngest's teacher about the brain incident.

• Vladimir loves reading. He's loved it since he began to learn how, even if his dyslexia gives him grief along the way. So since he loves to read he'll always get excited and read ahead in class or in the public library reading club. One summer, the reading club was reading The Giver and it was getting really good. Vlad was loving the story, so much so that Vlad began to read ahead in his own time when he really wasn't supposed to be, the club was reading it together out loud and discussing it. Now he's read enough and worked hard enough to figure out how to help himself focus better and understand each word and sentence without having to reread it all multiple times over or get stuck. But sometimes the meaning and context to what he's reading doesn't ALWAYS process with the words as he's too focused on reading the words right and it passes right over his head. So Vlad is reading ahead and he's getting to the part where The Giver has given Jonas the memory of the sled again. And Vlad just sits there after reading that paragraph. He rereads it. And rereads it again. And then he leaves his book on his bed, goes to the the hall closet and takes out the ironing board. He grabs a plastic container to use as an ill attempt of a helmet and he just. Rockets down the staircase and hits the wall. He screams and cries and his parents rush in from the livingroom. When asked what happened he just says "I wanted to understand the sled scene better! Now I do and I feel really bad for Jonas!" He just couldn't quite grasp WHY the sled accident hurt, never had a broken bone nor sled afterall, and needed to find out. And that's how Vlad got his first broken arm at the age of 12.

• When Alfred and Matthew moved in with Arthur's family, Arthur didn't like it. He was a moody young teen but he was also just tired of the full house. His cousins were loud and nosey. He had to share a room with his four older brothers already and now with Matthew while Kathleen and Alfred got a room to themselves. Arthur thought this was so unfair. So his solution was to run away. He was 13, he needed a place to have some peace and quiet for once. So he texts Francis and Lukas, the only two of his friends living in his neighnorhood. Francis is not on board with helping him run away at first but then Lukas brings literally all his camping gear for Arthur's use and then Francis is on board because he had the feeling Arthur was going to get himself killed somehow. So as the elder one of the group he accompanied Arthur and Lukas out to the short stretch of woods behind the last street of their neighborhood, intending to go to the big clearing before hitting the roads leading to the airport and whatever else buildings. They're out there setting everything up together and they're done by like 4 pm. They sit down and talk, munch on oreos and other snacks Arthur deemed as essential survival foods. Then Francis looks at his cell and remarks "wow its already 6! Ah, Lukas, we should get home. Afterall, neither of us ran away so we still have supper to eat. Come on Lukas, let's go before our parents come looking for us." They exchange goodbyes, Francis trying his best to hide his cocky smirk. So Lukas and Francis start walking off, Arthur crawls into the tent and eats half a cookie before frowning and feeling too alone. He didn't expect to feel alone because all he wanted was to BE ALONE. Before he knows it, he's running out of the tent yelling after his friends to stop and wait up. "Oh whats wrong, Arthur? I thought you wanted to run away." "I— I forgot I hadn't fed my rabbit is all! I'll run away tomorrow! I'm not... Feeling lonely if.. If that's what you think...." Arthur did not run away the next day. Buuuuuut the three plus Vlad made a tree house together in the Kirkland backyard that they still use today!

#if you thought these four would be cool kids in this au then you thought wrong #hetalia #hetalia au #hetalia england #hetalia belarus #hetalia norway #hetalia romania #hetalia magic team #there should be more content of the magic losers + belarus tbh magic team is a bad group name but so fits their collective vibes so well

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cherry-valentine · 4 years ago

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How Black Clover Gets Lady Characters Right

*Spoilers for most of the Black Clover anime (mostly character related stuff, not much in the way of major plot stuff)*

Black Clover is right up there with Gintama in terms of shows that reward viewers for sticking with them through some mediocre early episodes and arcs. When Black Clover began airing, I was excited. Manga readers had been hyping the series up, and it sounded like the next big shounen fighting anime that would take anime fandom by storm. Then I started watching it, and I was immensely disappointed. I found Asta’s constant screaming almost unbearable (to the point that I started muting the tv when it looked like he was about to open his mouth). The early episodes were totally predictable and cliche. The animation was, at times, embarrassingly bad. But I stuck with it because there were a few elements that kept me interested. One was the absolute bangers of opening and ending themes (at one point the thought crossed my mind that they were entirely too good for this show). Another was Yuno, whom I liked from the start. Then there’s the fact that Asta’s magic, or lack of magic, was the one element I didn’t predict a mile away. I honestly expected him to awaken to some super powerful magic early on. Almost 200 episodes later, he is still magic-free. I really did not see that coming. Still yet, I came close to dropping the series several times during those first thirteen episodes or so.

Somewhere around the time they went to the undersea village (I don’t remember the name of the arc), I began to notice that I was actually looking forward to each new episode. It was a gradual change from being at the bottom of my watch list to being near the top. So gradual it took me a while to realize it. The show still had some problems, sure, but it stopped being predictable. Asta talked more and screamed less. More interesting characters were introduced. The fight scenes were exciting. By the time this arc was over, Black Clover had become a favorite. So, if you tried the series and found it boring and annoying, consider giving it another shot. Like I said, it rewards you for sticking with it.

One of the best things about Black Clover, for me, is how it treats its female characters, especially when compared to other popular shounen fighting anime. It is by no means perfect, and I’ll talk about the show’s minor failings in regards to its ladies a little further down. But overall, it does a phenomenal job.

The first thing that struck me about Black Clover’s women is just how varied they are. There’s a surprising range in their appearances, personalities, and skills. And there are lots of them. Far more than a lot of other shounen fighting anime allow. There are five women in the main squad, the Black Bulls, alone. And we see that each squad has several women as well. Then there’s the all-women squad the Blue Roses. This extends to the villains, as well as the non-combatant supporting cast as well.

Speaking of skills, the women of Black Clover are unusually powerful. The two male leads, Asta and Yuno, eventually get “power-ups”, some kind of new form or transformation or whatever. This is super common in shounen fighting anime. What’s not so common, however, is the female lead getting her own cool power-up/transformation. This is what happens for Noelle, and it was such a great surprise. A little side note here: I’ve been watching the series on a streaming site that allows comments, and I was so amazed by the comments on the episode in which Noelle gets her power-up. The (mostly male, judging by their names) commenters were genuinely happy for her! They were proud of her for getting stronger and cheering her on! I didn’t spot a single comment about her looks or how great of a waifu she is (at the time anyway).

But it wasn’t just Noelle that got stronger. Another Black Bulls member, Vanessa, got an interesting power-up of her own, in the form a cat familiar that basically makes her and her teammates completely impervious to harm for as long as her mana holds out (which has saved their lives countless times). Another lady, Grey, has recently (in the anime) demonstrated some shockingly powerful magic that none of her teammates, or even she herself, realized she was capable of. Then there’s Charmy, who was already quite powerful but gained her own powered up transformation that made her strong enough to defeat an elf-possessed Magic Knight captain. If anything, the ladies have received MORE power-ups than the men.

And while we’re talking about powerful women, I have to talk about Mereoleona. If you’ve watched the show, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t, just imagine a character who can curb-stomp a powerful villain who is on a higher level than villains that the main characters were struggling to team up against just a few episodes before, who can then take on a whole group of these powered up villains and remain standing, even after losing consciousness, because they’re just that badass. Now imagine that character is a woman. And she’s so terrifying that one of the elf-possessed enemies (her comrades who had their bodies taken over by elves) remarks that his body froze up because, even though he’s controlling it, the BODY ITSELF was afraid of her. Mereoleona is an absolute beast, the kind of character that is almost always male in these types of shows. And the best part? The icing on this badass cake? The only person who was stronger than her, who could defeat her one-on-one, was ANOTHER WOMAN. Noelle’s mother. And a huge part of Noelle’s motivation as a character is becoming strong like her mother.

On the subject of Noelle’s motivation, I really appreciate that it has nothing to do with her crush on Asta. Sure, she likes him, but it’s not a motivating factor in her life and it’s not even really that important to her story arc. Her arc has always been about HER, about becoming stronger, living up to her powerful family’s expectations, discovering the truth about her mother’s death and then about avenging her, about becoming more empathetic to the common people despite being royalty. Noelle’s story is ABOUT HER. And it’s really sad that this is something remarkable, but we’ve all seen the “heroines” with no real arcs of their own, or worse, their arcs revolve almost entirely around their love for a male character (Sakura from Naruto is the most obvious example here but anyone who watches a lot of shounen can no doubt name many more). And Noelle isn’t an exception in Black Clover. Almost all of the women have interesting back stories and character arcs that have little to do with men (or if men are involved, they’re in supporting roles to these stories and very rarely the main subject).

An exception to this is possibly Charlotte, who is in love with Yami and this plays a big role in her story. However, even this is framed in a way that puts the emphasis on her own growth. It’s really about her learning to be honest with her feelings and getting over her own awkwardness around Yami. A big moment for her is when she admits to her squad that she’s in love with Yami, and they’re all eager and excited to help and support her, like the wonderful ladies they are.

Now, as I said before, Black Clover’s depictions of women are not perfect. There are a few issues I consider minor that I need to address. The first is the tendency the show has of making almost all the ladies be in love with someone. A large portion of the women are sporting crushes, though some of them are quite subtle or mainly used for comic relief, it’s still a little annoying that so many of them are in love. Of course, many of the male characters are in love with someone too (including the protagonist, Asta) and there are several female characters who are totally disinterested in romance, so I can overlook this. Another small issue is that, even though there’s more variety than usual in the body types (one female character is fat and another, Charmy, often gets quite pudgy for extended periods of time, plus a few ladies have more muscular builds), a significant portion of them have very large breasts, including two teenage characters (Noelle and Mimosa). It feels a little unnecessary, to be honest. Though to be fair, it’s rare that any of these characters are used for fan service and the camera never really seems to linger on their bodies. Most of them dress fairly modestly and among those who don’t, the more sexy clothes fit their characters and make sense for their personalities.

The last minor issue I have is that we often get the “designated girl fights”. If there’s a female villain, it’s likely that a female hero will be the one to fight her. This isn’t a rule set in stone, because there are plenty of male/female battles, but it happens enough to be very noticeable. Of course, these lady villains are demonstrated to be just as powerful and dangerous as the villainous men, but it’s still mildly irritating.

Those little nitpicks aside, Black Clover is still a shining example of a shounen fighting anime getting its ladies right. The women in the series are well-written, interesting characters with compelling stories. They’re powerful, have wildly varying personalities and motivations, and never feel like window dressing. They’re not just there to be pretty romantic interests. The show does all this very well, and I think it deserves a lot of praise and credit for it.

#Black Clover #Female characters #noelle silva #mereoleona vermillion #text #long post

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dreaming-of-assclass · 4 years ago

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Oooooo if 3-E were supernatural creatures who would be what 👀👀👀

Oooohh this is interesting to think about! I’m sorry, I don’t know a lot haha so I did some research to have more options!!

Karma: Demon

I feel like I don’t need to elaborate on this too much lmao. The boy is mischievous, LOVES to mess with mortals for no reason. When he’s feeling a particularly strong emotion, usually rage, excitement, etc, his eyes glow a shade of yellow-gold (like what canon showed)

Isogai: Demi-God

His crazy perfection in everything has to come from somewhere. His father was a God who left his realm and lost his immortality to be with Isogai’s mother, a mortal. Isogai only became aware of his heritage after his father’s passing.

Okajima: Half-Angel

LMAO I mostly picked this for the irony, but it kinda fits ngl. He’s generally a good, loyal, kind person and a very good friend. His perverted nature is his one big flaw and comes from the influence of his mortal father, who was his main guardian since his mother remained on Heaven.

Okano: Werewolf

I’m gonna credit this one to @greengargouille haha. They made a wonderful post about this idea that I still adore with my whole heart. But yeah, Okano being a badass werewolf with crazy athleticism and defying femininity expectations? Yes please.

Okuda: Witch

She excels in potion-making, of course. She comes from a long line of witches and magic-users in her family. So she feels quite a bit of pressure to be successful. She’s very talented but needs a tad bit more of control in her magic.

Kataoka: Mermaid

This one shouldn’t be a surprise haha. She’s a very strong and powerful swimmer...but where does all that raw talent come from? Surprise, Megu is a mermaid and she can transform between her physical forms at will. She loves the water because it’s her home and what she knows best.

Kayano: Part-Phoenix

I don’t know how this works and how someone can be part-Phoenix lmao, but it fits her way too well. A being that goes out in flames and starts a new life...isn’t that basically what Kayano did after her reveal? Her new life is her going by Akari again and showing her true colors to the class.

Kanzaki: Goddess

She’s apart of a very royal family of gods...all with ridiculously high standards and little respect for her. Kanzaki is very powerful and has so much raw potential but she’s never been able to show it. Her best skills are teleportation, invisibility, and a strong grasp on aerokinesis.

Kimura: Centaur

I’m serious about this one lmao. He’s a very fast runner and impresses everyone, and it’s thanks to his strong physique and raw energy in centaur form. Don’t worry, he can shape-shift back to a human form, but he hates it because he loses his height and is back to being 160 cm.

Kurahashi: Fairy

Of course, this bright, sunny, cheerful sweet girl could only be a fairy. She has a very strong connection to nature and wildlife, to the point that if they’re harmed, she feels the pain. Her wings are very tiny at age 14 can easily hide underneath her clothes. But by adulthood, they’re grown and able to use for flight.

Nagisa: Half-Ghoul

Surprise...this soft boy is actually half-evil :’). His father is actually a ghoul, and Nagisa was very much unaware of it for all his life. Hiromi kept it a secret and tried to suppress that part of him too. Basically I imagine what it means for Nagisa is that death draws him, and his physiology is why he has such a high bloodlust. When he’s pushed to his limits, he’s terrifying... (cough Takaoka cough)

Sugaya: Wizard

He comes from a relatively average line of wizards, who all moved to the mortal realm and own artisan businesses. Sugaya wishes to do something similar and follow his passion for art. He mostly uses his magic for that, levitating his brushes, enhancing his work, creating new things. He’s quite talented at conjuring.

Sugino: Angel

Yes, I’m serious about this. Sugino is a very good person and always strives to lead others down the right path. He’s good at guiding, but even he wants to live for himself for once. So he learns what baseball is and grows a strong love for it.

Takebayashi: Wizard

Unlike Sugaya, he comes from a super prestigious line of successful and powerful wizards. His family is one of the top ones. He feels immense pressure to live up to them. His talents lie in fire magic, particularly creating explosions. And he’s a very skilled healer.

Chiba: Half-Dragon

Fitting considering his name 💜 He has the ability to change between his human and dragon form, but it’s very shaky for now. His eyes are a bright, terrifying shade of red, and it exposes his dragon heritage so he must hide it.

Terasaka: Half-Titan

His Titan physiology is the reason for his raw strength and physical prowess. He’s incredibly strong and has a high endurance, durability, stamina... He’s a talented fighter and will always use his advantage to protect his loved ones.

Nakamura: Siren

She hates being a siren so much. She has to deal with boring mortal guys all the time, who for some reason, love her voice. She gets a real kick out of fooling them though, and the pranks are always chaotic. Since she’s been having to sing and use her voice, she’s gotten the chance to learn many languages. She has an affinity for them, and wants to continue learning more.

Hazama: Witch

I know this is a little cliche. But in contrast to the potion-centered Okuda, Hazama excels in linguistic spells. She keeps a journal of every new one she learns, as well as images of herbs and such. She’s very interested in dark arts, but will only indulge in it with the presence of someone else, to make sure she doesn’t fall too deep.

Hayami: Witch

Wow I’m really repeating so many. Hayami is a very hardworking, talented witch. But she’s so focused on helping others, she tends to get taken advantage of unfortunately. She’s best at transfigurations, altering things to her (and others) liking. Her favorite test subject is Okajima. She’s quite talented in hand-to-hand combat and having kinetic vision, which helps in magic. She wants a cat as a familiar so badly.

Hara: Fairy

Hara says “fuck you” to the idea that fairies are traditionally small and frail. She’s proud of her physique and strength, and her interest in fighting. She’s still the sweetest fairy there could be, always looking after everyone and all of nature. She loves cooking and sharing it with as many people as she can find.

Fuwa: Ghost

Yep our crazy, lively Fuwa is a ghost! Specifically, she’s a poltergeist, the kind who try to create mischief in some way and move things around. The reason why Fuwa is kinda wild and open about her passions is so she can be noticed by people...if her presence isn’t being acknowledged, she loses her physical form and goes back to being a transparent spirit. It isn’t all bad though. Her favorite thing to do is read mangas in ghost form, so all people see is a floating copy of One Piece.

Maehara: Vampire

This one is a little cliche lmao, but he’s a vampire playboy who always ends up accidentally turning his girlfriends into vampires too with his bites. No one ever suspects him of being a vampire since he looks like sunshine incarnate. He’s quite reckless and has come close to being exposed multiple times, and Isogai always scolds him.

Mimura: Elf

Poor boy is a little insecure about being an Elf...he tries his best not to stand out, especially given his dad’s love for the spotlight. He is good at basic magic, slightly above average. His best talent and what he excels at is photokinesis. He uses it on his filming hobby, to change what’s on camera, adjust lighting, etc. He can go as far as even completely remove shadows from the sunlight.

Muramatsu: Alchemist

He comes from a relatively average family of alchemists that used their abilities for culinary purposes. He enjoys it a lot, and is very talented. He prefers to rely on physical prowess when it comes to fights, but is able to use his alchemy additionally.

Yada: Vampire

Yada is the hot vampire girlfriend we all wish we had 😔 Just kidding haha. But yes, she’s a vampire and no one would ever expect it with how good she is at hiding. She plans out her life and days to specifically avoid sunlight, garlic, etc. She’s a very busy member of the school community and has tons of friends and connections. She and Maehara, her fellow vampire, constantly compete to see who can get more dates.

Yoshida: Werewolf

This is slightly cliche since he’s the resident bad boy, but it fits. He tries to keep a tough image even in human form partly since his family taught him to do so, and because it is comfortable for him. But he’s a softie deep down, and is nowhere near as ruthless as he’s believed to be.

Ritsu: Magic Mirror?

Hmm this is kind of the only option I see fitting for her as it correlates to her role in canon. One classmate has to carry the mirror around for her to communicate, but she’s very powerful and helpful.

Itona: Mummy

Ok so storyline here: he was abandoned to die by his family centuries ago, and his 13 body was mummified against his will. In present time, Shiro awakens him, revives him, and uses him as a tool. He goes through a lot...but is able to live a peaceful life with 3-E once all that is over. He wears bandages almost everywhere, only exposing his eyes which glow yellow when he’s using his power.

Bonus:

Gakushuu is a Demi-God, of course. He’s pretty annoyed that his elemental magic only extends to hydrokinesis and cryokinesis, but he’s still amazingly talented.

Ren is a Merman who flirts with girls at the beach with sappy poetry. He’s gotten caught in a fisher net too many times.

Seo is an Ogre.

#assclass #assassination classsroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #3-E #ask #gakushuu asano #ren sakakibara #seo tomoya #fantasy au #?

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rhetorical-ink · 4 years ago

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Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Seven Deadly Sins - Season One

**SINFUL SPOILERS BELOW**

My brother and I have been doing “Sibling Streaming” since the start of the Covid-19 quarantine -- catching up with Haikyuu!!, which we both wanted to watch, and then we watched my pick: Demon Slayer, which I’ve reviewed. My brother’s pick was Seven Deadly Sins, and so with us having finished Season One, I wanted to give you all --

My Top Ten Thoughts on Seven Deadly Sins - Season One:

10. Probably my favorite aspect about the show is the character dynamics between each other -- the “Seven Deadly Sins” (or 6 at this point...we haven’t met the “Pride” sin, yet) all interact in unique and fun ways with one another. Obviously, my favorite dynamics so far are Meliodas and Ban’s interactions along with Diane and King’s -- since we’ve been with those four the longest so far.

9. The show isn’t afraid to get gory...but is there a consequence? I appreciate that the show does not shy away from blood and gore from the get-go. The only aspect that is a little frustrating is, as my brother notes, “anime logic” on bleeding out. Seriously, these guys have like 200 liters of blood in them. It does make the stakes seem a little lower at times, when you know the characters can get healed rather quickly or survive certain blows.

8. I will say that I like the side characters we have introduced! Gila and Jericho are fun, Howser is basically “The Yamcha of Seven Deadly Sins” and my brother and I are here for it, Arther Pendragon is so lovable (probably doesn’t help he has the same English dub VA as Tanjiro for Demon Slayer), and then we have Margaret and sweet, “little Gil.”

Not going to lie, I hated Gilthunder at the start of this show. He was an annoyingly smug antagonist and for most of the season, he just ticked me off with how he wasn’t being open-minded as Howser and Gila had become learning the “truth” about the situation the Seven Deadly Sins (SDS) were placed into. However, once Margaret gets involved, and we have the reveal that they’ve been “cursed” this entire time, and the curse is lifted, then Gil becomes a good character, and I’m here for that!

7. About that -- probably my biggest critique/pet peeve about the show is that it tends to “show” you things happening, but doesn’t follow up with the “tell” until much later. I do appreciate that there’s more “show” than “tell” to begin with, but when you don’t understand what’s happening, it can be confusing.

With the Gilthunder and Margaret curse-lifted moment, I was so confused watching. My brother, who has read the manga, was like, “Don’t you get it? It’s ____” but because I hadn’t read the manga, I had to wait until the next episode started to get the backstory and explanation. Waiting on exposition in a fantasy world that has some crazy world-building elements can be frustrating, especially if you’ve watched shows that handle it slightly more effectively (a la Demon Slayer).

6. I do like Meliodas’s character a lot -- he’s a fun, yet powerful character, and reminds me a lot of Bleach’s Ichigo and his hollow when his demon side lets loose. However, there is one aspect I’m not a fan of, and that’s his constant groping of Elizabeth. I get it...it’s a common trope in manga/anime, but I still am not a fan of it and it does make me uncomfortable, especially in a scene when he does it in front of Elizabeth’s father. So...there’s that.

5. Speaking of Elizabeth, I will admit that at first, I was weary of her character, seeing her as a “damsel in distress” -- but, a few episodes in, she starts to establish herself as more than that, and by the end of season one, she’s basically a healer and someone capable of saving themselves and those around them. I also really like the angel vs demon dynamic that her and Meliodas have together, and I’m looking forward to that expanded in later seasons!

4. So, in terms of favorite characters, I would have to say that while I love all of the SDS’s equally, my favorites are Ban and Gowther at this point. Ban is just such a fun “badboy” trope that I really appreciate getting more depth in this season. His love for Elaine is just adorable and I really hope we get more on those two in future seasons. It’s also fun that he’s basically immortal, so there are a lot of gags they can get away with that are hilarious and effective.

While I said I wasn’t a fan of the groping, I would be remiss to not mention that there is some “man service” given with Ban’s character typically at the center of it, so I can understand if someone thinks there’s a double-standard there. Although...no one is groping Ban. I do appreciate the joke that his outfit keeps getting ripped and there just happen to be people running around with red leather suits on.

On the opposite end of the “man service” spectrum is Gowther, who is just a badass psychic who can create mental illusions and has some powerful magic surrounding him. He’s basically a robot personality-wise, so I hope we get more developed with his character two...especially as...is he in a relationship with Gila? Not going to lie...I’m kind of all for these two emotionless powerhouses teaming up.

3. In terms of antagonists, of course Hendrickson is the main baddie of this season -- I’m not entirely convinced he’s gone, since he’s been set up as such a threat and his goal of combining their world with the demon realm seems to still be the central conflict of the show. However, while he does turn into the “frieza-style-transformed-monster” by the climax of the season, I did appreciate the uniqueness of the “New Generation” and how he was using demon blood to corrupt and control the Holy Knights -- it was a neat plot point and I liked how that same demon he was using connected back to Ban, King, and other characters. I’m wondering where that story arc goes from here...

2. While I did nag on the show being confusing at times with showing us information and not telling us other information, I DO appreciate the world-building in terms of all the fantasy elements. There’s fairies, immortals, angels, demons, giants, and other creatures just out and about and it helps to establish a variety of types and varieties of creatures to interact and have unique abilities...now if only I could keep them all straight.

1. Overall, I am happy to start watching Seven Deadly Sins, if for the characters and to see where the story goes from here. Is it my favorite anime I’ve picked up this year? No, but now that we’ve at least established the world, the characters, and I have an idea where the plot can go, I’m curious to see how it’s expanded upon and hopefully to get backstory on some of the SDS we haven’t been able to focus on -- and to see the last one! Also, Ban’s left the group to go on his own personal side quest, so I’m excited to see that unfold as well.

#Seven Deadly Sins #Seven Deadly Sins Season One #Seven Deadly Sins Review #NNT anime #NNT #Meliodas #Seven Deadly Sins Elizabeth #Seven Deadly Sins Diane #Seven Deadly Sins King #Ban the Undead #Gowther #Merlin Seven Deadly Sins #Gilthunder #Margaret seven deadly sins #Hendrickson #Seven Deadly Sins Gila #Rhetorical Ink Reviews #Sibling Streaming

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measlyfurball13 · 4 years ago

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Pacific Rim: Into the Black fucking sucked.

It’s problem isn’t that it’s different from the first movie. Look, I LOVE the first movie, but I agree that more of the same might have been boring. I respect the writers for pushing the boundaries a little and making an original story with an original tone. . . If by original story you mean “make it Attack on Titan but worse” and if by original tone you mean “cheap shock value and needless edge that adds nothing”.

Full rant under the cut. Swear warning, whatever.

This series has so many interesting and creative ideas but they’re buried under loads of blundering edgelord tropes that have been done before in every other anime ever. Taylor the protagonist is a flavorless “older brother” trope. Mei is the tsundere badass who’s been traumatized by daddy. Boy (yes, that’s his name) is the mystical superpowered child. Oh, and he pulls this whole Attack on Titan thing and turns into a Kaiju.

You wanna know why this is a problem? Because holy fucking shit it’s a problem. Because it’s stupid. Because it’s magic handwavy bullshit. Pacific Rim, for all of it’s big robots and big monsters, grounds itself in reality by having consistent internal rules. Kaiju are monsters with some occasional cool unique abilities, but they’re all based in biology. Stuff like acid, extra limbs, flying. Even the EMP pulse ability from the first movie feels plausible, because electricity is used in a biological body in the form nerves. Another consistent rules is that Kaiju are big monsters. Big. Monsters. Big monsters who stay big, because they’re established as having so much mass and bulk and presence that they can’t get rid of because they’re biological creatures. The first movie establishes that they eat and breed and even defecate and have parasites. These rules make the Kaiju feel plausible. These rules allow us, the audience, to suspend our disbelief and immerse ourselves into the universe.

So why the fucking hell did the writers throw all that out the window, pull some magic bullshit out of their ass, and make a human that turns into a Kaiju? They don’t even show us the transformation sequence on screen. Flash of blue, and now the little human boy is a Kaiju. The problem is not that it’s unrealistic, the problem is that it doesn’t fit in with the Pacific Rim universe. It’s disjointed. It’s stupid. Any questions?

Now, where was I? Oh, right, characters. Haley, the younger sister, is. . . okay. She feels like the extroverted younger sister cheerleader trope, but then they also give her this character facet (it’s not an arc because it’s never really addressed) about murder guilt? And she also mothers a lot Boy? And she also makes really stupid decisions for the sake of the plot sometimes? Out of the main three cast members, she’s by far the most interesting and bearable, at least, but she doesn’t feel consistent at all. She also gets damseled a lot, too, which doesn’t add to her likeability or agency.

Moving on, one of the two even remotely interesting characters was killed for shock value in episode five in the cheapest, most abrupt way possible, so I can’t talk about him very much, other than the fact that I’m still pissed that the writers thought killing him off was a good idea. Nothing narratively was gained by it; his death doesn’t even affect any character’s trajectory! He had so much more to give alive than he did dead. But that’s all I can say, since he is dead. The only other interesting character was the Jaeger AI who gets maybe all of 13 voicelines in the entire season and is barely, barely even a minor character. Nothing much else to say.

Remember the part where I mentioned that this show actually has wonderful creative ideas? I didn’t just say that for flavor, and that’s the most frustrating part of this all. The problem is just that there’s so many ideas, all at once, so in the end none of them end up shining. Here’s a shortened list of the great ideas- you could base an entire show around each one:

Interrogating someone with drift technology

Altering people’s memories through drift technology

Australia gets claimed by the Kaiju and survivors have to duke it out to survive with the remaining Jaeger technology with no help from the outside world

Training Jaegers and what Jaeger academy looked like

Jaegers having sentient AIs inside of them- and what happens when to the AI when a Jaeger takes damage or even loses a pilot? Is the drift in a Jaeger technically a three-way bond?

What happens when you drift too much, with too many people? Inheriting someone else’s memories or even skillsets?

(this one is probably my least favorite, but still has merit:) A Jaeger and Kaiju fusion. How utterly terrifying would that be?

These are all incredible. I probably would have adored Pacific Rim: Into the Black if (magic Kaiju kid notwithstanding) it had focused on maybe one or two of these ideas in its meager 140-minute runtime. However, Into the Black tries to tackle all of these amazing ideas at once along with about a dozen other shitty ideas that fall flat. As a result, nothing gets the time it deserves. Fascinating ideas are quickly glossed over, never to be mentioned again despite being extremely relevant to the plot, just so the show can truck through the next portion with the same lack of thought.

The season feels disjointed. Nothing builds on anything else, and plot points don’t lead into each other. Characters make stupid decisions, take meandering courses of action and are constantly changing their mind, or, most of the time, just stumbling upon their objectives by pure chance. The only throughline that even remotely delivers with proper buildup and payoff is the aforementioned magic Kaiju boy. The one competent plot arc they develop is the one that breaks the believability of the universe. Great.

Finally, to top it all off, I’m going to speedrun my more minor nitpicks with the general plot/continuity holes. Here goes:

Multiple breaches and breaches on land. If the Kaiju have been able to open breaches on land this whole time, then how in the everlasting fuck has humanity survived at all? I mean, really- why would Kaiju waste time coming from the oceans if they can just pop up wherever they please?

Mr. McRandom nobody protagonist decides on a whim to be the fourth person ever who solo pilots a Jaeger after piloting for maybe 3 days, tops, and then succeeds. The show explicitly references Raleigh and Pentacost as it does this, spitting in the face of their achievements by implying that anybody can do it, no big deal.

This show acknowledges that Pacific Rim: Uprising exists and builds a lot of its background conflict off that, which pisses me off because that movie sucks ass. Here was a chance for a fresh start and they wasted it.

The protagonists fuck up so constantly to the point where they should have lost their Jaeger several times over, yet it always survives, because (go figure!) this is a show about protagonists piloting Jaegers. The protagonists do nothing to solve their problems and do nothing to earn their clever escapes or sudden powerups, leaving everything tensionless and contrived.

The villain has no motivation at all and is so cartoonishly evil it’s a miracle that he has any minions that are willing to follow him instead of ditching him the first chance they get.

The protagonists sometimes just kinda forget their goal and wander around until they miraculously stumble upon something that just so happens to connect to it.

A lot of edgy, horrifying, traumatizing shit happens, and it doesn’t seem to ever affect the characters in any meaningful way outside of maybe 1 or 2 throwaway lines after the fact?

The show takes place in Australia but only gives asshole characters an Australian accent. What?

So that’s it. Bad characters. Universe-breaking concept. Needless, meaningless edge. Contrived plot. Rushed to all hell. Pacific Rim: Into the Black is capital “b” Bad. I love this franchise and I want to support it, but I can’t advocate that anyone give this show their time.

#pacific rim #pacific rim into the black #rant #damnit I'm mad!

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frumfrumfroo · 5 years ago

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What are your favorite movies and TV shows outside of SW? I’m looking for new things to watch since SW was so disappointing

My tastes are pretty eclectic, so I will stick to just things that are either similar to sw or are in the reylo-esque romance wheelhouse and have happy endings:

Chuck. It is a goofy, light-hearted action-adventure show with extremely endearing characters and a very prominent central romance (seriously, heavy romance and there is a lot of payoff for it, you will be FED- it's kind of slow burn but also shockingly NOT slow burn, they are deep into it pretty much immediately). The main couple is the classic Stoic Badass gradually softened by an innocent they have to protect who is a liability in battle but full of the Power of Heart. Chuck is The Heart btw. He is of that vanishingly rare male Beauty (of B&tB) type. He's incredibly generous and open, Sarah is prickly and closed-off. It is Quality. Very much a gender-swap of your typical cliche anime couple lol. I would recommend stopping at the mid-season finale in season 4, because it's downhill from there. The beginning of season 3 is very rough, but it's definitely worth it to stay for the back half, imo. There are several great endings to choose from before things go to shit, so we don't need to talk about the finale. Probably the most tonally similar to SW thing possible without being high/space fantasy. More humour, more silly, but definitely has a spiritual kinship. Has the best THE BEST 'secret revealed' scenes I have ever seen in anything. If you're into that and were hoping for that in ep IX, you need to watch Chuck.

The Shop Around the Corner. 1940 romance/drama film. You've Got Mail is a remake of it. Jimmy Stewart being profoundly adorable, Frank Morgan (aka the Wizard of Oz), various amusing side characters, and an absolutely deathless double blind 'secretly in love with the workplace nemesis' plot that can and probably has been a great reylo AU.

Mirromask. Fantasy/coming-of-age film. Touted as a 'spiritual successor' to Labyrinth by the filmmakers (one of whom is Neil Gaiman) and let me tell you, that is extremely apt. Beautiful, magical, laden with symbolism and Mask Discourse, and has a great ship. I quote it regularly.

Speaking of which, I'm sure you've seen Labyrinth? If you haven't seen Labyrinth, drop everything and watch Labyrinth.

Legend (the Ridley Scott director's cut, not the theatrical cut). Sumptuous fairy tale, runs on proper fairy tale logic, stunning to look at and overall captivating. Tim Curry. Tim Curry as a lonely tragic lord of darkness who tries to seduce the heroine and has drippingly overwrought monologues.

Howl's Moving Castle. Fairy tale adventure/romance film. Beautifully animated, has the ending you want.

The Silence of the Lambs. Thriller/drama film. Actual masterpiece. Use it as a gateway drug to read the books and rejoice that Clannibal is canon and it is spectacular. Just SotL and Hannibal, you don't need to read the other two. Stan Clarice Starling and revel in that ending. Most triumphant 'villain'/heroine ship of all time (he is not technically a villain but for shorthand's sake).

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Terry Gilliam 1988 fantasy/adventure film. THE TRIUMPH OF IDEALISM OVER CYNICS I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW HEALING IT WAS TO WATCH AFTER THE TROS BULLSHIT HIT. Jonathan Pryce's spiritual villain is basically Chris Terrio and it is cathartic to see imagination and sentiment conquer him.

Sabrina. 1995 romance film. Modern fairy tale with Harrison Ford. Rejecting what you thought you wanted all your life for the thing you actually need, growing up but still believing in magic, beautiful character development across all the leads. Could be (and is irrc) a fantastic reylo AU.

The Scarlet Pimpernel. 1934 adventure film. High romance, secret identities, play-acting, people who aren't at all what they appear to be, falling in love with your own spouse, Big Heroism, guile and wit and audacity. It makes me do little kicks like a happy baby. This is one of the 3-5 films constantly tied for my favourite film of all time. There is a good quality rip free on youtube. Watch it and fall in love with Leslie Howard (this is possibly my favourite acting performance of all time).

Oh, related note. Pygmalion 1938 or My Fair Lady. (The musical is based on this film and borrows from it heavily, including its much more romantic ending compared to the original play.)

The Mummy. 1999 action/adventure/romance film. Very tonally similar to sw. A fucking great time, A+ characters.

EVER AFTER. 1998 romance film. The flawless and perfect and best ever Cinderella adaptation. This is the most satisfying film in history, maybe, the ending is so good it is amazing it exists. Also, it has Richard O'Brien being slimy. Huge selling point. Grapples with identity and stewardship, is brilliant.

Fruits Basket. drama/romance anime. I haven't watched the new version yet, but it's following the manga so I know the story. The original anime didn't do the whole plot (because they caught up with the source material) but it's wonderful and I still recommend it. The central ship is (spoiler.........) a B&tB type where we eventually discover the main love interest both feels like a figurative monster and turns into a literal monster. He has an incredible speech about his relationship with people's fear, it makes me weep. I called the endgame from the first episode and always thought it was obvious, but there is a red herring love triangle dynamic. It's really not annoying, though, because it is a red herring. (I hate love triangles)

I am Dragon. Russian monster romance film. Beautiful, simple fable with a really great heroine.

Jane Eyre. 1943 Gothic Romance film. It's Jane Eyre, byronic hero x sensible heroine love story with much atmosphere and Gothic drama. I stan this version because I am an Orson Welles fangirl and I'm also not convinced it can be improved upon. Elizabeth Taylor's film debut btw.

Hellboy. 2004 action/adventure/romance film. Defying destiny, reconciling identity, monster romance. The complete package and a great time. Tonally similar to SW and probably thematically closest to it out of this whole list. Don't watch the sequel.

Beauty and the Beast 1987 tv series. Exactly what it says on the tin. Deals with the classic B&tB themes, but in a different way. He's not cursed and will never transform into an ordinary man. The first season is very episodic and 'case of the week', but the second season gets more into character drama. It's dated, but if you give it a chance you can get past some of the cheese factor and it's really a unique experience. Its concerns are SO atypical that it feels like something fandom would make rather than a mainstream network show. It was so massively, insanely popular with women at the time that a record of Vincent (the beast) reading poetry topped the album charts. Also Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. Stop at season two. Point of interest: George RR Martin wrote for this show.

Stargate (the movie not the series) sci-fi fantasy about a nerdy guy who accidentally a hero.

Possession. 2009... mystery/supernatural/romance. Okay. This is a whole thing. Lee Pace and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It's based on a Korean film I've never been able to find for some reason, but being Hollywood they ruined the romanticism and nuance of the original in the theatrical cut to make a shitty punative ending. However. If you buy it on dvd and go to the alternate ending (which follows the original story) with around 20 minutes left (scene after Lee Pace's character wakes from a bad dream-go to deleted scenes and select the alternate ending), you will get a very, very interesting character study/thriller/redemption about sincerity within deception, compassion, and a major question about second chances with a positive answer. It's kind of dark and kind of astonishingly idealistic at the same time. The heroine makes a very powerful choice, twice over. It's fascinating. If you're into the conflicted and uncertain period in reylo, the part where he is most ambiguous, and you wanted more of that and much darker shades to it, you might be really into this. Also, it should be noted, there is a MASSIVE height difference and they show it off. The film is flawed (and the seams show on the Hollywood rewrite) but idk, it's fascinating. Shocking to me that they even got to shoot the original ending. It is pretty balls to the wall with its themes on forgiveness.

I would recommend getting into kdramas because there is a wealth of female-gaze tropey amazing content, but always check the ending before getting invested. My all-time fave is the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, but it's not sw related at all lmao. It has a happy ending with all the elements you'd want, but it's not satisfying in execution, so that's it's major flaw and I find that pretty common with kdramas. One that is maybe more relevant is My Love from Another Star, which has a hero who is a little bit like Ben in personality. The heroine isn't my favourite, though. It does have a decent ending.

Oh yeah- brain fart. Kurosawa films and classic westerns were both very influential on SW. Or you can combine both and watch The Magnificent Seven.

#this somehow ended up a wall of text??? I'm so embarrassed #anyway it should be fixed now #recs #anyway 40s movies are fantastic they used to CHURN OUT rom coms and even the bad ones are entertaining #and they were not in the romance ghetto they had prestige actors and directors #I don't know what happened and why this isn't done now because that shit was profitable #another edit:#I messed up my directions on Possession bc I first saw the alt ending on YouTube from the fridge point #but actually the full thing starts way earlier and covers more of the loose ends than I remembered #so I've fixed that now as well #(because I just rewatched it after writing this rec) and serious SERIOUSLY someone watch this movie and scream about it with me #I can't stress enough how important it is you switch to the alt ending and watch that INSTEAD of the theatrical cut but but but #If you do - OMG the ending is incredible #the coded conversation the subtle optimism #it is a meeting place where we Soft Reylos and the edgier villain/heroine stans can meet in the middle

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b4bivr · 5 years ago

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random WINX CLUB opinions

there are no seasons that can top the first three ones. i know some people have a different view on this and don't agree with me but the first three seasons were the best. the girls and boys had an unique personality and appearance, there were GOOD TRANSFORMATIONS and the plots and storylines were better overall. there was not as much love drama as in the new seasons and if i'm not wrong there was only one kind of transformation which brings me to my next opinion ,,

the excessive transformations are a no-no. the first type was enough, there was literally no need to bring more and more transformations that all end in "-ix". i would've been neutral to them if they were good but they're not even that, they're poorly thought out and boring.

WHAT CLOTHES ARE THESE GIRLS WEARING??? tell me in what universe musa and tecna would wear a mini skirt, that's right, in none. like okay maybe musa would wear a skirt, even tho she's quite tomboy-ish i think she'd wear a decent skirt that'd fit the tomboy style, like a denim knee high skirt with side pockets or something. BUT NO, SHE WEARS MINI SKIRTS 😳 both her and tecna are wearing something maybe only stella would, it really bothers me lmao. also, why do they have no specific style anymore? they all wear the same clothes but in different colors. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON RIVEN HOW WHEN AND WHY WOULD HE EVER WEAR A SCARF WHAT THE FUCK

riven is not a bad character, he's actually my favorite specialist. he did fuck up a few times i admit, but he's the kind of person that keeps their emotions bottled up, probably why when he fucked up he was droven by the rage, insecurities and jealousy he never talked about. he was pretty toxic towards musa, probs because of his bad experience with women (his mom, darcy) but let's be honest, musa wasn't a saint either, she was toxic as well. not blaming her for rivens actions, just saying that you shouldn't blame only him for how their relationship worked out. riven is also the most loyal (both to his friends and girlfriend) out of the boys (not counting the times he was under a spell or manipulated with magic). he's protective, street smart and wouldn't hesitate to risk his life for the people he loves. best specialist right there. and the way they portrayed him in the new seasons really bothers me, he was badass, that was his thing (just like timmy being nerdy) but now he's just... a walmart version of sky and brandon combined. i do like the fact the he tried to work on his issues tho

flora ain't all that. don't get me wrong, she's one of the prettiest winx members (if not the prettiest), she's kind and generous, but that's about it. she doesn't have any flaws and doesn't go trough any growth whatsoever. it's always "omg i feel so connected to this flower" "omg the power of friendship" and "omg helia here and helia there" GIRL NO, she's the only one that lacks personality in the first few seasons.

there's no need for a live action movie/series. there i said it. a lot of you will disagree with this, i know, but hear me out. who even are the actresses that are supposed to play them? i've never seen them act before and they don't even look like the girls. where is the asian musa and the latin flora? nowhere. WHY DID THEY GIVE FREDDIE THORP RIVENS ROLE LIKE NO NO NO, YOU CANNOT TELL ME HE'S RIVEN LIKE YOU CAN JUST NOT . i mean okay maybe they just want to change the story, understandable, but they're changing it COMPLETELY. just don't name the movie or whatever it is winx then, name it something unrelated to that. lowkey feeling that they're calling it something with winx club to attract fans.

why do the trix keep coming back after season 3? there's no need for them anymore. they're my fav winx villians but they're just repetitive and plain boring now. i'm kinda neutral to that tho so i don't really have a lot to say abt it

don't get me started on the racism and white washing cause it'll take ten pages, just know that i completely despise it and i do not understand how layla, musa and flora look white.

the new art is HORRIBLE I HATE IT I DONT WANT TO SEE IT EVER AGAIN

sky is trash and you can't change my mind. he cheated on bloom and diaspro, he keeps lying and lying, he's a BIG hypocrite, gets jelous when bloom makes eye contact with a guy but HE CHEATED ON HER and doesn't give a flying fuck about her feelings but tries to play the goody two shoes boyfriend role just so she doesn't break up with him.

#winx #winx club #world of winx #winx bloom #winx musa #winx flora #winx tecna #winx stella #winx layla #winx sky #winx riven #winx brandon #winx timmy #winx helia #winx nabu #winx opinion #winx icy #winx darcy #winx stormy

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ffamranxii · 5 years ago

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Okay folks, I am all caught up with Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait chapters 1-3 and Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn chapters 1 and 2 so I am Doing A Thing! Buckle up, bitches!

MASSIVE SPOILERS IF YOU’RE WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH RELEASES (whenever the hell those will be). Thanks to @berrychanx, @hikayagami, and @ribbonstrawberrysurprise for the scans, English translation, and hard work putting the translation onto the manga so neatly.

LEADERS

MOMOMIYA ICHIGO AND SHIBUYA AOI

Honestly this is the biggest difference between the 2020 Re-Turn reboot/original series and the magical boy tribute. Aoi is in no way like Ichigo once you get past that they’ve both been injected with Iriomote cat DNA. Whereas Ichigo is cheery and bubbly and cute, Aoi is withdrawn, suffers from low self confidence, and sort of breaks the fourth wall during nearly every fight, freaking out at how catchphrases and such just seem to burst forth from him after he transforms. (It’s honestly a funny highlight.) Their respective crushes are also treated differently, with Aoi falling hard for Anzu (though of course saying nothing) almost immediately, almost a love at first sight sort of deal, and Ichigo already having this crush on this boy when we start vanilla TMM and already deeply committed to him in the reboot. In civilian form, (using vanilla Ichigo here, it’s not fair to compare Aoi to 2020 “been a magical girl for years” Ichigo), Aoi is a lot more unsure of himself, and seems almost to be in this Mew Mew thing for Anzu, whereas Ichigo immediately had a “I’ll do my best” acceptance mindset from the start. (Both freak out over their cat ears appearing at random moments, even Ichigo in the 2020 reboot, and I think I can finally give poor Aoi a point over Ichigo here. It makes him uncomfortable but he just wears a hoodie and hopes no one notices. It makes Ichigo freak out more lol.)

THE LOVE INTEREST / DUNGEON NAVI / SECONDARY PROTAGONIST

AOYAMA MASAYA, HINATA ANZU, SHIROGANE RYOU

Anzu is a precious peach and she occupies such a weird role here that I almost couldn’t make her a neat little graphic. She doesn’t fit neatly into a “oh, they’re a genderbent so and so” like nearly everyone else, and it’s fascinating. On the one hand, several panels in the first chapter of Au Lait make it clear that the writers are setting her up to be Aoi’s love interest. Every magical girl anime has a love interest, so why wouldn’t a magical boy manga? But that’s where she diverges. Unlike Masaya, who is a very clear tribute to Sailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask (with the exception that he’s a cute bean as a civilian, he’s nearly the same person. No past, gets kidnapped, magical form to protect the magical girl, evil form to fight the magical girl [this happened in PGSM, and he’s been brainwashed several times]), who has always been a secondary character, Anzu actually starts the Au Lait manga. She wasn’t even featured on the promo images, so when I opened the first chapter in a zip file I thought I’d downloaded the wrong one. My rudimentary Japanese confirmed I hadn’t, but I was like “well who tf is this chick?” I waited for an English translation to be sure and yup - Anzu is being treated almost like a secondary protagonist. Well that’s new. It’s as if the Au Lait writers smashed together the characters of Ryou and Masaya and named their love child Hinata Anzu. She’s intelligent, she knows more about this project than she should, and, like Ryou in vanilla, she’s out and about and helping the boys, not just as a civilian, but in every battle. She doesn’t have powers (that we know of), but her smarts and knowledge of animals have served them well time and again. Au Lait seems more like, as one reader put it, Anzu And The Dork Squad than Aoi’s team.

Masaya in 2020 Re-Turn is adorable. He is at odds with Quiche over Ichigo (or more like, he dislikes just how much Quiche likes Ichigo), and in a moment of panic he uses his leftover remnants of Deep Blue’s power to... change his clothes. I’m not sure what actually happened there. (Note: Thanks ribbonstrawberrysurprise: Deep Blue manifested to float the chimera anima/train and its passengers to safety.) But I love that he was so concerned for Ichigo, who at that moment desperately needed help, that the being who created his body and didn’t like Ichigo wanted to protect her. Ryou was his standoffish self, but even he seemed to have a hint of a lingering crush. He organized a party for the Mews and then took over in cafe duties so Ichigo could meet her man at the airport, unable to quiiiiite meet her eye while saying so. I always did like Ryou/Ichigo.

THE SASSY RICH BITCH

AIZAWA MINTO AND YOYOGI SHIZUKA

First of all: SAILOR JUPITER TAUGHT ME THAT PINK EQUALS FLOWER HURRICANES AND CAN I JUST SAY THAT I AM DISAPPOINTED AS FUCK THAT SHIZUKA ISN’T PLANT BASED AND CAN’T DO FLOWER HURRICANES THAT IS ALL.

Admit it. When we saw the promo image, we assumed certain things. One of those things turned out to be true: Aoi would be the Iriomote cat, because of course he would be Ichigo’s counterpart. Shizuka is wearing glasses, and his costume had the little tail, which meant he must have been a fish or a marine mammal and therefore Retasu’s counterpart, right? RIGHT. But also very, very wrong, my friends. Shizuka is indeed water based like Retasu - he’s an Amazon river dolphin (the pink ones!) - and that’s where all his similarities to our gentle green girl end. Instead of making everyone exactly the same but gender flipped, Au Lait is going in a slightly different direction, and I really like it. Shizuka is actually the most similar to our resident princess Minto! They both attend prestigious elite schools and generally act better than everyone else, but the real gem here is their interactions with their leaders. Shizuka has some truly snappy one-liners - such as discovering Ryuusei (”that’s the power of an idiot”) - and his reactions to Aoi are gold. He considers himself a genius, and indeed he’s very intelligent according to Natsume (and his school seems to be for smart people, it’s not prestigious for music or anything like that), and he makes little quips at Aoi all the time about how Aoi isn’t. I could totally see him spending an entire shift reading a book at Cafe Mew Mew while Aoi does all the work, only for him to stand up and someone to scream “HOLY CRAP, SHIZUKA’S UP, SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN.”

Minto is also full of snappy quips at Ichigo in the reboot, mostly about how Ichigo should handle the biggest, strongest enemies since she’s the leader, and can’t Ichigo even keep them in place so Minto can shoot them down? (And yeah, someone totally said the above comment ^ when Minto stood up at Cafe Mew Mew.) Minto was always one of my favorite characters, and I love that we saw a lot of close ups of her in the reboot, and that she seemed to be second in command.

THE CHILD

FONG PURIN AND KANDA RYUUSEI

Oh my god these two. I refuse to believe they aren’t related. I know Purin is Chinese but you cannot take this headcanon from me.

Purin is my favorite character in OG Mew Mew and Ryuusei claimed my heart the second I saw the Au Lait promo. NEITHER OF THEM DISAPPOINTED ME, I AM SO IN LOVE.

While I WILL say that I in no way care for Mew Pudding’s redesign (I hate literally everything about it. I miss her jumpsuit. I hate the little pigtails at the top of her head. I hate the ribbon. At least she still has her fingerless gloves), I love that she got an entire panel of just her being badass. She stood in the middle of some train tracks, facing a runaway speeding train chimera anima, with that ^ fucking look on her face, and was like “where you going, na no da?” Purin from like, ten years ago wouldn’t have done that. She has matured so much, but she’s still the young, goofy little acrobat monkey who provides for her tea-themed siblings (who criminally do not make an appearance) and I just love her so fucking much, you guys.

RYUUSEI. Guys. He’s an idiot. Oh my god. He’s a cute lovable idiot. “What’s a gomodo dragon? What’s a kodomo dragon? What’s a condo dragon and why does it need a house?” Anzu was in love with him for like five seconds until she learned he’s a dumbass, and Aoi was jealous as fuck, and no one ever told him what his damn animal was, and I laughed my ass off through his entire last couple pages. He also had his jacket hand embroidered with the kanji for dragon, BUT IT’S MISSPELLED. It’s missing a stroke! XD

Ryuusei is the KOMODO dragon (which is Anzu’s favorite animal), and komodos are badass. He also either always had weird animal powers, or just never noticed that he suddenly got super smell. Komodo dragons, by the way, can track their prey for literally MILES by smell alone, for DAYS. It’s absolutely terrifying (thank you for the nightmares, Wild Thornberries), and Au Lait made it fucking comical. I can’t even. HE CAN SMELL THE RED DATA ANIMAL ON PEOPLE. I love it. He’s super strong and super cute, apparently lives with his grandparents, and is Purin’s counterpart in every single way, except I think SHE might be more mature than him. I love him. He is my baby.

Yellow is my favorite color and yellow never disappoints.

THE FAMOUS

FUJIWARA ZAKURO AND ROPPONGI AYATO

Zakuro had next to no presence in the reboot. She occasionally made some panels look pretty. She twice had a half page to herself, one per chapter. I am sad. I love my wolf lesbian. In semi-related news, I feel I have solved the mystery of Zakuro’s red data animal, something that has plagued the TMM community for years. The grey wolf is not endangered at all, yet Zakuro is injected with one, right? I read somewhere (either in a TMM blog or a conservation blog) that there is a subspecies of grey wolf that IS critically endangered. I believe it’s the Mexican grey wolf? I headcanon she was injected with DNA specifically from a Mexican grey wolf.

Moving on. In Chapter 3 (which was a DELIGHT), we met Ayato. Chapter 3 was the most frustrating chapter because let me tell you, Au Lait marks the first time I have ever read a manga chapter by chapter as it was being released in Japan. So I’m waiting Nakayoshi to publish the chapter, then I’m waiting for someone to scan Nakayoshi, then I’m waiting for someone to translate it, over and over and over, and omg I can’t believe this is what people DO. I’ve waited for full volumes before, but CHAPTERS? This is torture. Ayato, I haven’t had enough TIME with you!

Ayato seems to be an actor (in a really... really weird stage play), and has very few lines in his first appearance. I’m not sure what I make of him. He says about six sentences, which is actually a lot for a character introduced on a cliffhanger, but... I can’t decide if he’s said them in a mysterious Sailors Neptune and Uranus way or a flamboyant Sohma Ayame way. I ALSO DON’T KNOW WHAT ANIMAL HE IS AND I AM VERY ANGRY. BB Ryuusei said he smells like yakitori (a type of grilled chicken), which confirms he’s a bird. But. WHICH BIRD, DAMNIT?

CHAPTER FOUR WHERE ARE YOU?

THE FUNDING

AKASAKA KEIICHIRO, HINATA NATSUME, SHIROGANE RYOU

Hello again, Ryou! The boys here were wallpaper (though cute wallpaper) in the reboot. Natsume is 100% a troll. I love her. She admits in chapter 3 she literally just injected hot boys for her Mew Mew project. Even Ryou wasn’t that blunt. I mean, if you gotta save Earth and stare at people while you do it, they better be cute, right?

IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL THE FANDOM

MIDORIKAWA RETASU, SHIRAYUKI BERII, AKAI RINGO

Aside from her two half panels as a Mew Mew per chapter, this is the only good cap of Retasu as a civilian in the reboot. D: I believe Hiroo Taichi will be her counterpart in Au Lait.

I never liked Berii. There, I said it. She got TWO animals. She was some random newbie and she got to be leader just like that? And she was clueless and dumb and the writing in A La Mode wasn’t great. But I really like 2020 Berii. She’s cute, she seems more rabbit than cat, and she seems more intelligent and less of a blonde Ichigo clone. I don’t know if she’ll have an Au Lait counterpart.

WHERE IS RINGO? THE REBOOT WAS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO PUT HER IN THE STORY FOR REAL AND SHE JUST... WASN’T THERE?! THIS IS BLASPHEMY. RINGO IS THE BEST MEW MEW. BEST GIRL. JUSTICE FOR RINGO.

THE RELATIONSHIPS

MASAYA & ICHIGO VS AOI & ANZU

ZAKURO & MINTO VS AYATO & RYUUSEI

Nearly all of 2020 chapter 1 focused on Ichigo seeing Masaya again. I’m guessing this took place after he left for London. Ichigo left with him after A La Mode, and some time between then and Re-Turn came back to Japan, and now Masaya is back. They are still as lovey as ever, but not as sickeningly cute as Tsukino Usagi and Chiba Mamoru or anything. Phew! Their counterpart in Au Lait seems to Aoi and Anzu. (Look at that height difference! Poor Anzu, her poor neck.) Aoi already has a massive crush on her, but Anzu, bless her, is oblivious.

AND NOW FOR THE GAYS.

I think Zakuro and Minto is probably one of the most popular TMM ships and holy lesbians, Batman, they were well fed with this GORGEOUS panel at the end of chapter 2. Look at it. Zakuro had literally no panels, save for her two intros, to herself, and barely any panels at all in the reboot, and then BA-BAM, this beautiful ending shot. I swear Ikumi did it on purpose. Speaking of gays - is Ayato/Ryuusei the new Zakuro/Minto? Ayato seems to be at least bisexual (he also hit on Anzu), but this was literally his second panel. He is in a (terrible, TERRIBLE) play, and the actors are walking in the audience looking for the villain. Ayato walks into the audience and HITS ON RYUUSEI. His first goddamn words are “Do you want me to keep you, my cute little puppy?” to Ryuusei. He says fuck this acting shit, I see a SNACK. I think I ship it. I think I ship it hard.

THE STORY

*Au Lait is just getting started, so typical magical girl boy anime manga: Let’s find the others! Shenanigans! Some fillers! It’s cute, I love it, go read it.

*2020 Re-Turn is actually REALLY GOOD and chapter 2 reminds me of just how unique Tokyo Mew Mew was and still is among not just magical girl series, but animanga as a whole. Quick, what was the last environmental series you remember? Mine was Captain Planet - in the 90s. Preachy, in your face, after school special about things like pollution and endangered species and littering and honestly it was really cool, but very much a product of its time. Even now, magical girl animanga is still focused on bad guys, but bad guys are generic and represent something created for the series. Here, the bad guys are US, other human beings, who traffic animals, who endanger them, who wreck our planet enough that animals are barely clinging to life. There’s a very poignant scene featuring the adorable snow leopard up there (who’s the secondary protagonist of the reboot) ^, showing his mother being shot and himself being snatched by poachers, and he’s terrified, and has no idea what’s going on or where he is, and Ichigo is terrified for him. We need more series like this - not just of the magical girl genre, but of ALL genres. To make it accessible in this way, for people of all ages, something enjoyable, that people can fangirl over and love and its creators clearly put a lot of love and thought into. We need another Captain Planet, but less preachy, less after school special-y. We don’t want to be like the aliens (who remember, are descendants of humans who fucked up Earth so badly they had to leave it).

Behind all the cute of this manga and its reboot, and its new spinoff, Tokyo Mew Mew has a powerful message that we should all be following. It’s not even subtle. Get yo shit together, peeps.

#tokyo mew mew #tokyo mew mew 2020 re-turn #tokyo mew mew au lait #tokyo mew mew ore

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thewritewolf · 5 years ago

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Just Between Us

Set just after the events of Four Times (and the Lucky One), Adrien tries to subtly reveal his identity to Marinette. Unfortunately, obliviousness seems to be contagious...

Reading Four Times isn't necessary, but encouraged. All you need to know is Adrien knows Marinette is Ladybug.

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3.

There were plenty of opportunities to come…

Unfortunately, Marinette was proving just as oblivious as he had been for so, so long. Maybe the universe wasn’t quite done testing him yet, but Adrien couldn't find it in himself to be frustrated. It was almost like a game at this point as he got more and more daring with his hints.

It had started out small, of course…

------

“Hey, Mari,” Adrien said with a smile as he bounded up the steps of the school. He could feel his hair, now messy and free like his alter-ego’s, bouncing along with him.

“Hey, you-” Marinette paused as she turned toward him, her smile flickering for a moment as her eyes drifted to his hair. Her head tilted and she wore a mask of bemusement. “...Trying something different with your hair?”

“Ah, so you did notice.” He held her close and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Calling on his Chat Noir charm, he gave her a playful wink. “You see, I’m trying to impress this girl I like…”

“Well I think you’re going to do just fine. I hear she is already head over heels for you.” She tugged his hand as she guided him into the building. Pausing at the lockers, she gently ruffled his hair to make it even messier. “All jokes aside, I like it. The look suits you.”

“...Does it remind you of anyone?” He might be pushing his luck her but…

She snorted. “Yeah - it looks like you had a team of stylists recreate what bedhead must be like for the common folk.”

He gasped in mock offense and while they settled into a familiar banter, he grumbled on the inside. At least he could try again next time.

---------

...But small acts wouldn’t be enough to overcome the magic of the miraculous, would they?

If he was going to succeed, he’d need to be even more daring, even bolder. Something that could tie him to the miraculous, but only because she knew him so well in and out of the mask. For his next attempt, he’d have to play up the cool, badass energy of Chat Noir while still being Adrien. He had just the idea to get Marinette’s attention…

-------

A few days later, Marinette was minding her own business on one of the last days of school before the winter break. As was happening more frequently, the cold had woken her up despite her attempts to cocoon herself in a blanket burrito. Even now, inside the warm school building, there was a chill that had settled into her very bones. She resigned herself to being miserably cold all day, at least until she could get to her space heater in her room. Maybe she could convince Adrien to come over for some snuggling?

As if summoned by her thinking about him, a bright mop of blonde hair pulled her attention up, but after seeing what he was wearing, she was unable to get more than a syllable into her greeting. The rest was lost in a strangled choking sound.

The first word that managed to get through was Leather, followed swiftly by Hot. When she managed coherent thought again, she belatedly realized that Adrien looked good in black leather jackets and… well-fitted black jeans. The fact that no fashion designer had realized this was a tragedy to all humankind. Hell, he could give her partner a run for his money.

...She wondered if Chat Noir would be willing to part with his miraculous for just a little bit. Just to see what Adrien would look like in magical, skin-tight leather.

“Uh… girl?”

Alya’s voice snapped her out of her daydreams. “Hm?”

“Here, you’re going to need this.” Alya passed her a pencil.

Marinette was about to decline before she realized that she was still clutching the snapped remains of her favorite drawing utensil. She pouted at the back of Adrien’s head, eyes narrowing as a plan came to mind. There was a way she could get back at him for this little surprise.

--------

...Of course, Adrien wasn’t the only one who could turn on the charm. He’d thought that he’d had the advantage there, being a model and all. But after what Marinette wore the following day, he was pretty sure she should have been one posing for the camera. Then again, he was more than happy that he got her all to himself.

Even if he couldn’t think straight for the entire rest of that day.

Things got a little desperate, but truth be told…

-------

“So you’ve met Chat Noir, right?”

“I mean, yeah, sure,” Marinette said, as noncommittal as could be. “Most of our class has, you realize.”

Adrien waved that off with a dismissive shake of his hand. “Yeah, yeah, but you two have… met a lot, right?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “And where did you hear that, huh?” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. “Did Alya put you up to this?”

“No no! I was just-”

A little gasp escaped her. “Adrien… are you jealous?”

The situation was ridiculous, so clearly he laughed. But that wasn’t the right answer, apparently, since Marinette stormed off. It took some apologizing and hugs, but her mood passed and they were back to normal before too long.

------

...Tact was never his strong suit.

In the end, he was left with only one option. It was one that he hadn’t been looking forward too, but not because of any sense of lost romance, or even misguided fear that she would be angry. They were too far along in their relationship to be worried about that.

No, it was the taunting and griping and ‘I-told-you-so’s from Plagg that he’d been dreading. Adrien took the needling and mocking like a champ, though, and before long his kwami was finally willing to transform him.

After all, even Plagg (especially Plagg) wanted to finally finish this.

Which is why Adrien now found himself on top of Marinette’s balcony, steeling himself for what he was about to do. It had been a while since he’d been here as Chat Noir - after slowly reducing the frequency of his visits, they’d sort of petered out after he and Marinette had gotten together. As much as he wanted to spend every moment possible with her, he couldn’t trust himself not to get comfortable with her and he didn’t want to make her feel like she was cheating.

But now?

He tapped at the glass, unsurprised when he saw her bright blue eyes peering up at him. It was late, sure - but he knew his lady well, knew that when she had a project in mind, she would see it through no matter what. Even at the cost of sleep and eating.

Stunned as she was by his sudden appearance, seemed to let unlock the skylight and let him in through muscle memory alone. She also let in a wave of cold air that raised goosebumps on her skin and sent shivers down her spine.

They’re sitting on her bed, like they often did before he found out. The same place where he found himself slowly falling for his everyday Ladybug, until suddenly his everyday Ladybug and his Ladybug became one and the same. The silence stretched for a few moments, Adrien lost in the memories of falling for the same person twice.

“Chat-”

His attention snapped back into focus. “Marinette. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Chat can this wait until-”

“I know you’re Ladybug.”

Again, silence. But what had been a soft, companionable quiet before was now charged. Tense. Electric.

There were a few false starts, half-formed questions dying on her lips. Eventually she settled with, “How did you…?”

“A few months ago, there was an akuma. I… I was worried about you. And I know that was dumb since it was nowhere near you but… I was still worried. So I came over to make sure you were alright and… well…” He shrugged helplessly. “It’s Tikki, right?”

“Huh?”

“Your kwami. Her name is Tikki?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah…” Her eyes became distant for a moment before hardening. “Chat,” she said with a chastising tone, “why did you wait so long to tell me? This was pretty important information!”

His ears flattened against his head and his tail wrapped around his waist. “I’m sorry. I was worried you’d be upset that I found out. But, in my defense, I have been dropping hints these last few weeks…”

Her stern expression softened and she put a hand to his cheek, “Oh, kitty. You annoy me to pieces sometimes, but I can’t be mad at you over an accident. Especially because it only happened because you were worried about me.” She paused, her brow furrowing in thought. “Wait… hints? I don’t remember any hints in the last few akuma battles.”

He wrung his hands, wishing he’d just dropped his transformation the moment he got here. Now it was too late and he needed to wait for her to ask him to reveal himself. It was only right, after all.

“That’s… that’s because I haven’t been giving you hints as Chat Noir. I’ve been giving them as… me.”

“We know each other?!” She screeched, before throwing her hands over her mouth. They listened in a pregnant silence, waiting for the sounds of either Tom or Sabine to come marching up the stairs. When they failed to materialize, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“We know each other? In our civilian identities?!” She whisper-screamed at him.

He was sure his blush was peeking out from behind his mask as he nodded, thinking of their last make out session. If that didn’t qualify as knowing someone…

She turned away from him and began patting the pillows. “Tikki? Tikki! Can we just drop his transformation now? He already knows who I am! Why can’t I find out about him?”

A kwami in Ladybug’s colors appeared at his girlfriend’s shoulder. She had a thoughtful expression as she looked first into space and then deep into Adrien’s eyes. With a sigh, she replied, “We may as well. The damage is already done, and the imbalance of power could throw you two out of sync.”

Marinette did her best to have a cool and confident exterior, but it was clear she was struggling while she was out of the spots. She waved at Adrien. “W-well. Go ahead. Let’s see… see who you really are.”

“Alright, just…” He had a sudden surge of fear. “Don’t be mad, okay?” He took a deep breath. “Plagg, claws in.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling incredibly exposed without his mask to hide behind. It took him a few moments to gather the courage to look her in the eye. He couldn’t read the emotion there, and all he could tell was that the curiosity from before had been replaced by something else entirely. The silence stretched out and he itched to break it. Just as he was about to, she finally spoke, her voice a whisper.

“It was you all along…” The reverence in her tone faded as her eyes narrowed. “Wait, how long ago did you say you started trying to ask me out?”

“I know what you’re thinking but-”

“Adrien,” she began, clearly putting on a brave face, “tell me the truth - did you start flirting with me just because you knew I was Ladybug?”

“No.” The speed of his reply seemed to catch her unaware. She was still on the back foot when he leaned forward into her space and took her hand in his. “Sure, that’s what made me start, but that was only because I wasn’t torn about who I wanted to pursue anymore. The two most wonderful women in my life… were actually the same person all along.” He planted a kiss to the back of her hand, looking deep into her eyes as he did so.

Unlike when they were in the masks, this time he’d coaxed a fierce blush from her. Maybe it was because it was something he’d only ever done as Chat Noir to Ladybug. He could see the gears turning in her head. Which was why he was surprised when she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his chest and pressing her lips to his.

He smiles against her and pulls back enough to rest his forehead against hers. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

“No. These are disciplinary kisses. Do not take joy from them.”

“Too late.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and kissed his nose. “You’re impossible.”

“Don’t you mean, im-purr-ssible?”

She tilted her head back to groan at the ceiling, then buried her face in his chest, still groaning. “I can’t believe I thought you were cool once.”

“Of course I’m not cool.” He paused for effect, then pulled her close while grinning down at her. “I’m hot.”

“Not to interrupt your grossness or anything, but…” Plagg chimed in from his spot curled up with Tikki. “We could visit whenever now. And you two could do some… nocturnal stuff.”

Marinette’s face went completely red and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. She squeaked out, “Plagg!”

But Adrien’s mind was flush with possibilities. “That’s an awesome idea, Plagg! We could have movie nights and sleepovers and-”

He was silenced when Marinette put her hands on his cheeks and squished his face. “You are… way too energetic at midnight, kitty.” She pouted in thought. “But a movie night doesn’t sound too bad.”

A few minutes later and they’d built a cuddle nest of pillows around themselves. Marinette’s bed was smaller than his, but that just made it easier to fill with warmth as she rested her head against his chest and the kwamis curled up just above his head.

As the credits rolled on their second movie, Adrien yawned and stretched. As much as he wanted to stay, he’d better go home. A plan which was immediately thwarted by Marinette clamping down on him.

“Bugaboo…”

“It’s too cold out there,” she said in a voice muffled by his shirt. “You’ll get sick. In fact,” she raised her head to peer at a point on the pillow behind him, “I think Plagg already caught something.”

He heard Plagg say, “Wuh? Oh, um… cough cough. Sneeze. Yeah, real sick. You better listen to her, young man. Kwami’s orders.”

“...You literally just said cough and sneeze. You didn’t actually-” He shook his head. “Actually, you know what? You’re right. Plagg’s sick. Can’t go home. I’ll have to spend the night here.”

He settled back into place as Marinette sighed against him.

“Good kitty.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrienette #Chat Noir #Marichat #Plagg #Tikki #unrelenting fluff #just... complete fluff #ml fanfiction #my writing #Just Between Us #Four Times (and the Lucky One)#The Lucky One series

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letsbenditlikebennett · 4 years ago

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New Face, Who Dis? || Ariana, Bea, Celeste, Nell, & Ulfric

TIMING: A few weeks ago. PARTIES: @big-bad-ulf @nelllraiser @beatrice-blaze @celestelavie @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: Luce recommends her sisters to Ulf to help get the Bennett sisters set up with some glamours.

When it came down to times of panic, Ariana found herself kind of amazed with how the supernatural community came together. The Vural sisters seemed like a really nice bunch and she was looking forward to meeting them in person. She’d met Luce while working on Ulfric’s birthday gift, but Nell seemed like a whole lot of fun. Really a girl after her own heart and she was being kind enough to help keep them protected through some straight up hunter nonsense. The Vural house was nice, too. Bea and Nell had a spread of snacks all set up. “Thank you guys so much for doing this.” Celeste had taken out Ariana’s bracelet and her own ring and handed them over to Bea, “Yes, thank you both, I can assure you that your secret is safe with us.”

Defences of the mystical variety were completely out of Ulfric’s realm of expertise. As he intended, having been raised to respect magic users but keep them at a distance. It was best not the mess with the kind of person who could transform you from a beast at the top of the food chain to a pathetic, squirming creature on the bottom. Even despite growing fond of Luce, he had always been careful not to question her about spellcasting. He knew Ariana’s predicament couldn’t be solved with fangs and claws though. At least, not yet, and the Vurals were the only witches in town he knew that might help him. “You’re doing us a great favour,” He echoed the Bennetts’ sentiment to Bea, who’d surprised him with her willingness to jump in and help without protest when they’d spoken online. Nell’s probing was a reaction he understood better. “I’m sorry if I was evasive,” he addressed the younger sister, “I suppose I’m just used to handling these things myself. Didn’t want to drag anyone else in too deep.”

Nell put her hand out to Bea, a wordless signal that she wanted a look at the pieces of jewelry after her old sister was done with them. She’d been surprised when Ariana had turned out to be the one that needed hiding, finding it conveniently coincidental that they’d already been messaging and getting on better than a house on fire. “Of course,” Nell simply said when it came to favors and helping out. “We wouldn’t leave you to fend for yourselves in such a shitty situation. And we’ll make sure no one hears about your secret as well, for sure.” Then she looked at Ulfric simply giving him a little shrug and hoping there were no hard feelings. “No, I understand. I’d probably be the same if the roles were reversed. But also let us know if you ever need any further help with this uh- situation. I don’t mind getting into things.” After all, getting into things was exactly what she’d been doing for the past five years while she traveled. Nell was more business in a time like this, wanting to make sure everything went as perfectly as possible. “Did everyone have the snacks they wanted?” she said with a slight air of a tease, as if that were the most important part of this meet-up. “There won’t be time to get them once the spell starts.” Not that it was a particularly long spell.

It had been easy for Bea to jump in to help, after all, Luce knew Ulfric and she trusted her sister to make that call. Anyone Luce trusted to know she was a witch was someone Bea felt she could work with. She couldn’t go so far and say she trusted them, but she was willing to help. Especially since Luce had information on Ulfric, it felt like a security net for the family. “This is a bit of an exchange of secrets, so I think we all agree that not mentioning anything to anyone else is the safest bet,” Bea told the group brightly. Even with a witch hunter around town it was harder to be other supernaturals and Bea knew this. “Spellcasters are pulled into plenty of things for our skills, don’t worry about that.” The spell should happen soon, give them time to make sure it worked before they left. She didn’t want to give them anything below perfect. Passing the pieces of jewelry over to Nell, she watched her sister. “These look good to me?”

While she had seen Winston explode a vampire watermelon that one time, Ariana hadn’t really witnessed an actual spell being cast. After talking with Nell a bit online, she had no doubt the girl was a badass, but magic in general just had a certain raw power to it with how endless the possibilities could be. It’d definitely be cool as hell to watch how that worked. She admittedly had very little knowledge about magic and spells, so today would be educational and helpful. “Definitely all good in the snack department. Thanks for those, too,” she answered with a slight laugh. This meeting would probably be more fun and a lot less complicated if it was a snack meet and greet. She watched as they examined the jewelry, she was glad her favorite charm bracelet she always wore would do the trick. It had a variety of different charms on there that Celeste had gotten her as gifts throughout the years, her favorite being the little wolf charm. She could feel herself being a little bouncy on her feet, ready to see how this whole protection charm thing worked. Celeste added, “Even so, we appreciate you helping with our situation.” She wasn’t used to having quite so much back up when it came to getting away from her parents. She could only hope this meant she could be rid of them once and for all. It’d be nice to live without worrying about your own parents trying to off you.

“I’ll let you know if I ever need to call in the cavalry, Luce is itching to put those swords to use, I’m sure.” Ulfric joked with Nell. While he certainly hoped he wouldn’t have to take her up on her offer, it was good to have allies with unique sets of skills. “I understand that, my family used to be pulled into a lot of other people’s battles, because of our talents.” He told Bea, not mentioning that those battles had been fought on behalf of kings and warlords, back when the kind of raw power his ancestors wielded commanded respect rather than just fear. He considered declining the snacks his hosts offered, but he was hungry, the two teenagers living with him while both small somehow managed to clear out his fridge and pantry with alarming speed. He eventually settled on taking a small stack of ham sandwiches, deciding it would be ruder to leave the spread uneaten. Besides, he didn’t have to worry about magic upsetting his stomach, if that was a thing, since he wasn’t going under the smell. “This will do fine, don’t worry about me,” he assured the witches as he reduced the sandwich to half its size in a single bite. “I’m just here for…” He didn’t want to say moral support, when it could undermine how well Ariana had been holding herself together through all of this and Celeste’s feelings were a low priority considering she was the one who’d gotten the young wolf into this situation. “Because I knew where to find you. And because I wanted to make sure this was safe. It is safe right?” He looked between the two witches, trying to mask his genuine concern with a mask of flippancy. “No risk of faces disappearing or disintegrating or the like?”

Nell considered the pieces for a few moments, hefting them in her hand before doing a couple of little, not particularly showy spells on them to validate that they’d do the trick. “I like them,” she simply said with a grin. “And they’re cute too so- bonus.” Grabbing a last cookie, she ate the thing practically whole before heading over to the casting area her and Bea had prepared before everyone arrived, and looked over her shoulder to Ulfric. “You know- you could help if you wanted, to. I was planning on having Ariana and Celeste helping too, in their own way. Even if you don’t have magic- intentions can be a powerful thing. And generally the more intentions, the merrier. As long as all our intentions align.” She didn’t hesitate to nod in response to his question, though— going so far as to wave a dismissive hand in his general direction, as if this weren’t anything. “Oh no- it’s definitely safe! And if it’s gonna backfire on anyone it’s gonna be either me and Bea so- you’re all good! Not that it will. I’ve done this exact thing once before under a lot more pressure, and it turned out great!” At least Blanche wasn’t here to throw tins of coins at anyone’s head this time, and Remmy wasn’t cowering in the corner of a bathroom being told that a Hunter was coming after them.

Bea considered Ulfric for a moment, she didn’t know what he was, she wouldn’t ask either, but to be pulled into things must mean he had power. She didn’t need to ask what he was, she didn’t like knowing because then if someone asked she’d have to lie. She hung out with too many Hunters to ask about other people’s supernatural inclination. She had known about Ariana and Celeste, Nell had mentioned it in passing before they came over. Their whole relationship was interesting, a Hunter and werewolf. Though, at this point she shouldn’t be shocked by the Hunters in this town anymore. “Backfiring usually happens because someone breaks concentration or says the words wrong and with a spell like this, it won’t be too dangerous. Nellie and I might be wandering around with a few funny glamours on for a few days, but we won’t get injured. Most likely, anyway.” She had had much more intense spells backfire on her and wasn’t at all worried about what could happen if this one did. “Alrighty, if you guys come around the circle, we can start soon?” The sooner they got this done, the safer these two would be walking around in town. She felt for them, knowing she would be desperate for a solution if she had been in their position. “Once we get it done, we can teach you how it works and how maintenance goes.”

Ariana was fascinated by the fact this was something they could all help with. She really didn’t know much about magic and how it worked. In theory, it all sounded totally awesome, but a little over her head. She watched Nell somewhat incredulously as she explained how that would work. Intentions, seemed easy enough, they all wanted the same thing. With a nod, she said, “That’s cool, I didn’t realize we could help… given I don’t know all that much about magic.” As Ulfric questioned safety, she looked to him curiously. She had no doubt he knew more about this stuff than she did and he was always looking out for her. As shitty as this whole situation was, she had to appreciate how quick Ulf had been to step in and make the whole thing seem more manageable. Hell, he even set up this whole meeting which definitely more effective than panic dying your hair. She followed Bea over to the circle, eager to see how this whole thing worked. “That sounds good to me. I’ve never seen something like this done before. Do I just sort of… think of what we want to come from this? That makes sense, right?” Celeste gave Ariana’s hand a light squeeze as she joined in the circle. With the reassurance that this was in fact safe, Celeste felt ready to move on with the spell. “It sounds like you two know what you’re doing. Just let us know how we can help and we will.”

“Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Ulfric shrugged, the relief that this process wasn’t going to cause any physical harm to either the Bennetts or Vurals outweighing the slight twinge of embarrassment that came with his ignorance on the matter. “My intention is to keep both of them out of harm’s way if that’s what you mean?” he cautiously informed the witches as he nodded to Ariana to encourage her to take her place in the circle. “Or do you just mean focussing on what we want the disguise to look like?” He added, nodding along to Ariana’s sensible questions before taking his own place in the circle. “Just tell me what I can do,” he looked between Bea and Nell, pushing the strange feeling of not being the most powerful person in the room, at least not where it counted in this moment, aside as he knew their was much more at stake than his pride. “We’re all in this together.” Sparing a glance towards Celeste he silently added, Whether we like it or not.

Nell nodded, encouraging that line of thinking. “Yeah! It’s like- magic always needs...a guide, you know? And even if you can’t reach out and guide those forces directly, like spellcasters can- your intentions can help push it along, help make it into...the right shape.” It was always hard to put magic into words, especially when talking to those who might not have the most experience with it. It always seemed to be eluding her grasp, not entirely knowing how to put words to something that she felt so instinctively, that had been there for her entire life. “As for the intentions, it’s good to make sure you don’t use more like...wishy-washy words like hope or wish. We want them to be concrete, and firm, pushing them into existence rather than merely suggesting them. And yeah! Keeping them out of harm’s way is a good intention, or simply keeping them disguised. But less about the specifics of what they might look like.” Nell nodded, though looking to Bea to make sure her sister was ready before getting ready for the magic. “Alright- if everyone would join hands,” she said, linking up with the two closest to herself.

There was always a feeling of pride that came over Bea when she saw her sisters doing something well and this, somehow, was something Nell was excelling at. “When I do spells like this, I like to imagine that the feeling is in my chest, it feels the most powerful there for me. Find that place for you.” She placed the jewelry in the center of the circle, crouching down to light the candles in a specific order. Taking the hands of the two next to her, she sent a reassuring smile to those around the circle. “I promise it’s less intense than it seems. It’ll be over in a flash.”

Ariana nodded along as Bea and Nell explained how the whole intention thing worked. It seemed easy enough because she was sure them being safe and disguised was something all of them wanted. Even Ulfric and Celeste seemed to get along well enough though she didn’t see any matching best friends bracelets in their future. She looked between Celeste and Ulfric. Having them both there made her feel a little more at ease with this whole situation. Plus, magical help had to be a bonus Celeste’s parents wouldn’t be expecting. “We are in this together. Let’s do this then,” she said as she tried to figure out what to do with her hands, “Do we like all hold hands or is that just a thing they do on TV for dramatic effect or whatever?”

When Ulfric had taken his place in the circle it had seemed logical to let Ariana and Celeste to sit together across from the witches, so he’d be as out of the way as possible and the spell could easily be directed towards his true targets. But he immediately regretted that decision as soon as he realized it meant he was expected to hold hands with the former hunter seated closest to him. He glanced between Bea and Nell imploringly, in the hopes that wasn’t the case, but they were dashed when he saw the Vurals already reaching out either side of them. It would clearly be a faux pas not to follow suit, and as much he wanted to get up and switch places, he couldn’t bring himself to let Celeste laud the victory of him doing something that petty to avoid her over his head. “Seems like we have to,” he answered Ariana, taking Bea’s hand and looking everywhere but Celeste as he begrudgingly took hers as well. Positive intentions, he reminded himself forcing the tension out of his body even as her warm skin seemed to burn into his, branding it so that other wolves, the spirits of his ancestors, even the goddess Diana herself would know that he was compromised. “Let’s get this over with,” he sighed. “Please.”

Once all their hands were joined, Nell began her chant, the Latin words flowing off her tongue as easily as anything else might. She went on for a couple rounds of it in tandem with Bea, the sound of their words filling until it was almost like surround sound, enveloping the small circle within the spell. Finally, Nell’s lips stop moving, but her voice could still be heard with Bea’s flowing around the circle, keeping the chant even now. “Keep thinking your intentions,” she breathed before drawing a blade from her side, using it to slice a thin line along her forearm, joining the many other blood magic scars she had there. She let some of it drop into the bowl with the jewelry, a flash of golden light brewing there as the pieces seemed to pulse. And even though her hands had parted from those she’d been holding for the beginning of the spell, there was still something that looked to be two, shimmering ghost hands where her’s had been before, maintaining the link. “Now you two,” she said calmly, already having explained to Ariana and Celeste that they’d need to make a small offering as well in the form of blood to bring them closer to the magic. “Just a drop, it’ll be alright. I can help you do it, or you can do it yourself. Just make sure it falls into the bowl.”

If she didn’t live with him, Celeste would be slightly more amused by the fact Ulfric seemed very unhappy about having to hold her hand. It’s not like she could really blame him, just based on what they were, they were meant to be at odds. Even if trust was building between them, she wasn’t sure he’d ever truly accept what she was. At the moment, that hardly mattered. She gave Ariana’s hand a gentle squeeze and lightly held Ulfric’s doing her best to think of the desired outcome of this spell. Keep them safe and unrecognized. Give them the advantage for if her parents arrived. Before she knew it, Nell was passing the blade to her. With a deep breath, she removed her hands from Ulf’s and Ari’s and made a small cut on her forearm, letting it drip into the bowl. “Is that good,” she quietly asked before handing the blade to Ariana who quickly followed suit. Her mind had been on keeping all of them safe and she nervously took the blade to her arm. It didn’t hurt, but she’d never done anything like this before. She relaxed when she realized it didn’t hurt and she watched the blood drip into the bowl, waiting for further direction from Nell.

“Carefully,” Ulfric implored Ariana, wincing as the blade sliced into her flesh, as minor as the wound was. He looked between the sisters again questioningly, bloodletting seemed a little intense for a spell that was supposed to be harmless, but then again he supposed asking whatever mystical forces the Vurals called upon for an illusion that defied the sense wasn’t a simple favour. “What’s next?” he asked Nell, clearing his mind of doubts before they could take root and muddy his intentions.

As Ariana and Celeste’s blood fell into the bowl and onto the jewelry, they almost seemed to shine with a golden light, appearing to pulse steadily as the magic took its next step.“It’s perfect,” Nell said in an approving tone with a smile before returning to the center of the circle with the pieces. Picking up a piece of fluorescent pink herb from the table, she spoke a few more words over it before tossing the last piece in, and in a bright flash of light, the pieces of the spell— blood and plant, had vanished into seemingly thin air, leaving the unsuspecting pieces of jewelry behind. “Alright,” Nell began, releasing her magic. “It’s done.” Then she was handing the jewelry back to the sisters. “You all did great! Just remember though, you have to recharge them with a small sacrifice of blood when they get low. Otherwise they’ll start to fail.”

Bea understood the importance of blood magic, but always felt odd working with it in these mundane manners. She knew that it could do so much more could be done with it, necromancy was just a form of blood magic after all. Fishing out little bandages from her pocket she passed them around the group,”I’d offer to heal you but some people said when I heal them it gets too hot for comfort.” She struggled to control her fire when she healed and it had never interested her enough to learn to be better. “Time to put them on and see what they do. If it works well for what you all need.” She was confident in the spell, but people get picky about how they looked after things like this.

Ariana gave Ulfric a reassuring grin to assure him that the blade hardly hurt. The way he always seemed to look out for her gave her a warm feeling. Her attention turned back to Nell as she explained the process of recharging the jewelry. She nodded along, in awe at how the blood and herbs just disappeared from the bowl. She reached her hand out for her bracelet. “May I,” she asked, waiting for confirmation before grabbing it. She put it on and looked at Celeste. “How do I look?” Celeste let out a chuckle, “A little taller.” She looked over her own ring and slid it on. She didn’t feel different but she could guess by the look on Ariana’s face that it had in fact did something. With a laugh, Ariana said, “You look like you could be Ulf’s sister.” She gave her sister a confused look knowing that Ulfric probably didn’t love that idea.

“Hmm, I suppose that might make a convenient excuse if I need to explain your presence,” Ulfric replied practically, shrugging off any residual hurt the comment brought up. Which might have been harder had her statement been more accurate, but Celeste’s new guise didn’t resemble either his older or younger sister much beyond the auburn hair. She didn’t look nearly disappointed enough in him to be Gwen and he’d never seen Hild grown up, so he couldn’t really compare. “Just don’t you go letting your ego run wild now you’ve gone up in the world.” He joked with Ariana as he stood up from the circle to avoid lingering on that thought. At his full height, he still towered over the young girl and it was amusing to see her excited over such a small gain in stature. “Thank you, both of you,” he offered both Bea and Nell his hand to shake in turn. “I’m in your debt. If you ever need help tracking something down, or just in need of muscle, I’d be happy to help.”

Nell looked over the glamorous with a scrutinizing eye, trying to make sure there were no holes or otherwise poking through, anything that might reveal who it was that truly lay beneath. “You two look great,” she offered with a somewhat amused smile, not entirely unaware of the strange dynamic between Ulfric and Celeste just from watching everything. “Don’t listen to him,” she told Ariana. “You’re unstoppable now. The world won’t even know what to do with a taller you.” As for the thanks, Nell simply nodded with a more earnest smile, glad that she could help keep the two girls safe. “I’ll definitely let you know if anything comes up, thanks,” she said as she reached out to shake the man’s hand.

It was funny seeing them look so different, but that was the thing Bea loved about magic, it happened so quickly. One moment they look like their normal selves and the next they were someone completely different. “Both look lovely. Tall suits you,” She teased Ariana with a small smile. “It was a pleasure to help and you can let us know if you ever need us again,” She told the group warmly before nodding to Ulf. “Hopefully we won’t ever be in that much trouble that we’ll need your muscle, but thank you. If it ever comes up, you’ll be at the top of the list!”

#wickedswriting #new face who dis #bea #ulfric #nell #celeste

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precuredaily · 4 years ago

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Precure Day 192

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 43 - “Komachi’s Resolve and Nuts’s Future” Date watched: 9 June 2020 Original air date: 9 December 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/iT40izm Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Poor Komachi. She was once so eager to write her love story, inspired by her feelings for Nuts and his unconditional support for her. Now she’s struggling with it, because she’s started to realize what her real-life conclusion is going to look like...

The Plot

Komachi is in the library, trying to write, but the words won’t come, and she looks very forlorn. Karen sympathetically suggests she talk to Nuts for advice, but she hastily rejects that idea, insisting she needs to finish the story herself. When they get to Natts House, Urara asks her about her book, and Komachi gets flustered and embarrassed talking about it. Urara asks if it’s based on anything, which Komachi ardently denies as she steals a glance at Nuts, and then she hastily turns around and goes home. Karen noticed Komachi’s wandering eyes and turns to look at Nuts as well, starting to put the pieces together.

Over in Nightmare, Kawarino bemoans to Hadenya about how he has to present the black paper to someone, and she says whoever it is should be glad because it enhances their abilities and they’ll surely be able to bring down Precure. Kawarino is so relieved to hear this, and he reveals it’s for her. Her mood changes instantly, as she swats away the black paper and storms out of Nightmare, insisting that she doesn’t need it. However, when we next see her, sitting on a park bench, she admits she didn’t really have a plan when she left and she needs a way to follow up that dramatic exit. Just then she sees a pigeon pecking at a Pinky, right in front of her, and she gets an idea...

At school, Komachi opens up to Karen about her specific problem. She explains how she used to be overflowing with ideas but now they’re gone. She wants to make “his” dream come true, but she knows that when she does, he’ll have to go far away. She tries to explain she’s talking about the characters in her story, but it’s clear she really means Nuts. She admits that if their farewell never arrived, she’d be fine with that, and Karen insightfully says that she may not know about the last scene, but it does sound like how it plays out will be up to Komachi. In the story, of course.

Later, at Natts House, Nozomi and Urara are berating Nuts for not going out of his way to help Komachi. He insists that giving unasked for advice is being nosy, while they say he needs to understand her feelings. Karen arrives and gently assures everyone that Komachi can find her own solution to her problem.

Nonetheless, Nuts shows up to find Komachi sitting on a park bench (what is it with park benches lately?) and he talks to her, promising to do anything he can to help. They have a really heartfelt conversation where he explains he’s nice to her because he’s powerless in other ways, so he does what he can to help her because she’s fighting so hard to help him. Komachi breaks down in tears, upset that he’s so nice while she was only able to think about herself, and she admits that she was afraid to talk to him about her concerns, because talking about it would make it real to her, and her potential future would crumble away with the knowledge that he has to leave.

Nuts placates her, saying she’ll find an ending that works for her, and she should stop worrying. (it sounds insensitive but in context it’s very sweet)

At that moment, Hadenya shows up and scoffs that she’d be happy to crush whatever future they have together and shows off the Pinky she’s captured. Nozomi, Rin, Urara, Karen, Coco, and Milk all show up and transform while Hadenya is in the middle of gloating. Annoyed, she turns the Pinky into a Kowaina, which takes the form of a giant concrete block that immediately falls on top of everyone. They avoid it, and Dream, Rouge, and Lemonade fight the monster while Mint protects all the fairies from Hadenya, who is trying to snatch the Dream Collet from Nuts. Hadenya continues to degrade Komachi’s dreams of happiness, and Aqua joins Mint in fighting the villain. Hadenya and the Kowaina manage to overpower Mint and break her barrier, leaving her exhausted. Hadenya scoffs some more at the idea that they’re protecting Coco and Nuts’s “worthless” dream, but Dream, Rouge, and Aqua show up to defend their friend and explain how reviving Palmier Kingdom is their shared dream. Komachi looks at her teammates fighting so hard for her sake and finds new strength within her, and manages to restrain Hadenya long enough for Dream, Rouge, and Lemonade to destroy the Kowaina mask and save the Pinky. Lemonade and Aqua notice Mint’s shield has appeared over her head as she blocks and fights Hadenya, suggesting she’s channeling her barrier powers into her body to overpower the villain. Hadenya tires to use strong air currents to outclass the Precures, but Mint holds her ground. Aqua uses Aqua Tornado to halt Hadenya’s charge, and Mint summons the Mint Leaf directly in front of her, unleashing a point-blank Mint Shield on Hadenya that blows her away as it expands.

Hadenya flees and when the smoke clears, a huge crater is left in the ground. Dream collects the Pinky.

A later date, at school, Karen visits Komachi again and realizes she isn’t writing anything. Komachi admits she’s decided to put her story aside for now, but she’ll be sure to find a conclusion that suits her, and the two share a half-hearted smile.

The Analysis

This is a good episode, but it’s a bittersweet one. Komachi seems to be the frequent subject of bittersweet plots, because they really want to emphasize to the audience that hey, writing is difficult, and so is navigating your emotions. When these struggles meet, well, the results aren’t pretty. Obviously, Komachi’s novel has always overlapped with her relationship with Nuts, and as she’s gotten to the departure and farewell scenes, she’s starting to realize what Coco realized a few episodes ago: that the closer they are to finding all the pinkies, the closer they are to saying goodbye, and Komachi is afraid and unsure how to put that into writing. She is afraid to write a conclusion, because that means acknowledging that her own relationship will come to an end, which she isn’t ready for. It’s a moving exploration of writer’s block, which is a particularly resonant phenomenon to me as I’ve been struggling to write this particular review. Anyway, her choice to simply set the book aside for now is somewhat astonishing. It’s a mature and somewhat sad direction for a generally optimistic kids’ show to take, but I respect it that much more for not taking the easy road and saying “Komachi magically found a solution to her ongoing troubles with little difficulty.” Sometimes there aren’t easy answers to complex problems, and since the matter of her book was causing her far too much emotional stress, Komachi decided it was best for her mental health to shelve it. Telling suggestible audiences that this is sometimes an acceptable solution is important.

I do love the positive message, though. The uplifting and encouragement she receives from Nuts especially is really inspiring. His explanation for why he helps Komachi so much is emotionally resonant, as he says he’s weak in other areas so he helps where he can. He is still plagued by guilt for his role in the destruction of Palmier Kingdom, which informs his actions now, and he wants to do everything he can to help Komachi since she’s helping to restore his home. His support for her, and his reinforcement that all of her friends support her allows her to overcome her self-doubt in the battle against Hadenya. It’s also a clever reversal of her role in the team. Normally she wants to protect everyone, but in this episode, she’s the one who needs to be protected while she’s emotionally vulnerable, and the others are happy to help lift her spirits. Karen, her oldest friend, sees Komachi hurting and makes it a point to help her during the fight, double teaming Hadenya when Komachi can’t take her alone, and offering her the last push of encouragement she needs to power through.

Speaking of the fight, it’s a good battle. The Kowaina that just bodyslams indiscriminately is hilarious and what I expected out of the Kowaina from ep 40. Dream, Rouge, and Lemonade have to get creative when fighting it and it results in cool moments like Dream being trapped as it falls and the others having to save her before they hit the ground.

Obviously the main event is Mint’s fight against Hadenya, and it’s intense, with the general mostly having the upper hand despite being assaulted by both Mint and Aqua. When Hadenya kicks the barrier hard enough to break it (with some help from the falling Kowaina), it’s a visual metaphor for Komachi’s spirit breaking, but the follow up where Aqua encourages her turns her mood around results in a fantastic scene where Mint effortlessly blocks Hadenya’s attacks and then uses Mint Shield on her at point blank range, launching her into the atmosphere and creating a huge crater in the ground. THAT is badass.

I love this kind of creative use of their abilities and I wish we’d see it a bit more often. Between the emotional resonance and the incredible physical fighting, this might be one of my favorite battles from this season.

I want to briefly mention that Karen clearly understands the root of Komachi’s concerns, and knows she’s not just talking about her book. I think Komachi knows that she knows, but continues to describe it in terms of her novel for plausible deniability. This might be Karen’s first time realizing Komachi has feelings for Nuts but she definitely knows, and all her advice to Komachi is predicated on helping her friend with her real relationship woes. She’s a good friend to have around. I also love the use of lighting during most of their conversations, the twilight scenes are always beautiful and of course it lets them play with light and shadow in creative ways. When they’re talking in the library, Komachi is mostly seen in shadow, representing her sadness and uncertainty, while Karen is in the light, as the beacon of hope that can help her. After Karen offers her advice to Komachi, she is half-lit, as she’s beginning to come out of her sadness.

And lastly some bookkeeping. Hadenya was given a black mask today, but rejected it, and then failed when she went out to try to collect the Dream Collet. This is typical of her bravado and pride, but suffice to say this isn’t going to end well for her in the next episode.

Next time on Precure Daily, Milk tries to figure out just what a good caretaker is supposed to be like, and the answer may surprise you. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Kettei!

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Yes! Precure 5 #YPC543 #PCD192

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sasorikigai · 5 years ago

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Ask me top five of anything || @desxderium || accepting

I’m also going to include the obvious and ramble about them (as usual), because I have no self control.

1. Hanzo Hasashi; Your typical anti-hero gone astray to becoming a reformed hero after he realizes that his fate had been entangled in the machinations of Quan Chi. The moment I fell in love with his character was when in MKX, with the aid of Kenshi, he severs his ties to "the darkness" and is leading an effort to rescue and train orphans stranded by the Netherrealm War, forming a new Shirai Ryu in the process.

I absolutely love the trope he goes through, for a revolving door moves in a circle and so does Hanzo’s character in terms of morality. A villain decides to give heroism a try (for whatever reason) and switches sides but then goes back to being a villain and back again (through the time disruption). This phenomenon works the other way, as well. A hero loses perspective and becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist (Scorpion’s persona), and then comes back from the edge again. He's done it before — why not do it again? The long-term result is the same either way — the character in question will switch sides often enough that, in the long run, he doesn't have a side. I love the neutrality of Hanzo’s character, yet the roaring rampage of revenge does not consume him any longer and that the fact of his growth is what makes him one of the best characters ever.

My favorite part of the storyline, by far, is witnessing Hanzo's reaction in that ‘tea party’ with Sub-Zero, which is not only remorse for the pain he's caused Kuai Liang in killing his older brother Bi-Han (the elder Sub-Zero), but also because he threw away his one chance to restore his wife and son. The sheer amount of self-disgust in his voice is palpable.

Scorpion: (having witnessed evidence of Quan Chi's guilt in exterminating the original Shirai Ryu) Harumi... Satoshi... Sub-Zero: Had I known of my clan's complicity in the Shirai Ryu's extinction, our history would be different. Scorpion: I killed your brother because I thought he... Sub-Zero: Quan Chi is responsible for Bi-Han's death.

2. Kuai Liang; I love the duality he wears, the badass vibe ("I will freeze your very soul," "I destroy whom I please!" and "You will know the sting of winter.” And of course, who could forget the Lin Kuei's badass creed? “Be as stealthful as the night and as deadly as the dawn.”) with the heart of gold. He’s THE best Sub-Zero to ever hold the mantle of the Grandmaster, despite having started out as a silent assassin in II/9, but when the Lin Kuei becomes interested in cybernetics in 3/9, he splits because he disagrees with the methodology. From 4/X his character evolves greatly and becomes one of the most morally aware characters of the series, even taking over his former clan to lead them in a more righteous direction.

I also love the fact that his name, Kuai Liang, can translate into "fast ice," or more prosaically, "quick freeze." Considering his abilities and the fact that he's a Chinese Cryomancer, this is likely intentional even in-universe (which I especially love, because that name just sticks to me as a ‘cyromancer.’). He is one of the most good characters in the MK universe and the fact that he’s able to endure so many hardships, going through excruciating transformations. And he still holds that innocence, that naivety because he was forced to act much older than his age ever since Bi-Han and him were kidnapped to the Lin Kuei, only to be raised into mindless assassins and kill even the innocents. Unless it’s dark magic, his heart would never be corrupted or shattered beneath the unbearable weight of the world threatening to collide into him. I absolutely admire the fact that he’s phlegmatic and stoic, but could crack a joke (mostly through puns) and being ever so snarky.

Sub-Zero: The Lin-Kuei are restored, Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung: I sense this is no amicable visit. Sub-Zero: How perceptive, sorcerer.

3. Hannibal Lecter; He is a quintessentially affable evil character, as he does genuinely have sincere regard for the other characters he interacts with. The events of the first season can be seen as the doctor's efforts first to make Will into his friend and get him to quit profiling in order to ensure he never captures Hannibal, and then deciding to betray Will and make him an enemy, because otherwise Will would ultimately capture Hannibal. Allowing Will's encephalitis to cloud his mind could similarly be seen as pre-emptive self-defence. He seems to display genuine regret for Will's incarceration and Abigail's murder, evil though he might be. Of course, in keeping with the source material, this is left deliberately ambiguous... and I also love the fact that he may be the most complex and enigmatic character in the cinematic universe. I absolutely love him also as the anti-villain, because he’s so subverted. The first season was crafted to lull the audience into developing a fondness for him before really springing the duplicity and mind games and worse, and eventually clarifying his depraved motives for what were earlier seemingly, possibly well-intentioned actions.

4. Anthony Edward Stark, aka Iron Man; As easy as it often looks to be Tony Stark—the success, the money, the endless array of awesome gadgets—the question of who, exactly, Tony Stark is as a person is more difficult to pin down. From movie to movie (and often even within a single film), no other character goes on as transformative a journey as Iron Man. The character arc, with the notion of a powerful man sunk beneath ever-agglomerated hubris, and from mocking Steve Roger (Captain America)’s valorization of nobility, that’s precisely what Tony does at the end of the Infinity War; from being in-denial of his panic attacks and personal traumas without having much compassion for the others to work with them to willing to work with others, humble about the scope of his abilities, and comfortable in his own skin for the first time since his first appearance—is what makes for such a fascinating journey indeed.

Most importantly, Tony’s desire to build a family in his personal life, in his work, and the inevitable overlap between the two. The ultimate outsider, the one who used to look down on everyone, is now just trying to get the band back together and I believe even in the most heroic death of all, Tony has achieved them all.

5. Darth Vader, aka Anakin Skywalker; The one who was strongly believed to be the Chosen One of the Force by the Jedi Order and developed from a lowly slave on Tatooine to a hero of the Clone Wars, but his promising career tragically did not last when his personal demons lured him into turning to the Dark Side and becoming known as Darth Vader. What’s most remarkable about this character arc is the fact that never do we see Vader’s face beneath the mask, but we can feel his anguish. It’s a transformation anchored by physicality and vocalization alone and I find that most unique and most difficult. Also, what makes Darth Vader so special to me is the depth of his character as he went from hero to villain to hero.

#✗ breathing iron and rust (outofkombat)#✗ the ineffable testimony of spawned hellfire (scorpion)#✗ bone-deep chill of despair (sub-zero)#desxderium

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