#I love the implications of his unique magic connecting him to his loved ones current and those he didn’t know about like the knight of dawn | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

psychewritesbs · 1 year ago

Note

I think one of the reasons I love Jujutsu Kaisen because it feels like a reverse-parody of shounen, atleast to me. Gege takes common shounen tropes and instead of doing the same thing as the writers before him, he takes those tropes seriously instead of just using them as clutches to make things happen.

For example Sukuna, he isn't just an evil magic battery inside our main hero to get him out of tough situations who gets tamed with time but a fully realized character with motivations of his own. Or the failed older generation that reflects and mirrors the current trio (Nobara is still alive and nothing can take this delusion away from me) who are not just copypaste with a minor twist to them. Gojo isn't just the strongest character who our protagonist will have to eventually overcome and the world doesn't revolve around Yuuji, like literally 7 other characters could have been the main characters as well. Even with the KennyMommy twist we got nothing but a crushing irony that Yuuji was made to be expendable instead of being the most special character out of them all. (Even if there is more to the story -which is very likely, but who knows because it's Gege- and he was in fact more special than that, it still works because next to someone like Maki or Yuta, it's like nothing lmao)

I also love the grading system and how realistict it is, the special grade curses/sorcerers are treated more as monsters than the goal the characters should work towards, I never once felt that grade 1 sorcerers were ever disregarded or degraded to constantly up the power scale. Grade, technique, curse level or even domain expansion isn't the ends of all means, every fight is unique and fresh, unlike in some other shounens were the fights start to feel like dick measuring after a time.

Also also our main character isn't the moral epitome of the whole world with writer's clairvoyance, who knows everything better than everyone else. No, he isn't always right and his approach isn't always the right one or the only right one, something that was showcased with both Megumi, Junpei or even Mahito. When he faced the awakened Junpei, he didn't want to accept his actions and preeched without knowing anything, it is only when Yuuji tried to understand Junpei is when he made a big push through, which was handled greatly in my opinion. It's understandable that Yuuji rejected him at first and I don't neccessarily see it as a flaw, but him trying to connect to Junpei is what made him a great protagonist in my opinion. Everything is chaotic and gray in JJK, there is no clear right and wrong, there is only your side and their side, or more accurately you vs them. There are no one-dimensional bad guys who suddenly turn one-dimensional good guys once they are defeated (which I'm so thankful for, my god). Curses, for fuck's sake this universe has curses which could have been the faceless unthinking monsters the heroes could massacre en masse without ANY moral implications, then Gege went ahead and said Lmao, Lol even, here, kill these innocent civilians made by a sentient curse that's the manifestation of humankind's fear and hatred for our own kind while you are there and then things just went further downhill after that. (I just want to say, when Nanami and Yuuji defeated those curses without knowing their true nature, I really cried seeing those poor people suffer, I can't wait to see the Shibuya arc being finally animated. Maybe this time Nanami and Nobara won't die if I am delusional enough).

Sorry for rambling, I may not have worded things exactly the way I wanted them but writing in English is not my greatest expertise. Also idk if someone has already made this point or not, I try to avoid the JJK fandom as much as possible because 90% of it is just SatoSugu or Character x Y/N and I'm not interested in either of those (no hate towards the fans tho)

HOLA anon! Ehem...

So... when your ask came through I was getting ready to go Cancun+ing, but I promise that even while my skin scorched under the sun (I am sunburnt af 🥲) I was in deep thought regarding your magnificent ask because.................

HOLY DAMN YES!

Welcome to another JJK-Sunday Confessionals.

I love it! Thanks for sending your #thoughts. I honestly don't even know that I have much more to add to this other than saying that I love how you've captured many of the #things I love about jjk.

Ok, jk, have we met? I vomit words and words I shall vomit under the cut.

Gege takes common shounen tropes and instead of doing the same thing as the writers before him, he takes those tropes seriously instead of just using them as clutches to make things happen

I love this so much and I've been thinking about what it is about how Gege writes that is so refreshing and I think it defo has something to do with how he fleshes out the tropes he uses in detail.

Perhaps he understands that tropes are at their core experiences. And where most mangaka rely on tropes at face value, he re-imagines new ways of expressing the same core concept. i.e. the Kurama vs. Sukuna example you shared.

Honestly, this is one of the reasons I like jjk so much. I simply cannot predict it to a t. There's a lot of media that I simply do not indulge because, as soon as I am able to predict the story because of the tropes used, I get bored.

the failed older generation that reflects and mirrors the current trio

Ok but listen. What if Kenny, Tengen and Sukuna were such a trio? Same trope, take it back, way back. There's something about how Gege is writing about Tengen (especially in relation to Kenny) that is interesting in that there's this sense that fate has been repeating itself for many, many years.

I haven't been able to gather my thoughts on it but... something about it...

the world doesn't revolve around Yuuji, like literally 7 other characters could have been the main characters as well. Even with the KennyMommy twist we got nothing but a crushing irony that Yuuji was made to be expendable instead of being the most special character out of them all.

Just today I was thinking about how Yuji is such a refreshing and unique take on his trope as the mc of a battle shonen. Like Megumi, he is all the #things that define him according to his trope, and yet he does it in a way that is unequivocally Yuji.

As for the other main characters, that's what I love about them. It's like they are all the protagonists of their own lives. There are a few plot devices in the story, but for the most part Gege's character writing is absolutely fantastic.

Also. Crushing irony is abso-fucking-lutely on point lol.

Grade, technique, curse level or even domain expansion isn't the ends of all means, every fight is unique and fresh, unlike in some other shounens were the fights start to feel like dick measuring after a time.

YES. I have to half disagree about how the fights don't feel like dick measuring tho.

There's something very ironic and absurd about Hakari vs. Kashimo and Gojo vs. Sukuna that is 300% dick measuring but in this very Gege-kind-of-egotistical-way 😂. I personally love it tho. No complaints here.

Also also our main character isn't the moral epitome of the whole world with writer's clairvoyance, who knows everything better than everyone else.

Loved this 🥲. All of it!

I can't wait to see the Shibuya arc being finally animated. Maybe this time Nanami and Nobara won't die if I am delusional enough.

oh hey! it's like me thinking Tokyo Babylon's volume 7 will have a different outcome if only I read it enough times. I have not successfully managed to manifest a different ending but shall keep trying lol.

So relatable.

Nah, please ramble away. Thank you for sharing your #thoughts with me.

You are using British English, does that mean you are on the other side of the world (Europe/Asia)? Also I'd say you write quite well in English :) better than many USAmericans actually lol.

Yeah so... about the fandom.

What I'll say is that I have had several negative experiences that have left a very sour taste in my mouth. It's gotten to the point that sometimes people will comment on my content with inoffensive messages and I immediately get defensive because I think they're being mean when they aren't. It actually makes me sad to react like that and it is something I'm working on.

For that reason I've stayed here in my little Tumblr corner for the vast majority of my fandom experience and interacted with others very little because I found some posts and attitudes to be too triggering.

But alas, I've come out of my shell and have met good friends/moots through here as a result. So thank you to my Tumblr moots for helping make my jjk experience better!

I also only recently started interacting more on twitter with others in the fandom. So I have a small circle of mutuals who share the same level of understanding as me but it isn't always easy to find people I vibe with in such a large ocean of loud voices.

It's interesting to note that the most popular content for jjk isn't necessarily the kind of discourse I enjoy. To your point, sometimes I see a a very popular post that is specifically about satosugu and I wonder whether it would be as popular if it wasn't about the ship. So I totally share your feelings about the state of the fandom on all levels.

And while I personally do enjoy "shipping", I also like to explore and understand the characters as individuals. That is not to mention I consider myself to be on camp ship and let ship.

What I've learned is that you have to curate your content experience and I get the feeling you're already on it for yourself.

Anyways anon! Thank you so much for dropping by!

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on why you love jjk and look forward to hearing about what other #jjk thoughts you might have.

#god I love jujutsu kaisen #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

13 notes · View notes

fishoutofcamelot · 4 years ago

Note

I'd like to preface this by saying that I love your blog and all the analysis that you've done on various characters, scenes and ships. You are one of my online heroes. I'm not sure if you're still doing the ship asks, but if you are, what are your thoughts on frelin?

Dude tysm! I’m not sure ‘online hero’ is a great way to describe someone who once made a post comparing dragonlords to furries, but I’ll take the compliment nonetheless!! Your kind words have given me enough dopamine to last until my next paycheck <3

Freylin is a decent ship - conceptually. They're two kindred spirits who found solace and intimacy with each other, drawn together by their mutual sense of otherness (possessing magic). However, I think Freylin does fall into some obvious trappings of Insta-Love, Heteronormativity, and Not Giving Female Love Interests Any Discernible Personality Traits.

For some people, that's not a problem. They like watching Merlin and Freya be cute and sappy with each other, and I'll agree that it was a treat to see such a fun side of Merlin. If that's the kinda ship you like, then great! Ship away. But personally, Freylin makes me feel bad for Freya.

Not because of the death thing - lord knows I've done far worse to beloved characters without even a hint of remorse. But I feel bad for her because of her role in the ship. As mentioned above, her main purpose in the narrative and in Merlin's life is to give him some angst, then come back later in season 3 to give him some helpful advice as a sort of Freya Ex Machina. Her personality has no depth beyond what was necessary for the story. And even in fanon interpretations of her, she's essentially just a more shy/introverted carbon-copy of Gwen.

And, okay, as a writer I can admit that there are some characters who don't need a lot of depth. Some characters are plot devices, and that's okay. Freya only appears in like two episodes, so under normal circumstances I'd begrudge that level of shallow characterization. But the rules are different for characters who have a close emotional connection with the MC, especially love interests - even episodic dalliances like Freya!

Take Balinor, Will, and Daegal, for example. They were all important to Merlin, and all had distinct personalities. Balinor is cantankerous and reclusive. Will is pragmatic and confrontational. Daegal is earnest and youthfully naive. And we as the audience liked them too, because they felt like actual people, even though their main purpose in the story is mainly to serve Merlin's arc. They are, fundamentally, plot devices, but they don’t feel like plot devices because of how organically they’ve been written.

Freya is a harder sell, because she doesn't have as much of a personality with which to endear us. I'm not saying we need to know Freya's favourite colour and her fondest childhood memory, nor do we need to witness her go through a seasons-long character arc. Not every background character needs their personality painstakingly detailed, least of all background characters. If well-written main characters are chicago deep-dish pizzas, then well-written background characters are hot pockets - easy to make, easy to love, easy to remember. Characters like Gilli and Elena and the love of my life Sophia are good hot pockets. But Freya as she currently is, she's not even that. She's like if we were told there was a hot pocket in the microwave, only to open it up and find it's just a lump of half-melted cheese.

And it's sad, because Freya had the potential to be interesting. She could've had a distinct personality that made us fall in love with her right alongside Merlin - which would have made her death even more painful for both the characters and the audience alike. But even if you don't give her a personality, at the very least let her fulfill her purpose of furthering Merlin's character arc instead of just making him sad for a few minutes.

While I'm by no means an expert writer, here's how I would've taken a crack at having Freya’s impact on Merlin's arc.

So Merlin sees Freya again, but she's not some helpful water spirit. She's emotional and volatile and vengeful and deeply, profoundly traumatized by the nature of her death. And maybe it's his job to finally lay her soul to rest once and for all.

She gets upset at Merlin. She cries and shouts and weeps about her death, about the pain and injustice of it. How could he continue protecting her killer? How could he befriend the man who literally murdered her? Freya didn't want to die, she didn't want to be a monster, she didn't want to be alone (cue implications that she has been trapped inside the lake all this time, maddened by isolation). She just wanted to be left in peace. To be loved. Merlin naturally defends Arthur, saying that he is destined to be a good king, destined to free magic and bring about the golden age of Albion. But she insists that destiny must be wrong, because what has Arthur done for the magic community besides perpetuate his father's company line? He killed her, killed several others like her, and even to this day he condones the oppression of their people - what makes him think a man like that could ever change, could ever set them free? And even if he does, why should any of them be expected to forgive him for his war crimes?

She tells him that deep down, Merlin knows this. Deep down, Merlin fears Arthur just as much as the rest of them. If he truly believed in Arthur's inherent goodness, in his destiny, then Merlin would not have kept his magic hidden for so long.

Thus sparks a seed of doubt in Merlin's mind, and scenes like Morgana's speech in Tears Of Uther Pendragon Part 2, Arthur's drive to destroy the dragon egg in Aithusa, Kara's execution in Drawing in the Dark, and the confession in Herald of a New Age would only cause that seed to grow.

Not only is this a natural and logical progression of his character, but it would also be compelling to see Merlin's unwavering loyalty to Arthur do exactly that - waver. It grants depth to his character, empathizes us to his cause and the cause of his people, and lets us see Merlin in a unique perspective. It also puts a new light on Arthur's actions, foreshadowing an eventual moment of reckoning where Arthur will have to face the consequences of his harmful rhetoric - thereby creating a subtle layer of tension as we wait for that moment to finally arrive. And there's yet another layer of tension that arises from Merlin's repressed yet growing doubts: will he finally admit that Arthur isn't the shining saviour Kilgharrah had promised he'd be? Will he snap like Freya did? Will he and Arthur drift apart? And if they do, what will bring them back together, if such a thing is even possible? How will they make amends? How will Arthur learn from his mistakes and earn back Merlin’s trust?

I could go on and on about how this would impact the story as a whole, but I'm not here to talk about my rewrite ideas. I'm here to talk about Freylin.

At the end of the day, while it's a good ship, Freya doesn't have much personality, which affects their overall chemistry, and I don't think they have enough going on between them to be an endgame pairing. My personal opinion is that Freya has less narrative potential as a romantic partner, and more narrative potential as a supplementary background character whose closeness to Merlin combined with her own trauma forces him to develop and grow in certain ways. She's less of a Gwen (long-standing love interest), and more of a Balinor (one-off character with emotional importance), and that's perfectly fine. But because of her lack of personality and overall narrative relevance, I have a hard time believing or shipping Freylin beyond the scope of her debut episode.

Thanks for the ask! <3

#bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merlin #bbcm #ask #fish post

67 notes · View notes

hairphones · 4 years ago

Text

Why Libra is my favorite FE character

(if anyone knows the artist here it’d be appreciated to mention it)

Fire Emblem has plenty of characters people give a shit about. Most of the time it’s going to the lords or any of the really popular “waifu” characters, but in recent time I’ve found people who love all kinds of people in the franchise. The best thing about FE’s characters is there’s bound to be at least 1 person in here that you’ll consider cool. Despite there a lot of reoccurring archetypes I’m willing to say FE is still able to make something that feels unique in each game, even if not necessarily good. Anyways, for me one character who’s stuck out is of course the guy in the title, Libra. I’m always kind of weirded out this guy isn’t anymore popular than he actually is. Awakening is one of the most successful games that had a cast full of characters that ended up being way too popular for their own good. And yet, Libra is one of the few Awakening characters that doesn’t exactly get to enjoy the limelight like the other part of the cast back then. With that being said though I’ve found him to be one of the most interesting in the game and as you can read in the title he’s just flat out my favorite. I guess the best way for me to start is him as a unit.

Libra comes in as one of the more unique classes in the series, war monk. As a prepromote most people probably skipped over what’s given to you here despite what honestly is a pretty solid no investment unit. I say this from his C staff rank and his fairly balanced stats that lets him handle himself quite well for the first few battles he can fight in. Of course I gotta be realistic, Libra is no way a character who’s going to stay good at defending himself. Awakening’s real emphasis of making your units snowball means that ignoring to train Libra will only really leave him as nothing more than a staffbot, and even with training a glaring flaw is that Libra is too balanced for his own good to really specialize in anything unlike the other units. Another flaw comes from his rather limited class pool that leads to Sage and Dark Knight taking up spots in multiple class trees. This does give him access to helpful skills such as vengence or lifetaker, but unless you plan to grind only Libra I wouldn’t call it optimized to constantly reclass and train him. I’m in no way a hardcore FE fan that takes into account how units play in the challenge runs such as LTCs/Ironmans/Low recruitment, but I think it’s safe to assume that Libra’s overall performance will come in as primarily a support unit. But of course, judging him on his numbers isn’t my focus here.

I want to start off talking about Libra’s character with what you can already see from his design. It’s no surprise that most fans make the connection to Libra and other designs such as Lucius from FE7, another favorite of mine. In-game there’s a gag involving him looking female to other characters. However while his face is feminine, he’s actually rather tall and with a masculine frame. As one of the tamer Awakening designs I actually quite like his outfit as it perfectly fits with war monk ( I know crazy). Though you can chalk that up to being biased.

Hell on first appearances you’re most likely ready to assume this character is going to be a born again christian character with the only joke being he’s actually a male judging from the recruit conversation. The fact Awakening has it’s share of running jokes among party members definitely could lead to you assuming there’s nothing interesting about this guy. Yet, shouldn’t the fact he wields a weapon (as opposed to the usual magic tomes these sort of characters use) surprise you? and an axe at that? Lemme emphasis that, why an axe?

Sure FE has this tradition of the 3 main weapon types, but has it ever been used to add character? Not exactly, but it has been part of character archetypes for quite a while.

Think about what kind of character uses swords: The lords, the brave mercenary leader, the heroes, the flashy edgelords that become swordmasters. Swords almost always play a role as the legendary weapon made to save the day in FE games (as well as any jrpg). The sword will always be a symbol of courage in just about any video game.

(this screencap is low quality to stay consistent with the speaker)

How about lances: As far as FE goes the lance is primarily the weapon held by the jaigen archetype and the main weapon for the more chivalrous units such as cavaliers, knights, and soldiers. The kind of characters associated with these are often the diligent or experienced members of the army. You also have the usual flying trio of characters that range from happy go lucky to those that take the situation seriously.

Now what about axes? These weapons are more often than not held by the lower class characters. Hired fighters, bandits, pirates. These characters aren’t ever bad, but they’re not exactly fighting out of heroism or for their nation. In fact these characters are the most down to earth in the grand scheme of an army full of anime characters. Maybe not sooo much in Awakening’s case with Vaike, but every single one of these weapon types have their exceptions. Also wanna mention that one of the most (in)famous weapons in the series is called the fucking Devil Axe.

Going back to Libra, why would a character like him hold onto an axe when it’s pretty apparent he’s more of a gentle character? Why the weapon type that’s the most violent looking of the triangle? Obvious reason is purely gameplay reasons involving the odd design the war monk class is, but looking at it from a literary perspective only makes it look off (especially with the female clerics). This is also something to wonder if you take into consideration his C ranking, implying he’s at least somewhat experienced. Not to mention his high stats for that point in the game.

For better or worse this kind of mystery isn’t exactly answered in the base game of Awakening. However there’s some interesting conversations that’s found in the Summer Scramble DLC that gives an idea. Specifically the one with Lon’qu.

Lon’qu catching onto the dissonance of Libra’s appearance to his skill. The first conversation is only Libra claiming there’s no reasoning behind any of it. however the second conversation has Libra open up to talk about himself more.

As you see there’s no explicit answer to what kind of “darkness” Libra has ever committed before the events of FE:A, but given Lon’qu is the one to take notice of Libra’s supposed bloodlust the implication isn’t going to be anything peaceful. In fact, it’s that violent nature that gets questioned in another conversation in this same DLC.

Again, this conversation feels more important to take note of given what character is talking to Libra. In this case it’s the hyperviolent character who takes comfort in bloodshed (at least in the western release, perhaps Henry is different in Japan?). Either way, this conversation goes hand and hand with the Lon’qu one in a pretty easily. That is to conclude that Libra himself has had a pretty rough past filled with who knows what, and that past version of himself was most likely not justifying any murders as if justification was even something to consider. The Libra you meet in-game is of course still capable of killing, but it’s extremely obvious he has a concept of remorse.

There’s no reason given anywhere as to what changes this man to become the benevolent priest. Though really I think it’s better that Libra keeps it consistent with revealing almost none of the causes in his life and instead only showing the effects. Filling in the blank is not a new thing for FE characters, in fact fans of older games in the franchise seem to really enjoy that aspect quite a lot.

Still, even the current Libra understands himself to not be a person devoid of guilt or sin. A few supports touch upon this aspect such as the one with Sully.

Libra’s doubt that he’s anywhere close to being considered a good man in the fact of the gods adds something that I absolutely love: having skepticism to one’s own morality. There’s something important to follow up this with how Libra views morality in battles in one of the supports with Gaius.

Even as a supposed man of faith he refuses to deny that living a fight against the different nations in Awakening is just a matter of being on the side that’s doing more killing. Take away all the politics of any war and you’ll find people who are simply fighting for the right to keep on living. It’s what considered “just human”. I also find this conversation to be a little more profound given that is the same franchise where one of the biggest features is permadeath. These characters put their faith in their gods to escape death another day while the average player is the one avoiding death altogether.

Finally, a support with Tharja concludes mostly everything learned so far. Where she explores Libra’s memories only to find there was no peaceful childhood.

A newfound devotion to a religion isn’t treated as a fix to a life full of cruelty. To be a good person to many doesn’t absolve you of the terrible things you’ve done to others.. I’m sure this kind of topic has been explored in FE games before or after and in countless other video games/movies/books/pieces of media as well, taking away the religion part of course. Nonetheless the introduction to this kind of thinking to a 13 year old version of me had me really second guessing back then, and it still comes up to me from time to time. Sure I’ve done what’s considered “good” but will it ever outweigh any terrible things I’ve also done? Even today I can’t pretend I have an answer to that, and that’s just only thinking of what I’ve gone through personally.

To wrap it up though, there’s his ending card.

For such a simple ending it really brings out the fanboy in me. The entire game is filled with Libra having his doubts of being a good person according to himself and to the gods he worships. To end his story with him being believed to be a reincarnation of Naga due to his reformed nature just feels so sweet to me.

As much as I wish more characters could have a similar air to them in newer games, I get it’s just not really everyone’s preference. Fire Emblem is always going to be a series of good guys vs bad guys also dragons and with that comes making new characters for fans to get attached to. Still though, I really appreciate the attempt done with Libra. Once again the best thing about this franchise is everybody can find at least 1 character they love, they don’t even need to be playable.

I understand not everyone is going to grind supports to see everything a character has to say (especially not in newer FE games), but as you can see nearly all the nuance of this character was hidden away in dialogue. In a game full of joke characters and tropes, it is refreshing to see a character who acknowledges their own flaws and isn’t played for laughs. I didn’t write all of this to try to convince anyone in some clickbait manner like “THE DEEPEST FE CHARACTER INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS HID FROM YOU” or anything. Nah, I’m sure I sound like I’ve repeated myself many times here. But all of this was to attempt to put into words why I’ll stay with my opinion that Libra is my favorite FE character for being a reformed character done right. And for the fact that uncovering the secrets of this guy affected me personally all the way back from when I was a lot younger. And honestly a large part of it really stems from how Libra is in no way a major character, yet he clearly had a lot of thought put into him.

For anyone that bothered to read all of this I wanna thank you. Whether you liked it or not is up to you, no hard feelings. I know all this is the definition of “reading too much into it”, but I consider speculation on writing to be fun. Anyways hope I didn’t take too much of your time and have a nice day

17 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 4 years ago

Text

Infinity Train Season 4 Struggles To Communicate the Importance of Communication

https://ift.tt/32DtSc4

This article contains spoilers for Infinity Train season 4.

Infinity Train has a short, but complex history. After a somewhat neglected run on Cartoon Network, the show received new life on HBO Max for a third season. Following that, however, it seemed unclear whether the show could nab another renewal. But enough online attention was garnered to achieve that fourth and final year. (HBO Max also seems to have a much more energetic desire for animated content than other similar networks and streaming outlets).

The first three seasons of Infinity Train are raw, honest, and stark. Its first season follows a young girl coming to terms with her parents divorce and the fleeting, ephemeral nature of memory. The second is a curveball, in which a “reflection” of the girl from the first season comes to life and fights for her own freedom–a wild meta-tale about autonomy, identity, and independence. The third season, which focuses on two chaotic, long-term train passengers, is about abuse, manipulation, (male) toxicity, and violence unchecked.

The expectations for this fourth season, which features two Asian-American kids who find themselves trapped on the train’s bizarre universe, were pretty high. But the thriving potential and expectations laid out for this final season never come to bare. Infinity Train’s “Book Four” (which is how the show brands its seasons) fizzles, with a sort of epilogue feel to its proceedings that never quite reaches the dark, raw highs of its predecessors. The fourth season is ostensibly about the importance of clear, honest communication. But the irony is that the show fails to communicate itself clearly.

Infinity Train season 4 follows Ryan and Min-Gi who are stuck in different places in life, post high-school. Once close friends, connected by their love of music, the two saw life in different ways: Ryan is an idealist and an adventurous, “think before he acts” sort, while Min-Gi is more grounded, level-headed, and cautious, to the point of freezing up. This literally happens when Min-Gi runs from Ryan right before a big high school talent show, a moment which buttresses the unspoken rift between them.

Min-Gi stays home, studies, gets accepted into college. Ryan takes to the road, doing various shows anywhere he can, and seems to make some modest success, despite losing several girlfriends along the way. Ryan returns home to see Min-Gi working at his parents’ restaurant, and the two catch up, with low-key tension surging between them. Impudently, Ryan rushes off with the restaurant’s keys, and Min-Gi chases him. The two rush onto a train, then somehow find the doorway into the Infinity Train. This is how our protagonist duo finds themselves onboard the mystical, mysterious caboose.

What makes Infinity Train’s previous seasons work so well was how they start out somewhat basic but quickly leap into unexpected places with depth and nuance. Its highs are immensely high; its lows are dark, sparse, and painful. Its protagonists are self-assured but deeply lost, and in their quest to find themselves, they both open up new layers about themselves, as well as the nature of the very quixotic train itself. This fourth season doesn’t quite do this.

There’s a unique wrinkle in this venture, in that Ryan and Min-Gi are paired with the exact same “number” (the mysterious number that appears on passengers’ hands that “countdown” positive character improvements that leads to their freedom), an occurrence that is clocked by the show as particularly strange. But there’s no real internal, or external, revelation into why the train decided to pair them together like that. (To be fair, I think the train conductor did have a reason, but the bold choice to have this season take place prior to the other three muddles things; in the midst of Ryan and Min-Gi’s journey, Ameila’s takeover of the train happens.) But unlike the protagonists of the previous seasons, Ryan and Min-Gi never venture off to examine the train as a whole. In effect, Ryan and Min-Gi’s journey is surprisingly straight-forward, a kind of winking idea to what essentially any person’s journey on the train would look like.

It’s a bold move to portray a “regular” journey for a final season, but it’s disappointing in that it never takes this (non-train) time to really explore its characters in new ways. The contrasts between Ryan and Min-Gi are pretty boilerplate–the free spirited, snap-decision maker vs. the grounded, level-headed thinker is as common a duo as it comes. But the more concrete revelations of these characters never quite make an impact.

Min-Gi mentions that his parents never paid any attention to him and ignored him and his dreams. There’s hints of a darker sense of parental neglect here, but it never gets laid out. Likewise with Ryan, who speaks often of the pressure his parents put on him to study, work, and go to school. With no other info about the way he and his parents specifically conflicted over this, it feels abstract. The first episode, “The Twin Tapes,” sporadically has the emotional heft of these interpersonal dilemmas, but never really examines them in the characters themselves, not in the way that Infinity Train often allowed its characters to feel.

In effect, these characters are talking around each other but not really communicating; neither seems to react or (try to) understand the others’ perspective. They aren’t introspective about each other, and the frustrations and issues that Ryan and Min-Gi vocalize during their journey feel more like soliloquies than conversations. They talk but they don’t communicate; as a result, their potential characterizations aren’t communicating, and therefore not connecting, to the audience.

This is disappointing because perhaps the one thing that seems to be the gel of this season–Ryan and Min-Gi’s relationship–never elevates itself to the level a final season should. The two fight a lot, and those fights are valid, emotional, honest, clunky, anodyne, awkward, tedious, immature, silly, and fraught–the multi-emotional ways interpersonal spats tend to be. But they’re never revealing.

I don’t think I’m overstepping here to say that there is at least some queer subtext between the two; an early moment in the first episode has Min-Gi blush profusely when Ryan gives him a hug of appreciation. But in that same episode, Ryan’s rotation of failed girlfriends suggest that the queer angle is merely one-sided; fair, but Infinity Train never addresses that either. If Infinity Train was mandated to play down that angle (a common reality due to the pressures and demands of studios and networks), then there’s always the nature of two friends of wildly different personalities clashing before coming to an understanding.

It’s basic, but it can work. As mentioned earlier though, there’s little revealed about the history of these characters at an individual level, so their interpersonal tension never goes anywhere meaningful. The previous three seasons used various sci-fi/magic/fantastical methods to delve deep into the particular pasts and truths of its protagonists, presenting multiple sides to their current problems. Book Four never does that beyond the first episode, and it feels like we’re missing something. Ryan and Min-Gi just cycle through bouts of random verbal fights and endearing truces–right to the very end.

Birdgirl Flips The Script On Harvey Birdman And Superhero Culture

By Daniel Kurland

Why Solar Opposites Season 2 Brought The Wall Back

By Joe Matar

The catty nature of this conflict could work though, if the storytelling here wasn’t so clunky, something that Infinity Train is usually very good at managing. There’s moments where the show struggles to engage in conflicts organically, and is forced to make its characters act dumber than necessary. I don’t know how even the most impulsive characters would decide to “dig underground” to try to sneak into the building (weird train logic not understanding). When Ryan’s number goes down, Min-Gi, who is usually reserved and low-key, spends an uncomfortable amount of time belittling Ryan as the one who needed to learn a lesson, not him.

Season four’s most dramatic moment is centered around a museum that hosts an malevolent force which compels its victims to act and say terrible things, but the force is not particularly well explored. It’s stunningly, beautifully horrifying: a series of hands contorted into a grotesque monster. The hands have numbers on them, too, an horrific implication that comes close to fruition with Min-Gi in its grasp. But the rhythms of the scene are somewhat shoddy; Ryan escapes by accident, and has no idea how to get back to Min-Gi to save him. Ryan’s desire to save him causes his number to go down and his path home opens up; he thinks about leaving, and his number goes back up, closing off the path.

It’s a moment worth exploring, sure, but it never gets its due because Min-Gi eventually escapes the hands monster, but blames Ryan for leaving him. He didn’t, but the season puts so much dramatic emphasis here that it sort of represents the most significant tension of the characters. But it just comes off awkward, especially since that (misunderstood) anger is barely present in the next episode.

But that’s on purpose, I think, to try and get at the deeper, more complex issue of the lack of clear communication between these two. And it’s definitely worthy of a topic. But it never quite wraps its head around that point, and that’s partly because the season never gets into why they don’t talk. The queer subtext is out. They never get too much into their pasts, only hints. The estrangement angle and abandonment issues are under-explored. Their connection is over their shared love of music, but that feels like a singular weak connection, in comparison to the stakes. They’re friends, but Infinity Train fails to explore the full extent of their friendship and the nature of the understated conflicts between them. There’s certainly a lot of emotional drama between them, and it’s played as earnest and honest as possible, but there’s little information about them to heft up that drama. By the end, these characters are still ciphers.

Kez, the floating, talking bell that “guides” Ryan and Min-Gi, feels more well-rounded. Her wonky, circuitous way of talking feels like a quirky character trait at first but is revealed to be a purposeful method of ignoring the problems she causes and not taking accountability of them. The enemies she made chase after her (and by proxy, Ryan and Min-Gi). She’s ridiculed by “other” friends for her unreliability, then is called out by the humans when it’s revealed she was only stringing them along to satisfy Morgan, a talking castle. And that’s happening because a passenger, Jeremy, bonded with Morgan and Kez for five years in the midst of deep, deep grief and self-blame for an accident that killed Jeremy’s wife and sister.

Kez’s style of talking inadvertently spurred Jeremy to accept and move on from the accident, sending him home. But that triggered an assortment of resentment between Kez and Morgan, as well as the ire of the other train denizens on their heels. Kez’s final admission, saying sorry, eases all those tensions, which feels a little simple for past grievances, but at the core there’s depth and history there, even implied, which provides a richness to those characters that Ryan and Min-Gi lack.

That’s the thing: Kez’s dilemma, in that lack of communication, forgiveness, and atonement, is the thematic parallel of the tension between Ryan and Min-Gi. But while Kez’s story has enough implications around the edges to feel interesting, Ryan and Min-Gi, the season’s protagonists, don’t have enough of it to match the powerful moments of seasons one through three.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Season four is certainly fine as is, and has plenty of funny moments, as well as quietly honest ones. But it never quite provides the impactful revelation or scenes that Infinity Train usually provides to transcend Ryan and Min-Gi into something singularly clear and open. Communication and clarity is the key to any relationship, but Book Four mumbles its story straight to the end–not as clear as the bell on Kez’s head.

Infinity Train season 4 is available to be streamed on HBO Max now.

The post Infinity Train Season 4 Struggles To Communicate the Importance of Communication appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3eAcI55

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

3 notes · View notes

lesbianmonsterlover · 5 years ago

Text

Waterfalls and Whirlpools (2)

In which we meet the orc Urzash, our main love interest for Erin.

---

Urzash Firetamer was the only child of her parents. Thusly her father, the infamous Shamrol Skullcrusher, trained her the same way he would have trained a son. Urzash was an imposing orc by any measure, nearly eight feet tall and full-blooded with deep green skin and impressive tusks, many beads decorating her mane of dark hair. This newest conquest would earn her the second band around her tusks, a high honor denoting her prowess in combat. Her pouch was heavy with gold and gems, mostly honestly gained but a few pilfered along the way, and her pack had two new additions, a blessed warhammer and an ancient looking leather journal the sorcerer they assisted assured her connected with other universes.

Alys, the cleric, pulled off her helm, running her fingers through sweat-matted brown curls before gesturing with her chin at the book Urzash had slapped down on the wooden table. “Have you looked at it yet?” Alys’s voice was always thick and dark, like a rare fall honey, it matched the caramel tone of her skin and the intense amber yellow of her eyes.

Urzash just shakes her head, running one huge thumb over the cover. She got her name, Firetamer, because she showed a proficiency for not only brute strength but fire magic. She was a well known berzerker because of this uniqueness, able to coat her fists and body in a suit of fire in the midst of battle. As useful a skill as her fire taming was, it still made her feel like an outsider in the orcish community. That’s why she left in the first place, joining an adventurer’s guild and striking off out into the vast wilderness of Auren and beyond.

The first thing she notes when she opens the book finally is that it is partially filled, and the writing is possibly the tidiest she’s ever seen. The neat, loopy script fills the first six pages of the book, front and back, and each entry is signed off with a mysterious “EC.” The writing is mundane talk about feelings, activities, days, but the wording is odd… It’s written in common, which isn’t so strange, but talks about things she’s never heard of. Cars, television, internet, meaningless words.

Urzash scoffs as she reaches the first blank page, and the party’s halfling rogue giggles. “Betcha that sorcerer stiffed us by giving us some worthless junk ‘n calling it magic or whatever. That just looks like some crazy ramblings.” Urzash was ready to agree with Penny, but they’re both interrupted from beginning a rant by the slim hand of Lithwe, the sorcerer declaring that there was indeed some deep magic within the book. The argument itself though is stopped when words begin to appear on the page before their eyes.

Hello again

It’s hot here today, hotter than usual, but I’ve managed to find my way to a secluded little waterfall in the forest behind my house. It’s really beautiful, idyllic and inspiring, you know?

The loopy font is slowly blooming to life on the page, and as Urzash rubs at it nothing happens, the ink doesn’t even smudge appearing on the page bone dry. She digs through her pack to produce a quill and ink, quickly scrawling out a message at the bottom.

Are you there?

Urzash isn’t sure what she’s expecting to happen. Nothing maybe?

Who What is How Yes?

It’s like Urzash can see the thought process as this is happening, mirroring her own. She didn’t think this through, did she? What does she say now? Who is this? Where are they from? Are they really from another universe or is this some kind of magic trick? Hesitating over the page, a splotch of ink drops from her quill onto the paper, as she keeps thinking about what to write she watches as whoever is on the other side turns the ink splash into a flower, complete with stem and leaves. So, probably a real person on the other end and not some magic script. Urzash smiles at that, eyes bright with curiosity.

You’re actually real. Tell me, where are you from?

Erin isn’t exactly sure what to do with herself when words start appearing on the page before her randomly. Writing and scratching out and writing and scratching out a few times before finally settling on her response, which felt a little weak now that she sits back and looks at it. As she waits for a response she begins nervously doodling around an ink blot that appeared on the page in the same sudden blooming manner. She isn’t sure how specific she should be, so she settles for some vagueness. Although, realistically, if whoever was on the other side could read her writing they’d know enough about her to come and find her which sent a sudden surge of icy terror down her spine. Still, it was too late to do anything about it now.

Washington state, in the US, what about you?

Urzash is hopelessly confused, the us? The who? And Washington? That’s an odd name for a place. A town where you wash things?

Washington where?

The response is a crudely drawn map of a place Urzash has never seen, a land that looks wholly unfamiliar to her in terms of coastline. Some rough lines are drawn in along the left side and then circled, as if that should clear anything up. A little arrow pointing to it fills in Washington State and is followed with another set of lines circled towards the right side with an arrow pointing to say Washington DC. Urzash wonders briefly if this DC is related to EC, perhaps an older relative or ancient ancestor?

“That map makes no sense.” Alys’s voice draw’s Urzash’s eyes from the page. “No discovered land has a coastline anything like that, and we’ve had sailors circumnavigate the globe.” Her fingers begin drumming on the table, brow furrowed. “I mean, nothing even close to it, look at that peninsula right there sticking out from the bottom right, nothing like that has ever been mapped.” As they’re talking more text appears beneath the map.

Where are you from?

Currently Greenbriar’s Landing, in the country of Auren.

Auren isn’t a country I’ve ever heard of?

Urzash hums to herself, scratching out a map of her own of the land and a few landmarks such as mountains and the main rivers. Lithwe interrupts again, their light voice cutting through the chatter around them. “The magic is being channeled through some sort of portal at a level so intrinsic as to not be seen. I wonder...if we could mold and use this magic to somehow draw ourselves or the other through this portal to the other side…” They trail off, muttering to themselves as their eyes glow a faint blue while they channel and work to break down the spell to its most basic components.

So, it seems as though the journal is authentic, and does connect elsewhere.

What’s Auren like?

Urzash purses her lips in thought.

A lot of open land, mostly. It’s fairly peaceful, although bandits are a problem as I’m sure you know. The cities and strongholds are well protected, but raids on smaller hamlets are sadly common. Traveling can be dangerous but it’s getting safer as alliances between larger cities mean more patrolling along roads.

Erin, in fact, did not know bandits were still a problem. Still, if this is some kind of writing exercise for whoever or whatever is on the other end of this, that’s fine. Either that or this is the start of her descent into madness, and she’s actually the one writing all of this and not remembering it. Really, at this point, she isn’t sure which of the choices is worse, especially considering the implications of the former.

What is Washington like?

Erin’s reverie, or spiral into a panic attack but who’s asking, is interrupted by this.

We’re way West and North, with a lot of forest still despite the US’s propensity for cutting down nature to make way for man. I live in the forest now at the base of some mountains, it’s nice. Quiet town, not a whole lot to do, but I like it that way.

Alys breaks the silence of the group. “Men destroying nature in favor of their own desires, some things are the same everywhere.” Urzash hums in agreement, penning a response that says as much, before their table is joined by a face she was hoping to never see again.

“What do you want, Rolgar?” The growl of Urzash’s voice would be enough to send most scattering, but Rolgar just gives her that leering smile she’s always hated, tusks flashing in the dim firelight.

“What? A guy can’t come check up on an old friend?” One of his thick arms is slung across the back of her chair, and she stands abruptly to shove it off, glaring down and growling at the presumptuous orc. Rolgar for his part just grins, standing languidly and beating Urzash in height by just an inch or two. “You’re right, we really should go for a dance.” Rolgar reaches for her hand, and Urzash slaps his arm away. “You know, I like ‘em feisty.” He breeches her personal space, coming far too close as he reaches for her hip.

Urzash lashes out with her right fist, connecting with his jaw. The resounding crack silences the rest of the tavern, and the clink of one impressive tusk cracking off and falling to the stone ground elicits a gasp from the onlooking crowd. Rolgar lifts a trembling hand to feel the stump where there was once a proud tusk. Yes, it would grow back as all orc tusks do, but considering the size it could be a year or more before he’d be back to his normal self. The impotent roar that Rolgar lets out just makes Urzash laugh. He telegraphs his oncoming attack so hard that all Urzash really has to do is use his momentum against him, sidestepping the punch and grabbing him by the arm to make sure he goes down to the floor.

She’s standing on his upper back and has his leading arm by the wrist, twisted and pulled behind him as she moves her foot up until she’s putting pressure on his neck. “What do you want, Rolgar?” Urzash grinds out her response with the very last dregs of her patience, wondering exactly how much trouble she’d be in if she just stepped a little harder and snapped his neck. Would anyone believe she slipped?

Rolgar is coughing on the ground, staring at his own tusk and still internally raging. “Icewing.” The name is enough to get Urzash to lift her boot just enough to ease his talking. “Icewing has been spotted taking to air again, he’s terrorizing the hamlets around Urgaur Stronghold. The party that had claimed to have defeated him merely pilfered from his hoard and left him sleeping.” Urzash roars but throws down Rolgar’s arm and steps back, sneering down at him.

“Fucking useless! I told them the Golden Helm company was a fraud. ‘We don’t need a fighter’ they say ‘we do everything quick and quiet, like a knife to the ribs.’ What a bunch of fucking tripe.” Urzash is pacing. Dragons...it’s rare a company gets the chance to pit their strength against the terrifying wrath of a dragon. Fire drakes were the most powerful, but there hadn’t been a fire drake known for at least the last four hundred years. An ice drake was still a formidable and deadly challenge.

“They know, that’s why they’re asking for you.” Rolgar stands and cracks his neck, his languid stretch shows off his lean muscular frame. He’s the epitome of male orcish aesthetics, but Urzash has never been interested in men, especially orc men if what she grew up with was anything to go by. Still, Urgaur Stronghold was her birthplace and home, she couldn’t let this stand.

“Fine, sit, but away from me. We’ll discuss terms.” Urzash kicks a chair out from the table and points at it before taking her own seat back and glancing at the book. Whoever was on the other side had written more, but it would have to wait for now. Closing the journal and putting it in her pack, Urzash gives her full attention to Rolgar as he begins discussing the first attacks and current patterns, along with compensation. He may be a dick but his tactical mind was indeed useful and honed.

They talk into the early hours of the morning, leaving only once a fair deal has been hashed out and handshakes given all around. They’ll set out in two day’s time towards the hoard of Icewing. Now, everyone knows that confronting a dragon head on is sure death. You have to lie in wait, and when the dragon’s guard is down you strike. By the time Urzash climbs into her bunk and pulls the book from her pack it’s been several hours since she last looked at it.

It’s true, mankind seems to think that the metrics by which we measure humanity are the only true things of worth. So nature isn’t considered progress, and personal growth is stymied by this greed and lust for power and control. It’s why I left the city to live here, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I’m Erin, what’s your name?

Sorry if that was too personal, I hope I haven’t run you off!

Then there are some half started letters and spots of ink, but otherwise nothing else. Urzash sighs through her nose, feeling a little bad for ignoring the writer on the other end.

Not run off, just a bit of an emergency to handle. You can call me Ash, many do, short for Urzash. I must go for the evening, but I would like to talk again. You write about many things that confuse me but I want to learn. Like what are these unreliable things called cars you hate so much? And this internet thing sounds usefu...

Urzash is truly too tired to think much about what she’s writing, and her handwriting slowly devolves until she falls asleep with the book propped next to her and quill staining the sheets.

#my writing #camp nanowrimo #camp nano july 2019 #nanowriting #female orc #named character #waterfalls and whirlpools #lesbian love #lesbian fiction #lesbian romance

24 notes · View notes

elijahmillenniummikaelson · 7 years ago

Note

✩ for Sienna x Elijah!

Send ‘✩’ for the following:Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Probably Sienna since Elijah has an intermediate step in which he initially lowers his voice to a sharp, threatening warning when he is disagreeing with someone. Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Sienna. Which doesn’t mean she doesn’t absolutely succeeds in riling him up every time. Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Elijah. Mostly because in spite of everything he does he still has an obsession with technically keeping his word. Emphasis on technically. Mostly he just exits the room so the warning is fulfilled and immediately after returns with a vengeance like a drama king. Who trashes the house? If things escalate to that level I suspect Sienna would take advantage of at least one of Elijah’s unique items collections in order to force him into playing juggler for a moment. Do either of them get physical? Sure…In the sense that their disagreements religiously end when one of them begins to passionately kiss the other as if there was no tomorrow. How often do they argue/disagree? Surprisingly next to never from what we have seen until now. They playfully tease and taunt each other constantly but In spite of their tempers they seem to be too fervently attracted to the other’s supposedly worst qualities to actually have a classical fight. Who is the first to apologize? Both Sienna and Elijah: “…What the hell is an apology?”

Sex:Who is on top? Elijah has a predilection for utterly overwhelming her with pleasure and discover what kinds of pleading and raging moans he can find in the process so his first instinct is towards an active position but I suspect the reverse also occurs pretty often.Who is on the bottom? I don’t think anyone is “on the bottom” from their perspective. They are either taking and consuming the other in satisfaction or receiving the thrilling, passionate bliss they obviously deserve. Who has the strangest desires?…Define strangeAny kinks? Who? Them? No! I think it is obvious these two, morally sound citizens are pretty vanilla. XDWho’s dominant in bed? “Elijah has a predilection for utterly overwhelming her with pleasure and discover what kinds of pleading and raging moans he can find…”Is head ever in the equation? Is it ever not?If so, who is better at performing it?…Let’s not make those two compete with each other. Ever had sex in public? Well….Considering the level of hiding involved in their connection and how impatient they can get….One could assume…Who moans the most? “Elijah has a predilection for utterly overwhelming her with pleasure and discover what kinds of pleading and raging moans he can find…”Who leaves the most marks? Tsk tsk…What did we just say about competitions? We are adding fuel to the fire.Who screams the loudest? “Elijah has a predilection for utterly overwhelming her with pleasure and discover what kinds of pleading and raging moans he can find…”Who is the more experienced of the two? Probably Elijah by merit of age.Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Hmm…Elijah would diplomatically quote “To define is to limit”Rough or soft? Fervidly intense, lustful and steamy as a general rule. Sometimes surprisingly soft and caring. Neither of them mention the implications of the second kind too much.How long do they usually last? Hours if they are supposed to have only twenty minutes together. Twenty minutes if they are supposed to have hours. Then they can go for a whole packet of rounds.Is protection used? YesDoes it ever get boring? Ha-HaWhere is the strangest place they’d have sex? Now these questions are challenging them? What little common sense!

Family:Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Their current relationship goals include not dying for Elijah and not initiating a mob war for Sienna. If so, how many children do your muses want/have? I think I need to give an answer for the next few questions to make sense so on the top of my head lets say…A girl and a boy? The girl could have been spoiled beyond measure and in consequence be even more entitled, arrogant and adorably egocentric than the two of them combined and just for the fun and potential hilarious situations I would say the boy actually seems to be a genuinely noble, kind and compassionate person. No one knows how it happened. No one knows what to do with him. Sienna can choose the names if she wants. lolWho is the favorite parent? For the girl whoever is pampering her more that week. For the boy…Sienna. Who is the authoritative parent? Elijah.Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Both under the right strategy. With Sienna they can explain they meet this really interesting boy/girl or that they have to show the bossy teacher he can’t control them. With Elijah they can tell him they have a clever seven step plan that includes manipulation, deceit and betrayal in order to become head cheerleader/ school council president and it is really important for them to be away so no one suspects they are responsible for what they put into motion. Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? That’s not how it works. The rules say 20% of the sweets they bring home automatically go to the parents who also reserve the right to indiscriminately take more of it if they are eating them in public. Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? SiennaWho goes to parent teacher interviews? Either of them. Both if Sienna is in the mood to watch how Elijah sometimes not so subtlety informs the teacher it is in his best interest to ignore those silly rumors about their daughter being a “manipulative and snobby brat who thinks she rules the school” Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Elijah’s job sometimes make him arrive late so he is more naturally active during those hours. Who spends the most time with the children? Sienna for a slight difference. But they do try to do things all together. Who packs their lunch boxes? They actually tried to make the kids their lunch boxes together once…It ended up as a mixture of lobster tartlets, lollipops, strawberry juice and a double cheese hamburger. They were incredibly proud of themselves. Both of the kids asked for lunch money from that day onward.Who gives their children ‘the talk’? The school if they have any luck. Who cleans up after the kids? The same service that cleans up after the parents.Who worries the most? Elijah worries about the boy and how little he seems to be made for the family business quite frequently. Sienna is the only one with enough influence over the two of them as to make them see more or less eye to eye sometimes. Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Sienna.

Affection:Who likes to cuddle? Cuddling just…Sort of…Happens. It is not to be questioned.Who is the little spoon? Sienna.Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Most places are inappropriate for them. Sienna appears to have a certain tendency towards that behavior and making him go crazy with it but Elijah isn’t precisely innocent either. Who struggles to keep their hands to themself? Both How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Not-To-Be-Questioned.What is their favourite non-sexual activity? I believe they would greatly enjoy travelling together if they were under different circumstancesWhere is their favourite place to cuddle? Apparently “Inappropriate places”Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? 49% Elijah 51% SiennaHow often do they get time to themselves? As often as they sneakily create it.

Sleeping:Who snores? No one. The closest is Sienna softly breathing from her nose while she is sleeping sometimes which Elijah finds mutely charmingIf both do, who snores the loudest? -Do they share a bed or sleep separately? They sleep on the same bed when they can be certain they can get away with it. If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Again with the closeness questions…Cozy positions just happen sometimes. No need to over-analyzeWho talks in their sleep? Sienna. Elijah listens intently if he is awake as if she were reciting the most fascinating novel. What do they wear to bed? Whatever little remains of what they were wearing before the wild inferno of a night together occurred.Are either of your muses insomniacs? Elijah has some trouble sleeping but he never recognizes it out loud. Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? No.Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? ….Repeat after me meme: Proximity. Just. Happens. It is like magic. Who wakes up with bed hair? If they don’t have it when they wake up they can still win it by their way of awakening the other. Who wakes up first? It varies. Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? If Elijah can’t sleep he might try to improvise making something edible for her. Who hogs the sheets? Sienna. Elijah freely allows her to win that battle but still tease her about it. Do they set an alarm each night? Only if they have anything to do the next day.Can a television be found in their bedroom? YesWho has nightmares? Both of them occasionally.Who has ridiculous dreams? Sienna. Elijah listens to every single one of them intently and suggests meanings for them with interest as if they were the best stories he ever heard.Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Sienna.Who makes the bed? Depends on whose bed it is.What time is bed time? There is no bed time. Only chaos.Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Elijah the days he doesn’t sleep.

Work:Who is the busiest? ElijahWho rakes in the highest income? Exclusively out of working? Elijah. I don’t quite know who has more money between Sienna’s family and Elijah. I usually try to write her father as a mafia boss currently above him in status and position so the danger of them getting discovered is real but by a minimal difference.Are any of your muses unemployed?….Technically speaking and as far as the law is concerned.Who takes the most sick days? If they don’t want to do something they don’t do it. No sick day status necessary. Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Elijah but only if Sienna is involved.Who sucks up to their boss? Neither.What are their jobs? Who is asking?Who stresses the most? Elijah sees it all as a big game he will eventually be the conquering winner of and reading her bio again Sienna only helps with her family’s business in innocent things like the books if she feeling like it so…Neither. Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? Elijah enjoys it immensely. Sienna does as she wants so I assume she likes it too.Are your muses financially stable? Legally speaking? They are poor souls barely making it. Extra-officially? Have a bag of cash and don’t ask questions.

Home:Who does the washing? These are if they lived together right? It doesn’t make much sense otherwise. The staff.Who takes out the trash? Unless we are talking about a mafia “taking out the trash” expression…The staff.Who does the ironing? Staff.Who does the cooking? If he is in a specially good mood Elijah will try to cook pasta for her. Mainly as a private joke related to her Italian mafia lineage stereotype but he actually puts incredible amounts of never admitted effort into improving it each time it happens.Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? The two of them together. They have a lot more fun but are also considerably more destructive when they try to act as normal people together. Who is messier? Elijah is better at pretending he isn’t but they are probably at the same level. Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? A bad job from the staff.Who is the prankster around the house? Sienna starts the prank wars but Elijah hasn’t been a pacifist about it once. Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? Sienna pretended to lose them once and challenged Elijah to quickly get them a new vehicle without calling any of his employees. They still have an extra car the previous owner never dared to report stolen after Elijah nonchalantly stopped him to have a chat that day.Who answers the telephone? Staff. Unless Elijah is waiting for something important work-relatedWho does the vacuuming? S-T-A-F-FWho takes the longest to shower? The one who enters the shower first that day. They tend to share them.

Miscellaneous:Is money a problem? Yes! They have too much for the world to be safeHow many cars do they own? At least two based on the last section…Probably more.Do they own their home or do they rent? They don’t currently live together.Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? If they lived together…They would probably have several properties.Do they live in the city or in the country? Several properties. City as the main oneDo they enjoy their surroundings? If they don’t they go to another of their properties. Come on. Catch up with me test. Where did they first meet? Hmm…Based on the first starter I ever replied to I believe you wrote Sienna knew him since she was young so…Perhaps at some fancy party while Elijah was still only an aspiring mob boss working under someone else that gallantly called Sienna the princess of the celebration when they were introduced to score some points with her father? Does that sound good?How did they first meet? Test…We just discussed this. Pay attention!Who spends the most money when out shopping? Sienna. Any mental issues? I mean…There must be something but…They are only a danger to others and not themselves. XDWho’s terrified of bugs? Terrified?…Neither probably. You would have to confirm Sienna’s position. Who kills the spiders around the house? Elijah making a big white knight protecting his lady performance out of it. Who pays the bills? ElijahDo they have any fears for their future? Wise precaution and implemented strategy but not fear. Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? ElijahWho uses up all of the hot water? Most showers are together as previously stated. If not…Both of themWho’s the tallest? ElijahWho’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Test…Are you mocking me?Who wanders around in their underwear? Sienna to Elijah’s eternal provocation and delight. Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Sienna. Elijah finds it enthralling beyond belief and weirdly adorable.What do they tease each other about? Each and every single subject under the face of the earthWho is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times?…Neither? I think. If Sienna hates any of his suits this is her time to speak.Do they have mutual friends? Elijah doesn’t really have friends as much as pawns. But he makes a conscious effort to be gentle with someone if Sienna introduces them as her friend. Who crushed first? …I don’t really know. Again I am in need of Sienna’s perspective. Any alcohol or substance related problems? It isn’t a problem.Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am?…Equal opportunity and chances for a duo performance sometimes. Who swears the most? Sienna.

#thedreaaamteam #Mob!Verse

2 notes · View notes

petitalbert-blog · 7 years ago

Photo

Albert’s Magical Library #7

Witchcraft Today - Gerald Gardener (1954)

Odd, messy, maddening history of witchcraft and its revival - with a very unreliable narrator. Completionists only.

Spurred on by @judd051 comment that Valiente's account of the rebirth of witchcraft isn't necessarily accurate, I made this my next read. Gardener isn't as fluid a writer - it reads like a first draft History is the art of interpretation. Solid facts are few and far between. Good history consists of taking good evidence and explaining how it forms a narrative. Bad history is Witchcraft Today: a jumble of un-sourced history, pseudohistory, surmises, guesses and facts. In history class, you learn how to analyse sources: who wrote this? Why? Are they reliable? Are they biased? Were they writing at the time? What experience or expertise did they have? This is a truly maddening book, which tells you far more about ideas current at the time and ideas Gardener wants you to believe than actual history. Gardener is an unreliable source. He takes as fact many sources which have since been disproven - Margaret Murray, and some Da Vinci Code level ideas about the Templars. He is very credulous - at no point in this book do we see him reflecting on reliability. For all that Valiente's conclusions could have been wrong - at least we see her, within her own book, asking questions like “...but what evidence is there for this?”, and willing to debunk ideas held by those around her. This book presents Gardener's key belief - that the witch trials were distorted views of a surviving ancient Pagan faith, which exists in an unbroken lineage to the present day, which he was initiated into. I've mellowed a lot on this viewpoint since reading more primary texts. Young Albert thought it was bunk. Older Albert thinks there are grains of truth in all three, but these grains have been taken out of all proportion. I think it's plausible that non-Christian nature faiths and folk witchcraft traditions existed in Tudor times, although most people persecuted as witches were not members of that faith, nor was it one unified Religion as we would understand it today. I think the survival of witch customs in local history and families is undeniable, although I think claims to long lineages are unlikely. I think Gardener probably was initiated into a cult involving others, from which he built his own traditions. How you feel about the book will rely heavily on how you feel about these ideas. Still, aside from that, he also believes in some right shit. He still believes in one, universal religion which unites the Greeks and the English and pretty much everyone. He believes that vodou looks so similar to European Witchcraft because it is wholly based on it, rather than the more sensible view that folk faiths and trad crafts and spirit traditions have organically grown up along similar lines (he shows limited understanding of how African continental traditions were the root of African diaspora religions, and limited enthusiasm for the idea that Black people have created their own religions rather than simply copying from the whites). He thinks legends of fairies and elves come from the real existence of a race of pygmies living in the Isle of Man. All these horsecrap ideas are presented as fact, and they are certainly of interest to Wiccans and scholar/librarian/research types as they reveal the ideas and influences on Gardener as he developed his Craft, ideas which continue to influence Pagan/Occult traditions today. And there is such a grab-bag of ideas that doubtless, some of it will run near to the craft you do - there's an especially strong focus on witch trials and folkloric witchcraft throughout, which trad types will like. But you can't mistake any of this for serious history. Above all: whenever Gardener has a question about contemporary witchcraft, he says “I asked my witch friends and they told me...”. Is this concrete evidence that yes, Gardener was initiated into an unbroken lineage of witches? Or is it self-promotion, invention to bolster up his claims? Are “my friends say...” really another way of him saying “I think”? How could we ever tell? When Valiente writes about Crowley's influence on the original rites, she writes that she thinks Gardener copied bits of it. That seems plausible. When Gardener writes about out, he assumes the position of a historian asking “now why are these things so similar...? How interesting!", and comes to the conclusion that Crowley was initiated into the witch cult and was inspired by it. I don't trust him one jot. Despite my misgivings, this book is its best when Gardener is talking about the present day. The last four chapters are pretty riveting. “My friends tell me that...” WHO. WHO ARE THEY GERALD. Still, here are all these snippets about what the New Forest Coven was supposedly doing, and they are all strange enough to have a ring of truth. They're just too weird and incomplete to be made up. I want to sit him down and demand more details. There's a lovely description of where the legend of witches turning into animals comes from:

I have asked witches what is the origin of the story of their turning into animals. To them it is only a joke; but they have memories of confused stories that at times they would play sorts of games, much as children do. If they were going across country, for instance, they would say: 'Let us go as hares,' and try to imitate hares running; or as goats, butting each other, or as deer; and there is a suggestion that in the burning time they were told: 'If you see anyone behaving as an animal, they have become an animal. If questioned, say you saw no man, but only a hare, or a goat, etc., because if you simply lied and said you saw no one they might know you lied, but if you said you saw some goats, and believed it, you had the resemblance of truth, even under torture.'

He also recounts some ideas about reincarnation, and specifically the need to placate the gods so you will be reincarnated back into your tribe, that I've genuinely never encountered before. I remember “Some Wiccans believe in reincarnation” from geocities, but this is the first time I've seen specific ideas about reincarnation written down, and they are very peculiar and unique. I appreciated reading his from-the-horses-mouth explanation of the gender polarity in Wicca - original Wicca was imagined as exclusively covens of male-female romantic couples, or two singles, as romance would inevitably blossom between them. The implication is both that a romantic/sexual connection is crucial for magic, and that cannot exist between two men or women. This is such a love-to-hate book. I'm glad to have read it, and I will definitely revisit the last couple of chapters for ideas in future. All the same - I fundamentally don't trust a word that comes out of his mouth. So much of it is so clearly inaccurate or lies that it's then hard to evaluate any of it as true. It's infuriating, because Gardener clearly has a lot of information and I wish I knew what in here I could trust. Fascinating, but for completionists only.

#Albert's magical library #witchcraft books #pagan books #gerald gardener

18 notes · View notes

alluring-skull · 8 years ago

Text

I Can’t See You But I Know You’re There, Part 1

The other day I got in one of my meandering twitter rants about game stories and listed (without further comment) a bunch of games which I feel handle the player’s “connection” and interactions with the characters in unique ways. I’ve meant to write about several of these narratives and really stalled on at least a couple, so I’ll kick off with the one I suppose is the easiest in some sense: Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean.

There’s a lot of aspects of the game (and its prequel) which are arguably worth commenting on, particularly since the first game as a whole is much more “interesting” than it is actually enjoyable to play through. (Origins is, well, more fun and less interesting, so it's kind of balanced out.) Still, this post has large spoilers for what I think most people would consider the most interesting parts of the game, so, you know, if that concerns you you might want to not continue.

Within the game, the player is represented as a kind of spirit, who’s “bonded” to the evident main character, Kalas. (He has blue hair, fights with a sword, and is the first character you meet, so the implications are pretty obvious.) Kalas asks for your name and gender, and from then on you basically control him on the map and so on like you would any other main character. During certain cutscenes, he and the other characters will ask you questions pertaining to the current situation, or otherwise remark on your presence, but over time, particularly due to his character traits, your limited participation in the story, and the number of really time-consuming battles you have to play through, it’s easy to slowly forget that Kalas is not actually supposed to be the player’s avatar.

Eventually, during the whole process of traveling the world and collecting plot macguffins, one of the critical items is discovered to be missing. It’s clear that a member of the group is a traitor, though the characters find themselves unable to determine who it is. (In a much smaller interesting bit, the “Key Item” list is updated immediately upon the scene where the first betrayal happens. I suspect it’s not a common habit among JRPG players to check it so aggressively, especially since I can’t think of another game which does this without telling the player, but it’s a cool detail. The game eventually flashes back to this moment, so if you were to somehow play the game a second time, it’d be easy to see.)

Ultimately, the traitor is revealed to be Kalas himself, and he attacks the party and breaks his bonds to you, causing the scene to black out. Shortly after, the game’s main heroine manages to connect to you, and you become “bonded” to her instead for a substantial portion of the game. Eventually, Kalas returns, repents and is more or less forgiven, and returns to regular “main character” type duties-which is ultimately not very surprising, this being a JRPG and all-but it doesn’t really diminish the impact of that initial twist, which upends the game narrative in a truly unique way.

Gust’s later Surge Concerto series runs a somewhat similar setup in a different, sci-fi centric direction (your vita/console setup is presented as a computer terminal with a transdimensional connection to other terminals in the game setting). MORE SPOILERS, although seriously these games are worse in every possible way than Baten Kaitos (as much as I love Akiko Shikata’s music and singing) and full of distasteful anime cliches and jokes despite a handful of bright spots. I don’t remotely recommend playing unless you enjoy getting queerbaited super hard or something.

In the first game, Ciel nosurge, your terminal is just a stationary computer; the plot of the game is mostly backstory leading up to the main character’s imprisonment in a surreal stasis world, while she tries in the present to build a robot to house the terminal and help her escape. As it’s more or less a visual novel and has never been localized, I haven’t played it, but as I understand it the game presents fake error messages to players to end certain scenes and frequently gates overall progress (in both plotlines) by realtime, meaning it takes several weeks to actually get through the entire thing.

The sequel, Ar nosurge, is an RPG where you play as the now-finished robot (with magical backup from the heroine), but also promotes a pair of younger minor characters named Delta and Casty from Ciel (now...older teenagers, I guess) to main characters. You switch between the two parties frequently, which, again, quickly feels “normal,” particularly if you aren’t familiar with the previous story (after all, Final Fantasy VI had parts like this!). Ultimately the game begins manipulating the player directly, as the main villain begins to break the fourth wall and at one point directly explains how the plot is going to progress, leading up to Delta breaking the remote control over him. In parallel scenes, the robot is destroyed, with its head (the computer) stolen, while Delta argues with the player before kicking them out of his brain. (”I just want to play this bad game,” a dialogue option protests. It doesn’t work.) Eventually, he decides there’s no other option to defeat the villains and lets the player back in, leading to the assembly of a new robot, and the plot returns to more-or-less normal modes of progression.

Overall, I’m really interested in game narratives which directly manipulate the player, whether it’s via guilt (something like Shadow of the Colossus) or other emotions and interactions. I’m hoping that writing out this post will give me a good lead-off to the next one, which I’ve been trying to write for ages, But maybe it will become a sad, orphaned Part 1 with no sequel.

See you next time?

#baten kaitos #monolith soft #gust #ar nosurge #surge concerto

3 notes · View notes