#I'm not much a fan of when a movie with a female main character comes out and suddenly all girls act like it is a universal experience

[repurposedmeatlocker]

I maybe should watch Ladybird again and see how it holds up to me. I remember when I first saw it, I was around the same age that the main character was. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t necessarily connect to it as much as some other people seemed to. Don’t get me wrong some parts definitely hit close to home. The stress about university, tension with the mother that still encapsulates some form of care and love. Yeah I got that. Other parts though, not so much idk.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Since you're familiar with tokusatsu actors and their journeys into BL, what kinds of careers historically have tokusatsu actors had as they start to get more credits and mature?

Thank you for the ask! This is a great question. It’s something I’ve been curious about for a while, as you know.

I never get tired of this gif of Seto Toshiki (a Kamen Rider alum with two BLs under his belt) eating cake. (It's from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, which he starred in with Iijima Hiroki of Our Dining Table fame.)

Oh, I should probably say at the outset that I'm talking about the suit transformation type of tokusatsu shows here. Technically the category is broader and also includes kaiju movies, but I'm focusing here on the kind of tokusatsu series in which human characters (or human-like ones) transform into masked heroes. I think that's what you had in mind, Ben, and it's the type of tokusatsu that tends to overlap with the BL world.

Another thing you'll notice is that I'm mostly going to talk about men here. Tokusatsu has been making some progress as a genre when it comes to gender equity, but it still has a long way to go. And since most of the progress that has happened, like the increase in female Riders, has been in the last few years, the actors who played those characters haven't had much of a subsequent career yet.

Now, to your question.

Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to really look at this systematically. So, definitely take my conclusions with a grain of salt. (If anyone reading this knows more about this or has thoughts about how to get more/better info, I'd love to hear them.) The main source of information I have--aside from just soaking stuff up from watching tokusatsu shows and reading toku fans' tumblrs, of course--is looking at toku actors’ entries on MDL and seeing how many roles they’ve gotten, if they’re “guest,” “support,” or “main” roles, and trying to find out about the type of shows and movies they’re in.

One of the biggest weaknesses to this approach as an American viewer is that it's usually hard for me to tell what constitutes a popular or prestigious series or film even if I go to the listings for specific shows/films. I should also note that one thing that biases my “data” (to use the term loosely) is the fact that I’m more likely to look up this information about actors I like. Well, occasionally I’ll also look at info on some sample of actors out of curiosity, like a bunch of lead Ultraman actors’ subsequent careers or something like that. But it's usually more random.

A little background. As you're aware, tokusatsu roles often go to younger actors who don't have much previous experience. They tend to function both as a way of getting a foothold in the industry (building a resume, starting a fanbase, etc.) and as a way of learning on the job. Part of the reason they work so well in this regard is that they have long seasons. Ultraman seasons are typically around 25 episodes long, which is pretty long compared to many shows in Japan, but Kamen Rider and Super Sentai seasons are usually around 50 episodes long. This means two things: a toku part gets you a lot more of the aforementioned work experience than you'd get in other genres, and it provides a solid year of consistent work with additional work to follow (particularly hard to come by in Japan's entertainment industry, from what I understand). The additional work is substantial, too. There are typically post-series TV movies and touring live shows and there are often guest spots on other series in your franchise.

When it comes to landing other roles, as in other types of media, it makes a big difference what type of role you had. This is stating the obvious, I know, but there are some specific ways this works with tokusatsu series, and it relates to who ends up in BLs and in what capacity. So, all of the big three tokusatsu franchises are pretty ensemble-based but they still have distinct leads and some degree of a hierarchy of roles. Ultraman has the strongest leads, Kamen Rider has lead/title Riders and secondary (and often tertiary) Riders, and Super Sentai shows are especially ensemble-y (the word sentai basically means "squad," after all) but they always have some kind of group leader.

When I look up subsequent work by tokusatsu actors who had sizable roles in their toku series--lead roles, or other parts that are what MDL would call "main" roles--what I see most often is a lot of supporting and guest roles in a variety of TV shows and some films. You can usually find a smattering of lead roles as well, but if you look closely they may turn out to be smaller productions (but not always). When it comes to the number/frequency of credits, there's a lot of variation but an average case would be 2-3 such credits per year. Like I mentioned above, it's hard for me to tell how desirable/prestigious/well-paying those guest and supporting roles are. But they don't usually seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel or anything. So, yeah. Lots of these actors have different paths, but this is what I see most frequently.

Given how challenging it is to make a career out of acting in Japan, this is nothing to sneeze at. Despite its relative influence, the Japanese entertainment industry is still comparatively small, and there are only so many opportunities. In that context, regularly getting guest and supporting gigs constitutes a pretty uncommon level of success.

Could these folks support themselves on this amount of work? I often see just a few credits per year, so maybe not. But when I like a one of these actors enough to follow them on socials, it usually seems like they are supplementing those parts with other stuff like stage plays, toku fan appearances, modeling gigs, or other types of performance including music. Even with these different sources of income, some probably still can't live on their entertainment industry pay alone. But it appears that some can.

So that's the most common thing. One less common outcome is leaning really hard into being a tokusatsu actor for life. It's not typical to get significant roles in multiple toku shows, but it does happen. And some actors manage to play the same character in a lot of post-series movies, miniseries, etc. stretching out for years after their actual series. For example, Tsuruno Takeshi, who played Ultraman Dyna's human host Shin Asuka, has been in ten different Ultraman things including his main series, a short series, a lot of TV movies, and a special. Dyna aired in 1997, and his last appearance as Asuka was fairly recent, in 2016. That's almost a 20-year span. Yet Tsuruno has never had a non-Ultraman main character part. (Though this is partly because he seems to have focused more on his music career and related variety show type things post-Dyna.) There are even some actors who are tokusatsu superfans whose whole career plan is centered on the genre from the get-go.

For those who are looking to branch out, there are a lot of trajectories. So I'll try to talk about some of them through a few examples.

Takeda Kouhei

You probably knew I was going to bring him up. On Kamen Rider Kiva, Takeda's character was important but not the lead (he played the main character's father in the 1980s, in a timeline that ran parallel to the present day one). That was in 2008, when he was 22. Nine years later, in 2017, he was in Kamen Rider Build, in which he was the "tertiary" Rider. This character was a potato farmer-turned-antihero. As tertiary Riders go, he was pretty popular. But Takeda seemed to be mostly hovering at a certain level at that point. Then Old Fashion Cupcake happened. It's significant that he went from playing supporting characters (albeit important ones) to a lead character in OFC. It's also helpful that OFC came out at a point when the prestige of BLs was on the rise. It seems like Takeda has had more consistent and larger parts since then. The difference isn't night and day or anything, but it's observable.

If you look at Takeda's Build costars, Inukai Atsuhiro and Akaso Eiji, here’s what you'll find. Akaso has a similar trajectory to Takeda's only somewhat steeper. His role on Build (the secondary Rider) was a bit bigger, he seemed to get slightly bigger roles overall after Build, and Cherry Magic gave him a significant boost from there. Inukai had a bigger upswing early on followed by slower growth that still had him outstripping both Akaso and Takeda. From what I can tell, his “data” more closely resembles that of Yamada Yuki, who I’ll talk about in a second, though they have different niches.

Suda Masaki

Suda Masaki was only 16 when he played the main rider in Kamen Rider W in 2009, which is unusually young. (W has a unique premise where two different people inhabit the same Rider, so Suda played a lead rider but so did his costar Kiriyama Renn.) From what I can tell, he seems to have had a pretty organic path to larger and larger roles while varying genres and styles quite a bit. At this point he's definitely a very respected actor. (One interesting bit of trivia: Hagiwara Riku has said Suda is his biggest acting role model.) He's won two Japan Academy Film Prizes and been nominated three more times. I don't know of a more successful ex-tokusatsu lead. Actually, I looked him up for this post to fill in some details and found out for the first time that he also has a pretty successful career as a jpop musician. It's almost annoying that he's that talented in yet another area.

I don't see any indication that Suda has ever played a queer character, though he has definitely done some pretty bromantic stuff. He did kiss a man once in a drama series, but it was for plot reasons and was 100% played for laughs in a gross way. He also played a gender nonconforming character in the 2014 live action version of Princess Jellyfish. (Another bit of trivia: when another live action adaptation of Princess Jellyfish was released in 2018, the same character was played by another former lead Rider, Seto Koji from Kiva.) I wouldn't put it past Suda to play a queer character, if it was for a highbrow movie or something analogous to what Nishijima Hidetoshi has done in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but I'm also not holding my breath.

Yamada Yuki

A less extreme case. Yamada was on Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. He was the blue member of the team, a soldier-turned-pirate. It may have helped Yamada along later on that Gokaiger is an especially popular Sentai series. Post-Gokaiger, Yamada didn't have any sort of big breakout role that I can find. It just seems like fairly soon after Gokaiger, he started having significant roles in TV dramas and has pretty much continued from there, with some upward momentum but no huge changes. When he was in a drama with Akaso Eiji recently, his part was first billed and a smidge bigger. Yamada's trend line seemed to have a biggish upward swing early and then just a slight slope from there. But I just saw him in something different: he plays the younger member of the minesweeper crew in Godzilla Minus One. I wonder if that will mark any sort of shift for him.

Yamada hasn't played any queer characters as far as I can tell. His Sentai role was shippy as hell, though. It's a tradition among Sentai shows that subtext-level queer ships happen between the red and blue team members, and that's exactly what happened in Gokaiger. Sometimes the subtext pretty much became text. If magazine images from that time are any indication, their relationship seems to have been a promotional angle for the show. There's even one where they seem to be in some kind of high school AU that looks like it's straight out of a BL.

what about women?

I tried looking up a few women I know from tokusatsu roles while I was looking up these and other dudes. Some of them were still in the business, at least. Some were getting the same trickle of guest and supporting parts a lot of men do after a tokusatsu show. A few had a slightly bigger trickle. But many of them seemed to have disappeared from the public eye entirely. Not only are women underrepresented in tokusatsu, and not only are their roles often relatively small and two-dimensional, but it doesn't seem like they get even a slight career boost after these roles.

It's possible this will change for some of the actors who got bigger, more interesting toku roles in recent years. Here's hoping!

The changing relationship between tokusatsu and BL

The relationship between tokusatsu and BL has been changing as BL gains more prestige, like I alluded to when I talked about Takeda Kouhei. There was a time when they seemed to be pretty analogous in terms of how hard it was to get a role and how effective they were as rungs on a career ladder. If you went from being a tokusatsu side character to a BL lead (like Takeda), that was a step up, but only because you were shifting from a supporting spot to a lead one. Tokusatsu leads usually didn't usually do BL or, when they did, only played straight supporting roles. I think it was seen as a lateral move. But now, BL is becoming a very established next step after tokusatsu. It's like BL has moved up in status so that the consensus is that it's above tokusatsu on the ladder, but just by a little bit. It's also kind of an organic transition since we're seeing more queer ships in tokusatsu that, while they mostly happen on a subtext level, are close to being canon (and in some cases, arguably already are). It occurred to me while I was writing this that there's also another type of role that is in a similar zone of accessibility and prestige to both tokusatsu and BL. It's a franchise, not a genre, but with so many movies and such huge casts it almost functions like a genre for the purpose of this discussion. I'm talking about the High&Low movies. If you're a fan of tokusatsu or BL, you'll see actors you know in every High&Low movie and if you're a fan of both, you'll see tons.

Case in point: Here's our ol’ pal Yamada Yuki. He's in quite a few High&Low installments. If only he’d do a BL and complete the trifecta! The only person I know of offhand who’s done a tokusatsu show, a BL, and a High&Low role is Takeda. I bet there are others, though.

the new (?) prestige tokusatsu

There's another piece to this I should probably point out as well. In recent years there have been some more high-budget, prestigious takes on existing tokusatsu properties. First, Anno Hideaki, who's best known for the Evangelion anime series/films, put out three live action features that are new, well-financed takes on three big tokusatsu properties: Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider.

Last year there was also a Kamen Rider series geared toward adults that had higher-than-usual production values called Kamen Rider Black Sun. It did that “you can tell our show is for adults because it's all gritty and grimdark" thing, which I'm not a fan of. But it definitely had its points.

Really distinguished actors starred in both the Shin movies and Black Sun, including Nishijima Hidetoshi, who's about as distinguished as it gets. Nishijima was in both Shin Ultraman (in an important supporting role) and Black Sun (as a co-protagonist--and he's the biggest highlight of the series). So these are examples of toku media that are too prestigious to be a springboard into the industry for most actors.

This seems to be a new phenomenon, though I could be wrong about that. I don’t expect the trend will continue at this pace (after all, so much of it is attributable to Anno alone and I don't think he'll continue down this path indefinitely), but I bet some other shows/movies in this vein will come out sooner or later.

Here’s Nishijima doing a henshin sequence. He does these moves with such commitment. Is there anything he can't do?

before tokusatsu

As I was writing this, it got me thinking about what actors do before their tokusatsu roles as well as after. It's not uncommon for toku roles to be someone's debut, but that's not really the norm. Even when it is, most of those actors were doing something in the realm of performing or modeling beforehand. I don't usually look at this sort of information as much as I do later roles when I'm investigating toku actors I like. So I looked up some people to try to get a sense of where the actors tend to have done before their toku parts.

There's one starting point that a whole bunch of tokusatsu leads share: winning the Junon Super Boy Contest. When I first saw references to it, I thought, OK, this is some kind of national talent contest. I guess there are probably lots of them. But when I looked for others, I didn't see anything come up. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places or using the right search terms. But I think maybe this contest might be pretty unique in Japan.

It's run by a magazine called Junon and, well, if I describe how it works it's going to sound really familiar to you and anyone else who's seen Utsukushii Kare, because it's pretty much exactly the contest Kiyoi participates in. Like, if it's not what Nagira Yuu was thinking of when she wrote that part of the UK novel, I'll eat my shoe.

A ton of tokusatsu leads won, placed in, or made it to the finals of that contest. The Tokupedia fan wiki even has its own page dedicated to the contest with links to various winners' toku characters. The majority of Junon Super Boy contestants who ended up in a toku series went to Kamen Rider, but there are some Sentai dudes as well and at least one Ultraman lead.

So I guess if Kiyoi had won that contest, he probably would have ended up on Kamen Rider or something. Weird.

Inukai Atsuhiro and Iijima Hiroki both won that contest. Those are the only two Junon Boys (that's what people call the contest winners) who became tokusatsu actors and were on a BL that I know of right off the top of my head. But it seems likely that there are other toku-and-BL or just BL actors who won, placed, or made it to the finals of this contest.

Other dudes who ended up on tokusatsu shows started out in other ways. Some were simply signed to agencies as actors. There's a fair number of them who were in idol groups. (Though when an idol/ex-idol is looking for a gig as a transition into acting, BLs seem to be a more popular choice.) Some mostly did modeling prior to their toku series. Some already had quite a few acting credits, though usually not very big ones. Although he's a Junon Super Boy winner, Inukai had eight other acting credits before Kamen Rider. Takeda had the same number, and he started young--his first credit is for a TV show that came out when he was 10 (though it took another six years to get a second).

I also looked up some women who've had prominent roles in tokusatsu shows, including more recent ones. The most frequent things I found when I looked for information on their pre-toku careers were that they had been models or idols (or both). It's also not uncommon for women in toku roles to be former or present gravure models--basically models who pose in bikinis or comparably revealing outfits.

The coolest thing I found was that Imoto Ayaka, who played Igarashi Sakura/Kamen Rider Jeanne, was an award-winning ballet dancer. Which is not only incredibly cool but makes a lot of sense in terms of preparation for a tokusatsu hero role.

I mean, just check out this henshin.

Well, this has gotten ridiculously long. Sorry about that. I may have gotten a little carried away. But thanks again for the question.

And now, I have something to write for @wen-kexing-apologist...

[nicoline1998enilocin]

''Yer a wizard, Bucky!''

PAIRING | Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

WORD COUNT | 1.9K

SUMMARY | You've been a fan of the Harry Potter franchise for as long as you can remember, and you're finally introducing Bucky to the Wizarding World you grew up with. Little did you know he would quickly become just as obsessed with it as you had been all these years.

WARNING(S) | Small spoiler-alert for the Harry Potter franchise. No major events mentioned, but there are some plot points discussed.

A/N | Hi all, this is my first one-shot for Bucky, so I thought it would be nothing short of fitting that I'd make it a Harry Potter themed one, especially since I'm a huge Potterhead myself. In this story I will write Bucky as a Hufflepuff because 1) I am a proud member of the Hufflepuff house and 2) I feel like that's where he would fit the most, but I respect other opinions too if you think another house would be more fitting ;) Enjoy!

Likes and reblogs will be very much appreciated 💜

Main Masterlist | Bucky Barnes Masterlist

You have been a fan of Harry Potter and everything to do with the Wizarding World for as long as you can remember, so it would be only a matter of time before your super soldier boyfriend would be subjected to your passion too. He read the Hobbit when it first came out, so it isn't a reach to assume he would be into this as well, and boy, did he get into it!

It all started simple enough, by suggesting you'd watch the movies together on your weekly movie night as a couple. ''C'mon, I think you would absolutely love these movies. I know you already likes fantasy stories, so you'll enjoy this too!'' you said when you put on Harry Potter and the Philisopher's Stone. Even though this is not your favorite, you can still quote the entire movie line by line much to the joy of Bucky.

The two of you settle into the couch together with your most comfy clothing, a blanket, steaming cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and your favorite snacks. Bucky knows you're a big fan, and absolutely supports you a hundred percent in your obession, but he did get curious what it was all about. All he knew is that it was about wizards and stuff like that, but that was really the extent of it.

''Are you ready to get your mind blown by the most amazing movie franchise ever?!'' you asked him excited and you couldn't wait to start the first movie. As soon as you started the movie, your eyes were glued to the screen and Bucky couldn't help but steal little glances every now and again to see your trance like state, forgetting all and everything around you, silently mumbling the lines along with the characters.

When you reached the part where Hagrid comes to pick up Harry on his birthday, you say ''Yer a wizard, Bucky!'' and get into a huge fit of laughter together, and the movie almost seems forgotten, until the point of the sorting ceremony, and you direct his interest to the screen again. ''Oh oh, this is one of my favorite parts!'' you say when Professor McGonagall starts her speech before the sorting ceremony and your eyes are fixated on the screen once again.

When the movie is over, you look at Bucky expectingly and you are really curious what he thought of it so far. ''So...? What did you think?'' you said and you threw the blanket off the both of you, straddling his lap so you can look him directly into his eyes. ''It was amazing right? Please tell me you love it?!'' you said with the excitement of a little kid, which made Bucky smirk before giving you a loving kiss on the lips. ''Allright, you want to know what I think? I think it's...'' he starts teasingly, but doesn't finish because he wants to give you more kisses.

You pull away after a few more kisses, and get impatient, really wanting to know what he thinks. ''Bucky, stop with the teasing and tell me already!'' you say with a bit of annoyance laced into your tone. ''Okay, okay!'' he said laughing, ''I did enjoy the movie, but I can't say for sure what I think when I haven't read the books yet. I feel like there was a lot of information missing, and I really want to know more.'' and before he could finish his sentence you were halfway on the way to your bedroom to get your copy of the book.

''Here you go, now you can read it!'' you say with a big smile and you hand him the book. ''But you better be careful with it, it is my only copy.'' you say with a serious face. You give Bucky another kiss and decide to get ready for bed, since you have gotten pretty tired after a long day of work and the movie night. ''Are you coming to bed with me, or are you gonna read?'' you ask, already knowing the answer. ''I'll join you for some reading in bed, how does that sound doll?'' ''Perfect.''

After a few weeks he has absolutely devoured the books, and the movies were even better now that he knew more of the background story. He still had a lot of questions, but you didn't mind answering them, you could talk about it all the time of you got the chance. ''So, after the last movie, I think it would be fun for you to take the sorting quiz as well, see in which house you would belong if you were a part of the Wizarding World. I personally think you would be either a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor.'' you said, secretly hoping he would be a Hufflepuff too, just like yourself.

''Doll? Are you ready to help me with this quiz?'' he asked when he grabbed his laptop. He knew how it worked ofcourse, but he didn't know the last thing about the sorting quiz, so he asked you to help. ''I will be in a minute, hold on!'' you yell from the bathroom, where you decided to put on some Hufflepuff colored lingerie to make the evening more interesting. When you walked out, Buckys jaw went slack as he eyed you up and down, and the quiz was already forgotten by him. ''Doll, you look absolutely gorgeous...'' he said, not knowing where to look because he wanted to see it all.

''You can enjoy all this later, first you have to do the quiz like you promised. This is just a little taste of your reward for when you pass.'' you said teasing with a wink. ''Oh, I am sure I will get more than just a taste later, doll.'' Bucky teased back, earning him a little smack on his chest. ''Quiz, now!'' you said and you pulled up the website for him. After going through it, he was nervous to find out the result. ''I'm kind of nervous to find out the result, what if I get sorted into Slytherin?!'' he asked. ''Well, it's a good thing I really adore your bad side, love.'' you said teasing again.

After a few minutes of making out with each other, you got up for air and he decided to push the button, so he can find out what house he belongs in, and as soon as it shows, he lets out a sigh of relief. ''Thank god I'm not in Slytherin!'' he said, excited to find out he was sorted into Hufflepuff, just like you. ''Well, how appropriate? I think it is time for your reward now!'' you said and softly place a kiss on Bucky's lips, who wasted no time deepening it, before lifting you up and carrying you to the bedroom.

By the time Halloween rolled around, the two of you finished the entire movie series, and both read the entire book series from beginning to end. Tony threw one of his famous Halloween parties, which was the ideal moment to figure out what couples costume to wear. You wore a couples costume each year, but seeing how you had Bucky obsessing over Harry Potter, he offered to go as Hufflepuff students, since that's what you both got sorted into. ''Wow, and here I thought I couldn't love you anymore than I already do, you found a way to make it possible...'' you said to Bucky, who pulled you closer by your waist to seal your confession with a kiss.

You have both found the perfect Hufflepuff costume with matching cloaks, ties, school outfits and your own wands. You both really looked like you could fit right into the Wizarding World, aside from the age thing ofcourse, but that didn't matter. The two of you walked into Tony's party hand in hand and everyone looked at the two of you and giving you endless compliments about how this was your best couples costume to date, and that was saying a lot since you had been together for close to a decade now. ''Hell, I wished you had introduced me to this much earlier doll, this is great for my ego!'' Bucky joked and he winked at you before getting the two of you a drink.

Bucky decided to surprise you by not celebrating Christmas at the Avengers Compound this year like you always did, but by going to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. It would be a special trip for the both of you, but Bucky didn't tell you the entire suprise he had planned, even though the ring box in his pocket nearly burned a hole through his pants. He had been planning on proposing for a while now, but it felt like it was never the right time, and neither of you were particularly in a hurry to get married, you were committed to each other without having to sign a piece of paper first. However, Bucky finally found the perfect moment to get down on one knee, and ask you to be his wife.

You both decided to wear your Hufflepuff outfits to the Wizarding World in Universal Studios, seeing how it would just be so fitting. You spent all day walking through Diagon Alley, going on the rides, drinking Butterbeer and just enjoying being dunked into the Wizarding World, and neither of you wanted this day to end. When it was time to go see Hogwarts castle, Bucky seemed to get a bit nervous, and started fidgeting with the ring box in his pocket. ''Love, are you okay? You seem a bit off?'' you asked him, worrying you did something wrong. ''I'm okay doll, don't worry about me.'' he said, and you both continued walking towards the castle.

You took some photos of the castle, as well as some selfies together, and when you were looking at the castle and admiring it in all it's beauty, you didn't notice Bucky getting down on one knee besides you. ''Doll?'' he started, and you looked over, just to see him not standing beside you anymore. You looked down and there you saw him, the love of your life on one knee, ready to propose to you. ''Bucky..'' is all you managed to get out before tears started to stream down your face.

''Doll, for the last 8 years, you have made me the happiest man on earth, giving me a love I never thought I would ever find. Hell, a love I didn't even think I'd deserve after everything I have done. But you were there by my side through all the good times and all the bad times, you have made me feel complete again. I realized I never want to spend another day apart from you, and I will repay you everyday for the love you have given me, by given you that same love back. Will you marry me, and make me the luckiest Hufflepuff on this planet?'' he said.

''Yes, Bucky, ofcourse I will marry you!'' is all you said before he stood up and lifted you off the ground, you wrapped your legs around him. You crashed your lips onto his in a kiss filled with love and a promise of everything that is yet to come, and it takes a while before the two of you notice people clapping around you. ''Congratulations to the happy couple!'' someone says, and Bucky puts you down to put the ring on your finger. ''I love you, my gorgeous wizard.'' ''I love you too, my beautiful witch.''

[anakinsafterlife]

Thoughts on Dune Part 2

All right, friends. Dune Part 2. I absolutely picked the wrong time to start wanting to return to Tumblr, since I'm currently in the thick of Ramadan, but c'est la vie. I'm a bit worried that if I don't review now that I might forget my specific impressions of the movie, though I have to say that if this weren't Ramadan that I absolutely would be going back to see it again in the cinema, which says a lot considering that it's been at least ten years since I've actually wanted to go back and repeat a film instead of just waiting for it to come out on streaming/DVD.

So the movie is good. It is in fact very, very good. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the Dune duology (possibly trilogy), and (much like Empire) in terms of cinematography, music, scripting and acting it's nearly flawless. There are, however, issues, things that might not occur to a majority-Western audience but which are immediately clear to anyone who either comes from an Arab or Muslim background.

What follows here is a deep dive into some of the historical and cultural sources of Dune and some of the ways in which the movie producers, and in some cases fans, have failed to acknowledge those sources.

First of all, it's obvious that the Fremen are meant to be based on the Arabs, but of the the entire main cast there is only ONE actor with an Arab background, and that is Souhaila Yacoub, the half-Tunisian actress who plays Shishakli, the female Fremen warrior who is executed by the Harkonnens. Now, I have to say that this woman was fantastic. Her attitude is completely on point for an Arab, especially a North African Arab: forceful, loud, a bit brash and mocking even under fire. Nicely done. Points to the producers there, but I have to take that point away again because she is literally the only Space Arab who is actually Arab. Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who plays Stilgard, does have some interesting moments and one of the reasons why I feel that the screenwriters were advised on Arabic traditions/culture. The incident during which he warns Paul about the Jinn in the desert like it's a joke but then immediately turns extremely serious when Paul starts smiling is so in character for an Arab and honestly just a brilliant bit of scripting, but much of the time he also acted more or less like what people *think* a fanatical religious Arab acts like--loud, frantic and unstable.

Not only this, but the "Muslim" behaviour/traditions in the film are at best...vague. People are praying, but in any direction at all. I do realize that this would be a complicated issue on another planet, where the Ka'aba couldn't be pointed to, but there are Islamic rulings for EVERYTHING. Check out the one about praying in space:

Even if they had as a society simply picked a random direction for prayer, they should all be praying at the same time and in the same direction (they seem to do this in larger crowds, but not in the smaller group where we first see people praying). They also definitely shouldn't be talking during prayer or trying to make other people talk to them during prayer (as Chani does), since talking breaks your prayer and you have to start over all over again (during obligatory prayers).

Language, too, is an issue, and a big one, because while I do understand that a conlang was developed for use in this movie, the linguists consulted did know that the language was meant to be heavily influenced by Arabic. Consequently, they've included a lot of fragmentary Arabic in their work. Unfortunately this Arabic is poorly pronounced at best, to the point where I was looking words up and laughing at what they're meant to be based on. For example, "Shai Hulud," the word for the Worms, is based on the Arabicشيء خلود, which means "immortal thing," and should be pronounced with "shai" rhyming with "say" followed by a glottal stop, and the 'h' in "Hulood" is actually a guttural sound like the infamous "ch" in Bach, followed by a long U. Another example is Mua'dib مهذب , a real word in Arabic that means "teacher," but is is actually pronounced with a "th" sound instead of a d and emphasis on the second syllable, not on the last as in French. (Note: I made an error here. There is a word مؤدب , pronounced mostly the same in the movie, but with a glottal stop after the 'u' sound and a short 'i' after the d sound rather than a long vowel, that is usually used to mean polite, urbane, gentlemanly, etc. but which can also mean teacher, although I have never heard it used in this context) "Usul", أصول, Paul's other Fremen name, was likely not, as I had previously guessed, based on the word "Rasool," meaning Prophet, but on أصول الفقه the Principles of islamic Jurisprudence, which also ties directly into a religious/prophetic them. Again, this is pronounced on the long vowel, so with a short first U and a long second U.

I've included the Arabic spellings in here, by the way, so that you can drop them into Google translator and hear how they actually sound.

Now, I do realize that the story itself is set 8000 years in the future and that spoken Arabic as a language would have changed considerably in that time, if it existed still at all, but Arabic is a liturgical language as well as a vehicle for conversation, and Muslims all across the world today use it as a tool for worship. Muslims who have no cultural connection with Arabic often still learn it in order to connect more deeply with religious traditions and simply to perform prayers and other religious duties. Religious scholars consider it to be a necessary duty of the Muslim to learn at least some Arabic:

And keep in mind that the Arabic spoken today across the MENA region is very different (and different in different places) to the Arabic spoken 1400 years ago by the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him). Given Islamic traditions, the chances of the Fremen using liturgical/classical Arabic for their worship would be quite high, even if their spoken language had evolved past the point of being recognizably Arabic.

Keep in mind, also, that Dune as a whole is an allegory for colonialism, economic exploitation of poorer nations (or making rival nations poor through the same), as well as dehumanization of the views and needs of native peoples in order to make that exploitation palatable to the occupying forces (I thought that this was done quite smartly in Jessica's part of the story; although she is sympathetic to the Fremen, she feels that manipulating their religious traditions is the best way to protect her son, and in doing so she allows herself to dehumanize the people who come to rely on her).

It is, therefore, incumbent upon us not to distance ourselves too much from the intended message by claiming that Dune is fiction and need not too accurately reflect the culture and religion of the people that the Fremen are so clearly based on. The fact that the producers have done little to hire Arab actors or induced any real effort to accurately pronounce the Arabic words or accurately portrayal Islamic practices seems to indicate that they are concerned about identifying too closely with the economic and cultural struggle between East and West, properly because they fear the potential economic backlash, and this despite the fact that Frank Herbert clearly wrote his book to illustrate the fallout of that struggle.

Here is a wonderful article written by a culturally Arab woman:

There are numerous other articles addressing the same issues, but I like this one because it's written by a Muslim woman, who also addresses the "hijab cosplaying" in the movie. I didn't get into that much, but I definitely recognize that it's a problem when Muslim women worry about potential violence while wearing hijab in the streets of Western nations, but the same article of clothing is fetishized in movies and fashion.

I've also seen some comment about the Mahdi mention in particular. This is a saviour-figure in Islam who will come near the end of the world. There is no emphasis on this figure in Sunni Islam, but Shias seem to have a significant body of literature concerning this figure and, from what I understand, believe that he may perhaps have already come, and so there has been some poor reception in that community to applying the label of Mahdi to Paul. Criticisms ranging from insensitivity to outright blasphemy have been levelled regarding this usage. Now, there was some tip-toeing around the prophetic theme in Dune, and rightly so, I believe, since the Prophet Mohamed is the "seal of the prophets" in Islam, meaning the last and final. The fact that Paul was essentially set up as a false prophet by the Bene Gesserit does avoid some of the potential fallout from this, and also makes sense of Chani's rejection at the end of the film, since she felt strongly about Paul acting as a false Prophet.

Again, I am aware that there is internal cosmology within the series itself, and that some fans object to the religion of the Fremen being referred to as Islam, but when the inspiration for the entire ethnicity, religion, and the natural resources at stake are as clear as they are in this series, it's also futile to expect that people will not draw those associations, nor that people belonging to the religion or ethnic group in question may not acknowledge the beauty of the movie, the gorgeous cinematography, rousing music, and tightly plotted story, but still take exception to what is clearly Orientalism.

And it is frankly such a shame that we have to place this movie under that header, because the story of Dune is so sympathetic to the Middle East and its peoples, and as I said in the beginning I actually loved the film and found it very beautiful. It was also exciting to see Islamic themes used creatively in mainstream media, but while Frank Herbert clearly wrote the story as an exposition on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly oil, in the MENA region, the truth is that the racism and exploitation that he was protesting are very much alive today and contribute to the oppression of millions. It's particularly disappointing to see the message of the movie sail over the heads of people watching it when Arab Muslims in Palestine are being dehumanized and obliterated at this very moment, and while Libya was one of the latest Arab nations to be targeted for its oil resources, only a decade ago, with European oil companies moving in directly after the downfall of Ghadafi (which makes the timing extremely suspicious, one might say):

And even after the US finished their occupation of Iraq, Western oil companies remained en mass to continued drilling:

Egypt to this day remains economically destabilized while Western nations exploit its oil stocks, to no benefit at all of its peoples:

I'm sure I could cite dozens of other cases, but it's clear that there is a one-on-one parallel between spice melange and oil, making any protests of apoliticism in an inherently political story utterly vain.

I could go on, but I needn't. In short, this beautiful movie could have done so much good even beyond its obvious artistic merits, but instead it is still towing the political line. Much as was the case for Jessica and Paul, sometimes you can be a Harkonnen and not know it.

[luna-rainbow]

I'm sorry if this is an odd question. I'm new to the Steve/Bucky fandom and only recently started reading fics relating to them. How come most fics tend to favor Peggy and write her to be a sympathetic character? Most of the fandom that I've interacted with agree that Peggy isn't a good person (SHIELD and Hydra as well as her behavior with Steve in CFA) and wouldn't be a good match for Steve. I've loved all the fics for the love b/w Steve/Bucky but the sympathetic writing of Peggy has irked me

Thanks for the ask!

I came into fandom pretty late so I missed a lot of that, but I’m told Peggy has always been pretty popular in the Stucky fandom.

I think her popularity comes from a number of reasons — 1) lack of other female characters at the time, 2) easy to project onto, 3) a reluctance to tackle her negative traits.

At the time when Stucky’s popularity exploded, there weren’t a lot of female characters in the MCU. There were Pepper and Jane, both of whom were passive watchers and “civilian counterparts” to the main character's heroic enterprise. Peggy was a rare Phase 1 love interest that seemed to be present and at least somewhat handy with a gun. People were more forgiving of unfavourable character moments — and just coming from the movies alone, you could bend the narrative to ignore most of those unfavourable moments.

Which leads me to the second point, which I think is the most important one. The vagueness with which Peggy is written makes her an incredibly useful “blank” character to project onto. Firstly, her mannerisms are forceful and assertive, and the superhero genre target audience is one who likes to watch things being resolved by fights. As I said above, at the time there really isn't any other female character (apart from Nat) for the female audience who likes action heroes. Secondly, Peggy and Nat form the madonna-whore dichotomy (especially with Whedon’s characterisation), and a lot of people would prefer to project onto the fandom madonna than the whore. Thirdly, she has very little character traits within the movies apart from “strong-willed” and maybe “ambitious”, which gives a lot of flexibility to how writers can play with her character. Fourth, the fact that her appearances in the movies only ever occur in Steve’s company (except the later cameos) gives a misattribution of narrative proximity, with a lot of fans believing (especially if they haven’t revisited the source in years) that she was a more important narrative force than she actually was. But that same narrative proximity is appealing if you want to project onto a female character who can participate in Steve’s adventures and you don’t like Nat or Sharon or an OC.

And the third point I think is the trickiest part. Does fandom misogyny exist? Of course it does, especially in the MCU. But misogyny is also flung around as an accusation against fans who make genuine critiques of a character or want to write a nuanced female character that acknowledges her negative traits. Someone once dumped a 1500 word rant in my comments because I omitted Peggy from a Stucky meta, so you can imagine how much her rabid fans would arc up if you are actually critical.

Besides, writing a nuanced character takes effort and planning and a lot of hard work. I know for myself unless I plan to tackle Peggy as a fully-fledged character, I'd either omit her from the story or give her a very minor role that is not overtly critical, because it's just not worth the effort of the argument in the notes.

[velvet-vox]

My second pipeline of future ideas: Part 1

As of right now, I'm making an analysis on Noximilien Coxen the Watchmaker from Wakfu, and it's going pretty smoothly, I should be able to publish it as of tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought about making a second survey to see what each and every one of you wants to see first between these projects:

Lord Shen's horrifying humanity: an analysis of Lord Shen in the same vein as my Tai Lung's one; I've recently rewatched both of the Kung Fu Panda movies after so many years, AND IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD. While watching the second one, however, I've noticed something that I've never seen: how the film focuses so much on Shen's emotional state, and how it helps him to become one of the greatest baddies in all of animation.

Doll and Andrew Graves comparison: remember all the times when I've said I was going to make a comparison post between Nox from Wakfu and Doll from Murder Drones? Well, I'm still going to do that once episode 8 is out, but in the meantime, since both The Coffin Of Andy And Leyley and Murder Drones are unfinished products, I thought, sure why not? My only hope is to get the Andrew part right, I'm especially worried since there're new pieces of information regarding Julia and Rene that I still haven't seen, so I might need to get my facts checked.

How and Why Liam Vickers wrote Doll as a rather unsympathetic character: I feel like, when you really love something, you must be able to criticise it. And this is exactly the goal of this analysis, as I break down all of the problems with Doll's writing right from the conceptual issues down to her future and legacy.

Female villains tier list: a long time coming, and still a long time in the making. The problem is that I've accidentally published it ahead of time only to then remake it from scratch and still accidentally publish it, again. Also I've decided to watch the Kerubim movie to see if Julith was as good as I've heard. I imagine so, since it's a Wakfu antagonist, but I have to wait and see.

Dark Vlad analysis: I want to make an analysis on every main antagonist of Wakfu, and since I can finally watch season 4 and maybe the movie, that includes Toross and Julith. But there's one minor, one-off antagonist that I also want to talk about; what is, in my opinion, the best villain from season 3 and the single greatest twist villain in all of fiction: the title itself is actually misleading, as I'll be talking about Goultard himself.

To find a way to spend the time while the survey ends, I'll be writing about the insanely untapped potential of Rebecca from Murder Drones.

@rad10active-ketchup , @rebecca-babe , @zobjilan77 , please, send me your ideas if you want to see them discussed as I'm not normally a Rebecca fan so I could use some help to get everything right.

[sithaari]

Somebody really said that "Padme is the dollar store version of Leia"... I'm ready to throw hands, but most of all: why compare the two when we can just like the BOTH OF THEM??? They are both similar but also have unique characteristics.

female characters in any piece of media are often pitted against each other, but people get really uppity about feminine women. they're almost always more heavily criticized. padme likes fashion, is romantic, and wants to get married and have children. and star wars fans don't know how to handle that because padme is also intelligent, brave, and a capable leader. but, y'know, she wears dresses, so the fandom will use the most backwards logic to explain why padme is actually a horrible, selfish person. and then they'll frame it as some kind of feminist hot take.

and to compare padme negatively to leia is wild because they share so many similar traits, often acting as parallels to one another. but star wars fans don't like that either because padme is too much of a girly girl. leia is the cool action girl. she doesn't like wearing dresses (except when she does). she's not interested in romance (except when she is). she doesn't care about all that boring political shit (except she was literally a senator and the crown princess of alderaan). and it's not like padme was much of a fighter or a rebel (except when she was both of those things).

but i came to the conclusion a long time ago that many fans simply don't understand either padme or leia. they're often not treated like actual characters but self-inserts for fans to project onto. so-called padme fans who hate anakin will argue that she deserved better, but their version of 'better' includes padme trying to kill anakin on mustafar. which goes against everything padme is as a person. or she should have fallen in love with obi-wan or sabe. she should have survived to raise her children. she should have survived to lead the rebellion and kill vader. she should have suspected that palpatine was a sith lord. she should have expected anakin's fall to the dark side. so many people in this fandom have an idea on what they think padme should be rather than just empathizing with who she actually is in the damn movies.

and leia has become a mix of everything. she would never fall to the dark side because she's so morally superior, except she's even more drawn to the dark side than luke is. she'd be a better jedi than luke and a more powerful sith than vader. except she'd be neither of those things because all that force nonsense is stupid. like this fandom doesn't even know who the fuck leia is because people turn her into whatever they want to fit a particular narrative. and ngl sometimes it comes across as bitterness over luke and anakin being the main focus of the story. and i'm saying this as someone who really does like leia. but it's annoying how leia is often praised at the expense of other characters, particularly padme because she's not some nerd's idea of a 'strong' female character.

[haaawaiianshirt]

my issue with "stans" and people who like Billy or any other Stranger Things Guy is not that they like him, sympathize with him, headcanon him, whatever, (I know nothing I say can talk you out of liking them but it's fine, to each their own) it's the rampant hypocrisy yall like to spout I am SO sick of it

I appreciate that y'all want to take a nuanced look at the source material, but you can't cherry-pick what parts of the narrative you want to acknowledge !!

y'all want to talk about classism and ableism within the show, which i admire! those are super interesting themes in Stranger Things!! but you all REFUSE to acknowledge or interpret the themes surrounding racism, misogyny, and cycles of abuse and it discredits any argument yall wanna make about your special little guys.

I can acknowledge that Billy is a survivor of his father's abuse, I can see that he is a complex and interesting character and I don't care that you guys like him for this! but what y'all conveniently like to omit is that he chose to perpetuate the abuse he faced onto Max. he could have forged a relationship with her like his literal narrative foil, Johnathan, did with Will in the face of their abusive father, but he didn't and that was His Choice.

or the common argument about Nancy and ableism for example! (and before yall come for my ass, yes, i am autistic.)

when Nancy is rude to Robin one (1) time, it's not because she's an overwhelmed teenager who just lost another friend and has had to face so much doubt in her ideas thanks to the men in her life and is just now trying to forge friendships again, it's because she's a master manipulator ableist obviously.

So, if y'all care about Nancy getting annoyed with Robin, where are the posts shunning Steve for being mean to Robin? calling Robin hyper? for telling Nancy that Robin has "problems"? for letting Robin run off into the Upside Down alone? is that not more ableist than Nancy getting annoyed with Robin for talking a lot in a high-stress situation?

Do you see the issue?

how are y'all willing to excuse Billy for attacking actual children but aren't willing to provide that same grace towards Nancy when she protects those same children with her life?

you ask us to see the truth behind the actions of Billy and Steve yet condemn Nancy for every mistake in the same breath? what exactly is the line between a traumatized teenager and a monster in your mind?

you claim that Nancy is evil and classist towards Johnathan but ignore the sexism (which is literally. the main conflict. of their relationship. they don't understand each other), neglect, and parentification she faced. you wax poetic that Billy is so misunderstood but ignore the way he routinely tormented Max and attacked Lucas for dating Max, which both the Duffer Brothers and Caleb himself said is meant to be racially motivated.

y'all make up so many reasons to forgive and excuse the men of the narrative for their behavior but do not allow female characters the same grace and it is so. annoying. y'all want to be this cool nuanced fan safe space but you just pull the same shit as a dudebro movie buff echo chamber and I'm soooo done with it.

[iamacolor]

my take on sweet mobster is different I like it but every post on twitter about the show since basically the start is a variation or more precisely not a variation of "SJH is a such a looser in love" and that's not a good sign for me if the entire thing the fans are taking away from the show is how down bad the guy and him being pathetic means the the drama is focusing on that to a very high degree and my idea or a romantic lead is a not a dude who spends his time blushing and kicking his feet over a girl I'm sorry if there's not a specific reason for it or if she's not matching his freak in every instance. In this case I don't feel like they are at all yeah she likes him but they're showing that he likes her a lot more in so many ways it's not even close you cannot tell me you think they've shown the same degree of caring for each other because it's not true.

hi anon! I think you're raising an important point by pointing out the fandom's reaction to the show (and I have to say I only caught up with it last week so I've not really been aware of what people have been saying about it until this week) but to me that's something that's observed in kdrama fandom no matter what the show is, it sometimes go so far as to direct criticism towards the female lead whenever she doesn't stick to her more passive traditional role (I remember seeing people criticise sol from lovely runner for trying to go back in time again to save the ml and for taking away their first meeting because it wasn't his choice when she was clearly doing things that no one would've criticised from a male lead and when she clearly had the main goal of saving him no matter what because she loved him sooo much) and in this previous ask I've talked more in details about the traditional gender roles in kdrama as a genre when it comes to how female and male leads are expected to show affection (where women are supposed to be more passive and men more active and more intense and be romantic and devoted etc which I don't think is good) if you're interested. so I do think this is often an issue in the writing but to me a fandom's reaction isn't necessarily representative of what's actually written especially when a kdrama's fandom is often composed of people more willing to fawn over a new man (although why is loser in love the new keyword like can't we find something else lol nothing about loving a woman is a loss of dignity and it feels very overused now) than to appreciate the nuance in a woman's personality. I've seen entire fandoms of many different types of shows or movies focus on a random secondary or imaginary ship or go as far as to turn a vilain into a simply misunderstood man while constantly criticising everything the female lead does so fandoms can be very volatile and irrational

as for the kind of romantic lead that jihwan is, I personally don't think the whole blushing and kicking his feet over a woman disqualify him as a romantic lead and it's fine if he isn't your cup of tea, there are plenty of heroes who don't do that and who are also very interesting and entertaining and intense in their own ways - I know I couldn't watch just these kinds of leads all the time I like to see different types of characters - but that's not an issue that's just a question of personal preferences

as for what I can or cannot tell you, I've never said that they've been shown to have the same degree of caring - I said that I think their dynamic is more "he falls first" (which necessarily implies we're going to see more of his feelings) than "he's the only devoted one" and that yes he's the one who gets flustered the most because it takes more time for her (and also they're different people who react differently to things). I agree that his feelings are definitely the ones pushed forward for entertainment purposes (especially for comedy purposes) but the narrative we're on right now balances that out. until ep10 (which I haven't watched yet so maybe that changes things) she's the first one who has admitted to someone else that she has feelings and who has approached those feelings with him by saying she doesn't want to be confused, that she's hurt and that she liked the time in his house and specifically the time spent with him, who's calling him out for his inconsistencies precisely because he's shown many times he cares and yet he says nothing about his feelings (and that's after many times where she shows she clearly cares for him, is curious about him, wants to defend him, wants him to take better care of himself - the hospital scene was a really big step in shifting their dynamic to me -, is attracted to him, finds him funny, enjoys teasing him, is willing to put herself at risk for him when he goes missing etc which isn't always the case with female leads). she's also clearly been shown to be jealous several times - and that was clear to him - and so has he. I'm not pretending the show doesn't rely a lot on him having no idea how to handle his feelings and making a mess of it (most of which she doesn't even see so it's mostly for us viewers) while also protecting her and caring for her and being a very romantic brooding hero but the writing also gives eunha a lot more agency than expected and an actual voice over her relationship with him and I feel like we're progressively getting to see different layers of her that makes this whole thing much more balanced than what is usual in kdrama and also more nuanced than how the show started out. I'm not just going "oh this is good because it's a little bit more than what we usually get" I also genuinely feel a progression in the show itself. I purposefully pointed out examples of her actively caring for him precisely because for a non viewer most of what the fandom highlights are jihwan's actions when many of eunha's actions don't get the same treatment

there's another imbalance that's caused by the fact that he already knows she's his childhood friend but she's still in the dark about hyunwoo - and so obviously that adds a depth to his feelings that she can't show even though it's there but that's obviously meant to change

[kalena-henden]

Lee Je Hoon's Chief Detective 1958 starts today. Can't wait to watch! I enjoyed him in Taxi Driver and really want to watch through his filmography eventually.

Lovely Runner is knocking my socks off! Byeon Wook Seok and Kim Hye Yoon are killing both the comedy and the drama. Wook Seok is the cutest loser in love! The mystery and unexpected twists are fun and interesting. I hope this quality storytelling continues. I'm on the edge of my seat.

I only have 3 episodes left of Love Me Love My Voice which has been wonderful and heartwarming. I love the main romance but the friendships and secondary romances have been given ample time to shine as well. I'm always here a good found family. I really like how the dramatic readings and song perfomances have been carefully woven into the story to further the character development. Definitely recommend.

Now we come to our debrief on The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. Whoa, what a rollercoaster. The first half was interesting with many characters' selfish and dark intentions mixed with a little mystery were set up in contrast to our optimistic, self-sacrificing female lead. However, the second half drowned in major events happening and then being dismissed as if they never happened, multiple secret keepers refusing to tell the secret multiple times an episodes even when asked point blank when the answers could stop so many bad things from happening, and the existential dread I felt about what the big reveal was going to be only for it to completely dismissed. (FYI I found out what I thought was going to be the big reveal IS the actual reveal in the darker Japanese version it's based on.) After episode 14, I wasn't sure I could continue watching the show. But after a night of uneasy sleep, I decided to finish it the next morning on double speed to get through it. I did watch the last 10 minutes at regular speed. While there were some well done things about their relationship in the second half, it couldn't save the show for me even though I went in knowing this was not an HEA. Overall, I was just left feeling angry and exhausted. As a Seo In Guk fan, this was a show I had long wanted to see, just to find out what my opinion on it would be. I'm sad that the SIG fanmeet has been post-poned, hopefully I will be able to make the next date. But this means I feel okay to stop my SIG show binging so I will not be watching Hello Monster anytime soon. I'm actually impressed with how much of SIG's filmography I've already seen (7 shows as a ML, 4 shows as a cameo, and 1 movie). I'm pretty sure it's more than I've seen any other kdrama actor or actress.

After a bad experience at the new dentist yesterday, where the hygienist manhandled my teeth and they tried to upsell me on services, I was in need of a comfort rewatch. I've been thinking alot about Lee Jun Young lately and decided to break out the first thing I ever saw him in, Imitation. I was only going to watch a few favorite parts from an episode or two and ended up binging my favorite parts of most of the series. lol I really hope his upcoming Cinderella romcom with Pyo Ye Jin is going to be good.

I slowly picked Vigilante back up again this week and was excited to see Lee Joon Hyuk's character finally emerge to add a boost of energy and chaos to the story.

Now that I've got some time and the second half of the series has finally dropped, I will continue watching Chae Jong Hyeop's Eye Love You.

[notalkingbusiness]

Have you considered that the reason LC & DG are equally billed is because they start from stronger negotiating positions? Both have already left; LC because she wasn’t paid enough & DG because she could & did pursue other things. The latter leaving after Andrew Lincoln is also reported to be one of the main catalysts of the original show being wrapped up & broken down into spin offs.

Melissa, on the other hand, feels like someone who doesn’t care too much about billing. She wasn’t even billed until season 4 in the original show. Add to that the fact the show is named after Daryl, and the Carol is a subtitle, I’m not sure it makes sense for equal billing. There’s maybe something to be said about Norman, Zabel & Nicotero agreeing to go ahead without her while Andrew Lincoln & Scott Gimple waited until DG was free. Yes, Carol is important. Yes, Melissa is a great actor but the show’s had a strong first season before/without her. The other spin offs both start with all their leads in place.

Maybe equal billing will come for Caryl in s3 when they hit their stride/they bring in the ratings.

No, I don't think that's the case at all, anon.

I can't speak for the individual negotiating positions of all the leading ladies, but I'd be curious to know how Lauren Cohan was in a stronger negotiating position after she walked away from TWD? She returned to TWD after Whiskey Cavalier was not renewed for a second season. To me, that looks more like pragmatism than a straightforward triumphant return.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information from about Danai Gurira either? Fans had to wait years for TOWL because Gimple couldn't get his Rick movies off the ground. The films were announced in 2018 and never materialized. That's the reason for the delay. Gimple didn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart or because he's #Best Ally #All About "Strong Female Characters" #Not Like Other Showrunners.

The original Caryl spinoff was supposed to run alongside the main show, presumably with Maggie and Negan leading the TWD in Caryl's absence. As mentioned in the article below, "talk of the offshoot actually pre-dated news of the mothership winding down. 'There's been talk for a long time about a Darryl [smh, Dalton] /Carol spin-off,' says Kang. 'And so that was something that we were working on well in advance of the news about the ending of the series.'"

Billing matters. It matters to everyone involved in a production because it's one of those things which impacts the overall hierarchy. Billing is directly linked to pay, professional recognition, and seniority. TBOC's unequal billing and unequal title set the stage for an unequal show. Not only in terms of uneven storytelling, but in terms of whose EP notes are taken with more consideration etc.

Melissa should've been properly billed before Season 4, but we can't do anything about a billing from over 10 years ago. Personally, I think comparing TBOC's billing to the billings in 2013-14 is redundant because we're not comparing like with like. The most pertinent and relevant points of comparison are TBOC's sister shows - TOWL and DC. These shows are all being made by the same company concurrently and they all fall under the same brand. Both of the leading ladies are equally billed in TOWL and DC and rightly so! Plus, neither of them were reduced to a subtitle. The discrepancies with TBOC trouble me. Why have AMC opted for a clunky and uneven title? Why have they broken protocol when it comes to billing their female lead? Why are they so bad at this?

There's a reason why the other spinoffs started with their female leads in place - none of the other shows were needlessly yeeted across the Atlantic at the last minute. Honestly, I'm not sure if any of the shows are doing well. Not really. It's not a good sign when the uninitiated are surprised that TWD is still going. It's not a good sign when everyone laughs at the idea of Daryl randomly ending up in France. DD had the added problem of splitting a previously loyal demographic and creating a lot of negative energy when some of the dudes attempted to justify extremely questionable decisions.

Can they turn things around? I hope so. But I can't put my hope and trust in Zabel, Nicotero, and Gimple. These men have proved time and time again that they just don't get it. I'll believe that brighter days are ahead when Melissa is equally billed. Melissa is Norman's equal in every way and she should be equally billed when the show airs in September. No ifs, no buts.

I'll believe that brighter days are ahead when TBOC can make me feel something other than disappointment.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I am very frustrated with TBOC atm 🫠 To be clear, all of that frustration is directed at TPTB rather than you, anon. We all deserve so much better than this.

[dnana-2809-blog]

heyy do u mind if return an ask that u sent me?

"what are your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them?"

how are you, btw? :)

Not, at all... I'm fine, thanks.

My favorite characters mostly change from time to time. But my top 3 have been the same in the last 4 years. Here they are :

1. Ash Lynx (Banana Fish)

He is an amazing character. Have been through a lot but still have kindness in his heart. He deserves all the happiness in the world. His relationship with his "good friend" Eiji is just something else. That is why, after the series ended, I search for the fics. This series is the reason I made ao3 account, to search for their happiness.

2. Yona (Yona of the Dawn)

She is strong, beautiful and a great leader. Watching her journey from a spoiled princess to an amazing future queen is a so great. Also one of the few m/f canon relationship that I love is between Yona and her bodyguard, Hak....

3. Wei Wuxian (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

The one who started it all and got me to BL is him. I was surprised when I know he got together (canon) with the ml. And then I read the other works by the same author, they are all amazing works. And I became a BL fan until now. Wei Wuxian is smart, kind, cheerful, mischievous, and people can't help but like him when getting to know him...

4. Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs)

I love him so much. He always try his best and try to see the good in everyone. Can't believe when I saw someone's hate in him. Like, how can you hate someone who already hate himself so much? Glad to see his developement as the story progress. Also, I'm surprise to find new otps (non canon mlm) when I start this series.

5. William J. Moriarty (Moriarty the Patriot)

As a fan of Holmes, of course I start watching/reading this series. And I can say that this is one of the best adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. The story and characters are all great. As I read, I'm surprise that my favorite is not Sherlock himself but William. He is just so kindhearted but willing to kill that part of himself for the greater good. Also, the relationship between William and Sherlock is special (that letter and bridge scene are a few of my favorite moments ever). Yes, I found new otps again from the series.

6. Merlin (BBC Merlin)

As new fan of this series (about 2 years), I'm glad I found it. Really love him, how he is kind hearted but can do cruel things if it's for his loved ones. His loyalty and bravery are just so him...And the ending, I did not see that coming. Well, it's me, of course there is a great bromance moments between Merlin and his prince/king, Arthur. Their relationship is so bittersweet (and why I search for their happiness in fics)

7. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)

I've first watch the series in midde school. And he is the main reason for it. He is smart, unpredictable, mischievous, but deep down a kind hearted person. (Okay, now that I wrote it down, Jane is so similar to Wei Wuxian). Glad he can find his happiness in the end.

8. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

Love her. Never got bored reading her story. My favorite from all Austen works. Now, I'm not really into m/f romance stories anymore, but this book will always have special place in my heart.

9. Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)

The reason I got into the series is because of her. Love her personality, how dedicated she is to her hobby, and how she always use logic more than personal feelings. Now, I know I'm a minority here but I dislike JinMao ship. Like, I wish she can stay single and just focus on what she loves to do (I know it's romance and she will end up with Jinshi), but it's just my opinion.

10. Hinata Shouyou (Haikyuu)

How can I not love him. He is really just like his name (a sun). Because of his bright personality, he can made friends with anyone and also learn from them. There are times if it were most people, they'll give up. But not him, he always got back up again when falling. And it's great. Overall this series is inspiring and we can learn a lot from this. (Also, yes, I have at least 5 otps from this series, including Hinata with his rival/friend)....

Sorry for this long answer, hope you don't mind.

[padme-amitabha]

It frustrates me that star wars seems to want to erase padme. She never gets mentioned at all … ever, like that is luke and leias mother!! It feels like they want to squash her importance in the story even though she is the most important person in anakins life yet now it seems the writers want to make ahsoka that person in anakins life

And it's sadder when she does get mentioned she has to be retconned to be a StRoNg FeMaLe ChArAcTeR like by erasing her kindness (that's one of the things Leia says about her mother!) and making her seem more badass and stoic in some way in Queen's Shadow (just like Anakin isn't spared and retconned in TCW to gain the fanbase's approval). I mean yes her work is important and deserves more content but there should be a balance between her work and personal life because both were equally important to Padme (although we see her priotizing her loved ones but her work also affects her significantly in ROTS). So she's less and less of the Padme she originally was and more how the fans want her to be and think she should be. However, characters are flawed and if Padme was a stoic girlboss she would have simply divorced Anakin rather than going after him and believing in him till she died. She wouldn't have married Anakin at all.

I'm not saying she was perfect but neither was Anakin and Obi-Wan. Everyone in the prequels has at least one fatal flaw because it is ultimately a tragedy. Padme is not a caricature of Leia (who is badass in her own way) and neither is Anakin a caricature of Luke. Their personalities and roles are not and shouldn't be interchangeable. But the retconned versions of the characters do feel like they are. Padme is more like Leia and TCW Anakin is a weird mix of Luke and Han. I get that they may seem more likeable to the masses but it should not come at the cost of their originality. Just like we don't have to be likable and perfect all the time in real life to have a purpose, I wish they acknowledged that in media as well than simply going for what sells. Even a trilogy on Padme feels like an apology as it addresses and "fixes" any complaint against her and is more about Sabe and giving her a new love interest rather than expanding and working on her existing character. I mean it does expand on her but it's not always consistent with her personality in the movies and its novelizations. I remember finding Padme in QS to be very unlikable and cold. Which she isn't at all. Her traits that Leia mentions was important even before her character was designed because that's how she impacted the main story and its a part of her legacy because that's how the people she loved remembered her. Making her more stoic makes no sense. Leia on the other hand has a different narrative and would benefit from the traits because it aligns with her goals. For sure, Padme was accomplished as well but the tone while handling her and portrayal of her character should have been consistent. She can't just be the Princess Leia of the prequels. And I may be reading too much into this but the first movie establishes she's not going to be just like her daughter. She isn't born into royalty, rather she's elected. She doesn't marry the older rebellious guy she banters with. Instead, she grows up to marry a younger boy who has a crush on her and who's very kind and sweet to. The same way Anakin is not a naive, sheltered boy living with his family. He is a slave and has a difficult childhood despite growing up on the same planet as his son!

As for Ahsoka, I guess Filoni was too attached to her and she was a blank slate to work with so they can do whatever with her. I talked about my feelings on her multiple times so I won't elaborate but her existence in the skywalker saga makes no sense to me. I would've been cool with her as a spinoff character. But I dislike that she was treated as something special and exempted from everything from the start without earning that privilege in any way. Meanwhile, poor Anakin is treated more strictly when he's just 10 and receives no special treatment despite being the Chosen One. Also, she's shoehorned everywhere in Anakin's story when she played no part in the peak moments of Anakin's life (as shown in the movies).

[marshallpupfan]

Is it just me, but doesn't it feel a bit strange that in the mighty movie, Skye and Chase have an "integral" friendship when they weren't even close when the show began.

Chase's best friend is Marshall, but I feel like they're trying to change the show's history by making Skye and Chase close when they weren't even that close in season 1.

It doesn't feel right to me 😕

Sadly, this isn't the only instance of the writers ignoring things in recent years. Rubble not having a family and then a really big one suddenly pops up for the spinoff, Skye's out-of-nowhere lack of confidence because of her size, Aqua Pups ignoring nearly every Merpup rule established in earlier seasons, etc..

But Spin Master disregarding Chase and Marshall's strong friendship and pretending it's actually been Chase and Skye is, to me, one of their biggest offenders. It's a change that, as silly as it may sound, does nothing but tarnish the love I once had for this franchise.

It's not like this is some fan-theory or anything. Even Nick Jr. has made videos showcasing their strong bond. Fans fully acknowledge it, and even Chase x Skye proponents have reacted to this news in utter confusion.

So... what gives? Well, I think I might have an answer. This may be a bit of a touchy subject, but what the heck, I'll talk about it anyway.

If there's one thing I've noticed over the years, it's that people have been demanding (sometimes angrily) for more female protagonists in movies, games, TV shows, etc.. Companies have complied to this, and Spin Master is no exception. Unfortunately, when they created PAW Patrol, they only made one of the main six pups a girl - a detail that displeased many viewers from the very beginning. Sure, they've created more female members since then, but the cartoon has been getting lazier about using any of their part timers now (I think Everest only appeared three times each in season 8 and 9).

Their solution? Give Skye more screen time, of course. Unfortunately, either by accident or on purpose, we now have a pup who gets called in during nearly every single mission. This is not an exaggeration; in season 9, she was used more than Chase, the main character and face of the franchise. Of course, it's not enough that they call her in a lot; they also wanted to give her an edge over the other four... something to make her "special" to stand out.

How did they go about doing this? Well, I think we know, given how this post got started in the first place.

Thus, our favorite Dalmatian got booted out of his position as Chase's best friend. Now, it's Skye who has an "integral" friendship with the shepherd. They're all "friends", but it's suddenly nothing compared to what these two share... apparently. I suppose it wasn't enough for them to shove Marshall to the side during missions so they could call Skye in more... they had to take that from him, too.

And for the life of me, I've no idea what the Spin Master president is talking about. Sure, Chase and Skye get called in together during missions a lot, but they hardly interact at all. It's not much different outside of missions, either. And if it was "acknowledged" in the first theatrical film, I certainly don't remember it. Chase and Marshall, on the other hand? Although brief, we still get hints of it every now and then, even as recent as season 9. It's clearly there, but I guess Spin Master, and possibly the movie director/writers, have other ideas.

There's no denying their priorities have changed. Sadly, I don't expect things to go back to the way they were anytime soon, especially if this leaked document is any indication.

As you can see, Spin Master is adopting a new strategy that promises to focus more on female-driven marketing and stories. Don't get me wrong, I don't oppose the idea at all (in fact, I'm thrilled they're giving Everest a 44-minute mini-movie... I absolutely want her to get more screen time), but in the long run, it shouldn't come at the expense of the male characters. Sadly, due to how much they overuse Skye now, I feel that's exactly what's happening... especially to Marshall. It's one of the reasons why I've started losing interest in the TV series, and why I'm sorry to admit I have little interest in The Mighty Movie. Skye will continue getting preferential treatment to compensate for their lack of foresight, while characters like Marshall will likely continue getting the short end of the stick as a result. I really hope I'm wrong, but the evidence seems all too clear.

I apologize for the length of this post, and if any of it comes off as sounding like a rant. And if anyone takes offense to something I've said here, I swear to you, that was never my intention. In truth, as many of you have seen, I have a lot of passion for both Marshall and the PAW Patrol franchise, which has lead me to become frustrated by some of its changes and the direction it's going in. And I know I'm not alone on this, as even most fans nowadays cheer when Chase and Marshall are finally given the chance to team up again... the rare times it happens, anyway. I suppose it's telling how excited we get for such morsels, but...it's often all we've got now.

[richea]

4 and 5 for the meme

Tales asks

4. Something you wish to see in future games

A lot of this I'll answer in #5 but to keep things positive I'll just list actual wants up here. Though for some reason my brain is only coming up with character concepts right now haha.

I'd like to see another female protagonist of course, but I want to emphasize here that I want her to feel... unique? Velvet took inspiration from Milla (I know they're very differently written but I'm talking about their base appeal here), which is fine but I'd like something different next time. (Mika exists too but her game is deader than dead...) I'd love to see a character akin to Meredy or Colette take control of the story.

I won't go into this too much on here but I would like to see more characters like Mark in Summoner's Lineage.

I also feel like we could always use more characters who are musicians; I adore Johnny and absolutely love how Tear was handled, and I need more of it! Rays Recollection had an idol character which was nice.

5. Something you hope never is used again in future games

Going to put this under the read more for anyone sensitive to criticism who might not want to see it. I will warn it's a bit strongly articulated.

Cooking/food jokes, especially when it comes to someone being bad at it. This one got old decades ago; the amount of cooking skits in Rays is almost mind-numbing and do not get me started on how it felt as if all of the "fun" skits in Arise were just about this.

I would like Tales to chill out on the "sex appeal" rage they've been on the past handful of titles. I've only heard good things about Luminaria's writing but I still haven't been able to stomach the designs enough to actually start on it, which is not good. I know the franchise has always had shades of this but it's been especially noticeable as of late, and it feels like a huge step backwards. I don't think I'll ever move on from hearing how Iwamoto pressured Inomata into designing Velvet, and my subsequent reaction when Kisara was revealed and my joy at her being a knight was immediately overridden by wondering why on earth her design had to be the way it is. It's just very wild to me when back in the day, Keele of all characters was considered one of the "hottest" Tales characters and he's designed in a way where you can't even see any part of his silhouette. I don't believe we need none of it, but I at least would like them to step back with it just a little bit.

Ufotable is a big one. I really, really do not like Ufotable's Tales work. I wrote two threads about this on Twitter (part 1, part 2). In a world where Wit was put on the mobile games, there's no reason to keep using Ufotable for mainline Tales games.

I think Ufotable was perfectly fine in the Symphonia OVA; after all, none of the anime adaptations sans the Vesperia movie were done by IG. But that's the thing―it being a spinoff media is one thing, but it being the main art in the mainline games is where I draw the line. Each Tales title has its own art identity (for instance, Phantasia's art looked different from Legendia's which looked different from Graces), but they all still tried to keep to the staple Tales style. Ufotable does not care about this. I also am just going to be honest when I say my mind registers Xillia and beyond as "different" from the games prior and it's in part because of Ufotable's art identity being so divorced from the prior art direction in the franchise. Xillia was one of the more early titles I got to, so it's not even like I had years and years of IG "bias" before playing it, I just felt like something was off when I played it. They are truly doing their own thing and it does impact how a number of fans view the games, whether a lot of people want to acknowledge this or not. For anyone on the fence or thinking I'm unreasonable or overthinking it: Production IG was literally hired by Inomata herself because they were the only animators who were capable of adapting her style correctly.

Meanwhile Wit has been putting out work that not only follows the "style" perfectly, but it's also some of the best art this franchise has ever seen, if not the best. I really, really want to see them take over for the mainline games, and I am hoping this is the angle they're going for now that we have no mobile games.

I also need series staples to come back: 2D art and victory quotes being my biggest. There is not a single part of me that can process how this was actually greenlit for Arise. The skit format doesn't bother me as much as it does for other people, but these things, I cannot bend on, because it's not stemming from "wanting to try something new" (which Tales does all the time and is how I view the skit format change), it stems from the producer wanting to make Tales appeal to literally everybody except its targeted demographic and removing the things that drew people to this franchise in the first place. I don't think a franchise branching out is bad, but when it actively makes tons of old fans, who have kept the franchise afloat for decades, start to collectively lose interest in the future of the franchise, it's not a good sign. Even if there are people who "don't care," there are people who do and will drop the franchise if the franchise stops doing all of the small things that made them love it in the first place, especially if there's no real reason to be removing said things.

...Anyway sorry I got a bit heated. I love this franchise to death, and Rays really restored a lot of lost faith I had after I wasn't super sure the franchise was going in the right direction for me in the mainline games (I know a lot of people love it but even Berseria something just didn't quite feel right to me), so I hope Bamco can take some notes from what went well in it and incorporate that in future titles. I know I did my part and did the survey they put out, asking for a number of the things I listed here.

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

My top 5 bird-themed movies because why not

Okay, you guys I'm very excited about Illumination's new movie "Migration for a ton of reasons, but the main reason is that I love ducks. I'm personally, as a Chicken Run fan, NOT excited about Chicken Run 2 because I feel like they're going the wrong direction with it. Getting a new director, firing most of the old voices actors, and then Netflix taking over the ownership? No thanks! I'll still give it a try though. Here are my top 5 favorite bird themed movies, and why

(Chicken Run, 2000) I love this movie mainly because of the message and the fact that it tackled some heavy subjects in a family friendly way. The humor is really well done, like most DreamWorks movies, and the voice acting is amazing! I don't recommend it for children as much, but I'd say the age rating to start watching, is maybe 10-12 or older? It's a bit dark but it's still a beautiful movie and there's a character that almost everyone can relate to!

(Storks, 2016) Okay, this one is more for children and family, but has a few subtle jokes that mostly adults will understand,. I personally think it still has an amazing message about the lives of people come before objects and also that family isn't always birth given, adopting kids they're still family. And of course, the characters are very fun and adorable. Compared to most teen-young adult girls in animated movies, I really love Tulip's design. They don't make her too "sexy" but still make her look cute, she dresses plain, and she's a total goofball. I personally love seeing more female characters like that.

(Rio, 2011) You guys know this one's a cult classic! My mom and I loved this one a lot and were sad when Disney shut down BlueSky Studios. The movie is still incredibly underrated, although it has a strong fanbase of 2000s-early2010's kids! The music in the movie is incredible, the visuals and scenery is gorgeous, and it actually makes you want to travel to Rio! I feel like they tried to show the culture in the best way they could, even though I'm not an expert, they did it in sort of a subtle way, but still enough that it makes you admire it!

(Duck Duck Goose, 2018) This is an adorable and underrated movie for the family, even though the villain may be a bit scary at times! I love how it focuses mostly on the animals, I love when movies focus mostly on the animals to the point that you forget the humans are there, but they still do show humans sometimes. The humans don't have like, speaking lines or anything. Also, the characters are adorable! Peng's character really reminds me of Rocky from Chicken Run, but a little more childish and care free. A better comparison to Peng would be Otis from Barnyard, at first he acts like he wants to party all the time, but then learns to become a man by the end of the movie. The ducklings, Chi and Chao, are so adorable! Chi's a very loving and helpful big sister, and she's voiced by Zendaya! Also, Stephen Fry voices one of the crane brothers (or maybe they're gay cranes? I have no idea...). The voice acting and characters are so amazing in this movie, and the scenery is also so gorgeous! The humor is also on point, and you'll love the little squirrel character! I also think this movie is good for maybe 6 and up, depending on how used to movies the kid is. My 6 year old self didn't have that kind of attention span yet but some kids are different. Anyway, I just consider it a good movie for the whole family!

(Ploey you Never Fly Alone, 2018) Okay, this one can be a bit sad but also has a pretty good story. I'm personally not too comfortable with kids having love interests in movies/shows, like kids that are younger than teenage. Because they're birds and have no confirmed age, you can feel however you want about the Ploey and Ploveria relationship. I'm only uncomfortable about it because they both sound young and it wasn't much time after Ploey hatched from an egg when they met, but again, they're birds. It's still a beautiful movie with fun characters and really talented voice acting! I put it at the bottom of the list because it's not one of my first choices, but I haven't seen it in a while. You may have different feelings about it. I think i recommend this movie more for 10 and up, it does have some emotional moments though. It's not really funny or anything either, so I don't recommend it for parties or family movie nights. If you love bird themed movies and have a friend who does, it's something nice that you can watch together when you're not busy.

I hope you like the movies I recommended, and let me know what you think in the comments! I love to chat!