#and their inability to kill him or write him out of the story just snowballed into so many unnecessary side plots

[lakemichigans]

steve harrington single-handedly ruined stranger things and i really do believe that

[crusherthedoctor]

9, 13 and 14 :)

9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

For my one-shots, I felt like exploring some rarely touched territory. The Tails/Amy one in particular, since I wanted to resolve Tails' controversial Lost World portrayal in a way that could make sense (and I didn't need to use the phrase Wildly Inconsistent in order to do it), since as a Tails fan, the period of fans constantly shitting on Tails - some even requesting that he be replaced or killed off - was not fun. So I guess you could say the Tails/Amy one-shot was me venting, but in a positive way lol.

As for BtS/Stellar, I'll admit that part of it was due to the "Fine, I'll do it myself" mentality when I grew fed up with how hard it is to find traditional Sonicy adventure stories that also retain Eggman as the undisputed main villain - even less that don't needlessly soften him up for the sake of "depth" - but mostly it was because I simply had all these ideas that I thought could be worth sharing, and I wanted to see if I could make a coherent story out of them.

It began in 2014 with the naked template of the character who would eventually become Trudy. Then I started thinking up what, in my mind, the ultimate Eggman Big Bad story would be like. Then I brainstormed the story themes involved, and the setting, and how the official cast would interact with the OC in a way that remained in-character for all of them, and it just kind of snowballed from there.

tl;dr: "All these ideas are exciting me, but no one else is gonna write it cause they're too busy writing OoC Sonamy/edgy Scourge/SA2 adaptation #500, so I better harness that Passion and Effort that fans always talk about".

13. Describe your writing style. If you were to participate in an anonymous fic writers guessing game (like The Masked Author), what writing habits do you have that would be a dead giveaway that it’s you?

If there's gameplay segments, the immediate giveaway would be that Gameplay Narration!Crusher is a lot more sassy than Story Narration!Crusher.

If not… well, as you've noticed for yourself, I'm fond of giving the readers as much of a perfect picture as I can when it comes to the locations. I try not to go overboard and drag it out, but I'm one of those guys that must describe the exact kind of scenery, architecture, sky, etc. "Can't you just say it's a sunset?" "NO, they might think it's just a basic orange sky, I HAVE to specify it's a purple that gradually fades into deep red from a distance!!!"

As for how I write the actual characters, one stipulation that I've been trying to impose on myself with Stellar is to be as economical as possible with the dialogue. They still say a fair amount mind you, since that's pretty unavoidable for a story that's in written fanfic form, but for the big dramatic moments and emotional scenes and whatnot, my intent is to focus on the characters' actions and subtle gestures first and foremost, with everything they do say being just the right amount to go along with it. I take a conversation, decide on the necessary exchanges and length, then add some additional character-enhancing flavor text afterwards to round it out.

This was brought about by the IDW cast's inability to shut the fuck up, with Sonic's wall of text to Surge being the final straw. It made me realise and appreciate how laconic the game cast is by comparison (...usually), so that made me want to try it out. Eggman is a slight exception for this rule, since being Eggman, I figure he can get away with hearing himself talk as much as he sees fit, though even with him, every inch of his dialogue is at least still relevant in some form or another, some cases more subtle than others.

14. Share a snippet.

(Note that there'll be some narration that breaks this up a bit during the actual story.)

Eggman: So being the generous gentleman that I am, I've given these ancient husks a second chance at life so they can have the freedom to carry out my pursuits. But I couldn't just leave them, could I? All that time spent from a bygone era surely must have left them scared and confused upon witnessing this brave new world! They could do something silly in their old age, like resist me! So to help them out in the modern day, I gave them a little… maintenance.

[lotusdiscussthis]

I know you posted a while ago about how Shuichi never gives Kokichi a chance and just writes him off, but I do understand him (Shuichi), maybe because I also have anxiety, but I know people who act like Kokichi does in real life, and while they seem cool in fiction, they’re toxic, tiring, and frustrating to be around in real life, especially for someone with major anxiety. Just food for thought.

Haha, I only just made that post the other day. It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this sort of response. Though I’m afraid the specific food you are feeding to me isn’t something I haven’t already considered numerous times before. Given how the narrative has played out, of course people who’ve played V3 would think the same way about both characters initially.

Saihara = Every man/Sensitive Cinnamonroll.

Ouma = Complex individual/Troublemaking D-bag.

Both of them just seem to fall on either one of the two categories by the majority of the fandom.

But y’see, what you’ve just said about one character being too toxic to be around and one being the anxiety baby is exactly what’s seriously wrong with how the story is woven. I have an issue with Saihara because he’s portrayed as a sensitive kind soul that has anxiety and depression. And it’s due to those aspects of his character, the characters and the narrative itself are just using that as an excuse to make you overlook his major faults. And the worst fault of his is… he just sucks as a detective, no matter how you look at it. All that talk about him being scared of revealing the truth and all the crying he does, is nothing but pathos when you look back on it. Pathos that make you go “Oh well, what happened to Kaede wasn’t his fault.”,…except that it totally was his fault in the end. At least 50% of it was. And it still baffles me to this day how blasé Saihara’s reaction was when finding out that Kaede was not Rantaro’s killer. For a guy that was sunken deep into his own insecurities and depression in Chapter 2, and how personally worried he was about whether or not he could’ve done something to save Kaede, he didn’t take that discovery as hard as one would think.

Anyone in his shoes would be all like, “OH GOD, HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID! I SCREWED UP! I SCREWED UP BAD-”… but no. Instead he’s like “HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY” and put ALL of the blame onto Monokuma and the game itself. Like,… how? This isn’t something that you just … get over instantly. And before you claim it as part of Kaito’s training or whatever, this sort of discovery would be DEVASTATING for a detective and as someone who supposedly cared for Kaede as much as he did. And yet Saihara didn’t even take a second to self-reflect on this or even go “I screwed up… but I’ll make it right”. NOPE. All on Monokuma.

That seems a bit too heavily inconsistent, seeing as we were already aware of his own personal values, his attachment to Kaede and his worst fears when playing as him.

Look, I have issues too, but using that as a means to overlook your own hypocrisy, selective-ness and your inability to take charge by yourself is just wrong. And yet, that’s all Saihara’s been doing.

But before I get too deep into the subject of empathy between player and characters, I think the most important thing to take into account when analyzing DRV3 is that you have to separate your own personal feelings from the game and actually *see* how the personalities and behavior patterns of Ouma and Saihara pertain to the story as a whole.

Let’s start by using the near end of Chapter 1 for example.

When Kaede was voted as the killer, Saihara went against his detective work in finding the mastermind and told everyone that “there was no mastermind”. Which is dumb. Whether the mastermind was actually related to the hidden room or not was yet to be determined, because they never actually went inside the door and find out what the purpose for it was. The door exists for a reason, but the mystery behind it was put on the back burner because of Saihara’s painful trauma over Kaede. Because of HIS pain, he decided from then onwards not to check the hidden door again. 9 dead students later, Kiibo went full war-mode and blew up the entrance and DA-DA-DAAAA! THE HIDDEN ROOM APPARENTLY HAD A PURPOSE AFTER ALL. Go figure, right?

Do you see the issue in only focusing on the protagonist’s emotions and nothing else? Because the game was clearly going for the “weak-boy-becomes-strong” character arc and had constantly reminded us of how insecure he feels, we were compelled to only listen to his inner turmoil and ignore the fact that he’s not doing anything useful in his freetime until someone gets killed. And when we’re not too busy on focusing on Saihara’s pain, we’d be focusing on Himiko’s. And if not Himiko, we put the focus onto Maki. Those who didn’t get enough attention just didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to survive V3.

The fact of the matter is, V3 was heavily centered on the emotions of the three survivors than anything else. And because of that, we were forced to look at certain characters (such as Ouma and Angie) that even *dared* to actually put effort into stopping the killing game as the problematic troublemakers while the supposed good guys just get away with doing nothing to help the situation themselves until the finale.

You know who didn’t give up on the idea that there was a mastermind after Chapter 1?

That’s right. Not Saihara. Ouma. As I’ve said before, Ouma knew full well that the mastermind was monitoring them and also knew that there was a traitor within the group. It’s not that he’s a paranoid boy who couldn’t trust anyone, it’s because he’s incredibly cautious and has adapted to dangerous circumstances like the killing game before and knew how to avoid trouble. (Say it with me now, HE. IS. NOT. A. CLOWN. OR. PRANKSTER)

You say that Ouma was too toxic to be around Saihara, but Saihara didn’t have any issue hanging around Maki at all. The chick who promised not to kill anymore, but was still insulting Saihara a lot. She then broke her promise by going behind everyone’s back to kill Ouma, only to have that plan backfire badly, berated Saihara while secretly planned to sacrifice him and the rest of the class to get her payback against Ouma. Even after all of that, Saihara forgave her, ignored all the backstabbing she did and still saw her as a friend. That’s just… wow.

So why is Ouma a jerk, you wonder? Because when Ouma was saying that he wants to ENJOY the game, it’s because behaving like a twisted sicko would get you far in this twisted, sick game. Getting too buddy buddy and acting like you want to stop the game for even a moment would prove to be hazardous to your safety.

If the incident with Kaede has proven anything, being openly defiant against the game and acting self-righteous in front Monokuma would only paint you as a nuisance, thus making you a target. That’s why in Chapter 5, he told Kaito he had to *lie* to himself that he enjoys the game, so the person behind Monokuma wouldn’t kill him. And it’s not enough to just play it up in front of the Nanokumas, he had to be consistently twisted and evil so nobody would catch wind of it. And he had to be selective in finding allies, such as Gonta and Miu, because those two were the most valuable people within the group that wouldn’t carelessly disregard everything he says.

I think I’ve explained enough. I dragged this longer than necessary. I’ve explained how Saihara and Ouma’s behaviors have impacted the story. I hope this answer will suffice. Having to get too sucked into the emotions of the survivors can be fatal when not paying attention to the other elements of the story.

[jacksmusesdrv3]

@jorrynoftheroundtable

Alright, Ima move [this] to its own post, reblogging from the OP again will just make it super cumbersome. Here we go!

And there’s shuichi’s backstory again. I don’t understand it.

If this “script” exists, it has a point. A purpose. Tsumugi has a story to tell, and has been building it up since the killing game starts.

But then this case gets sidelined. It’s brought up once or twice, expanded upon slightly, then dropped.

The best explanation is that it would somehow feed into the derailed ending, but… How? Some common murderer in prison started the Ultimate Hunt? Or does everyone’s backstory relate to the hunt- except, then we would see evidence of this in character interactions.

Unless, we stop relying on good storytelling.

We’re flat-out told that Shuichi has someone that hates him for his ultimate talent. Angie (for cult stuff), Ouma, Maki and Ryoma seem to be solid targets too. Korekiyo comits murder, Kirumi is a shadow government. Everyone else is either a lucky punk who talents were handed to them (see: Miu’s bionics, Rantaro being born rich) and/or could easily turn to crime.

In that respect, the Ultimate Hunt could simply be the public’s response to a generally corrupt system. A school-to-crime pipeline in which the nation’s “hope” is groomed by those with the biggest pockets- corporate dirtbags and mob bosses.

That’s the thing, I’ve [brought this] [up before] but it bears elaboration: the key here is that Shuichi only believes that case to be a coincidence, and the person to be a common murderer, but it’s super sketchy. I think we were all thinking it: ‘he solved a single case, and then became an Ultimate? Just like that? ...How?’

To think of it like that from the start, it’s as you say, the state of things is really... off. Corrupt. Even if it was pure luck, the fact that an institution jumped right on that to award him an Ultimate title of all things, would seem to suggest that the case or rather, the person involved, was much more high-profile. A target, even. 

If there’s corruption evident for the other Ultimates’ situations, we must consider what is going on with Shuichi’s case, too. The problem we have here, is that this is not part of Tsumugi’s story, or TDR’s goal. A story of corruption is not the narrative she wants to tell (ahem, ‘write’), which is why it is sidelined, plus the odds of a grand organisation like TDR willingly exposing their own corruption is about as great as a snowball’s chance of surviving in hell. So it would seem, it’s part of the game master’s objective, which I’ll get on to in a bit.

A couple of things also:

Very important to keep in mind is that the group’s specific memories of the Ultimate Hunt were sealed. As Monokuma got memory data from the facility they had used, he could sort through and compartmentalise them - chop them up like cucumber - in such a way that specifics could be withheld, in the same way that the memories related to their talents were sealed in the first place. 

It’s also worth noting that Kirumi notably struggles with the recollection of her last employer, stating that there were memories still missing. It would suggest that the Ultimates struggling to remember everything is less to do with the validity of the connections being in question, but the game master’s unwillingness or inability to connect relevant memories, since he is in charge of the redistribution. Moreover, if Kirumi was still struggling with aspects, it would mean that her backstory was not ‘complete’ on its own at all, and had been redacted, rather than had things simply added on to it to pad it out. 

In any event, Monokuma uses the connection to Kirumi’s current employer as a motive, intent on using her. Notable also is that these Flashback Lights are decidedly different, bear the hallmarks of the Monokubs what with being called Kubs Pads, and being fashioned as such. That being, there’s no evidence that they were created purely as a motivator, and even less that Tsumugi had anything to do with it.

Anyway, back to Shuichi.

Shuichi is a case in that his talent’s acquisition seemed to be luck, but with this case itself being super high school levels of redacted, only hearsay to go on for the conclusion, we cannot even be certain about his ‘finding of the truth’. The implications of this are already pretty worrisome. What’s even worse about this is with the case of Rantaro’s death being Shuichi not even actually finding the truth, but unwittingly framing someone else when...

...Ouma had pointed out, and held on to the key evidence that the detective needed to scrutinise in the first place in order to save Kaede, but failed to.

The fact that the case plays out in a way that expects Shuichi to send Kaede to her death is disturbing in itself. But imagine if this is similar to how his first case had played out too? It would say a lot about the game master’s objective, should he link the two incidents as a part of his game plan. It seems that the story is a subtle ‘hint hint, remember this...?’ while leading these people to their eventual demise from reality itself (TDR’s objective- ‘fictionalise history’, hence HPA). 

In other words: it’s the sheer malice from the game master’s own agenda, a victim of this web of corruption. A man was sent down for a crime, as a result of his relative’s death. Who is the man? Who is the dead? It’s curious and extremely ominous that a message from the dead shows up in yellow during Chapter 3, but that’s a whole thing in of itself.

And who derailed the killing game? Ouma. The supreme leader of evil. Supposedly the leader of DICE, who have a no-kill policy.

This is why I make distinctions between the game master and the ‘participant’ Ouma. The former fits more the position of a supreme leader of evil, as we know that the latter absolutely isn’t one, he is merely wearing the mask of one. That is what the motive video tells us after all.

Now, if you really read all that, I pose a question. Assume most, if not all, of my logic is sound. Who did Ouma derail the killing game for?

The outside world, naturally. ‘This world’. If they relied on the Ultimates’ survival, it means their own hope was being manipulated as a result of this game. ‘This world’ would be thrown into hell if the killing game came to its conclusion with a vote. That is the main thing the game master relied on. *Isn’t it strange how everything mysteriously crashed at the end..?

Hopefully this helped explain some things. The narrative is all kinds of chopped up by its very nature - like the proverbial cucumber I mentioned - but as long as the main focus is on the situation of the Ultimates and the corruption, it should help with dispelling some of the illusions of ‘fiction’!

[gascon-en-exil]

As I mentioned a few days ago I finally figured out how to play FE4 with the latest translation patch, so for the first time ever I’m actually getting to experience firsthand Jugdral’s pageantry of political and family drama, incest, and clunky inventory management. I’m currently at the start of Chapter 7; I was planning to write down my commentary so far at the end of 1st Gen, but I was delayed on account of Pâques so here we are. I know Jugdral maintains an active following here on Tumblr, so this will undoubtedly be of interest to someone.

I’m still not used to the map size and scale, but how this approach to chapters affects the narrative seems kind of inconsistent. The Prologue is just a basic FE opening times two, Chapters 1 and 2 each work well as standalone stories, and I get that Chapter 4 is the breather level between the mess that is Agustria and everything that happens to cap off the 1st Gen. That said, Chapter 5 has way too much going on (unless the intention was to overwhelm the player with a chaotic snowballing mess barreling toward the Belhalla barbecue, in which case mission accomplished), and Chapter 3 has a wildly out of place last segment: the protagonist’s wife has been kidnapped, the Camus has bit the dust, and the army has been branded traitors, but let’s take five and kill some pirates. Sure. Chapter 6 didn’t leave much of an impression on me apparently, though it was more complex than I was expecting considering it comes just after the game pushes the reset button on the playable cast. I wonder how much harder it would be using only substitute characters?

Speaking of eugenics, I paired up all the relevant women according to the pairing guide on SF because it’s been ages since I’ve been emotionally invested in a M/F romance in anything. It doesn’t seem like it would be easy in Genealogy anyway, what with the lack of proper support conversations. As I understand it some pairings don’t get any conversations at all, eesh. At any rate, I believe that several of the pairings I picked were among the more canon ones (Lewyn/Erinys, Azel/ Tailtiu, Midir/Edain, Claud/Silvia, Beowolf/Lachesis), so I guess it’s good that I’m getting to see that letting some random nobody like Arden get laid. (And yes, I know Arden has a special event in Chapter 5 if he does, but I’ll have to save that for another playthrough.)

Jugdral does appear to be a tad lacking in the queer subtext department, unless it’s just buried really deeply or all in Gen 2/FE5 or something. I mean, I can assume from how the Big Knightly Trio of Gen 1 turned out (one marries another sister’s, one marries a woman from another’s territory, the third has never loved woman until he meets a mysterious waif whom he’s explicitly forbidden from boning) that there’s some repressed erotic longing going on there, but I don’t have much else. Now that some people including myself are looking forward to gay!Leon in the Gaiden remake it’s a bit disappointing to think of how starved the inevitable remake of this game will probably feel by comparison. But then, you know, eugenics babies.

So...Deirdre’s Naga brand is easily recognizable on her forehead, right? Does that mean she never took off her circlet around Sigurd, even when they were, er, making Seliph? Now there’s a funny plot hole.

Good God, the inventory system in this game is in desperate need of an update. I can live with each character having their own gold supply, but the inability to trade is just stupid. I realize that it would detract a bit from inheritance, but I suppose they could fix that by making it impossible to get any items from Gen 1 unless they get passed down (excluding items that can never be inherited, of course). Making doubling and critical hits dependent on a skill and/or weapon kills is also in need of correcting. I imagine that Pursuit is even more centralizing to this game’s breeding meta than Galeforce is to Awakening’s, and here it’s just to get an ability that’s baseline everywhere else in the series. So annoying.

I understand that Jugdral is meant to be the distant past of Archanea, but whether it’s because I’m scarcely more familiar with that setting or something else I just keep seeing the foundations of Elibe instead. Ilia and Bern are Silesse and Thracia with their roles as mercenary nation and monarchy reversed (but the wyvern countries are the aggressive militaristic ones on both continents, because of course they are), Isaach is like a less ethnically Othered Sacae, and Grannvale is comparable to Lycia with its squabbling marquesses. It’s so extensive that I read elements of Etruria into Agustria, even though I don’t think the latter is necessarily meant to be Jugdral’s source of culture and refinement. It does at least have the warring nobility thing down pat. On a related note, the story of Verdane’s corruption felt incredibly familiar, until I remembered that earlygame (not Lyn’s story) FE7 reuses pretty much the whole thing. There was also the Agustrian noble whose son tries to attack Sigurd (and gets his ass handed to him by Eldigan) in Chapter 1, which both FE6 and 7 revisit with Laus.

Oh, Eldigan, you are neither as gay in-game as Perceval nor as slashable as Xander, and so my interest in you as a Camus is rather dwindled. At least Xander had the excuse that the irrational despot he supported was (as far as he knew) his father. Unless it’s implied by House Nordion having Hezul blood that they’re distantly related to Agustria’s ruling family or that Nordion used to be charge Eldigan’s fate does seem more misguided than tragic. I’m not even commenting on whatever’s going on with him and Lachesis, except that it’s funny as hell to imagine how (if at all) that would be officially localized. Isn’t it played up even further in some of the tie-in material?

I hated Chapter 5′s desert segment, and now I’m dreading Chapter 7 for pretty much the same reason. Gah...so much sand to get through to reach all the interesting Thracia and Freege stuff I’ve been reading about for years.

I’ll definitely have more to say once I’m all the way through the game. Incidentally, I don’t mind spoilers for the rest of the game and/or FE5 in responses; I’ve known tons of disconnected bits of info about Jugdral for years, and it’s just that now I can actually witness them for myself.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… American Crime (S03E05) Episode 3.5 Airdate: April 9, 2017 @abcnetwork Ratings: 1.743 Million :: 0.37 18-49 Demo Score: 9/10 @americancrimeabc

**********SPOILERS BELOW**********

North Carolina, what have you got going on up there? Let’s be real, not that these types of situations aren’t happening in other places… But there’s a damn good reason that North Carolina was chosen for this particular topic. And although Luis’ hunt for his son has come to an end, the arc has not yet fully found its conclusion, or at least it seems. I would venture to say that most of us thought it was Diego who killed Teo. Finding out that it was actually his brother Isaac was a bit of a shock, yet it was also not completely inconceivable. Teo had a hold on Isaac, and while Isaac demonstrated forms of empathy and compassion, though sometimes twisted in execution, it was Teo’s sheer brutality and domination that forced Isaac to act outside of his normal realm of character.

What seemed like slightly disjointed chapters sharing similar themes, but lacking direct connections seem to be suddenly finding themselves overlapping. We see Kimara at the fundraiser, now crossing paths with some of the Hesby’s and the Coates’, working her magic, grabbing the attention of Claire who pulls Kimara aside to share a bit of her story and write Kimara’s charity a check, one that she is unaware they cannot afford to write… It’s not as if Nicholas is sharing that important information and even if he had, they are attending a fundraiser… Those are precisely the places that checks are written. Miscommunication or the lack thereof is key there, but the show isn’t quick to portray Claire as some kind of victim in their relationship. Quite the contrary! If this 5th episode was anything, it was a telling expose of crossed lines and the juxtaposition between certain characters and their ability or inability to follow through.

Claire’s faults start to bleed through the cracks of what is always a character driven piece of moving modern day art more than it is a truly frame by frame plot powered drama series. It’s strange because as I’m watching the episode for the first time, I’m very closely paying attention Gabrielle’s eyes… How they dart when she talks about her family, when she cautiously hands over her passport after telling Claire she had almost lost it in the park while watching Nicky… I first thought she was lost in regret, or reliving a bad experience, possibly showing signs of depression… How naive of me. Reading other’s interpretations before commencing writing this review, fellow TVShowTimer @Pablo (Our very own resident Teen Wolf philosopher) talks about the subtle nuances that are so easy to just look over, but pack some of the heaviest punches, harshest realities, and hellacious natural eventualities of the show and all the topics it explores itself… From racial to cultural divides, to what you may have never even considered slavery.

Gabrielle is afraid to be trapped, just like the undocumented Mexican immigrants. That passport that Gabrielle has is the only thing that keeps her free from yet another form of modern day slavery… Or possibly even worse, depending on the outcome or any number of scenarios that could snowball from a rich angry white woman who’s unrealistic expectations, internal struggles, and relationship woes could manifest in. I mean… Who knows, right?! Anything is possible. When Nicky strikes Gabrielle and Claire, who just happens to be hovering not far away, reacts with such anger and such a condescending nature, coupled with the quiet remark Claire gave Nicky in response to him asking why they weren’t teaching Gabrielle English (answered with ‘she’s here to teach you French’)… It suddenly dawns on me that even subconsciously Claire could be strategically taking away any and all power Gabrielle holds in the United States as a documented worker/visitor.

I was also unsettled by Claire’s talk with Kimara, after the fact. Again, it’s that subtle nature, the things you may not see so blatantly happening because essentially that’s not how they happen. Claire talks about how much money and how many tries that they had to fire off to create Nicky. Meanwhile we see Kimara taking in what she’s saying… As audience members, we know she is silently struggling with childbearing issues but I also see that as Claire is praising her work, Kimara is thinking about Shae and if anything she’s wondering if what she is doing with her organization is really having the effect she so desperately wants and needs it to. We’re left with a breathtaking shot of Kimara alone on the bench after the talk, in total reflection in front of a sprawling dimly lit tree that seems to extend right from Kimara’s very being, thriving but complicated and very much in its late stages of life.

As Claire and Nicholas walk away from the party she uses it as a chance to push her 'Gabrielle Agenda’… “Now aren’t you glad I hired Gabrielle? So we didn’t have to scramble for a sitter.” Sure rich lady, the ends totally justify the means here… Such a rich sliver lining. Nicholas uses her absurd logic tacked on to her proud admission of a $5000 donation to Kimara’s charity as an opportunity to let Claire know their business is in the red. These two have impeccable timing, huh? He throws Claire’s story she tells of Nicky being a 'miracle baby’ in her face. Did he even want this baby? Did she? Is it just a project for her to boast about at parties and show off to potential faces she may see at the next big NC Gala?! And Shae… Does she really want that baby? What are her motivations to keep it? Are they out of loneliness? Pure selfishness? Or does she plan on giving the baby up for adoption? Meanwhile Kimara is fighting to save lives in a system that doesn’t work and desperately trying to find a way to have a baby in a world not worthy of its light.

Can anyone really blame Shae for checking out? The DA seems to have moved on and Shae was never really going to receive protection anyway… Not real, honest to god protection. A 'token cam house’ may seem out there for some, but it’s an honest living and it’s a step up from an abusive pimp and a government funded, shame fest for broken ex-prostitutes and expectant or seasoned mothers. As Shea’s situation plays out, we’ll have to just wait and see if this truly is a better option than the two pitiful ones she just passed on. I hope so… But 'American Crime’ isn’t a feel good type of series is it? It’s a reality check… And one that more than just under 2 million people should be watching on a weekly basis.

[dorkshadows]

The Demons Strike Back

Objectively, the professional reviews give this film 2-3 stars out of 5 and I think that’s fair. 2 or 3 depending on how much enjoyment you got. It’s an alright movie in total and there are fun things for JTTW fans (provided you’re not a purist who can’t stand any deviation from the book).

Subjectively, I’m giving this a 10/5 for shipping bias lmao but that won’t have anything to do with the pseudo-review below the cut. Just look at that picture.

It’s important to note that this is first and foremost a Tsui Hark film: his style, his direction, his tone. There are elements of Stephen Chow, but as far as Chow comedies go, this really isn’t and shouldn’t count as an example. 

Things that this movie deserves kudos for:

The soundtrack; it’s better than the prequel and more emotional overall

Sanzang outright puts his disciples on display and charges admission LOL

Fight scenes are great and special effects are pretty good for a non-Hollywood production

Then things get more subjective from here on out. Reviews ragged on the storyline for “lacking coherency/ having no story”- I disagree. It was streamlined enough, it just didn’t have that 3-act all-connection structure you’d expect from a popcorn movie. And I do fault the filmmakers for that because I doubt they set out to make an arthouse film- this was a blockbuster and it does need that high-and-low plotline most audiences want.

Characterization-wise, I think we got a pretty good sense of Wukong’s persona. His actor was the best one in Sanzang’s group. Different than the prequel’s Wukong but not exactly like any other adaptations either- Hark/Chow at least succeeded in creating a new Wukong. The trailers made him look hilariously angsty, but he’s not as emo as I thought he’d be- just has anger issues and a #resting bitch face. His desire to murder/hurt Sanzang, but also be liked/forgiven by Sanzang, combined with the inability to articulate that desire, was a checkmark. And that would’ve been a highlight if it wasn’t for what happens later (more on that below). I was also surprised by how downright... sexy his performance was, I’d tap him. 

I don’t see the point in giving Wukong 3 monkey forms, with none of them looking like the monkey from Conquering the Demons. I know the whole cast changed, but still, that tiny yet freaky CGI monkey didn’t have to change (I missed it!). 

Kris Wu was, er, not great, better than his other acting roles, but not as good as the prequel’s lead. But I could tell he was trying his best haha. That aside, the character- a lot of what he does really depends on what you think of him- a genuinely smart person, manipulative, kind? All of the above? I liked that aspect of the writing. Ultimately, he’s supposed to be a good person (carrying on from the prequel) and there’s one plot twist that I both love and hate because it does wonders for his character but also undermines something (more below- it’s the same thing with Wukong fyi).

The film didn’t forget Duan and she’s integral to the plot/Sanzang’s character so that was a plus. Her memory really connected Sanzang, Wukong, and the new love interest TM. And it’s a good choice to have the film “honor” her by not giving the new love interest TM half the love it gave Duan in the prequel. 

Bajie and Wujing didn’t get as much screentime as I expected. That was disappointing because Wujing looks awesome in the movie. They had great designs and aside from some funny lines, didn’t get to do much. 

I liked the final villain- it was a logical twist and the actress wasn’t bad . She was funny and unrepentant to the end (not gonna spoil who she is). The spider demons were really cool too- they just didn’t have much to do with the plot. Red Boy’s design was unexpected, but I thought it was creative and the best fight scene was his and Wukong’s. I don’t have much thoughts on the final, final fight because it was WILD lol, but the transition to Sanzang’s trump card could have been clearer.

As for the love interest TM (Eng. subs called her “Felicity” for some reason lol), I honestly did not care. She came into the plot when there were like, 30 minutes left (!?), knew Sanzang for 1 day, and suddenly is in love with him. Her death was alright and SPOILER she’s actually the white bone demon. I appreciated Sanzang not loving her back though- he saw a bit of Duan in her but that was it. He was actually “using” her. 

But she was the worst written character and it just felt repetitive for the love interest TM to die, especially when she’s this inconsequential.  I would have preferred her 1) getting introduced earlier, 2) getting a redemption arc and leaving alive, 3) providing a better explanation for why she was helping the big bad. She was so unimportant that her death wasn’t even there for #ManPain. Her role needed a lot of work. 

Humor-wise, some moments made me laugh (Chow’s writing there), but this is more of a dramedy than a comedy. The tone’s more “serious” than Chow’s movies, but the humor and drama do balance out- some jokes (or I think they’re supposed to be jokes) just fall flat. Chow fans will be disappointed though. I know I was. 

Now for that twist I love/hate:

Basically, Sanzang and Wukong have a dramatic fall-out, where Sanzang admits he hates Wukong for killing Duan, and it snowballs from there. But it was all an act Sanzang organized to trick the big bad into showing herself. This shows that he’s smart, makes the love interest TM things 10x less cliched, and shows he does have chemistry with his disciples, but it also leaves you going “huh?” in retrospect.

Because this twist makes you backtrack through the whole movie until you realize every conflict Sanzang had with his squad in the film was an act. Then where’s the actual character development? How did he and Wukong move past the Duan thing? At what point did Sanzang really win over his team? It’s a very good twist, but awkward in retrospect, like they cheated us out of character development.

Misc (subjective) thoughts:

The script wouldn’t have been so awkward if some events were switched around (ie. swap the order of the Biqu Kingdom scenes with the spider demon scenes)

Bajie is into BDSM- this isn’t even a joke. He really does have a kink for it. Also, it’s implied he has a thing for Wukong in addition to women lol

Thanks to that plot twist above, it’s implied that Sanzang walked up to Wukong and said, “Beat me up and eat me”- I’m not sure how to feel about this, this is the kinkiest group of pilgrims I’ve ever seen

Wukong/Sanzang is borderline canon by the end, and I don’t mean in the queerbaiting way (maybe I’m biased but I hope to have better sense than that! Plus, Tsui Hark doesn’t have to resort to that), but in a “this is as much as we can get through the censors in a high profile Chinese jttw adaptation- we did it because we wanted to lmao” way. Not spoiling this one fantastic bit at the very end, but let’s just say Steve/Bucky shippers only wish they had this much canon support. 

(Lastly, Kenny Lin said Wukong suffers from “unrequited love” in this movie. Make of that what you will, but this Great Sage was not straight imo.)

Overall:

It’s not a deep film, but I don’t think it’s completely meaningless. The story’s all over the place and you probably won’t care for any of the characters unless you’re like me already attached to the JTTW team regardless of their incarnation. It’s not a good comedy, but certainly not a total drama, and it does make you want to see what happens next. 

I’d rec it if you A) like mindless but well-choreographed action B) are crazy about JTTW like me C) are a fan of the leads, and/or D) ship Wukong/Sanzang

Chow has a sequel in mind and regardless of what bored people on the internet reviews say, this movie made money. So here’s to hoping he gets to make a trilogy! 

[thecatcherxxx-blog]

A People Shooting Hat

Chapter 3, 4, 5 Analysis Entry

Depression of the Young Literati - Hatsune Miku

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bCkJ8oBBS0

I may as well do it soon, go somewhere far away...

Should I really go alone?

My school, my friends, my job,

Just about everything, being thrown away

Starting at the Keio station, a flock of people:

Within, a girl; she's lost her wallet, crying

The train immediately slides into place,

People fail to grab a seat and groan

And suddenly it feels like nothing matters;

I enter into the group of unfeeling people...

Someone, please, call my name;

Suddenly, I feel sad, but why?

Flying out from the world, beyond the universe,

Playing with a wild, wandering imagination,

Before the tears come

My favorite novelist - you ought to read him too

Though it was a long time ago that he committed suicide

"It was a lifetime filled with countless shames," he said

"Spent with only lies being told," he said

"What a gloomy guy," they laughed, but

No matter what, I couldn't get it out of my head

Let me hear a voice, anyone's, right now;

All alone, I'm shaken as the train jolts

Flying off the tracks, to the dark side of the moon,

Rising to the heavens, and there you were

Reverting to that day

"Dear sir: I, just the same as you,

Will somewhere, someday, die, will I not?"

"It was a lifetime filled with countless shames,"

"Spent with only lies being told,"

But I won't end up like you

I'm just a mere lover of literature...

Someone, please, call my name;

Suddenly, I feel sad, but why?

Flying out from the world, above the sky,

I beg you, shake free from all that you can

Run away... Go...

This song is about a depressed girl trying to feel some sort of connection to this world, but in the end, she realized that she is alone. She loves to read as she mentioned that she felt the same way as an author, who committed suicide, did; that this life is full of lies. This reminds me of how Holden is isolated, lied throughout the story, liked to read and connect with the author just like the girl in this song did. 

In these three chapters, Holden interacted with friends, Ackley and Stradlater. The chapter started off talking again about Holden thinking people are phony. Then Ackley, who was Holden’s dorm neighbour, barged in. From Holden’s point of view, Ackley is a person with poor hygiene and disgusting personal habits. Ackley annoyed Holden until another character, Stradlater, showed up. In Holden’s opinion, even though Stradlater is a popular, handsome guy, he is still a “secret slob”. Stradlater did not care about anything other than what appears on the outside of him. Stradlater, while having to go on a date later with Jane Gallagher, asked Holden to write an English composition for him. Holden, after agreeing, became fixated on the topic of Jane, who is a girl he knew and liked. Holden does not like the idea of Stradlater, who is one of the few sexually experienced boys at Pencey, taking Jane on a date. After the Saturday steak dinner and a stroll out with friends, Holden is focused on writing a composition for Stradlater. Having nothing to write about, he thought of his intelligent, innocent younger brother, Allie. Allie died of Leukemia and that Holden still feels strongly about his death.

I can relate to how Holden cannot control his emotions and have constant outbursts. To be honest, the world we are living in right now puts constant pressure on everyone. When that pressure builds up, there has to be a way for it to be released. In Holden’s situation, he hasn’t found a stress-reliever and he is depressed. He keeps everything within himself because he thinks no one would understand. In my situation, I do cry or scream for no reason at home once in awhile. But after that, I feel so much better. I can calm myself down and rethink the situation I’m in through a positive light. Another relation that I can make with Holden is thinking that life can be bitter sometimes. In life, there are certainly going to be ups and downs. Holden is depressed because of all sorts of things such as Allie’s death, having to grow up, as well as no one to connect with him. In my situation, it is just merely the repeating of the same thing over and over again. Our everyday life is essentially a cycle that repeats on until something major happens and changes it into another cycle. When that cycle goes on for too long, it can get boring and depressing.

2 symbols that appeared throughout these three chapters were the red hunting hat as well as the snowball. The red hunting hat that Holden bought in New York was his way of being different than others. It was also his wall of protection from the ugliness of the world with the long peaks covering him. He also called it the “people shooting hat” meaning he’s going to keep everyone away. Holden made a snowball but he ended up not throwing it at anything because it was “perfectly white” This symbolizes how Holden wants to preserve the purity and innocence of those around him. However, the bus driver later forced him to throw it out, representing the adults killing the innocence of children. A character trait we learned about Holden is that he is cynical to everyone around him, including his friends. Through his interaction with Ackley and Stradlater, we can conclude that they have a good relationship. However, Holden still managed to express negative thoughts (eg. hygiene) about them, giving the reader a horrible impression on them. Holden automatically searched for other’s weaknesses and present them to the readers.

Questions

1. Holden became very fixated and disliked Stradlater taking Jane out on a date, why might that be?

Holden and Jane were friends before and it is possible that she is someone Holden actually liked. However, as a result of Holden’s inability to connect to women, he did not go into an actual relationship with her. Therefore, Holden is protective of Jane when he realized that she is dating a sexually experienced guy like Stradlater.

2. Do you think that Holden is a “phony” himself?

I do agree that Holden is a phony himself. He always criticizes others for not owning up to their mistakes but he acts the same way. He hates when others are faking but he lied many times throughout the book.

I predict that Stradlater will come back from the date with Jane next. This will definitely piss Holden off once again especially when he was just in the state of extreme depression after thinking about Allie.