#but also that she's so sincere and emotional. and those themes and emotions strike a deep chord

[iamnotlookingidonotseeit]

oh god i think i'm in love with k.d. lang

[untilteddocument]

After-Action Archive Caves of Qud - The Next Big Step

Welcome again, one and all, to the After-Action Archive! I have a massive feast for you this time, my readers. After the events covered in the last post, things have smoothed out to a large extent, but what came afterward is...

I think I can sum this up by saying that this is Part One of a...I sincerely don't know, it's at least four parts just going by the number of screencaps I have. Though I don't think it reaches nearly the same emotional point as the last post, it goes places. With that in mind, let's get started.

The quest with Pax Klanq went less remarkably in most ways this time than it did last time, so I decided to skip the report for it and proceed directly to the step afterwards. After securing Klanq's assistance, I reported back to Barathrum, and he had something for me to take care of.

Now this seems like a hell of a task. Well, not that the end goal is any less ambitious, but this makes me feel an inkling of its true significance. I do acquiesce, but with no small amount of trepidation.

Thankfully, I already have a trusty pickaxe, and carting the tattoo gun around is not a problem. I visit the rest of the Barathrumites for their input.

Iseppa, concerned with dreams as she often is, marveled at the journey required.

The chef Dardi, meantime, asked me for a favor.

Hortensa, filled with motherly concern, expressed such.

The shopkeeper Mafeo, on the other hand, was filled with more confidence.

The others expressed similar well-wishes and concern, all of which I thanked them for, before I made my final stop.

After paying my respects, I once again "journeyed" to Ezra, and by "journeyed" I mean "I used my recoiler to teleport there, along with my entourage."

Speaking of my entourage, in the intervening time between my defense of Grit Gate, my negotiation with Pax Klanq, and now, I had time to...expand it.

I will start with a more conventional addition. Warden Une is the protector of the anarchist Yd Freehold, a deft hand with the hurdy-gurdy...and a runaway from the Putus Templar. "Kinslaying and treason" sure paints a picture, as does that mask. It marks them as a Murmur, a ritualized symbolic outcast to a certain community of the Putus Templar, though now literal, I guess. My curiosity did get the better of me and I did ask, but they gently rebuffed my questions. Fair enough, and there's more to talk about anyways.

I saw that they had a penetrating radar cyber-implant installed, which lets them see through obstacles in a wide radius, a boon in dark and convoluted spaces. That radius is boosted by compute power, and as luck would have it, I had stumbled across that coronet pre-modded with co-processors, which granted more for the radar to use. Figuring this would be as good a theme to have as any, I outfitted them with more ways to boost compute power (the wrist calcs, and I have a palladium mesh tabard in the works) and ways to use it.

Aside from the penetrating radar, the point-defense drone uses compute power to help track incoming explosives, and I am planning to replace those hand rails with blood-gradient hand vacuums, which have less raw damage and penetration but take advantage of compute power to generate ammo more quickly and can even heal their user.

I also happened to have a spare ceremonial vibrokhopesh, which I modded similarly to Yrame's kit. With their bonus to penetration from Aggressive Stance, Penetrating Strikes, and the vibrokhopesh's sharp mod, Warden Une will be doing plenty of damage even to the most heavily-armored enemies. All this combined with their shield and the skills to use it means they're basically the equal of even the sturdiest Knight-Commanders of the Holy Temple...

...but what's a knight to a god?

-----------------------------------------

By luck, I had stumbled on Oboroqoru's lair while doing a quest on behalf of Indrix. At the time, I wasn't on good enough terms with apes to be welcome there, so I backed off, but thankfully, through various methods, I was able to build my reputation with them in the intervening time such that I could enter with no problems. The trip was largely uneventful, and before long I met the God of Apes and convinced Him to join my cause.

Even a cursory glance at His abilities and skills told me that He's beyond reproach as a combatant. His mighty fists and the cudgel-focused skills He puts to use with them could flatten pretty much anything in a few flurries, and speaking of, He is skilled in multi-weapon fighting. His armor value when properly equipped is absurd, and even getting past that means having to chip away at His 896 HP. He's the ideal tank, perhaps the second-strongest fighter I have on my side.

Who's the strongest? I'll answer a question with a question.

What's a god to a sludge?

-----------------------------------------

Out of the three, I had actually made this soupy sludge's acquaintance first, on my way to find Pax Klanq. This time, I wasted no effort searching for the various liquids to put it over the top, plus my pre-prepared store of cudgels to fill up its pseudopods and keep it generating new ones with each drink it took.

In total, that's forty-five limbs' worth of attacks (I missed one opportunity to force it to make new arms).

While Oboroqoru definitely has it beat in terms of individual hit quality (His strength is far superior, which combined with His fists lets Him overwhelm even well-armored targets) and defense, the sludge has several advantages, not least of which is its whopping 290 quickness, which works very well with its limbs' 100% offhand attack chance. What's more, the liquid pseudopods' special effects are something that Oboroqoru's fists simply can't replicate, offering effects ranging from weapon disarms to confusion to spawning in friendly plants. Anything that tries stepping up is taking their life in their hands.

-----------------------------------------

With my team thus expanded, I returned to Erza with a purpose in addition to hitting up Yla Haj and Sixshrew for whatever new stuff they had in stock. Now, Barathrum had said that the Mark of Death was lost, but in my travels, I had happened across information that gave me a lead.

There are many relics of the past still extant in Qud, with memories painted or even carved into them. On one such relic was part of what I needed.

Rebekah, Resheph's mentor, had stolen the Mark of Death, but on her deathbed, was forgiven by Resheph and buried in Ezra.

The other part came from my first trip to the cemetery, when I spoke to someone who always seemed to spend his time there.

I hailed him and asked him why he always held vigil where he did.

So he would know something of Rebekah's grave, though my curiosity got the better of me first. What deeds did he mean?

He tells me a bit about the mopango, subterranean creatures who have awoken to sapience and philosophy, and while fascinating, I decide to cut to the chase. Being a repentant graverobber, he gave me the expected question.

I consider for a moment. Can I truly count my quest as just? Ambitious, yes. Pivotal, certainly.

Just?

If Barathrum is right and the injunction placed on the planet is over and we're being welcomed into the greater community, responding would likely lead to better lives for all. Medicine, technology, transportation to the stars, the sky was literally the limit.

But what if he was wrong?

What if the message is nothing, just wishful thinking sculpting noise? Doubtful; cagey as he is, I highly doubt Barathrum would move so drastically on a hunch. What if it won't lead to anything good? What if it's a signal of some kind of purge? What if it's further admonishment, an extension of our sentence?

Really, even if so, the answer was clear. Regardless of the message, something up there is calling for us, and to refuse to answer would be to deny important knowledge. If ignorance is bliss, I would wipe the smile off my face.

With this in mind, I honestly answered in the affirmative. That's when he gave me the clue I needed.

The only thing left was to find Rebekah's grave. The cemetery is small, so it didn't take long to find what I was looking for.

And there's the Mark. Unassuming, all things considered, but this would be our key to wider frontiers. With the mark carefully memorized, I returned to Omonporch, where the Barathrumites were busy making their preparations for the Spindle, leaving me to mine.

This is the Death Gate, one of the entrances to the Tomb of the Eaters. The other, the Life Gate, is also sealed, but with no clue on how to open it and no reason to go in that way, it's a non-issue. Here, though...

Well...time to "be dead," I guess.

[devilbombers]

Kowloon Generic Romance review

8/10

[link]

it aint about the fucking romance; it's about the fucking VIBES, man.

I have this awful fucking habit of reading shoujo manga ONLY if the woman is hot. I usually read them regardless if the plot/characters are good I just like staring at the girl and just completely ignoring the dude lmao.

unfortunately kowloon isn't one of those series exempt from this process. But BELIEVE me my fascination with this series does come from a place of sincerity in the end.

generally when i approach any piece of media I will only actually get into it for the story or the characters. It's usually one or the other but this is the first piece of media I've come across where neither of those things are absent but still somehow manages to be a great series.

I'm not at all interested in the overarching plot, romance nor the characters; but the overall theme.

I'm a fucking whore for metaphors and deep diving themes, so I'm probably absolutely in love with the theming of: Nostalgia and the diverse values people hold towards that which is even vaguely familiar and the decision making with choosing what is truly precious to a person.

The mangaka explores this theme from so many forms and subjects in the most elegant way possible it really fills me with so much emotion.

[LOSER SECTION]

Well sincerities aside, I have to go back to what i said in the beginning and admit I love this series a lot of course because i fucking love looking at the main character kujirai so much. Hottest fucking woman I've seen in quite some time.

I praise the shit out of the creator because she strikes all the checkmarks in my brain for subtle attractive features such as;

careful attention to drawing eyelashes and hands

lots of nice drawings of profiles

cool expression

SHORT HAIR

this isn't even a crazy thing to have but it's almost impossible in this fucking era to find series with actually adult women in it so i'm forced to think its the greatest thing ever because its such a goddamn rarity now.

this is also the first time I've also been almost genuniely upset over the loss of random fanservice that happened a LOT in the beginning. I understand of course because I assume the mangaka realized it distracts a lot from the story but goddamn DO I MISS IT ACTUALLY. I NEVER thought it was possible to make house painting sexy but she fucking did it. the creator should get an award just for that honest to god. I really wonder what the fuck compelled her to draw all of that at the start but good fucking job, maam.

SO ANYWAYS if you wanna have a sexy and almost theatrical time i would suggest reading it.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Chapter 99 - Deep analysis - Love

Hello everyone, I hope you’ve been well; remember to take care of yourself everyone!

The new chapter is out, and of course,analysis and theories will come but, there’s something I want to talk about which was discussed with two friends from discord.

Therefore, let’s begin!

One of the things this chapter carried was “Love”. And many might say or state it’s the cliché of undeveloped romance but, the issue is, that’s not the central point of the story, how can I say this?

In one of the Afterwards Kagami released that sadly it’s not translated and I asked my friend which translated the raw chapters each time they were released to translate it; Kagami states the value of family and love, but for that, let’s talk about it on how that applies towards the story.

First of all, Kagami Takaya stated long ago that Romance wasn’t the main theme of the story; which so far has been true until the doubt that was born during the current chapter. But there’s a huge issue everyone dismisses, what could it be?

The issue is, love takes many forms, it’s not only romantic love or yearning for another person; how can I say this?

Within each chapter, we’ve seen love countless times among humans; and this isn’t romantic wise; it goes to the small shape of caring for another, it goes to worrying for the well being of another:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 20

It might seem like it’s a common panel with comedy but actually, that’s the first time Shiho Kimizuki shows love and affection in the shape of caring twards a friend, towards family; towards someone who supported and encouraged him to take a decision in way more early chapters.

It’s true the squad is young, it’s true they’eve spent at least 5 months together due to how the story began; but yet, they slowly started to take care of each other in their own ways without stating it clearly.

Another proof of such emotion is this:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 23

Another view of this is back in chapter 23 when Shinoa was going to tell Yu about the incident that happened when he became a seraph for the first time; but before that, the squad wanted to make a peaceful dialogue first and for that, they started to do it like a family would; Shinoa and Mitsuba aimed to cook for the guys that technically are the strength of the squad when it comes to defense; but of course, both ladies don’t know how to cook and this ended up depending on Shiho Kimizuki to cook a breakfast for the whole squad, therefore, what’s the point to this?

Correct. Love isn’t romance alone; love is caring for each other, making sure to deliver an appropiate notice to someone you care and that’s what the squad did together; they worry about Yu and true, they might not express it towards words but they can do it through actions:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 35

Yoichi used something Yu repeated to them and that goes to what Mika taught him back when they were in the vampire capital; they became family, they took care of each other’s back and this applied to Mikaela as well not due to him being an important person to Yu but rather because they care about Yu’s happiness and well being; they care for a person that means a lot to someone within the squad and it’s reflected a lot on Mikaela when he showed distrust towards Yu’s friends.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 56

Another form of love despite the picture uploaded is the fact that Guren loves deeply his friends and specially Shinya, does this mean it’s romantic? 

No. Shinya was the very first friend Guren had, a friend that supported his idea to destroy the Hiragi Family so they could be free from their graps ever since the events before the Catastrophe; they trusted each other in order to find out what they Family planned along what Mahiru aimed; both were partners in arms to check each other’s back and eventually, those two started to find more friends which later on became Mito, Goshi, Sayuri and Shigure; and the reason for Sayuri and Shigure to be friends was because they’ve been loyal to Guren; they were supporting pillars but they saw themselves as followers from the Ichinose household until that slowly changed; they saw each other as equals and friends as well.

Even when the world was going to end, they raced towards it bravely even if it meant dying in the process, but of course,Guren couldn’t withstand such event which lead to the Resurrection.

Is there any other form of love?

Of course there is:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 58

While it’s true the scene displays Kureto struggling agaisnt Shikama Doji and relies on kissing Aoi; it’s true that Kureto does harbor feelings towards Aoi but the fact that the shadow of his father, the shadow of the whole Hiragi Family was casted on each member; this only made that Kureto couldn’t express such feelings at ease, but such emotion of love could be seen back in the last volume of the LNs of the Catastrophe.

After the fight Kureto had with Mahiru; Kureto dialed his father to ask if this was also aware of everything to which Tenri replied that it was; that everything was proceeding according to certain plan.

And of course, during this conversation, Aoi Sangu became Tenri’s hostage since he ordered to shot Aoi; Kureto of course worried about her and made Aoi use her cursed gear to heal herself; and you might wonder, where’s the love within this?

The love in there as it’s pure form is the fact that Kureto does care about Aoi’s well being despite her being the least enjoyable character to see within the story by what the fandom has expressed so far and. Kureto despite having a cold demanor cares a lot about Aoi and it’s well seen in the fight against Tenri, when he goes and protects her.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 5

Another form of love is the one that displayed Mikaela Hyakuya towards Yuichiro Hyakuya, a selfless love that was born from the very bottom of his heart:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 90

Correct. Mikaela told Yu he loved him; such form of love it’s the purest because Yu meant the world to Mikaela; Yu became his light to fight all the things his heart endured, Mikaela wanted to see Yu happy, he wanted to see him safe after the events of Ferid killing their family in front of them without mercy.

Yu and Mika have had a strong bond with all the time they’ve spent together; they knew what bothered them along when to scold each other whenever was uneasiness.

The love Mika displays towards Yu is a sincere form of love, the one that aims or seeks to see the well being of an important person; a love that aims the total security of said person but within this, it does not only focus on that; Mikaela despite being a vampire was able to keep lingering emotions since his reason to live was still alive; he was aware of Yu’s nature and yet, he did his best to ensure his safety despite adversity; but within this, he was aware Yu was in good hands, he had a family that cared about him, and of course, may might say chapter 95 was the opposite of it but, chapter 99 really striked down on such beliefs:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

Shiho and Yoichi were the first ones to get triggered by Yu’s easy emotions of just hearing Mikaela will be saved.

They doubted Guren for his actions and how it delivered to Mikaela’s death. They’re young, they don’t know how to express the form of love that goes by embracing someone or giving support words but one thing they do display is through actions; they care about Yu and care about what Mika held dear as well; they’ve lost their important ones in the process and they’re not willing to lose more.

And lastly, the love that confessed Shinoa Hiragi to Shikama Doji; while it’s considered quite surprising and even as something manipulated; in fact, that’s not really the case; Shinoa wanted to have a normal life, being a normal girl but she was aware she wouldn’t be one from the beginning and specially after remembering the events on which Mahiru ended sealing her emotions:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

I understand very well that this might be unpleasant to some, or joyful for others; as the writer of this analysis, I don’t find it joyful nor unpleasant; everything is held within a neutral point of view; and what it’s displayed in said chapter is actually Shinoa accepting what her heart feels. She’s aware her heart does beat fast when she’s close to Yu but it doesn’t mean she’s obsessed with him nor means she lusts for him; but rather, just like Mikaela; she wants to see him happy, that for once he manages to have a happy life, that he is safe just like the squad does too.

The main focus of the story asides from defeating the First Progenitor isn’t about creating romance; but rather to show that love takes shapes, love is built with time, it can go for appreciation, respect, careness, happiness for the wellbeing of someone that changed a life.

P.S: Analysis are held within a neutral view, they don’t support ships nor anything. The choice of shipping goes only to each respective reader.

The purpose of this analysis is not to justify or say Kagami is enforcing romance but rather, he is aiming to show that adminst catastrophic events, “love” is the key to keep standing, to keep fighting even if the reasons to live may be silly. 

And just like my favorite lore story which is Honkai Impact 3rd, they always state: “Fight for all that’s beautiful in the World.”

That is applied within this chapter as well. A fight against a being that has a God complex. 

What do you think dear readers? Do you agree love takes different forms? Let me know.

GIF belongs to hopeymchope

[tamuramachi]

Top 10 Manga Picks: the Origins of Manga-Loving Yumi Tamura!

Loosely translated from the Da Vinci Magazine August 2020 issue.

"Tamura has been creating works that span mystery, horror, fictional warfare, action, and fantasy genres. What kind of manga has she been reading up to now? We asked her to introduce the 10 works that inspired her to start drawing manga, as well as what she considers her heart's bible. Includes comments from Tamura herself!"

Yumi Tamura's Comments:

1. Cyborg 009 by Shotaro Ishinomori

"When I was little, I watched the anime first and loved it, and then I read the manga around the time I was entering junior high school. I wanted to be 003 and go into battle with friends in the same way. I feel like it was my emotional support during the period of my 2nd year in junior high when I was having a hard time and ran away from it all."

2. Lolly no Seishun by Kimiko Uehara

"When I was in the 3rd or 4th grade of elementary school, Uehara drew a lot of one-shots in Betsucomi ('Lolly' was a weekly comic), and they were so interesting and moving every time that I was constantly in a state of emotion. I think because of that, I began drawing manga in my notebook, splitting up the pages into panels. Dramatic & rich with emotion, the depicted characters by Uehara, whether men or women, are full of charm & utterly brilliant. The energy and willpower of the female characters is really wonderful."

3. Thomas no Shinzou by Moto Hagio

"Of course I love 'Poe no Ichizoku' & '11-nin Iru!' too. Needless to say, Hagio is the greatest treasure. When I was in the 1st year of junior high, my friend & I were crazy about 'Thomas'. I liked Juri and my friend liked Oskar... we talked about going to Germany someday. It links together my own happy memories. I'm sure I didn't understand everything Hagio was trying to draw, but in the end, even now I cry at the image of Juri smiling faintly in a small panel."

4. Hamidashikko by Jun Mihara

"To me, this work is like the bible. It relentlessly strikes the deepest part of the heart and brings forth a flood of pain and tears. It wraps you up in a warmth that's helplessly miserable, sorrowful. Sincere gazes and intense dialogues. The power of the dialogues is truly unbelievable. The way the dialogues are presented along with the drawings make the best use of that power. Mihara's careful thoughts are at the root of all this. Even though I'm already this grateful, I will never get used to it. It's just amazing."

5. Kyoufu Shinbun by Jirou Tsunoda

"This is the most terrifying manga I've ever read. It's so captivating, & even decades later, it's still ingrained in me. There are various scenes that I'll recall whenever something happens. My younger sister & I would look at each other & go like ‘it's that’ or ‘that one scene, right?!’ & it would send shivers down our spines. We're already at a level of trauma. It's uncommon for a main story line to be most interesting while introducing all sorts of horrors."

6. Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu by Kazuo Umezu

"If I was told to read a manga now that would make me cry right away, then I would choose this one. Particularly the last scene of the mother crying. This work is unbelievably fierce, grand, rich in ideas, & just too fascinating. And the themes are so broad & deep that it makes you think about many things. It's a rare transcendental masterpiece that will, in the end, leave you feeling comforted & positive, thinking ‘it was a good ending,’ even though the journey is extremely scary & painful. Also, my contempt for Sekiya is strong.”

7. Macaroni Hourensou by Tsubame Kamogawa

"This is explosively entertaining. Fun. Cute. Cool. I love it! 25-year old Toshi-chan is the best! He's so cool. I don't know how many times I've read this. I still say the lines out loud even now. This is a very popular work that I can only describe as fun. There are not many other gag manga that make me burst out laughing quite like this one. I love it!”

8. Akaaka Maru by Minako Uchida

"I just can't stop admiring this work in general. The drawings, the rhythm, the stunning midpoint [?], the ability to think in a scientific way. And the proficiency of observing people. I admired it so much that I tried drawing contours of people & handwriting with permanent markers & brushes, but my drawing skills were so different that I ended up with nothing but doodles. ‘BOOMTOWN’ & the short stories are also very interesting & fun!”

9. Genji by Yun Kouga

"Innovative, I thought. I could clearly understand it. Kouga seems to be the kind of person who has a lot of sense. I've always thought it was amazing how her work & she herself had leadership qualities of the time to pull others along. I would very much love to know what kind of ideas Kouga has in mind for the rest of this work, since it hasn't been completed yet.”

10. Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya

"There was a period when I was having a very tough time, & it got to the point where I was having unhealthy thoughts like, ‘Is manga even enjoyable?’ But then this work came along & I was like ‘Aah, manga is fun after all! Thank goodness, I'm okay!’ So, this is a super popular & famous work to which I owe a debt of gratitude for making me realize & genuinely feel this way. I think it would be the greatest if I could portray the world in a similar way with such thoroughness. I envy that power of Ninomiya's! It's magnificent!”

Additional side comment from Tamura (in the speech bubble):

“I wanted to include the Bijohime series (Hana no Bijohime) & PARTNER by Tomoko Naka too! (I think it's obvious that these have an influence on my characters.) Other works that also left a strong impact on me are Ryouko Yamagishi's Arabesque; Yuko Kishi's Tamasaburou series and short stories; Rising! (Saeko Himuro/Author, Kazuko Fujita/Artist); the Palm series (Yasei Kemonogi); Astro Kyuudan (Shirou Toozaki/Author, Norihiro Nakajima/Artist); & Dark Green by Junko Sasaki. Makoto Kobayashi's Judo-bu Monogatari & Nanae Haruno's PaPa told me are also excellent! There’re also many other works that I'll never forget, such as those by Shinji Wada & Udou Shinohara, which have all influenced me in some way. I've always loved TONO's Karubania Monogatari too.”

[greengrungeemo]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.4 Himatsubushi was a quick finish for me. Very short, but sweet. I enjoyed the pinpoint focus on Rika and Akasaka. Small town maiden versus federal government city boy. The ultimate dynamic in a serious altercation: a utilitarian issue. A dam construction. Should the few  thousand and their homes and livelihoods be sacrificed for the greater good of Japan and its energy resource capacity?

Yet, despite her small size and age, Rika may be the best symbol of strength than any character I know.

Why is this? Well, most who have played this chapter may describe how she has immense power and influence in Himanizawa due to the population treating her as a mascot and symbol, a vessel of Oyashiro-sama. Or, others could say that the fact she knows most, if not, can predict all days of her life leading to her end is a great power in of itself.

I personally view both of those as her greatest burden instead. A cross to carry. You can see it in her eyes. All she wants is to live happily with her friends, that’s all. As described by Akasaka and Ooishi, she never had any desire for power or wealth, only a humble lifestyle with the few she loves. Though, like many of us, life doesn’t tend to go our way. She is stuck. Alone with this issue. Trapped with an emotional affliction she struggles to deal with. She knows the exact day she’ll die. Who can she tell without sounding insane? Her friends? Her teacher, Chie? Doctor Irie at the clinic? Law enforcement? Her parents before their untimely demise? No. It’ll all sound crazy, and if she points at the happenings she predicts and says, “LOOK! See? I told you, I was right!” Superstition would be the primary thought process for all. “You did this then? You planned this?” See? It’s not so black and white, and I’m certain she already thought of every possible angle.

So why did she solely tell Akasaka her fate, and the fates of those affected by Oyashiro-sama’s Curse and their exact dates? A cry for help? An attempt to change fate? Trust in him? Perhaps sympathy or conviction to drive her point for him to go back to Tokyo and do exactly as she demands of him? My personal theory is that it could be any of these or a bit of all of them, or... it’s that she’s venting.

Yes, venting. This entire chapter focuses on the adversity that Rika must endure. She is a wearer of many masks. Intelligent (possibly due to these days being a recurring cycle for her? It *is* distinctly clear in her mother’s diary entries... Where could she be learning these skills and talents?), calculated as well. She knows when to act cute and when to drive her point forward. She knows this is all a matter of timing, and to set her pieces up carefully.

Akasaka on the other hand, he’s a good man. Faithful and devoted to his wife and his work. Sincere and strives to uphold the law and protect people. He may have a mission assigned to him, but he most definitely has his set of morals and principles that he strictly abides by. A good man. Yet, that may seem one-dimensional? And so it is proven. For this, he is naïve. Perhaps he’s overworked? Perhaps there’s simply so much information to keep tabs on, or perhaps he’s too focused on keeping his duty as maximum priority? Either way, he fails to absorb imperative information. When him and Rika are alone at the mountain view, she vents to him all of what will happen. She guarantees him the dam project will stop. Why? Because it will. She provides him exact dates and the events that will follow. Why? Because they will happen exactly as stated in verbatim. The stupidity and naivety of man. His perspective and priority was focused on “how Rika’s demeanor and speech changed”, rather than the actual information given. Pathetic, in Rika’s words.

It’s a shame, because he is the kind of man that would go out of his way to individually stop all of those events from happening. He has his morals to abide by, after all, and his emotional breakdown for Rika in the end is clear of that. His regret is clear... He’s a good man and that’s that.

Putting myself in Rika’s shoes, I wonder how this would wear on me psychologically and emotionally? Perhaps there would be moments of apathy or carelessness at the inevitability of it all - a nihilistic approach - or perhaps there may be moments of desperation? Stop it at all costs. No matter what, it feels as though it’s a much more powerful force than a tiny little girl can overcome, and that’s why it must be so hard on her. Despite her pain, the gestures she makes for Akasaka like cutting those phone line wires... brought me to tears. She wanted to provide him even a single night of respite, if it meant his happiness to be preserved a little while longer... That’s angelic to do with her burden. She’s so strong.

Also, her mocking and making fun of Ooishi’s laugh in the post-game extra was the best thing ever.

---

All in all, the lesson and theme this chapter emphasizes is on choice. Cause and effect. Every choice, big or small, shapes our fate. All choices have their own set of consequences, good and bad. Life would be boring if all the choices we made ended up with good results, and indeed it would be torture if every one of them resulted in bad consequences. Rika may not know what choices to make, but it seems apparent that she’s making the most out of the ones she does know to make to extend the fullness of her life and reach that one step closer to her dream. That’s great, and I’m proud of her for it. After some heavy lessons of my own, I’m making sure to be as careful as possible, but also to act when necessary for those I love. Striking that balance to preserve true goodness. If you slip, pick yourself up and make future choices that will prevent similar slips. Rinse and repeat, and build, build, build. Experience builds character, after all. What kind of individual will you choose to be?

[saeyoungs-sunflower]

what are the rfa s weddings lik?

Hey, anon! This request was SUPER cute, thank you so much for sending it! I absolutely loved it💛It’s nearly 3am and I am knackered so I may re-edit this is the morning but we’ll see! I hope you enjoy it! xx

***

RFA weddings

Zen:

❤︎ A medium sized wedding

❤︎ He does invite his family, and it’s the first time they’ve seen each other in years

❤︎ His family put their differences aside to see you get married, and it was a huge turning point in their relationship with each other

❤︎ Did he cry? Just one elegant, pearly tear that glided down his beautiful bone structure. He’s emotional, but he’s gonna be pretty about it I mean this is Zen we’re talking about

❤︎ Best man? the fishbread man It’s gotta be Yoosung. He considered maybe asking his brother, but it just seemed inappropriate considering how he turned his back on Zen when they were younger. And he basically sees Yoosung as a little brother anyway ;)

❤︎ Flower theme? Roses. Of COURSE. Only the most romantic flowers for you

❤︎ “MC they also match my eyes!”

❤︎ dork

❤︎ Now the wedding is pretty straight forward until the reception

❤︎ Because I need you to understand something

❤︎ Apart of the RFA, all of Zen’s friends are actors

❤︎ And y’all, the dance floor is so chaotic

❤︎ But also it’s so lovely because everyone is having an amazing time and the energy is so contagious

❤︎ Whilst everyone is partying though, Zen took you outside

❤︎ “Today’s been the best day of my life, but it’s been so busy that I haven’t got a chance to be alone with you.”

❤︎ I-

❤︎ He tells you just how gorgeous you look in your dress, and how he feels like the luckiest man in the world because he was the man that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with

❤︎ And that’s when he cries

❤︎ Just full on sobbing

❤︎ He’s had some champagne okay let the boi cry

❤︎ The Romantic Wedding

Yoosung:

★ BIG wedding

★ Yoosung has a lot of friends and family and you wanted everyone dear to him to be there

★ Also they were just gonna turn up anyway so might as well invite them and avoid the hassle lmao

★ Did he cry? Actually, no

★ I know I’m surprised too

★ Everyone thought he would, but instead he just absolutely BEAMED

★ Like nobody has ever seen such a look of pure adoration and joy and everyone else is crying because oh my God he looks so happy and cute I-

★ Best man? I reckon it’ll be someone from his family. He seems like a family man, I’m sure there’s a brother or cousin that he’s super close to (no, not Rika lol)

★ Flower theme? Sweet peas because he is a sweet pea aw

★ It’s a fun night guys

★ You got to properly bond with his family and he yours

★ And because there were some younger ones in his family, there are plenty of games and activities to keep them occupied after the ceremony

★ Which Yoosung also manages to rope you into

★ You learnt that playing musical bumps in a wedding dress is much harder than it looks

★ It’s a very sweet and fun day. The ceremony is taken seriously but after that you just enjoy yourself

★ You’re both exhausted by the end of the night, but also can’t wipe the smiles of your faces

★ The Fun Wedding

Jaehee:

☞ We know that Jaehee doesn’t half-arse things okay

☞ Girl goes ALL OUT

☞ If Jaehee’s planning it, then there isn’t a petal out of place and it’s the most gorgeous wedding no joke

☞ Like Zen’s, it’s a medium sized wedding

☞ She doesn’t have a lot of family but she does have some school/college friends that she invites

☞ YOU DO THE SUPER CUTE THING RIGHT where you both walk down the aisle from opposite sides and meet each other in the middle because you BOTH GOTTA HAVE YOUR BRIDE MOMENT OK

☞ Did she cry? I don’t think so. She’s absolutely ecstatic, but I don’t think she’s a cryer (also it took over an hour to get her makeup done she ain’t about to cry it off)

☞ Who gave her away? Our good old Zenny boi

☞ Just imagine Zen walking her down the aisle because obviously her father isn’t around to do it, and Zen has been her biggest fan (apart from you obvs) and IMAGINE HIM CRYING WHEN YOU BOTH GET TO THE MIDDLE BECAUSE YOU’RE BOTH SO BEAUTIFUL AND HE LOVES YOU BOTH AND OH MY GOD THE LOVE

☞ He cries more than he would have at his wedding lmao what a sweetheart

☞ Flower theme? Tulips! I dunno why Jaehee just seems like a tulip gal to me

☞ You make it your mission to get as many glasses of champagne into this woman as possible

☞ Because she has been s t r e s s e d all damn day. Jaehee it’s time to relax and have some fun

☞ And lemme tell ya, after a few glasses she hits the dance floor and it is glorious

☞ Watching Zen’s musicals has really taught her some dances because damn

☞ Your wife’s got moves

☞ The Perfect Wedding

Jumin:

♚ Oh, you thought Jaehee went all out?

♚ Then let me introduce to Jumin Han, the King of Extra

♚ It’s GRAND y’all

♚ It’s the most elegant wedding out of all of them

♚ You were reassuring him constantly that he didn’t need to spend so much or plan such a huge wedding

♚ You were head over heals in love with him regardless, and you would marry him in a shed for all you cared as long as you could spend the rest of your lives together

♚ But he insisted, saying that you deserved a day as special and beautiful as you were

♚ HE LOVES YOU OKAY LET HIM SPOIL YOU A BIT

♚ He invites a lot of people lmao

♚ We know he’s a family man, but he also wants to declare his undying love for you in front of many people as possible

♚ Like I said, King of Extra

♚ Also lowkey wanted to show you off lmao like “Yes this is my striking wife, emphasis on MY because were are married aren’t you jealous”

♚ Did he cry? Nope, don’t think so. Again, not because he’s not emotional, he just shows it in different ways

♚ Like the way that he physically cannot take his eyes off your

♚ Jumin bby you gotta blink come on now

♚ Best man? Jihyun, OBVIOUSLY

♚ Flower theme? Lilies. They are elegant and pure just like you ;)

♚ Or at least that’s how he sees you lmao

♚ VERY traditional wedding, but that doesn’t make it any less special

♚ Your first dance is the most tender and emotional thing that anyone has ever seen

♚ Yes that sound you hear is indeed Zen crying again. He just loves a good wedding guys

♚ The Grand Wedding

Saeyoung:

☀︎ Very small, intimate wedding

☀︎ It’s literally just your family/friends, the RFA and Vanderwood heheh

☀︎ Obviously he has no blood-relatives except for Saeran, but he considers the RFA as his family anyway so he’s very content

☀︎ Best man? Saeran, of course

☀︎ But also can we imagine Vanderwood as best man for like two seconds because woah

☀︎ Who do I have to pay to see that man in a suit

☀︎ Did he cry? Like a BABY. Literally the second that you walk through the doors he’s a sobbing mess

☀︎ He just never thought he’d ever have a day like this or meet someone like you and oh my God you look so stunning gET THE MAN A TISSUE

☀︎ Literally can’t even get it together for the vows lmao bless him

☀︎ Flower theme? Sunflowers  I mean look at my username I couldn’t not

☀︎ They’re just so bright and unique (as a wedding flower) just like him :)

☀︎ Sunflower is also a nickname he has for you PLEASE JUST LET ME HAVE THIS ONE OKAY so it was just the perfect choice

☀︎ The reception is also pretty unconventional

☀︎ Because the wedding was so small, you were all able to just gather round one table and chat all together

☀︎ And then you all danced and drank and laughed and you’re heart had never felt so full

☀︎ He never left your side all day, and his eyes were constantly fixed on you

☀︎ During your first dance he leaned in close and whispered in your ear

☀︎ “Thank you for making my life worth living. I love you with every fibre of my being, and I will dedicate my whole life to making you happy. Thank you, for everything.”

☀︎ “…also I think I can hear Zen crying.”

☀︎ The Intimate Wedding

V / Jihyun:

❁ A medium to small wedding

❁ But it’s also the most picturesque wedding you’ve ever seen

❁ Jihyun was in charge of decorations and oh boi he did not disappoint

❁ Every inch of that venue was a piece of art swear down

❁ Invited friends and family but only those he was at least fairly close to

❁ He didn’t care for inviting a bunch of people just to have a big wedding

❁ He wanted it to be a day of love, so he only invited those who he cared for and who he knew cared for him

❁ Did he cry? Ladies and gentleman we have another cryer. Not as intense as Saeyoung but there were definitely several tears once you met him at the alter

❁ Because you were right there…about to marry him. He never thought that somebody would love him the way that you do and he just couldn’t believe that it was all real

❁ OKAY I’M JUST GONNA GO CRY TOO BRB

❁ Best man? Do I even need to say? Obviously it’s Jumin

❁ Y’ALL the look on Jumin’s face when you got to the alter

❁ He was literally so proud of you both and also SO RELIEVED that his best friend found such a wonderful woman like you

❁ You manage to silently have a conversation with him, just with a few looks

❁ “Take care of him for me” “Of course, always.”

❁ I’M GONNA SCREAM

❁ Flower theme? NOT DAFFODILS THAT’S FOR SURE I think maybe baby’s breath. They apparently signify ‘festivity’ as well as sincerity, compassion, purity…

❁ Also I think that they just go with his aesthetic don’t @ me

❁ It’s a quiet wedding, there’s dancing and everything but it’s mainly slow dancing and meaningful conversations with your guests

❁ It’s so wholesome and sweet and just such a perfect start to your life together

❁ This man is gonna have a LOVING and PEACEFUL marriage with you because that’s what he deserves

❁ The Serene Wedding

Saeran:

☽ Just like Saeyoung’s, it’s a very small and intimate wedding

☽ In fact, it’s even smaller

☽ But that also made it so special

☽ Did he cry? He did not, but trust me he was going through a whirlwind of emotions

☽ He actually did tear up when you were saying your vows though

☽ Because he felt so cared for and loved and your promise that you would take care of him for the rest of your life made him feel more safe than he had ever felt before

☽ Best man? Driver Kim SAEYOUNG OF COURSE

☽ He almost asked Jihyun though just to piss Saeyoung off lol

☽ Flower theme? ALL OF THE FLOWERS. Saeran was in charge of flowers because he is a flower God okay

☽ I’m no expert in flowers so I’m not even going to attempt to explain what he did but just imagine some really nice flowers

☽ The overall wedding was a mixture of traditional and unconventional

☽ The actual ceremony is pretty traditional, mainly because Saeran just wanted to have something normal is his life, you know?

☽ He wanted to have the proper experience, and also wanted you to have that too because you’re life had been far from normal since you met him haha

☽ But then once the ceremony was over, you all had a meal and then the rest of the night was just talking with your friends/loved ones and just FEELIN THE LOVE YA KNOW

☽ It had been an eventful day, so everything was wrapped up sooner than most weddings are because partying into the early hours of the morning just wasn’t something that Saeran could/would want to do

☽ But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the most special day of your life, because it was

☽ The fact that Saeran wanted to make such a commitment to you, despite everything he’s been through, was special enough and it was the perfect day for the both of you

☽ The Special Wedding

***

This was super fun to think about, thank you so much! And please excuse the awful photo quality, Pinterest was not being kind to me :’)

This will be the last request I do today (I mean it’s technically the next day for me but shhh;)) but thank you for being so patient!! Take care <33

Masterlist 

[brightbeautifulthings]

Week 1 | Week 2-3 | Week 4-5 | Week 6-7 | Week 8-9 | Week 10-11 | Week 12-13

Week 14 (p. 470-506)

[tw: death, violence, eye horror, racism]

More of Marathe and Steeply pondering out loud the overall themes of the novel, which are probably some of the most grounding chapters in the book. I'm not sure we'd totally know what to make of it without their commentary, since trying to string together coherent connections in a thousand pages is a kind of mental gymnastics. Some of those connections are stranger than others. What begins as a scene of Gately running errands weirdly (but sort of artfully) segues into a disturbing scene between the A.F.R. and the Antitoi brothers. There are plenty of things grim or uncomfortable or flat out distasteful about this book, but sometimes the graphic violence kind of jumps out and stabs you in the eye, say, with a railroad spike. It ends with an oddly spiritual image that I have spoilery questions about below the cut.

There's a very funny scene of Erdedy at an A.A. meeting that was published in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, and I confused the shit out of myself the first time I read IJ, wondering how the hell this scene in the middle of a thousand page novel I’d never read was familiar to me. It also contains racist depictions of African American characters' speech patterns, and I doubt this particular section would be published now. The humor in the scene doesn't depend at all on harmful stereotypes and would in fact, be a lot more funny if I wasn’t spending so much energy cringing at it. So many of the little racist asides could have easily been edited out of the entire novel to make it less offensive.

Week 15 (p. 507-538)

[tw: mental illness, OCD]

Hal is again acting weird in this section, cataloging all the blue things with an "involuntary grin" (p. 520). It's not clear if it's because he's ingested DMZ and starting to feel its effects or if it's because every character in this novel is Emphatically Weird, and his neuroses look pretty mild next to everyone else's. It's astounding to me that of all the problems these characters face (rampant alcoholism, Tavis's pathological openness, Avril's OCD, Politeness Roulette, and fear of open spaces, disembodied voices, alienating her children, etc.), Himself found that the most pressing one was Hal's inability to emote. Hal is one of the most functional characters on the page at any time, and while he readily admits having difficulty relating to his family, aside from Mario, he and Stice are "at complete ease with one another" (p. 521), which doesn't strike me as a terribly unhealthy absence of connection, communication, or emotion. (In any case, who could blame him for being a little robotic as a defense mechanism against the Incandenzas.)

"'Don, I'm perfect. I'm so beautiful I drive anybody with a nervous system out of their fucking mind. Once they've seen me they can't think of anything else and don't want to look at anything else and stop carrying out normal responsibilities and believe that if they can only have me right there with them at all times everything will be all right'" (p. 538).

Alongside Hal and Orin's, Gately and Joelle's are some of the best conversations in the book. Joelle has an intellectual's habit of commenting on the way things are said (pretty much the embodiment of irony), while Gately may speak in cliches but is much better at getting to the reality of things (embodiment of sincerity), yet they still manage to communicate in a way that's effective, insightful, and often funny. He thinks he's not that smart and worries other people will pick up on it, but he keeps up with her just fine. Gately notes that when Joelle talks about the veil, she doesn't sound like herself (more like she's reciting someone else's ideas from rote, imo), and, interestingly, Gately's voice almost seems to start to match hers by the end of some of the discussions.

Questions & Working Theories

Q: What “sordid liaison” (p. 30) with the M. DuPlessis, who dies in a later chapter, did the Incandenza family have? - Still not clear, but it sounds like J.O.I. either purposely or under duress gave a Master copy (or copyable copy) of the Entertainment to DuPlessis, or had it stolen from him before or after his death, and it was then stolen by accident when Gately robbed and killed DuPlessis. ("Whether or not the A.F.R. ever even recover this alleged Master copy from the DuPlessis burglary..." (p. 489).) What happened to that copy, if it exists?

Q: Is Marathe a double-agent, or is he just pretending to be a double agent? - Marathe has betrayed the A.F.R. and is aiding Steeply and the Americans in finding the Entertainment in order to get medical care for his wife. - Marathe is only pretending to betray the A.F.R. in order to get more information from Steeply. A: Marathe is a double-agent, and is actually betraying the A.F.R. "The A.F.R. believed Marathe functioned as a triple agent, pretending to betray his nation for his wife, memorizing every detail of the meetings with B.S.S. ... M. Fortier did not know Marathe had reached the internal choice that he loved his skull-deprived and heart-defective wife Gertraud Marathe more than he loved the Separatist and anti-O.N.A.N. cause of the nation of Québec..." (p. 529).

Q: Was Pemulis selling DMZ to the Antitoi brothers, or buying it from them? (It sounds like he’s selling it, but why?) - "Bertraund had been starry-eyed enough to agree to barter the person an antique blue lava-lamp and a lavender-tinged apothecary's mirror for eighteen unexceptional-looking and old lozenges the long-haired old person had claimed in a jumble of West-Swiss-accented French were 650 mg. of a trop-formidable harmful pharmaceutical no longer available and guaranteed to make one's most hair-raising psychedelic experience look like a day on the massage-tables of a Basel hot-springs resort..." (p. 482)

Q: What's the significance of Lucien Antitoi's spirit immediately after his death? Does this have an impact on the Wraith's activities? - "...and is free, catapulted home over fans and the Convexity's glass palisades at desperate speeds, soaring north, sounding a bell-clear and nearly maternal alarmed call-to-arms in all the world's well-known tongues" (p. 489).

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Chocolate Box 2021 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Elsinore | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Simoun

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

Requesting fic; open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Elsinore

Relationship(s): Hamlet & Ophelia; Hamlet & Horatio & Ophelia; Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia

I found the friendships in this game, and the different ways that characters can reconcile or try to find a way forward together, to be really sweet and moving, and I'd love to read something that focused on those relationships of trust and support. I like how important Ophelia and Horatio's counsel and friendship is in timelines where Hamlet becomes king; I like Hamlet regretting how he behaved towards Ophelia and striving to live through his depression and find out what it is that he wants, not what everyone else wants of him; I like seeing childhood friends Bernardo and Laertes and Ophelia and Hamlet, whose growing-up has stretched them so far apart, taking time to catch up and enjoy each other's company a little.

So, futurefic in one of the timelines where everything doesn't go to shit? A timeline that we don't see? (There is something narratively interesting to me in Permanence/Passion in that the entire plot of Hamlet ends up as a distant backstory to someone's full life; I don't know how compatible that idea is with these requests, but if you want to write any of these groups fucking off to Italy or Constantinople or London and living until the Elsinore pressure-cooker is a distant memory, I'd be just as happy with that as with fic about them building some kind of future together still in Denmark, trying to make it better for its people and to hold on to who they are as individuals, and friends, beyond their roles.) If you want to write Hamlet/Ophelia, Hamlet/Horatio, or for that matter Horatio/Bernardo as shippy, I'm fine with that, but I don't want a focus on the romantic aspects of their relationship.

Fandom-Specific DNW: death of requested characters within the timeline being explored, or focus on death of requested characters. These characters die in this game a lot and I don't need you to pretend entirely that it's not a time loop game, but I would like them to be happy. If you write the Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia request, I'm fine with either or both names/pronouns for Bernardo|Katherine, but I don't want to read a story focused on their gender or coming-out. Please don't include Peter Quince as a character (you do not need to retcon, you know, the existence of the time loop).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Relationship(s): Maria Ross/Olivier Mira Armstrong

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Relationship(s): Abigail Pent & Dulcinea Septimus; Gideon the First & Matthias Nonius

Dulcie and Nonius were two of my favorite additions to the cast in Harrow the Ninth (and Dulcie in "Doctor Sex" via letter). I loved everything we learned about Dulcie - her wit, her quick thinking in a pinch when confronted by Cytherea and her secret to Harrow. I found her "The only thing preventing me from being exactly who I wanted..." speech both genuinely moving and very funny, and I love her thirst for revenge. What else might she and Abigail Pent, "independent research? it isn't even my birthday!" daredevil spirit-talker par excellence who has just conjured up a ghost out of an epic poem, get up to after Harrow's bubble collapses? Or what were they up to when they weren't on screen in Harrow's dream, putting together this whole, well, play?

Nonius's arrival, entire scene, and departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. I'd love to read either more about his mysterious past with Gideon the First, or about their second encounter as allies (throw in Marta, Ortus and Pro if you like as well!)

Fandom-Specific Exception: to my unrequested ships DNW, Dulcie/Cam & Dulcie/Pal. I love their three strand thing.

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Relationship(s): Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...

I would also be up for smut for them, especially something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

Fandom-Specific DNW: sex solely for magical purposes without an emotional connection (sex for magical purposes is fine), focus on Raylla (I don't need you to retcon it, but please don't dwell either on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail), Scylla bashing, Abigail/Adil (I would prefer to imagine, if he is mentioned in the fic, that they’re just friends).

—

Fandom: Simoun

Relationship(s): Aer/Neviril; Aer/Neviril & Neviril/Paraietta; Aer/Neviril/Paraietta; Aer & Floef & Neviril & Paraietta & Rodoreamon & Vyuraf

Aer, and Aer/Neviril, really grew on me on my recent rewatch. I appreciated her more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon, who grows into a respected role in the choir, than the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. (I've written a lot more about what I love and am interested in about Neviril and the show in general, her journey of figuring out what it means to her exactly to lead an air force, here.) I'd love to know what happens to them post-canon - what is the "new world" and their travel in it like? It's an escape for them, sure, but what are they escaping to, not just from? Are there problems there, too?

I'd also be up for a poly situation where Neviril is involved with both Aer and Paraietta, her long-loyal second-in-command whom she's blessed and forgiven, as a V where they're friends or as a triangle where Aer and Paraietta are also involved (I don't quite know what that leg of the triangle would look like but I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

If Neviril and Aer make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, as at the end of the series, but their old cohort can't fly anymore, what do they see their role as being? Does Neviril see herself as a leader for peace, for war, for something else? How do they interact with their former squadmates, whether as part of a more plotty piece or not?

I could be interested in explicit fic for this canon, as an option - the series is, on some level, about the contrast between the reality and physicality of their bodies and the general perception of what they do (which even in its non-spiritual military capacity is removed from a connection to their bodies via the Simoun aircraft), about becoming an adult, and of course about gender.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I'm not really interested in Kaim and Alty and would prefer for them not to appear or for their backstory to come up. I would also not like to see pre-timeskip Dominuura/Limone.

[bakudomaster]

Pushing Daisies

Hello again everyone! It’s time for another in-depth analysis of a show that I’ve watched. This time I’ve picked a show that I have recently rediscovered - question: do you guys like pies and corpses...?

[The facts were these]

PREMISE

In the fall of 2007, a quirky little show known as Pushing Daisies premiered on ABC. Taking inspiration from all things kitsch and Wes Anderson, the story centered around Ned (no, not THAT Ned), a self taught baker specializing in pies who has the unique ability to touch dead beings and bring them back to life. As with many superheroes, his powers did not come without restriction: once touched, should Ned touch the “undeaded” once more, they would become dead permanently. Also, once Ned touches the dead, they exist consequence free for only 60 seconds before something living in close proximity has to die to balance out the cosmic scales.

A bundle of anxiety and intimacy issues on a good day, Ned uses his special skills to moonlight as a part time private investigator to help full time investigator Emerson Cod solve various murder cases and collect reward money. One day, it turns out that the case they have to solve is that of Ned’s childhood sweetheart, one Charlotte “Chuck” Charles. Ned takes a risk and resurrects her beyond the 60 second rule, meaning that someone else has to take her place in the great beyond.

Together with Ned’s waitress (and unrequited admirer), the quartet must solve mysteries, keep the secret of Chuck being alive again from her eccentric aunts and come face to face with all of their emotional issues.

Sadly, the show was cancelled before it ever took off, but more on that later on.

CAST & CHARACTERS

Lee Pace as Ned - the man with the magic touch, he owns a restaurant called “The Pie Hole”, where he makes... well, pies; what did you expect? Ned discovered his gift/curse at a young age when he resurrected his dog after being run over and his mother after she suffered a brain aneurysm. He also discovered that his powers did not come without consequence, as the cost of bringing his mother back to life was Chuck’s father dying. Abandoned at boarding school by his father, Ned grew up and opened his restaurant where he also helps Emerson Cod solve many murder mysteries for the rewards of justice and money. Due to his powers and abandonment issues, Ned has trouble opening up to anyone and carries around a great deal of anxiety. Lee Pace was previously unknown before the show, but he rightfully gained much recognition afterwards, going on to make a few bad movies before getting roles in the Hobbit and MCU franchises.

Anna Friel as Charlotte “Chuck” Charles - Ned’s childhood sweetheart and neighbor, Chuck grew up with her father, having believed that her mother died giving birth to her. Once the universe decided to claim her father as payment for Ned’s mother being brought back to life, she was raised by her shut-in aunts and never allowed herself to travel beyond the gates of her house for their sake. Deciding to break that rule, she was killed when she went on a cruise, after which she was revived the socially anxious Pie Maker Jesus. Chuck is a very optimistic and sincere girl who enthusiastically takes to solving cases. She carries around a bit of existential depression in her, what with being previously dead and all, but she cares for her family and friends very deeply. She can never touch her boyfriend again, but she’s very happy to just generally be around him. Anna Friel had a bit of a generic career before the show, but all that changed once it was cancelled. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work here.

Chi McBride as Emerson Cod - a jaded private investigator who believes in nothing but the almighty dollar, Emerson frequently contracts Ned’s skill to revive murder victims, ask them how they died and who killed them, solve their cases and collect easy reward money. He had a romance with one of his PI targets a few years before the series began, resulting in daughter who is now missing. He is the author of a children’s pop-up book, hoping to get it published so that his daughter will use it and come find him instead of the other way around. He does not like the complications that come with having Chuck around nor does he care for Ned’s frequent ethical dilemmas or Olive’s stubborn charms; but he does appreciate all of them in his own way. Chi McBride previously starred in Boston Public and went on to star in short lived shows such as Human Target and Golden Boy before getting a recurring role on the new Hawaii Five-O

Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook - a former jockey turned waitress, Olive works at the Pie Hole, lives next door to her boss and carries a very strong, yet unrequited love for our Ned. She does not take kindly to Chuck suddenly appearing and gaining the affection she had worked so hard without reward. She believes that Chuck faked her death and is locked out of the loop as to what is really going on. After some snooping around of her own, she makes firm friendships with Chuck’s aunts, Chuck herself (they even become roommates) and even Emerson. She also learns to accept that Ned will never see her the way he sees the dead girl and tries to move on. Kristin was a very well established Broadway actress before the show and won an Emmy for her role in the show’s second season. She went on to do more plays and more TV shows, with a few guest starring roles here and there.

Swoosie Kurtz as Lily Charles - a cynical and sarcastic agoraphobe, Lily was once part of a synchronized swimming duo called the Darling Mermaid Darlings with her sister Vivian. They toured all over the world before settling down to raise Chuck once her father died. She’s fond of martinis, guns and does not take kindly to strangers... or anyone for that matter. She also happens to be carrying a few secrets of her own as Olive find out and is devastated when she finds out Chuck dies at the beginning of the show. Ms Kurtz is a very acclaimed actress, having an Emmy and two Tonys to her name. She went on to star as Joyce Flynn on Mike & Molly after the show.

Ellen Greene as Vivian Charles - Chuck’s other agoraphobic aunt, Vivian was the other half of the Darling Mermaid Darlings. She’s much more compassionate and delicate than her older sister, but is lost and sad after her niece’s death. Wanting to explore the world in all senses of the phrase beyond her house, she finds herself frequently held back by Lily’s stubbornness... but is that all that’s keeping her back. She was also once engaged to Chuck’s father. Ms Greene is renowned for her role in Little Shop of Horrors (both musical and film versions).

STRUCTURE, DEVELOPMENT & WRITING

Described as a “forensic fairytale”, Pushing Daisies drew inspiration from all the 20′s right through to the 50′s. For those who haven’t seen the show, have you ever watched the Wes Anderson segment in the Family Guy episode Three Directors? You’d be surprised at how similar the setting is, even though it’s a parody. You could even say it has a very Tim Burton feel to it, and who doesn’t love Tim Burton?

Combining the murder mystery and fantasy show genres was not new at all. Medium started up 2 years before PD; whilst Missing & Tru Calling debuted the year before that. If PD was going to be different, it needed another element to make it a success, critically at least. It found that piece by embracing full on quirkiness and adding equal amounts of emotional gratification instead of the darker themes of the aforementioned predecessors, it could carve a niche for itself in the late 00′s television market. PD didn’t serve up thumping adrenaline in any of Ned’s pies, but it didn’t need to: there were other shows who could do that better. It aimed for something else entirely, making the crime element a portion of itself rather than the whole focus.

In this sense, the show followed through with the more intellectual sarcasm starting to appear more frequently at the time (thank you Tina Fey), but tempered it with sincerity. Characters were allowed to be jaded or anxious, but never at the expense of the lighthearted atmosphere. The show’s scripts were also tightly consistent with character development, often pairing very unlikely characters for humorous or heartwarming moments. Characters also took on very familiar tropes in a very unique way - instead of endlessly pining for the pie maker who could never be hers, Olive attempted many a times to get over him, finally accepting that friends instead of lovers was better than slicing Ned out of her life completely. Emerson was a hard-boiled private eye, who wanted his AWOL daughter to find him instead of the other way around.

As with many shows airing on ABC at the time, PD carried a family secret/scandal that affected almost every character, forcing them to go to great lengths to keep it buried once the truth had been discovered. It fit in well with the general theme as opposed to the other examples who used it for shock value or to prolong viewership.

Sadly, the pie maker and his friends weren’t destined to remain on TV for long. The show was one of the victims of the 2007/8 writers strike, forcing it’s first season to end after only 9 episodes. Production resumed afterwards, however the second season only premiered an entire 10 months after the first one did, with only a quarter of the viewership. ABC pulled the plug through the second season in 2008, leaving the final three episodes unaired in the US until May 2009. Pushing Daisies was... pushing daisies - eh? Eh? Ok, I’ll see myself out.

BULLSEYES & IMPROVEMENTS

What the show gets right:

The general offbeat, yet pleasant mood

Olive Snook - for a relative outsider (she’s not part of Emerson’s PI business nor does she truly know Ned’s secret), she worms her way into all mystery related plot lines, proving herself to be a badass sidekick along the way

Speaking of Olive, she is wonderfully unique. Though she sees herself as a rival to Chuck for Ned’s love, she bonds with the previously dead girl over taking care of Lily and Vivian, even rooming with her. She also doesn’t go down the tsundere route - she’s not afraid to discuss her feelings maturely with Ned and accept her defeat in amore.

Emerson and Olive frequently team up together, even though they’re as different as night and day. Olive proves herself so competent that Emerson offers her a position at his firm should she ever get tired of The Pie Hole

The sets and cinematography contribute to the fairy tale escapism mood. I wish more shows did this nowadays

Olive’s songs, especially her renditions of Eternal Flame and Hello (Lionel Richie’s version, though I’m sure Adele’s one would be equally perfect, if not more so)

Ned coming to terms with his abandonment and intimacy issues by slowly letting people in

Jim Dale as the eloquent narrator. Never have exposition and narration been so quaint

Vivian’s delicate melancholy when she realizes her boyfriend abandoned” her and now she has to take the rose colored glasses off

Digby - enough said

The show doesn’t get much wrong, but then again it couldn’t have considering the extremely short run. Had they received a full season at least once, I’m sure the tension in the various mysteries could have been a bit tiresome. Instead, here is a wishlist of sorts:

Who Dwight Dixon really was and why he was obsessed with the pocket watches

See Ned connect with his twin half brothers a bit more

What did Chuck’s father get up to after he took off

Explore Ned’s dad character, who he was and why he abandoned his two families

A slow burner of Emerson’s missing daughter plot

Emerson’s relationship with his mother (Debra Mooney is a hoot)

Delve into more of Vivian’s anger at her sister in the last episode

CULTURAL IMPACT

PD was a critically acclaimed gem right from it’s very first episode. That continued through the 22 episode run. Unlike its peers, it didn’t chop and change plot elements to see what worked and what didn’t. It chose a direction and it stuck with it.

Many fans have expressed their desire to see the show revived, claiming injustice at the fact that it was gone too soon. I think part of why it was cancelled, apart from the production troubles it faced, was that it was a bit ahead of its time. Considering it as a whole by today’s standards, it seems something better suited to Netflix rather than mainstream TV. It was a very specific show that needed a very specific mindset to watch. It didn’t have the commercial broadband appeal that Desperate Housewives or even Weeds had.

Could it be revived today? I think it’s in a very prime position to at least be considered. Creator Bryan Fuller is currently busy with Star Trek: Discovery, but I’m sure he could find time, at least in a consulting capacity. Streaming services offer a much more diverse set of original productions, something cable and network services are struggling to keep up with - it’s an environment that Pushing Daisies would thrive in. It comes down to the cast - Lee has a quietly booming movie career, but it would be nice to see him on TV again. Both Chi and Anna are busy with other TV shows, but I could see them working this in during their inter-season breaks. Kristin has just come off a cancelled TV show, so she’d probably say yes.

Let’s hold thumbs - after all, these guys are in the business of bringing the dead back to life

WHERE TO WATCH IT

The series is available on Amazon’s Prime Video service

If Amazon hasn’t licensed it in your region, you can find episodes from various channels on Dailymotion (just search for the titles)

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Black Panther (2018)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, nine times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (40% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Three (though it’s worth reminding that this rating is based on the positivity of the content in relation to the female characters, not in general - there’s some real top-shelf content in here, otherwise. Still a very happy three for the ladies anyway, for that matter).

General Film Quality:

High-end. The commitment to nuanced storytelling is impeccable, grappling with all angles of a complex hypothetical far better than could have been anticipated. This is a movie which never loses sight of its own importance, while also never getting too bogged down in it to be entertaining. Earns every ounce of the hype.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Nakia gives her condolences to the Queen Mother. The Queen chastises Shuri. Nakia compliments Okoye’s wig. Nakia negotiates entrance to the club with Sophia. Nakia and Okoye conflict over loyalties. Nakia passes with the Queen Mother after Killmonger takes over, twice. Shuri and Nakia go into battle. They pass together later.

Female characters:

Okoye.

Nakia.

The Queen Mother (technically not a name, but I’m allowing it as a title).

Shuri.

Sophia.

Ayo.

Male characters:

Erik ‘Killmoger’ Stevens/N’Jadaka.

N’Jobu.

Zuri.

T’Chaka.

T’Challa.

Ulysses Klaue.

M’Baku.

W’Kabi.

Everett Ross.

OTHER NOTES:

I’m not sure if T’Challa ruining Nakia’s anti-HUMAN TRAFFICKING mission because he wants her around for emotional support is a very endearing intro for his character in this film...I mean, sure, they rescue the people in the convoy, but presumably there was more to the mission (otherwise Nakia wouldn’t complain that it was ruined), and T’Challa prioritises his feelings over both Nakia’s work, and the lives of all the people it effects. Coulda avoided the negative implications there with just a little fine-tuning in the dialogue.

“Nah, I’m just feelin’ it.” Michael B Jordan has such a great energy about him; he’s very, very convincing, in a role which could have broken the film if it were poorly cast.

But you know what? I fucking LOVE M’Baku, he’s my personal fave for the movie. That presence. This is an excruciatingly well-cast film (among other virtues).

I’m Hella into that Lion King vibe when communing with the spirit realm, too.

Erik shoots his unnamed girlfriend for nothing more than the drama of it, and that is not one of this film’s virtues.

Shuri calling Ross ‘coloniser’ is just...so good. There’s a lot about this film that is a reclamation, in big and obvious in-text ways, but there are also these kinds of little impactful choices which contextualise Wakanda’s relationship to the world and its history, and that kind of detailing is the difference between posturing, and playing for real.

The music in this movie? Also great. Traditional African and modern African-American, representing the interweave of themes and ideologies in-story? Fucking gold. They did not skimp on details in putting this movie together with intelligent design, and I am Hella into it.

M’Baku just fucking BARKING at Ross when he dares speak before him is the highlight of the whole film. It’s perfect. 

A friend of mine has suggested that there must be a missing scene or two in this movie, wherein the Queen Mother convinces M’Baku to go into battle after all, since as-is he just kinda...changes his mind off-screen and she serves no narrative purpose at all. It’s unfortunate such a linking scene is missing, as it would have significantly enhanced both characters and helped to emotionally underpin the final act of the film, which is comparatively weak. 

But anyway, M’Baku is my best dude in this movie. I love a huge man in a grass skirt.

The whole idea that W’Kabi and Okoye have a relationship at all is kinda nonexistent; we wouldn’t know about it at all if she hadn’t called him ‘my love’ that one time. Coulda beefed that up better, i.e. at all.

“Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew that death was better than bondage.” Michael B Jordan delivered every aspect of this character with such raw power and sincerity, y’all. He hits it straight home.

It goes without saying that there was a lot of pressure for this film to be good: a big-budget superhero action movie, part of the most lucrative cinema franchise in the world right now, taking on an afro-futuristic setting with an almost exclusively black cast? The potential for Black Panther to come off as little more than lip service paid to representation, ‘too PC’, lacking the guts to acknowledge the breadth of the racism that inevitably informs it, perhaps even falling dangerously toward racist cliches of its own...there is no other film of its kind, and as such, Black Panther could not escape being judged as more than an individual story on its own, as a representation of an entire continent’s worth of people and culture and what they could bring to an industry which has made an aggressive point of shutting them out in the past. The pressure was well and truly on to provide not only financial success put also critical acclaim, and boy oh boy, did they rise to the occasion or what?

The centrepiece of Black Panther’s success is Michael B Jordan as Erik Killmonger, striking a precise balance between the heat of well-deserved fury, and the chilling calculation of his revenge. Killmonger’s rhetoric is compelling, and it is the meeting point of the film’s threads, of Wakandan tradition, of the country’s privilege in the midst of colonial oppression and the dire morality of its secrecy, of the call of the wider world and the determining of one’s place within it. It’s vitally important that Killmonger makes sense, right up until he doesn’t - a good villain should always feel like someone you could almost follow, if only they weren’t taking things that one step too far - narratively, this is in an important pitch, but it’s also vital for the context of the viewing audience, the acknowledgement and the validation of that rage at injustice (without which, the film would come off as pandering to white guilt), but without the promotion of violent eye-for-an-eye solutions. Killmonger’s anger is never condemned, only the actions he perpetrates in the name of that anger; the viewer is forced to acknowledge the reality that made Killmonger what he is, but without being encouraged to forgive; only to understand.

I am hardly the first to observe that it is Nakia, not T’Challa, who represents the foil to Killmonger’s ideology, recognising and stirring to action at the injustice’s wrought upon the African people, but seeing in Wakanda the potential to offer unprecedented assistance rather than the opportunity for the oppressed to become the oppressor. The film is populated with character counter-balances, and it validates each perspective (while also illuminating shortcomings) to enhance the overall narrative, rather than equivocating too strenuously to make any point; Nakia values people like Okoye values her country, and while Nakia is right that blind patriotism fails the country if it allows tyranny, the strength of Okoye’s conviction is exactly what inspires the loyalty of those who follow her in the protection of Wakandan values; while Shuri ‘scoffs at tradition’ and leans entirely on the unending machine of technological progress, M’Baku and his people are safeguarding traditional practices and keeping ancient knowledge alive, which saves T’Challa when there’s no tech around - by the same token, without the protective blanket of technological progress, the Jabari would not be free to live as they do. There is good sense in the perspective which every character brings, and all of them are required in symbiosis to achieve a full picture of cultural identity. 

In that broad conversation of identity and place in the world, if there’s one weak link, it’s the Black Panther himself, T’Challa. Not that he’s a weak character or that Chadwick Boseman is a weak actor - it’s just that he’s being thoroughly outplayed by all around him. It’s a good thing in regards to how well-cast the movie is and how it fleshes out its supporting players (in spite of the missing pieces pointed out in the notes above); in an overall-lesser film, the lead being the least compelling character - and especially with such a powerfully-constructed antagonist opposite him - could be a crippling flaw, but as-is Black Panther is pulling out enough stops to get away with having an under-sold Black Panther at its head. That, really, is a testament to the power of the story, and the work being done by everyone involved to tell the tale with tact, with dynamism, with all the colour and flavour the white-washed film industry has been denying all this time. We could talk about its flaws, sure, but there doesn’t seem to be much point - none of them are fatal, none are even particularly egregious, and the achievements of the movie far outweigh any quality blips along the way. Black Panther is a measured, sensitive triumph, and there’s a part of me that - in the best of ways - almost forgets that I’m watching a Marvel movie, a cash-grab - sure, they want to make money out of it, but this feels above all like a passion project. Passion like this, so fully-realised, I am not inclined to fault.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

True/False 2020: Day 2

Number of Films: 3 Film of the Day: Some Kind of Heaven

Lovemobil: The idea of giving a sex worker their own rental trailer, so they can cut out the middleman and reap their own profits, might at first sound like an improvement for them, a way to take control over their own labor. But then, you have to factor in the daily rent they have to pay, and the fact these particular RVs are all situated down the same bleak German highway — set apart in roughly 1/2 mile increments — and suddenly the deal doesn’t seem quite so wonderful. Then, you have to consider how most of them got there in the first place: One such woman featured in Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss‘s plaintive doc fell for the promise of a “friend” that she could find work as a cleaner in Germany, only to leave her native Bulgaria, arrive in Berlin, and immediately get abducted into a sex slave ring until she managed to escape. Another young woman, from Nigeria, is there in order to earn money for her family back home, still secretly hoping she can just meet a decent bloke and settle down somewhere. Not likely, given this crew of German factory workers, many of whom are “smelly” according to the women, and tend towards the domineering and physically abusive (one unfortunate soul we never meet gets murdered in the course of the film, stabbed multiple times, a horror the women shudder to contemplate). Despite the general misery of their jobs, and the awful experiences they have time and again with the hideous “customers” they encounter, it’s also striking how debilitating it is when the women aren’t actively working. Stuck in their mini RVs, with next to nothing to do, save brief spells of camaraderie with fellow workers, the soul-deadening boredom and idleness seems to demoralize the women even further. In one scene, near the end, the Bulgarian woman travels to Berlin to meet with her best friend, with whom she confesses her actual line of work. Horrified, her friend sobs and offers her the chance to move in with her in the city and get a less horrific and demeaning gig. The offer is clearly meant in heartfelt good faith, but even though her friend assures her she’ll take her up on it, we are to understand how deeply unlikely that is. As deep into the vortex of misery and shame as she is, it will take more than a sincerely kind offer from her best friend to extricate her from that awful trailer.

The Viewing Booth: More a kind of filmed thought experiment than a movie unto itself, Ra'anan Alexandrowicz‘s nevertheless provocative work offers interesting insights on the way in which we perceive materials that might challenge a deeply held belief. Alexandrowicz, an Israeli sympathizer to the Palestinian cause, brings in a series of students from the American university in which he works to watch selected videos having to do with the conflict, a selection of material divided in half between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli sides. His idea is to record the reactions of the viewers as they watch the videos, hoping to glean how an opinion other than his own might be derived at from the same source material. He meets with seven volunteers, but it is the outspoken Maia  —  whose parents are both Israeli  —  whom he finds most illuminating. Extremely skeptical of the pro-Palestinian videos, finding suspicious the most heart-rendering sequences, we watch her as she is momentarily affected (especially when they involve children), then as she scrambles to re-assess what she’s seeing and talk herself out of her sympathy. So intrigued is the director (correctly deducing that she represents the exact audience with which he wants to challenge and affect with his own work), he brings her back to the lab six months later, in order to observe not just those same videos, but her initial reaction to those videos, as they play out in front of her. To her credit, Maia isn’t entirely intractable, and seems more than willing to challenge her perceptions in order to gain a better insight into the process of her own biases at work. The conclusion they draw together, the ways in which our pre-existing emotional predilections drive us to reject and reinterpret that which doesn’t reinforce our beliefs seems obvious, but the way it plays out, in real time, in front of us, feels nevertheless intriguingly revelatory.

Some Kind of Heaven: I had certain trepidations concerning Lance Oppenheim’s doc about The Villages, the largest retirement community in the U.S. (naturally, it’s in Florida).  Mostly, I wasn’t much interested in seeing an arch “aren’t old people cute” comedy. Fortunately, Oppenheim isn’t after anything quite so trite. While it’s certainly a crowd-pleaser, and often wry, his film also offers a deeper meditation on human psychology, how we remain who we are even in the face of our imminent demise. The framework remains engagingly simple, focusing on the sense of the community itself, via three specific protagonists: There’s Barbara, a newly widowed woman having to reintegrate back into singlehood; Dennis, a shifty handyman, who sneaks into the enclave living out of his van, in hopes of meeting a rich elderly woman with whom he can leech; and Anne and Reggie, married for 47 years, as they drift further apart due to Reggie’s increasing peculiar behavior, and heavy drug use. In each case, Oppenheim follows along their separate narratives, closely hewing to recognizable arcs, but allowing his subjects the dignity of veering from what we might expect. Very little is conclusive as far as their stories go  —  though in each case, a certain resolution has been established  —  but the effect is to suggest a greater theme: As the director put it in his on-stage introduction of the film, we do get older, but not necessarily any wiser. As his subjects sort through their unexpected circumstances, we at once recognize the familiar process of their upheaval, and realize even in the face of impending mortality, we still have no choice but to adapt to what’s thrown at us.

Tomorrow: Another raucous day beginning with the Sundance-fave Time; then Collectiv; Pier Kids; and Faith.

Photo from Some Kind of Heaven

Leaving the warmer confines of Philadelphia for the wind-swept climbs of the midwest this March weekend, I am down in Columbia, MO, home of the 17-year-old True/False Film Festival, a collection of (mostly) documentary films, entertaining buskers, and outrageously dressed Queue queens.

[andrewuttaro]

Spiderman: Far Frome Home - Film Review (SPOILERS)

<<<SPOILERS>>>

It’s time for a rare movie review on what is otherwise a sports blog! Yes, I like other stuff; especially movies. I consider myself an amateur film buff and watcher of the TV and Film Industries in general. Sometimes I like to not just be a consumer and give some thoughts back. I’m no expert critic, I’m very much a sucker. I’m a sucker for a good redemption story, a sucker for a good romance, good comedic vision and for a handful of actors. We all have our tastes.

I have been a fan of Spiderman the character for as far back as I can remember. I never read comic books; my entry point was the original Sam Remi Spiderman trilogy. Again: I’m a sucker. I know those films haven’t aged well but they established my feelings about movies. Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker was the first movie character I related to on a personal level. Forgive me because as an adult I now understand what awful casting that was. Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane was the first movie character I was attracted to. Spiderman 3 was the first time I realized movies could be bad and, even worse, movies I like can be ruined. The train scene in Spiderman 2 when he almost dies was the first time I cried about a movie.

Yeah, this is all sappy stupid exposition, but it helps to know the reviewer, eh? If you couldn’t tell I am a little bit of an apologist for that original Spiderman Trilogy. I didn’t go to see the two Amazing Spiderman films out of protest. Yeah, I had some strong feelings at that time. I have since become an adult and given the Tom Holland Spiderman films a chance, but I still haven’t made the time to watch that Andrew Garfield crap… well I don’t know it’s crap because I haven’t seen that incarnation. Either way this isn’t about those films. While Spiderman into the Spiderverse is pretty clearly the best Spiderman film ever made in my opinion, I’m putting that aside for a moment in this review looking at live action Spiderman movies exclusively. Moreover, this is a review of Spiderman: Far From Home. So let me start by saying that in my heart Spiderman Far From Home is going to be right up near the top with Sam Remi Spiderman 1 and 2. That’s high praise for me. Let’s talk about it.

Sequels and Stakes

A good sequel heightens the stakes and adds complexity to the characters. This is often done by deepening the relationships between characters. That is certainly true in this movie. The best sequels in cinema history did this: Terminator 2, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the like. Far From Home is difficult to think of this way because it’s a part of a rare property that has successfully executed a shared cinematic universe. I’m not going to go into depth about the MCU, better critics can do that. However I am going to consider how this Spiderman has grown as a result of other films he’s been in. I’m going to talk about the other films in the MCU Spiderman is in for building up this movie while also referencing Spiderman movies not in this universe. Let’s call this version of Spiderman Tom Holland Spiderman or TH Spiderman for clarity’s sake.

TH Spiderman has now appeared in five films, the most of any version of Spiderman. His first appearance in Captain America Civil War wasn’t about him but introduced us to his relationship with Tony Stark and the idea that this Spiderman would be teenage Spiderman. Let’s just all agree that TH Spiderman is a better Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire was if for no other reason than that youthfulness is a priority and a plot point. I think that is a pretty common opinion. Yes, Tom Holland actually looks like a teenager which Tobey Maguire never did; but I’m going deeper than that. TH Spiderman’s youthfulness is important to the plot and his character growth unlike any other cinematic incarnation. That’s all I really have to say about his role in Civil War. It was a fun reveal and it made me happy.

Spiderman Homecoming was revelatory. That movie did all the things you want from a Spiderman movie on the superficial levels: the suits, the action set pieces, the teen dramas and for the first time since William Dafoe’s Green Goblin, a fantastic very Spiderman villain. The reveal Peter Parker’s homecoming date is the daughter of the guy trying to kill him was next level stuff. Moreover, Homecoming set the bar high for TH Spiderman. This Spiderman is going to have a complex dad relationship with Tony Stark that proves to be unhealthy later and this Spiderman is going to trigger guttural emotions. When he’s trapped in the rubble crying out for help there is something so human and visceral in that moment that it still sticks with me. All this said, and this is a piping hot take: Homecoming isn’t better than Spiderman 3 for me. Calm down, I’ll circle back around to that.

TH Spiderman’s appearances in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Both are not really about him and rightfully so. However both those films advance his character by upping the stakes for his personal story dramatically. Tony Stark tries to protect Peter Parker at every turn and only includes him when circumstances force him to. When TH Spiderman turns to dust it’s much more a character moment for Iron Man than it is for him; but the trauma of that is felt in Endgame when the resurrected Spiderman needs to be pulled off of dying Tony Stark. I’ve never had to watch someone die thank God, but that event is felt very sincerely for Spiderman when we reach Far From Home now.

What we go to movies for

Spiderman Far From Home is one of those sequels that is better than the original. Far From Home is better than Homecoming. While Homecoming had real great popcorn moments, none of them elevated the film beyond the plot of Spiderman 3. Yeah, we’re back to that. Spiderman 3 is not a great film. I am willing to admit that. However, the way TM Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) continues to grow by way of the Daily Bugle conflicts and his relationship with James Franco’s Harry Osborne is real as fuck even if it wasn’t executed well. His relationship with Mary Jane was real shit that real adults have to deal with in their real adult relationships… well most of us don’t have to deal with getting kidnapped several times I suppose. Homecoming was about a teenager with daddy issues. To be fair, I’ve already stated youthfulness is important to the making of TH Spiderman, but I am not a comic book reader. For me you have to develop relationships better to be a worthwhile film and TH Spiderman is really the only three-dimensional character not named Tony Stark in Homecoming. Glad we got that out of the way.

Spiderman Far From Home is elevated above Spiderman 3 and maybe even the very first TM Spiderman film for me because all the characters around TH Spiderman are fleshed out far better in this movie and Peter Parker himself grows dramatically from start to finish. What TH Spiderman accomplishes in this film is bigger than what TM Spiderman has to overcome and accomplish in at least two out of three of the Sam Remi Spiderman films. I think that is true in both the execution of the plot itself and the character growth. TH Spiderman gets over his daddy issues when Happy Hogan explains to him even Tony Stark couldn’t really be Iron Man. Acknowledging your biggest role model had flaws is an incredibly deep coming-of-age theme. More than just that, Parker is overcoming survivors guilt he has about the whole blip thing and the events of the last two movies he was in. Through all of that he truly “finds himself” in this movie and decides he’s confident enough in the identity he just discovered to really trust himself, and another human being at that, in a romantic relationship. This movie was the moment when TH Spiderman and MJ surpassed TM Spiderman and MJ for me. In this movie their romance felt so real and very much earned. TM Spiderman earned the MJ relationship too but not like this. This is next level.

I came home to my wife after seeing this movie the first time and told her it reminded me of when I fell in love with her! I’m a sappy sucker, I admit it, but this is why we go to the movies! We go to the movies to feel shit! Let me repeat that: WE GO TO THE MOVIES TO FEEL FEELINGS! Video Games make me feel stuff too, but the narrative structure of movies is designed specifically to make you feel. I felt so much during the course of this film. The way Zendaya Coleman’s Mary Jane awkwardly responds to Peter Parker awkwardly trying to get with her brought me back to being in High School feeling those same feels. When their relationship works out, I felt that so hard! No kiss in a movie has affected me so much since… well shit, when Kirsten Dunst kissed the masked Spiderman all the way back in the Sam Remi films. Chills people, chills! Do go a step deeper: vulnerability is what makes the film work.

TH Spiderman is vulnerable with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio because he thinks he needs another father figure. When Parker hands Mysterio the EDITH glasses it is his weakest, most vulnerable moment and Mysterio knows it. Mysterio (Quinten Beck) by the way is an effects artist. His specialty is literally covering up the truth and it makes so much sense because he’s a deeply pissed off character who hates that he was taken advantage of by Tony Stark. MJ pushes people away because she doesn’t want to be vulnerable. Her getting over that fear is the origin of the trust needed to make her relationship with Peter work. Frigging Happy Hogan is struggling to be totally vulnerable with Peter about his complicated (?) relationship with Aunt May. Nick Fury is pissed off the whole movie because he feels vulnerable not knowing shit anymore. That specific plot point is explained in the post-credits scene with the skrulls in a fun way. Everyone who was blipped or not blipped kind of feels vulnerable because of that giant nightmare. This film is fundamentally about finding yourself by accepting and understanding your vulnerabilities and turning them into points of confidence.

That is the essence of why Spiderman in general is such a great character. The vulnerability of youth. The vulnerability of being somewhat working class. The vulnerability of “With great power comes great responsibility”. To that end, Spiderman Far From Home is probably the best live action Spiderman film I’ve ever watched. It does Spiderman the teenage boy near perfectly. So let’s get to what you came here for: the grade.

The Grade

What I haven’t mentioned is the cinematography, script and general story is also very good. We’ve come to expect that level of quality from MCU films haven’t we? I’ve heard criticism the first half is too slow, but I disagree in that it establishes all the vulnerability stuff I mentioned and all the teen drama subplots I loved in this movie. The last time I did one of these reviews it was an A to F scale. That’s not helpful. It’s all going to be subjective and fundamentally arbitrary anyway so how about we do this: a Five-star system. Five Stars is a top film of all time, go see it immediately. Four Stars is an instant classic worth your money in theaters. Three Stars is a middling film that is enjoyable but don’t strain yourself to see it in theaters. Two Stars is just ok, don’t waste your money on it and wait for streaming. One Star is garbage that maybe worth a drinking game. Zero Stars is hot garbage you simply should not watch.

Spiderman Far From Home is a Four-Star film for me. It’s an instant classic I will try to get on DVD after seeing at least a couple times in theaters. It’s a top 5 Marvel film for me but that is a super competitive bracket. Very few films will be Five-Star for me, and I got to really think if there is a film that good in the MCU. Again, this shit is all arbitrary as all reviews of art forms are. Don’t @ me about the grade, @ me about my Spiderman takes you don’t like. I love talking movies so make a kind discussion out of it, no need to be an asshole. As Spiderman Far From Home has taught us: vulnerability is a good thing not to be afraid of.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. If you want more movie reviews I can do that. You just need to let me know in numbers if you know what I mean.

[sparda3g]

Gintama Chapter 699 Review

After 10,000 years, this series is free. It’s time to conquer Earth! But seriously, it felt like it has been years since we last have a new Gintama chapter. The last one wasn’t truly the final chapter, but only final to be released in Weekly Shounen Jump. Today, Sorachi is on a mission to finish the series for good with a proper sendoff. What way to make a comeback than delivering a chapter that define Gintama perfectly; hysterical parody, emotional driven characters, and action-packed ride with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger.

By the time you see the color spread, you’ll know we’re off with a great start with Silver Ball Z. It’s remarkable how accurate Sorachi captured the visual work of Toriyama. From the character’s angle to design, it’s well deserved achievement to capture the sensation. Kondo didn’t need alteration though; he’s already a gorilla, so only the style has changed. To make the parody even better, the good portion of the beginning is a recap done in Dragon Ball style.

This is one of the best “previously on” segment that I have ever seen. It’s quite brilliant to take advantage of switching from one magazine to another and start off with a recap to remind the fans what happened while have a good laugh. It’s not only the artstyle that has changed, but even the narration reflects the same way how Dragon Ball has done in the past. All it was missing was the soundtrack. It is gold, or silver, however you want to call this moment. I laughed so hard at Katsura designed as Yamucha, and Takasugi designed as Vegeta. Strangely enough, it captured their character too well. Before the chapter truly begins, Katsura strikes Gintoki with Wolf Fang Fist.

The comedy doesn’t focus only on Dragon Ball parody, but also on Sorachi himself. Apparently, because of more time and switch to Jump Giga, Sorachi is now putting effort to his work with great quality of art, even if it does resort to Dragon Ball. Oddly enough, this seems to be low-key true to other Mangaka, but I digress. Hilarious that Katsura buries Yamucha by calling it a loser role. Rest in Peace, Yamucha. The best part is the ending of the parody. I seriously think Sorachi believes all of it.

Now that Gintama is in another magazine, Gintoki has nothing to worry about. No more worries about One Piece overshadowing him and no more worries about the rising suns that are Black Clover, My Hero Academia, and Haikyuu!!! to overshadow him. He can now overrun the world of Jump Giga, starting with Akira Toriyama’s power. So much so, he pulls the exact same ending shot from Dragon Ball. That is pure gold. Could you imagine if the series did end the same way? We’re going to need Gintama Super then. Takasugi brings the scene back to reality with Galick Gun. Oh how I missed this series.

He does have a point though. If there were silver balls, why bother planning this ambush in the first place? There wouldn’t be any need to sacrifice and nothing will be at stake. Well, thank goodness, it doesn’t exist. We can’t ruin the excitement now. Of course, what Sorachi does best is to segue to a more serious matter from a gag. It’s true with silver balls, life would be much easier on them, but Takasugi has no regrets. He’s thankful that they made it this far with their own hands; no tricks, no magic, just pure talent. All thanks to Shouyo. This is the type of writing I missed from this series. From there on, it’s all action-packed with many things to offer.

I assume with all the time Sorachi has with Jump Giga, he has enough energy to add plenty of details and sequences to the action scenes without wasting so much spaces. Unlike Boruto, it uses the panels wisely for tension and suspense. It’s why the action starts with a bang, literally and figuratively. It’s the Disciples against the cult followers. That panel with all three kicking asses while feeling the excitement is great. Thankfully, it’s not all of the story that was being told here.

Although they reached to the Altana Terminal, the ship that crashed is absorbing the altana. That means Shouyo’s body is absorbing it and soon, Tendoshu will gain a new way for their immortality plan. This does raise the tension higher, now that we establish that they’re on a ticking time bomb. They have to rush all the way up there and when you look at the scene, it’s incredibly difficult. It’s baffling how much people truly desired for immortality this badly. That’s where we receive a really heartfelt moment during the heated action.

While the action goes on as it becomes intense, Katsura begins a heartfelt speech that is shared with others that ties in the morale of immortality and cherish the life you’re given. Even if they were to die, he will have no regrets. It’s hard to say if their reunion was joy or sorrow, but it’s certain if one outlives another, it would be impossible to find another person like them. They have ups and downs, trying to kill each other. Despite all of the troubles, their bonds can’t be severed. It’s the bond that’s worth limiting to. Honestly, I can’t do it justice without the mention of its sequences.

The reason why this was so heartfelt isn’t just because we know their friendship is truly one of the kind or how well-written the dialogue is. It’s the action set piece that drives the emotion home with great sincerity. Not only it was entertaining, but you can grasp the words’ meaning at its best, leaving you feeling really good and emotional. It has great effective use of the flashback panels and the focus view to leave a strong impact. Like how Takasugi holds Gintoki’s hand to show the comradery, the unbroken friendship. It’s so damn good to see this series back again.

Gintoki can relate to the followers on one thing: not wanting to die. He can understand their wishes because he too wants to live long and enjoy the sensation with his friends. The others have their own wish to meet Shouyo. They want to vent out their frustration, but they may never know how much of a beating they will give until they feel satisfied. Not even eternity would do. Those panel shots with all of them enjoying are sublime. That’s how you do friendship. Those three are the best. The one major downside is the old friend of mine: darkness and it raised death flags.

Katsura spots a rocket launcher and push everyone back to dodge. Only he takes the damage from the impact, weakened enough to slow them down. They then gets trapped by both sides of their pathway, which seems like the end for them. While I didn’t think of that, I was a bit worried on what’s about to happen with Katsura injured. Anything goes and that’s what happens next. The explosions erupt from the wall, essentially saving the three from their certain doom. That’s where the other best part of the series comes in: the characters.

It was clear that it was too much for the three to handle all of the enemy alone, which is why it’s a great time to bring back all other characters to the fray. I like how Shinseigumi orders them to comply and if they don’t, then more power to them, because they would love to show their power. It’s not just them, it’s every character that has been around for a long time. It’s like witnessing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Gintama Edition; everyone is here! All it was missing was that theme song from Be Yorozuya Forever. Book it, anime staff!

What makes the scenario even better is how they are reflecting the long grueling journey after being ruled by Amanto for 20 years. They went through hell many times, but the result is paying off greatly. After the war, it made them stronger than ever. It’s no wonder earlier in the arc, it emphasized the growth of the Samurai. No more they will feel fear from them; it’s time to take Earth back. It’s a message that reads, “It’s been a long journey for your favorite characters, but they learn and grow, and when they show the result, the journey ends.” It’s already building for the closure that we have been waiting for.

You can’t do this justice without the beloved main characters. Just when Otae blocks the attack, which by the way is the same shot from the anime preview back in Jump Festa, the two come to save the day. Most importantly, after for so long, they can finally say, “Welcome to the country of Samurai.” The monthly release schedule really pays off for the quality panels like the one with Shinpachi and Kagura. So great to see them again. I got to remind myself how heroine is treated as well as a main character that doesn’t overshadow the protagonist. Yorozuya’s reunion is so close. I can almost taste it.

Characters aren’t great without amusing interactions. Matsudaira and Kondo are cooperating from sky and ground, like the good old time. Despite their political differences, mainly on the marriage, they are great friends. No matter what timeline they’re in, it will always be the Era of Samurai. Hijikata and Sougo work alongside with Shinpachi and Kagura, while she rubs in that Yorozuya is better than Shinseigumi as Sougo denies that claim. Some things never change, but that’s the way we like them.

There is an interesting development regarding with Utsuro. Tendoshu are in the process of gathering the Altana, but they are on the verge of losing their cult. The head leader however is fine with the way things are going. Shouyo’s body is slowly gaining a new heart. That will leave his disciples carrying a spare that wouldn’t destroy Tendoshu’s plan. Now the question comes in: why would the head leader needs to revive Shouyo completely? That’s where things get twisted.

If you have watched the preview from Jump Festa, there was a very strange scene with Utsuro mixed with Tendoshu’s body. It turns out that was true and not only true, but Utsuro has stolen their will. All this time, the plan isn’t for the sake of immortality, but instead, to revive Utsuro under his will. It makes sense considering that they consumed so much blood that they just so happen to control it like it belongs to them. The blood is like a virus, soon it will overpower you and a new mind will be inserted; case in point, Utsuro’s. In short, he has returned. This begs the question. Will Shouyo return as Utsuro with a new heart? It’s quite freaky to see three Utsuros in one setting.

The elevator scene is like a checkpoint for Gintoki and others to cool down and talk for a moment. Katsura does the talking while the other two stay quiet. It’s due to what Katsura said about their people and friends; everyone has grown stronger. They aren’t weak to ask them for a favor, rather fighting to help them. You can say they grew accustomed to be the one helping, not vice versa. Jumping ahead for a bit, Takasugi asks Gintoki for the heart; influenced by Katsura’s words, but not really all bright. They have enemies waiting for them, essentially, this scene become calm before storm.

Shinpachi and Kagura are assisted by Kyuubei and her clan, preventing reinforcements to barge through. It is the series’ way to have certain character to say their words or blessing, starting with her. She wishes to fool around a little longer with Gintoki and others like the good old days. She would be happy if they ruin her marriage interview. How charming.

In the midst of tensed action scene with Gintoki and others at the elevator lobby, Tsukuyo and others fight off the reinforcements to open path for Yorozuya. She gets shot through her leg. Damn. Luckily, Sacchan and Zenzou are there to back her up. Interesting though fitting for Sacchan to encourage Tsukuyo to not to die, unless she is with her lover. Strange use of context about the crotch spot, but the meaning holds the significant value. She’s not planning to die; she will live to see Gintoki again. Sorachi sure knows how to please the pairing fans; I’ll take it. I like Zenzou’s words for him as well. If he doesn’t return, then say goodbye to Jump issues. That’s funny yet heartwarming.

It’s hard to review the segment with great justice with its transition between Gintoki and his friends. It’s worth mentioning because how the scenes greatly complements the segment about what Gintoki has lost and gain. Takasugi wants the heart because he wants him to enjoy the life he can still take back. While that is seriously nice of him, Gintoki’s response is even nicer. He is fine with the way things are, because he doesn’t need to take it back. He got everything there. That includes Takasugi; when they fought alongside, when they fought against each other. That’s Gintoki’s reason to be there; never to lose anything. God, I’m going to miss this series.

The ending is crazy, especially the cliffhanger. Just when we got a teary sentimental scene, shit hits the fan when the explosion erupted by the lobby door. Damn you, Michael Bay! The heart slips out and Katsura is the only guy that can grab it. I was struck when his hand almost reaches it, only to get stabbed by the staff. Damn, that looks bad. Hitsugi sends him down crashing. I don’t know where they landed, but if they are fine more or less, I sense a new battle.

The intensity doesn’t stop as Gintoki trying to hold on the rope, which is ripping his skin. Cringe. Takasugi has to make an opening for them to land, so he jumps towards the door and breaks it, badass style. Wow, that was close. That elevator breakout scene was so damn good. Another scene from Jump Festa happens with Takasugi holding his hand out for Gintoki to grab onto. A couple of panels are used for heartfelt friendship scene as well as tension. It’s all fine and well, until Takasugi’s hand weakens. Tendoshu stabbed him with a sword. That’s where the chapter ends. Dammit, Gorilla…

I know Takasugi is semi-immortal, but the fact is he’s running out of time. If anything, this lessen the time even further. For all we know, this could be his last extra life, so if he were to die again, that’s it. Not to mention, it’s Tendoshu or Utsuro behind him, so the battle will be tough for him, even if not killed. This chapter has set up a death flag for each disciple, one in which has the highest. That’s Takasugi. Will he die here? I honestly don’t know.

This chapter was long but that’s expected for a month worth of content. With that said this was a hell of a return. There was a hilarious parody that this series is known for. There were tons of great action with plenty of fun moments. Characters were stellar as usual with believable motivations and relationships. The art is very solid, worth taking a time off. The ending was jarring with a cliffhanger that can make a person skip a heartbeat. It’s Gintama. I don’t know how many chapter we have left, but I will savor this as long as I can. The next chapter can’t come any sooner.

[theinquisitivej]

‘Avengers: Endgame’ – A Movie Review, and a Reflection on Endings

Endings are rarely the definitive final word.

A person’s story can come to an end, but the stories of the people around them and the world they live in carry on, even if that one person isn’t there anymore. That realisation conjures up a whole tangled mess of emotions, but it is the natural way of things. It’s not right to want everything to end with you. In life, we make the most of the time and energy we’re given, and if you make enough right decisions, get lucky, and dedicate enough of yourself, you’ll hopefully get to go with the sense that you did okay, and that those you leave behind are going to be alright. Endings in fiction are as infinitely variable as any other feature of artistic expression, but in narratives with expansive casts or fleshed out worlds, they often leave us with the feeling that we’d only have to stay a little longer and there would be more stories to explore. Just as the real world is bigger than any one lifetime, successfully-established fictional worlds feel much larger than any one set of characters and their narrative.

         For the last eleven years, audiences have enjoyed a series of blockbusters featuring an impressively varied range of stylistic approaches. At their best, these films are deeply satisfying and affecting, delivering poignant moments about characters coming to terms with their own flaws and trying their best to do the right thing. But when considered together, these films have never entirely felt resolved, with each one going out on a lingering note of “just wait for what comes next”. The story was never over for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because another film was never far away. And now that the grand conclusion has finally come and $2.5 billion worth of us have watched and re-watched it, things are just the same as ever, and yet we’re at a moment that we’ve never seen before and are unlikely to see again for a long time. We’ve reached an ending of the story that begun with Tony Stark and his box of scraps in that cave in 2008. The story is over. But there are more stories to come.

Yes, there will be spoilers ahead. But I say again: this film has crossed over the two and a half billion dollar mark. I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this, you’ll have contributed your drop or two to Marvel’s bucket. So let’s talk about the movie.

         I appreciate the efforts of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as screenwriters, Joe and Anthony Russo as directors, and the input of every person involved in deciding the final shape of Endgame’s story to make its structure noticeably different to that of Infinity War. The previous Avengers film is a constant juggling act, relying on the viewer taking to Thanos as a central thread around which the rest of the film is hung. We’re either seeing the various steps Thanos is taking along his journey, hearing about what kind of man he is and what he intends to do, or seeing characters who are consistently on the back foot as they frantically scramble to strategically and mentally prepare for an opponent they’re not ready for. By this point in the series, we’ve been conditioned to expect to see things primarily from the point of view of the dozens of characters aligned with the Avengers, but Infinity War is messy and fractured when you look at it from the perspective of the heroes. And that’s the point – our heroes are fractured, and so there’s no unified effort against the villain as he single-mindedly pursues his goal with continuous success. The Avengers are a mess, and they lose. Thanos is the one who seizes control of the narrative, undoing the decisions and sacrifices made by the heroes as he dictates what his ambitions are and why they are so noble… and because viewers are susceptible to sympathising with the person who names themselves the hero and takes the reins of the narrative, far too many people bought Thanos’ rhetoric. For a year there, we really were seeing think-pieces that said “maybe the genocidal zealot who emotionally manipulates people is right”!

         But Endgame’s structure deliberately contrasts against Infinity War’s. Whereas Infinity War is about heroes being separated and the catastrophe that follows in the wake of this disunity, Endgame presents its heroes as a group of grieving people who are unified through their shared regrets and resolve to overcome their despair together and work towards a singular objective to try and fix everything. The Avengers are disassembled in Infinity War and reassembled in Endgame. As a result, the structure is comparatively more uniform. You can clearly differentiate the film into three distinct thirds – the five-year time skip that shows life on a mournful Earth still coming to terms with half of life being eradicated, the Back to the Future Part II time-travel mission as characters revisit scenarios from previous films, and the big blowout battle where every surviving main superpowered character in the entire franchise is dumped into one battle for your viewing pleasure. Each third offers something different, meaning you cover all of the ground that you’d want to in a dramatic, energetic, and emotional close to a blockbuster saga with literally dozens of characters who are all key players. Each third is impressively balanced, and they all act as strong supporting columns for the film as a result.

         However, because these thirds are as distinct as they are, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll come away saying “I preferred these two parts over that third part, which felt okay but a little unnecessary”. Personally, I think there are plenty of themes (grief and a desire to revisit the past, putting guilt and trauma to rest, and of course, the strength of unity) and character arcs (Nebula finally choosing to integrate herself into a group of people who value her and literally killing the old version of herself who wanted only to please her abusive father-figure being the stand-out one) which help gel each of the film’s three segments together without much resistance. But I have encountered multiple people who have expressed the sentiment that they really liked two thirds but they could take or leave another third – inevitably, which third is which always varies. I can imagine that, if you’re not getting a lot out of one of the segments, Endgame will certainly make you antsy for the film to return to what you felt it was pulling off more successfully. The three distinct thirds can result in a fragmented viewing experience for some audience members. On the other hand, I felt that the clearer, more focused structure not only made the film seem less jumbled than its predecessor, but also made it a suitable companion-piece to Infinity War and its Thanos-centric structure.

         The emotional response I have to Endgame is not the same electric glee I had from seeing the first Avengers, though moments like Cap picking up the hammer, the cinematic equivalent of a double-page spread of every single MCU hero charging towards Thanos’ army in one image, and “she’s got help” all sparked that feeling off inside me with more intensity than I’ve felt for a long time. No, what I feel more than anything about the MCU right now is a paradoxical sense of melancholic yet nevertheless delighted satisfaction. A part of that comes from the strengths of that first third, which, despite my sincere claims that all three sections gel together successfully, is nevertheless my favourite segment of the film (with the possible exception of the epilogue, but we’ll get to that). In this review’s opening paragraphs, I talked about endings not being the definitive final word as life and the world must always carry on. My reflection on that was primarily positive, but in this opening hour, we see the sad alternative form that this concept can take. Thanos killed half the universe and was killed in retaliation – the conflict ends, as does the hope of repairing the damage done by this tragedy. But the universe doesn’t end even with half of its inhabitants being gone. As Steve succinctly says, the survivors have to keep moving forward, “otherwise Thanos should have killed all of us”. It’s an outlook that Steve encourages, even if he can’t fully believe it himself, because he thinks it’s the best way for people to regain control over their unthinkable circumstances. The setup for Endgame presents us with a universe that died a half-death – everything ended for half its population five years ago, while life for the other half of the population persists, and they are trying their best to make sense of that.

         That struggle with grief, both on a colossal and a personal scale, is what unifies every single character, but the difference lies in how they respond to that grief. Black Widow throws herself into her work to try and keep the good that superheroes can do going, but her efforts feel as if they aren’t enough, being told by Okoye that the natural tectonic shifts she’s reporting on aren’t something you actively address with a strike squad and that you have to “handle it by not handling it”. Hawkeye was always the simple guy involved in the Avengers who was kept grounded by his family. Without them, he has nothing to keep him rooted, no home to return to, so he goes in the complete opposite direction and becomes a dedicated avenger in a literal sense, dolling out punishment fuelled by his frustration without any of the purpose and direction that he gained from his connections to friends and family. Hulk / Banner actually come out of this having made some progress, deciding to meditate on what they learned from their losses and literally come together in their grief to become one being, Professor Hulk. Tony and Pepper make the most of the luck they managed to find together, but are both keenly aware of all those who weren’t so lucky, wanting to get back what they lost but keep what they’ve found, which is remarkably human and understandable. Thor… hm. Okay, yes, Thor is a mixed bag. In all honesty, I loved Thor in this film and was empathetic towards his depression and anxiety attacks. I also love that Thor gets to stay as he is and still be shown that he is indeed worthy to wield Mjolnir and fight in the battle alongside all these other heroes without having to change who he is. But I do acknowledge the issues that numerous viewers have raised about some of the jokes made by the other characters being at the expense of Thor’s weight, and how they found it uncomfortable, and, in instances, meanspirited and harmful. I love the current version of Thor and feel Chris Hemsworth injected even more bubbly charm and infectious spirit to his character while blending it with the genuine pathos Thor was going through with remarkable talent. But the film’s tendency to use the character’s weight as an opportunity to make jokes about him being fat is not ideal. I’m glad to see Thor continue as he is into further movies (though it is possible that they’ll say he lost weight between Endgame and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3), but I sincerely hope we DON’T see the fat-jokes continue as they are. The lighting, music, and performances of everyone in the cast all contribute to this palpable sensation of immense loss, which communicates not only what’s at stake in this epic conclusion, but also how each character involved has been changed by what they’ve had to go through since Infinity War.

         But that only touches on the melancholic side of things; why do I also feel delighted and satisfied as I take in these sombre themes? Well, to put it simply, this one sticks the landing by closing the right doors in the most appropriate way while keeping other doors open in a balanced approach that seems so right. Tony Stark sacrifices his life after declaring “I am Iron Man” one last time, putting everything of himself into doing the right thing when so long ago he enjoyed a life of zero-accountability and kept his work on weapons technology at a safe distance. The image of his first arc-reactor in its memento case reading “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart” floating on the water at his funeral destroyed me at both viewings, because not only have his actions proved this fact as well, but we see numerous people all around this site as they pay their respects, showing the hearts of so many characters we care about who were connected to his. And Steve Rogers, the soldier who could never sit down if he saw a situation pointed south, after standing up against a galactic tyrant and his army, first alone and then with the support of countless men and women rallying to him, finally lets himself rest. Not many people have talked about the new horizons Steve takes in in this film; when the surviving heroes take Rocket’s ship to the Garden Planet, the camera makes a point of focusing on an extreme close-up of Steve’s eye as they travel through hyperspace. Even after nearly a decade of familiarity with this new era, the man out of time, a kid from 1940s Brooklyn, is seeing things that he could’ve never imagined. He’s come so, so far. I can think of no better conclusion than for him to return back home.

          But the film’s epilogue isn’t just concerned with closing the curtain on these heroes as they sit down to rest. Just as these stories end, we see hints of what stories are yet to come for other heroes. In the sequence where the camera pans over the countless faces attending Tony’s funeral, it’s fitting that the last hero we see (before Nick Fury steps into frame under the veranda, concealed in the shadows at the very end, much like his very first entrance as a post-credits tease at the end of Iron Man) is Carol Danvers. Having made her debut just months ago, she is the most recent addition to this universe, so her position at the back of the line reflects that. Her placement halfway up the steps she’s standing on suggests that she’s acting as an embodiment for the road to the future – she is literally on the next step for the series of films Marvel will make as they move forward. And she’s not alone, because other heroes will continue to thrive and flourish as their stories continue. Sam is handed the mantle of Captain America, and what’s achingly beautiful about this exchange is the attitude of the two men involved. Sam views Steve as his friend first and foremost, so he is sincere when he says he’s happy for him. But Sam also respects Steve so much as the man who deserves to be Captain America. Much like how Mjolnir can only be wielded by those who are worthy, Cap’s shield becomes a sacred relic that should only be worn by the right man for the job. And when Steve gently encourages Sam to try the shield on, knowing full well what it means to the world and to both of them, he does so as both Captain America finding the right man to fill his position, and as Sam’s friend Steve, telling him with assurance that he really is one of the best people he knows. When Sam confesses that he feels like the shield belongs to someone else, Steve responds with elegant purity “it doesn’t”. Everything at the core of Captain America, the bravery, the conviction to always stand back up and fight no matter how much it pains them to do so, and the responsibility to always look out for the little guy, are all qualities which never belonged to Steve and Steve alone; those virtues can belong to anyone, and Steve tells his friend that he recognises them in Sam. I cannot wait to see the good that Sam will do as he follows his promise to do his best.  

         Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has been developing a mentee / mentor relationship with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man since Civil War, and here it culminates in a bittersweet arc that lays the groundwork for what I expect will be some fascinating and impactful characterisation in Far From Home in a few months’ time. Tony mourns for Peter most of all, viewing him as a surrogate son who has much of the same inventive genius and drive that he has, with the addition of some compassionate heart and level of responsibility that is far beyond his years. Peter has it in him to be better than Tony, and Tony knows this. So it’s understandable why the loss of that kind, youthful spirit and his limitless potential would hurt Tony so much. In Tony’s dying moments, we share Peter’s tears as we see how much this connection means to them both and realise what is being lost. But we know this is exactly what Tony fought for – the chance for the next generation to live and grow. Holland’s performance when we see Peter return to school hints at his sense of disconnection, as his expression creates the impression that he feels like a stranger in a place with which he once felt so familiar. With the support of his friends, especially Ned, he will find his way in the next step of his journey.

          Endgame provides definitive endings for the journeys of characters we’ve been following for more films than we see most actors get to play Bond, but it also manages to cast a hopeful eye towards the future without compromising its position as a neat conclusion to everything up to this point. In fact, its simultaneous handling of reflective closure and moving forward with renewed purpose makes for a remarkably poignant milestone. Stories rarely strike such a balance between meaningful finality and the uplifting excitement of wanting more stories and knowing you’re going to get them. And that probably sounds shallow and frivolous because, at the end of the day, we’re talking about a successful studio delivering a hyped-up film that promises to be a finale but also serves the financially driven purpose of pitching you a dozen other films and TV series. But through the efforts of over a decade’s worth of dedicated storytellers and creative artists, this series has come to mean more than just another substantial drop in Disney’s bucket. It’s become a fictional world that a massive audience has fallen in love with in the same way that people did with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, Mass Effect, and a hundred other worlds. We’ve rooted for these characters and cried at some of their most emotional moments, and we’ve grown to care so much about the MCU that it represents a living, breathing world for us. And this kind of ending just makes that proximity to reality that much closer. Stories end and lives come to a close, but they often do so in the middle of other people’s lives and stories. After all, Yinsen’s sacrifice in the MCU’s first film, Iron Man is the end of his story, but his death acts as a foundational moment for the man that Tony would grow to be – his ending is a part of Iron Man’s beginning. In Endgame, heroes pass away, lay down arms, or choose to step down from a position they no longer feel a need to hold onto. At the same time, other heroes move onto the next step of their journey, accept new responsibilities, and accept the titles passed onto them from those who know they will do a fine job. It’s a beautiful encapsulation of the natural balance between life and death, between the end of the old and the beginning of something new. It’s the balance that Thanos strived for but never fully understood, as he wanted to cultivate life but in his obsessive crusade ended up sewing nothing but death. It is only right that the heroes are the ones to achieve that balance through their actions and connections with one another.

Final Score: Gold.

Avengers: Endgame is overflowing and self-indulgent, but it has every right to be and more than earned it. There are missteps, and there’s room for disappointment over the direction that certain characters are taken in, most notably the original version of Gamora ultimately staying dead and staying the victim of an abusive father-figure who seizes all agency away from her, or Thor arguably continuing to veer away from where he was at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and his new weight being an excuse to make cheap jokes that feel uncomfortable. But it is also a well-structured film that offers three distinct tones that are all equally engaging, and its delightful moments of humour and momentous action strikes a grand and immensely satisfying chord with its examination of grief and the natural interrelationship of the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. It is as significant a landmark for this fictional series as any invested viewer could hope for. It’s a hell of a thing to have come this far, and I can’t wait for whatever comes next.

[glassy-star]

Eighth house;

Once we have learned, in the 7th house, how to build alliances, how to be aware of other people’s universe and how to discover traits of ourselves we didn’t know existed, it’s time to gather all of these precious lessons and dive into the 8th house: a dark, humid and fertile place, where all things are destroyed and given a purpose anew.

The 8th house is a treasure box, locked and sealed with our most deadly secrets. Unlike those of the 4th and the 12th, which are fellow water houses, 8th house matters are more easily available to conscious access, and its contents are there, floating on the water’s cold surface like a trunk after a shipwreck. The energies of this house are kept away by us from the reach of other people, but we know exactly what is actually going on. And it is when we have an intimate relationship with somebody that the secrets of this house break free and become harder and harder to conceal.

The 8th house, then, is where people actually begin to know who we truly are and where our sincerest intentions towards our close relationships are finally revealed to our partner. At the same time, we use this house to discover our partner’s secrets too and, as intimacy grows, digging deeper and deeper into their self, we become able to see past their beautiful mask, learning that they are not so perfect or divine as we might once have thought. These investigative works towards discovering the ugly truth are the consolidation of Scorpio’s energy, and this is also behind this house’s association to sex and mysticism: the profound movements of the soul towards communion with another being.

The opposition to the 2nd house also describes this house’s association to other people’s values, so this is where we’ll find matters regarding inheritance, financial gains through others, genetic heritage, psychic skills unique to a family or even personal values that are acquired from relationships of any kind. The trine to the 4th house, in turn, depicts the origins of this house’s traumas and secrets, which are often found in the first interactions between the child and its environment and family, with an especial focus on the maternal figure. It is in the 8th house that these “bad” feelings, secrets, traumas and coping mechanisms can be transformed by the individual, which then learns, through the 12th house, how to let go of them to be finally reborn to something new.

Sun in the 8th house: in slow autumn day, a long sheet of clouds covers the heavens; light is grey, cloudy and dispersed. Private and concealed, the Sun in the 8th house shines rather discreetly. He doesn’t feel comfortable shining in full, in fear that he might reveal the secrets of his watery mind. People born under a star like this understand the sentimental complexity of their own selves, because they’re in constant contact with their deepest secrets and their ugliest emotions, too. They have become so used to this, that they are often masters of all mysteries; interpreting people and discovering facts is easy, rather intuitive. And because of this they hold the sunny power to transform all things into their purer forms for a price. Because the Sun here is veiled, the individual might find difficult to keep having a positive outlook on life.

Moon in the 8th house: like scythe, a yellow Moon cuts the sky, alluring and distant. The clouds make way for her light, dancing around in a longstanding waltz. There’s something graceful, but terribly powerful about this Moon. The river of emotions runs deep and troubled, disturbed by the desires of the soul to fuse with something else. People with this Moon have an intuitive understanding of what it takes to build an intimate and true relationship, and they can also interpret symbols of any kind with ease, even though the understanding is not completely clear, as if they spoke directly with their soul. This Moon also suggests a strong family inheritance of some sort, depending on the sign she’s in. Because there is so much going on in the emotional realm, the individual can be extremely private of their own feelings, looking at their own intensity from a distance.

Mercury in the 8th house: a curious wanderer reads a witch’s book; the absorption of ancient knowledge feels thrilling and strangely powerful. Smart and intuitive, Mercury in the 8th house is a trickster with a very dark humour. Here, he excels at putting the darkest and purest feelings of humanity into words. People with this placement are usually very aware of what lies beneath all things, and they can easily tell when something’s being hidden. They’re usually quite curious about the world’s nature and people’s functioning, and this Mercury guides them, decoding their otherworldly experiences with accuracy.

Venus in the 8th house: Juliet, having found her lord, kisses his warm, dead lips, then stabs herself to join him. Venus in the 8th weaves strong, powerful ties between her and the objects of her affection. People with this placement are constantly contemplating their love, and their soul burns with a striking wish to merge with the outside world. Relationships with people and objects are intense, sincere and never shallow, and this attitude towards others often stirs the secrets that lurk within. Venus here will run miles to find her star-crossed lover, or die trying, and be inevitably transformed a thousand times in this painful, but divine process. Moreover, Venus in the 8th people are often attracted to dark and mystical auras and themes, because they love this reflection of themselves.

Mars in the 8th house: an ancient knight lifts up their torch, illuminating the black, endless pool in front of them. A lover of danger, Mars is excited to unveil secrets and plunges himself courageously into darkness itself. People with this placement are passionate towards their supernatural interests, and their desire often transcends the physical plane. The 8th house lake, here, is agitated and stirred, so secrets of the emotional realm are constantly revealing themselves and disturbing the personality’s surface. When getting what they want, individuals with this placement are often strategical, making their way in silence.

Jupiter in the 8th house: a mysterious wizard blesses a wanderer with a dark spell, muttering words of death and betrayal. The world may seem like very dark place with this placement, but people with Jupiter in the 8th are exceptional survivors. There’s usually a wise understanding of darkness here, and the individual accepts the transformations they suffer rather naturally. The intimate life with others can be rich and fulfilling, protecting the individual from the monsters they see passing by at night. This may also be a symbol for the inheritance of large amounts of money, values or knowledge of some sort after marriage or from a family member.

Saturn in the 8th house: a figure stands firmly on top of a lonely tower, contemplating the night that surrounds them from all sides. Saturn here is a symbol for a fear of abandonment and letting go of this life’s conditions. The individual knows that something else beyond the life they know exists, but is fearful to approach it, thus becoming attached to either a physical or spiritual perspective on life. The lesson is often understanding that abandonment and the transformation that follows are inherent aspects of a natural cycle, and this understanding can unlock an enormous pool of magical wisdom. This fear might be reflected on the individual’s issues with intimacy, money and psychic powers.

Uranus in the 8th house: a young traveler is seen in the distance, crying and praying at the foot of a dead, leafless tree. Here, Uranus infuses his unorthodox methods into the supernatural, emotional realm. The individual with this placement usually has an unconventional approach to the concepts of mysticism, life and death, and deals very uniquely with their own religion. People with this placement can receive striking, sudden visions from a world unseen, and may often catch spiritual messages in the everyday world. There seems to be this inexplicable expectation that they life is going to change radically in a second, and so they are always prepared for the worst. Uranus in this house teaches how to let go of material attachments, pointing with a smile to that which is most essential.

Neptune in the 8th house: as mermaids sing and emerge beautifully from between the waves, a ship collapses against a cemetery of black rocks. Neptune, here, is about the idealization of the 8th house concepts of loss, transformation and death. People with this placement often present themselves with a distant longing for stepping into another world, far more beautiful and deadly than this one, and this is Neptune’s deception. They can be fairly detached from this world’s matters, and there’s usually a lack of discipline or boundary when dealing with mystical affairs as well as other people’s money and values.

Pluto in the 8th house: comfortable and warm, a child lays on her bed, listening carefully to the night’s terrors .People with this placement have a lot to hide and a lot to discover. Pluto’s the natural ruler of this house, and so relationships here are strong and intense, because of how much is at stake. Those born with this placement have usually been through a lot, and they know just how ugly and dark this world can get behind the curtains, through which they now see so clearly. A lot depends, of course, on the individual deals with this fact; a lot goes on between self-destructing or self-sabotaging and self-transforming or self-healing. But here it’s as if the soul, or the unconscious, is very close to the surface, and the consciousness is able see right through the veil of reality.

Detail: Gustave Doré, “Andromède”; 1869.