#but other than that... i kinda want to remake it bc it seems kind of ehh?? i didn't design it very well

[enniewritesathing]

...since I am p much gonna reboot The Montage... maybe I should redesign the gym while I’m at it.

((and can someone make some focus mitts? please and thank lol))

[thewulf]

Hiii how are you? ✨️ Can you write Sirius Black and the Slytherin reader? The reader's family is a Voldemort followers but she never wants to go down that path. She's a really good person. She has more in common with Sirius than they realize. Sirius starts to have feelings for her, but after all, she's a Slytherin and her family are really bad, so Sirius doesn't want to admit it but continues to observe and watch the reader over time. After a while, he begins to test her patience and reactions. Even though these two idiots insist on admitting it even to themselves, fate may have written them together. They will have to discover this. They seem like they were created for each other in these difficult conditions.~

My favorite boy Sirius ahhhh!! Yes, you got this. I love love love getting HP requests. I sooo wish we would get more on the marauders instead of a remake of HP but I digress...

This has a lot of potential to go from angsty. Maybe the boys are mean to her bc she's easy to pick on, she's too nice to defend herself and thinks she kinda deserves it bc of who her family is :( Sirius is kinda playing both sides. He's joined up as your potions partner for the year and he sees how kind and how scared you truly are. It reminds him of him. He also joins in on pranking you, being mean to you etc until he's finally had enough. After a particularly nasty prank or something he finds you crying and it all spills out from you. How much you hate your life, your family, how you're scared to go home etc. and it hits him then the parallels between you and him. Ofc a happy ending :)

[ttimecode]

i see you asked for whismur waif... i offer you 1 5 9 13 14 with jayden.... cold boyfie

dude this made me realize i've literally never talked abt jayden. i posted abt him maybe twice and dipped 😭😭 WELCOME BACK COLD BOY

1. what are the basics of your self insert? name, date of birth, height, etc.?

i don't have a last name for jayden oops.... all my s/is dob is same as mine, october 10th (with the exception of reynold bc theres already idv characters that have that bday) also one thing i dont think ppl know is that all my inserts are usually demiboys. either that or just amab ig, whatever fits more 👍 idk how tall jayden would be but... maybe shorter than blake, taller than red? idk the height differences from frostkisses fanart is cute to me

5. does your self insert have any special abilities or skills?

no special abilities except sheer fucking will. for skills ig he'd have any skills a mountain ranger would need? stuff like ice climbing, medical aid, etc. maybe resistance to cold too since. i mean c'mon it's mt. silver HAHAIFJEJ

9. who are your self insert's closest friends?

i gotta remake his team soon but one of the pokemon that just seemed natural that i should keep for him is his houndoom for some reason? she's his best friend ok.... other than that i guess nurse joy since he probably stays at or near the pokecenters for his job. they respect act other's line of work yk.... but now that i think about it, i guess he's kinda lonely up there. huh. interesting

13. does your self insert have any information about their family?

i did have an idea where raiden (s/i for gold (the lost silver one)) was related to jayden but it's not set in stone so. plus the timeline is kinda weird especially for the fnf version of the characters so........ otherwise i haven't really thought abt jayden's family? maybe he writes to them every now and then. maybe he wonders if they miss him or if they're worried about him. but that's the sacrifice he made to take this job, so he can't exactly complain.

(cartridge family pls save him)

14. what hobbies does your self insert have?

i haven't thought much about this but i think it would be funny if he liked cooking. even better if it's baking. maybe he got sick of eating cup noodles or smth and wanted to expand on his skills HAHAHAFJEJFN 😭 maybe smth like sewing too? he'd need that kind of skill for like sewing stitches or for any clothes he tears so it makes sense (why am i turning him into a malewife.......)

[teatin]

hiii! hope you're well.

this might be random but i just wanted to ask if you've played re4 remake yet? and if you have i would love to hear your thoughts on it? (i guess more specifically about aeon bc i am a Big Simp for them LOL but ofc i would love to hear any and all thoughts you have)

also i absolutely love your fanfics on ao3, you're so talented and your writing is so good aaaaaaa i've been rereading them over and over lmaoooo

anywayyyy thank u for ur time and i hope you have a lovely day ❤️

Hi there! So sorry I let this sit in my inbox for so long 😭

First of all: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad that you enjoyed my Aeon fics on AO3 and I hope I can continue to contribute even more fics to the fandom.

Now to the important stuff: Honestly? I really like what they did with Aeon in RE4R. My main criticism of their relationship in the OG game is that the devs didn't seem to know how to write a conversation between them that would last longer than 5 seconds, so all of their interactions in OG RE4 essentially boiled down to Ada smoke bombing Leon the moment the conversation started to get even slightly confrontational.

That's one thing I hoped they would improve on in the Remake and they did.

The original boat scene had no dialogue, but Remake's boat scene contained what is probably the closest thing we've had to a heart-to-heart between them. In the original, Ada swerved and crashed the boat against the rocks the moment she sensed Leon might have something to say, but here, she actively gives him an opening to speak his mind, and they actually get a chance to talk things out a little, even if the moment didn't last nearly as long as it should. I can appreciate that.

I also like the way they changed their final confrontation over the Plagas sample in a way that fits better with the narrative established in RE2R. In the original, Ada holds Leon at gun point, forcing him to hand over the sample, and even though we knew she would never hurt him, in the Remake timeline that scene wouldn't work as well considering 1) Leon had already challenged her to shoot him and she couldn't, another standoff like that wouldn't make any sense from a thematic or character standpoint, and 2) Remake Leon is clearly shown to be extremely vocal about his disillusionment and distrust of Ada, having her pull a gun on him after all that would've essentially undone any development they might've had throughout the game.

But it's not just Ada who changed. Leon pretty much let her have the sample without even bothering to put up a fight, and this is done without having a gun pointed at his head. This is also a continuation of the narrative established in RE2R: He probably remembers the last time he tried to fight her over a virus sample and how it led to catastrophic consequences. It also shows (in a very subtle way) that despite everything he said, he trusts Ada to not let the sample fall into the wrong hands. You can't tell me that if he had even a sliver of doubt, he wouldn't have at least tried to reason with her to get it back, instead he just kinda lets her have it.

I do think they could've done more with their relationship (I understand why Leon choking Ada while under the influence of the Plagas was removed, but I will forever be bitter about them axing a significant scene that involved Ada and giving it to LUIS of all people), but unlike a lot of people, I never went into the game expecting things to be sunshine and rainbows between them so the angsty direction of their relationship did not surprise me at all. If anything I could see shades of their Damnation era relationship in RE4R so I'm actually pretty pleased all things considered.

Also, them casually Facetiming each other this time around is just so funny to me somehow. It added a bit of lightheartedness in an otherwise quite heavy game (Aeon-wise).

RE4 era has always been a rough patch for Aeon. That has never changed. They bonded in such a short time in Raccoon City and that budding connection was immediately crushed by Ada's deception, and then she "died" before Leon could even process any of it (and he continued to not process any of it in the 6 years that followed, if the opening cinematic is anything to go by). That's a LOT of unresolved trauma and conflicted emotions. But they do care deeply, underneath it all, and we know that they will eventually get to a place where they can be comfortable with each other as they are. They haven't gotten there yet, but they will. And that's okay.

[synonymouswithanonymous]

opinion

As always skip if uninterested.

Now they are saying she's "expensive" as if remodeling parts of their home to make room for her as well as him, is a bad thing. Lol

They site a necklace whose origin is unknown. It could be A for Askepot. We don't know. Or he could have gotten her the A for himself. Either way it's cute.

As if she wasn't provided with equipment or couldn't afford her own equipment for the podcast? How do you know he bought her anything other than the shoes he said he did? Why do these haters think only his wallet is involved? How sexist.

As if remaking old clothes is somehow a "new" hobby of hers when they've been harping on the fact that she sold a bunch of her clothes before Paris 22, before they were officially together. Kinda like how Margrette (IMN) did last year as well, selling resown old clothes. *eyeroll* as if she, JM, didn't have these hobbies prior to ever meeting him. But She did have these hobbies prior to ever meeting him.  Maybe they're just fundamentally alike? They seem to go very well together. 💘

How is she manipulating his mom? That doesn't even make sense? His mom likes her, and she borrowed a book. Lol how is that manipulation? Haters make zero sense. At least they're not currently calling his mom a "pushy leech licking ass kisser" for the moment. Lol

Why shouldn't he make her a creative room for her hobbies? He has an office, why shouldn't she also have her own space inside of their home for creative works? I think that's very sweet! It's their home, meaning it's hers too. And why shouldn't they have a new kitchen? She likes to bake/cook, she's always been big on it. We don't know why they need a new kitchen, sometimes stoves break and need to be replaced. Personally it feels like when one appliance dies, two more will follow. It's happened to me too lol. As for bedroom, we've never heard anything like that but if so why not? Why not fix everything up now? Better to do it all at once and be done than drag it out. Gee Hirst is fixing up her place with her guy too.

Why is this in any way bad or that she's expensive? As if she can control the cost of any renovation or do they just want to act like she's costing too much money bc THEY are renovating THEIR space TOGETHER? As if it was just her decision and she's forcing him to do it? That's so ridiculous. 

If they're blessed with babies, then I'm sure they'll fix up a place for them as well in their home. Or maybe they've already started? 

All in all, sounds like a good boyfriend to me. And he's quite handy, helping fix the place up that's great imo! It's sweet that he's changing his space, more into their space. Bc it is her home now too. I mean this should be common sense stuff, but somehow haters act like normal things in a relationship aren't normal bc it's them. These haters make zero sense.

Haters are acting like Donald Trump when he makes baseless claims like "immigrants are eating pets." Lol only someone as equally ridiculous as him would believe such a claim.

Personally I'm glad he has a real, talented, beautiful, kind, successful woman as his partner. I think they're both lucky to have each other. 💕💕😊😊 I'm hoping lots of love, success and happiness for them both.

[vortexbeyondthestars]

decided to post some of my ideas for a ninjago/atla au besties. tell me whatcha think

under read more cus its kinda long lmao

some background first…

here, the first spinjitzu master is smth that doesn’t actually exist in avatar bc i couldn’t for the life of me figure out what to make him so now he’s like… he’s basically the child of all the original benders: the badgermoles, the sky bison, the dragons, and the moon spirit combined. he was born of their powers, and he was the first avatar, kinda like this au’s version of raava i guess?? so this au’s version of vaatu is the overlord, and like in ninjago, they have this never-ending rivalry. and the overlord is an avatar, too, but more of a dark one. it only cares about corruption and evil.

the first bending master, as he’s called in this au, manages to banish the overlord into the spirit realm, but he knew that one day, it would return. so he creates a land called ninjago and fills it with people of all kinds, each corner of the world having one type of bending. he gave the humans bending, but only one type for each person.

he didn’t want a repeat of the overlord.

so then he has two sons: wu and garmadon. he hemmed and hawed over what elements to give to them, but eventually he chose. wu gets airbending, the element of life and serene and calm. garmadon gets firebending, rough and harsh and the element of destruction. his fire is violet and incredibly hot.

everything goes fine, and the first bending master manages to keep balance of the world as its avatar. except the overlord does indeed return.

garmadon gets corrupted by its spirit and is bitten by the great devourer. he becomes obsessed with power and wanted to be the avatar more than anything in life. he believes that his father was holding his powers back because he didn’t trust him. and he believes that his father was going to hand over his power to wu after he died. and he couldn’t have that.

wu notices his downward spiral and suggests that he take a trip to visit the mortals. maybe that would help him realize that there is reason for their father being the only avatar in the world.

so garmadon goes down into the mortal plane. and meets fire lord chen and his second in command clouse.

fire lord chen is quite interested in an old legend of what is called the serpentine: ancient tribes of snake people said to have been born from the hatred and despair of the overlord, led by the toughest and the greatest, the great devourer. chen wants to bring these serpentine back, and at first garmadon agrees to help him, if only to get revenge on his father.

but he snaps out of it, because he realizes that its the great devourer’s fault in the first place that he’s like this. he betrays chen and clouse and warns wu of their plan, but without telling him whose plan it is. together, the brothers manage to gather together an alliance of the greatest bending masters in the world. garmadon wants their father to help, but wu gives some unfortunate news.

the first bending master is near his deathbed. he is very, very ill, and he is thousands of years old at this point. he wants rest.

so, naturally, garmadon is conflicted about this. he’s ecstatic bc he thinks that he can gain the powers of the avatar once his father passes, but also he’s sad, because, well, thats still his dad after all.

but anyway, the bending alliance manages to defeat the serpentine and seal them away in the spirit realm, like the first bending master had done to the overlord. this… turns out to be a bad idea.

fire lord chen and clouse both manage to shift the blame away from them, and since garmy was the only one who knew they caused the plan, he lets it happen. because he still is a bit evil.

something happens that gives him hope, though: he meets misako, who might be the love of his life. (also in this au that weird love triangle shit don’t happen) they get married, and for a while, garmadon seems perfectly sane. but.

the first bending master dies.

lloyd is born almost right after.

no one makes the connection, though, thankfully, but it is enough for garmadon to lose whatever sanity he had left. he completely goes insane.

he races back to their family monastery believing that he can and will gain the powers of the avatar, somehow, but he doesn’t. and that is too much for him to take. all of this… all of this… waiting… for nothing?

garmadon stares at himself in the mirror. he looks down at his hand, at the bite mark blemishing his skin, and grabs a ceremonial knife. he laughs to himself and places his hand on the mirror, slowly raising his knife towards it… he thinks he can stop all this pain in one easy swoop.

garmadon, sneering at himself: maybe… maybe this will fix it… if i just cut off the damn thing…

first bending master, in the mirror: i would not recommend it, son.

garmadon, face falling: why are you here?

first bending master: i came to speak with you. and to try and help you.

garmadon, snarling: don’t pretend like you care about me! i know what you really think. you think i’m a monster.

first bending master: i think you’re conflicted. the part of you that wants to be the avatar so badly you are willing to kill for it… that part of you clashes with the real you. the one that wants everyone you care about to be safe. your brother, your friends, your wife… your son.

garmadon: *laughs and turns around* why should i care about them, father? they don’t care about me! not my brother, not my wife, not my so-called friends, and certainly not you! the only one who does care about me is my son, and thats only because he doesn’t know any better. he’ll leave one day too.

first bending master, solemnly: you are wrong. i do care about you. i always did. i love you, garmadon. i do.

garmadon shakes, his hand gripping the knife tighter. his mouths trembles, and eventually turns into a scowl. he whirls around to face the mirror and slams his knife into it, shattering it into pieces.

he gets worse from there on. he begins to attack people left and right, villages and cities, even going so far as to consider breaking the serpentine free. he doesn’t get that far, though, because his brother interrupts him.

wu is very concerned, bc, well, garmy was a bit weird but never straight up insane like he is now. so he heads over to his family’s old monastery. there, he finds garmadon, seething and stewing. garmadon doesn’t take his arrival well.

garmadon: ugh! for once, can’t you just leave me alone?!

wu: no, i cannot. this isn’t you, brother! you must snap out of it!

garmadon: this is me! this has been me for my entire life, wu! i can’t change it now, and i can’t even be the avatar. what’s the point?

wu: the point is that father trusted us to take care of ninjago once he passed on. we have a duty.

garmadon: father was a fool, and father was selfish! i am remaking the world in my own image, an image that won’t let anyone have the kind of power that he did, except for those who are worthy!

wu: that’s crazy! you can’t just pick and choose who gets to be the most powerful bender in the world!

garmadon: isn’t that what father did, though, when he died? who is the new avatar, wu?! tell me!!

wu: i don’t know. and neither will you, if you keep this up.

garmadon: *laughs* are you threatening me?

wu: i am.

garmadon: fine. you want to take control of ninjago over me? fine. fine. fine. i challenge you to an agni kai! the battle that was always meant to be.

wu: very well.

garmadon: for the record… i’m sorry it had to end this way, brother.

wu, sadly: no. you aren’t.

cue final agni kai type fight, light vs darkness. fire vs air. obviously, wu wins, and manages to chain garmadon up so he can’t attack anymore. garmadon then has a complete psychotic breakdown like azula, complete with the spitting fire and sobbing hysterically while wu watches sadly.

wu banishes garmadon to the spirit realm, because he doesn’t think there’s anything else he can do.

ninjago is saved.

or so he thinks.

see, chen and clouse are still around. as are the serpentine, biding their time in the spirit realm. they meet garmy and decide that they should work together. garmadon, so torn up by hatred and despair, agrees to help them, if he gets to destroy his brother.

meanwhile, everything is going good.

lloyd is the avatar, obviously, but he’s only like. thirteen when he finds out. he’s an airbender avatar and lived with koko (bc its my au and i get to pick the mom i use) in one of the air temples (idk which one tho). he’s raised believing that he’s just a random kid who happens to serve the avatar, kinda like kyoshi.

that avatar he believes he serves is none other than morro, the adopted son of airbender sage wu. morro is four years older than lloyd, and he was just revealed to be the airbending avatar. morro, of course, is thrilled. but he also gets an incredibly big ego over it, believing that he is better than other people bc he is the avatar. the reason he was thought to be the avatar was because he appeared to waterbend at one point, but it is later revealed to have been simple airbending that pushed the water.

but morro doesn’t realize or know this until its too late. and when he does… its a shitshow.

basically, lloyd and morro are sent to meet with fire lord chen and his daughter skylor, along with wu, koko, and some of the other air sages. skylor is a chi blocker, an incredibly talented one who has mastered all of the different bending fighting styles even tho she herself is a nonbender.

ok so clouse is obviously there. he recognizes lloyd via koko and is fucking pissed. he’s like my ex-boyfriend rival’s son is here?? what the hell?? so he keeps a close on eye on lloyd bc he doesn’t like him. morro, meanwhile, is treated like a king at the palace bc chen wants to get into the avatar’s good graces.

and uh. well, as it turns out, morro isn’t the avatar…

they’re attacked by the serpentine, bitter at the bending masters for having locked them underground. morro is excellent at fighting, but lloyd has more adrenaline.

and lloyd firebends.

cue shock and horror and anger from all sides.

wu is the most horrified of all. the son of his brother… the man he banished… is the avatar?

so yeah thats the background AT LEAST. i dont really know what happens after that but lloyd runs away or something. i will write more i promise!!!

[tomdutch]

hi! im kind of a newer writer on here and ive been following your writing for a while (it's so good and I love your smaus so much :DD love lies is one of my all time favs)

also wanted to ask for advice (you don't need to answer this if you don't want to), do people you know irl know about your writing blog? basically no one knows my tumblr but I shared one of my fics with someone I know irl and didn't realize it was already published on my blog (they do know i have fics on tumblr) until much much later so now im kinda wondering if I should just delete my whole account and start anew bc im scared they'll search up the fic and find me on here if they haven't already

hello !! ah thank you so much for your kind words and welcome to the lil community or wtv we as writers have going on here lmao. my mum knows i write and post it online, but she doesn’t know it’s fanfiction (i doubt she even knows what fics are lmao). other than that, i don’t really tell anyone irl abt my writing or my tumblr 😭 most of my close friends are ppl i’ve met through writing and through tumblr so they’re all either understanding or they do the same thing.

personally, i wouldn’t worry too much abt it. like idk your friend but it seems unlikely they would search for your fic on tumblr instead of just asking you abt it and then you can deny it or tell them you’re uncomfortable sharing or wtv you decide. if it makes you that anxious knowing they have the possibility and if you’ve only just recently started writing and don’t have that much of a connection to your blog, then yeah you can definitely remake to soothe your worries. but otherwise i personally don’t think it’s necessary, do whatever makes you feel best :’)

[hollowisthyname]

🖊 Onyx!

I am. so sorry. I have been writing this for over a month at this point I think?? I've got a lot on this character but I'm not good at writing it down, so..... ah. yeah :') hopefully I got enough in this to justify the wait, but either way let's go!!

[as per usual, infodump under the cut]

TW // brief mention of suicide in the paragraph where I explain how they died, mentions of death throughout (ghost character, kinda hard to avoid)

Onyx Hart: ghost, performer, and excessive flirt. they are extremely fun to make up stuff about, especially bc they're one of my only extroverted characters. I have so so many ideas for them and they're one half of the third "cannon" pair of characters ("pair" meaning they have backstory together and I associate them with each other so it's easier just to think of the two of them as their own little group. the other two are Marcel and Sorrel, and Cory and Rhys).

they have black hair that goes down to a little above their shoulders and then flips out (think Kokichi, but slightly less drastic), and the.... sides? of their hair, like the parts that go in front of your ears or something, are much longer than the rest of it, about to the middle of their chest. their skin is v pale bc they're kinda anemic and don't spend much time in the sun, and their eyes are really bright green and reflective like a cat's. they've got freckles across the bridge of their nose and they kinda glow. I don't have all the details of their outfit worked out yet (bc I just changed it a bunch ehehe) but their general style is v punk. ripped denim stuff, chokers, pins, etc. they wear mostly dark colors but with bright accents, it's extremely cool :] the kinds of clothes they wear for performances are..... very different. their color palate for shows is black and gold, and they wear a lot of flowy stuff- silks and whatever makes them look extra cool flying through the air like they do. it's definitely fun to watch, but they're actually pretty hard to get around in. Onyx is not a fan.

so. ah. for all I've thought about this character, I don't actually have a backstory for them fully formed or written out at all. I know some basics- performing has always been a big part of their life, of course, but the reasoning for that varies. they come from a family of acrobats, they ran away and joined the circus, they were recruited by Lavka very young..... so many possibilities. so instead of trying to decide on one now, let's skip to the part I know more about!! enter Lavka, the ringmaster :D

very brief explanation of Lavka: fallen angel/deity, amnesia, still powerful and malicious enough that he decides to create a.... what do I even call it? magic circus thing??? and it traps people or he kills them or something. it's bad but very cool. think of him as like, a siren, but tall and with a lot more eyes.

the thing about a circus is, you need acts. and Onyx is the star of the show. Lavka went around recruiting people to work for him and thought they'd make a good central act. they were great, and the two of them worked together for a while. aaaaand.... that's as far as I've gotten :') I have virtually no concrete story for them, and seeing as the thing that would probably prompt them to leave the circus is meeting another of my characters and I've been avoiding deciding anything for that..... yeah.

it's the same thing for how, exactly, they became a ghost. they died by suicide during a performance, but I don't know when, how, or why. gotta work on that but I'm awful at backstory and I can't always think abt it without triggering myself :') I think my brain lets me create either a personality or a backstory for a character and. not both hgdf

however!! this brings us to their personality, which I somehow completely forgot to do earlier even though I've come up with much more for it than the backstory!!!! I said extrovert and flirt already, but I don't think that encompasses just how good they are at talking to people. hardly anyone could work a crowd the way they do- Lavka and Marcel can both be good with people as well, but they all do it in very different ways. Marcel becomes whoever people want them to. Lavka radiates power and charisma. and Onyx is just impossible to look away from- they're always doing something, and it's always flashy and spectacular and amazing to see. even when they're not performing, there's just something kinda irresistible about them. they're also a very good liar, which- esp when combined with Marcel's ability to completely change how they act at the drop of a hat- has gotten them into some. situations (it's gotten them out of them too, though, so it kinda evens out) Onyx is the kind of person who will push themself past their limits to keep up appearances and please everyone. and once they can't take it anymore, they completely shut down. they'll shut themself off from everything and everyone until they have the energy to go back to acting the way they always do in front of people. usually when this happens they go completely nonverbal, and are very easily overwhelmed. it's a stark contrast from how they usually act, and they only trust a handful of people enough to actually interact with them when they shut down. most of the time around people they're constantly being charming and performance-y, but when they're just with close friends they chill out some. they're still p energetic most of the time, and they love pulling pranks on.... everyone (especially Elis, and Cory's their partner in crime for pranks) but they're not trying to make everyone love them all the time. they have HEAPS of anxiety btw, they might be great with people but that doesn't stop them from worrying that no one likes them. they're very much a people-pleaser and have trouble saying no and setting boundaries, but at the same time they have no problem with confronting someone they don't like or who hurt anyone they care about. (it seems contradictory but it's not I promise)

and then we have their whole story with Everest. I think I explained this before but I'm not sure and you've probably forgotten by now, so basically: I came up with an Onyx-centric "au" where Onyx is one of two humans from a human world to get transported into a magical one. and from that came Everest, complete opposite to Onyx and their best friend. Everest is also mostly not included in my main story bc he's my newest character and I don't have as much about him, but he's cool and I love their whole opposites-attract dynamic. I really don't have any more backstory for this version than I do for the main one, and I'm kinda wavering between the two of them running away and getting transported together, or them not knowing each other before getting sent to the magic world but ending up in the same place and becoming friends. anyway that whole thing is kinda confusing but v fun!!

now it's time for a list of facts that don't need whole paragraphs!!

- Onyx knows sign language p well bc of going nonverbal a lot (they all have to so they can talk w Rhys effectively, this is my explanation for them lmao) - they really want to perform with Elis (they have wings, great for acrobatics stuff) but Elis absolutely hates the idea - I originally came up with them for a. wattpad applyfic. absolutely fucking amazing reason I know - they're just transparent enough that it's kinda unnerving but you wouldn't really know why unless you knew what you were looking for - various other species ideas for them are selkie and nine-tailed-fox spirit - Onyx's pronouns are actually they/it and a lot of neopronouns but I usually just use they/them bc I either forget or worry abt being judged (for absolutely no reason lmao)

a moodboard I made for them!! I need to remake it bc I figured out how to make them better but I still really like how this one looks :D

[cviperfan]

Okay so partially motivated by how many references there were in SPoP and largely bc it's been in my backlog for years and I remembered the whole thing got uploaded to youtube a while ago, I finally got around to watching Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time so time for some hot takes

2 clarify I did see the movie about around 2000 which was my introduction to the series, and I did see like 1 episode back in anime club (over a decade ago now tbh) but for the most part I went into this with only a vague sense of the ending and offhand knowledge of a few of the weird comedy episodes so this was mostly a blind watch

Before getting into #spoilers I will say that this ended up being an easy Top 5 and that it's definitely still worth watching (fair warning for the very frequent rape and incest (and sometimes both)), especially if you've somehow also avoided most of the context of this show like me, and it really is one of the rare Nothing Else Like It kind of show (though it has roots in older shoujo like Rose of Versailles and modern stuff like Revue Starlight have picked up its lede)

Okay spoilers from here on

I really only kinda have vague memories of the more knightly take on Utena from the movie so Series!Utena having this powerful Dumb Jock Energy threw me

Like she's out here invoking the Air Bud Rule from minute one

This bit where Akio is going on about some Important Life Lesson thing and she's just fuckin

crab walking im

what a hero i love her

I have always kinda been more partial to shoujo than shounen bc the sense of like emotional urgency and the heightened exaggerated feelings are just more compelling to me narratively and what Utena does spectacularly is really drive that to fucking 11 and it permeates every aspect of the show

Like the melodrama of it all is so shameless and it's so committed to letting its visuals and music drive the mood and emotional intensity of its stakes that they kind of speak for themselves and demand to be taken on their own terms rather than having clear or rigid interpretations

Like it's kind of a situation of "yes most of what you're seeing ties into the show's bigger themes and characterization but also you can just vibe to the spectacle as well" like even when it's not on the Dueling Arena there's a theatricality underlying everything that pairs perfectly with the spirit of shoujo even as it... not necessarily contradicts it, but challenges it in some ways and also wants to coexist with it?

And I think that's the interesting thing how it wants to tackle some of these arch concepts tied into the genre while also being deeply intertwined with it.  Like it really is a Product Of Its Time in so many ways but it also feels somehow timeless and transgressive in others even now?

Like part of me would be interested to see a remake that took into account 23 years of conversation about how much perceptions of gender and sexuality have changed but at the same time would it lose some essential part of itself in that transition?  idk potentially

Also lbr a hypothetical remake wouldn't even attempt to revise anything it would just redo it thus making it pointless

So I know this has been a thing that's been brought up before but seeing it play out dang RGU and NGE really are just companion pieces to each other huh

Subverting the themes and narrative arcs of their respective genres, mysterious quiet girl who's directly the key to everything, the ritual of action setpieces rendered as Actual Ritual in the story, banger OP, comphet ruining everyone's lives

Also they really don't have much in common comparatively but I'm definitely seeing pieces of Utena in Kill la Kill too?  Particularly how Mako's arc feels like a fleshing out and expansion from the archetype divergence Wakaba got in that one ep (I can't believe klk was the utena/wakaba au fanfic)

Speaking of which damn he is a sleazy bastard and a gross predator but ngl Akio can Get It he and Ragyo are basically the same character and I guess this is just my type apparently???? oops

Like I'm recognizing how like really awful he is but also you really can't blame Utena for crushing on him he is super hot and charming

aside i lost it at the audacity of "well even tho i am a man like twice your age (AT LEAST) and took advantage of the situation and also i am clearly not the type to take no for an answer since you didn't reject me you're basically just as bad as me" bruh

The Black Rose Arc is... interesting bc like it borders on superfluous with how it resolves and yet the introduction of a "monster of the week" type power rangers element specifically built to expand on the secondary cast is a pretty inspired choice

again my primary point of introduction to the series was the movie which is basically a remix of the Student Council arc so when I got to 12 I was like wth are they gonna fill the rest of this with? WELP

What I really like about it is that usually this kind of setup-- the 'character is faced with their dark inner thoughts they shy away from and they become a short-term enemy' deal-- ends with the char in question coming to terms with this and overcoming it to become a better person

but here it's just like... they lose and then they just gotta... sit with that, forever.  Like it doesn't really change the status quo of their relationships w/ utena or the others but it does just stick around for them and now the audience knows that about them too.  like sometimes you just can't take that shit back.

Utena's relationship to queerness, having heard about it tangentially for years but seeing it play out now is also interesting bc while in the grand scheme it doesn't feel necessarily any more ahead of its time than something like Cardcaptor Sakura there is a casualness to it that's distinct

Like for the most part it's either kind of the tangential fluff that even then was part of shoujo as a standard but then there's also stuff like the Akio/Touga or Touga/Saionji hinting or Kozue's casual pass at Anthy in addition to the maintext Juri/Shiori push-pull and ofc the subtext-but-maintext Utena/Anthy threads

I wanna take a moment to talk about Juri bc of how kind of in the spirit of the show itself it plays things both with and against the grain with her

Like she's a Tragic Lesbian which is nothing new but usually this character type (and Distinctively Lesbian characters in general) in anime/manga tend to be portrayed as being very predatory, invasive and either played for laughs or to repulse the audience, so the degree of empathy RGU shows her in 97 is rare to see even now.  

Like there is a "safeness" to her bc of how unattainable Shiori is (though their arc ends in a decidedly ambiguious way), but it doesn't really feel like she's getting the short end of the stick over the more straight-leaning characters bc arguably all of the relationships here are defined by an aspect of chasing the unattainable, echoing Utena's own quixotic search for her Prince, and her choosing to remain closeted feels realistic *especially because* of the surrounding context of how heteronormative the world she exists in is.  Like the character is aware of that and is navigating it in a way that feels honest

Speaking of which it's interesting how the reveal of Juri's pining for Shiori in Ep 7 echoes the bigger reveal of Utena/Anthy bc of how it plays up this heterocentric love triangle or at least it seems to be but then the cards are on the table and no that's really not what it is at all, and it feels significant that after spending most of the series naively oblivious to Juri’s feelings and what she wants out of a relationship with Shiori that Utena finally Gets It in Ep 37

Is it a coincidence Juri actually gets to be the one to point it out? No

Speaking of triangles big ups to the Ruka/Juri/Shiori one honestly bc of how hard it commits to the unknown third result of a LT where absolutely no one comes out happy and it actually works even with the handicap of Ruka basically coming out of nowhere just for these two episodes

Like all three of them want the one person who's absolutely never gonna love them back and that's just rough buddy and isn't that kinda the show in a nutshell

So the thing that struck me about Utena/Anthy and how it plays out is how subtle it really is.  And that does make sense bc while f/f teasing/subtext again was part of shoujo before it's quite a different thing for the heroine to ultimately reject her 2 male love interests and choose a life with her female best friend, esp in nineteen ninety seven

Like I think you can argue that Ep 12 feels like The Moment where What Their Relationship Is, Definitely shifts and that possibility is suddenly there, and then it doesn't come back in a big way until the ending but there are tiny glimpses throughout where you can see that working in the background if you’re really paying attention

Small things like Anthy's flashes of unspoken jealousy, Utena fretting over her even when she's in bed with Akio, and part of that is coming from going in with a knowledge of what the endgame is and keeping an eye out for it.  I can hardly imagine being a viewer during the og broadcast and then ep 34 comes and suddenly the intent is made clear and our understanding of the inciting incident gets all flipped turned upside down

And to a modern viewer I can get coming into this for the first time and being frustrated at just how close to the chest it gets played, but that's also kind of the only way it gets to happen at that point in time?  But I think it ultimately is effective and vital to their individual arcs and dovetails nicely with the themes of the show

Like I remember hearing that original manga creator Chiho Saito was pretty against their paired ending, but with a lot of convincing from Ikuhara ultimately came around to it, and it's hard to imagine the anime's ending working any other way and being nearly as impactful

And there is something really beautiful about the bucking against the established idea of yuri relationships being a childish concept that gets left behind in order to 'grow up' actually becoming the impetus of their own journeys into adulthood and eventually back to each other, and it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed that for this Bold Step and declaration for the future that RGU takes that while yuri is more common than ever it largely continues to exist within the realm of schoolgirls and something to be left behind in adolescence like for RGU’s faults and shortcomings it saw this world of possibility in moving forward, while the genre largely elected to stand still

And it really speaks to either the timelessness of the show or how much the queer experience has remained constant that even with a tragic ending, that hope, or rather the promise of their reunion, feels bold and defiant and genuinely uplifting even now

Like the moment where just before they reach out to each other one final time, and their voices as children speak out to each other, as if finally fulfilling a promise they barely remember, I really did just start ugly crying

Lastly some assorted closing thoughts--

-Touga?  Punk.  Guy really takes advantage of Utena's whole prince thing to manipulate her, ends up losing to her in the rematch and then fucks off to mope for like AN ENTIRE SEASON then pops back up "oh yea im in love with her literally nothing else about my behavior has changed tho" like lmao you tried i guess

-Also i know Touga's design is p stock standard bishounen ojou-sama type but god this is all i can think about when I see him

- Green Touga Saionji is a bitch-ass motherfucker but like he at least tried more than anyone else so uh that's something I guess?????

Like the guy clearly has some unresolved feelings about Touga so i'm inclined to be sympathetic bc wow poor choice my dude but also... bitch-ass motherfucker

-Nanami really went through this thing for me where it's like... she's a brat and a shitty person but it's also hard to really dislike her bc she does get what she deserves most of the time and also she gets kinkshamed more than most of the cast despite none of them really having a high ground over her lol

-Miki did nothing wrong (aside from like the implied incest but that's also like... half the relationships in this show uh)

sidenote I can completely see the notable excess of Incest Subtext/Maintext being intended as like... A Thing to comment on how common it is within shoujo and also tying in to like the bigger themes of Growing Up bc the idea that you’re chasing after your own damn siblings betrays some freudian inability to mature or whatever but tbqh it doesn’t always feel like the show knows the line between commenting on this and indulging in it and RGU is very indulgent by its own nature so I really can’t blame people put off by the show as a whole bc this is an area where RGU is largely indistinguishable from its genre peers

-Juri really did nothing wrong tho also props for having the best duels

-FUCK SHIORI THO for eel 

so obviously i have not seen the show up to now but I've been in yuri circles for a long time so I knew about Juri/Shiori and my perception of it had always been "oh it's one of those kinda messy with complicated feelings" kinda ships where the drama is a big part of the appeal and that's true but like

the actual nature of it I did not realize up to now and OH SHIORI'S REALLY THAT BITCH HUH

So not only does she date that one anonymous guy specifically to spite Juri unaware she doesn't actually like him BUT THEN WHEN THEY GET REUNITED SHE'S JUST LIKE LOL IT DIDNT MATTER BUT HEY WE COOL RIGHT *AND THEN* when she finds out about Juri's feelings she's like HELL YEA I CAN HANG THIS OVER HER HEAD FOREVER FUCK HER

***AND THEN*** when she gets some karma after Ruka dumps her ass she airs her dirty laundry out in front of EVERYBODY like Juri hasn't been dealing with this shit like an absolute champ the whole time like?????

Like ok i get that there's the sad longing drama there and usually that's my jam and the show itself seems to end on kind of an ambiguous note and the follow-up manga from this year seems to leave it as kind of a "maybe" but I'm sorry get Juri a better GF 2020 she deserves better

I saw some Juri/Wakaba going through the tumblr tag for the show and honestly that's some big brain shit I'm here for it

Also now knowing exactly how this dynamic operates it really makes that Jasper/Lapis reference pic one of the SU crew drew of them read very.... interestingly???????? (tho Lapis' design reads a lot closer to Kozue and that's probably a closer personality analogue too)

-I love that thing in ep 37 where the whole SC is just very casually like hey utena if the whole revolutionizing the world thing with anthy doesn't work out uhhh call me im free haha just kidding unless...? lmao

-I'm pretty uninclined to try to pin precise sexuality HCs to characters for series this old where the ambiguity is part of how its danced around like partly coming from my own experience I'm inclined to read Utena as bi but that really is just coming from me?

But on the other hand literally every time a guy is like "i love you utena come be happy with me and we can love each other forever" she's like "k" after having left them on read for a day and disconnects from them entirely so lesbian going through comphet is a pretty valid read i think lol

-Lastly I think it’s pretty interesting but validly frustrating how fast and loose the show’s relationship with dream logic and non-traditional storytelling really is like when the shadow girls show up I was like “oh this is a greek chorus thing and it’s meant to reflect on the themes of the episode” (or uh in the case of exactly Ep 29 to break from tradition and explicitly tell us what a characters deal is lmao) but then no actually turns out they’re actually real characters who exist within the show too fuck you

ANYWAY I really did love this show and felt like I got a lot out of it despite it being pretty infamously hard to decipher but the ways it's inscrutable appeal to me specifically so very happy with this I'm gonna be thinking about it for a while

[sotorubio]

Thank you so much for answering in depth but omg I totally forgot that Alexia and Arthur were a main couple. I completely repressed that. Yeah also not a good couple because of the cheating. I didn't left them out intentionally.

I definitely understand all the points you mention and agree!

I don't even remember much of elus conflict in later seasons (haven't watched watched the seasons, just kept an eye on it). I remember there was a lot of drama and a kiss? And misscommunication I think. Have the grown from it?

And I am also not that on the Basile Hype train. But he is a good bf to Daphne.

You probably have talked about it before but do you think the other skams manage their romance better? Like davenzi, crisana..? Especially in concern to if they are a healthy couple etc.

Would you consider all evaks instalove? Because their relationship is very fast moving forward?

OMG ANON RELATABLE we should all repress the hell out of alexia & arthur lbr smdjskjd n don't worry i didn't think they were intentionally left out i just assumed they weren't worth mentioning smhflshdkd

understandable! the main conflict w elu esp in s6 was lucas being a bit hostile toward lola while eliott was friends w her, he was "jealous" & afraid lola n eliott would "drag each other down" bc they're both mentally ill, that was a looot of drama (which is a whole another convo abt the ableism of the situation...) also lucas was self conscious in arthur's season bc "eliott has more options" & eliott had a weird speech abt ✨acceptable cheating✨ which was kind of a inner conflict for Lucas but we never saw eliott's reaction to that as far as i know. which was actually the main problem all these would've been great talking points but they were all "solved" (aka everything was suddenly fine n it was never mentioned again) off-screen, so have they grown from it? well that's the message the show wanted to send but we literally never saw them grow or even solve these things so.. also somehow the kiss did in fact exist but was a none issue bc i guess eliott kissing underage girls is just fine by lucas 😗

i definitely think the other remakes (at least españa w viri x hugo, norandro & crisana and druck's couples especially davenzi) have much better development on that part & most importantly they maintain those relationships well! my favorite example is the problems cris n joana have continued to have irt joana's MI bc they show that it's not always easy n they r a complex couple but they present it so healthy! cris never blames joana or tries to baby her but is still rightfully frustrated when things r hard. we see their relationship on the side but it isn't reduced to that lovey dovey utopia where nothing is never wrong + when things r wrong we get all the necessary information via the main character that cris is friends with (amira or nora depending on the season) or through the social media, which means the conflict solving is clear n thorough. we don't have to guess if they're still fighting or how they managed to make up! this is mostly bc the conflicts r kept realistic n down to earth instead of drama seeking "spectacles" for example: joana isn't relapsing out there partying when she shouldn't be n cris doesn't have to pick her up from a police station, instead she just has worse days w her MI which is much more sensible to work through as a couple off screen in a "tell, don't show" kinda way. that doesn't work w bigger, more surprising issues. the healthiness there comes from the fact that the show explicitly states that they have sorted out their problems n alludes to how they did it & when it happened whereas France did. virtually none of that

also for davenzi i might be biased bc they're my fave evak but they definitely seem to have a similarly healthy n developed relationship!! david doesn't have an (established) MI so there aren't as many conflicts related to that but they're both v distinct characters that have a developed personality outside of the relationship. also they r just the perfect example of best-friends-in-love + a realistic teens-experiencing-first-love trope. their season had other issues but i think that the relationship itself definitely wasn't one. it wasn't so much of a ✨soul mates that will endure anything by the force of destiny✨ but more like They're teens who caught feelings for each other n they're a bit confused in their first relationship but they're making it work via communication n care!

also for if all evaks r instalove i think to an extent they r. for example most of them say "i love u" SO early which i don't vibe with at all. and a lot of them have this "meant to be" trope around them from the start instead of just a naturally developing romance. but since the evak season is mainly a romance plot (yes there r other important themes such as internalized homophobia & mental illness but the plot line follows the progress of a romance n it's a central part of the season) it's more understandable to move faster bc u have the time to expand on the relationship n kinda explain the feelings aka the relationship still grows on the audience along the way. but compared to smth like lola's seasons where the central theme is loss of a loved one & addiction, instalove just comes out of nowhere n has no chance to be expanded on since it's not a main theme of the season n has little screen time. this is what usually makes it boring or one dimensional at least for me! but also i'm not trying to rly defend the evak instalove either altho i think there is this difference. like it still pushes me away from og evak & elu a little bit + even crisana at the start of their season even tho i think it's more tolerable & understandable than in other seasons

[llama-milk-for-the-egg-nog]

Thoughts on Mulan (2020)

Ok so I had heard some stuff beforehand about this movie, but I didn’t wanna let that tint my experience too much, though it kind of did in the form of noticing western influence on certain things. Here’s a list of thoughts more or less in chronological order.  First I wrote these in a notebook, and now I’m putting them here.

The beginning sequence reminds me so much of Kung Fu Huslte

though honestly it might just be that stephen chow’s movies are pretty much the extent of chinese-made media that I watch

Rosalind Chao is here, I’m a Keiko O’Brien stan so she reminded me of DS9

Fa Zhou saying something about “emissary” also reminded me of DS9

The music where the rourans first attack is cool I guess

idk if the brass made the music of the imperial city sound kinda western or what, but it certainly did sound militaristic (which I guess it’s supposed to)

Why does mulan have a little sister instead of a little brother? to add more female characters to the story? she doesn’t really do much though

After mulan’s whole childhood sequence, it cuts to a shot of the witch in the desert, which if you didn’t already know the story, might make it seem like mulan grew up to be the witch

although this makes some sense too bc the movie likes to compare them

the witch twists into a hawk (?), neat!

I saw people earlier comment about both men and women in china (and other parts of the world) keeping their hair long, so when mulan’s hair fell out of place in the matchmaker scene it made me notice that both the men and women also wear their hair up, which in turn causes the part of the movie later when mulan emerges after the avalanche to make way less sense since how would they know she’s a woman?

ok this is the thing I’m upset about, its a small thing but still, Why don’t we get to see the sword form?? If you remember in the animated version, her father does this straight sword form. (It’s a real form, not just made up for the animated movie). So I was like “ok maybe mulan will do it later” and then it NEVER HAPPENED. (possibly she did it during the “make a man out of you” training sequence, but the odd camera angels and quick cutaways make it impossible to tell)

I also had heard earlier that the script was not subtle at all,,,y’all were right

oh look, a phoenix

mulan: “the phoenix”

yes, we know

Commander Donnie Yen Tung’s entrance is iconic

BAHAHFHDSK mulan’s reaction to seeing naked men skjfdk

uh oh,,only 40 minutes in and the forced romance is already upon us

although, in retrospect, the way they resolved it at the end didn’t make me cringe that much

I’m a slut for butterfly kicks

the scene where mulan bathes in the lake has a much more predatory undertone now, especially now that Ling, Chien Po, and Yao are missing

the trio made the scene funny in the animated movie

can the not-Li-Shang-love-interest Honghui please leave Jun/Mulan alone?? ffs

speaking of no Li Shang, I liked the Donnie Yen mentor character half better than the Honghui half

Honghui kind of comes off as a simp ngl

what’s with the witch’s makeup/outfit? are they based on something?

speaking of outfits, awhile ago, I saw a really cool doll alteration video for mulan 2020

Commander Tung’s monologue/ mulan’s and the army’s training sequence about Chi where the words “Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within” are spoken is actually my favorite part of the whole movie. As much as I would have liked a musical remake, I think they translated the visual elements and the words together well in a way that was different enough from the animated version, but still satisfying to watch (at least for me).

They also integrate the music of Reflection here really well imho.  In the animated version, there’s a point where mulan modulates to a higher key, but the live action version doesn’t do that, which further pushes it away from sounding like disney’s classic musical theatre style.  They also changed a few of the notes, and I think the overall changes to Reflection in this part of the movie really improve this montage.

Compared to the Spiderman where they changed the notes from harmonic minor to (normal) minor (idk if that’s the real term I’m not actually a music major) in the MCU opening sequence, the note changes in Reflection don’t actually upset me.

my brain: oh look!! flowers!! cool! whooshhhh (honestly I couldn’t even tell if she was doing flowers right in the first part of the movie until here)

Mulan/Jun is gonna marry Commander Tung’s daughter? Yeah girl!! Get it!

oh look at me I’m a rouran and I gotta turn around on my moving horse to shoot arrows let me just swoOP

1:01:56 WHY ARE YOUR FINGERS IN FRONT OF THE HILT oh ok they fixed in the next shot but its still annoying

Unsubtle phoenix imagery not subtle

I guess I was warned about it :/

oh look its my fav interval a major 7th, I wonder if that’s supposed to be like “the last step before rebirth/the octave” bc of how Jun “dies” after the witch throws a weapon that gets stuck in her chest binding

at least she’s not using ace bandages or smth but idk much about binding

WHY ARE YOU THROWING OFF ALL YOUR ARMOR WHEN YOU’RE GOING INTO BATTLE? ACCEPTING AND PRESENTING YOURSELF AS WHO YOU REALLY ARE DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO TAKE OFF YOUR ARMOR

ok I know it was so she would be visually distinguishable from the other imperial soldiers, but still

the soldiers doing the turtle thing with their shields reminds me of the “we irritating 😂😂😂” meme

brass to signify that mulan is going to have a heroic moment (causing the avelanche) seems western to me. Idk much about traditional chinese instruments but it seems like they could use more of those.

Guys,,,I’m so fucking stupid I- .... it took me an hour and ten minutes to register the Lucky Cricket stand-in character,,,excuse me,,,,

the scene where mulan saves hongui and puts her hand over his heart gives me r*ylo vibes and I hate it

the witch, 1:14:40: “🎵yes I~ am a girl like you~🎵”

damn the music even reminds of the barbie movie a bit

The emperor’s voice reminds me of the mentor character from Kung Pow Enter the Fist which in itself was a western guy making fun of old cheesy martial arts movies (and how movies sometimes have a white male protagonist when they’re deadass set in asia and everyone else is asian)

the mentor characters voice was dubbed into english (and you can tell) but to me the emperor’s voice also kinda sounds like that

I’m disappointed that we didn’t get some kind of scene like the part in the animated verison where Mulan leads Ling, Chien Po, and Yao to cross dress to help save the emperor.

to me, that scene in the animated ver. is a reminder that it isn’t shameful for men to act/dress feminine

in general the animated version, to me, sends the message that it is ok to have both feminine and masculine traits, and that they don’t undermine each other or your identity, so they should all be embraced as a part of one’s personality (which tbh really helped me as a young kid)

the 2020 ver,, just doesn’t really send that message, instead its more broad like “be true to yourself”

I’m a slut for butterfly kicks

the witch taking an arrow for mulan really didn’t do it for me tbh, it made her seem a little wishy washy

like, I get that she wanted acceptance/validation, and that a part of her was glad that mulan found that for herself, but what about the rest of her motivation? Isn’t a desire for power or something what separates her from mulan?

Unsubtle phoenix imagery and dialogue is unsubtle

The music playing during the Mulan v. Khan duel reminds me of Duel of the Fates

actually the setting of the duel and other things really remind of of the Maul v. Ahsoka duel from Clone Wars s7

damn I really wanna watch the Maul v. Ahsoka duel cause the fight choreo is just,, so much more interesting

aww! Cricket is alive!

Around 1:34:39 , the music does not feel like it should be building up to Reflection here.  At this point, I think the melody had been reprised too many times and was getting to be overused (I still like it in the training sequence though).

I was happy to see Ming Na Wen!

Mulan is going home and ugh! Honghui! Don’t you know she’s betrothed to Commander Tung’s daughter? smh. homewrecker simp.

the matchmaker reminds me of Baron Harkonnen (Dune)

cheezy credits song is cheezy, even cheezier because they reprised reflection again

[rogueshipagogo]

ppl have been asking me my opinions on space channel 5 vr... and i guess since i bought a vr headset off craigslist just so i could play it and speedrun it before work the day it came out... i should talk abt it now... i dont rly think i’ll be able to separate it into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things i think i’m just going to do a rambly stream of consciousness bc i have a headache... but i DO have good things to say abt this game... so st.... sta stay t tune  d

right off the bat, the thing i appreciate most abt this game- i like that space channel 5 vr doesnt have cash grab vibes. i Do genuinely believe that they Wanted to make this game For the people who are still obsessed with it, and that they ultimately did what they set out to do when they intended to scale certain aspects of the series up conceptually to match the way the fandom perceives it nowadays. but like i’ve said before... i’m not going to Disagree with the very common conclusion that it Needed to be longer, or at Least more intricate plot-wise. one of my fun and fresh excuses for sc5vr being as short as it is is because you arent really supposed to be playing vr games for too long anyways, its really disorienting and kinda painful, but even that doesn’t account for why so much of the game that we got is a rehash of old settings, concepts, songs, and characters. [i dont even have a problem with reusing old songs, i just think the ones they chose ended up being misleading]

for example i think it makes sense that the first report is a remake of the first games first report on the surface, it’s meant to take you back to the way the first game felt and give you an idea of what it means that the games classic scenery can be rendered in actual high quality detail now [same with the recurrence of events like encountering the space pirates in the asteroid belt/the last battle against a villain being singing to it about what it’s done wrong], but i really thought, like, report 1 was going to end up being a simulated scenario for the benefit of lou and kee’s training... which i dont think ended up being the case??? i think they really did write ‘ok here you are in the first game’s setting again, fighting the old enemies again, because... :^) ok have fun playing report 2!’

and then whats report 2... you fight another old boss from the first game... but theres Still no clear villain or motivation for anything thats happening... and there wont be until like... basically the end of the game...

like, glitter is a really cute character, but its kind of underwhelming that shes just a random citizen who was kidnapped by an entity that we NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT... like part 1 was extremely notable for being about corporate greed and corruption, part 2 honestly wasnt that political in comparison but at least made you do a think wrt purge’s motivation and his methods, and this game just has a plot device that feels like it’ll do smth but then ends up not doing anything beyond what we already learned about it from the information on its character bio before the game was out. if it turns out that cell x is actually relevant again in a future entry in the franchise and they do have a more developed concept for what cell x Is in mind, i’ll do an entire backflip, but for now its just chalked up to being the result of More Space Hijinks that dont need to be explained

ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE ALLUSIONS TO CELL X BEING AN ENTITY THAT FEEDS OFF OF DANCE ENERGY... it had me thinking that there would have to be some New Method of fighting it off that didn’t just lend it more power in the process, but nah apparently just tacking on the disclaimer ‘*this dance energy is not for glitter’ is enough to turn it from smth it can consume for power into big attacks you can use to kill it... like honestly it sounds like im asking for a lot from a game that has Never made too much sense, but considering that in part 2 they could add details like ‘oh didnt you know purge can open pocket dimensions? ulala is capable of manifesting tangible dance energy and the only other person who can do that is purge???’, its not like they havent come up with weird new shit for dance energy to do within the plot before. they just didnt do it in this game fsr

like did anyone else think that cell x/glitter was going to be the result of tossing purge out into deep space and him encountering the sc5 universe’s equivalent of an eldritch alien creature, smth more bestial than morolians?? even if purge wasnt part of it, when you say ‘uh oh, this guy Eats this society’s only source of energy!!!’ i expect the stakes to get HIGH, and i want the ramifications of it to be kinda STARTLING, because blank wanted money and purge wanted to ritualistically end the world but something this near to an ecological disaster that would force an entire paradigm shift hasn’t occurred yet in the series?? its totally new!!! there’s a lot they could do with this but OH DONT WORRY ABOUT IT EVERYONE ulala knows how to make dance energy kill cell x instead of feed it she’s got this we’re good no need to investigate more into all that

i can’t explain why the game is like this. and i dont expect grounding to address it in any meaningful way either. i’m sure they’re Aware of these complaints by now- the game reviewing community has Not been kind to sc5vr specifically due to all of these shortcomings [i didnt even touch on the issues with motion sensing and how many of the games mechanics were removed in favor of smth presumably easier to program yet much less satisfying, like Secret Moves just being mini quicktime events and Turning Your Ratings Into Stars just being replaced with the standard Three Strikes You’re Out method of scoring], but the pr team still seems very enthusiastic abt the game and is still promising dlc and potentially even more games in the series after this one- heres hoping that they’ll at least take these grievances to heart and consider making the experience not only more accessible [aka it will... go back to being a rhythm game with controller input.... and not... an exclusive vr experience...], but also as immersive and detailed as the old games, with less reused plot beats. i can let some of it off the hook in this game simply because i’m aware that it began its life as a tech demo that was only supposed to be that initial first report from the first game But Happening All Around You!, but i Really dont think they could get away with doing this little to expand upon the groundwork set by the first two games again. not with the way people remember part 2 being such a vast upgrade from part 1... the bar had been set so high that this just felt like a huge backslide into something even sillier and harder to take seriously than part 1 before we had any idea what kind of staying power the franchise would have as a hallmark of sega’s quirky antics. like... this game is what i think space channel 5 looks like to people who don’t understand the appeal of the first two games. and that scares me

but i guess for the most part, aside from wishing they had done more to revitalize the setting and the lore of the sc5 universe itself, im kind of glad it didnt do a lot to change the existing storylines the characters have kinda forged for themselves- here i was stressing out that they would pull out some plot development that would utterly and drastically change the way we talked abt the series for the rest of time, but so little happened and so little was added to the bank of sc5 lore that we can kind of all just carry on as usual and keep having the same headcanons we always had.

BUT!!! there ARE a lot of cute little details here and there that make the experience feel wholesome and like i said not an utter cashgrab- like so many of the character profiles referencing previous games [all of the references to npcs in this game being relatives of the npcs of the last games made me lose it] and how often ulala changes her expressions up and looks right at you and talks to you. the new music they wrote for the game also all slaps and everyones redesigns [if they got a redesign... rip pudding] are stunning

one of the most important things they did in this game was give a nice sort of Update to every character.... for example explaining that ulala isn’t a rookie reporter any more like she was in the first 2 games, that she’s moved up to being in charge of training new channel 5 reporters, and that while pudding is still somewhat stuck on her rivalry with ulala her career isn’t stagnant either, she was just cast in a romcom series as the lead... which is really nice considering how in the past she was portrayed as somewhat of a loser with almost no remaining fans left from her idol years

and you knew i was going to bring up jaguar at some point HES ALL OVER THIS GAME AND IT LITERALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY LIFE WAS WORTH POWERING THROUGH THESE LAST FEW YEARS AND ALSO LIKE IM A GENIUS FOR SPENDING SO LONG POSTING EVERY SINGLE DAY ‘NO REALLY, HE’S THE SECONDARY PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY, ITS ABOUT CHANNEL 5 AS A COMPANY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED THEM AND THAT INCLUDES JAGUAR AS WELL AS ULALA HES INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT BC SHE WOULDNT BE ALIVE IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIM’ i feel like it’s really incredible how in this game he has genuinely nice energy and doesnt withhold praise from ulala just to be helpful in a mysterious way later and he like HAS FRIENDS now. like consider how he went from disgraced former ch5 employee who got mad every time he saw them, to kidnapped robot henchman kinda humbled by the fact that now the turns tabled and ulala had to rescue Him, and now 3 years later his bio is all about how he has a new tv show thats super popular and he has a new entourage of ladies who he considers his '’’’’’comrades’’’’’’’ within the station he founded??? AND AFTER 20 YEARS THEY WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GIVE HIS MODEL JUICY ASS CHEEKS??????????????? NO MORE PANCAKE BOOTY???? THE BOY HAD A GLOWUP AND NO I WONT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT

WHEN I SAY MEOW MATCH THE POSE MOTHERFUCKERS THIS BLONDE BASTARD GETS TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE HUNDRED STAGE BATTLE NOW TOO THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SPACE PIRATES BAYBEE

[angelicorn]

FFVII Remake Analysis Chapter 1 (1/2)

My sister was introduced to FFVII via my gameplay and reacted to it with fresh eyes which I’ve written down and posted to tumblr up to chapter 5–which I will continue posting some time in the future (I finished the game, but have looked towards another project in place of the reactions) The past couple weeks, she’s been playing the game while we stop every so often to dissect and analyze the mediums used in this game for story telling purpose. We analyze the music, blank/negative spaces, lighting, camera angles and shots, the introduction of characters, using characters to reveal information/reveal to us the lack of info the players know, etc.

Everyone is free to their own opinions. We just wanted to share our thoughts and understanding of the story and its characters through the use of rhetorical appeals found in the game that push towards a common narrative that all players of this game can agree on—what FFVII’s story is about. We are free to our own interpretations and preferences. The plot devices and rhetoric strategies used in this game are there for specific reasons and this is our (me and my sister’s) take on that. We hope you enjoy this lengthy analysis.

Spoilers, for those who have not yet played the game.

When you begin the new game, you’re introduced to dry and barren land. The first sign of life we see is a bird flying across the sky and towards a bleak looking city. The scenery is washed out with hues of gray, black, etc.—the city is filled with people in contrast to the rocky terrain we saw prior, but it still seems dry and barren in a different sense. The flowers aren’t even growing. A reflection of a washed out greenish light reflects in the eyes of a child playing at a park and it’s coming out of something steel and man-made. It doesn’t look welcoming—it looks ominous. The brooding music and the way this pale light doesn’t illuminate everything around it, but rather makes everything else in comparison, darker, tells us so.

The scenes fades to black and we are next shown a mysterious nameless girl who is perched in front of a pipe(?) with the same glow that we saw coming from the reactor in the last scene. She opens her eyes and the camera cuts to a side view of her. We don’t see her expression, but we see the green glow of the pipes flicker almost as if it’s conversing with her. We see a yellow flower and it’s a a call back to the dead flower growing by the curb in the earlier scenes. It makes us question whether the green glow is something that’s alive and not meant to be harvested to an extent that the flowers are dying. She stands up and looks away from the screen into something unknown to the viewers. We’re further intrigued. Maybe she isn’t meant to be near the green glow? We don’t yet know.

She walks out into the street and bumps into someone who doesn’t even apologize or excuse himself. She drops a few of her flowers. A woman glances at her but no one helps this girl. A man even tramples on one of her flowers. We don’t see her face, but she picks it up with two hands—she’s carrying it like it’s something precious to her. Yes—this steel city is empty of greenery similarly to the way most people depicted are empty of compassion towards life (the environment)

She looks towards the sky and we are left with a lot of questions as to what she is to this story we are embarking on. The camera pans out to a large city enclosed within walls and divided into sections like a pizza—a telltale sign of a society being controlled by a higher power/hierarchy. The sound of drums, wind instruments and the brass instruments gradually become louder and louder until a streak of pale green light shoots across from the upper right corner and strikes the middle of the screen like a meteor. The logo appears to the sound of brass instruments and drums overpowering the score and this crescendo marks the beginning of an epic journey: Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The music gradually quiets down and we pan closer and closer into another section of the city with cuts of a moving train and a mysterious man with a large sword on his back perched on top of this train. We can’t help but wonder why he isn’t inside the train like a normal person and we‘re left to wonder if he’s trying to sneak in undetected. The train slows down to a stop in front of 2 grunts whose faces we can’t see. A closer look at the train—it doesn’t look like it’s meant for people to ride in. It looks like a heavy duty train that’s meant to transport things.

The grunts get their asses handed to them by three characters that are introduced. They’re wearing attire that’s a bit similar to each other so we get the feel that they’re acting as a 3-man unit/team. The camera pans to a big guy with shades and a metal cylinder arm. The guy looks intimidating and to be quite honest, sketchy. Is he supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy? We’ll have to play on to find out.

The three headbands wait for this big guy to give the signal and when he gives them the ok with a head nod, they nod in understanding and turn around to get to their destination.

“Get down here, merc.” The first line is spoken by this big guy whose name flashes on the screen as Barret.

We see the same man with the big sword riding atop the train from before as he back flips onto the scene and coolly looks up at the viewers in true protagonist/hero fashion and this is where we know without a doubt, we are definitely going to be playing as this mysterious, fellow. The striking eyes and spiky-hair tells us so (lol).

The story begins in the middle of all this action. We don’t know this guy’s name, why we’re working for Barret or what their objective even is yet, which leaves a unique way of storytelling by piecing information together. We rely on characters around us and our interactions with them to figure out just wtf is going on.

I wanted to note that the music is quick paced while the brass carries a low melody which, together, evokes a sense of urgency and covertness. We get an idea that perhaps we will be infiltrating this place. Also, the chapter of the title clues us in on what we’re doing. We’re destroying a reactor—a source of energy—which we can safely assume is that green stuff shooting out of that structure from the intro and that it is supplying this walled city with power/electricity.

The player has control of this character and, as Barret puts it, “you’re up” and made to engage in a battle with the same type of grunts as before, all in tutorial fashion. We learn that this man’s name is Cloud. We learn from the first few battles that Cloud is a cocky little shit swordsman based on his scripted dialogue between himself and the grunts. (The grunts warn him that they’ll shoot if he moves and he challenges them with the line, Go ahead.) Our first level up isn’t level 1, it’s level 7, and he already has a few abilities and a spell, plus different fighting modes, so we know he’s has some kind of fighting experience already. 

Additionally, the fighting modes are called Operator mode and Punisher mode. These are words that evoke a lack of autonomy. Operator suggests that a person must do something to make a tool or system function properly. Cloud is a tool to make another tool work. Punisher suggests that a person is inflicting damage, pain, death, etc.towards people who have committed grave crimes/sins —someone who takes away someone else’s autonomy.

We learn more about our main man through the other characters. Jessie and Biggs’ conversation reveals his full name, Cloud Strife, and that he was a SOLDIER which is stylized in all caps in the subtitles showing us that it may be more than just a title or occupation in this game. Biggs describes him as a professional in comparison to the rest of them. Professional in what specifically? He was trained to fight, what with all the abilities and fighting styles he has at this point. That leaves us with the question: what is a SOLDIER exactly, and why isn’t he a SOLDIER anymore?

His interaction with Wedge tells a lot about his character and gives us insight as to what the situation is and what his relationship to them is. Wedge gives a thumbs up—no words from Wedge—yet Cloud is moved to say this is a one time “gig” emphasizing his role as a mercenary and he reiterates it by saying when the job is done, their connection between himself and their group will also end. From a storytelling standpoint, this interaction leads us to separate ourselves emotionally from the rest of the group. To Cloud—the player—this is just another day at work.

Jessie and Biggs continue to talk about the player character, but you cannot interact with them at this point. As you approach Barret, he pushes you aside to watch over Jessie and Biggs. We get a stronger impression that Barret is a team leader of some sort—one that doesn’t seem to approve of your presence. Does that have anything to do with being a former SOLDIER?

Cloud isn’t interested in what Wedge thinks. Cloud is aloof and kinda fuckin’ rude. We wonder what made him this way?

Barret warns Cloud that he’d better be worth the money. He doesn’t even call him by his name. He calls Cloud merc, which further puts emotional distance between the two.

The fact that the player is left behind to fight the baddies alone while the rest make their way forward creates a distance between them as well. Cloud is working for them—not with them. A job’s a job.

Cloud takes the elevator alone and enters an area where we see Wedge is left behind while the rest of the group tells you to hurry and to pick up the pace.

As the player, I personally was annoyed that they aren’t more appreciative. I can’t keep up with you guys bc I’m left behind doing all the fighting keeping all of you from harm. However—fighting is what’s expected of the player—that’s what we were hired to do, right? I’m just being salty bc my efforts aren’t being noticed the way I want. Here, I feel inferior.

If you choose to interact with Wedge before going further, he tells you he will secure an escape route, asks you to keep his friends safe, and not to worry about him. Cloud may not give two shits yet, but as the player, I’ve begun to form an emotional attachment to Wedge. This guy is so caring! Cloud’s cold personality does not sway him! HOW can I not like Wedge?

We join up with the others and Barret asks him for directions to get to some bridge above mako storage. He then goes on in an increasingly aggravated manner and asks Cloud if he’s still a “loyal little doggy”. We can draw several conclusions from from this dialogue.

1. Cloud was once affiliated with some kind of power/company/force in opposition to Barret & co.

2. We are made to believe that Cloud left this company some time before for reasons we do not yet know.

2. Cloud was hired to help them infiltrate a building belonging to this opposing entity.

3. Barret’s lack of trust in Cloud correlates to his former affiliation with the opposing entity.

4. Mako is a source that this opposing entity has in possession. This building is huge. They must have quite a lot of it.

We are left with several questions about this character we are playing.

1. What is his objective?

2. What are his morals?

3. Where does his loyalty lie?

We lack this information, but we do know that Barret does not fully trust him because he’s a former enemy. So, can we trust Cloud too? Is he credible? Is he speaking the truth? Should we believe what he says? What if he’s a double agent? We have to play on as this character to find out.

Cloud experiences some kind of headache at the mention of “loyal little doggy” and it feeds us the idea that maybe he’s negatively triggered by it because it reminds him of something traumatic. This may be a clue that explains the reason for his departure from SOLDIER.

Barret calls him a mutt and exclaims “we can do this with you or we can do this without you.”

Cloud recovers from his headache and responds calmly. “Different reactor, different layout, depends when it was built. Never seen one like this, but I’ll manage.”

Barret’s use of “we” and “you” followed by Cloud’s “I” creates more of a separation between them.

Biggs gets the door open, but not for long. Cloud enters first—alone—Barret reaches his hand forward and shouts “wait!” and Cloud is left to fight alone while the others are locked outside of the room. When the fighting is over, Jessie chirps happily as she enters the room and makes a flirtatious comment which Barret tries to quickly shut down (lol).

Jessie gets this new door to open with her knowledge of passcodes through a friend. No one else at command will talk to them, but they must make due.

Now we know that this small team is a part of a bigger force, however, there isn’t a sense of unity as the command won’t socialize with this team specifically. Why though?

Biggs tells Jessie to be careful to which she responds with a smile. Cute moment showing Biggs’ concern and Jessie’s optimism/confidence—traits that may help us to understand their motivations and nature’s little more in the upcoming chapters.

If you talk to Barret, the first thing he tells Cloud is to be ready for the increasing security. “We can’t afford any more mistakes.” And he includes Cloud in this “we” this time around. It’s a subtle way for Barret to say they are a team and they should be working together. It also subtly reveals Barret’s soft and caring side. Classic soft teddy bear in a grizzly bear’s skin. You care, Barret—and the players care about you too, regardless what Cloud says.

Before getting into the elevator, Jessie asks about someone named Tifa and though it isn’t any of her business, she wonders if she and Cloud are close which is italicized to give an important emphasis on their relationship. Here, Jessie separates herself from the relationship between Cloud and Tifa, yet her interest in their relationship plus the flirting and comments on Cloud’s appearance hints that she may be interested in him ins romantic sense.

We hear and see a new name and for new players to the FFVII franchise, it’s common for people to consciously try to connect that name to a character. Tifa...Tifa... who is she? Why is Jessie asking Cloud about her? Wait, was Tifa the one who hired Cloud? Oh, is she the pink girl we saw in the intro?

The flashback sequence is important because it affirms to us that the pink girl from the intro is not Tifa, but an entirely different character. It is also worth noting that before the flashback, Cloud looks away from Jessie and willingly tries to remember Tifa. This flashback juxtaposes the quick flash of memories and migrain he receives when Barret calls him a loyal doggy. Those memories cause him pain when he remembers even bits and parts of it. The memories with Tifa are...well, we don’t quite know what they are to him yet, but there’s a stark contrast between how Cloud reacts towards the two memories.

The flashback reveals a town that doesn’t look like the city streets of the intro. We are experiencing this flashback through Cloud’s eyes. He looks at this tower hears Tifa call his name, and there we see she is surrounded by other boys. His focus jumps back and forth between her back to her surroundings. He turns away and Tifa asks if he is ignoring her. He focuses on her displeased face again and that is the last thing we see before the flashback ends—everything else in the background gets washed out with a pale green hue except for Tifa’s face. A hue of red is the only vibrant color left, and it’s centered on her face—we cut back to Cloud, and I don’t know if this the lighting effect was intended, but the red color on Cloud’s face is emphasized against a washed out background for a brief moment as well before the pale green hues face back into the regular color scheme. We also here what sounds like a heartbeat within the sharp static sounds? And so what are we left to think about this scene?

The music, mostly string instruments are played in a minor key that evoke mystery, nostalgia, and a sense of meekness. Tifa is the only one waving to him while the other boys rarely move an inch.

In the English version, he lifts his right hand with his palm open, a gentle gesture, and says “Tifa and I...” before he’s interrupted with the elevator buzzer.

We’re left with a sense that Tifa is someone from his childhood—a cute girl who is evidently popular among the other kids. The flashback initially leads us to think he wasn’t interested in being her friend as a child or that he was too shy/felt too inferior to all the boys hanging around her to accept her invitation...? The focus on Tifa’s face in his flashback, the redness in his face, followed by the subtle heart beat hints at a crush and that perhaps he may have been jealous/inferior to the other boys around her—thus, his hesitation when trying to explain his relationship with Tifa to Jessie.

An interesting fact that I noticed outside of my sister’s play through and discussions, the Japanese version has Cloud saying “oretachi” to refer to himself and Tifa. I looked into it, and basically—he’s trying to make himself seem more masculine and confident while also revealing that the relationship between he and Tifa is informal—implying that they are close.

It also shows subtle feelings of inferiority. He had to refer to himself like that to establish his masculinity right after a flashback with Tifa being surrounded by other boys. Way to be subtle about his feelings!

The English version, while less obvious, hints at his crush on Tifa in a different sense. The way he says “Tifa and I...” is a little less deep than how he usually speaks. Vocalization, hand gestures, facial expressions, music, and lighting and colorization in this short scene reveal a lot about Cloud’s feelings. His shyness in remembering this flashback reveal something tender in relation to this friend of his.

Just a fun fact that I personally wanted to share. For the sake of this analysis however, I won’t be talking about the Japanese dialogue and will only be referring to the English localization from this point on. Just wanted to share this info as it blatantly points towards Cloud’s characterization so early on in the story.in comparison to the English version.

Also note: the distance between Jessie and Cloud before the flashback and after. Jessie inches closer to Cloud and is the active participant in trying to close the distance between them, while Cloud stands still—a reflection of Cloud’s characterization and his relationship to others at this point. He’s seems to be socially stunted. While everyone else is trying to get closer to him, he’s emotionally and mentally not ready to make that connection.

There is so much to dissect in every chapter, but I’ve reached the image attachment limit and will continue this another time with screenshots attached as I believe it’s important to examine visual mediums while also providing images that are being examined in an analysis. 

So... to be continued in another post... stay tuned.

[lallemanting]

Agree with jens reaction kinda?? I mean they said homophobic comments in the past and now he acts like 'so what' kinda ooc of him lmao. And one of my problem with this remake is that they really make the ex gfs like evil when they pretty much played by their bf, especially britt. I don't know about others cause wtfock is my 1st remake lmao but in skam Emma was a fling and here they was attached to the hip with their gf almost 24/7. Emmas outing isaks is bad tho

here’s the thing - id always rather a supportive coming out scene than not, but you’re not wrong when you say that reaction from jens seemed ooc. I mean I made a post about it but the way he just replied “so?” just felt like him not understanding robbe once again, like not understanding the gravity of what just happened, not understanding what it took robbe to get to the point where he could open up about it. that and the kind of flippant disregard of robbe being confused when he’s accepting really annoyed me. like if your friend is surprised you’re okay with it when they come out to you maybe reflect a little on why that is? say what you will about yann but one of the best things skamfr did was have their jonas apologize for all the insensitive things he said, actually take a moment and understand how he messed up and how he can do better in the future and honestly that’s something jens needs to do more than any other jonas before him. so we’ll see I guess (though I don’t have a lot of faith)

as far as the ex gfs I really can’t say that s3 has ever respected women properly. the cheating storyline has always bothered me and tbh they deserve more (and honestly the fandom’s reaction to the emma but esp sonja characters is really telling about some people’s opinion on women, but that’s not something I’m gonna get into). I actually think wtfock did something right here with robbe breaking up with noor before anything too serious happened with sander bc I don’t think that’s ever happened before and it’s the right thing to do. though I think the og was actually worse with sonja bc that was a 4 year relationship was opposed to sander’s 6 month one with britt.

but yeah the emma’s outing the isaks is always very bad like could do without that but sigh (though this leads to another wtfock plot question which is how does noor even know because you want to tell me sander told britt he kissed robbe, her bff’s bf who is also her ex-bf’s bff, and she’s okay with that and welcomes him back with open arms?? like I’m sorry but I refuse to believe britt is that dumb)

[qveenpoppy]

dora and the lost city of gold: a review

this was... not what i had hoped. i LOVED dora as a kid - i had dora pjs, a dora throw blanket, a TON of toys... i even found TWO dora necklaces in my childhood jewelry box and wore one as a bracelet to the theater (bc the chains were kid-sized, therefore too small for my adult neck). i SO wanted for this movie to be good, and it kinda... wasn't.

okay, the first, like, half hour/40 mins or so were excellent. the opening with kid dora and diego was one of my favorite parts. i had said beforehand whenever i saw it in the tv spots that i could have a whole movie of just that, them as kids with their imaginary adventures. an authentic live-action dora.

i didn't mind the jump in age and the high school thing either. the gag of dora learning what high school and socializing with kids her age is like was great, and it even hit hard when diego wanted nothing to do with her. again, would have taken a whole movie of that too.

it's when we got to the jungle stuff that i started... questioning things. monkeys can't talk but mercenaries were working with a talking anthropomorphic fox who wears a mask? yeah, that was a bit far-fetched. though, side note: i LOVED swiper, from his lines to his design - all of it. he was just such a side character in the movie. i expected him to be the main villain but considering dora didn't really know him going into this movie... i guess they're setting up for a sequel where he is the big bad? (but do i actually want more of this? i don't know.)

obviously i won't go and give a full plot summary now, i'll just go into the good and the bad. the other students, sammy and randy, were okay. i understand the need for this to not be entirely focused on dora and diego, but when they kinda teased them & alejandro continuing the trek on their own, i almost got excited. but nope, other students came back. woo. and having them be love interests for dora and diego was annoyingly forced. i mean, the randy/dora thing was more one-sided than anything but sammy/diego was dumb and forced and i wasn't here for it. at least bc when sammy met dora, i was like, "let's go lesbians!" they seemed cute together. they fit that "i gave my crush a note that said 'get out of my school'" meme thing.

though, dora and diego's arc kinda reminded me a little alex & justin's in the wizards of waverly place movie??? both had campfire bonding scenes. and if you think i'm implying incest here with that comparison (listen if you didn't lowkey ship jalex with that movie, you're just dumb) then yes, i am. not like i want it in canon, but hey, it's fiction. real world rules and morals and shit don't apply, especially considering all the unrealistic shit that happened in this movie. their relationship had more depth and heart than sammy & diego's forced little... whatever it was. when i got bored halfway through the film, i honestly just felt anxious to start writing fix-it fics for them. and i absolutely plan to. judge me all you want, i don't care. i'm not actually harming anyone.

(which does remind me of one little issue i had - dora's parents didn't seem to recognize diego??? obviously he did get older so yeah, he's not the little boy they looked after, but he even called them "tios" - or "tio y tia", i forget, but "tios" is probably the correct plural for aunt & uncle, considering "padres" = parents - and then there was some joke about dora's dad not really caring what happened to the other THREE kids when they were captured. i was so confused and mad about it that i even whispered to my mom, "he doesn't recognize his own nephew?!" she might not have heard me but OH BOY, did i have a problem with that part.)

the last act was where the movie kinda jumped the shark for me but whatever, i guess it's a fantasy now. woo. oh, i forgot to say before - eugenio durbez was fun! i love him as an actor. the villain twist was pretty predictable (his "i'm a friend of your parents" just screamed STRANGER DANGER), but the funnier scenes with him were good. i wish he was an ally the entire time, and swiper was the big bad. but whatever. like i said, sequel!

also i don't know who the heck this movie is for. the opening & that 2d animated sequence (i loved it so much!!! also served as a good example of what i wanted out of a whole film. REBOOT THE SHOW, NICK! with that newer animation style!) were definitely meant for those of us who grew up with the show, but a lot of the humor was really juvenile. too many poop jokes. they showed the quicksand fart sound gag in a trailer and i thought it was cute, but that Other Scene? it was too long, not funny, and i was kinda concerned for sammy, considering she was interrupted. but then the action makes the movie seem like it's for older kids, so... i was really confused.

i guess like the first descendants, this was kind of a mess and all over the place. but descendants fixed itself (mostly) with its sequels, so maybe dora could do the same, if it makes enough to warrant a sequel or two. (considering it only had like a $49 million budget, i think it should make enough for a sequel? but we'll see.)

as for live-action remakes of beloved cartoon series, i'll stick to kim possible. (where is THAT sequel, disney?!)

7/10.

[theinvinciblecity]

I'm actually up to date with all remakes except skam austin i haven't watched even 1 epsiode and idk if even will Season 2 is also my fave and i tbh i don't like isak's season that much either but i enjoyed skam france's 3rd season I watched Wtfock but found it soooo boring tbh Skam nl is sooo adorable, the cast is so cute and i love liv and noah. And i get a different vibe from it than the others Skam france like i said i liked thr 3rd season and also the 4th season bc sofiane is so adorable😻1

Skam españa i didn’t like season 1 that much but i was curious what will cris season be like but got kinda disappointed that it’s completely like isak’s season. But cris and joana have chemistry so i’ll keep watching it Druck-tbh i only liked the 2nd season but i agree it was kinda rushed Do you think there should be skam portugal? 😄 My country sucks at making tv shows(read at everything) so i wouldn’t want a remake from us😅 2/2

Yeah, I’m curious about Imane’s season especially because sofiane seems really cute. I’llwatch it once it’s finished.

I don’t know if I want a skam portugal. Part of me thinks it wouldn’t be that great, but we’ve been making remakes of latin america telenovelas for a long time and they’ve been quite good. I would kind of love to see people watch a portuguese show and learn about portuguese culture. That would be really lovely. Also I wouldn’t need to wait for translations or have to worry about vpns or what not. I’m sold on that idea! We used to have a very popular teen televonela here that was quite good and would introduce a lot of new young actors.