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simplysamiblog · 5 months ago

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Is Buggy going to be King of the Pirates? My personal theory

I’ve noticed a parallel in One Piece that’s really starting to scare me. This parallel is between One Piece and Dragon Ball, specifically between two characters from these series whose similarities are not only increasing visibly but are becoming so evident that my theory is starting to feel more like a certainty (though I still hope it doesn’t happen).

The characters in question are Buggy the Clown and Mr. Satan.

The truth is, I’m at least 80% sure that many, many others like me have started to fear but especially notice some… interesting details between these two characters. Here are the ones that seem most evident to me:

Both characters, despite seeming unlikely, have remained in the story for many chapters after their initial appearance, and their presence has only strengthened over time.

Both are notoriously weaker than the main protagonists of the manga.

Despite their weakness, these characters have managed to gather a large and extremely loyal following that believes them to be superior and much stronger than they actually are.

Both characters are allies/acquaintances of other extremely strong and feared characters in the manga. In Buggy’s case, we’re talking about Shanks; in Mr. Satan’s case, we’re talking about Majin Buu.

Both characters, despite being deceitful, cowardly, and opportunistic, have a very high desire for power and notoriety, unlike the protagonists of the manga who essentially want to live life freely and as they please (Luffy and Goku. Need I say more?).

The parallels (I might have forgotten some) are these for now. And I say for now because there’s essentially one more missing for these two characters to have an almost identical narrative path, and that’s what scares me the most.

For those who don’t know, Mr. Satan, at the end of the Majin Buu Saga, is the real and only reason Goku manages to defeat his enemy. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Satan’s voice urging the people of Earth to raise their hands and donate their energy, the Spirit Bomb would never have been powerful enough to defeat the pink enemy. The most incredible thing is that not only was Mr. Satan actually indispensable, but despite the fight and the enormous effort, only Mr. Satan was recognized as the true and only hero of the world. The one who defeated evil and gained glory, fame, and power. A real blow for the readers, not so much for Goku, who couldn’t care less about something as vague as fame and power. (Can you eat them?).

Maybe you’re starting to connect the dots…

I know, it’s scary, isn’t it? Even just writing it feels like doing something horrible… what if Buggy, in the end, becomes the Pirate King? It’s a bold thought, yet I can’t get this possibility out of my head. Maybe I’m overthinking it, maybe when I saw Buggy shouting with all his might:

“I want to become the Pirate King!!” I should have laughed it off and turned off my brain instead of analyzing everything as usual. But Oda-san has spoiled us. He has taught us not to ignore anything, to listen to every word, to note every sound. Especially to doubt and ask questions. Why is Buggy still such an important character? Why tie him to a key character like Shanks? And not just Shanks, even Roger himself? Why show how loved and respected he is by his followers? Don't let me begin with the Cross Guild.

What really scares me is that we know our protagonists very well. Precisely because we know Goku, no one was ever really shocked when Mr. Satan took the glory. Goku likes to fight. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s what he does, that’s what he is.

Luffy, as we know, is an eternal child. Always ready to be amazed by new things, to ignore everyone, to pick his nose, and to stop listening when something bores him to death.

“Hero? No! We’re pirates! I love heroes but I don’t wanna be one! Do you know what heroes are? Say there is a chunk of meat. Pirates will have a banquet and eat it but heroes share it with other people. I want all the meat!”

Be honest, if the title of Pirate King turned out to be something more complicated and burdensome, something that requires responsibility and… stability, how long do you think it would take Luffy to look around and say: “Uhhh… you do it, I’m outta here, bye!” Luffy doesn’t want to be the Pirate King to be a king, but just like a child would say: “I want to be King so I can do whatever I want.”

NOTE: I’m not saying that Luffy won’t get the One Piece, I’m not saying that Luffy won’t complete his journey and actually become a great, powerful pirate. What I’m saying is that he will very simply give up the title of King. Becose becoming the King was only the beginning of the dream, the end we still don't know what it is. Is Luffy who said it to his crew. A detail that, coincidentally, Oda-san decided to throw in casually as if it were nothing. Perhaps to prepare us not to be too disappointed when we discover that becoming King for Luffy is nothing more than a means, and not the end, of his true dream. Whatever that may be.

In that case, I believe that just like Mr. Satan, Buggy would be elevated and chosen not for his strength, not for his character, but primarily for the (false) fame he has created and a genuine and strong desire for actual power. And also a huge, huge, HUGE dose of luck. He’ll probably be in the right place at the right time. Or, just like Mr. Satan, at the last moment, he’ll do something trivial but honorable, and this will change the outcome of the big event.

Remember how the crew ran away from Skypiea with the inhabitants chasing after them? The crew thought they were being chased to be attacked, when in reality, the inhabitants just wanted to thank them (I’ve always had the feeling that the crew actually knew this but decided to leave like true pirates, escaping with the loot). I believe it will essentially go the same way with Buggy and the title of Pirate King. Luffy’s allies will probably start insisting that he take command, that he become their leader, that he hold this power. But Luffy will respond like a true pirate and run off with the One Piece, giving that other useless title to Buggy. Reign? Power? Nah.

That stuff, you know, is for heroes. Complicated stuff, boring stuff.

Much better to train and find a strong fighter to challenge. Or even better, to be a pirate and be free forever.

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cosmicallylyss · 7 months ago

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So in my musings on What If™ Kira was used not as a throwaway character/shocking elim but a rival to Jinpachi Ego himself in terms of ideology and moral value and was one of/The protagonist(s) of Blue Lock, I've accidentally created a rarepair (ship or platonic duo I can see it both ways) inside my mind so please get ready for the biggest hear me out [analysis and more thoughts under the cut just pls pls pls hear me out i am begging]. Look at them and then hear me out.

So! First off thank you for hearing me out.

First Selection: Oh boy Kira does not like this guy. He's a team player in a world of egoists, obviously he doesn't like this self-proclaimed king! He thinks the selfish playstyle is terrible but he's also not an idiot and can not deny that clearly, results are showing for the unsportsmanlike behavior.

Second Selection: I'm not too sure on how I'm gonna screw with this one for the purposes of adding in Kira, all I know is that I want him to play with Reo (I think he'd be really beneficial to him as a friend and teammate post ReoNagi breakup) so hey maybe he'll get to play against Barou at some point here if I screw with the 3v3? Anyway, I want them to be on opposite teams again and I want Kira to see the whole idea of devouring/Barou's villain complex and have a moment of "Maybe this is team play, it's just a selfish way of doing it??" and we see his whole power of friendship mentality shake a little bit.

Third Selection: Very few ideas for what the two of them do here in relation to each other. In all honesty it's not that important to me right now

U-20: Okay yeah I'm not a Kira fan to an unrealistic standpoint, he most likely benchwarms this game or maybe gets a few minutes of being subbed in because Ego knows showcasing the jewel of Japanese soccer will bring in some great publicity. Maybe he plays a few minutes in the first half of the match and he's subbed out when Barou subs in (maybe they directly switch??) and Kira gets to say something about "Ah, wish I could've gotten a closer look at your playstyle." or something to that effect. He's not really praising it but he's stopped outright condemning it. Character development!

Neo Egoist League: I want Kira on the Ubers. "Strategy and teamwork" and although he's gained a bit of an ego and some selfishness to survive up to this point, it doesn't discount that we've seen him display the love he has for his high school team in the beginning of the series. Anyway, my main point is that I think he's good enough, especially with his Blue Lock training for him to play really anywhere. However he'd probably stay an offensive player; maybe on Ubers they either do two main strikers with him and Barou as forwards or maybe they have him as left/right winger and he does more of a supportive role for Barou as he's one of the only people on the team to keep up with him offensively? He'll still be scoring goals for himself of course, and I can very easily see Blue Lock making him more of a teasing kind of guy, he'll pass to Barou once and then when Barou steals the ball from him later in the match, he says something like "Reading my moves means you care about what the rest of the team's doing! Good on you, you selfish team player." Also just imagine them playing together both as forwards like. "The King and his Crown" tell me you would not be scared to face those guys they have such a good narrative nickname.

In general—I think the opposing ideologies and playstyles of these characters make them an interesting pair. I think it would be fun to watch Kira go from detesting Barou to admiring him to considering him an ally. Barou is also a main driver of Kira developing an ego/selfishness as their bond strengthens throughout the series. I believe Barou would go from not caring about Kira (just another donkey, y'know?) to considering him a rival (not an enemy!) on equal standing. I think he would appreciate that Kira is a neat guy (headcanon) and although the friendliness can be a bit overbearing Kira seems to know when to pull back. I think Kira is important in Barou considering his team more. He obviously shouldn't change too much from his selfish ways, but I would love to see Kira giving him a little perspective switch—if he wants to command a team, he should understand his team. The most powerful king is one who knows his subjects, isn't it?

In sum, live laugh rarepair dynamics, I might actually turn these headcanons into an actual canon divergence AU because I really really wanna write for kira

#blue lock #blue lock kira #blue lock barou #blue lock au #rarepair #platonic or romantic either way they are neat #it's a cool dynamic fight me #barou x kira #hear me out #canon divergence #bllk barou #bllk kira #headcanons #blue lock headcanons

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lediz-watches · 10 months ago

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Podcast: Weird Medieval Guys

Another podcast, because it's consumed my brain over the last week.

Weird Medieval Guys started as a Twitter account (go off, Musk), but is now also a bi-weekly podcast starring Olivia (the Twitter creator) and Aran (the historian she bribed with a platform to rant about Constantinople). Every couple of weeks, they gather together on Olivia's living room floor to academically gossip about medieval life, loves, and nonsense.

Because people have always been nonsensical, and that's amazing.

I found it through another podcast that I will one day do a post about (I need to... come to terms with why I love it) called We Can Be Weirdos, in which Olivia came on and caught my attention with her passion for the legal debates people got into about heraldry, and her willingness to admit that medieval people were just as petty and ridiculous as we are now.

Because that's the thing, and which I think this podcast shows so well: people have always just been people.

The world we exist in has evolved. Technology has marched on, our ways of interacting with each other have changed, and we have different values, different things we consider important, but we're still the same, really. We think of the past as this noble and dirty and incorruptible space, but people were making sex jokes and lame puns for a hundred thousand years. We aren't special just because we can blast our lame humour to seven billion people at a time.

But anyway.

Each episode of the podcast takes the form of a loose essay, Aran lecturing Olivia (or occasionally vice versa) on some topic about the medieval period, and don't get me wrong - they are lectures. There are stupid jokes, Aran loves to play different characters, Olivia giggles constantly, and the point of each one is that medieval people were Just Like Us, but Aran is an academic talking about research. Yes, his area of expertise is a later period, but the skills remain.

And to be clear, I am a recovering cultural studies student who until recently has been out of academic life and away from other academics for over a decade. But I suspect this is not a podcast you can walk into without some academic-adjacent background. They discuss articles and a lot of their humour is based in inference and the kind of irony you see in people who debate reality for a living.

But they are also redditors, and Twitter natives, and talk about their subjects as 'based'. Aran loves to call people King and Queen. They bring their subject matter to the now.

The most recent podcast was about medieval Welsh bards, and they read out a rap (flyte) battle between two of them (Olivia's bard totally won, I don't care what you say), and finished on the DIRTIEST poem I have ever heard (seriously, ugh), and it taught me a lot about Wales' history, which I've never really known much about, so thank you for that. But it was great to hear all this poetry and these poets and put them in a context where you can strip back the language and see them for the frustrated, young, often horny, very human people they were. Also I loved the owl poem and must search it out because I grew up next to koala tress and boy, I feel you.

The episode before that was about medieval animals, and while it was fun to hear about hedgehogs and the bestiary, it also contained a beautiful insight into why we use animals as narrative devices. The only downside is that I'm still on the edges of the Hellverse fandom and started analysing furry culture and honestly, no one needs that in their life...

But my FAVOURITE episode so far is part two of their Constantinople episode, where they described the Ottoman leader Mehmed as so... painfully human. Even as his soldiers ransacked a once-glorious city and he chased a mad dream, he was just so lost and passionate and terrible and... Aran described him so beautifully, I was just swept up in the story.

So yes. Although there are a few hiccups along the way (please please please go back and fix the episodes with the overlapping voice tracks it hurt my ears so bad), if you have even a passing interest in history or culture or what makes humans human, check out this podcast.

Because we're just people. We've always just been people. And that's amazing.

#podcast #weird medieval guys #historical academics #people as people #we're just innocent men #that's unrelated unless you think about it too hard #seriously though aran's obsession with constantinople gives me life #I didn't catch the potato joke but I get it #you're dorks and I love you

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practicalmagicintuitions · 2 years ago

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Hello, this is going to be a long one, bear with me please 😅

I wanted to say how your blog and comments on things really changed my opinions on many topics, even tho some of these people I admire, or tbh used to admire. Now I don’t enjoy the hype or the personality because it is fake.

I saw the recent pictures of HC and how people really lost their minds over them. For once, they looked like a normal couple, she even looked tired and was relieved her dog is okay.

People were criticizing her because she was smiling in a picture, why would she not be smiling after getting her dog and everyone else is smiling as well?!! People are truly exaggerating.

Although she has been sneaky on social media, there is no denying.

I used to think Henry was innocent and he has no saying in this, sort of against his wish. But why would this be the case every time he is with someone?

After 2 years, why would people still be in denial that he wants her around and he is the one hanging on to this relationship like a koala.

There is no way he hasn’t seen her old pictures and videos, he saw them and chose to move on, it didn’t change the way he felt about her. I also think at that time, he was really excited to be in a relationship, he’s been single for a while.

Keep in mind, I don’t think she is any different than the mean 16 years old girl, or her model mayhem account. He wanted to polish her image before going public, if not, her model mayhem account wouldn’t have been deleted, nor her entire instagram and twitter history. I think he tried to suppress the inner party girl in her, but he won’t be able to do that forever.

She will miss it as well, even if they take this in a more serious way, it contradicts everything Henry has ever said before. Which proves my point, his public image is nothing but a lie, he just gets away with things because he’s good looking.

Hell, even her entire wardrobe and clothing option has changed for him.

This is not a healthy relationship, the change in the lifestyle was not initiated by her.

I say this because anything can happen next, he is not obligated to live according to people’s rules.

I can’t say I would be happy or excited if they become more serious, that would be a bug fat lie, but keeping this narrative of ‘poor Henry’ is stupid.

I don’t like her either, and you can clearly tell at her core she is not genuine nor a good person, but neither is Henry.

That’s what makes them a match. They deserve each other.

I find it funny that Henry told his entire fanbase to F*ck off and be the “best version of themselves” and he’s been acting like this for the past 2 years. Looks like his own memo wasn’t applied within him. What an enlightened king 😂

Again, I am saying this because they are alike, they deserve each other.

Hello! Sorry for the late answer.

What you said about opinions means so so much to me. I don't want to change people's opinions, I don't think my way is the only way even if I have strong views on some things. However, I believe in 2 sided conversations because life is not simple. Not at all. And I feel we are living in very dangerous times where opinions are silenced, labelled radical etc just because they are "old fashioned" or not " progressive" enough. I would love to discuss more serious topics here, and give a platform to conversations while I remain true to myself and what I believe in.

Those pictures you mentioned were so surprising to me too because they truly looked like a real, happy, ordinary, normal couple instead of the SM push. It was refreshing.

That is a really important step to be a healthy fan to realize he is not innocent (blackmailed, possessed etc). He is a grown-up who has his reasons to be with her. Clarity is the most important thing in my opinion. To see people who they are. You have to imagine them as silent movies. What they say is non-existent, it's not important. What they do, how they behave... that is what you should focus on. Celebrity or not. That should be the standard.

He definitely has a free pass because he is good-looking. This is the privilege of beauty. This exists. In Hollywood, this is the basis of everything, but you can find it in the smallest village too. Beautiful people have an amazing advantage in life.

I think NV could be different or could be the same, I don't want to judge her anymore. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not because of her or him but because of myself. I just don't want to think about someone poorly without any hard evidence. She seemed a pretty awful teen and if I knew her back then I wouldn't be her friend today, that's for sure. But I have to think some people are capable of evolving. Because I am trying to do this every day. If I can, others can too.

His FO post was definitely a PR mistake, a huge one, but for some people was a wake-up call at least. That is who he is. He is a control freak (that's why probably her wardrobe has changed for him). He is not that soft boy who was fat for a hot minute and this is the sob story of his life. And not the one who just needs love and cuddling from his soulmate as the hardcore fans imagine. I am not saying he is a bad man, but he is definitely a pain in the ass and hard to live with. Women need to forget this saviour complex when they are determined to save the shittiest man just with their love. This narrative is fed by awful books like Twilight, Coleen Hoover and the rest I have the fortune not to know. Maybe one day I will rant about this, but I stop for now.

Thanks for your ask. Have a nice day, and stay safe.

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dailyaudiobiblechronological · 2 years ago

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6/23/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

1 Kings 12-14

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm Jill. Today is the- what's the date? 23rd day of June. I had to think about who I am and where/what day it is today for a second. I'm so glad that you're here. What a privilege it is to be here with you. Thank you for allowing me to be here with you in this time- your time with God and that intimate relationship through his word is of importance. And so I'm quite honored, quite privileged to be some small part in that and just extremely grateful for this community. And then I do get to be here with all of you and we're privileged, it is to be reading the sacred word of God together with you, for us in community. We have been literally all over the word this week and today is no different. We’ll be swinging over to First Kings reading chapters 12, 13 and 14. Just a couple days left in the Good News translation. First Kings chapter 12.

Commentary:

We’ll pause here for today because tomorrow’s reading will be basically the same story just a different narrative as we read from Second Chronicles just matching parallel story.

Prayer:

So father we thank you for your word today and we thank you for your grace and your mercy that is present to us every day on the days that we undoubtedly need it and then the days they're a little bit more mundane that seems like maybe this is smooth sailing, maybe we've got this, your grace and your mercy are still ever present and we still need you as much on those days as any other day. Our dependency should not grow in times of urgency, but our dependency should be every breath that we take and we breathe you in knowing that you are there, that you are with us. You are for us and your mercy and your grace is endless. And I pray that that which is so readily available to us when we so much need it in the urgency, in the apparent, in crisis and in need. I pray that we would reach for you in the overflow as well. Know that you are ever present with us. We love you and we worship you. We pray this now in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Announcements:

My water bottle is crackling over here. It’s expanding naturally out and it’s just funny when you're praying and you're like okay Lord there you are in my water bottle. Oh it's funny the things we we say and think right? Maybe he's not in it, maybe it's not actually in my water bottle. Anyways Daily Audio Bible that's the home base- that's the website- what is happening here. I don't even know, take a look around if you have not. Download the app. Yes that's a resource it's available for you- lots of resources available there for you at the site as well. Explore it if you have not. If you would like to partner with us we thank you so much for your partnership. We could not do this without you and we're so grateful that we don't have to. If you're giving by mail DAB PO box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174 or utilizing that convenience little rectangular time sucker that we live on your mobile device, hit the give icon on the app up at the top right hand corner and lastly look for the give icon on the website if you need prayer. If you'd like to pray for someone that's previously called in you can do so several different ways we are a people that prays for one another one of my favorite things here 800-583-2164 or once again utilizing your mobile device hit the red circle button up at the top right hand corner you have 2 minutes on the prayer line please be clearly and concisely and then at the end it submit turn the little wheel and it will get to the right place. That's going to do it for me today. We'll turn the page together tomorrow and I look forward to it as I do everyday that I get to be here with you, a privilege it is for real. I'm Jill. Until then love one another.

Community Prayer Line:

Good morning Daily Audio Bible C, this is Elizabeth from Delaware calling in and I would just want to give you an update on my husband Dan. We did have to go back to Rothman Institute in Philadelphia to appraise his right knee that was replaced back in February which is not been healing and the news is we have to have it totally replaced again. So if you could pray that that goes smoothly and that they can resolve this. Continue to keep Dan in your prayers…just bring us closer to him. So thank you for your prayers. We are listening daily and praying for all of you. I know Sam and Clarence would like to say hello to you. They can't listen to DABC, but they appreciate the DAB anyway. I thank you for your prayers and God bless you all. Bye-bye.

Hello, this is Daughter of the Silversmith and I'm asking once again for you to pray for my friend Kristen and her family. She had married a man who was a Christian and now he is only seems to be a shell of who he used to be. And my sister in Christ have walk this and I lead her children to church on her own with her husband sayin snide remarks and causing issues in the home. And I'm not saying she's perfect, but would you lift my sister Kristen up in prayer and her husband and their children? Children are having anger issues now. They’re lashin out at their mother. So please lift them up in prayer and ask God to do only what he can do to enter that home and to clean it out of the enemy. Thank you.

Good morning family, it’s Inge from Denmark. I’m calling in response to Carrie AKA Jesus Girl. You had a request for Selena and her children. God, heavenly father, I come before you today stating your greatness, your almight, your love, kindness, mercy and your grace for us. God I come before you asking prayers over Selena. You see her situation- how devastated she is. She’s lost her husband- her children have lost their Dad. And even though that has happened very recently she has had several other very close family members pass away. And Lord I thank you that she’s been remaining strong. She’s been clinging onto you, but now she feels like she’s caving under the weight of the grief. Lord, I just thank you that You’re a God who sees and you don’t remain passive. You’re an active God and I wanna thank you that while she feels her legs cannot hold her anymore, you come running to her and you catch her. And you hold her. Thank you that you supply and you provide. And I ask you God to just manifest your love and care for her and her children in a mighty way God. That there will be no question in her mind that you’re right there. You draw near to the brokenhearted, bandage their wounds. I just pray God that she will get that. That innate feeling from you. there will be no question that you got her.

Good morning DABC, this is Tanya calling in. I just finished listening to Jesus Girl I think share her name was Carrie on her friend Selena. Her mom passed and she had a previous passing of her husband and with someone else, but heavenly father I want to lift up Selena to you. Lord God I'm asking fathers around her Heavenly Father continue to strengthen her right now and the mighty name of Jesus Lord for comfort, for healing. Lord God give her the strength to endure what she's going through in her time of loss. Heavenly father to smile again bring someone in her life that can continue to keep her uplifted as she go forward. Lord God heavenly father I just love you Lord God for being the almighty God that you are and it's not a good feeling father to lose someone but look out we just know…that they may be lost in the physical aspect but Heavenly Father we just trust Lord God that they would be with us in spirit. And and we will see them once again. I just want to say thank you once again right now in the mighty name of Jesus. And I speak divine peace and divine healing over Selena. And divine deliverance in the mighty name of Jesus.

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fluffypotatey · 1 year ago

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--breakdown the narrative mechanics of Lego Monkie Kid because you must understand that there are 2 narratives at play here and they must not be confused as the other.

so *cracks knuckles* let's do this >:3

[so, uh, funny story: this became a monster of a meta and i've decided to break it up into parts. this is part 1...... word count is 2600+]

1) Understanding Narrative Mechanics

This is going to be my general explanation of the "mechanics" behind story narratives. It will be broad and include almost all types of media (plays, books, shows, movies, video games(ish), musicals, operas, etc) because while they are vastly different in how they tell a story, there are some key details and methods of story-making that they all share.

Anyway, let's begin with some simple examples (hah) first: protagonist, antagonist, and narrator.

Are we familiar with these 3 terms? (I should hope so, but you never know, and it's ok anyways bc imma define them whether you're familiar with them or not.)

Short answer: protagonist is the character of the story you experience the story with together (main character); antagonist is the character in opposition with the protagonist and is the main conflict of the story; narrator is the "person" telling the story of the narrative.

Let me make something clear here. It is possible for the protagonist and the narrator to be the same "person;" however, it is important to not associate them with sharing the same role. The narrator can be anybody. it can even be nobody. but, for the love of fiction, do not group protagonist and narrator together!

Ok, now for longer definition.

Protagonist

They are the main character. They are the one you typically get the most insight one in a story, know their thoughts, dreams, motivations, fears because the author wants you to root for the protagonist, or, at the very least, enjoy the character you spend most of the story with.

Contrary to popular belief, the protagonist does not need to be heroic. Let me repeat that: the protagonist does not need to be heroic. they can be villainous, they can fit into the gray area, they can be the purest little cinnamon- it does not matter. Well, it does matter for their individual story, but that is because the protagonist is the one that typically moves the plot, sets forward new challenges or characters, and all of that depends on the actions given to them by the author

(However: it should be noted that other characters can be used to move around major plot events. Think the gossip from background characters, the greek chorus, and antagonists. I am focusing on protagonists because that is a role they are typically given)

In addition, the protagonist is the character who the story revolves around. journey to the west? It isn't about the great Monkey King who vanquished demons and heavenly bodies alike. No, it's about the monk Tang Sanzang, aka: my boy Tripitaka, tasked with the job to journey west and acquire the sacred buddhist scriptures in order to bring them back to china.

Tripitaka is the protagonist. The story revolves around his journey and growth (his companions also receive character growth and development, too, but the main focus is on Tripitaka).

Song of Achilles? While it does tell a tale of Achilles's story in the Iliad, he isn't the protagonist. Patroclus is. It is a story about Patroclus and his experiences living through the events of the Iliad and how he grew to befriend and fall in love with Achilles (spoilers....I guess. You should read it anyway, it's really good)

Antagonist

Ok, so as I said in the short answer, an antagonist is the opposition to the protagonist, the character that presents or inflicts conflict in the story. Please note: there can be more than one antagonist. additionally, antagonists do not have to be a “person”. It can be nature, the economy, and many other shit. An antagonist is the character that plays the role of disrupting our beloved protagonist’s day or plans. They are the character that can make the protagonist go on a whole existential crisis or be the cause of all of protag’s side characters abandoning them.

And, you may notice, that many antagonists take the “villain” role in a lot of stories you’ve read/watched/etc. Does that mean that the antagonist is always the villain of the story? Absolutely fucking not.

Just like how a protagonist does not equal the “hero of the story”, an antagonist does not equal “the villain of the story”. Notice how when defining antagonist, I said “opposition” instead of villain. Anyone, villain or not, can be in opposition with another. To be a character’s nemesis or enemy does not equal the characters in opposition being in a hero/villain dynamic. And the protagonist/antagonist dynamic is merely the main conflict of a story’s narrative. It is the driving force of a narrative’s plot.

Narrator

Now, you may have noticed in my brief definition of narrator, I placed the word person in quotes. That is because a narrator of the story does not need to be a tangible person in the story. A narrator is able to be whatever the author wants it to be– intangible, a physical player in the plot, disembodied voice, observer, etc. It should also be noted that while a narrator is not required to be involved in the story, it can have a character of its own. It can be catty, judgemental, indifferent, sympathetic, unreliable, reliable, and many others.

It also important to note that the narrator (or narrators because a story can have more than one) of a story is the one that is presenting the “facts” to the audience. Let me say that again with emphasis: the narrator is the one who presents the facts and details to the audience. That is how we come to understand the plot and character motivations (or don’t).

Why is it important to keep this piece of information noted? Well, sometimes, the narrator of a story can lie to you.

What?????

Yeah, I know. The narrator can lie to you. The narrator can omit certain facts and details that would have solved the plot/issue/mystery a lot faster. The narrator can deliver truths in a skewed presentation. The narrator can also have facts and details withheld from it by the author. The narrator can also be lied to.

You can and will be presented with stories that hold many layers. Sometimes the narrator can hold the key and unlock it for you, or keep you ignorant to 50-something layers that the story contains. So, always be on your guard. Keep a critical eye open for when a plot feels too easy or biased (but also be aware that some stories are straightforward with their plot and narratives sometimes. But that is why it’s important to identify the difference between a simple story and a complex/nuanced one.)

That being said, the narrator is essentially the “character” or lens the audience looks through to understand the story, and this can be presented in 3 (with 2 subgroups) ways. (Meaning, you can get a fooled 5 times!)

1st Person POV

Exactly what the title says: the point of view, or narration, will be told in 1st person. that means the story is told by a narrator who is recounting or experiencing the narrative at present. So, you get your beloved “i”, “my”, “me”, “we” pronouns in the story.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means, the audience (us again!) only views the narrative/story through the eyes of whoever holds the personal pronouns. Our biases come from the narrator. Our opinions are shaped by the narrator in a very skewed and one-sided way. We only see the story in a certain perspective because that narrator wants us to view it in that way. We will not see the behind the scenes interactions of other characters unless our narrator is involved, and even then, we cannot know the thoughts of the other characters except what is presumed by our narrator.

This is also why teachers and professor aren’t a fan of essays being written in 1st POV because it can steer the writer (that being us….maybe…or maybe just me) away from staying objective/impartial to their argument. There is an informality that comes with 1st person perspective. A familiarity.

Something interesting about 1st person is how it breaks down that 4th wall barrier, and how it communes with its audience. You feel like the story is being told to you by a friend. You feel like you’re being told a secret no one else in the narrative gets to hear. Only the audience and the narrator are privy to.

However, that is also one of the main issues with 1st person pov because sometimes that informality ruins the story for audience members. We don’t truly know the narrator, they are not our friend no matter how much they might be written to be. The narrator is, essentially, a disembodied and fictional voice that is the medium between the story and the readers. Not to mention, someone presuming to know you or tell you all this personal info can feel invasive and presumptuous. And, in the sake of fic, it is why 1st pov can come off as cringey.

That being said, it is a wonderful tool to use for unreliable narrators.

2nd Person POV

So, remember what I said about 1st pov’s main gripe is because of an assumed presumption of familiarity and that’s a possible factor for why it is disliked in fandom? That has nothing on 2nd pov!!!

You wanna talk about presumptions??? 2nd person point of view is all presumptions the writer has on you, the audience member! how the fuck can a single writer know the way you think, how you tick, what intrigues you, what catches your eye????

Simply put: they can’t. However, if you read a 2nd pov fantasy, the writer will assume you’re a reader with a knack for the fantasy genre and can make certain presumptions there. Will it be accurate? no, but their generalizations will land a little closer than if you were to find a book that tries to assume everything about everyone.

But enough of that, what the fuck is 2nd pov exactly? Let me try my best to explain this well.

Ironically, I love 2nd pov :D started off with me experimenting because I was curious (I also read a really good book with 2nd pov called The Raven Tower which inspired said curiosity) and now I just enjoy 2nd pov. Have I written any 2nd pov? Once, but ngl it’s a little harder because, again, there’s that issue with presumption that comes with 2nd person. The distance encroaches more than 1st pov because it presents you, the audience, as the narrator even if the audience cannot technically be the narrator for stories unless you're the one retelling it.

Ok, uh, I am not being short at all, but to surmise: 2nd pov places the narration on the audience even if the audience cannot technically be the narrator because something else is steering into the plot’s direction. Also, works really well with unreliable narrators because you can place trust on the writing guiding you through the story even if it misleads you.

3rd Person POV

Ok, we all know 3rd pov, right? Uses the beloved “they,” “she,” “he,” pronouns and is the point of view with the most distance from the audience and/or plot, yeah? Good.

In 1st POV, the insider knowledge is whoever that narrator is (the “I” person). In 2nd, the insider is us(ish). For both POVs, the only way to obtain the thoughts and opinions of other characters is by them admitting, out loud, to the narrator’s face, their thoughts and opinions.

3rd person? WE DON’T GOTTA ASK, BABY!!!! They give it to us of their free will (ok maybe not of their own free will, but that’s not for them to decide).

Did you also know, 3rd pov has sub-povs????? Oh so special! Such a unique and special pov! The chosen one, it is.

Limited

As the name implies, this pov is limited to only seeing the scenes that are witnessed by the main cast. We only get insider’s knowledge to a small few. Typically, these characters are the protagonist and their friends(ish).

"Hey, Fluffy didn’t you mention something about distance earlier?" THAT I DID! Now, with 3rd person limited, there comes some caveats.

4th wall stays rigid (typically) characters cannot talk to you…with exceptions (narrator from Series of Unfortunate Events)

insider thoughts of the characters are more selective. meaning, the author gets to have a better chance at hiding future plot points, foreshadowing more >:3, and keeping the audience in the dark

the narrator itself is not an active character in the story. It doesn’t even need to be personable. the narrator is a disembodied voice telling the audience the tale of mystery or of woe or of fantasy. unfortunately, the narrator can only inform the audience through a very small lens. unlike its friend below.

Omniscient

It is the exact opposite of Limited POV. So instead of being stuck in the perspective of the few, you are now at the mercy of being in the perspective of all. You get a dive into Character A’s thoughts! and you get a dive into character D’s thoughts and you get a dive into the antagonist’s thoughts and you get a dive into a plot the main cast will never see!

Oh to have eyes on all, to be the watcher, the spectator to everything that transpires and— oh, what was that? The characters themselves cannot see everything we see??? So even if their actions are bad in hindsight or they make decisions we know will bite them in the ass, they obviously wouldn’t because they don’t know about Plot B through F???

Dramatic irony, baby!!!!

Now, this POV is typically seen in older books (at least, that’s what i’ve found), but it utilized the most in plays (because the audience is literally right there), shows, and films because keeping the scenes only of one character is not enough. Sure, we could have the character monologue or something but voicing their inner thoughts doesn’t really translate well from page to picture (with the exception of plays and musicals tbh). The whole point of these fictional mediums is for the audience to have more of an eye on the story. To see it from every angle (though, do be careful bc the camera can also lie to you), to watch the heroes strategize on how to save the world and the villains plan on how to take down the heroes.

To be honest, POVs typically find better workings depending on genre or media type. Video games are great with 1st and 2nd POV for example.

And now we have a basis on Narrative, the main roles involved, and who tells the story!!! Of course this is the bare bones of it. The cogs and wires that lie behind the beautifully constructed tale before you. this is the area that is the author’s domain. Tis their home. Where they build up tales and its plot-threads.

Taking a glimpse inside that humble abode should not take away the fun experience of the story. At least, I believe it shouldn’t. Rather, looking behind the curtain merely establishes the context and understanding of the author(s)’s choices. Can said understanding break the magic? Yes. Can it emphasize and strengthen the magic? yes as well!

Simply remember to keep a critical eye out for it!

And those are the 3 main tools used for almost all media, but let's go ahead and narrow it down a little further for the sake of keeping everything in check because I'm talking about the literary mechanics behind a Lego show. Not giving an English 101 class on how to identify and critically analyze literary tools. (there's a nice book about this very thing called How to Read Literature Like a College Professor that does this very thing, highly recommend!)

TO BE CONTINUED *cue evil laughter*

to understand LMK’s narrative, you must understand that there is a Narrative and a Narrative™️ and to understand that, we have to breakdown the narrative mechanics of LMK, so in this essay i will—

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aroaceleovaldez · 2 years ago

Note

*sobs* do you think there's any chance of Jason returning as minor god?

Realistically? No, and i do think narrative-wise that’d be a lame cop-out. That’s too easy and too deus ex machina. Personally I don’t necessarily want Jason to be revived in any form in-canon, not because I dislike his character or anything (I love Jason and also I know if I said i disliked Jason, my friend would disown me- /j) but because narrative consequence in the Riordanverse has been thoroughly eradicated. It does not exist and no consequence in the Riordanverse feels permanent anymore. I entirely blame HoO for that and surprisingly that has nothing to do with the Doors of Death, it has to do with the like two times Jason NEARLY DIED in HoO only to magically get better, and Leo’s potion of Just Don’t Die.

HOWEVER. however.

In terms of fan-work in which Jason is brought back, we have OPTIONS, PEOPLE! Jason being posthumously deified feels kind of... lame? To me? No offense, it’s just extremely simple. We have multiple instances where we can have a significantly cooler adventure to bring back Jason which is significantly more narratively compelling, because it feels like there is work going into his return. It’s not just a hand-wave thing, there’s effort to it that is rewarded.

I have two options that I think work best in terms of how we’re told the Riordanverse functions that I think would be good, fun, interesting options (also neither of them are the Orpheus route i’m SORRY it just wouldn’t work with how we know revival works in their universe):

Option A.) Jason becomes an einherjar and his friends have to basically go bust him out of Valhalla. It’s funny! It’s quirky! It’s a crossover! It also makes logical sense - in particular based on how Jason’s death is described, actually. He dies heroically, weapon in hand, and also there is a flying horse. We know einherjar do not have to be demigods, and it’s implied they don’t have to be Norse demigods. They can be anyone. Imagine how just purely silly and feel-good it’d be for the Argo 2 Crew to reunite with Jason trying to break him out of Hotel Valhalla while the Death Sibs are muttering under breath about what a mess this is going to be for their dad.

Option B.) “A soul for a soul.” We’re introduced to this revival trade system in BoTL and LITERALLY NOTHING IS EVER DONE WITH IT AND I’M SO MAD ABOUT THAT. It’s the entire driving motivation for Nico for the majority of BoTL and it’s just DROPPED! We KNOW it’s a legitimate thing because we’re EXPLICITLY TOLD that Minos was going to use it to revive himself! But Nico banished him before he could! Even if it’s like a Ghost King Exclusive thing, Nico is the Ghost King now! NICO OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT!!! Heck, we even know Nico explicitly attempted it before in BoTL, but it didn’t work because he specifically isn’t allowed to trade his own soul (because he is a son of Hades)! There’s not even the excuse that there was in BoTL that Nico is against murder because by BoO Nico has changed his mind and it’s totally down for some justified murder! In fact, will actively do it himself!! Give me a plot about Nico trading a soul to bring back Jason’s! And the weirdness that arises from that and Jason grappling with “Damn, Nico definitely 100% totally killed a guy just to bring me back!” That’s an interesting narrative that is entirely within the realm of established canon mechanics! And is in fact a Very Simple Mechanic, actually! You can’t even say “Nico wouldn’t do that because he’s since learned the importance of the balance of life and death and that reviving people for selfish reasons is bad” because he revived Hazel!! The only reason he was grumpy at Leo was because Leo made everyone else upset by faking his death, not because he cheated death! He’s a kid! He is absolutely going to act selfishly and revive his friend! Please I want some acknowledgement of this mechanic again in literally any form-!!!

#pjo #percy jackson #jason grace #toa spoilers #ask #anonymous

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sabugabr · 3 years ago

Text

Netflix's"The Witcher" and how costuming matters (2/2)

OR: How to kill a metaphor (and make a pointless work)

SO! Continuing from Part 1...

I was complaining about how the costumes on the Netflix show The Witcher (2019) were poorly executed, and the impacts this has on our understanding of worldbuilding and our narrative tracking on political, social and cultural relations within that established world. Later here, I'll also adress how this not only reflects a trivialization but also an erasure of the racial, social and political connotations that are so strong in Sapkowski's books.

aka: it was all confunsing as hell, and the clothes all looking the same didn't help.

Such unique designs!!!!

"But sabuga" you might say "you're talking about minor and background caracthers, does it really matter that much?" and the answer would be: yes, it really does matter that much. But for the sake of it and for the continuity of my argument back there, let's narrow it down: let's talk about Yennefer

* DISCLAIMER * : First, as I mentioned before, in this post I'll only cover season one, and second, I'd like to state that I recognize the importance of the video game in characterizing a lot of these characters, and that the Netflix series is an adaptation. However, I firmly believe that any type of media should suffice on its own, so here I will consider the Netflix series first as it's own work, taking only geographic and political contextualizations from the book, and not comparing the fidelity of the characters' characterization in the sense book X tv show. The book comparison will come only at the end for a political note, not a design one. And, as always, please forgive any broken English!!! ( * cries in Brazilian * )

2.1 HOW TO WASTE A STATEMENT DRESS — AND MAYBE CROSS THE LINE ON SEXISM WHILE DOING IT

Let's play a second little game

To exemplify what I'm going on and on about how to use a costume narratively, let's take the ball scene in talked about in Part 1, where I complained about the guys in white (remember the guys in white?). So, to be slightly fair, there is actually some relation to color in that scene, because at some point in the ball we discover that one of the dudes in white is actually the King of Aedirn, an extremely wealthy kingdom that is also the home country of Yennefer.

Now, if you remember correctly (I didn't), the conflict in this scene is that this king would very much like to have a sorceress counselor from his own country, and Yennefer very much wanted to be that king's counselor, but because she is half-elf, the mage council (??? don't know if that's the right name but whatever) deceived her and appointed another sorceress to be the counselor to that king. Right?

So, Yennefer is PISSED, and in the first climax of her long (and ac really good) character arc, she decides to make the pact to rip out the uterus and gain various powers and thus become a big hottie. She then APPEARS AT THE BALL AS A BIG HOTTIE and snatches the King, dancing with him all night long, etc etc. So, this dress is her statement dress, right? THE BIG DRESS FOR THE BIG MOMENT FOR THE BIG HOTTIE

This is the dress:

The king is the white dude with the crown, so that you know

Now, you can have any opinion about this dress. I'm not particularly fond of it (and I'll go into this in more detail later), but whether it's good or not is my point at the moment. Let's talk narrative.

SO NOW IMAGINE that instead of having these identical costumes that give you NO notion of identity and make you either have to google which kingdom is which, or just give up and accept whatever the plot gives you (which I originally did), this series had well-demarcated costumes for each place, either by shape, or by color, or by different cultural inspiration (and not so Eurocentric as they were here). So that when the first part of Yennefer's life appears in Aedirn, we'd be able to get some sense of that country's fashion. Maybe reinforce that in other scenes, something like that.

With that well established, imagine that the sorceress clothes WERE an unit. Not only would this give the other sorceress more individual personality without having to give them much screentime (by showing things like, how they would personally enhance or maintain the "uniform"), but it would also make it so much easier for us to identify them. Imagine how these uniforms could be used to show the sorceress' allegiance to the mages' agenda, things like that. SO OK WE HYPOTHETICALLY HAVE A SORCERESS FASHION AND AN AEDIRNIAN FASHION HERE. BACK TO THE BALL

In the series, with the statement dress, it's kinda of implied that the reason the King took a liking on Yennefer had much more to do with the fact that she looked hot, and less with her being Aerdinian (since he kinda ditched the other sorceress even before Yennefer opened her mouth). Now in this hypothetical scenario, imagine that instead of appearing in a standart black hot dress, she suddenly appeared in an AERDINIAN black hot dress. Unlike all other sorceress, that'd be wearing Aretuza looks/colors.

Here, it wouldn't be explicit that the King necessarily thought she was hot and that's why he was impressed, even before he knew who she was. Now, in addition to making Yennefer not just appear sexualized, a political statement would be added to the dress itself. Not only would it show her nationality, but her pride in her nationalilty, and the possible interest in putting Aedirn's agenda above, perhaps, Aretuza's itself.

A good example of this concept being applied is in the recent Hulu series The Great (2020) where, contrary to the Westernized French-inspired fashion that was in effect at the Russian court, the major caracther Catherine (played by the MARVELOUS Elle Fanning and based on the historical figure Catherine the Great, Russia's longest ruling female monarch) appears at her coronation wearing a gown inspired by the traditional sarafan:

As Fania Soo Hoo states better than I do,

".. This moment teaches a ripped-from-the-history-books lesson: Fashion is a powerful tool to help inspire change. Born in Prussia as German royalty, the real Catherine the Great established the Russian imperial style of dress to distinguish from the French and Western European fashions previously favored by the court. Wielding fashion as a soft power, the Empress illustrated her national pride and connected with the Russian people by bringing traditional Russian clothing, like the rural folk pinafore — sarafan — back in style.

In "The Great," Catherine uses her coronation gown to directly reach her new subjects, change her German "mail-order bride" narrative (per husband Peter, played by Nicholas Hoult) and send a message of modernity and change." (source)

Catherine, here, manages not only to message all that, but also throw a big slap in the court's face. She's saying "I'm more Russian than any of you", without having to say a single word. Her clothes say it for her. And they do so while also being STUNNING.

Fashion is a soft power, and a very underrated one in most of historical/fantasy series and movies I've seen. Women don't have to be dressed just to look good, they can also be dressed to state things they maybe couldn't say out loud.

Let's got back to Yennefer in the hypotetical Aerdinian dress. Perhaps, in this context, the political innuendo is ALSO why the King is interested in her, and not only due to her looks. It would have been a power move. There could be a whole political layer involved in the scene, without a word being mentioned directly about it. The whole situation could be recognized on only with intended smiles between Yennefer and the King, and we would still understand it.

And the way the series did it was just SO FRUSTRATING to me in this aspect, because they even made the King and aparently his court wear white on purpose. So you can really think that white is somehow related to Aedirn (even tho the kingdom's actual colors were yellow, red and black, but anyway), and then they made Fringilla (the previously assigned sorceress) wear white.

So now they purposely made Fringilla respect the (here) established colors of Aedirn, which would be the great political move I was talking about, and this was completely disregarded by the King in favor of this newcommer hot lady FOR NO REASON AT ALL besides, apparently, her being hot. And only that.

And of course that, done correctly, there is no problem with a woman weaponizing her sexuality, or whatever this scene was intended to do. Yennefer's arc is very much related to her personal relationship to her own appearance, and it would be totally ok for her to appear "beautiful", and be socially perceived by others as "beautiful", purely for the sake of it. I know the importance that feeling pretty, and seen and admired for her looks has in the early stages of Yennefer's story.

But in my opinion, this scene can be understood not as an empowerment of Yennefer's appearance, but as her being reduced to it. Everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph would be kept with her wearing a beautiful AND political dress. Again, that's just my opinion, but the show's approach to me just felt reductive, and had some "Ugly Duckling Transformation TM" vibes that just didn't work for me.

PLUS, it would also show Yennefer's break with the academy more clearly, and more easily to get. Because, while watching, I admit that it took me a long time to understand what was going on in that scene, and why everyone was so impacted then I realized that it was just because "she looks hot now" and I got a little pissed BUT ANYWAY and would also make the future episodes SO MUCH CLEARER. Because you see, after the ball, Yennefer went to work for the King of Aedirn, but in the next scene we see Yennefer, she's working for ANOTHER KINGDOM. Yennefer is already in ANOTHER realm. The problem is, when I watched it, I just didn't understand this information.

And ok, I understand that in this specific context of this episode, it wasn't necessary for you to understand which kingdom Yennefer was in. It just wasn't the focus of the episode, and not knowing what was going on politically didn't directly undermine your understanding of the series as a whole, as the focus of these scenes is on Yennefer's development. But??? Would it hurt?? To make a more intuitive differentiation between the kingdoms, so that we didn't just depend on our memory for names or Google to situate us in the events?? WOULD IT HURT????

2.2 YOU REALLY CAN'T BLAME THE BUDGET HERE

Now I'm going to go into a thread that is purely my personal opinion, but since I'm here I might as well get this out of my system. Several of the clothes look cheap.

And before I get into that, I'd like to make very clear that expensive costuming is NOT the same as good costuming, and vice versa. You can do wonders with a very low budget, and at the same time you can produce atrocities while swimming in money (Brazilian saying). So I'm not saying the problem is the actual money involved, but I do believe you have a huge ploblem when a caracther who's supposed to dress good just... doesn't.

Look at these 3 outfits:

Told you I'd go back at the ball dress

As for the shape and cut of the dresses themselves, you can see a coherence between them. They follow the same stylistic line, elements like the structure of the shoulder pieces are very similar, and the necklines are too. Does that mean they are good dresses? Not necessarily.

You get to see some historically inspired crumbs (you can see the French cut neckline, that shoulder piece has some Victorian vibes to me, and you sure get SEVERAL "The Tudor"'s-female-costuming vibes), but it feels more like it took inspiration from contemporary fashion that is inspired by historical fashion, than historical fashion itself (this is all within Tim Aslam's concept, of course), and I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of inspirations here were modern, BUT without the sophistication of contemporary high fashion (and historical ones, for that matter).

The design is very plain, the details all seem kinda rough, and there were some contrasting shapes and angles that I really disliked. You have some strong and hard lines, but to me they seem too poorly-finished to convey the refinement I'd expect from a dress for any of the situations in which ther are worn, and they just fail to go along with Anya's naturally elegant face and bearing.

So now look at this outfits:

Here we have some Elie Saab designs, some Valentinos, Zuhair Murad, Iris Van Herpen, Balmain, a Dior over here in the bottom, I could go on and on all day. If you are interested, there's this whole blog solemnly dedicated to reunite haute couture inspirations based on The Witcher's (and others) universe, and I highly recommend you check it out! It's super fun!

So, you can see some correlations in some shapes, concepts and stuff that were also used in Yennefer's costumes, but here everything just look so passionate and unique and elaborated and sophisticated. Of course that these are VERY different scenarios with different purposes and VERY DIFFERENT BUDGETS, but just look at how you can really feel how much the people who did those gowns just loved them, how every sew was so well thought and planned and fitted to create a work of art, and you know, this is high fashion. You can't compare your work to high fashion and not expect me to actually compare them.

Now you compare them to Yennefer's. The one in the last image of her is the most bothering to me, with that fragile-looking shoulder structure, plastered in glitter. I like the idea of it, but I can't even begin to describe how much I hate this glitter. As I said before, a good costume doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive costume, and I usually love medias that play with "trashy" historical styles (don't even get me started on A Knight's Tale and Ella Enchanted — that's a controversial opinion, but you gotta love that wooden escalators), but here Yennefer's clothes don't look trashy on purpose, nor do they look "fun" to me. This glitter dress, with that paper mask, just gives me the impression that I would get a very similar result using the materials I have now in my office and PVA. And even tho I work with design, I don't mean that in a good way.

Once again, this is my personal opinion, but from the serie's text I really got the impression that Yennefer was meant to be this "dress to impress" type of caracther, and I didn't get this from some of her costuming at all. In the same way that the ball dress bothers me, in these other outfits what I get is that their only purpose is to make her look "hot", and that's all. Which, again, okay, but it's so disappointing to me given the potential and narrative depth of this character, and Anya Chalotra's infinitely captivating acting. And even so, I think the only reason they look hot is because Anya is gorgeous and the dresses show some skin. But that gets into this very deep pool of the ways our Western society sexualize women, and if I get into that this would be endless.

So anyway, I particularly find them unflattering and overall boring choices, and on top of that, I can't really say what story these clothes are telling.

Like, I can't say how those dresses relate to these ones:

Yeah, I know I repeated the black and white lace dress, but I ac like this last one and Anya's cute smile wearing it look at her HER LITTLE FOOT I CAN'T -

Because, yes, they are all black, but you can clearly see two diffent lines going on here, the first (A) more "seductive" with the very strong, low French cut neckline, the often exposed chest and tighter silhouette, and the second (B) with the long paned sleeves, the big V neckline and the high collars, broadening her chest. Even the rope one, though more "eccentric", follows this overalll vibe (and even tho I'm not that inclined to the rope dress, at least I can respect it — the top part of it, as least. Not really a fan of her hair and make-up also, actually, but anyway). So we have these two "styles" going on, but really, I can't really tell which is her actual personal style.

I'm inclined to guess B, but I can't really be sure, as there is no linearity between the two. Chronologically, she doesn't start wearing A and ends up wearing B, she kinda jumps from one to the other? And you could argue that she uses A when she wants to shape others' perception of herself, weaponizing her sexuality, and B would be her true style. This is an interpretation. But you could also say that all the times she uses B are somehow "work-related", whereas A is times when she's on her own, so it could be argued that her personal style would be A and Honestly, you can freely conjecture, but it won't go beyond that: conjecture and personal interpretations. Because, besides, those A and B clothes don't tell you anything. And how am I going to know who she is, if I can't even tell what is her style? She likes the color black, is that really all you can get? And if I can't visually see her caratcher arc through her clothes, if I can't seem to put a progression or narrative linearity into these outfits, and they're not particularly showstopping... why are they there?

And, again, that's not an isolated event, it was EVERYWHERE

JUST LOOK AT THESE:

Just going really fast about these two examples because I inteded to make this just about Yennefer to not be so long but these make me so mad,

Our boy Jaskier. Yes, the clothes are colorful, but...? First, they seem to have been bought in a costume shop with the vague theme of "Renaissance". And I'm not talking about an expensive shop. And second, it gives me the impression that he bought clothes that weren't exactly the right size for him, so they all look badly-fitted? Either too big in the wrong places, or too tight in the armpits. Later, I found out that apparently Jaskier would be 18 in season one, so maybe this is to make him look younger? But honestly speaking, I think this was just made to make him look more comical (he is the queercoded one after all hahaha such funl), and smaller, and less virile, and therefore make Geralt look even manlier in comparison. Which, honestly, is a waste of Joey Batey's hot ass, and an affront to the character that by book should be the best dressed one there. He should've been covered gold in jewelry he got from his numerous rich lovers, wearing nothing less than Gucci.

And you can't change my mind.

AND THE NILFGAARDIAN ARMOR. GOD. I know everyone disliked it, but still, GOD. I research the, you know, concept, and found an interview with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich saying that

"The Nilfgaardian army is one of conscription. As they march northward, the army pillages towns and forces villagers into military servitude. They are not an elite fighting force -- yet... There are powerful leaders in the forefront, yes, but the army itself is more rag-tag, borne of necessity, without glamour or means." (source)

?????. I'm sorry but it doesn't look like they were pillaging from battle to battle and making their armor from what they'd found. It doesn't look "rag-tag". I'm gonna be REALLY mean here, and please forgive me, but it just looks like they bought this huge 3D printer and made all their armor using it. The 3D printer. I can't even -

2.3 BUT LET'S TALK BUDGET ANYWAY

It was not pretty. And, as I said before, it wasn't due to lack of money. The costumes probably weren't actually cheap. For you to have a basis for comparison, the first season of The Witcher had a budget of approximately $80 million dollars, with an average of $15 million per episode. The first season of Game of Thrones cost $60 million, and until its last season it maintained an average of $8 million per episode. 20 million difference is a lot of money. The Witcher was MUCH more expensive than a production like Game of Thrones, and comparing the first season of both series, I think the difference in the technical quality of the productions is undeniable. With a lot less, GoT delivered a lot more. (on it's first seasons, but I won't dwelve into that)

Remember my little paragraph over GoT's costumes in Part 1? I'll put the images here again so that you can remember them:

I said it before and I'll say this again, these are showstopping. In my opinion, Michele Clapton really excelled in her work in GoT, (and once again I recommend you check out this blog on each character's costumes in greater detail, it's really great) and she did it with considerably less money. And even tho the show went spiraling downhill, the quality of this worldbuilding and attention to detail and palpable love for each little piece and thread prevailed. I fell in love with all those costumes. They helped shape and bring to live these characters I already loved so much, and they genuinely helped me want to revisit them.

Heck, I watched Mirror Mirror (2012) about 5 times for the costumes alone, and I don't even like that movie. BUT LOOK AT THESE COSTUMES:

With (curiously) a similar budget to Tim Aslam in The Witcher, Eiko Ishioka designed and created genuinely breathtaking costumes, and I really recommend you check this great article covering them. They are worth it. And I find it nice how here you can clearly see the same "historical inspired but with modern high fashion touches to create unique, vibrant designs" concept, only that here, it works. But anyway.

The thing is that even if you are not some costume obsessed person, good costuming still has an impact. It shapes our views. It's one of the main points in how much we'll dwell into that universe and buy that fiction, because it has the power to make it feel real. It matters. As @trinuviel (the writer of those articles on GoT costumes I mentioned earlier) states (way better than my poor native-portuguese ass could ever articulate), "costume design is not just about making pretty clothes - rather it is about supporting and articulating the characterization in relation to the narrative" (source). Which is the point I'm going over and over again here, that ties to Semiotics, my area of study. Because

"Semiotics is the study of how people understand or make sense of life events or relationships. It is the study of sign processes and meaningful communication. Likewise, fashion is a language which holds a symbolic and communicative role. It helps express one’s unique style, identity, profession, social status, and gender or group affiliation. Therefore, the semiotics of fashion is the study of fashion and how humans symbolize specific social and cultural positions through dress.

Garments are non-verbal signs that can be interpreted differently depending on the context, situation or culture. Hence, fashion significance is constructed depending on culturally accepted codes. For example, in Western cultures white color is chosen for weddings because it represents purity while in Asian cultures this color means death and is most likely used in funerals.

Dress codes identify individuals within a culture." (source)

And it just saddens me that a world as The Witcher's just didn't receive this level of care in their cultural visuality, because while I was reading the books I felt in love with that universe, with how rich and beautiful and diverse it was.

But as I mentioned before, I don't think any of this is directly the costume designer's fault. Far, far from it. I got to see an interview where Tim Aslam says that:

"We were going into a fast production process, so it was very important that we had everything we needed. It would be a waste of time to place orders otherwise and wait for them to arrive. In fact, this can be a little intimidating because you have to rely on your instincts. In the future, you may need to buy according to what you expect to use for months later. Sometimes, even for a character that has not yet been written, you will need to have the materials at hand." (source)

I mean, I know that unfortunately this is not unusual, but look at this conditions. It's pretty much a fast-fashion costume design, and this shows so, SO many layers of issues that, to my opinion, link directly at this recent "tendency" to mass-produce media. It feels like they just wanted to make whatever they could, as fast as possible, to wrap it all up and release and fuck the details. They can just cancel it if it goes wrong, so who cares right? THIS PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH

Because, honestly, if anyone has the money to make a big, decent production of any series, it's Netflix. They have the money, they have the resources, they have whatever they want to have. It's Netflix, it's not like the production was subjected to those conditions because there was no choice. THERE WAS A LOT OF CHOICE. They just didn't make them, and apparently left the poor costume designer and who knows who else to juggle what they were able to do.

2.4 THE BIGGER ISSUE

And even though maybe I should, I won't even get too deep to the point of how disappointing it is to me that they took a universe created by a Polish writer, who draws so heavily on Eastern European and Nordic countries, and that offers so many possibilities of correlations on political, social and racial issues in the history of Poland and those countries (and you can get a sense of that by reading this article here), and then ignored all this to focus on a design that privileges Italian and French fashions; I can't even articulate on a single post how badly this sinks to me. If you can't, or don't wan't to, read the full article I linked there, just take this excerpt for contextualization on my point here:

[The humans] "waged war against elves and other nonhumans, and eventually established the Northern Kingdoms. The humans built cities over elven ruins. The Nilfgaardian Empire rose to the south. By the time The Witcher’s story starts, many nonhumans in the Northern Kingdoms have assimilated into human society, although they live in ghettos and are treated as an underclass. Some nonhumans live in the wilds to avoid human control. Elves, dwarves, and halflings rebelling against the humans form the Scoia’tael guerrilla units, which commit violent acts of terrorism.

The Witcher’s setting (and the complicated conflict tearing it apart) recalls the fundamental history of Central and Eastern Europe. The part of Europe stretching from Germany’s eastern border to inner Russia was subject to migration and invasion from the West, the Middle East, and Asia, though the history of the area is incomplete and unclear. By the end of the 10th century, the area had hosted Slavs, Huns, the Turkic-speaking (but also multiethnic and multifaith) Khazar khaganate, Germanic Franks, Magyars, the Kievan Rus, and others.

Sapkowski grew up in a country aware of its history, and in turn, the story of The Witcher shares a deep connection with the past. The disputes between nonhumans and humans echo real-world disputes over territory and citizenship that draw dividing lines according to race, nationality, or ethnicity. This has happened in Poland often" (source)

I know that fantasy media overall tends to give the impression that Middle and Modern Ages only happened in countries like Italy, and England, and France, and that's an issue that our white-praising, westernized society tries to push down on us. But the truth is that the world was so much wider than the Western Europe. There was so many other things happening even in Europe itself, including the countries and events that inspired The Witcher. So why do they all look western in the series? Really, where are the Polish inspired outfits? The Slavics? The Otoman? (lighting up the air a little bit, if you like you can check out this very amusing reddit argument over the possible real-life counterparts of The Witcher's countries)

And I know this doesn't seem like much of a big deal, but as I stated in my very angry rant about the "white-minority" in fictional medias, (modesty aside, it's a very good and very angry little article, you should definetly read it) everything produced by people will intrinsically contain and reflect cultural aspects (intended or not), and that might and will influence not only the way this thing is effectively produced but mainly how this thing will be perceived by others (and if those “others” belong or not to the culture in which this thing was produced will also have a huge impact). So basically, it’s impossible to consume something without attributing cultural meanings to it, or without making cultural associations. That’s just the way we are programmed to perceive the world.

And, in building fictional worlds, this metaphorical co-relation can be used as a tool to improve our connection to certain narratives, especially fantastic ones. Because even if a story takes place in a fantastic/sci fi universe, with all fictional species and people and worlds and cultures, they never come from nowhere, and almost always they have some or a lot of basing in real people and cultures. And when done properly, this can help making these stories resonate in a very beautifull, meaningfull way. I actually believe this intrisic cultural associations are the things that make these stories work at all.

Quoting that article once again,

"Only Sapkowski can say exactly what was going through his mind when he wrote his stories [...] but within the fantasy tales, there are parallels to the complicated history of ethnic strife and resistance to oppression in Central and Eastern Europe. Fighting monsters is frightening, but Geralt’s survival during a brutal moment, one that mirrors real-world international conflict, speaks greater truths." (x)

So, this is a personal take, but honestly, I saw nothing of that social and racial context, that ethnic strife, in the Netflix's show. I saw nothing of real people and real opression and stuggle, and grey morality. I saw nothing of the immigration issues, the holocaust issues, the persecution of minorities that actual minorities could actually relate to. Opressed groups are not exactly white europeans with elven, pointy ears. And if you can't relate to the metaphor, why is it there?

Honeslty, it was to the extent that I really couldn't tell that there was a metaphor at all. And as the brilliant, wonderful, showstopping american writer Ursula K. Le Guin says,

"All fiction is metaphor. [...] If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words" (source, p. 5)

So if they ripped off the metaphor, why did they write it? What is the point of this series?

(Answer: Making easy money, that's the point of the series)

BUT ANYWAY

I purposely didn't touch characters like Geralt and Ciri, because that would go on too long, and even if I got too deep into Jaskier this would definitely have a part 3 at the very least, so forgive me if this felt like a direct attack on Yennefer, that was not my intention at all! I just used her as an example, and I didn't mean to indicate in any way that her characterization is the only problem, or a bigger problem than any other character in this series (Ciri's outfit is pretty decent though, I wouldn't have much to say from Ciri, to be quite honest. Maybe it's a little boring, that's all, but it works just fine). Far from it. I've actually wrote a whole college paper in a historical fashion design class just on Jaskier (I even got to the poin to redesign some costumes), so there's that. But I hope this was enough for you to get where I am coming from in my critic here!

And even tho I just spend all this time DRAGGING this series, I actually like The Witcher (90% due to liking the cast and the original source, but anyways...), I still find it watcheable and fun and I will definitively go back for season 2 and 3 and who knows how many more (I saw some of the new costumes for season 2 now that they changed the costume designer and I like them a lot more already, so that makes me substantially happier). But it is very, very flawed, and it pains me a lot, because, as I said, it deserved better.

This ended up gettin (as always) very long, and I deeply apologize! But I hope you managed to easily follow the track (I tend to deviate a lot from the subject, pardon me) and enjoyed this little rant!

And as always, feel free to desagree with me at any point!

Thank you so so much for reading!!!

#the witcher #costume design #costuming #costume analysis #cinematography #color theory #netflix #the witcher netflix #character analysis #the witcher season 1 #yennefer #jaskier #geralt of rivia #I guess i can tag got as well #game of thrones #the great #meta #rant #the witcher books

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janecrockeyre · 4 years ago

Text

scum villain is a greek tragedy disguised as a regular tragedy disguised as a comedy disguised as a danmei

this is going to be long, and this is only PART ONE.

a.k.a, Analysing the plot of Scum Villain’s Self Saving System through Aristotle’s Poetics, because I Have Mental Issues

Part One: Introduction and the Tragic Hero

Scum Villain’s Self Saving System is a tragedy disguised as a comedy, unless you’re Shen Yuan, in which case it’s a mixture of a romance and a survival horror. It's a fever dream. It's a horrible, terrible book that made me feel new undiscovered emotions when I finished reading it.

The thing is... SVSSS shares characteristics with some of the most famous tragedies in the West, such as Oedipus Rex, Medea, Antigone, the Oresteia... if you haven’t read these, I’ll explain everything. But the gist of my argument is this: SVSSS is the perfect tragedy. In triplicate.

Tragedy as a genre is old as balls and so it has meant slightly different things to different people over the last few thousand years. I'll be focusing on ancient Greek tragedy, which was performed at the yearly Festival of Dionysus in Athens during the 500-350s BC (give or take a hundred years). Aristotle, when writing about this very specific subset of tragedy, had no idea that one day Scum Villain would be written, and then that I would be using his work as a way to look at Shen Qingqiu’s Funky Transmigration Mistake. Anyway!

Greek tragedy greatly influenced European dramatic tradition. I have a lot of opinions about white academics idolising and upholding the classics as the "paragon of culture" but I'll withhold them for now. I have no idea if MXTX has read Greek tragedy or not, so don't take this as me saying they are writing it.

In my opinion, tragedy is a universal human constant. We are surrounded by pain and hurt and none of it makes any sense, so we seek to process that pain through drama, art, literature, etc. We want to understand why pain happens, and how it happens, and try to make sense of the senseless. The universe is cold and cruel and random. Tragedy eases some of that pain.

On that note: Just because I am analysing Scum Villain through a Greek lens doesn't mean that it was written that way. I'm pasting an interpretation onto the book when there's probably a very rich and deep history of Chinese tragedy that I just don't know about. If you ever want to talk about that, please, god, hit me up, I would love to learn about it!!

Anyway, tragedy. MXTX is excellent at it! Mo Dao Zu Shi? Painful dynastic family tragedy. Heaven Official's Blessing? Mostly romance, but she managed to get that pure pain in there, huh?

But in my opinion, Scum Villain holds the crown for the most tragic of her stories. MDZS was more of a mystery. TGCF was more of a romance. Neither of them shy away from their tragic elements.

Scum Villain would fit right in between the work of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. How? Let me show you. Join me on my mystery tour into the world of "Aristotle Analyses Danmei..."

Part One: The Tragic Hero

What is a tragic hero? Generally, Greek tragic heroes are united by the same key characteristics. He must be imperfect, having a "fatal flaw" of some kind. He must have something to lose. And he must go from fortune to misfortune thanks to that fatal flaw.

There are two (technically three) tragic protagonists in SVSSS and all of them are tragic in different but formulaic ways. Each protagonist has their own version of “hamartia” or a “fatal flaw”.

Actually, hamartia isn’t necessarily a flaw - rather, it is a thing which makes the audience pity and fear for them, a careful imperfection, a point of weakness in the character’s morality or reasoning that allows for bad things to happen to them. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the king Oedipus has a “fatal flaw” of always wanting to find the truth, but this isn’t exactly a flaw, right? Note: this flaw can be completely unwitting, as we see with Shen Yuan. It can also be something that the protagonist is born with, some kind of trait from birth or very young.

Shen Yuan

Shen Yuan’s “hamartia” is his rigid adherence to fate and his inability to read a situation as anything but how he thinks it ought to be. He believes that Bingmei will grow into Bingge, and it takes several years, two deaths, and some truly traumatising sex to convince him otherwise.

Shen Jiu

Shen Jiu’s fatal flaw is his cruelty. It is his own sadistic treatment and abuse of Binghe which directly leads to his eventual dismemberment. This is kind of a no-brainer. Of course, it isn't all that simple, and as an audience we pity him for his cruelty as much as we fear it because we know it comes from his own abuse as a child. This just makes him even more tragic. Delicious.

Luo Binghe

Luo Binghe’s fatal flaw is a complicated mix of things. It is his position as the “protagonist” which compels him to act in certain ways and be forced to suffer. It is his half-demonic heritage, something entirely out of his control, which sets in motion his tragic reversal of fortune when he gets yeeted into the Abyss. He also, much like Shen Yuan, has the propensity to jump to conclusions and somehow make 2 + 2 = 5.

As well as having their respective “flaws”, all three protagonists match the rough outline of a good tragic hero in another way: they are in a position of great wealth and power. Even when you split the different characters into different “versions”, this still holds true. Yes, Luo Binghe is raised a commoner by a washerwoman foster mother, but his dad is an emperor and he also ends up becoming an emperor himself.

Yes, Shen Jiu is an ex-slave and a victim of abuse himself, but Shen Qingqiu is a powerful peak lord with an entire mountain’s worth of resources at his back.

Shen Yuan is a second generation new money rich kid.

Bingge is a stereotypical protagonist with a golden finger. Bingmei is a treasured and loved disciple with a good reputation and a privileged seat by his shizun’s side.

In a tragedy, having this kind of good fortune at the beginning of your story is dangerous. Chaucer says that tragedy is (badly translated into modern english) “a certain story / of him that stood in great prosperity / and falls out of high degree / into misery, and ends up wretchedly”. If we follow this line of thinking, a good tragedy is about someone who has a lot to lose, losing everything because of one fatal point of weakness that they fail to address or understand.

If we look at Shakespeare, this is what makes King Lear such a fantastic tragic protagonist. He is a king in control of most of England, who from his own lack of wisdom and excess of pride, decides to split his kingdom apart to give to his daughters, favouring his murderous, double crossing progeny, and condemning his only actually filial daughter to death. He loses his kingdom, his mind, and his beloved daughter, all because of his own stupidity.

This brings us to:

Part Two: Peripeteia

This reversal of fortunes is called peripeteia. It is the moment where the entire plot shifts, and the hero’s fortunes go from good to bad. Think of it like one of those magic eye puzzles, where you stare at the image until a 3D shark appears, except you realise the shark was always there, you just couldn't ever see it, waiting for you, hungry, deadly, always lurking just behind that delightful pattern of random blue squiggles.

Each tragic hero has their own moment of peripeteia in SVSSS, sometimes several:

Shen Qingqiu

In the original PIDW, SQQ’s peripeteia presumably occurs when he finds out that Bingge didn’t perish in the Abyss but has actually been training hard to come and pay him back. There’s really not much I’m interested in saying here - as a villain, OG!SQQ is cut and dry, and the audience doesn’t really feel any pity or fear for him. As Shen Yuan often mentions, what the audience feels when they see OG!SQQ is bloodlust and sick satisfaction. There is also the trial at Huan Hua Palace, which I will talk about in Shen Yuan’s section.

Shen Yuan (SQQ 2.0)

One of SY’s most poggers moment of peripeteia is the glorious, terrifying section between hearing Binghe for the first time after the Abyss moment, and getting shoved into the Water Prison.

“Behind him, a low and soft voice came: “Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu’s neck felt stiff as he slowly turned his head. Luo Binghe’s face was the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

The scariest thing about it was that the expression on his face was not cold at all. His smile wasn’t sharp like a knife. Rather, it showed a kind of bone-deep gentleness and amiability.”

This is the moment of true horror for Shen Yuan, because he knows what happens next: the plot unfurls before him, inevitable and painful, and he knows that death awaits him at Luo Binghe's hands (lol). Compare it with the bone deep certainty with which he faces his own downfall during the sham of a trial later in the chapter (I’ve bolded the important part):

“In the original work, Qiu Haitang’s appearance signified only one thing: Shen Qingqiu’s complete fall from grace. [...] Shen Qingqiu’s heart streamed with tears. Great Master… I know you’re doing this for my own good, but I’ll actually suffer if she speaks her words clearly. This truly is the saying “not frightened of doing a shameful deed, just afraid the ghost (consequences) will come knocking”!”

After the peripeteia is usually the denouement where the plot wraps up and the threads are all tied together leaving no loose ends, but because this tragedy isn’t Shen Yuan’s but the former Shen Jiu’s, it’s impossible to finish.

Shen Yuan cannot provide the meaningful answers that the narrative demands because 1) he doesn’t have any memory of doing anything, and 2) he wasn’t the person who did them. Narratively, he cannot follow the same path as the former SQQ because he lacks the same fatal flaw: cruelty.

This is why Binghe doesn’t kill him - because he loves him, rather than despises him. And this is why Shen Yuan has to sacrifice himself and die for Luo Binghe in order to save him from Xin Mo: because the narrative demands that denouement follows peripeteia, and SQQ’s fate is in the hands of the narrative.

(Side note: I believe that this literal death also represents the death of OG!SQQ's tragic arc. The body that committed all those crimes must die to satisfy the narrative. SQQ must die, like burning down a forest, so that new growth can sprout from the ashes. After this, Shen Yuan's story has more room to develop instead.)

It must happen to show Bingmei that SQQ loves him too. And this brings us to Bingmei.

Bingmei

Bingmei has two succinct moments of utter downfall. The first is a literal fall - his flaw, his demonic heritage, leads his beloved shizun to throw him down into the Abyss. From his point of view, SQQ is punishing him simply for the status of his birth. He rapidly goes from being loved and cherished unconditionally, to being the victim of an assassination attempt.

He realises that he is totally unlovable: that for the crimes of his species that he never had a hand in, he must pay the price as well: that his shizun is so righteous that no matter what love there was between them, if SQQ sees a demon, he will kill it. Even if that demon is Bingmei.

The second moment is when SQQ dies for him. Again, from his point of view, he was chasing after a man who was struggling to see him as a human being. Shen Qingqiu’s death makes Bingmei realise that he has been completely misunderstanding his shizun: that SQQ would literally die for him, the ultimate act of self sacrifice from love: that SQQ loved him despite his demon heritage.

Much like King Lear holding the corpse of his daughter and wailing in sheer grief and pain because he did this, he caused this, Bingmei gets to hold his shizun's cold body and cry his eyes out and know that it was his fault. (Kind of.)

(Yes, I’m bringing Shakespeare into this, no I am not justifying myself)

Maybe I'm a bit sadistic, but that scene slaps. Let me show you a comparison of scenes so you get the picture.

Re-enter KING LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his arms; EDGAR, Captain, and others following

KING LEAR

Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so

That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives;

She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;

If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,

Why, then she lives.

[...]

KING LEAR

And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,

Never, never, never, never, never!

Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.

Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,

Look there, look there!

Dies

Versus this scene in SVSSS:

Luo Binghe turned a deaf ear to everything else, greatly agitated and at a loss of what to do. He was still holding Shen Qingqiu’s body, which was rapidly cooling down. It seemed like he wanted to call for him loudly and forcefully shake him awake, yet he didn’t dare to, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He said slowly, “Shizun?”

[...]

Luo Binghe involuntarily held Shen Qingqiu closer.

He said in a small voice, “I was wrong, Shizun, I really… know that I was wrong.

“I… I didn’t want to kill you…”

PAIN. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL PAIN. Yes, I know Shakespeare isn’t Athenian, but he was inspired by the good old stuff and he also knew how to write a perfect tragedy on his own terms. Anyway. I’ll find more Greek examples later.

This post was a bit all over the place, but I hope it has been fun to read. Part Two will be coming At Some Point, Who Knows When. This is a bit messy and unedited, but hey, I’m not getting paid or graded, so you can eat any typos or errors. Unless you’re here to talk to me about Chinese tragedy, in which case, please pull up a seat, let me get you a drink, make yourself at home.

ps: if you want to retweet this, here is the promo tweet!

#svsss #scum villain #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #shen jiu #greek tragedy #hello followers this account has been silent for a long time but today i bring you whatever this is #long post #i am gonna cross post more art here from my twitter i think #you guys really like my shitposts on here

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villainsandvictimsalliance · 3 years ago

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My opinion on bnha 329:

You can check in here my opinion about chapter 328, if you want the context.

I'm glad Horikoshi solved many of the things I pointed out last week. And I'm glad that I'm correctly reading into the manga, at least at some extent.

Let's see what we got this week: (long post)

After a long building up of relating Spinner to common citizens, mutants, people with weaker quirks and in general, the audience or the general public, we finally see this being explicitly acknowledged. He's on the end of his arc now, because the people picked him as their voice.

The last point is really important because Spinner now has great power. This is a direct parallel to the way Uraraka took control of the megaphone and spoke for the heroes. Now, it's Spinner's turn to speak for the villains, but because people wants him to do so.

On another note, we got an amazing graphic parallel of Stain and Spinner. While Stain is in shadows, Spinner is bright. And unlike Stain, Spinner has been chosen by the public. He was not there to be a leader, but people recognize him as one. This is very interesting because it shows how much Spinner has grown and how he is his own character, with his own achievements.

We saw Dabi back in a forest. This is a direct parallel to the way he stopped being Touya and got to be Dabi. It's a graphic reminder that we're getting the end of his arc with the Todorokis. What is his last step? We know he has his own plans and we know he wants to make Endeavor suffer, so could he be on a solo mission to achieve his vengeful desires? In which forest is Dabi? Are we're going to get more flashbacks? Are we going to see him back at Sekoto Peak?

Please note that when they mention Toga, it's exactly the way Curious wanted it. Toga is in front of a black background. She's being inserted on a narrative by force and not by choice, because someone else is putting her there. Alternatively, the white background tells us Toga's arc is still lacking definition and scenario for its end. Her fate is yet to be defined.

There's A LOT to say about AFO. Please look how the League of Villains is broken. AFO is using them as puppets. When referring to Spinner, he talks about him like he's a "bodyguard", not an equal or a friend like Tomura used to do. AFO clearly doesn't care about them and he won't stop to consider what they want, unlike Tomura. He has his own things to do and anything else must be forgotten and put aside.

AFO is still hiding behind Tomura. Please note how Tomura is treated like any other nomu. AFO took the throne of the king (Tomura) and made Tomura into a war dog.

Now, I've written some meta before about how Tomura never had an own identity until he met the League. Kotaro denied Tomura being himself, so much that the hand of Kotaro was still making Tomura faceless long after Kotaro's dead.

After Kotaro, AFO took away Tenko Shimura and imposed a new identity: Shigaraki Tomura. Please note that Shigaraki is AFO username, which means that even back then AFO was planning on using Tomura as an extention of AFO himself. And by naming him Tomura he pressured the kid to never forget his anger and sadness, caused by the tragedy of his family. It was AFO who repressed further the kid, all the hands being a physical reminder of such act. The hands were covering his entire face and because Tomura was unable to touch, he was only able to listen, just like the nomus. That's why Tomura scratches his neck so much. He itches for having an own voice, an own personality, an own identity.

If you pay attention to the panels in bnha 329, you can see how Tomura is wearing both a suit that resembles AFO's clothes and a cloak that resembles the one AFO was using on the world where Deku could see the vestiges. Tomura even has the white hair like AFO now. His pose and clothes are a direct parallel to Deku, but in a way AFO is a parallel to OFA.

Tomura has been stripped away of everything that made him himself. He doesn't have the hands, he doesn't have his clothes, people calls him AFO now, he doesn't even have his friends around. He's alone, a weapon and nothing more. I wrote another meta about how Tomura had no identity analyzing a panel from bnha 328. This is the direct consequence of that.

But this is not a separate case. It is pretty normal, in fact. When a system fails, when an entire country dives on a crisis, it's normal for everyone to question their place in that society and their identities.

Deku had an identity crisis and his friends for UA needed to rescue him and reminded him who he was. Toshinori had a crisis and Stain needed to helped him with it. Uraraka questioned too her identity as a hero and from there her speech above UA was born. Endeavor got a crisis, Shoto got a crisis, Toga needs to decide as much as Spinner does who do they want to be, Dabi is facing his old identity and his new identity conflicts...

This is actually pretty good. The narrative around heroes and villains are being questioned.

Who am I and why am I that person?

Do I need to be that person?

What is my role in society? Why?

What are my goals and why? Are they worth all the consequences?

Do I like the identity of my society? If not, can I change it? Can I change all the things before?

Bnha inner universe is walking towards a redefinition. What is a hero, what is a villain, who are they, why they are heroes or villains, etc. These characters were forced into certain roles or they assumed they needed to play those roles, according to what society told them. And now, they are free to decide. Time and time again, in every journey of any hero, the problems of the identity and the self vs the others is vital, and it shows through the decision making system.

On a final note, I'm a little sad that Horikoshi made a female version of All Might to fight Tomura, instead of giving her a more original character design in general. Women in the bnha universe tend to be seen as replacements of previous existent characters, or they are used quickly to further the plot and get forgotten. They deserve a better treatment, being honest.

The kids will get there rest time, because not all the cards are on the table yet. I love that it's the turn of the villains to play, because the final result of the next battles are going to be partially determined by what the members of the League of Villains decide to do.

Spinner will probably betray AFO, because he's not loyal to AFO's ideals but to his own ideas.

Dabi has his own thing going and he's also going to get rescued by the Todorokis. I really want to see Hawks, Endeavor, Shoto and Dabi all in a same fight, because parallels are going to fly around and I bet we're going to found out more about Dabi's heart.

I think Toga is still going to interact with the UA kids and help them somehow. I hope she gets to talk to Deku and make some good friends.

And for Tomura... He needs someone to reach for him. He has lost himself. His determination is gone, the sparks in his eyes, his fire. He needs a reason to fight, a reason to believe. He needs someone to believe in him, someone to call out his name and make him exists. He needs someone to see him. He's the same lost boy who walked on the streets asking for someone to rescue him. He's the same kid that asked for someone to believe he could be a hero. If Deku gives him that, if All Might helps him too, if the League is there to show them their loyalty, Tomura will be able to snap out of AFO's control and break free.

Nothing like a good villain chapter to make me excited about the future chapters. Let's wait and see.

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