#having a lot of flashbacks now and i at least want my grandfather's treatment of me to be acknowledged as incest even if nobody else does

[animegenork]

Fruits Basket Season 2, Episode 14

I ain’t fucking around this week, friends.

Also, there might be a tad bit of spoilers from the manga, if I don’t type carefully. Watch out!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! The new opening and ending were stupendous! Did anyone else notice how Yuki and Kyo were doing the same poses at the end of the OP that are on their character profiles on the official Furuba site? Just me? THAT’S OKAY, TOO! [Also, I hate CGI in anime, but the one time they used it in the OP? *chef’s kiss* Marvelous!]

So this episode actually addressed a lot more than I thought, which is always impressive for Fruits Basket, considering there’s usually only one or two things at work here. I’ll address the more “sub” plot first and then get to what the gif above covers (haha) and its accompanying point.

Tohru’s grandfather strained his back, and she went to visit him. (As an aside, I think it’s excellent that we see Shigure referencing his relationship with Mayu so soon after the episode that focuses on her. Great job, Sensei.) He mentions that he saw both her parents in his dream, which makes her a bit wistful, but then something else he says hits her: “I want to see them again.”

Now, the thing about Fruits Basket is that when the characters have flashbacks to something pre-series, it’s often very vague and you sometimes don’t know what’s happening. So I’ll clarify: Tohru remembers, if very little, when her mother said something very similar following the death of Katsuya Honda, Tohru’s father. Kyoko went into a very depressive state following his death, and Tohru, being so young, feared that her mother would go away just like her father did. The feelings come rushing back, and Tohru collapses as she tries to walk home. Thankfully, Kyo is there to help her up and comfort her. My favorite line is probably when Tohru says she thought somebody from heaven had descended to where she was. Of course, being Kyo, he brushes it off, but I think he understood just what kind of dark place he pulled her out of.

Despite her adorable smiles and cheery attitude, it’s important to remember that Tohru is holding a lot inside. Though this pain from her father’s death isn’t brought up till now, it’s because she was so focused on moving past the tragedy with her mother, who lived for at least ten more years after Katsuya’s death, that she probably suppressed other pains. Of course, she’s still incredibly strong for surviving this long without letting it affect her, but it is nonetheless something that we need to see, as the audience. Tohru is not a be-all, end-all of happiness. We forget that she has her pain, too. But she’s learning, just like the Sohmas, that she needs to work through her pain rather than suppressing or letting it consume her.

I feel bad that we haven’t seen much of Kyo lately. Or, at least, we haven’t HEARD from him a lot lately. Poor thing has a lot to think about, but perhaps we’ll have some insight soon. (There is a specific scene from the manga I am WAITING for, and I can’t wait!!!)

Before I talk about Haru, I wanna talk about Yuki. He remembers Haru and Rin coming to visit him in his special “room��� (which, now that I think about it, is very much a parallel to the Cat’s room????!!!!), and it isn’t until he confronts Rin about her treatment of Haru that he realizes he wouldn’t have escaped if it weren’t for the Ox. Haru begged Shigure to take Yuki away from the estate, and though Shigure’s reasons for agreeing are still somewhat shrouded in mystery (huehue), we see a side of Yuki’s relationships we don’t normally do. Yuki had some great support even before Tohru came along, and we must not forget just how much Haru loves Yuki. I’m still convinced they’d be a great couple, but anyway.

The other thing that happens is Yuki sees Kagura and mentions that Kyo’s been distant since their “date” a few episodes back. When she says she feels guilty, he remarks that he’s envious. Of what, you might be asking? Kagura, unlike Yuki, knows her own feelings and how to handle them. Yuki has never been great with that sort of stuff, and that’s probably why a lot of the awkwardness or arguments or misunderstandings have included him. (Kyo is different, because he physically confronts whoever it is.) Haru tells Yuki to worry about himself (rather than him), and Yuki gets a little mad.

Yuki’s been selfish all his life. He’s ready to think about someone else first, for once in his life.

Now, take that assessment with a grain of salt. Yuki says something similar in the manga, at least, and even in this episode. He gets mad at Haru because he wants to prioritize others, like the Ox does. He wants to care.

Anyway, enough about the Princess.

Rin. 

(Where did that nickname come from, by the way? I just-)

First of all, how the hell are Haru and Rin so fucking attractive? Like damn. They are freaking MODELS compared to like everyone else. No WONDER they dated.

Haru makes a passing comment near the beginning of the episode, saying Rin doesn’t say anything to protect herself. Yuki connects the pieces and asks her, later, if she came to his special room with Haru just so she could make sure he doesn’t get in trouble. Mysterious as ever (and looking just as beautiful as she did in the manga), Rin doesn’t confirm this. However, Yuki pushes her, wondering if she’s somehow protecting Haru now, as well, despite breaking his heart. We don’t get a full scope of their relationship, like we do in the manga at this point, but the reason Haru is so heartbroken is because what they had was one of those romances where you know each other forever and there’s really no one else for you.

Try as she might, even though she calls Haru an idiot for calling Shigure “Sensei” in exchange for Yuki living at his current residence, Rin cannot disguise the care she holds for that idiot. Haru’s definitely not stupid, so he definitely doesn’t call Shigure “Sensei” for nothing. He’s willing to do a lot for others, and Rin knows this. Haru is so effing selfless, and she can’t risk him getting hurt.

Which is probably why, when Haru kisses her, she kisses him back.

She does try to fight it, of course. She’s got this ruse to keep up with him. But that’s not how their relationship works, and Rin and Haru both know that.

Props to Haru for getting the first kiss of the series.

Unless... did we see Hatori and Kana kiss? I mean, I wouldn’t really count that, since it was pre-series, but...

There’s still a lot we haven’t seen about Rin and Haru’s relationship, and I’m not sure how much the anime plans to tell us, but at the very least, take this away: the Horse and the Ox are willing to do pretty much anything for each other, and that causes some problems for them. And yet, Haru won’t give up on her, and I have a sneaking suspicion Rin doesn’t want him to. I forget if her current ambitions have been revealed yet to the audience (maybe vaguely, because of Tohru visiting Kazuma/Shishou?), but she’s doing some good out there... even if it comes in the form of ice cold bitchiness.

Now to figure out what the hell next week’s episode will cover.

[scripttorture]

Do you have any ideas for showing some of my trauma survivor characters working on improving their memory? Not about details surrounding the trauma, but everyday things, like car keys. It occurred to me I know about treatment or ways to live with all the symptoms I picked but memory problems caused by trauma.

I don’t actually know if there are proper treatments being trialled for trauma survivors. Anecdotally no one I know who sought treatment for long term trauma symptoms (around half a dozen people) was offered anything for their memory specifically.

 My impression is that while there are strategies that are useful the effect trauma has on memory is often, not ignored exactly but overlooked. It seems like care providers look at the more dramatic symptoms and focus primarily on those, not realising the huge and detrimental effects memory problems have on every day life.

 What I’m going to describe here are things I picked up in the time I spent with dementia patients.

 The school I first went to in England had links to the local Alzheimers charity and we held yearly/twice yearly social events for sufferers. Because music takes one look at me and curls up to die, I was one of the people who basically went round chatting to everyone. Years later my English grandfather was diagnosed with a form of dementia (likely brought on by smoking). He ended up in a specialist home with quite a few residents. So I have spent quite a while around people with moderate to severe memory problems over the years.

 The first helpful thing is routine.

 Having a predictable, repeating pattern to the day really really helps.

 Of course the flip side of that is it means disruption to that routine can be really stressful and difficult for the character to deal with. It can also be very hard to establish a routine.

 Routine is going to be more important for dementia sufferers then most trauma survivors. Because memory loss in dementia is generally more severe and declines with time. This means that torture survivors have more flexibility when it comes to disruptions to routine. They’ve got enough working memory and context for what’s happening to them to adapt.

 But having a predictable pattern to stick to is still helpful and takes away some of the stress of trying to work out what to do everyday. A set sleep schedule (or at least a ‘trying to sleep’ schedule), regular meal times and regular times for activities such as work and spending time with loved ones reduces the amount of things to forget.

 Calendars are also very helpful.

 Large hanging calendars on walls, with plans for the day clearly written on them. Depending on how severe the character’s memory problems are (or how worried the character is about them) you could just have one calendar in a clearly visible place such as the kitchen or the back of the front door. You could also have several calendars around the house, but the more calendars there are the higher the risk of forgetting to fill one out properly.

 This doesn’t help dementia sufferers now much but younger people who are comfortable with technology can use phone alerts and digital calendars to remind them of activities and where they’re supposed to be. Which is helpful for character who wants to be discrete about their memory loss.

 I’ve also seen post it notes all over walls and fridges like some kind of thick yellow fur.

 In terms of finding things- actually a lot of the type of advice Marie Kondo uses can be helpful.

 Reducing clutter and getting rid of things that don’t serve a purpose (making the character happy is a purpose too) makes it easier to see where things are.

 Having a designated space for everything also helps. Dementia charities tend to recommend having a big, obvious bowl to hold things that are needed every day such as keys, wallets etc. Good lighting and contrasting colours (of the bowl vs the surroundings in this case) make it easier to remember and identify the right place for the keys.

 There’s also some higher-tech things that can help now. Like small tags that can be attached to keys or other smaller objects and beep or light up when signalled. These don’t tend to be used with dementia sufferers but would be helpful to characters more comfortable with tech.

 Emergency numbers kept as a list by a landline phone, or as an obvious saved group in a mobile phone is helpful.

 If the character takes medication then a pill box organiser is incredibly useful. Because even without memory problems it’s difficult to remember if you took the right amount of pills some days.

 Digital clocks and calendars with large automatically updating displays help people keep track of the day and month. Having a lot of them around the living areas can be helpful especially when combined with calendar alerts.

 Dementia charities also tend to recommend making decoration changes in a home. Some of those are more to do with age then memory problems. But the general instruction to make living spaces lighter, use contrasting colours and keep things neat is helpful to anyone who regularly has trouble finding things.

 I’ve heard of a lot of people writing notes on the backs of their hands or arms. This can be useful in the very short term but notes tend to wash or rub off quickly so it’s often not helpful for anything further away then a couple of hours.

 It is a stop-gap solution that a lot of people hit on very quickly though. I think it would be normal for a character to do something like this first before moving on to more effective methods like a calendar system.

 Similarly writing paper lists comes up a lot as a solution people trial early. It’s less useful then clear calendars and phone alerts because paper lists tend to get lost or muddled up easily.

 Having other people the character trusts around to help can also be important.

 Some people find it helpful to have reminders from their friends or family. Or to have help clearing and organising living space from them. This can help when everything is clearly communicated.

 The flip side of it is that ‘organising’ someone’s living space without clear communication will obviously make things worse. Using someone else a kind of digital calendar also puts a lot of pressure on that person to get everything right. It can strain relationships even when the character wants to help.

 Essentially when it comes to memory problems having other characters help out needs to be balanced carefully. It can be a big help but if there’s poor communication it can also create more problems.

 That’s everything I can think of for general forgetfulness.

 There are memory exercises and activities that seem to help improve memory in some dementia patients. But so far as I know there haven’t been similar studies on trauma survivors.

 The mechanisms of memory loss and difficulties forming new memories aren’t the same in these cases. That difference might mean that treatments (chemical or otherwise) which help dementia patients don’t help trauma survivors and vice versa. At the moment, I honestly don’t know.

 There have been some studies in trauma survivors that show improvements with intrusive memories. Most of the studies on memory problems in survivors focus on intrusive memories and flashbacks that come with PTSD.

 In terms of writing I’d suggest sticking to the organisational and life style changes that are recommended for early-stage dementia patients. They might not all fit for your character but adapting some of them should give a realistic framework to show them improving.

 I hope that helps. :)

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[seirathemoonfairy]

How I’d write the treatment for part I of the Dream arc movies

There’s been a lot of controversy over turning the Dream arc into a film duology. I think people’s biggest concerns is how they’ll handle the first half of the manga which deals with a lot of character development for the cast, especially the Inners.

I actually think there’s potential for the movies to be a better adaptation than past Crystal seasons. But it NEEDS to do the following in order for the movies to be any good:

- The first film needs to at least be 90 minutes and the second film should be somewhere between 100-110 minutes. 

- It needs to stop adapting the manga panel by panel. In order for this movie to be a good adaption, it needs to be able to rearrange scenes, simplify scenes and streamline the story w/o cutting scenes. Below I will show exactly how the movies can achieve this without losing too much from the manga. 

- Crystal especially needs a new writer now as the current one has zero experience writing for movies and at this point Crystal cannot be taking any more risks with inexperienced staff.  

- Copying pasting the manga will not work for a movie, at all. But that doesn’t mean the story needs to be changed either. 

For fun, I wrote my own treatment for Part I. These are just reflective of my own tastes and probably will end up nothing like the actual movie… But I just thought It’d be fun to imagine and to show it’s not impossible to turn the Dream arc into 2 movies. 

Part I begins with a shot of the Sun slowly being eclipsed by the new moon. In the background we hear a narration of Chibiusa’s letter to her mom announcing that she’s going to return to the 30th Century. We see a quick montage of the finale of the Death Busters arc – Saturn defeating Pharaoh 90, Usagi as Neo Queen Serenity reviving the planet, baby Hotaru, the girls in their high school uniforms, etc. Once the Sun is completely eclipsed, we cut to Usagi and Chibiusa who hear the sound of a bell. They turn around and see Pegasus who calls out to them and then vanishes.

Cut to Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako also watching the eclipse and discussing their own dreams.

While Usagi and Chibiusa have a (comical) fight over whom Pegasus was referring to as “maiden,” Mamoru says he also saw Pegasus. Moreover, a strange ship with haunting circus music playing descends down into Juuban.

With all of the crowds in the park, it’s impossible for Chibiusa to go back to the 30th Century. Suddenly, a colorful flier floating in the wind gets stuck onto Usagi’s face. It says “Dead Moon Circus” Grand Opening.

TITLE: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal the Movie – Part I: Eclipse Dream

Opening Credits:

The opening credits is a montage similar to the ‘90s Sailor Moon movies. A new catchy song plays in the background while Usagi, Chibiusa and Mamoru look around the Dead Moon Circus shops. We see Ami and the others at the shopping district too, Rei peers suspiciously at everything, while Minako and Makoto goof off. The OP ends with Mamoru buying the Kaleidoscopes for Chibiusa and Usagi.

After the credits, we go straight to Mamoru’s apartment. This scene plays out exactly like in the manga. Usagi and Chibiusa argue whether it’s better being a child or being an adult. Chibiusa tells a story about the new moon. Blah blah blah. 

We get a quick introduction of the Dead Moon villains and the Amazones Quartet.

Chibiusa dreams about meeting Pegasus and flying over Juuban and notices that the part occupied by the circus is abnormally pitch black. She wakes up and decides to leave for the 30th Century on her own.

After Chibiusa realizes her space-time key does not work, a tiger escapes the Dead Moon Circus and becomes possessed by the Lemures and attacks people in Juuban.

Usagi and Chibiusa transform into Super Sailor Moon/Chibimoon without the grails and it’s gorgeous and animated by Shida. Chibiusa summons Pegasus with her bell and he transforms their kaleidoscopes into weapons. They use “Moon Gorgeous Meditation” – which is beautifully animated taking some cues from the original ‘90s anime, but with brand new choreography and just the two girls flying around with lots of colors. The attack drives out the Lemures and heals the tiger, but suddenly a blue orb surrounds the animal and floats away.

During this time Mamoru appeared as Tuxedo Kamen but feels a pain in his chest.

PallaPalla appears and uses her orb to switch Usagi and Chibiusa’s ages.

The next few scenes play out almost exactly like the manga. Everyone meets Ami’s mom at the hospital. Teen!Chibiusa goes back to Usagi’s house (I don’t know if I’d want Ikuko to appear in this movie considering her VA recently passed away). She talks with Pegasus who reveals a curse has been placed on her. Chibi-Usagi stays with Mamoru who is ill in bed. Chibiusa goes back to Mamoru’s apartment, but decides to not interrupt their “moment.”

This is where the film starts to depart with the manga’s sequence of events.

After we get that scene with teen!Chibiusa on a swing, Lemures appear and start attacking random civilians. Pegasus leaps out of Mamoru’s mirror (just like in the manga) only this time he lets Mamoru and Usagi know that the enemy is attacking once again. Usagi finds Chibiusa transform together (no stock footage this time as their ages were switched) which reverses PallaPalla’s spell. Sailor Moon uses “Moon Gorgeous Meditation” and defeats the Lemures.

Chibi Moon then realizes that Usagi is the maiden Pegasus is searching for and runs off crying until Pegasus kisses her and transforms into Helios. 

Back at the Circus, Zirconia chides the Quartet for failing and mentions Queen Nehellenia. Devising a new plan, the quartet use their orbs to transform a fish, a hawk, and the tiger that was previously defeated by Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon into Fisheye, Hawk’s Eye and Tiger’s Eye.

That night, Chibiusa thinks about her encounter with Pegasus and her kiss with Helios. Usagi asks if she wants to visit Mamoru’s apartment, but Chibiusa says no… Much to Usagi’s shock. Chibiusa decides that she’s going to ask Makoto advice the next day.

The next half of the film switches gears from focusing on Chibiusa to the Inners.

The girls hang out after school and discuss the Dead Moon Circus. Rei is reading a book on shrine management. The cats appear and announce that they all are going to investigate the Dead Moon Circus tomorrow. The girls then part ways.

Makoto bumps into Chibiusa on her to way to her apartment and they decide to make dinner together. Visiting the grocery story, they meet Hawk’s Eye who is disguised as a merchant looking for exotic spices. Hawk’s Eye reveals they own a herb shop located within the Dead Moon Circus and they are doing market research. They give Makoto “Amazon stone rings” as a present, telling her to come visit their shop anytime. Outside of the supermarket, Makoto, while wearing one of the rings, thinks about her dream of opening her own store and her “secret” dream of being just like Haruka and Michiru.

Cut to the Hikawa Shrine, the sun is setting and Rei is closing shop. Rei sees a broken piece of arrow and we get a flashback of her attending archery club and not being able to focus. She plays fetch with Phobos and Deimos with the broken arrow. Flashback to Rei meeting Phobos and Deimos as a young child. (Note: I’d like to see Grandfather Hino in this scene, but without him appearing in Crystal S1, I have a feeling he’s going to be cut out.).

Night time, and we’re now at Ami’s apartment. She is researching the Dead Moon Circus on her computer thinks about Setsuna. Ami’s mom appears and she gives her a postcard from her father which has a picture of an exotic fish.

I think you guys see what I’m doing here… I’ve basically rearranged all of the scenes from the Inners’ chapters.

That night, Chibiusa stops by Mamoru’s apartment after dinner and gives her one of the rings she got from Hawk’s Eye. 

Chibiusa runs into Usagi outside of his apartment. Usagi tells Chibiusa that she’s concerned about Mamoru –flashback to Usagi talking to Mamoru who acts a bit strangely towards her and Usagi noticing blood on her hand. Usagi doesn’t want to bother him as he’s trying to get rest and get better.

At the circus, Hawk’s Eye, Fisheye and Tiger’s Eye sit at a bar together and examine photos of Ami, Rei and Makoto as an homage to the ‘90s anime. 

The next day, Usagi, Chibiusa, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako (w/o Mamoru) go to the Dead Moon Circus to investigate. They split up. Usagi, Chibiusa and Minako go to see the performance together. Ami goes to an aquarium, Rei visits the mirror house and Makoto decides on meeting Hawk’s Eye at the herb shop.

Usagi, Chibiusa and Minako are in a trance while watching the Quartet perform.

While at the aquarium, Ami notices an an exotic fish looks exactly like the one on the postcard her father sent her. Suddenly, the reflections of the glass starts to show illusions of her mom with another man and then Usagi, Mamoru and Chibiusa together, claiming they don’t need anyone else. The glass shatters as the fish transforms into Fisheye as water floods the place and swallows up Ami.

In the mirror house, Rei sees an illusion of herself as a child. This scene plays out just like the manga out with minimal differences (Except Tiger’s Eye does not turn back into a tiger). Phobos and Deimos circle above the tent. 

Makoto visits the herb shop and meets with Hawk’s Eye. Hawk’s Eye makes tea for Mako, and under the influence of the ring she reveals to Hawk’s Eye that she feels like she’s been putting off her dream. Hawk’s Eye reveals his true form and attacks Mako-chan. I think everyone’s see the pattern here….

Just when the Trio seems to have the upper hand with Ami, Rei and Makoto - their respective Sailor Power Guardians (Phobos and Deimos for Rei) appear to save them. Each of the Sailor Power Guardians (and the human crows) give the girls a pep talk and their Sailor Crystals appear almost simultaneously. Ami, Rei and Makoto shout out their transformation via split screen and we get brand new beautiful transformations for each of them.

After transforming, the Trio summon the girls into some dark dimension for a 3 vs. 3 fight. We get an incredibly dynamic fight scene where the girls use their old attacks all in real-time, but despite their power the Trio still have an advantage. The three then remember the Outers and hear their voices. Mercury summons her harp and uses ‘Mercury Aqua Mirage’ to freeze Fish Eye. Mars fires her arrow and impales Tiger’s Eye and Jupiter using her Oak Leaves throws bolts of thunder at Hawk’s Eye. The animation of the new attacks are like a blend between stock and real-time. The trio are annihilated in a big explosion with Mercury, Mars and Jupiter in some kind of badass pose.

Cut to, Usagi, Chibiusa and Minako watching the performance and suddenly Chibiusa’s bell reacting. The girls realize that Mamoru might be in trouble and the two run off to his apartment. Usagi and Chibiusa arrived already transformed and defeat the Lemures.

Back at the circus, Minako runs into Ami, Rei and Makoto who reveal they were able to transform into their super forms again. Rei asks Minako if she was able to powerup as well. Minako realizes she’s the only one who can’t transform.

The movie then adapts the rest of Venus Dream almost panel by panel and ends with the (literal) cliffhanger of Minako hanging from a cliff and Artemis being squashed by a big boulder.

After the end credits, we see a shot of the Outers’ new home foreshadowing the second movie “Part II: Eternal Dream.”

I’ve only decided to do a write-up for Part I as I think the first half of the Dream arc is perhaps the most challenging to adapt into film because it’s more episodic. The back half of the story takes place in a single day which would fit the movie format easily.

[lotrewrite]

Well, here’s my comments! Feel free to message me with any questions or for clarification of anything

Overall, this is really solid you guys. 

The biggest issue is just fleshing some of the episodes out a bit. Character arcs are nicely done and the character stuff is spread out surprisingly well. In general, I think there’s a little more focus on Mick and Len than the others, and Amaya could probably be given a slightly larger role, but overall I’m impressed. Writing a team and giving them all equal focus is really hard. I’m so excited this is already so good

(Also like three of these episodes are set in times/places related to special interests I’ve had over the years so if I start getting caught up in historical details that’s why)

I haven’t looked at other people’s feedback yet, cause I didn’t want to be influenced so sorry if I’m just repeating stuff

LOTREWRITE: Yay, more comments! Sorry about the delay in posting these, all!

Episode 1:

-          I love the opening sequence with Kendra A+

-          How has Nate’s pencil lasted so long? It has to be at least 20 years old, right? A pen might be more plausible but have the same basic narrative effect. If you’re keeping the dog tags bit from the original though it might be best to cut it the reference to it being from his grandfather entirely or have it be a replica or something. Best to focus on a single sentimental object.

-          The banter is flawless and in character. Nice!

-          Thawne’s explanation is a bit of an infodump. That’s gonna need to be reworked into more of a dialogue, at the very least. It would probably be better to show it somehow. Maybe show the Black Flash appearing a few seconds after Thawne leaves, then disappearing just as quickly? Darhk can research it on his own and then explain it to someone later, for those viewers who aren’t familiar with the concept from The Flash.

-          “Damien Darhk?” Stein asks. “As in –” “The man who murdered your sister,” Rip says. I assume we’re talking about Laurel, but this makes it sound like Darhk murdered Stein’s sister.

-          “I never did” Talk about OUCH. This is amazing.

Episode 2

-          Some clarification on when and where “the infirmary” is would be good, as well as what Jax and Stein’s history here is, but I figure that will be added as this is fleshed out

-          Same with “decision makers”

-          I vote yes on “not drinking and driving” quip that’s excellent

-          Bambi is adorable

-          Make sure when you’re researching the crusades to look at things from multiple perspectives. This seems like it could very easily fall into a very generic “Good Christians” vs “Evil non-Christians” crusade narrative and that’s… less than ideal. There was a lot of politics surrounding the crusades, even if you’re just focusing on the Christians. That might also help provide a motive for your dissenter? Someone who thinks these soldiers should be back at home looking after things there instead of invading a foreign nation to secure power and riches for the church? Someone who’s been convinced that the crusaders have no divine right to this land and that they should leave it to the people who actually live there? Could maybe be a place to start setting up some doing what’s “right” vs doing what’s supposed to happen conflict? This is obviously just an outline so maybe you’re already planning something like that but I figured I’d mention it

-          I’m a fan of Bambi not dying

-          I love Firestorm as an angel that’s an amazing idea in so many ways A++++

-          Mick roasting a T-Rex with his gun heck yeah

Episode 3:

-          I love Sara’s canary pendant

-          Continuity issue: in episode 1, Mick punches Rex and that’s about the extent of their interaction. Not much of a basis for the trust he seems to be showing in this ep.

LOTREWRITE: Possibly we could make it more explicit that Rex noticed that the bomb the JSA were tracking was discharged harmlessly after Mick said he went after it, thus the trust?

-          Yay for bi Sara!

-          The Sara and Amaya scene sounds like it’s gonna be so cute

-          Ray’s speech to Nate about heroism is really solid

-          I see now why it’s a pencil, but I’m still not loving the idea. Does it just magically never get not sharpened? Has Nate never noticed? Does he sharpen it and lose tiny fragments of the spear every time? Am I being too nitpicky?

-          Love the mention of non-fighting military personnel 

-          Mick is starting to feel like he’s taking over the story a little too much here maybe, especially considering that he’s been the most major character in the previous episodes as well, while Jax and Stein seem almost nonexistent. Nate could probably have a little more prominence given that this is his big reveal episode.

Episode 4

-          Might want to give a quick rundown of some basics about Chernobyl in the finished episode for audiences unfamiliar with the history. I had to look it up because I thought it happened years later and was very confused.

-          Give some reason for why Stein’s actions were changed from the original timeline. Is Darhk’s presence there already changing things?

-          What do you mean by Jax can “safely detonate” the bomb? Is there some reason he and Stein can’t Firestorm up and transfigure it? I don’t recall Jax being a particular expert in bombs previous to this.

-          The Stein and Clarissa storyline is very very good

-          Sara and Mick (not) talking about their shared grief Thank You

-          Sara seems rather quick to trust Eobard. She knows it’s a speedster who killed Rex, right? Nevermind. She still seems very quick to trust for a former assassin.

-          Maybe avoid Eobard villain monologuing? He has no reason to.

-          Doesn’t the Black Flash only come after the speedsters, not anyone whose death is changed by time travel? iirc, both Cisco and Barry’s mother were brought back to life by Barry changing the timeline at one time or another and neither were targeted. There may be extenuating circumstances I’m forgetting though…

-          Sara and Laurel’s storyline is really touching and sweet

-          LISA!!!!!!

Episode 5

-          I’m loving the mix of historically accurate costumes and especially Mick

-          Crew interacting with Vikings is great and in character

-          Jax and Gunlød’s relationship is really cute

-          The funeral for Len and the others they’ve lost is fantastic

Episode 6

-          Eobard and Darhk banter already sounds like it’s gonna be great

-          How’s Lisa getting in? nevermind, that’s answered

-          The image of Len doing anything “emphatically” is kinda cracking me up. A look or something would probably be more in character.

-          Vampiric octopuses omg please have a flashback here

-          Building of tension for the break-in is excellently done. A bit cliché, but in a good way.

-          Lisa’s fury is great.

Episode 7:

-          Oa?

-          Independence Day banter is really fun

-          Lisa/Cisco scene is YES

-          “justified” I see what you did there

Episode 8:

-          Remember to introduce Constantine etc to audiences who might not be familiar with them

-          Are you going to show Mick vanishing or just have him suddenly no longer be there? Related: does he leave and then get beaten up or get taken out while with the rest of them? Does the audience know he’s telling the truth or will there be some room for them to wonder?

-          HARLEY/IVY YESSSSS

-          I’m assuming Booster is Booster Gold, yes? Do we get him in this season?! Okay coming back, we don’t. It’s a nice shoutout for those who know, but the prominence it’s given implies it will be relevant.

-          Clarify who Resurrection Crusade are

Episode 9:

-          Sara’s disguise for the Christmas party isn’t specified

-          This might be an issue with the original version of the episode as well, but the colonies were in open rebellion against the British crown and GW probably wouldn’t expect honorable treatment or a prisoner exchange if captured. He was openly committing treason in the eyes of the British army.

-          Ray navigating with one boot is hilarious and wonderful

-          Would soldiers from the pre-telephone era be able to adjust well enough in one night to work with a comm? Guns they at least have experience with. Tiny devices that let them talk to each other through long distances might be a bit pushing it. Or I might be getting too nitpicky.

-          The whole massacre plot needs some work tbh. How does Jax and Amaya knocking out a total of three soldiers stop a full massacre? How many were there? How did the soldiers feel about it? Sneak attacks on innocent (white) civilians weren’t really a common part of warfare at the time. Some or all of the villagers would have supported the British or at least pretended to. Not to mention the British soldiers were probably occupying the nearest village. Village sounds really feudal I’m thinking town might be more appropriate okay I’m definitely getting too nitpicky

-          End scene is great

Episode 10:

-          Ray’s pirate persona is gold

-          Why do they ask Jax for his name first? (or do they?)

-          Foreshadowing Rip joining the other side? Neat

-          Looks like this just needs more details for the climactic battle then you’ll be good

Episode 11:

-          The opening is so good

-          Adorable engineering duo yes good

-          So does the Greenpeace member know about the explosion? How?

-          This episode feels a bit short? It’s focused on a single plot that gets resolved relatively straightforwardly. Maybe add subplot(s) and/or throw a wrench in things somewhere?

Episode 12:

-          A little hard to follow at first but I think it’s supposed to be

-          Does Mick say “who’s Grace?”? That seems to imply that he recognizes the other names.

-          This has the potential to be really creepy I like it

-          Can Rip be incorporated into this somehow? Or not necessarily be incorporated as the character, but at least mentioned? It feels relevant, since he had the closest relationship to Gideon

Episode 13:

-          Could Legion!Len’s reveal be moved? If he’s not heavily involved in the Legion’s main plot for this ep, the previous ep would probably work better with a single big reveal (that oculus!Len is not just a hallucination) rather than two back to back. There could be mentions of a new Legion member (Darhk and Eo discussing Legends in Argentina “We’ll let the new guy handle them,” following orders from him, etc), without Len being revealed until he’s revealed to the Legends, or the end of this episode.

-          Really good moral quandaries here.

-          You could probably do something with the fact that the team (presumably intentionally) imitates oppressive government agents to get away with kidnapping, even if it is for a good cause. That’s gotta make them uncomfortable. (Mick seems like he’d probably be the most chill with it, Jax seems like he’d be really uncomfortable, and I could see Stein going either way.)

-          Maybe include one or more OCs or historical figures in a major role to add a human element to the conflict

Episode 14:

-          How does Rip find out? Does he already know?

-          So is the thing on the throne not the spear piece?

-          Tudor jewelry would probably not involve wood. They were big on showy jewels and metals. Maybe it’s in a fancy locket and rumored to hold part of the cross or something? You could have Anne make some sort of joke about how it’s probably fake. Artifacts like that were very common and almost never what they claimed to be.

-          Henry’s feeling a little flat here, but that might just be the outline format

-          This is another one that could use a subplot or two

-          MICK BURNS DOWN THE GLOBE I LOVE IT

Episode 15:

-          I like the option of Hex reacting badly to Rip

-          Carter and Kendra cameo is really neat

-          Continuity error: Len leaves and then says something in scene 6

LOTREWRITE: Len probably shouldn't leave since he has a big leaving sequence in the next episode

-          Lots of good stuff here

-          Make sure Lily stuff lines up with the following episode

LOTREWRITE: Lily should probably show up and have the argument with Stein in this episode, since the next one is very crowded

Episode 16:

-          Make sure Lily stuff lines up with previous episode

-          Bart Allen is from around this time period too. Can he cameo somehow?

-          I love this entire concept

-          All the hostages taken are women. Is there specific reasoning behind this? If not, maybe reconsider hostage choices

-          So Lily is volunteering to be a hostage, not switch sides? That was a little unclear.

-          I love the Monty Python joke. But it might be a little too anvil-y? Maybe change the wording from “what is your favorite color?” to “pick a color”?

-          How are the trials being administered? Verbally with spoken answers? Touchscreen? Fancy buttons?

Episode 17:

-          Cameo suggestion: A young Selina Kyle. The joke is that the found family she’s talking about consists entirely of cats. This can either be revealed to Jax via innocuous comment that wouldn’t make sense if referring to a human (something about litter boxes?) or revealed to the audience later when she looks at a picture in her wallet or something.

-          I love Legion!Len being fed up this is a Good Scene

-          The Legends make him cake aww

-          That ending man

-          Another episode that could use a bit of fleshing out. A little focus on what the other Legends are doing specifically might be enough.

Episode 18:

-          Love the cold open

-          Kendra cameo!

-          Why would putting Ray in a toga convince the guard to let him pass?

-          I’d add a subplot or a lot more happening at the gladiator fight. Does Darhk attempt to cheat? How does Sara counter that? Is she tempted to kill him? Maybe she could have a scene before or after where she talks to someone about her past with the League of Assassins and how sometimes she still has to fight those instincts? Even though she saved Laurel, he still almost killed her and Laurel is still almost completely out of reach for Sara so there’s got to be some pent-up anger there.

Episode 19:

-          HI YES YOU’RE INCLUDING MORDRED LET ME LOVE YOU

-          I can tell that you know your Arthurian legend or at least did some research this makes me so happy the Camelot episode was disappointingly generic in the official season but this is so much better

-          MICK AND MORDRED TALKING ABOUT BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF I HAVE ASCENDED

-          Yeah sorry I should have more constructive criticism but my brain kinda just starts screaming in delight at any mention of Mordred so just know that you did a good and there aren’t any glaring plot inconsistencies

Episode 20:

-          Snart is totally dedicated to his theme enough to take Antarctica let’s be honest

-          I believe there was a reference in a much earlier episode to Harley and Ivy both not returning someone’s calls. Did Harley do something to get back into the Legion’s good graces or…?

-          Ted Kord :D

-          This just needs more detail, in non-Len-related scenes in particular, which will presumably come with the full thing

Episode 21:

-          How is Rip rescued?

-          How does Ray contact GL and SS? Also, being in space shouldn’t keep them from being influenced by timeline change, since they’d still be within the bounds of time

-          BATFAM!! (I was gonna say that it was surprising no one changed things to keep them from being vigilantes, but that could be because they have secret identities and none of the LoD knows who they are) (Also are you going to include Oracle? You might be able to tie her into Ray’s character arc, since she’s a superhero who not only doesn’t have powers, but is physically disabled.)

-          How are you showing the spear going “fuck this“?

-          Wait is the implication that pre-doomworld didn’t have Batman or was pre-Batman? Because the gameshow ep mentioned him in one of the trials

-          I’m not sure about Sara being the one to throw Mick out. She is a former assassin, and she gave spear pieces to Thawne to save her sister earlier in the season. Seems like she would be among the more lenient. There should at least be some clarification of why. Maybe she’s upset because she was forced back into being an assassin?

Episode 22:

-          “proper Time Master captain” ouch

-          Sara’s scene with Laurel is lovely

-          Why would Ray blow up if he touched the spear?

-          “He holds up Cisco’s communication device with the” Finish this sentence

-          LEN!!!

-          This is a good ending

[sarazanmai]

Thoughts on the “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” English dub. Episode ten.

I have spent the whole day feeling excited about this and its ironic as I do think Battle Tendency has the weakest plot to date (as well as the worst title I mean Battle Tendency...a story of men and...their tendency to battle...) I can’t say I hate it though. its not my least favorite either that would be impossible as it stars my favorite character, Joseph. it also features other characters I love like Lisa Lisa, Caesar, and Kars. the way I’d best describe BT is its got some of the series’s best characters and is comprised of some great moments that are strung together by a weak thread.

as far as the dub itself and my experience with it, I have heard some clips from a few years back. I remember everyone flipped their shit over Ben Diskin being cast as Joseph given his work in shows like Codename Kids Next Door and Hey Arnold and when I first heard his voice, well it was footage from a convention where the audience’s cheers drowned out his voice pretty significantly. but I was shocked Joseph had an English accent because I never read his dialogue in that way. its embarrassing to admit, but I forgot he was stated to be English and always assumed he had an American accent. whoops. I still read his dialogue in an American accent honestly. then I saw one or two other clips and just didn’t like what I heard, but that was years ago and my mind is open now and I want to give him a chance. also something I wanna say regarding him as Umino in Sailor Moon is while I don’t like the voice at all I do believe he was just doing what people told him to do. I don’t blame him for that.

also he voiced Fiore in the new dub for the Sailor Moon R movie so yay I get to hear him have homoerotic subtext with Tuxedo Mask when I sit down to watch that

anyway, let’s go

the first person we see is Speedwagon, I like that he became an oil tycoon somehow and we just roll with it

Straizo is here and yeah he’s here

stone masks, stone masks everywhere

and a stone homosexual

for a moment I expected the intro

okay so Smokey is voiced by Robbie Daymond. I’ll say this now, would it hurt people to hire black actors to voice black characters? because I know Avdol got the same treatment

also I wish Araki didn’t give him this name. I get that Smokey Brown is a reference to Smokey Robinson and James Brown, but when I first read BT and saw his name I was like “....I’m sorry WHAT!?”

“all right, by your accent I’d say you’re in from England” a piece of information my dumb ass didn’t pick up on the first time

also you mean to tell me Coke wasn’t sold in 1930s England?

erm well actually I do know in wartime Great Britain people had to ration everything so...its possible this is true

then again this is Coco Cola, a subsidiary of Bepsi

I appreciate this man using words like “mook”

its sad how realistic the cops assaulting Smokey is

$20 every week in depression era New York was genuinely a lot of money

six and a half foot, Joseph is taller than Jonathan

damn

also Joseph sounds more posh than Jonathan did, its ironic

and he got called a limey, again the accuracy on these insults

kick his ass baby I got your flower

I have a big thing for the way characters are introduced to us and I love that the first thing Joseph does is beat the shit out of a racist cop

like no one else in this series has an introduction this good

enjoy Coke!

“he beat down two cops, but is scared of his grandma?” hey now his grandma is armed with an umbrella!

“his dad who died in the war didn’t have any talents like that” so I always forget Jorge II was a person who existed, like I swear sometimes it feels like Lisa Lisa got pregnant by the Force or something

“his mom was gone too” :c

meanwhile, back in the ruins

flashback time!

so yeah the anime changed Joseph’s Superman comic into a Baoh the Visitor manga and I kinda don’t care despite the fact that this means Araki is a character within his own series and was writing in the 1930s

Speedwagon is still the best exposition man

also God he’s acting like he’s gonna summon Star Platinum or some shit, Joseph you’re like twelve

and here is the first airplane crash Joseph survived

“why can’t you ever just think things through Jojo?” because

“he may have his grandfather’s face, but he’s far from being a gentleman” this brings up something interesting, Joseph looks like Jonathan on purpose

let me elaborate, Joseph was designed to look like Jonathan because Araki didn’t want readers to feel like this was a different manga suddenly (he says so in the back of the first BT manga volume). he has admitted he wishes he made them look more different, which is why he draws Joseph with goggles now and why the anime gave Joseph and Jonathan different hair (though Jonathan’s hair is brown in the games so I don’t think it had to be blue here)

I say all this because this was an intentional decision and not the results of Araki’s art style limiting his design choices

dammit Straizo

he’s doing his best Palpatine by thinking Joseph needs to develop hate within him

“he was powerful, he was beautiful, he was immortal” friendly reminder its canon that Dio’s hot

its also canon all the Jojos are hot, don’t deny it

your over confidence is your weakness Straizo

I love Joseph’s hearing gag

also this fandom has not let me know rest since I made this post about it and I’m fine with that

“the Joestar family, reduced to a grandmother and her grandson” not for long, though it will never be this simple again

“was Speedwagon REALLY grandpa’s best friend, is that all there was?” wow subtle

every allusion to Lisa Lisa is making me sad

for what its worth I’m happy Araki had racism in New York be an actual thing, like too many people assume its purely a Southern issue and that’s really just a lie people tell to make themselves feel better

“people are entitled to their opinions, but this misbegotten oaf has given public insult to our friend. be mindful of the other guests now, but teach him a lesson” best grandma ever

baby’s first “next you’ll say”

Joseph’s a goldmine for running gags

this scene really does play out like a fake tumblr post

I do like Joseph’s voice more than I expected, though so far he hasn’t done his really silly stuff yet but I look forward to that (can’t wait for Tequila Joseph)

I wonder if Irene’s Cafe is a reference to Gorgeous Irene

“do you think this is true, can girls really make them bigger? ooh!” if you have to ask you’ll never know

Straizo just looks so done with Joseph’s shit

he just has a machine gun, just tucked away all discreetly, I love Joseph

I like Roundabout as the BT closing, but part of me wishes it got a song of its own

tune in next time where Joseph wins the Olympic gold for sprinting