#huh. seems like the setup for these two is always something contrived.

[pocketramblr]

I tried but couldn't add any words to my "for legal purposes Tensei had to marry Masaki" fic however different idea: au where Masaki and Tensei said they'd marry each other if both reached 30 single, and Masaki is now just like "ah ha he's going to be dating someone in two years tho right. In eighteen months right. In one year right-"

[fishyfod]

(Slightly) more organized thoughts on the V8 finale.

tl;dr I think the finale had some issues.

I’ll start this off by emphasizing again that this is my opinion, so read something else if you can’t handle negative criticism of RWBY. I say this because too often people in this FNDM can’t handle a difference in opinion without insulting or patronizing others, and I want none of that.

Now, RWBY’s general structural issue is a lack of time to fulfill all their ambitions, and they usually tend to neglect one aspect a bit more than others. In volumes 7 and 8 this proved to be quite a problem, because they wanted to tell quite a complicated story while introducing a fairly large amount of new and returning characters. I very much like the story they told in these volumes, but it must be said that the development and focus on the regular cast, and team RWBY in particular, has suffered for it. It’s not a deal breaker for me personally, but I do think it’s an issue.

So when I saw the finale episode only had about 20 minutes, I figured the best course of choice for RWBY would be to focus on the Atlas-only plots, and leave RWBY & co’s stories for the next volume, which by all accounts seems to be focused only on their character. And credit where credit is due, this is what RWBY decided to do with this finale. This doesn’t really solve the underlying issue that the main cast has yet again been relegated to such a minor role in their own show, but I can live with it.

I still do have a problem with how RWBY’s role in this finale was handled, and forgive me because this might be the least well-explained part of this review. The best way to describe it would be that, though I know I’m watching team RWBY, they don’t feel present in the finale? I struggle to put my finger on it, if it’s more an issue of direction or execution, but something about RWBY’s fight felt off for me.

By comparison, when I think of the episode before, I don’t have this issue. While the way Yang fell isn’t RWBY’s best execution, the reactions of RWBY to that fall worked quite well. There was individual focus on Yang falling, Blake screaming and raging at it, Weiss’s heart breaking into two, Ruby falling into more despair - the tragedy works because of it. I don’t feel the same about the finale, RWB fall almost as if they’re passerby rather than the main characters.

Again, maybe this is just me, maybe I’ll change my mind later. Whatever.

I think Cinder is the one I’m most satisfied with. She seems in character, she acts a lot like she did in her confident state during Beacon, and I did get the impression Salem knows Cinder is lying to her. I admit that I did not expect this direction for Cinder, it seemed like the right spot to have her break free from Salem, but it’s too early for me to call where her arc is going to.

The only nitpick I have with Cinder is how she offed Arthur. I felt like it could have a little more focus? I get that his death is supposed to feel completely inconsequential, but I wish there was just a little bit more there. Again, only a nitpick.

Vine - I think my opinion on Vine’s death is quite unpopular. It felt too last minute, without enough setup. See, while killing Harriet here would have its own set of issues, she was well developed enough where you could actively feel for her, while also expecting a possible death. I can’t say the same about Vine; Vine is only a teensy bit more developed than Elm, which isn’t a lot. He’s making a huge sacrifice, but the lack of character makes him seem expendable by design. It feels like the writers put all their efforts into threatening Harriet’s life, realized last minute that actually they could a lot more with her character (good call), so they shoved in Vine in her place because they still needed a bomb sacrifice.

On the flip side, three of the Ace Ops surviving and proving once and for all they broke away from Ironwood too, with Harriet and Marrow still alive - that is good. I’m not sure what more they’re planning to do with their characters, but it’s preferable to far worse alternatives I can imagine. We’ll see.

Then there’s Penny. sigh

I’m not sure what I can add that P5, bell or cosmokyrin, and probably a few others haven’t already said, but I don’t think it was well written. The whole body-thing in “Creation”, sure, I can accept that was a difference of interpretation. This? This whole, let’s resurrect Penny, develop her immensely as a character, reaffirm her autonomy multiple times over, avoid multiple deaths, only to die like this?

I know the common comparison people make here is with V3, and I can see where people are coming from. After all, Pyrrha and Penny’s deaths were impactful and tragic there, and most people agree that was well written. What’s the difference here? Some differences in circumstance are worth visiting here.

Penny of the Beacon era, lovable character that she was already, was not the most developed character. At the end of the day, most of what we knew of Penny then was in relation to Ruby - we knew Ruby cared for her a lot, we knew why they bonded, so we had setup as to why her death would impact the Fall so much. It works, because it gave enough focus on her for us to care about, but not overly so where the shocking factor of the Fall wouldn’t work.

With Pyrrha, I think we all knew the signs were there at the end of the day. I’d argue that Pyrrha’s very conception as a character lead to her death, she was just slightly too perfect for us not to expect a tragedy to occur. Importantly, her major arc in V3 sets us up to her death - through her conversation with Ozpin’s gang and Jaune, the introduction of Ember and the soul transfer device, killing Penny - by the time Pyrrha dies you’re prepared for it, and it still hurts. Even if the tragic scenario presented (losing Pyrrha because of the soul transfer) wasn’t the one used, dying because she tried defending the use of those powers from Cinder made sense. It was enough of a switch you weren’t bored because you expected everything to go to plan, but it wasn’t too drastic where you felt completely unprepared for what would happen.

The trouble with how Penny’s death was handled here, is in part because they just kept pushing us to the edge, making us worry about one tragic scenario, another way for Penny to die, only to alleviate our fears - only to kill her off anyway in a completely separate way. It happened so often in these two volumes, when we were already fresh off recognizing Penny wasn’t dead in V3, that rather than feeling like an expected death that is tragic, is feels like they toyed with out perception constantly only because they could. When you raise and lower death flags over and over in such a small amount of time, the tragedy you aimed to convey is lost. Perhaps unintentionally, the point no longer seems to be telling a tragic story, it’s only playing this cruel game of perception with the audience. What’s the joke about Jean Grey in x-men, that she keeps being killed off and resurrected so often it’s hard to care about it all? Is this how I’m supposed to look at Penny, RWBY’s Jean Grey?

Granted, I’m not sure that if they committed to one consistent death threat with Penny and followed through, that necessarily would’ve been better. I’m not sure how I’d think of RWBY if she died from the virus, for example. At least, however, I’d be more confident in saying that was a difference of direction, rather than a difficult writing choice to comprehend.

It’s only fitting I’d talk about Winter now, huh? I think you all know my stance about her as a character, I’d argue that she, Ironwood and Cinder were the best handled characters in these two volumes by a fair margin, but the finale leaves me very conflicted about her.

On the one hand, it’s everything I want. Winter’s confrontation with Ironwood is like a mix of Blake facing off against Adam and Yang confronting Raven, and while not as impactful in terms of storytelling, they do deliver on the same fronts. Winter calls out Ironwood for his lies, establishing once and for all it was by her volition she broke off, her conscience that was always better, and there is something poetic about her gaining the Winter Maiden powers to fulfill her goal of protecting others.

...but I can’t separate this from Penny’s fate. And it frustrates me to no end, because I love her connection to Penny, I made comparisons of how it reminds of Bumbleby’s relationship, it drives their characters forward so much, heck, I like that Penny took a part in taking down Ironwood with Winter, in a sense. But because Penny’s death feels so contrived, its connection to Winter almost cheapens the importance of their relationship with each other. And it doesn’t seem quite needed either, since they individually as characters already broke free from Ironwood.

I can sort of see that I am supposed to interpret it as a tragedy, and I do indeed think Winter getting the Maiden powers is tragic for her character (not unlike Spring Maiden!Yang theories), and I am excited to see where this is going. I thought this was the end for Winter’s major impact on the story, but there’s a whole other arc waiting, and Penny’s a major part of it too.

To say I’m conflicted about Winter would be an understatement.

The actual silver lining, for me, is the post credit scene. Volume 9 is an opportunity for RWBY to try and change some of the problem I presented initially. My hope is that by focusing almost exclusively on team RWBY, with Jaune and Neo, and putting less emphasis on developing the settings of giant-tree-land and not over-complicating the plot. Hopefully, this would allow them to focus on developing the main cast again, in in particular addressing some of the main issues presented; notably, the Bees confessing, Ruby maybe reaching her breaking point, Yang’s issues being addressed, and hopefully something more individual for Blake and Weiss as well. Neo is an interesting curveball to throw into this equation, and I have a decent amount of hope with Jaune (although then I remember it’s probably going to be about Penny, and, ugh...).

Yeah, that’s all I have at the moment. If you want to talk about it, my inbox and DM’s are always open. If you disagree with me that’s fair, just give me the minimal amount of respect rather than being an ass about it.

[novatoast]

How Hajime/Nagito fit the 7 beats of Romantic Comedy

The first beat of romantic comedies is listed as the chemical equation, but we'll come back to that point later as it concerns who the protagonist and love interest are as people and danganronpa spreads this set up throughout the story or splits it into free times.

Meet Cute: The Catalyst The inciting incident that brings the two together and into conflict; an inventive but credible contrivance, often amusing, which in some way sets the tone for the action to come.

Danganronpa 2 begins with Hajime's meet cute with Nagito, it even shows it twice right at the start. They have been put on a tropical island without memory of how exactly they got there, the situation is so stressful that Hajime passed out. Nagito was the only one to be there when he woke up: being the first person Hajime sees once he wakes up. Hajime remains skeptical of the situation while Nagito shows him around making light hearted jokes to ease the mood and reminding Hajime that things could be worse (as they do become later).

A Sexy Complication: Turning Point Traditionally occurring at the end of Act 1, a new development that raises story stakes and clearly defines the protagonist’s goal; most successful when it sets the protagonist and love interest at cross-purposes and/or their inner emotions at odds with the goal.

The first turning point happens with the first trial: Nagito's willingness to die and drag others down with him for something conceptual like "hope" shocks and disturbs Hajime. At first Hajime doesn't want to believe it, but he's forced to accept that there's this side to Nagito that is a danger to himself and everyone else. The easy going nature of their relationship up to this point is then broken.

The Hook: Midpoint A situation that irrevocably binds the protagonist with the antagonist (often while tweaking sexual tensions) and has further implications for the outcome of the relationship.

The midpoint of their relationship arc is a period split between chapter 2 and 3. In chapter two Hajime finds out that Nagito was tied up for what he did in the previous chapter but he doesn't feel like he can face him: except then Mahiru pushes him to take over a duty to feed Nagito onto Hajime. Forced to face him again Hajime interprets Nagito's words as malicious and tempting. He gets fed up pretty quickly and leaves the food on the floor because he has to for the sake of not accidentally killing him but that's it.

Nagito being tied up and disappointed Hajime wont feed him is pretty sexy gotta say

In chapter 3 Nagito catches the despair disease and Hajime is far less reluctant to help. Once more Nagito is in a vulnerable state and Hajime is involved in his well being. Though Hajime wonders why he should be concerned about someone like Nagito it's notable that no one asks Hajime to check up on the other sick characters. Akane and Ibuki aren't deathly ill but it's completely optional for Hajime to visit them at all. So the daily life centers around Mikan and Fuyuhiko updating Hajime on Nagito's condition or asking him to check in on Nagito himself. In this state from Nagito we get the infamous lie "All alone with Hajime, huh... I cant stand being in the same room as you. [...] I don't want to see your face anymore." but while Hajime is much more willing to help out in this chapter he still flees from this sort of confrontation.  

Kind of funny how in chapter 2 Hajime runs away from being alone in a room with cute girls in swimsuits and he runs right to the body discovery, then in chapter 3 Hajime runs away from something close to a love confession right into a scene that leads to the next body discovery.

Swivel: Second Turning Point Traditionally occurring at the end of Act 2, stakes reach their highest point as the romantic relationship’s importance jeopardizes the protagonist’s chance to succeed at his [or her] stated goal–or vice versa–and his [or her] goal shifts.

Hajime is somewhat willing to put up with Nagito again by chapter 4, they aren't buddy buddy like they were at the start but they are approaching tolerance. This time the relationship hits a breaking point from Nagito's perspective when he goes through the Final Dead Room. Nagito finds out the horrible truth that in the memories everyone forgot they had become known as Despair, a terrorist group that only acted in the name of despair. This shatters Nagito's faith in the remaining survivors as he doesn't believe they are worthy of his idea of "Hope" if they were capable of falling so low. He doesn't show his cards in chapter 4 so his anger is shown through insulting everyone's intelligence and Hajime's status as a normal guy, but its the Despair thing that sets him off. The one thing he cannot forgive.

We do get a confirmation that Nagito still has feelings for Hajime, but we move on to the next beat here:

The Dark Moment: Crisis Climax Wherein the consequences of the swivel decision yield disaster; generally, the humiliating scene where private motivations are revealed, and either the relationship and/or the protagonist’s goal is seemingly lost forever.

Hajime is torn up about the reveal that he's just a reserve course student, meanwhile we head into chapter 5 where Nagito has decided to forsaken any relationship he could have had with Hajime for his idealistic goal of eliminating despair from the world for the sake of hope. The sentimental feelings still exist, which Nagito even points out when he asks Hajime to come with him to the hotel by reminding him that they used to explore the island together. But then Nagito blows up the hotel and his plan kicks into effect that leads to his death and the attempted murder of everyone on the island except for the only one who is innocent.

But because it's all just a game this isn't the end.

Joyful Defeat: Resolution A reconciliation that reaffirms the primal importance of the relationship; usually a happy ending that implies marriage or a serious commitment, often at the cost of some personal sacrifice to the protagonist.

The story of Hajime and Nagito comes to a conclusion with the anime and 2.5 OVA. Nagito's plan had failed and once released back into the real world Hajime set out to revive the comatose members of the 77th class at the end of the game. The OVA brings us back to the beginning by showing Hajime hovering over Nagito, being the first person he sees once Nagito wakes up. But they aren't back to square one, they are actually beyond that because now Hajime understands the good and the bad of Nagito and he chose to revive him knowing all that Nagito is capable of. Nagito's toxic mindset had been defeated by Hajime's determination and he gets a second chance with the story ending on a happy note for the whole class. One of the final scenes in the final episode of the anime leaves us with Hajime and Nagito eating together and smiling, Hajime had just had a final word with a vision of a girl he could have loved before he leaves her to be at Nagito's side. They are going to be okay.

2.5 OVA also has a scene with interesting framing. Here Hajime is inviting Nagito onto the boat, behind him is Peko and Sonia. Where the camera isn't facing is Nagito flanked by Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi. In romantic comedies you'll sometimes see beta couples, pairings that exist alongside the main couple to provide a foil to the mail relationship, often the best friend of the protagonist. Fuyuhiko and Kazuici as survivors had the longest time to get close with Hajime and spend significant time with him in the game compared to like Gundam or Nekomaru. In the dream world Nagtio seemed to be best friends with Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi as well even if that's not real reality (yet). By this framing we have Hajime/Nagito placed in between two beta couples: Fuyuhiko and Peko's absolute devotion to each other and love that has a pretty steep obstacle to overcome but they should be capable of it after events of the game and then there's Kazuichi and Sonia where it was a one sided obsession but Sonia has decided to tolerate Kazuichi. Hajime/Nagito is framed somewhere between tolerance and true love. They aren't married or in any sort of relationship, but the future (represented by a boat crossing a sea, refer back to Hajime's speech at the end of 2 about the future being an ocean you can drift anywhere you want) is a journey they are embarking on together.

This brings us back around to point number 1:

The Chemical Equation: Setup A scene or sequence identifying the exterior and /or interior conflict (i.e. unfulfilled desire), the “what’s wrong with this picture” implied in the protagonist’s (and/or the antagonist’s) current status quo.

So what do Hajime and Nagito get from each other that they are lacking alone? From his free times and everything we learn about Nagito we can see that what he really needs in his life is normality. Nagito's life thus far has been unstable and its taken a toll on his mentality, to be loved and understood by someone as normal as Hajime can bring him back down to earth. Hajime throughout the game kept running from things that were too difficult for him to deal with, but he kept getting pushed into dealing with someone as difficult as Nagito over and over again. What Hajime really needed was to feel confident in himself, and while the final push in that character development came from Chiaki, we've seen that Nagito can help Hajime relax in stressful situations with their first free time and we've seen Hajime acknowledge that Nagito has helped them as much as he's troubled them in the 5th trial. Nagito can be a handful to deal with, but he's also a great supporter. Nagito may want to be important himself but he gravitates towards a cheerleader role that puts Hajime in the limelight he has always desired to occupy.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Dadlantis/Knitwits

well, i hope these are the right reviews for last night’s episodes. TVGuide said it should be Dimmsdale’s Got Talent (which belongs with Knitwits), but butch said it was Dadlantis and he was right the last time concerning Crockin the House so...

Dadlantis:

Mermaid!Timmy on the titlecard, like whaaaaat???? What’s with the sudden influx of putting Timmy into “girl attire”?? Nothing wrong with it, but it just seems so far left field and unprompted. Yeah we had it happen once or twice in the past as a gag, but how many episodes has it happened in now in this one season alone?? (no seriously, since this is an episode I found leaked, I don’t know which episodes have aired before this one has, so my numbers are skewed). It just seems weird to suddenly be a thing…

 Ok I loved how they brought back the old gaming music…until I saw the game. I know it’s probably meant as a Mario spoof in part, but still…not even 5 seconds into the episode and toilet humor…uhg! The music had me so pumped, then you ruined it.

 I actually love the plot setup. Mundane problem: clean up the ocean science project. Chloe deciding to use her magic to make it harder but do better, and Tim going “yeah no, I’m lazy”. It’s great! Also love that Chloe believes in mermaids ^^ (she didn’t believe in aliens so…can’t guarantee she’ll believe in any sort of cryptid)

 The fishbowl=toilet though…yeah…proper fish care is totally important, but another toilet joke so soon…uhg…

 It’s the return of Dad’s bongos! Idk about the “abandoned mine shaft your mother hid them in” was really necessary, but I’ll let it slide for a good call back.  Bongo-quake though…not as good, but I’ll still let it slide, because maybe it’s plot device

 Pointless Crocker, take a shot (thank ra I don’t drink or these episodes would kill me some days…)

 Oh wow, we get some interior looks at the Turner house. That’s really neat! We do rarely see any hallways, and I think we’ve only seen Mom and Dad’s room like twice. We need a good floor plan, just saying

*files away “Bongo-lodesh” for Superverse purposes later…*

 I did like Dad’s whole running away speech. It was very 7 year old, but it was cute and funny. And spare ribs are so totally worth coming back for lol

 And he actually becomes mermaid-nice!! Accidentally called “Tina”, ok…called a knockout ^^;;; … “get out of this bikini top” lol.  But you know, since Chloe wished they were mermaids it totally makes sense, so I like it. Tina Turntrout now has to be a thing.

 Neptuna King of Atlantis??? What happened to Greg?? Is he no longer in charge? Was he not in charge to begin with? Are these a new faction of merfolks because they are red finned, whereas Greg’s people were all green??? I mean Neptuna has the right skintone and hair colors/styles to fit in Wet Willie…and Gary even has Dwight’s hair style…

 Also, bit creepy how everyone keeps saying Tim’s such a pretty mermaid…though I guess he is wearing the seashell bra so he has a bust whereas Chloe’s got a band and it’s flat, so that makes sense ^^; “no dude I’m a dude” yeah…you’re probably going to end up as a seahorse now man ^^;; but then trying to hook up prince lonely Gary with Timmy ^^; wow. I mean I love it, still a tad creepy, but think of all the development this gives the Superverse for undersea lands

 Scalding hot soup, in a bowl, underwater…well I guess we’re using Spongebob logic here

 “We’re about to get a bad grade on our science project AND your dad’s about to be eaten by a clam! I don’t know which is worse!!” Chloe subscribes to the Hermione method of prioritizing lol

 “I could end up the world’s biggest pearl” I feel like that’s the door opening for a SU mashup

 I love how Tim and Chloe were on eth same page about the plan even before saying it. They really are starting to get one another aren’t they.

 Dad’s list of demands is a cliche gag, but we’ll roll with it. As is the ending; of course what caused the problem in the first place is what fixes it, and thus Dad learns nothing from his mistakes because in saving the day he is validated as right and nothing wrong he did before counts anymore

 “You get to marry Gary” lol yeah no *still jots notes about Gary down for Superverse*

 And more pointless Crocker, oh boy…but hey another call back to Dad’s bongo cds

 So this episode was actually very enjoyable! Even though it messes up previous canons (why did no one in Atlantis recognize Cosmo as the great destroyer?? Is this a different Atlantis then?? (I’m voting yes) because it’s established so many times he ruined Atlantis, it just feels wrong not to address that…the plot itself was sort of contrived, but it was fun enough. Also mermaid!Timmy was great.

 I am totally having these red merfolks be a different faction from the green merfolk in Superverse, so be prepared for Dwight to get his “Black Manta” at some point now, and by some point I mean later. be on the lookout

Knitt-Wits:

Ok I admit, after seeing the title for this one I got sort of excited, because I enjoy knitting. The thought of Chloe trying to rope Tim into knitting was me pumped…and then I read the synopsis, and…yeah, not the case. But I’m still looking forward to seeing what does happen at least…

 That is a really nice pillow fort, like for reals. Also got a giggle out of “Sir Sucks-a-lot”

 Heehee Chloe not wanting to be a “damsel in distress” because she’s a “strong and empowered woman of the new millennium”. I like it, it shows character, but like, we have seen her as a damsel in distress a few times, so it shows something she’s wanting to overcome too. But like, I always try to show Chloe as a capable young adult, so it’s nice that the sentiment is shared. And back to Timmy in drag. I am liking the new girly hair though *takes notes* but their matching outfits are cute ^^

 Dad blatantly ignoring/glossing over the “strange talking inanimate objects” yup…

 Bathroom joke…take a shot

 But Chloe sweetie, that 7 degrees of separation was a slight stretch…but I totally relate to that! Thoughts going a mile a minute, so you jump from one thing to the next and it doesn’t seem connected but is. Also, who knew Chloe wanted to sing (karaoke battles with Francis to BrittneyBrittney songs seems far more plausible now)

 And welcome to the plot. Dad can’t spell so they go on a knitting cruise instead of a knight cruise. Contrive plot? Oh yeah. But let’s see how it plays out…

 50 shades pun, omr ^^;;; it’s a good one though, so points

 OH! It’s her one-woman show!! I totally forgot about that from Nuts and Dangerous. Du Chloe wants to be a singer, silly brain

 So now Cosmo and Wanda want to renew their vows just like Mom and Dad. Hm….could this be a call back to the fact that their wedding anniversaries are supposed to be the same day??? Probably not, since that factoid had been retconned once I think, but still

 Random Wandissimo???? O.o when did he start wearing a belt…and also, why are you even here??? I mean, nice to see you because it’s been AGES, but really dude? Why??? Butt joke! But man, has Wandissimo really been reduced to a one-note character…he’s getting into (or even past) stalker-territory like Tootie was, and we all know what happened to her…

 Mr .Bickles???? Wow, we’re just dragging back all the old flamboyant characters aren’t we (so where is my Sanjay??)

 Random Catman???? How many more characters can we cram into this??? I mean, at least Catman makes sense, since he’s the right age for this, and all eth yarn. But holy cameos Catman! And Wandergal and Don return too…huh…GAAAAHHHH!!! THEY CHANGED WANDERGAL’S COLORS!!!!! I know I already freaked about this, but that is a SERIOUS change, not “Veronica’s eyes are pink for 5 frames” change, but she’s like a completely DIFFERENT character with those colors. That’s just WRONG! She looks like the granny version of Goldenlocks now color wise, and that is wrong! I just…UHG! Can’t even stay on model when you created the character not but a handful of episodes earlier. Major point loss here >> (this might have just ruined the whole episode for me)

 Too many plots with separate problems. So yes Tim give us the blanket wish to fix everything…but also probably make it worse…oh no, it actually made it better for once. Nice.

 And Catman marries (not really) Wandergal in the end?? Idk how legally binding that is since he’s a 10-12 year old boy, just saying…

 So over all, this was 110% filler. It started off cute and tolerateable, but had far too many plot threads, too many pointless/random characters, and they colored Wandergal incorrectly.

I feel putting these two episodes together was a very bad choice. Neither of them are super great, and when you put them together, it’s just a big let down. Not that Dimmsdale’s Got Talent balances Knitwits, but Chloe Rules is a pretty good one. but i guess looking at their counter episodes, they went and skipped all the Kevin episodes because Kevin hasn’t been revealed yet. which is so stupid. just give up Kevin already and stop screwing up the airing order.