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nozoditz · 1 year ago

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In Defence of Takkun (Saki's Faceless Fiancé)

I hate having to be the one to do this. I ship Sakimai. I was disappointed that canon sank it. I wish they hadn't. But Otona bashers keep bringing this up, and just like the Coconozo antis spreading misinformation that is contradicted by the text, they're convinced that Otona is trash and Toei is hateful and manipulative for ever daring to do this. This isn't just about a popular ship being sunk to them, this is a moral outrage. And since the guy doesn't have a voice to speak up for himself (and couldn't anyway, being fictional and all), I'll go through all the common objections and refute them all.

1) This Is Straight-Ironing! Isn't It?

Short answer: no.

I've already gone over this on Mai's part in my theory post that she's still in love with Saki, but Mai's character arc in Otona reads like dealing with and rejecting compulsory heterosexuality. Her boyfriend dumped her via text message and, rather than being heartbroken, she wrestled with the guilt she felt because she was okay with that, happy even. So here I'm just going to focus on Saki. Or rather, not just Saki.

Saki, in Splash Star, had a crush on Mai's older brother, Kazuya. She fell in love with him at first sight way back in episode 5. She got flustered every time he noticed her existence. She spent the Christmas episode worrying about giving him a cake and spiralling (heh) over seeing him with a girl on Christmas to the point that she had to be reminded to pay attention to the whole world-saving thing she was supposed to do.

Being with a guy isn't a new thought or concept for Saki. Yes, her close bond with Mai is the core of Splash Star, to the point that they come off as even more of a couple-to-be than Nagisa and Honoka, who (according to Hugtto and anniversary merch) are an item. But just as you wouldn't ignore Fuji-P and Kiriya when noting that Nagihono is a thing, you shouldn't engage in bi erasure to complain about Sakimai not happening in Otona.

2) It's Insulting to Pair a Main Character with a Faceless Cipher

Maybe, maybe not. Toei's been doing this for decades. The epilogue of Digimon Adventure 02 pairing everyone outside of the most set-in-stone canon couples off with offscreen randos and giving them future children made a lot of people froth and scream about their sunken ships. But, just like in Digimon, the point here is the show isn't about Takkun. It's about the Precure.

Otonapre is, at its heart, nostalgia bait. When the girls reunite as adults, it's to reforge their old friendships the way you remember it. When the Time Flowers give them back their youth, it's to make your heart fuzzy seeing the old stock footage in higher definition. Their poses and pastimes in the OP are a mirror of the Yes OP. The flashbacks are all in the old show's quality, with concessions made for Splash Star having aired in standard definition. Catchphrases remain. Everyone's career aspirations panned out. Grandparents and pets have miraculously all lived for the past 16-20 years in perfect health.

This is the context we're working with. The reason we don't ever see Takkun's face, hear his voice, or get his full name, and only get his nickname from Saki's phone, is that he wasn't in the original, and you're here to see people who were. If Saki had ended up with Kenta, who had a crush on her in the original, or Kazuya, who she liked in turn, you would have seen them. But she didn't, and the person she did end up with is a new character; more on that later. So why would they show him any more than they had to, when they could just give you another shot of Michiru and Kaoru's vtuber career?

3) It Cheapens Saki and Mai's Bond

This is kind of a wild accusation if you look at the show. Saki and Mai are one of the only pairs in the series who spent the entire gap between seasons constantly in contact. They still need each other to transform. They give each other advice. They're introduced together. Saki's focus episode is called "Their Bond." For Blue's sake, the Otonapre collab cafe has a "Saki and Mai's Bond Open-Faced Sandwich" on the menu, and yes, they really called it that.

Their bond has suffered the least, and it's even shown right in the aforementioned episode: Saki fears that they won't be able to transform because she's not the same, because she's faced reality and grown up, and she flashes back to being with her boyfriend. But Mai breaks her out of this, and they're able to transform anyway. And it's clear there that, even if Saki has someone she loves, her bond with Mai hasn't gone away.

Saki and Mai are still the most important people in each other's lives, even if Saki has a romantic relationship. It may be common for your most important person to be your partner, but that's not how it works for everyone in every situation, and that's not how it is for Saki. In the last episode, Mai is the one who sees her off at the airport! Sure, the Hyuugas and Takkun are probably offscreen, but the show clearly wants you to know that Mai is the important one here. That hasn't changed.

4) It's a Precedent for Mahou Girls 2 to Break Up Mirai and Liko

No.

There are a lot of assumptions being thrown around that the message of Saki getting married to a man and Mai having a temporary relationship with one is that girls who like other girls will just "grow up" and turn straight, and that that would carry forward to the Mahoutsukai sequel. (Mahoutsukai? Mahou Girls? Witchy? Toei, can you please pick one official title and stick with it?) But that doesn't gel with the text for all the reasons stated above and below, and there's another reason that I doubt it.

Nostalgia sequels will not, unless they cannot do otherwise, break up a canon ship. Sometimes this goes to a stupid extent, like Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card only on the surface keeping Tomoyo's having gotten over Sakura but having her then start fangirling over the ideal of the magical girl so that she can still keep doing her "you're so cute, Sakura-chan" thing and not actually grow and find herself a new girlfriend. (At least Otona didn't do that and it let Kurumi get over Coco for real.) But if they weren't gonna sink Coconozo despite a bunch of foreign children whining about "the optics," why do you think they would do it for something else that was stated?

This isn't Sakimai. This isn't the first six seasons where there was always the option of a boy for the girls to date; sometimes, yes (the franchise is pretty bi on the whole), but not always, and not here. Mirai and Liko are one of the most blatant f/f ships in the entire franchise. They kissed in the manga. Sure, it was to undo a magic spell, but you don't give the third wheel a peck on the cheek and your partner a full two-page spread kiss scene without there being a reason.

Also, Otonapre aired at prime time. Mahou Girls 2 is airing at butts o'clock at night. This indicates that content that might set off advertisers in one time slot might slide off another. So if you're worried that pearl-clutching executives might demand Mirai and Liko get boyfriends, I sincerely doubt it. Especially not with the TV yuri anime we've been getting as of late.

And did you forget that the first big chunk of Otona's canon romance, before we even saw Saki and Mai or heard confirmation of their relationship status, before Coco and Nozomi, the main couple, got back together, was Kurumi's drunken love confession to Karen? Just saying.

5) But Then Why Would They Do It?

You know, for people who claim to understand Japanese culture and ideals so much that they'll go on rants for days about how sinking Sakimai means Otona perpetuates the concept of same-gender attraction being training wheels for a "real" straight relationship, these people don't seem to understand that the actual message of their story was attacking another sexist cultural concept: that women shouldn't want to advance in their career and have no hope of doing so because they will and should just get married and quit to serve their husband's wants.

Remember when I touched on why Saki's not just marrying a man, but marrying a rando? This is why. A major part of the show's throughline is that Coconozo, the pairing that was a huge part of Yes and maintains its position as the core of Otona, faces the conflict of both Coco and Nozomi having achieved their dreams. The reason Coco stepped back and focused on work, not visiting Nozomi for years and barely writing even though they still loved each other, was that now that Coco's grown up (and not just pretending to be an adult to become their teacher in a half-baked "how to be useful and stick close to the team" plan that launched years of discourse and misinformation), he's become the king and has more responsibility, and he can't just tear Nozomi away from her dream career. The message here is that he can't, and that's why they compromise in the end, and so if you, viewer at home who identified with Nozomi as a child, feel pressured to quit your job for a man, you shouldn't have to. And that's a big thing for the audience the show is going for.

For that to work, that story needs these foils, and that's where Saki and Mai getting offscreen boyfriends come in. Mai's is the common negative example. He doesn't appreciate how much time and effort she's putting into her art job; in fact, he thinks it's a burden on him, and he breaks up with her via text message. Rather than come crawling back, even if her friends don't understand at first, she ends up washing her hands and throwing the whole man away. He never comes up again.

Saki, on the other hand, deals with her own problem later. Her fiancé hasn't been pressuring her like Mai's boyfriend has, but the expectations of society in general have percolated the guilt in her heart just the same, and she fears that she'll be letting both him and her parents down if she goes for her dreams because it'll get in the way of theirs. With Mai's encouragement and a reminder that she's still the girl who would do things because she wanted them back in 2006, Saki steps up and confesses what she wants, and Takkun is fine with it as long as she's happy. Note that she clears it with him before she clears it with her parents because she knows they will (and they do) ask "are you sure he's okay with this."

Thus, the offscreen boyfriends are there to serve a narrative purpose more than being actual characters. Toei couldn't do that if Saki had ended up with Kazuya or Kenta, and definitely not if she had ended up with Mai. They establish the negative "what if" first with Mai and have her overcome it (so what if he leaves you? If he did, he was trash anyway), and then give Saki a similar "what if" with genuine tension that wouldn't happen if her fiancé was already someone we knew and trusted, then use her story as the positive. That's the foundation that takes us into the finale and the culmination of the romance plot.

Of course, since a lot of the people who hate Otonapre for other reasons like the sinking of Sakimai are also Coconozo antis, Sakimai being sunk for a literary device to allow Coco and Nozomi's love to conquer all may come off as more of a reason to hate it, not less. But if you were going into a sequel to a show where romance was a key point and honestly expected them to get rid of the big main canon ship, please take a breath and go watch something you'll like instead.

#Otona Precure

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castlebyersafterdark · 1 month ago

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people seems insistent that anything and everything is a "Vecna vision" any time we see something positive. The whole epilogue has been touted as a Vecna vision. But - when has he done that?

i believe this idea in fanon came from a byler fic called baby we're perfect:

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/41219841)

which has lovely accompanying art here:

https://www.tumblr.com/kidovna/723936735192612864/if-you-havent-read-baby-were-perfect-by?source=share

its a good fic! original at the time. and heartbreaking in all the right places.

vecna does seem to be a manifestation of existing trauma, but i think people take nancy's bleak future vision and use that as inspo, because hers is very unique, and also why her? it suggests vecna DOES have plans for mike or the wheelers. although it could also just mean that nancy's greatest fear is her family dying, which is... interesting considering her past storylines with barb, romance, and her ambition. workaholic to avoid grief? hmmm.

but mostly, honestly, i think it's self preservation. so many people dont feel able to trust in a happy ending for byler. even scenes that seem bleak (like mike and hop on the bench) that might contribute contextually to an overall happy byler ending is more than some people feel comfortable hoping for i guess. not me, but i suppose in a show where something else always goes wrong (because the story isnt finished, so no doi), people just cant imagine a happy ending that doesnt feel like fanfic. but an ending is coming for ST! and i believe it'll have happiness in it!

its actually something that irritates about byler haters; they say that any happy ending with byler sounds like fanfic, meaning wishful thinking. well yeah, but a storyline being desired by fans doesnt mean its outside the realm of possibility, does it? i mean, ONE ending has to happen. why not byler?

Oh wow, flashback. I remember that fic. Such a good one, very emotional!! And the art. Yesss. Classic.

The thing is - it's a really cool concept. Interesting to consider. And honestly? Maybe Henry MIGHT do this to someone. We don't actually know his plans for our characters in season five. We could never have predicted where season four was going - who's to say ANY of our theories are in the realm of happening for five? We can get pretty close with thematic elements but the details? It's getting harder and harder for me to theorize and stay confident to any one plotline the more and more I encounter new ideas. I don't actually have a personal storyline anymore because there's almost too many ideas and I cannot commit to any of them, just having fun conjecturing between several dozen! Which is great, because there's a whole season to watch.

So, my issue is when ideas that are from a fic or popular tumblr theory basically get seen as canon. Dominates perspective and prediction. But, that's the very definition of fanon. Need that kept in mind. We made all that up.

I think what I dislike about the commonality of the false flash forward style Vecna vision insistance lately is because it's playing into the point you're making - this exists to negate anything positive happening to any character, especially Byler.

It just seems every single happy or Byler focused idea based on set hint conjecture or something showing any character alive is "Oh that's just a vecna vision." Why??? But I definitely agree - there will be something major going on with the Wheelers. I'm not sure I believe anyone in general is going to be suspended in the air with headphones on as Vecna shows them everything they’ve ever wanted unless they join him. It seems too far fetched. Maybe I'm gonna eat my words in a year.

Frustrating for sure that there's this reluctance to allow thoughts of a happy ending - and I get it, I get it, I get it, being burned by media and not trusting mainstream television, but this show is not like other shows!! And what did the creators say - the show is based around heart, not cynicism. I think with the fanfic-feeling argument - well, yeah, fanfic fills in the gaps and our biggest gap is the ending and we as fans want a happy ending. Not controversial or shocking. So, it's remiss to call a positive outcome "fanfic" when the show is going to get there! It's got horror elements but it's not a tragic television show, that's not indicative of the medium. Love triumphs. Love being friendship and family and romantic love and hope.

I think this is all a symptom of a cynical world. And literally this show is about hope and heart ❤️❤️❤️

#queued

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yi-dashi-a · 8 years ago

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They Call Him Yì Dàshī - Part 1

It was less of a tent, and more cloth held up by twigs, but still it served its purpose. Sleet bounced audibly across its roof, almost drowning out the groans from within. Rows upon rows of dying and the dead lay helpless. Some lacked sense, or an arm and leg, and those who didn’t cry out cackled instead. Most too were covered with weeping sores that pinkened their skin and sizzled with ill intent.

Reality was as simple as that while medics struggled against injuries and symptoms never seen before by the war effort.

It helped little when an amalgamation of all the suffering nearly ripped the tent from its pegs as he tore open its door. Backlit by a muted sunset, and floating on whispers of thought, he stole the attention of all. Especially so when his voice managed to echo against cloth and carry on the gale,

“|Who is in charge here?|”

“|Y-You… you’re Master Yi!|”

As quickly as Yi had lorded his resolve, so too did it fall out from under him. Suddenly he found himself on a knee, dropping as if gravity wished to pick on him in specific. And even the most hardened of soldier’s present approached him with sluggish disgust, listening close as his husky voice began to fade,

“|I need to tell someone…|”

Unknowingly the Highlander placed a bloodied hand upon his side, expecting to find a pink and gold Ionian insignia there as it had always been. His nerves lit up however when raw skin met cloth, acidic like muck still clinging to him and eating away at the grime between the wefts of his gloves. Other hands then came about him, their ice cool rags feeling as if they were scraping away the skin and muscle of his entire right side, head to toe. It took him a moment to realise they were actually physically peeling his war regalia away from his wounds. The slightest tatters of red stained robe took with them protection from the cold, creating a strange battle between the burning and freezing of his flesh.

He would have screamed, but he was beyond the point of crying out.

“|What happened?|” Said some unknowable someone to the Bladesman, and wrapped up in his own ills it took a second, firmer, “|Wuju Bladesman! What happened to your squad?|” for his goggles to stir upon his head,

“|I don’t know…| Techmaturgical fire… Deadly machines…”

“|… I can’t understand you, Yi.|”

“|He’s dying, captain.|” Spat another man, “|I don’t think he’s in a position to be understood.|”

“|I’m not dying!|” Proclaimed the Bladesman, “|I just… don’t know… what…|”

“|…Yi, please.|”

“|What… happened..?|”

“|Master Yi!|”

The world dulled to his hextech eyes, and no matter how hard he tried to speak no words would leave his gravelly throat. Against the deep, gnawing agony it told him no more, and instead it focused on the deep pelting of the hail that thundered distantly. They hurriedly jostled him about, clearing out a dead man for a live one. With a thud and a wheeze, he came to rest on his front, and work continued whether Yi was aware of it or no.

Fire, he thought, his brain finding no resistance to a stream of consciousness, Explosions, gas, poison, death. Booming… Booming!

Suddenly the rattle of hail didn’t seem so inconspicuous, but before the rise and fall of his chest could leave his control, screeching torture returned along with proper comprehension of spoken word.

“Y... Yì Dàshī?”

Yi’s eyes widened, lenses along with them. Chest to ground as he was, he wasn’t facing the same way as the familiar voice, but he was as determined to change that as the man to his right was to speak up,

“|Master… P-Please. Is that you?|”

“|Easy now…|” Soothed a medic, but the Wuju Practitioner was already grunting and moaning as he arduously shuffled in his position. He nearly flopped back groundward with a hiss of air through his teeth, but the lenses stayed firmly where they sat. And it was important they did, because behind their furious actuations he could behold a sad and sorry soul.

He was half a man, his extremities mostly gone. He hadn’t been like this when last Yi remembered seeing him. For whatever reason he had to remind himself of that. That didn’t change the fact he was bleeding through his makeshift cloth bandages, the healer within noted, especially about the eyes...

“Nn… Sh…”

His eyes. His head was bandaged from top to bottom, allowing only room for speech and for his nose. It was clear though that some pustulant concoction wept from his skull, poorly contained as everything else was. Yet suddenly, Yi found, that when he should have felt his worst he was again fading into a murky grey existence. Upon beholding the man, the student, he felt his breaths measure themselves. The boom of the weather was still present, but it only served to enhance the things he heard.

“|Master..?|” The young soldier reached out with a stub of an arm, his voice ringing clear but distant, “|Did I… Did w-we… do good? Did we fight for what’s... right?|”

Yi’s own arm was a quivering mess as he tried to mimic the other. Against dull tearing sensations he just barely put a hand upon the man,

“Sh… Sh..!”

“…Shu, hm?”

It wasn’t often Yi saw his father’s posture falter, but it wasn’t often that he saw his father so utterly bored either. Sitting at the Wuju Master’s flank, as was tradition, he as well found himself reclining somewhat as the ordeal grew long. Two people, a man and his nervous son, stood before the stage upon which the Wuju Practitioners sat. The father, comedically enough, began to all but prostrate himself before the then Master of the Wuju art, his voice an urgent quiver,

“Yes! Indeed! My son is perfectly adept with the blade for his age. Trust me, and I would be so honoured as for you to take him into your school—“

“--You realise it has been thirty years since this place has operated as an enrolling school?” To that Yi had to scoff. He felt so important somehow, with his birth single-handedly shutting down the school, but despite the outburst the older Practitioner continued, “You came all the way from the Lowlands just to hear me say no. Perhaps with foresight you would have known not to come at all.”

“Please, Master Yi. My son’s destiny is not to run about a farm for the rest of his life. I know he has potential for greatness. Just give him a chance.”

“You already know my answer. If you need tea, or a place to stay, then you are welcome to stay here until you must depart again.”

“Master Yi you need to understand--”

“--However.” The Head of Clan rose to his feet, and Yi took it as his cue to do the same. The then Master was a short statured man, at least in comparison to his son, but he made up for it in an intimidating glare and menacing presence, “If you use this opportunity to continue kissing my sandals, or to try and continue pushing your son upon me, then I will have no choice but to ask you to leave.” The man looked over his shoulder, an audible ‘tch’ exiting his lips when he noted his son’s smarmy grin, “Student?”

“Yes, Master?”

“This meeting is done. Show our guests to a place where they may settle, if they so require.”

“Of course, Master.” In a flourished bow of a lengthy ponytail, and robes worn loose about his lithe body, Yi bustled by his father and set off, “Come along you two. There are plenty of rooms to choose from. Because, you know, this is a school.” With a snort and a laugh, he listened for the padding of their feet upon wooden boards, and sure enough they followed.

But rhythmic sounds of foot traffic soon gave way to a grovelling pest,

“There must be something you can do uh… What do I call you?”

“Don’t look at me.” Yi waved a hand dismissively, “I don’t run anything around here.”

“Surely you’re a powerful man, whatever the title? You must have some sway?”

Yi looked over his shoulder in the slowest of ways, doing so as the hallways they sought to traverse grew dim as sunlight fell away. But his amber eyes shone on still, striking further hilarious fear into the expression of the man,

“Oh, trust me. I have a lot of sway here. Whether any of that sway is for you is another matter entirely…”

But Yi’s voice trailed off when he noted the tiny, spindly boy that walked half a step away from his father. No fear lay there as he watched the Wuju Student’s eyes dance with yellow fire. His face was painted instead with a million questions it seemed, yet he lacked the initiative to ask them. That was something Yi thought to change.

Because why not? This was already boring enough. It wasn’t often they had guests there anyway.

“You know,” He began, turning his gaze forward as the hallway took a sharp ninety-degree bend, “For all the talking you’ve done, you have yet to let the boy say a thing. Not even to give his own name. What would he do if you left him here without his voice?” Though every doorway effectively housed a room of some description, it took Yi a while to choose one in specific. It was perhaps for his own Master’s sanity, if anything. When he finally pulled away a screen door to a dusty dorm, he ensured it was one with a good view of the temple’s courtyard… and of the gate that led out and away from the place. After inspecting the room momentarily, he turned with astute grace and held his amber gaze upon the child directly, “Shu, right?”

“Eh… Y-Yes Mister.” Yi stooped to the boy’s level then, resting his arms upon his braced knee,

“How many passes of the moon have you seen, Shu?”

“… Six. I’m six.”

“Six?” He made an impressed sort of whistle, “A whole six moons. I can’t even remember much from when I was six. Do you like swords?” The boy gave a slow nod, to which Yi inclined his head somewhat, “Do you want to be able to use one?”

“I’m sure he--” The father’s outburst was quelled with but the raising of Yi’s hand, for suddenly he found himself… entranced by the boy and his posture. Something was there, and even a journeyman of Wuju as he, was he felt compelled to test a child in his convictions,

“…Do you want to be able to use a sword, Shu?” Once again the boy nodded, but with more energy this time. At that Yi swiftly quipped with, “Why?”

“Wh…” Shu’s gaze lowered, his brow furrowing. For a moment he looked about the room, then to his silenced father, and then back to Yi. No answer was to be found with his eyes seemingly, so he parroted back the simple question, “… Why?”

“Yes. Why? Why a sword? Why Wuju? Why has your father brought you here?”

“He… I…” With a cute, deep breath, the boy pouted, “I asked to come here, Mister.”

“Oh?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“... Why?”

“Because I...” The child began to chew his lip softly, “... I like Wuju a lot.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere!” Leaning forward with a crooked smile, Yi asked once again, “Why?”

“B-Because… Because…” Shu’s tan face seemed to redden, and he fidgeted where he stood, “It’s because… You’re the demon, right?” To that Yi’s bushy eyebrows rose. Even children could be surprising, or confusing, it seemed,

“Demon?”

“Yeah... Yeah!” From somewhere within his robes the boy managed to fish out a piece of parchment, and with the wall of nerves breaking down he thrust it towards the Bladesman. Though it was a benign sort of thing, Yi still took it from the boy with an air of hesitation,

“What is… this?”

His honey eyes widened, a bit more than he’d care to let on, as he scanned the contents of the paper. It was a simple ink rendering with a style unmistakable. Upon it was a man with a great ringed sword, his robes billowing against the nebulous creature he faced. Its form was near undefined… but notably against the black, sharp ink some gold paint had been stroked for eyes, “… The Demon of the Sky. This was the dance of last Day of Blades. Old Man Wu-Chau paints these for Festival goers. How did you..?”

“I really liked the performance, M… Mister Hui, yeah? You’re the one who played the Demon of the Sky..?” Yi had to admit, he had little interest in the painted arts. Renderings of himself, however, were always things that stroked the ego yet somehow humbled him, especially when little kids took their drawings and held them close to their chest, “I came last year. I saw the fights, but I didn’t like them so much. But then I saw the dances… I want to be able to do that too! I found out it was a Wuju thing though. No one else teaches... so I just tried to remember myself for a long time. I practice every day.”

“… Practice what?” He managed to ask, but suddenly it was he who had the million questions.

“The dances!” The boy exclaimed, “I try to remember it all… but some parts I forget. The part in the drawing though, I remember that part. The part where the Wuju Master says he can run faster than the gale, but then the Sky Demon goes,” And before Yi’s very eyes did the boy take up his near perfect posture, going through motions to the tapping of his foot. Though lacking some finesse, the man almost heard the beat in his mind as the child hit just about every point. Amazingly so. Perfect angled hands corresponded with the right foot shuffling to a beat, and he could certainly keep time, “No, no, no! Back! No. No. No! Like that!”

The boy stood tall and proud at the end of his routine, clicking his heels together so as to stand stock straight, “I wanted to do that, even though my Papa wants me to fight...” That learned posture fell away as soon as it had come though, with Shu’s gaze returning to its nervous distance, “...but I guess I won’t be doing that now, right? I... I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making everyone angry, Mister Hui...”

It was the Bladesman’s turn to look towards the father, the other man near ready to jump down his throat with excuses for his son’s supposed foolery. Excuses never flew, however, with the Wuju Practitioner rising swiftly to his feet. As trivial as it was, as laughable as it was... he couldn’t help but want to know more. About the child. About his drive. About how, despite all the cool things he must have seen during festival time, it was the non-violence that had drawn him to the temple. His robes were a flurry about him as he took off, stealing some sort of bewondered sound from the boy.

“... Follow me, kid.” He said, almost without thinking, to which the boy once again stuttered,

“Wh... Why, Mister Hui?” And with that know-it-all smile plastered back on his face, YI stopped only momentarily to reply,

“Let us dance.” Before he was lost to the hallways once again.

#but guess what #i posted a dumb musing because i was about to post this #hooooo hohohohoooo #this was supposed to go for longer but it was getting to 3k+ words #and i thought it would be better to break it up #i suppose it works because its like epilogue into flashback #then the next part will be flashback back into epilogue #though its not an epilogue but idk how to describe it #WUJU THRIVES IN STORY NOW 『Drabbles』#why do you fight 『memories』#trigger warning #tw #just for general injury and war calamity #they call him yi dashi

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orionsangel86 · 4 years ago

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Lets talk about the Bare Minimum

Okay guys, obviously there is a huge divide here among those of us that are super positive and excited and those of you that are really doubtful the finale will give us anything remotely worthwhile. So lets break this down okay? Perhaps it can get us all on a fairly level playing field?

What is the absolute bare minimum the Supernatural Finale can give us to satisfy us?

Everyone will have different ideas of course, but if we dismiss all our wildest dreams and high expectations and consider the fact that yes, this is still Supernatural and they do tend to run on a mix of batshit crazy, profound and poetic beauty, and things seemingly falling into place so perfectly it was clearly 100% accidental (eg: The Monster at the End of this Book) then we should probably try to find a centre point. A point that we can use to gauge how the episode will fair overall.

So what is the bare minimum?

Castiel returns

This is it. This should be the bare minimum we should expect in order to make this finale meaningful.

If we are given nothing else, Cas returning should be enough for us to nod and say “okay Supernatural. You tried. You got him back. He was there for the finale. That’s the main thing.”

If Castiel isn’t back and the finale is just Sam and Dean driving around looking for generic MOTW hunts like in Season 1 in some sort of bronly wet dream, that would be a massive anticlimax and miserable way to end the series. It will be the worst ending of a show since GoT.

BUT we know Misha filmed 20. I will hear no more to the alternative. Misha filming 20 is and always has been a fundamental FACT.

So Castiel returns. Bare minimum met? Right? Of course there are caveats to that key point.

Castiel returning in flashback form only, or as a memory or dream, whilst the actual Castiel still remains in the Empty is NOT an acceptable option. If the show takes this route, this is still below the bare minimum. This would be deemed a failure in my opinion just as if the finale is just Sam and Dean being bros on the road.

What really needs to happen for the bare minimum to be met, is for Castiel to be rescued from the Empty. Whether that is by Jack, by Dean, or by himself or some other means, Castiel must return from the Empty to fix the only actual loose end not tied up in 15x19. We should also finally get the Empty being sent back to sleep, because having just binge watched episodes 12-18 all in one week, let me tell you, the amount of times it is repeated that the Empty desperately wants to go back to sleep is a LOT. From what I have been told, the Empty isn’t even mentioned in 19, so that is the only plot point actually still hanging over the series.

Of course, had Castiel not confessed his “homosexual feelings of love” for Dean in 15x18, then at this point I would have said that the bare minimum I needed was for Cas to be saved, and for Dean to give him a heartfelt hug and a look of love and to say “lets go home” off into a future where we know the story ends with Dean and Cas together in an ambiguous relationship. (Honestly, for a long time, this is the ending I thought we would get).

But Dabb and Bobo have written themselves into a very specific corner.

Castiel’s confession was not ambiguous. Because of this, the big question hanging over the final ever episode of the longest running genre show on TV, isn’t about whether the heroes will stop the big bad, it isn’t whether or not they will live or die, nope, it’s whether the lead male character will reciprocate romantic love for his “equally male” (Note - I’m talking in terms of mainstream here don’t @ me) best friend. The big question Supernatural has gone and put to its audience is “is Dean Winchester also in love with Castiel and therefore, is he also queer?”

This is an unpresedented situation that the show has put itself in.

Because of this, the bare minimum is no longer just Castiel being saved. It’s also Dean answering that question that the show has put to us.

Castiel must be saved, and the love confession must be addressed. These things are the key points going into this final episode. If either of them are glossed over in any way, the show would have fundamentally failed it’s audience, its characters, it’s cast, and everyone involved in it. Given how optimistic and happy everyone who works on the show seems to be currently, I highly doubt that is the case.

So. Castiel must be saved, and the confession must be addressed. Do we accept Dean rejecting Cas?

There is I suppose, a very slim chance that this could happen. If the Network let their own homophobia get to them (before you come @ me, no I don’t consider the CW’s many young attractive lesbian characters to let them off the hook for years of avoiding any non stereotypical queer men. IT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT) then they may have greenlighted Cas’s queerness whilst refusing to do the same for Dean. They may consider simply saving Castiel and therefore #resurrectingyourgays as enough to satisfy the queer viewers, even though Castiel’s love was not returned. Perhaps in the final episode we will get a flashforward to years down the line and Cas has got over Dean and is living it up with another man? It’s possible right?

It would also cause utter outrage in the fanbase. Dabb and Bobo are far more savvy than fandom gives them credit for. I personally think that had the network said no to Dean reciprocating Castiel’s love, then Dabb and Bobo would have kept it ambiguous, and simply strongly implied that they end up together in an ending like the one I always thought we would get when my hopes for Destiel were at a low point.

So Dean reciprocating Castiel’s love also falls under the bare minimum requirements for the episode to be a success.

How they go about showing Dean reciprocating Cas’s feelings I don’t know. Do I absolutely need a kiss? No. It’s not a bare minimum requirement. Anything beyond Dean simply telling Cas he loves him back and Cas smiling at him is a bonus. Perhaps they could show it the way they showed Jesse and Cesar in 11x19. Through affection and care, but no actual kisses.

Whilst I personally believe we will get a kiss, it’s not a bare minimum, and if we don’t get one I will still be satisfied so long as we get all of the following:

Castiel is saved from the Empty

Dean reciprocates his love

Dean and Cas end up together (whether that be to live lives together on Earth, or both go out fighting and reunite in heaven together. Whatever the case, they must end up together)

My 3rd point here is the only other bare minimum requirement I need to not feel like they have screwed it up. I don’t care whether Dean and Cas end the show alive or dead. What I DO care is that regardless of where they end up, be it Earth, Heaven, or even Purgaytory, they are together. They must end the series together.

There are of course many other things I want. I want Cas to give up his grace (by choice) and become a human (I really wanna see him in Winchester plaid at least once!). I want to see them slow dancing like Garth and Bess did in 15x10. I want Sam to reunite with Eileen and also get a happy ending. I hope they get to keep the damn dog too. Ideally, I want a soft epilogue, because these boys are good people, and they’ve suffered enough. Whatever else may happen though, so long as those bare minimum requirements are met, I will consider the ending a resounding success.

Personally, I don’t think I’m asking for much.

#supernatural #destiel #spn endgame #15x20 #destiel is canon #give us the bare minimum #the rest is confetti #lol

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sepublic · 4 years ago

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TOH deserves better

Y’know what?

Now that I’ve… Had time to really focus and think and process about the news for The Owl House and its shortened Season 3, now that I’ve really dealt with other things in my life, I’m…

I’m angry. I’m genuinely MAD…

The Owl House has always been a comfort show for me! It’s a show I’ve loved, its characters and worldbuilding and mystery is fascinating to me and it’s inspired me! When Season 1 ended... I was excited. I was prepared. I braced myself for the story that Dana Terrace and the writers intended to tell us. I knew we had at LEAST two more full seasons to go, based on Dana’s comment about a third season.

Season 2 would’ve been a safe season in a sense. A season where we’re in the middle of the action, where we can get onto things that have been planned and set up; But at the same time, it’s not the final season! It’s not the end. There would’ve been an entire, full season, twenty or something episodes after that. I could’ve sat back and enjoyed Season 2 in all its entirety, as another phase of the story set in the middle, and when it was all said and done, I could speculate and hope and wish and think about this final third season; Assuming we wouldn’t even get a fourth!

But no… NO, Season 3 is literally just. THREE episodes, each twice the normal length, so like six episodes; But still, it’s obvious with how it’s formatted into a trio that Season 3 will be less a season, and more the final battle and climax of the show, the culmination of everything else! Which means for all intents and purposes… Season 2 IS the final season of the show. That everything we want to see, we hope to see; It can only happen in Season 2, because Season 3 is the final battle in a sense.

Warning: A LOT of text and upset ramblings below!!!

And that deeply angers me. I’ve done the calculations and there are fourteen episodes we’re missing out on, due to Season 3 being cut down. Fourteen episodes to do any wide variety of things; To focus on side characters, to flesh out lore and plot. To extend and focus on character arcs, to introduce and establish things; Fourteen episodes to introduce, develop, and finish various arcs and smaller plots! There’s SO much to do in fourteen episodes, especially in regards to relationships, and even representation as we talk about Luz and Amity and everyone else!

And out of NOWHERE, out of the blue- We don’t get that! Dana Terrace herself admitted on Twitter that she left in December to focus on the news. I’m not entirely sure on how production works, but I imagine she and the crew were working on Season 2A when they got this news… Which means they’re going to have to COMPLETELY rehaul and rehash their plans for Season 2B as a result. They’re going to have to hastily pull together and rush the arcs they had planned out, so it can lead up to Season 3.

They expected fourteen episodes of development; And now they have to resolve that within the remaining ten or so episodes of Season 2, which is already jam-packed with the original plans. At this point, any criticisms for the show’s writing or pacing that might come later down the line… I can’t take it seriously in good faith. Not when I know how Disney just screwed over Dana and the crew so suddenly, so abruptly, so HUGELY. Season 2 was supposed to be the mid-point, and you KNOW there are a bunch of arcs and little plot points that will never see the light of day, or be rushed, to accommodate the change!

And it really angers me. Season 3 would’ve been made after a lot of fandom response- So all you fans of the Detention Kids, who would’ve liked to see more of them? Season 3 would’ve been the time for Dana and the crew to throw the fandom a bone… EXCEPT, because it’s only three/six episodes, there’s no way the Detention Kids will get focus now. Not when there’s the actual climax of the show left. There’s no room to have fun, to focus on side characters or expand even more on pre-established ones. Fourteen episodes’ worth of kind, small little moments that stand out- Gone, down the drain, never to see the light of day to begin with!

I just… Feel so BAD for Dana and the crew; Dana fought so hard for this story! Her roommate said that nobody wanted to see a story about an old witch and her young apprentice, and you know what, Dana FOUGHT for that story and got it for us! She had to deal with censors for Lumity, but she fought for that! Dana and the crew were EXCITED to tell us, they no doubt had so much planned and in store, you can tell from the tone of the Reddit AMA and the Charity Livestream, all of which were done months before Disney told Dana and the crew about Season 3 being downsized.

And like… Dana herself said that she’s still down to do future Owl House content. If Disney asks her to –with pushback from fans- then yeah, she could do more! We might get an epilogue or sequel series… But that doesn’t change how the pacing of the show will be disrupted. How a lot of arcs will have to be prematurely rushed through and finished, instead of having the loving time taken to develop and appreciate them.

Characters will be rushed through, we had FOURTEEN episodes taken from us! Characters like Belos or Kikimora, or Odalia and Alador, the antagonists- They’re not guaranteed to survive or make it past the end of Season 3, so even if we got more content post-S3, it wouldn’t really be able to remedy for their drastically-shortened screen time, unless through flashbacks or resurrection or whatever. Characters, arcs, development, all are being shafted here.

And this ANGERS me! Like I said, The Owl House is my comfort show. I finished Season 1 with the full understanding that we weren’t even halfway through yet; We still had SO much more to do, so much more to see, amidst all of the wonders that Season 1 had provided! But now I feel cheated. I feel cheated, because sike! Actually you WERE halfway through, and that changes everything about the tone, the pacing, the setting of the show. Suddenly I’m already looking forward to and anticipating the end, because the end is DIRECTLY after Season 2; And I can’t enjoy it as much, because now I have that anxiety and dread as Season 2 ends that… THIS is the final, full, regular season.

It was just supposed to be another season for me to enjoy, to further flesh out the show- And out of nowhere, I have to approach this with a sudden sense of finality, I’m forced to really appreciate it even further, because this is it! This is all we have left, when until then, I thought we had so much more! And it’s angering. It’s abrupt. Season 2 was in many ways supposed to be carefree and hands-off…

But now, I have to approach it in an existential sense. With the full understanding that the show is essentially ENDING by this point, with each new episode, we’re on a timer now. We’ve lost the luxury of Season 1, that Season 2 would’ve had, if it was the midpoint in the series. And now I can’t enjoy things as much because just as quickly as I got these new arcs and characters and developments, I have to watch them be quickly wrapped up.

I barely even got them, I was looking forward to more of it, there should’ve been more, and then bam! It’s already done, just kidding! Like it was handed to me, and then abruptly torn out of my hands barely a few seconds later, after I’d anticipated an entire day alone with it.

I hate this. I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m disappointed. I had so much wonder and joy that this was only the beginning, but now it’s actually the ending! I had so much to look forward to, so much promised- And this show was doing well! It was SUCCESSFUL, Lumity brought a HUGE influx of popularity, and you know what? The show deserves that!

Not just for being good in general, but also- This is SUCH a huge step forward in representation, especially given how this is DISNEY of all channels… With Luz being a bisexual, ADHD, character of color! Amity fully being a lesbian ON-SCREEN, no censors, nothing held back, her crush treated and fully indulged the way a straight person’s would’ve been!

The Owl House deserves so much for just that alone. So much attention, and it got attention, it was arguably at a peak because now so much fans are tuning in… And Disney, those paradoxical cowards, they decide to end it early!? I’m angry. I’m frustrated, I’m sad, I was told to expect more, to just enjoy myself in the moment, but now I have to readjust my sense and perception of everything in anticipation of a sudden end.

And I’m sure that’s what Dana and the crew have to do as well, they were so excited, no doubt planting things in Season 2A to be resolved later in Season 3… But nope, now they have to rush it through and finish it in Season 2B, along with everything else they had planned! And they might have to cut out stuff from Season 2B, to make room for the ending of those pre-established arcs!

It’s frustrating and clumsy and sudden, and it just… ANGERS ME! It makes me genuinely mad and frustrated, like I want to punch a wall… And I hate it! And a part of me hopes and wishes that if the fans really DO give enough of a backlash and demand, maybe Disney will change its mind.

If we say enough, ASAP, then maybe Disney will delay Season 2B so that Season 3 can be extended back to its proper length, allowing Dana and the crew to redo Season 2B as they originally intended. I’d be fine with waiting additional time, as much as the crew needs, to redo Season 2B with the understanding that they have that full third season back!

I’d GLADLY, happily, let the crew take their time to redo Season 2B to its original glory and plans, to better set up a full Season 3! I’d let them take their time, I wouldn’t complain at all, I’d still watch! So Disney, go ahead, change your plans abruptly AGAIN, it’s not like you have no qualms screwing over this show or other content creators with this kind of back-and-forth, look at Matt Braly having to contend with True Colors being delayed and almost censored, only for the whole thing to be useless because the original episode was leaked anyway! He had to rush out the Season 3 intro, I’m betting this RIGHT now!

But even if it was delayed, even if it was released early… It doesn’t change the actual show itself. It doesn’t change the actual story, just how it was presented- But the story itself, it remains intact. The Owl House doesn’t even get that. Brevity can be the soul of wit, but if you’re suddenly told out of nowhere to chop it down, it’s not gonna be the soul of anything.

It’s just… SO UNFAIR, and it makes me genuinely pissed off. Like, I could handle True Colors being delayed by the end of the day, because the show is otherwise the exact same- But TOH being so drastically reduced, abruptly shortened, I think that’s honestly objectively worse… So I braced myself for and adapted to one bad thing, and then got another thing even MORE terrible! Much more terrible, in fact- Amazing.

I’m just… Tired and frustrated. Like it feels like I had this happy thing in my life and it was taken away from me, I can’t even have that, I can’t have the hope and anticipation for more, that’s it! It’s already done and gone! I knew I’d have to prepare for that eventually, but in a manner that felt fleshed-out and well-rounded, like I’d really had my time to enjoy and appreciate… But just kidding! It’s like a punch in the face, and it makes me honestly depressed and sad, and I kind of don’t know what to do besides… Ask for more, and hope?

A part of me feels like the investment, the enjoyment, was lowkey all for nothing, meaningless and worthless, now that so much was cut down- And obviously it IS worth it, it always is! But in the moment of despair, I’m asking… Is that it? It was all for nothing, then… All that effort. All of that speculation and enjoyment and anticipation.

All you had look forward to, all of that emotion you put in- So much of it is going to be left unresolved because how the show was so enormously cut down. And now it makes me hesitant to invest in other shows, I’m afraid, in case they get cut down like this, in case my attention is punished and deprived for engaging with the material like that to begin with.

As a viewer and someone who loves and enjoys media, I feel like there’s a trust that’s being breached, I can’t really rely or depend on things I enjoy to last or stay there, so why bother getting invested? Why put in the effort for fandom and content if it’s going to be gone like THAT, if all plans are thrown out the window, and all attention and feedback is meaningless!

What’s the point of showing that you love this, of expressing yourself, if you’re going to get even LESS than what you’d cautiously hoped for? Why hope at all? There’s this bitterness left inside of me, that you shouldn’t have bothered enjoying or getting invested, or pouring yourself into this, because in the end you weren’t going to get anything close to that.

Which, fan content is ALWAYS valid! But it’s usually done to expand on stuff that’s already there… But if there was nothing there because it got pulled last second, then why bother? Why enjoy if it’s so brief? Why invest if the conclusion is so sudden and out of nowhere? Why care at all? And I know that shouldn’t change how I feel…

But with Infinity Train and Amphibia, I guess I really can’t count on anything, not even the mutual solidarity of numbers, to change a thing. So why hope for and ask for more and better? Why even enjoy what I have, knowing it’ll be cut off by itself in the future because the planned arcs were forcibly dropped? I can’t enjoy an episode as part of a larger story now, just a shorter one, and now there’s this pressure.

Pressure, that’s it- A pressure on the show. A pressure on the writers and audience. To suddenly cram in and make the most of this time. Pressure on every Season 2 episode to go above and beyond to make up for the almost complete and utter lack of Season 3; Season 2 will practically have to carry the weight of TWO seasons on its back, two condensed into one! And it just… There’s so much pressure. No time to breathe or enjoy myself or relax, because now it’s all suddenly ending and fleeting in front of my eyes when I hadn’t done that, and now I go back and yell “Come back!”

I wish I’d enjoyed it more knowing it was already ending, but it’s too late. I wish I could’ve done something, but what could I have done? And I really did try to appreciate and cherish this to my ability, but I did so expecting more, as I should’ve- And now it feels I didn’t do enough. I feel cheated. Like the rug was pulled under me, that my effort was rendered naught and never enough no matter how hard I tried, the game is rigged.

I’m frantic. I’m paranoid. I’m already having to say goodbye and brace myself for the end, when I expected at least another full year to unapologetically not have to worry about that, to just be in my zone and be myself and ENJOY… To not have to worry existentially like that. I can’t have that peace, I can’t have that longing, lasting fun.

I knew it’d come to an end, but now I can’t have the time to properly enjoy and relax and appreciate it, to truly live it out meaningfully and deliberately… I’m going to have to laser-focus now and put aside other things, because this thing is NOW and won’t last, unlike the rest; And in a way, that kind of rush and pressure, it just ends up paradoxically making the whole thing LESS fun, even!

So in my attempts to appreciate and enjoy it more, I enjoy it less. It’s like a punch in the face in direct retaliation for getting invested and attached, for actually being connected to the story. I’m being punished for enjoying, for letting myself feel, so why ever bother with that, ever again? Why should I get attached? I’m just punished for that, so I won’t bother. I won’t put myself out there so even if it DOES see itself through, I won’t have been there for it from justified paranoia, and then I’ll miss out when it IS there. Like I can’t win, no matter what- So why participate?

It doesn’t matter, it’s all useless. “It makes me happy”, well, maybe that’s no longer even a reason to do and make and enjoy things anymore, huh! And now I’m just… Bitterly putting it aside. Feeling like I should’ve known better, that at least I’m being more ‘mature’. I feel like Luz in the first episode, throwing her book away, her prized hyperfixation that invigorated and brought so much meaning to her… I feel like Luz, just almost apathetically, in resignation, throwing it into the trash while someone smiles and tells me it’s okay and good and I SHOULD have done that, actually!

It’s making me tired and exhausted. I didn’t want to have to suddenly feel and deliberate over all of this, all at once, right now- But I feel I’d regret it even more if I DIDN’T do that, and then it ended, and the time and moment, the opportunity, it passed! It’s a frantic dread and paranoia that means I can’t appreciate and enjoy properly, because every little thing I so desperately claw at and prize and treasure, but also I keep telling myself not to get my hopes up, and…

It lowkey makes me want to curl up and cry? And sob, because now that insecurity, that voice in the back of my head, it was RIGHT, I really should’ve listened to it to begin with, and not ever bothered! Don’t risk the trust in connecting with someone else’s story that’s still in process, only ever engage with stuff fully finished.

I can never enjoy that anticipation and hope now, of being along the ride for the journey, of just getting to look out the window and wonder; Not knowing the ending, but looking forward to it! And I can’t do that anymore, not when I’m afraid of the trip suddenly grinding to a screeching halt out of nowhere!

But yeah, I’m just… I…

…I’m sad. I’m angry, and now I’m sad. Depressed, outright, directly because of this, when otherwise I wouldn’t have been- And that’s painful and frustrating and makes me feel like I’m being tossed around a whirlwind, with no hope. No say or agency, just a constant bad hand I have to brace myself for. So all I can do is curl up and lie down and hope for the worst to be over, and never dare to be so ungrateful or greedy to ask or hope for more, for good things, just for the bad things to lessen or stop.

In the end, it didn’t even matter, so I should just throw it all away, never try again; And everything I did beforehand, up until then, I’ll look back at it all, those fond and innocent memories, and I’ll look back with an eternal bitterness that will forever corrupt and scar those recollections. So even the past, which allegedly can never change, is ruined for me! The past never gets better, it only gets worse, so WHY… Why believe and hope, and love and live???

I’m just a stupid fool for being so invested in this cartoon, in fiction, why don’t I just GROW UP and focus on REAL things that matter, huh?!? I really do feel like Luz genuinely thinking and resigning herself to the Reality Check camp, having that childlike passion and joy just whittled down and strangled, feeling it die out; Knowing it will, so just getting it over with and killing it now, before I have to mourn later.

I shouldn’t ever put forth the trust in engaging with others’ stories, just my own because I at least have control there, I should just be alone and by myself with only my stories, and never get to connect with or experience companionship with others’ stories, ever again. Just build up my walls and hide and be alone and isolated as I’ve always been- It seems even with fiction or media, I’m STILL by myself! There’s an intimacy in reading and emotionally engaging with others’ stories, where other writers put a piece of themselves into that… Hoping others will read and respond and reciprocate, and feel the same!

Well, maybe I shouldn’t put myself out there, either, in fears of being punished and cut off and whittled down like that! Why express myself, why be, why live? Why be invested into the soul of others, manifested in their own content, if it’ll never come to fruition, if my own soul will only hurt for connecting?! This is worse than a fave or a comfort character dying, because at least the integrity of the story itself remains and is worth it.

There’s always the chance of a return or a revival or a flashback to appreciate, but THIS… This is real life. And it’s THE ending in the most abrupt and literal and tangible sense, of the media itself; An ending more powerful and harsh than any resolution to an arc. Because now NOTHING will ever be expected to come out from this, ever again- No new content, nothing else to enjoy. Media is like a fantasy, an escapism from real life, but even when I fully expected and accepted and saw the boundary and end between fantasy and reality… I still get punished with reality regardless! I can’t escape that real life because it WILL go out of its way to directly cut in and interfere, and ruin, what I love.

So why escape? Why invested? Why love? Why should I ever feel comfort??? It’s all stupid. I’m stupid. Life is finite and it’s merely what’s directly in front of you, don’t dare to dream or imagine, or think or hope, just focus on what’s in front and get by and try to live… Or at least ‘survive’. Or ‘not die’, I guess.

And now I resent real life even more for ruining this for me, when beforehand I could still like and appreciate it, even if I still needed some time away every now and then. So paradoxically, trying to get me to focus on real life, has made me detest it moreso! It’s that whole thing of don’t bother trying because you’ll just get punished for it, just passively wait and receive, don’t LIVE. Don’t stake initiative or agency.

At least if a character dies, the universe and immersion is still intact, if not moreso because then you feel and become even MORE connected and get that emotional catharsis, everything up until then and after takes on a whole new meaning and appreciation; But if it ends in real life, the immersion is gone. The fantasy is permanently shattered, and now it’s all worthless in hindsight because you’re reminded that it was never real to begin with.

And what little you DID get, is now ruined; And you’re not going to get anything else new, either! You can’t even KEEP things anymore… You’re just a bitter fool who’s going to get old and wither, look back, and become even MORE bitter and miserable. All of the emotion you felt, it’s been rendered worthless and meaningless, that connection once made… And I hate to see things ruined like that, so maybe don’t have things to begin with!

I’m bitterly, enviously jealous of others who still manage to enjoy, because why are you still invested?! Why still keep trying, don’t you realize how pointless it is!? And now I’m just ruining that for them, I’m ruining THEM, in my own mind and heart and place in life. How can you still keep going!? So even that stuff they make, that fandom content that exists on its own more or less in a sense, even THAT is marred and ruined for me… And I feel like I’m internally ruining that for others, that makes me feel guilty as I loathe myself for being so awful, so why believe that I can be better? Why try to be better then?!

I’m envious, because you guys still manage to cope and handle this in a realistic way, in a safe and mature manner. And anything others make, it’s just a cruel, cold reminder, a mockery even, of what I’ve lost, of my dashed and ruined hopes. And then I can’t bear to look at or even enjoy THAT, especially stuff made post-announcement, because you guys managed to keep making it anyway. And me, I didn’t, so what does that say about miserable old me? But then don’t make this about MYSELF…

Seriously though, if you’re going to still enjoy and create, please do so! Don’t let this bitter fool stop you. Don’t let me hurt you. Just keep going out there and be yourself, me, I’ll… I’ll figure something out I guess? But yeah, that’s MY problem, not yours, those of you who keep creating anyway, you’re everything I admire and more! You’re all heroes in a sense, and I encourage and fully support you- If my ramblings make you hesitate or discourage you, then just throw them aside and disregard that! I’d never want to intrude or interrupt someone’s own expression, not when I mourn my own, that’s for sure!

And y’know what? Other people who keep creating… You remind me that there IS hope. That there maybe is a point in going on and being invested, especially indie creators, because y’all have control and agency and take over what you make, and don’t have to depend or rely on, or fear, some gross corporation butting in and pulling the strings, threatening to revoke and take it all away! Thank you, I’m grateful, truly I am, I’m eternally indebted in a way I can never fully repay. Maybe I can try to make up for this by continuing to make my own things… So now this depressed, cynical rant, suddenly it takes a more hopeful turn as I write it, because of others!

And now I’m thinking to myself… It IS worth it to connect. For those little moments of inspiration and joy and hope that others can instill. Thanks, you guys. Out of nowhere, you suddenly made it better for me, and kind of helped me overcome this depressive slump; And here I was, just thinking and resigning myself to the end! I guess it never really IS the end… And what I said about feeling like Luz, throwing away her beloved book and joy of her life? Well, she DID go back to grab that book, and in doing so, found love, found family, and happiness she couldn’t have anticipated beyond her wildest dreams!

…Even so, wishful thinking aside, this has all been a whirlwind to me;

I’m tired.

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #toh #dana terrace #disney #disneytva #rant #vent #rant tw #vent tw #ramblings

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machablossom · 4 years ago

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I really want to rant about the ending. That was one wild episode 12 and I can't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either.

Being honest, I think I'm mostly dissapointed things didn't go the way I wanted. I usually expect from a series to let me down in some aspects, but this time I felt like there was no rush of emotions like it happened during the past episodes.

I don't actually mind about the supposed queerbaiting, though I would have wanted Renga and Matcha Blossom to become canon. Alas, a girl could dream.

However, there were many things I believe could have been better, others which were just fine, and others which could have been different altogether from the very start of the series. Overall I feel like the main plot (Langa and Reki facing up against Adam) and the main theme of the anime (skating is a fun thing to do and it's better enjoyed surrounded with friends and people you love) were developed just right. However, the way they got to the results were not the best, in my opinion.

I would like to give my opinion on each character development, so this may take a while. Also, I'd like to point out what I would have wanted to happen, if things were up to me.

First and foremost, Adam is the character I had more trouble with. I didn't love the last beef against Langa much. I've had trouble with the entire Eve thing and the fact that he's a 30-something chasing after a 17 yr old boy, be it romantically or just skate-wise.

I know Adam's sexual preferences are never stated through the whole series but we can imply he does feel a certain attraction towards Langa beyond the skating scene and it is very uncomfortable, not to say wrong.

I loved the idea that he let go of the idea of chasing his 'Eve', to celebrate a wedding for a funeral. I am all for theathrics and drama, and his "final boss" outfit was nuts. The skateboard was awesome too! But the mere implications of him, turning into some sort of Grim Reaper whilst racing against Langa one last time are very bone-chilling, at least to me it was, again, very unconfortable.

I'd have loved for Adam to lose to Reki, OR, Tadashi and Langa to race so that the final encounter could have been Adam vs. Tadashi. That way, I think he'd have gotten to reflect on his actions and actually grow as a character rather than just be cured by the power of fun and friendship.

In the perfect scenario, he'd escape with Tadashi, he'd ditch his job and tell his aunts to go f*ck themselves, close 'S' for good and get some therapy somewhere where he could be happy skating with his beloved assistant.

On the other hand, I was hoping he'd get arrested. I hoped Kiriko got to put him behind bars and ruin his carreer both as a politician and as a skater, so that S would close. Maybe in some sort of epilogue we'd seen him come out of jail and make up with the gang, skating with them again as friends. Maybe Langa would go see him in prison to help. Idk, I feel like he needs retribution and punishment, but he was also a character who needed help.

The last part with Tadashi and the dog thing was weird and I didn't love it, but I think it works for their relationship. I won't complain, some other people here on tumblr have put it into words way better than I would have.

What I feel was the worst, worst thing they could do was have him crash their celebration party, falling ridiculously from a helicopter with a bouquet for Langa. No. No, just no. The creeps again. Ugh.

Then, I have to say the second in line who bothered me the most were Miya and Shadow.

It's silly: I really screamed in rage and pain about Shadow not getting together with the manager. I wanted all the other ships to be canon, but I knew it's Japan we're talking about and I know we'd get teased about it in the best case scenario, but the straight ship? The one they could totally go for? NO! Also, I think Shadow got played dirty, shoving him into the background after he was attacked in ep. 10. We didn't get to see any justice done to him against the dude that beat the crap out of him, if, perhaps, Shadow could beat him again at 'S', this time fair and square.

Miya, oh my poor catboy. Played so dirty as well. I liked the last time we see him when he meets with his friend again in school and they seem to reconect. But I wish we would have gotten to see them skate together again. This is very wishful thinking, but I wished we could have seen Miya a little bit older, when the others could have taken him a lot more seriously. I wanted him to do much more than just be a background character, because he deserved it.

Next is Joe and Cherry. Oh boy. Hold onto your horses, I have a LOT to say about my favourite duo.

Listen here, I wanted them to be canon. I hoped for the discreet rings on their fingers shot, or a sudden drop of any of them that they had been secretly married for the past two years or something like that. I wanted flashbacks to their trip to Paris. I wanted more of their teenage years. I wanted a date night at Sie La Luce. Man, I would have died for a kiss. But, alas, it's Japan we're talking about and I know I'm viewing the series from a western point of view.

But that's not what bothered me. What really bothered me was that all the tension that had been growing since ep. 7 between the two of them and then between them and Adam seemed to be just a stepping stone for Langa to win the tournament. We saw Cherry get slapped with a skateboard just for us, the expectators, to dislike Adam a lot more.

I would have loved for them to have the chance to reconect with Adam, be it by punching him or by accepting a heartfelt apology. Specially Cherry. Kaoru deserved MUCH better than what he got, and Joe deserved better than what we've got to see from him. The last scene we saw of them, idk, I thought it was funny and I loved how Cherry showed so little professionalism by drawing on his bf in public. LOL.

But I also didn't like it. I think they ended up being comic relief when they were two of the most wonderfully developed partners in the whole series, even if we've just got some crumbs of their relationship. Also, Joe's deep and caring personality, the whole pinning on Kaoru situation, feels like it matters so little when we see him back at the starting point, just being a shameless flirt. The advantage I see from all of it is that we've got a lot left to the imagination with them.

(Man, i would have loved to see Joe punch Adam in the face with a skateboard at the celebration party after his arrival on the helicopter).

And finally, Reki and Langa. Being honest? I actually loved them. I didn't mind there wasn't a explicit moment of romance or a confesion. That was never the point. The symbolism of their 'friendship', of their bond, is more than enough for me.

I think Langa was slightly too overpowered. As I said before, I think the beef was a little too over the top, but, mah, I've seen a lot of sports anime, its not that over the top. I'd have loved to see him snowboarding at some point, perhaps then we'd have seen Langa as a very talented athlethe and not just some random teenager with crazy skills he just pulled out of his pretty canadian butt. Then again, the little scene with his father's memory was really nice. Closure over mourning, that's a wonderful thing to do.

Reki, my boy, on the other hand, I loved him. Cheering for his bf and believing in him and waiting for him at the end of the line, *chef's kiss*. The part where Langa falls over him and they hug on the ground, perfect, hilarious. The insinuation that they are both happy when they are together, yes, yes, good. The last scene with Reki and his family, I love it! I have nothing wrong to say about Reki. I love him and I'd give an arm for him.

...

Overall, it was a good series. It could have been done better. The ending could have been better. I would love a sequel anyway, if only they could focus on the plotlines they left inconclusive and, for god's sake, they kick the creepyness down a notch. For what I conclude, the entire series was meant as fanservice and they didn't imagine it would grow so big. Anyway, I will keep writing Matcha Blossom, I really loved them and I hope this is not the last we ever see of them all.

#rant #ep 12 spoilers #sk8 the infinity #sk8 #renga #matcha blossom #aitada #joe #cherry #adam #reki #langa #miya #shadow

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bookwormforalways · 4 years ago

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2020 Fic Year in Review

Tagged by: @burninghoneyatdusk & @carrieeve - thank you lovelies! 💜

Total number of published stories: 9!

Total published word count: 156k+ words!

Fandoms written in: Mostly the 100, and one Anne with an E fic in there too.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?: Far more than I expected! I had just returned to writing fic at the end of 2019, and naively thought it would be a brief return before life got busy again. But with the amount of free time I had this year (working from home, unable to travel or visit family, no commuting for the better part of a year, etc.) writing became one of my favourite hobbies.

What’s your own favourite story of the year?: Easily, The Courage of the Stars! ✨

Did you take any writing risks this year?: Yes! Honestly I battle a lot of insecurity and imposter syndrome before I even post a fic, so I’ve been working through that this past year.

But the biggest risk I took was posting a Work-In-Progress fic. As a perfectionist, I’ve always made sure my fics were 100% complete before posting. But with TCOTS, I posted the first chapter when I only had about 80% pre-written, which was definitely out of my comfort zone (I know, baby steps, here). While there might be a few things I’d tweak in the earlier chapters, I am so proud of the fic at the end of the day. And the biggest surprise was that the in-story flashback was only supposed to be 1k words - but reader comments inspired me to add more, turning the flashback into a 5k beast worthy of its own individual chapter.

Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?: To keep writing. It’s become a part of my daily routine at this point, and I’m constantly brainstorming new ideas that I’d love to write. And I’d love to finish two of the bigger projects I’m planning.

Next up: A piece for Bellarke January Joy that I’m having a blast writing! It’ll be up in a few days!

Most popular story of the year?: The Courage of the Stars! It surpassed all of my other fics in terms of hits, kudos, and comments - which is fair because it’s my longest multi-chapter fic. But I was genuinely blown away by the wonderful support and the loveliest comments I received on this fic.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Maybe hold my hand (I’m lost without you) - it was a recent one-shot written for a discord event, but it was posted in the middle of my TCOTS updates, so I feel like it kind of flew under the radar. But that’s not to diminish any of support I’ve received on that fic whatsoever.

Most fun story to write: All of them! For me, writing fanfiction is a hobby - so if it’s not fun, it’s not happening.

Most unintentionally telling story: HA! Well, I’ve had baby fever on the brain for months now - and that might just be showing in the amount of kid!fic and pregnancy!fic I’ve been posting: Accidentally (Pregnant &) In Love, Teacher’s Pet, Songs Like This epilogue, don’t talk to strangers, Christmas Eve Will Find Us, & The Courage of the Stars.

Biggest surprise: That I started and finished a novel length fic this year - and as someone who has always wanted to write and publish a novel, that’s a huge achievement.

#2020 in review #my fics #bookwormforalwayswritesfic

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princess-of-the-corner · 4 years ago

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So I totally forgot to drop the fifth part of the Thieves in Time Rewrite months ago. Whoops.

I think it’s because I wasn’t super happy with it but fuck it. Let’s do this.

Finally, onto the Thieves in Time Rewrite: Episode 5; It Ends at the Beginning.

Like Episode 3, I’m replacing the Cooper that they end up with. If y’all have kept up with my old posts, you know what’s coming >:3c

So! Actual story!

The gang lands in this Time but don't know when they are just that they were following anomalies in Time. They start trying to figure out when they are.

Sly's first out of the van, and is looking at a house in a normal neighborhood. However, he immediately recognizes it. This also sends him into a straight up ptsd flashback and he just scrambles back into the van, curled up and hyperventilating. The rest of the gang is confused and trying to calm him down. Completely forgetting about the question of 'when are they', until Murray comments that Sly hasn't had an attack this bad since the early days of the orphanage. Which makes Bently put the pieces together like "oh shit!!"

Right then, they hear a knock on the van door and a voice asking "are you having some car trouble?"

Because sure it's the middle of the night but Conner Cooper is going to notice a van parked in his driveway and come to investigate.

Conner also eavesdropped a bit before announcing his presence. So he heard them wondering 'when they are', and has already put together that Time Travel is involved, and they're probably not innocent road trippers. But he doesn't know if they're friend or foe.

Until he looks in the van and sees Sly. Because everything about Sly screams "Cooper", from the outfit to the cane(that he is currently gripping like a lifeline).

However, Conner has yet to pinpoint how far in the future they're from or what triggered Sly's flashback. Still, realizing this is another Cooper and his Gang, he invites them inside.

It takes a little while because Sly needs to calm down enough, but Conner is patient because he knows what ptsd is like.

Oddly enough, the one that helps the most is Penelope. Not that the others don't help. But with Carmelita, Sly gets that guilt/shame 'I don't want you to see me like this' feeling. That's less with Bently and Murray since they've seen this before, but since he's known them for so long the flashback memories are melding and mixing in his panicked state, and it's hard to remember that he's here now and not that little kid in the orphanage waking up from a nightmare.

Penelope, on the other hand, is a newer face that Sly isn't in any way intimate with. Seeing her helps ground him in remembering what's going on and helps pull him out of spiraling memories.

Sly's panic goes up and down as they enter the house. Seeing the livingroom definitely hits hard. It looks so normal, but it overlaps with his memory of upturned and bloodsoaked furniture. And god he fully freezes as they pass the closet. It gets better once the group enters the dining room.

At this point, Dahlia, Conner’s wife and Sly’s mom, has come downstairs as well. She was concerned at how long Conner was taking and was fully prepared to throwdown with whoever. Seeing the group though...

Dahlia knows something is up. She has seen enough stuff from her days running with Conner's crew to be used to it. And she's intrigued to see another Cooper.

But yeah Sly's still in panic and Dahlia's mom instincts kick in and she starts making tea to help calm him.

Once Sly's calm enough to talk again, they begin to explain why they're here. An enemy is using Time Travel to mess with Cooper history. The gang tracked an anomaly to this Time. They even start discussing the ancestors that they already met.

Then Conner and Dahlia ask how far in the future they're from, and everyone hesitates, wondering how to break it to them.

They're sidetracked by a new voice, sleepily asking what's going on. Everyone looks over to see a six-year-old!Sly standing in the doorway, having been woken up by the noise.

Past!Sly realizes there are five new people and is super excited to meet them!! And asks a million questions!

It's when Past!Sly gets to Future!Sly that things go a little heartbreaking. The conversation is like:

Past!Sly: "My name's Sly! Are you a Cooper? You look like a Cooper! You're a raccoon and you have the cane and everything! Are you a cousin or something?

Future!Sly: "Actually, I'm from the future! And my name's also Sly!"

Past!Sly: "Wow that's cool! Isn't it cool mom and dad?!"

Future!Sly: "Yeah, mom and dad. Isn't that cool?"

And yeah they don't even have to say it because as soon as both Slys were side-by-side with nearly identical grins… it clicked.

It takes a little bit to put Past!Sly to bed. Then they go back to talking.

However, Dahlia realized something. The way Sly had reacted to them, to this house. She knows something happens. And she asks.

At first, the gang refuses to tell them. Because Timelines. But Conner and Dahlia say that while they're not going down without a fight, they're not going to change it. Just tell them how long.

Of course once Sly starts confessing to that, pretty much most of the incident gets discussed. Including some things Carmelita and Penelope didn't know about because Sly hadn't felt up to sharing (like, they knew how his parents died but they didn't know Sly was there).

Sly mentions Clockwerk and we hints to things about Clockwerk. Even Conner doesn’t 100% know what’s up with Clockwerk’s hatred of Coopers, as that got lost over time. But he does know that Clockwerk is dangerous and isn’t surprised that’s how he gets killed.

After that, it turns into recapping everything else in Sly's life. Like how he met the rest of the Gang and all their adventures. Not every detail, but some of the bigger jobs or more fun anecdotes. Or really stupid decisions. And the fact that Sly and Carmelita are planning a wedding and baby is already on the way.

Eventually they get around to what they're supposed to be doing here. Apparently, this is right before Conner pulled that job that Le Paradox's dad was arrested over.

They assume that Le Paradox is teaming up with his own father and intending to turn the tables on what happened that night, solidifying their legacy and getting Conner arrested.

Well two can play at that game! They have a whole team to take them on.

For now they get some sleep because its like 3 am now.

The next day they meet two new people. Alice LaChance and her daughter Daphne, the Cooper's Rabbit neighbors. Sly is hit with nostalgia and a little guilt for kind of forgetting about them because of the trauma and being dumped in an orphanage but you know. Daphne is the same age as Past!Sly and was his best friend back then. Alice was mostly the babysitter when Conner and Dahlia were working, and isn't super involved in the heists, but does have a few tricks up her sleeves.

The whole group plans and bonds together and goes through all the hoops casing the joint and getting past security and eventually Sly and Conner face off against LeParadox and his father. Obviously they win.

But there are complications. The changes in the Timeline that LeParadox caused made the cops show up early. The place is surrounded and the usual escape routes are covered. Again, LeParadox wanted to make sure Conner couldn't slip away even if he failed the heist. But that's backfired now.

They're panicking and trying to think of a plan when Carmelita spies the one leading the arrest. She just laughs at their luck before saying they have a plan.

The Cooper gang all hide, with only Carmelita and the handcuffed LeParadoxes in plain view for Inspector Diego Fox.

Carmelita explains the truth. That she's his daughter from the future and was chasing a gang of criminals put together by LeParadox.

But she also tells him that to preserve that future, he has to let the Coopers go. Even emphasizing that without the Coopers, the world would be even more fucked in the future. Also letting a "if you don't help this future exist then you're also erasing your future grandkid" slip in.

Diego is, understandably, thrown for a loop. But after Carmelita proves she's really who she says she is, he does listen.

The cop in him really doesn't want to let the Coopers go. But… much like Carmelita, he knows that the world isn't all black and white. If he has to let them go for the greater good, then, well, as far as anyone else will know, only LeParadox Sr. was involved in tonight's heist.

There's no cliffhanger damn it(Other than the potential hints about Clockwerk’s past that could be used for another game)! Everyone goes back to the Future, LeParadox is thrown in jail, much to the super confusion of Carmita's superiors.

The Gang gets back to smaller heists and busts, along with wedding planning and a baby.

The last thing is an epilogue: Sly reconnecting with Alice and Daphne.

Alice is still in that same house. Sly takes a quick visit to his old house too. It's abandoned now, and run down. Violent deaths of criminals don't help real estate sales.

Alice is shocked but happy to see Sly. One of the first things she does is apologize though. For not being able to help. Not with the fact that Conner and Dahlia were killed, because she couldn't have done much that night. But for what happened after.

After that night, when she found out that Sly was spared, she tried to find him. But he was already lost in the system.

Sly reassures her that it's okay. He knows she tried and honestly, after all the Timeline Shenanigans, he's really come to terms with the fact that despite the bad things in this Timeline, he wouldn't trade it for anything.

The epilogue ends with Alice telling Sly about Daphne and her wife, and Sly inviting all of them to the wedding.

#Sly Cooper #Thieves in Time Rewrite

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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January 3, 2021: Cliffhanger (1993)

Sylvester Stallone.

The Italian Stallion here is one of the most prominent action movie stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, coming to prominence with Rocky in 1976. And before we even start this review, here’s the deal: I refuse to make fun of the man’s iconic voice. Yeah, I get it, we’ve all shouted “YOADRIAAAAAAH!” at some point, but his voice and face is due to a botched birth, which pinched a nerve and caused permanent facial paralysis. We all got something, and I’m not gonna target him for it. It’s been done enough.

I also can’t really comment on his acting ability. Why? Well...OK, some confession time. I’ve BARELY seen Stallone in a film. That’s going to be fixed this year, as I’ve added many of his films to the list for 2021. So, what have and haven’t I seen? Let’s start with haven’t, shall we?

I haven’t seen:

Rocky (1976): Sports November

Rocky II (1979): maybe Sports November

First Blood (1982): later this month

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992): Please. Please don’t make me.

Cliffhanger (1993): Give it a minute.

Demolition Man (1993): Science Fiction September

Judge Dredd (1995): maybe Science Fiction September

The Expendables (2010): later this month

I have seen:

Tango and Cash (1989): Dumbass buddy cop movie with Stallone and Russell; 2/5.

Antz (1998): Sub-par Dreamworks rip-off of an already kinda sub-par Pixar movie; 2/5

Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003): Yeah...I saw this in theaters, on my birthday. I saw everything in red and green for, like, an hour afterwards. Worth it. 2/5.

Rocky Balboa (2006): Somehow, this is the only Rocky movie I’ve seen, Creed included. And from what I remember, it was fine. 3/5.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017): The ONE good Stallone movie I’ve seen, and it isn’t even a Stallone movie. 5/5.

So, yeah, I haven’t seen any good Stallone movies, sans the one. But now, some of you are probably asking another question: “Why Cliffhanger? You literally haven’t seen any major Stallone movie, so WHY CLIFFHANGER?”

First of all, I think everybody’s kinda slept on this movie. It was a big success back in the day, but people have basically forgotten it at this point. You’ll see in this review that there aren’t even many GIFs from the movie made, and it wasn’t easy to find enough clips to make my own, honestly. Does it deserve to get slept on? I mean, we’ll see, right?

Secondly, I just watched a Tom Cruise movie where he dangles off of a rope, and I liked that, so why not do that for the next one, I guess! And third...honestly, I saw this on the list, and it kinda just spoke to me. It called to me, like a boxer calling to his love. Hey, look, a reference to a movie I’ve never seen. We’ll get there. We’ll get there. Oh, and SPOILERS from here on out, by the way.

Recap

We start on a cliff. Surprise.

Michael Rooker (y’know, Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy) is hanging out (HA!) with his girlfriend Sarah on a cliff called the Tower. Y’know, third date kinda stuff. First date is dinner, second date is dinner and a movie, and third date is free-climbing up a cliff to your near death. Well...near is a strong word…

ANYHOOOO, We meet Gabe, played by the big man himself, Sly Stallion, who’s a rescue ranger in the Rocky Mountains. So, Rocky, the Rockies Rescue Ranger is sent to save Yondu and Sarah. Unfortunately...someone forgot to check the equipment before the rescue mission…

Not gonna lie, this scene is actually heart-wrenchingly tense. And the ending...well, if you’ve seen Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls...you know what happens here. And it’s actually somewhat traumatic, for Gabe and for me. Seriously. It’s a roughie.

Cut to almost a year later, and Gabe is...NOT OK. He and his wife, Jessie (who is a pilot for the Rescue Rangers, and was there when Sarah fell), have been separate, and Gabe just can’t do it anymore. And I get it, honestly. That was a hard experience, losing someone and blaming yourself. And no, it wasn’t Gabe’s fault. But to add insult to injury, he has NO SUPPORT SYSTEM. His wife doesn’t seem to understand, his former best friend Yondu hates him (getting GotG Vol. 2 flashbacks), and he’s basically all alone. Geez. You guys are jerks.

Meanwhile, a plot is afoot! And hey, it’s Tripp from CSI: Miami, AKA Rex Linn! I always liked him, so it’s cool to see him in other roles. Turns out, though, that Tripp is working with a group of thugs to steal from the US Treasury. This villainous group of 8 thugs is led by John Lithgow, AKA Lord Farquaad from Shrek, who is channeling Hans Gruber from Die Hard, and trying super-hard on that British accent. Anyway, after a pretty great mid-flight action sequence, the group of thugs loses 3 suitcases of money, amounting to millions. In the process, they also lose Expendable Thugs #1 and #2. This will be a trend.

The thugs crash their plane into the mountain, killing Expendable Thug #3 in the process. They stage a rescue situation to get some expert mountain climbers to help them find the money. Jessie, after having just told her hubby to suck it up like a big boy (I don’t really like Jessie, by the way), begs him to help find these people. Reluctantly, he agrees, and has a tension filled reunion with his former best friend, who blames him (unfairly, in my opinion). That animosity disappears as soon as they find themselves held hostage by the thugs. And so, the money hunt begins!

First suitcase is on a cliffside, and Stallone goes to get it. Some shenanigans quickly ensure, and the thugs shoot at him. An avalanche occurs because these dumbasses have never seen a movie, and in the process, we lose a suitcase of money, Expendable Thug #4 goes the way of Sarah, and Gabe is presumed dead. Farquaad tells Yondu to tell his coworkers that everything is fine, and he’s gonna stay on the mountain to ride out the storm. Which is #5 in the list of “moments in this movie where I would 100% die” I grew up in a warm climate, this is not a comfortable hypothetical situation for me.

Anyway, our intrepid team of criminals takes Yondu to find the next suitcase, while Jessie and Gabe separately make their way to the cabin that Yondu was talking about. They catch each other up, and they can’t contact the main office because...Jessie’s radio died in the cold? You...you work amongst mountains as a rescue officer for stranded hikers. That’s the best excuse the writers came up with? Why the hell didn’t she bring a better radio? They HAD to have spares, right? RIGHT? Geez, no wonder you needed Gabe’s help.

The tracker, with its marvelously outdated computer graphics technology (IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM IKNOWTHIS), leads the thugs to the next package, but not before Gabe and Jesse get there! Gabe leaves a ransom note for the money, holding it hostage. This eventually leads to a nighttime chase in the snow, leading to Expendable Thug #5 going The Way of Sarah.

By the way, it’s also at this point that I notice that it is VERY bright...for being in the middle of the mountains at night. And I get it, you can’t exactly have your movie be shot in darkness, but...look at this.

Like...wow. That’s the fakest outdoor shot I’ve ever seen. I guess I’m glad it isn’t a day-for-night shot, but...yeah. Wow.

Jesse and Gabe find themselves in a cave full of the cutest goddamn bats I’ve ever seen. This is supposed to be a harrowing experience, but simply makes me jealous. They’re fruit bats, by the way, and they’re also WAY too high up, altitude-wise. At least, that’s what I assume. I’m a bird-guy, not a bat-guy. Eventually, they make it out of the cave after Stallone does some free-climbing...loudly. Loud enough for the super-violent, sociopathic, knife-and-gun-loving Expendable Thug #6 to hear them. And that’s when Gabe ICE-PICKS HIM IN THE LEG DAMN

Understandably pissed, and not as understandably still walking around without crying (#6 in that list of me-dying moments), the thug finds and beats the SHIT out of Gabe, handily. But then, he calls Jessie a bitch, and Gabe is, above all things a feminist. Which leads to him, and read this CLOSELY:

This leads to Stallone, bloodied and beaten, PICKING THE THUG UP OVER HIS HEAD, AND IMPALING HIM ONTO A STALACTITE. Not a stalagmite, a STALACTITE. HOLY SHIT!.

Well, Expendable Thug #6 is dead, there’s a bomb on the mountaintop, Jesse almost goes The Way of Sarah, and Frank (another guy who works with them, don’t know if I mentioned him) gets lured into a trap where he gets killed. An “Aww” moment from me; I liked Frank, he seemed like a really nice guy. This eventually leads to Farquaad and Tripp out-crazy-ing each other, and Farquaad winning by killing Expendable Thug #7, who does not go The Way of Sarah (blessed be her fall).

Gabe finds the remaining money, while Tripp, Yondu, and Expendable Thug #7 get there just after. Tripp leaves, and Yondu then delivers my favorite line of the movie:

Oh, sorry, no, it’s, “In a minute, I’ll be dead. You will always be an asshole.” Thug #7 beats the shit out of Yondu, I get flashbacks to GotG 2, and Thug #8 goes THE WAY OF SARAH, BLESSED BE HER FALL. Tripp finds the tracker without the money, and officially loses it, outing himself and Farquaad to the government officials who FINALLY get here.

Tripp finds Gabe, they make their way to a frozen mountain lake, and Gabe SHOOTS TRIPP FROM UNDERNEATH THE ICE. That shouldn’t have worked for many reasons, but that was cool, so fuck it. Now, it’s just Farquaad, BUT HE HAS JESSIE! OH NOOOOOOOooooooo.

This whole thing culminates in a tense, cool chase sequence between Gabe and Farquad in the helicopter. The helicopter crashes into the mountainside, and the two fight while on the helicopter, which is now hanging from the cliff.

Oh. Oh, I get it.

This inevitably leads to Farquaad and the helicopter going, of course, The Way of Sarah. Blessed Be Her Fall. #BBHF.

And that’s it. Our three heroes are, themselves, rescued by the government agents, and we pan away from the cliffside, as the credits roll. Boom. Cliffhanger.

Stay tuned for the epilogue, which contains the review!

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hopeymchope · 5 years ago

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Magia Record: Reflecting on the Anime and the Game’s Story Ending

With Magia Record's story now complete in-game and with the anime "finished" (only the first season, but it took until literally this past weekend for the production team at Shaft to acknowledge that the second season is coming/inevitable), I have like… a ton of thoughts about where the game and the anime landed.

This will probably mostly be gripes, but overall, I'm still pretty happy with both. I've invested my past year into Magia Record during a lot of my free time, and hey – no regrets here. That game was absolutely worth the experience. The anime? Jury's still out somewhat, but it looks good so far.

This is definitely a normal thing to find surrounding a radio tower.

Anime Adaptation Thoughts:

The original Madoka Magica anime made the world feel slightly off-kilter by employing locations that were just a little off the rails from reality. The producers noted Madoka's bathroom as an important example; it's simply too large and has too much wasted space. It's maybe the biggest room in their house for no discernible reason, and that's by design, because it feels wrong. Another one was the music store we see in the first episode, where the technology is noticeably on a level that you just can't find in any real shop. On the flip side, the Magia Record anime creates a world that is deeply bizarre in many ways – much moreso than the original anime or the Magia Record game world. This is probably because the creator of the witch designs in the original was given far more creative control over the series as a whole this time around, and the result was BUGNUTS. Take note of the massive stack of discarded school desks that is arranged in a dangerous, precarious pile atop the school building (helpfully labeled as a waste pile, despite the fact that… well, who is picking up these garbage desks from the goddamn roof?). That's some imagery straight out of a witch's labyrinth, but it is ostensibly "reality." I think that's where Magia Record's anime really goes bugnuts, sometimes to powerful effect in that it makes things feel more unsettling… and sometimes to ridiculous effect. I mean, the field surrounding the radio tower now being replaced with a yard of jagged, cockeyed, towering gravestones and cross-like woodwork dangling with ropes and tridents? That's a LOT. That's… that's too much.

Look, if you were a die-hard fan of Kaede in the game, I am deeply sorry, because your girl got done DIRTY by the anime. Anyone who played the game who then sees where she winds up at the end of episode 12 is likely on a train straight to Double-You Tee Eff Station. I can't deny that it makes sense for the limited story she's given to develop across, but it was still disappointing to see. I suppose we don't really have the time to develop up all of the other characters from the game, so somebody had to sub in for this role… but oof.

Sana's backstory with her family is not nearly explained or explored enough in the show. I honestly think it comes off as confusingly unclear why they treated her like this or why they didn't notice her vanish at all. The game justifies this devastatingly well, but it feels like it's not clear at all here.

I think they could've had Kyubey run around Kamihama for part of the first season before he got ousted/blocked, and I think it would've been beneficial to do so. Now, that's not just because I love his character and find him fascinating, although that's definitely true, but it's also because there's so much exposition that I wish he could deliver to the characters about what's happened before we got here. Like, the tragic truth about Felicia's backstory is wonderfully awful, and I wish there was some way to deliver that into the anime, but I don't think it's possible without a ton of flashbacks. (And to be fair, players of the game may never know it without playing her particular Magical Girl Story.)

The change to not having Mami attack Yachiyo when they first meet was something I felt was a positive move. I loved that Mami got to have a moment she never had in the game during the Radio Tower arc, too. In generally, I enjoyed the slower, more piecemeal involvement of the original Holy Quintet, which has served as nice slow tease compared to having them be more upfront in the game. I did kind of miss the Madoka/Homura involvement in the radio tower case, but I ultimately came away feeling like it was better to save those two for later in the story because they're probably the best-known characters from the original series.

The combat soundtrack is exquisite - maybe better than ever before, honestly. The Magia Record anime has the best fight music in the series outside of, say, Rebellion.

Game's Ending Thoughts: (Spoilers Within)

The anime cutscenes in the final chapter are delightful.

Puella Magi has never shied away from having its characters die in the original anime or in the many manga stories. I'd argue that those deaths are at least part of what makes it such a successful subversion of the Magical Girl formula; the threat of death (often via witchiness) establishes the idea of there being permanent consequences that simple hope and faith and love can't overcome in spite of what those other anime may have told you. On the other hand, Magia Record turns out to have very close to zero consequences. Aside from established deaths from flashbacks that have occurred before the game even begins, by the end of the game, literally no one dies. Not even the most blatantly psychotic character is allowed to shuffle off her mortal coil; she just "disappears" and escapes. I particularly like (please note the sarcasm) how three different characters do some kind of "super-move" during the final two chapters that is said to most likely kill them, and yet they all survive them! At least ONE character winds up with some paralysis, but jeez, the others walk away completely unscathed. I can only hope the anime doesn't go quite so weak in the knees about any of the characters suffering actual consequences from the potentially-world-ending-level battles that occur.

I previously griped that I actually expected the psychos responsible for the entire storyline to get off scot-free, and although they don't get off 100% free and clear by the time the credits role, they come extremely close to doing so. However, I was really happy with the "Cherry Blossom Dreams" epilogue event, because there is dialogue in there that has the Magius admit that whatever guilt they have now, they are still capable of being complete sociopaths who want to dominate the Earth. That one person's presence (Ui) shouldn't be (and isn't) enough to keep them from being incredibly dangerous. Ultimately, the solution/punishment they receive is probably the best one available in light of their overall survival. Well done.

Speaking of the Magius, I mean… is it really possible that so many feathers never questioned that they were following a couple of 11/12-year-olds and one blatantly obvious psychotic? I guess having face time with the Magius was pretty rare, but there was still enough that some of the feathers declared their allegiance was primarily to those three above all else. And most magical girls range closer to 16 than to 11, I mean, y'know? Which is practically an eternity in terms of maturity. So I guess MIfuyu did a lot of heavy lifting on NOT making them seem like absolutely the worst possible choices for leadership, huh? (And for that reason: Mifuyu got off fucking LIGHT.)

Aaaand speaking of "one obvious psychotic," I find it funny how almost nobody knows Alina outside of her Magius role except for Karin. Because, just… it's so perfect. Karin (who is not a "Karen") happens to be the most insanely tolerant person when it comes to Alina. She seems to shrug off Alina's entire everything as amusing, forgivable quirks. Perhaps because so many people believe Karin's own obsession with Halloween is a weirdly morbid quirk, Karin doesn't even question Alina's obsession with making art about death using actual human remains. Which is… funny? No, seriously. I think it's legitimately comedic in a good way. But it should probably be much more alarming to me that she doesn't care. I'd like to think that Karen feels it's just delightfully Halloween-y for Alina to paint her canvas with legit blood, and I do believe Karin isn't really the kind of person who would ask where the blood came from because whatever, it's probably fine, better get back to planning my pageant or something. She probably even thinks Alina's skulls are plastic Halloween decorations. :P

We need to talk about Mami: Mami in "Another Story Chapter 9" felt so off and out-of-character compared to how she was written in things like Rebellion or A Different Story or Wraith Arc, and furthermore, despite that chapter being entirely about Mami wanting to just be a simple peer with no superiority over the rest of the Holy Quintet, Another Story Chapter 10 has her immediately revert back to being the smart senpai character, further cementing how weirdly "off" Chapter 9 felt. I realize they had something difficult to write, here, though. It's painful how Sayaka has to run middlewoman between Kyoko and Mami in Chapter 10 of AS. I feel like I could write a whole screed about Kyoko's behavior across the franchise and how difficult a character she is for me to like even though I "get it" and don't think she's necessarily a bad person; she's just living on the edge of being almost a total hypocrite basically ALL THE TIME. The conclusion where Kyoko acknowledges that she's going to continue to work with Mami and the others semi-regularly in spite of everything is really the best closure you can hope for with her. She's too antagonistic to give us much else, and she prefers it that way. It would take years to see her mellow.

At this point, it seems safe to assume that there isn't going to be any "season 2" of the game like what happened with Fate/Grand Order after its finale. The main narrative is well and truly done, and it's just going to be various events from here on out. Is that enough to keep me around? Um. I don't know. Probably not? Hard to say. I don't really know what other mobile game to throw my heart into. I've considered Attack on Titan Tactics, but like… Attack on Titan hasn't been kind to me lately so uhhhhh.

#magia record #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm

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aethelflaedladyofmercia · 5 years ago

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Boundless Love

My final story for @drawlight‘s advent calendar is sort of an epilogue (or, if I’m being super literary, coda) to all of my previous stories. It might be a little cheesy (definitely a little more literary than I generally go for) but I’ve had this ending in mind since like...day 3? So I had to see it through.

The longer scenes are epilogues to several of the other stories in this set; I’ll provide links in case you’ve missed them. This will also function as an Advent Calendar Master Post.

I plan to post the entire series to AO3 under the title “Boundless Love” starting tomorrow (I’ll edit as I go, one or two stories need a bit of re-working). Thank you all for reading, it has been a wild ride!!

25 - Love (3,142 words)

Some people think that every choice we make creates a universe.

This is only partly correct.

The fifth night of the festival of Saturnalia, long after even the most determined revelers in Rome had gone to sleep, an angel and a demon stood on a rooftop patio, overlooking the quiet mountainside.

“I think I love you,” Aziraphale said, abruptly, without preamble.

Crowley turned to him, mouth wide, too breathless to respond.

“I’m not…I don’t know whether one can ever be sure in such matters,” Aziraphale hurried on. “It’s a human emotion, after all. Angels weren’t made to love one being above all others. And yet, I think I do.” He smiled at Crowley, as if what he’d said was of only passing interest. “To be honest, I don’t know what to do with this information just yet.”

Crowley moved a little closer, leaned against the raised lip of the patio. “Could be problematic. If your side finds out. I don’t imagine they would approve.”

“No, you’re probably right.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Perhaps not.” Aziraphale stared eastward, waiting for the sunrise. “I suppose I thought you had a right to know. Is that not how this works?”

“Could be. I’m not really an expert, either. Demons aren’t supposed to love anyone at all.”

“Ah.” Aziraphale nodded. Already the sky was beginning to lighten.

“Which makes it a bit troublesome, because I am almost certainly in love, too.”

Crowley shot a glance sideways, watched Aziraphale bite his lip, nod seriously.

“I understand. This person you’re in love with.” His eyes drifted over. “It’s Caligula, isn’t it?”

“Oh, don’t you –”

Aziraphale burst into laughter at the look on Crowley’s face, even as the demon reached over, pulled him close, held him tight.

“I love you,” the angel whispered, pressing lips to his neck, his jaw, his cheek. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” As if the fervent whispers, the beating of his heart, could stop the coming dawn.

Each of the infinite universes starts at the same point; they all meet again at the end.

In between, they never touch, never cross, never affect the others in any way. Each plays out its own story, independently.

An infinite number of earths, crossing six thousand years of history. An infinite number of Heavens and Hells, fighting behind the scenes in ways humans can’t comprehend.

And in every universe, there is a demon who asks too many questions, and an angel who doesn’t always obey.

“Aziraphale,” Crowley said, eyes wide, balanced on the branch of the apple tree. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I’m sorry, my love,” the angel said with deadly cold eyes. “But this is the way it has to be. Warriors, attack!”

And the platoon of children pelted the evil spirit with snowballs until he fell to the ground, gasping with exaggerated agony.

The angel bent over the fallen figure, inspecting his enemy, and Crowley reached up, grabbing him, pulling him to the ground, burying his face in Aziraphale’s neck.

“My love, you say? My love? Don’t use that word if you don’t mean it, Angel. You’ll find me quite –”

His rant was rudely cut off by a small child shoving a fistful of snow down the back of Crowley’s shirt. “If you two don’t stop kissing after every tree, this is gonna take all night.”

Why do they always find each other?

Why do they always cling to each other?

Despite infinite universes seeking to tear them apart, why do they always fall in love?

Aziraphale collapsed across the sofa, head and shoulders wedged into the corner, too exhausted to even keep himself upright. The long black serpent lay on his stomach, watching him intently.

“Oh, Crowley,” he tried to keep his voice steady, despite the tears he could no longer hold in. “You were wrong. It was my fault. I’ve – I’ve worked it out now. Obvious, really. Serpent. Human. Two corporations, woven together.” His voice started to crack. “When we changed places I…I sort of dropped a corner. Let one bleed into the other. I – I’m so sorry.”

Crowley took a moment, processing this. “Accccident.”

“Yes, but I…” He held out a hand. Crowley didn’t like to be scratched, or petted, or held. But he did glide across the hand, bringing his snout closer to the angel’s tear-streaked face. “I could have killed you, Crowley. I could have destroyed you over something so…so foolishly simple. You must hate me.”

“No. Nevvver.”

He wiped furiously at his eyes with his free hand. They itched with fatigue as they never had before. “I’m almost there, Crowley. Just a little more. I can see where I dropped it. I can see how to separate them again. I just…just need to figure out how to secure the ends, so it doesn’t happen again.” The sobs broke through again. “I’m nearly there, my love. I’m nearly there.”

“Resssst.”

“I can’t. Not when I’m so close. Crowley I…I need you back. I want to see you human again. And I know you hate this, I won’t leave you in this form a moment longer than necessary, I just…”

“Ssssleeep.” Crowley retreated, coiling up on Aziraphale’s chest. “Ssssleeep. Lovvvve. Sssssleeeep.”

Still shaking, still crying, he drifted off under that watchful golden gaze.

You could call it fate. You could call it part of the Plan.

Something written into them, a command on their souls drawing them together.

Something in their makeup that leaves each incomplete, threatens to destroy them when apart.

You would be wrong.

A fight at an airbase, a long bus ride, not a word spoken after we’re on our own side.

And after more than twenty-six centuries, Aziraphale found himself again standing beside Crowley’s bed. Not a pile of furs this time, but cotton sheets, black as night.

Crowley pulled off his glasses, met Aziraphale’s eyes, and nodded.

Almost without a thought, their bodies returned to the familiar position, as if they had only left the Celtic roundhouse the day before: lying facing each other, eyes locked, hands entwined. Bare inches apart, as if the queen-sized mattress were a narrow sleeping platform.

Nothing had changed, save that this time it was Crowley who trembled.

“I’m right here,” Aziraphale whispered, running his thumb across Crowley’s fingers. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

“It might. What if they come while I’m asleep?”

“I’ll wake you. Come what may, we’ll face it together.”

“You won’t leave?” Crowley knew the answer, but he needed to hear it out loud.

“I made that mistake once, twenty-six centuries ago. I thought I knew what was important. I was a fool. But I know better now.” He released Crowley’s hand and slowly, hesitantly, slid his arm around the demon’s waist. He’d never done this while awake before.

Crowley melted into it, moving closer, pressing his head into Aziraphale’s throat. “Angel. I’m sorry. I never should have –”

“You did what I asked of you. It was my mistake. But I will never, ever leave again. I promise.”

“I loved you, Aziraphale. Even back then, I already loved you.”

“I know. I loved you, too. I just refused to admit it.” They held each other tighter, as if they were always meant to fit together like this. “Rest now. I’ll think of something.”

An angel who does what he thinks is right, no matter what he is ordered to do.

A demon who rebels against everything, even the rebellion itself.

If you tried to force them together, you would fail utterly.

They go only where they choose.

Crowley woke before the dreams could begin, Aziraphale leaning over him, shaking him gently.

“You don’t have to do that every time,” he muttered, but didn’t pull away. “You can just leave.”

Aziraphale responded as he always did, in a calm, even voice: “I do it because I love you, and you’re safe.”

“Fine, you don’t have to say that every time.”

“I say it because I love you, and you’re safe.” His hand still rested on Crowley’s shoulder. “And I will keep saying both until I’m sure you believe me.”

The demon shifted under the blankets. Aziraphale’s latest idea: breaking the sleep cycle, waking him before the terrors could begin, training his mind to a new rhythm. They would talk briefly, then allow Crowley to drift off again in half an hour. “How will we even know if it’s working?”

“It is working. Your eyes are back to normal. When you have a terror at all, it only lasts a few minutes. You aren’t having nearly as many flashbacks during the day. I know you can’t see it, but it is working.”

“Will I ever be better?” He could see how the weight of caring for him wore on Aziraphale, even if the angel never said a word.

“I don’t know. A human could carry this trauma the rest of their life; it’s generally about managing symptoms rather than finding a cure. But you are a demon. Who can say? I just know, I will keep trying as long as it takes, because I love –”

“Yes, I know.” Crowley grumbled, embarrassed, not quite meeting his eyes. “I love you too, you old sap.”

That, perhaps, is the secret.

In an infinite number of universes, under an infinite variety of circumstances, the two beings who never quite fit anywhere will choose each other, again and again, every time.

Never mind the dangers. Never mind the difficulties.

They choose each other, cling to each other, heal each other.

The words they fear to say they spill out in other ways, weaving themselves into the world.

I love you. I love you.

Pulsing through the roots and branches of the ancient chestnut tree, pounding through the hearts of the two beings walking through the grove.

1967. The telephone rang at 7:43 PM. Crowley had just about convinced himself the call would never come. Now he pounced on it, lifting it before the first ring even ended, hardly able to choke out a greeting.

“– infernal, blasted device. Can anyone hear me? I’m trying to reach Crowley, Anthony Crowley, he’s been waiting for my call all day, but this wretched machine only makes incomprehensible noises! Oh, he’ll think I’m sulking, or angry, and he’ll disappear on me again, as if I haven’t been so worried about him I can hardly think straight. Connect me right now or the wrath I visit upon you and all your kind will –”

“Angel?”

A very long silence.

“Crowley? Oh, dear. How…long have you been listening?”

“Were you…trying to threaten the telephone?”

“Perhaps?” Aziraphale cleared his throat and tried for his angry, blustery tone again. “This horrible contraption is not even remotely easy to use, despite what you told me –”

“I worried about you, too.”

Another silence. So long Crowley began to panic that the line had somehow disconnected.

“Ah.”

“Do you…want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know what to say.” The voice on the line was much softer now. “I don’t think we should. These things are not…not safe to talk about.” An awkward throat clearing. “But yes. Someday, I very much think I would.”

“When you’re ready,” Crowley said, quietly, gently. “I’ll be waiting.”

Sometimes they say it in actions.

A wordless song raised in a Garden.

I see your pain. I’ll show you mine. Hear me. Help me. Love me.

A hundred healing kisses pressed to the skin.

I hurt you. Forgive me. I love you.

A warm drink by the fire and friendly company on a snowy morning.

Let me help you. Let me comfort you. I love you.

The smooth motion of thumbs on the soles of feet, every weekend, for as many weekends as were left to the world.

I love you. Don’t leave me. I love you.

1982. The phone rang at 10:08 PM. The demon stumbled out of bed, shooing the spiders away, snatching up the handset on the third ring.

“Yes? Who – yes?”

He relaxed. “Angel. Still haven’t gone back to London?” A pause. “Because the time zones go the other way, idiot. It’s the middle of the night here.”

He listened for a bit, teeth clenched anxiously. “You aren’t going to get in trouble, are you? Going over your healing quota?” Crowley nodded, even though he was alone. “Fine, just, you know. Be smart. Don’t take any stupid risks.”

He smiled a little. “No, a new hotel every night is exactly the right thing. Have you been reading spy novels again?” Raised eyebrows. “Oh, really? What kind of mystery have you encountered, Aziraphale?”

Crowley settled back on the edge of the bed as he listened. “Well, yeah, the television does play movies, that’s the point…Exactly two minutes every time? But different parts? Are you sure it’s the same movie?” He bit his lip as he realized what was going on, struggling not to laugh. “No, no, keep taking notes. You’ll figure it out…Yeah, I definitely want to hear the saga of the pizza boy and the babysitter when you’re done.”

The conversation went on, as it did every Thursday, filled with the boring minutiae of everyday life, plans, complaints, grumblings about the state of the food. And yet, through the demon’s habitual tone of annoyance and disgust shone a warmth and love that colored every word. “Yeah. No. Talk to you next week. I’m looking forward to it.”

Sometimes they say it in gifts.

A branch of pine. A remembered song. A clasp of hands on a bus.

Be happy. Be safe. I love you.

A meal delivered just in time. A friendly face interrupting soul-crushing loneliness.

Don’t give up. I need you. I love you.

Forty pairs of tickets to a ballet. A letter. An apology. A wish.

Stay with me. I miss you. I love you.

An angel and a demon walked together towards the Ritz, after a body swap and a narrow escape. Blue eyes turned towards a dark figure, again and again, sly as a puppy and just as sweet.

“So, my dear, do you suppose it’s safe to try flirting now?”

“It could still be dangerous. Especially for you. But I suppose I can’t stop you if you want to try.”

“Well then. Crowley.” The eyes batted as if there was an eyelash caught in them. “I like your…face.”

And Crowley grabbed his lapels, slammed him back against the nearest wall, and kissed him in broad daylight until his legs gave out. Aziraphale clung to him, dragging hands through red hair, kissing back for all he was worth.

When they finally parted, gasping for breath, Aziraphale chuckled. “And I thought you didn’t want a snog in a back alley.”

“This is a main road, Angel. And I said I wanted you, forever.” Sharp nose brushed along the curve of a jaw. “You’re in my clutches now. I will never, ever let you go.”

“Oooh. Promise?” Aziraphale winked with both eyes.

Crowley groaned, burying his face in his angel’s shoulder. “How are you the absolute worst flirt to ever exist?”

“Worst? Or best?” Soft arms wrapped around the narrow waist, pulling him close. “After all, I have a 100% success rate. Cassanova wishes he was as good as me.”

“You are an idiot.”

“I love you too, dear.”

Through every difficulty, every danger, they survive, they save each other, they build a life.

An angel and a demon, again and again, bound together not by the ties of fate or a Plan they do not understand.

Because love is not something you can command.

Love is a choice.

Love is a decision to reach out, to comfort, to communicate, to make a connection and then build it, maintain it, protect it, help it to bloom.

An angel and a demon walked hand in hand through the woods surrounding their cottage on Christmas morning.

“Are you sure you can be happy here?” Crowley wondered, glancing anxiously to the side as they followed the snow-covered path.

“Crowley, my dear,” Aziraphale responded with some exasperation. “There is no place in the world I would rather be than at your side. I would rather eat runny eggs and burnt toast prepared by you than dine at the finest restaurant. I have seen the seven wonders of the world and I prefer to walk through your gardens. I have stood before the greatest artworks ever created and they don’t compare to your smile. I will absolutely be happy here, and my answer will not change in a day, or a month, or a century.”

“But how can you be sure?”

“Because, my dear, my darling idiot, we’ve been married for over a decade!” He stood, Crowley’s face cradled in his hands, giving him his sternest glare. “Are you ever going to stop asking me that stupid question?”

Crowley just grinned. “Probably not. I don’t think I’m going to get sick of the answer any time soon.” He wrapped his arms around Aziraphale, pulled him close, whispered in his ear. “I don’t regret anything, you know. Not one day, not one argument, not one stupid decision in six thousand years. Because it brought us here, where we belong.”

The angel sighed, leaning into the embrace. “Do you think, if things had been different, we still would have fallen in love?”

“No idea.” He pressed a kiss against Aziraphale’s forehead. “Though if you really want to get into that, talk to Adam. He’s on the whole alternate universes thing again. Apparently, we’re the ultimate proof of his theories on the triumph of free will and the continuity of self across infinite iterations.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

“I haven’t a bloody clue! You’re supposed to be the clever one.” Twining their fingers together, Crowley turned to walk back towards the cottage. “That kid is too smart for his own good.”

“He’s hardly a child anymore. None of them are.” Aziraphale turned the ideas over in his head as they walked. “I suppose I will ask him about it when they arrive. If he thinks its important, it probably is.”

“Good. I should have just enough time to burn the potatoes down to charcoal.”

“Crowley, you could try not ruining some part of Christmas dinner. Just for a change.”

“What? And break our oldest holiday tradition?”

In an infinite number of universes, an angel and a demon have every opportunity to give up, to walk away, to protect their own existence.

The angel could choose, at any time, to obey, to keep himself safe.

The demon could fall in line, behave as expected, and accept the role he was given.

And yet, over and over –

They choose humanity.

They choose each other.

They choose love.

(Thank you to everyone who has been reading along and sending me encouraging comments! This Calendar topped out at 51,245 words. All written since December 2.

For those who don’t know, I just finished a fic on AO3 that I declared “the longest finished story I ever wrote.” This is longer.

This challenge has not just created a bunch of stories I never thought I would ever write, but also pushed the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of. I want to thank @drawlight again for posting the calendar and getting all this started. Also quick shout out to my cheerleader @angel-and-serpent who constantly checks to make sure I’m working on this.

My contributions to this writing challenge are complete! I’m going to bed.)

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the-unconquered-queen · 5 years ago

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Please I wanna know more about your thoughts on Dan x mc relationship. I know its been age since ILITW ended but this is a hill I will die on. Like, I didn't romance anyone else on this book. If I couldn't have him then I didn't want anybody else, 🤧

oKAY, we’re going for it

This is the first time I’ve ever put an answer to an ask under a read more. That should really tell you something about me and about what you’re about to be subjected to.

I would like to start this off by saying that I couldn’t care less about when it ended because it is ALWAYS It Lives hours on my blog and that’s never gonna change. But let’s get into this:

I completely understand why Dan wasn’t an LI. It’s not the same case as with, say, Noah, who’s such a prominent character in the book they could’ve easily added him. Even though Dan’s influence is strong in the series - seeing how his absence brought the group together when they worked to save him - the actual Dan was in a coma for a sizable portion of the book, which would’ve frustrated his romancers to no end. This is why if you look up fan made Dan x MC content, most of it takes place after the events of the book (not including the epilogue), not during them, because at that point, there wasn’t much to go on.

I think that if ILitW had had a sequel that wasn’t an anthology, so a second book with the same MC focused on the same group (which obviously can’t happen because of all the possible combinations of deceased/survivors in book 1), Dan could’ve been made an actual LI in that second book, or maybe players would’ve gotten the first romantic dialogue at the end of book 1 if PB knew they were gonna commit to giving him a route in the sequel. The seeds are all there in the first book, from how close they were in their backstory to how that closeness seemed to linger ten years later even though they’d barely spoken during that time. Dan admitted to never talking to people about his struggles because he was worried people would think differently of him, but with a little bit of encouragement from MC, he opened up to them, which shows a very strong bond between them, which could easily turn romantic in his hypothetical route. I mean, he’d known Stacy for as long as he’d known MC, had interacted more with her since she was the only one who kept in touch with him out of the group and was concerned about his well-being, and yet it was MC he trusted with his feelings.

Also, like I said earlier, the way he spoke of them when they were kids in his scene suggests (to me, at least) that, after Jane, Dan was the one MC was closest to out of everyone in the group. And when, after not speaking to MC for ages, they show up at the orientation he’s attending and tell him they went solely because they knew he’d be there and they missed him, he thought they were joking, but was genuinely happy when they told him they were serious because he felt the same way, which shows that even though they had a falling out that lasted a decade, they easily fell back into a familiar friendly rhythm after just a minute together. Now, as much as I love this ship, I’m not really entirely sold on the idea of Dan having had a crush on MC since they were eight and having it last well into their senior year of high school, but I believe that their easy bond would’ve been a major factor in him developing that crush, and maybe it would’ve already existed by the time the orientation scene took place, only strengthening when they got to actually spend time together when they properly reunited.

But giving it some thought, I doubt he and MC would be a couple right away. I mean, Dan’s been through a lot, and he probably wouldn’t be in the right place to be in a relationship as soon as everything ended, even if he started healing after what happened in the cave. It’s possible that he and MC would’ve mutually acknowledged their feelings to each other so they’d know they were reciprocated but not actually acting on them for a while, just until Dan feels like he’s in a better place to do the relationship and get it right, because I can’t imagine him disregarding that just because he wants to be with MC so bad and then the relationship falling apart because it was too soon, too hasty, and MC would for sure understand that they’d need to take their time to make it work out.

I feel like even before they got together, MC would be good at reading Dan’s moods when he has off days, knowing when he needs company or someone to talk to and when he just needs space, and they don’t take offense to Dan not being in the mood to talk sometimes because they’d understand that even though Redfield is gone, that doesn’t mean that he’d just go back to what he was like before the PTSD and everything else happened. Dan does the same in return, since he knows MC went through more than their fair share of bad stuff, but he’d also have to learn to navigate that, like I said in my other ask, there would be times when MC might wake up from a nightmare and he’d try to comfort them and find that MC somehow looks even more freaked out and then it dawns on him that MC might be having a flashback of when a dirt monster wore his face in their room and he’d have to talk them down and tell them it’s him.

Moving AWAY FROM THE ANSGT, an established, dating Dan and MC would be such a cute couple. If it happened in-game, the “define the relationship” talk would end with them kissing while the overhead achievement banner reads “Dynamic Duo” (guess why). I feel like it would be a chill relationship in the sense that they didn’t go straight from acquaintances to lovers, since they had a lot of history together being friends for a long time before dating, so they’d be so at ease with each other’s presence and so used to it that they wouldn’t need to be like some of the couples in their high school who’d need to always have their hands all over each other or constantly making out for you to tell they’re in love, because they could do the most low-key stuff and still be happy together.

They’re probably actual relationship goals. Dan would make such a caring boyfriend, always making small gestures that make MC smile, a real Pinterest-type boyfriend. You ever see those pictures of football players running to kiss their partners on the stands? Yeah, that’d be him, because you know MC would show up to every single game and be his personal cheerleader.

MC would probably get along well with Dan’s parents, too, since I bet his mom would be really grateful that Dan’s got someone close to him he can open up to and who makes him so happy. He and MC would probably have stay-in dates where they just cuddle up close and watch Star Trek while Dan’s cat is curled up and purring between them, and Dan’s mom probably makes them mac and cheese because MC missed her cooking from when they would all go to the Pierces’ for lunch. And when they do their stay-in dates at MC’s place instead, MC always pretends to get upset when their cat wants to be on Dan’s lap instead of theirs, but really they love it because, hello, cute boy being cute with animals? They fall deeper in love with him every time. Also, imagine some time later, MC and Dan’s cats having kittens and then they’re trying to co-parent a couple of furry little babies. No, seriously, imagine Dan sitting on the floor while a bunch of tiny kittens try to climb all over him. Get that mental image in there.

At this point I have written a lot about how much I love Dan and I am fully aware that I’m rambling BUT I JUST THOUGHT OF MORE. Okay, you know the iconic Dan x MC Captain Incredible team up? Imagine Dan and MC slaying every single couples’ costume contest ever. They coordinate that stuff so well that they just own Halloween and nobody stands a chance. I mean, I did say they were goals, didn’t I?

And then of course there’s MC being so completely supportive of him when he starts seriously thinking about pursuing psychology as a career to help people cope with trauma. I mean, they know how complicated his own journey was and they are so proud of him for choosing to dedicate his life to that, since his caring nature is one of their favorite things about him. They probably help him prepare for his exams by setting up study dates to keep him motivated and working so he can make his career happen, and he’s just as supportive when it comes to whatever MC chooses to do.

Oookay, not that I don’t have lots of feelings about this, you know, ‘cause I really just went on and on about how I feel about Dan off the top of my head without any organization whatsoever, but I deadass thought “hey, this is a very long response” and put it through a word count and it is, no joke, over 1.4k words, so I really should stop talking now because people are gonna forget that my brand was supposed to be stanning Andy x MC, but the gist of it is Dan x MC is an amazing pairing, even it It Lives in the Woods didn’t explore the romantic potential there.

#I HAVE WRITTEN ESSAYS SHORTER THAN THIS WTF #Damn read mores are really out here never working the way I want them to #ask #answered

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echodrops · 5 years ago

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Where do middling middles come from? I struggle with it myself, I know how I want to begin and end the story, but the middle somehow doesn’t seem „right“, and I feel like a lot of movies seem to struggle with meandering second acts as well. Where do you think that comes from?

Sorry my answer on this was delayed–this ask came during my grading period and then finals at the end of our semester. T_T

Anyway, middles…

To be honest, the core of the problem is probably thinking of the “middle” as a specific section of your story in the first place. We all know the montage: beginning, middle, end. But the truth is that while a story always requires a finite beginning and ending–it has to start somewhere and end eventually–what we think of as “the middle” is actually a vague, umbrella term encompassing everything from the moment your main plot starts rolling to the moment the story reaches its climax.

Rest under a read more:

Basically, this is the traditional plot diagram most of us learn in schools:

The problem with this is that it tends to create confusion about where the climax of a story is supposed to occur–looking at this, you might be tempted to think that the “middle” of the story should be an action-packed, important moment that really stuns the readers.

The truth of the matter is that the plots of most stories look a lot more like this:

The climax comes significantly later, typically only a chapter or two before the end of the book, and the “geographical” middle (i.e. page 100 of 200 total), instead falls somewhere in the area traditionally called the “rising action.”

So where do boring, poorly-paced middles come from? Why do people struggle to figure out what to put in their story’s “middle”?

Off the top of my head, I can think of two reasons people struggle with middles:

1. Misunderstanding what “rising action” means and how it should be constructed.

If I ask my students to define “rising action,” the answer I usually get is “A series of events that leads up to the story’s climax.” From a technical standpoint, this answer is correct–we have to get from the beginning to the story’s climax somehow, right?

But from a practical stand point, thinking of rising action as nothing more than “the events leading up to my story’s biggest moment” inevitably results in a stale, linear, and inorganic middle. If every action and moment from the beginning of the story to the climax all contributes to the same plot, the result is typically a robotic, uninteresting series of events where characters feel less like they’re acting for themselves, and more like they’re toy soldiers marching to the author’s orders–they’re being forced to jump through a predetermined set of hurdles to get to someone else’s goal, rather than being allowed to naturally change, develop, and exist outside of the story’s main conflict.

All too often, the writing thought process is: “I know where my story starts–Point A. And I know where I want it to end–Point B. Now I just need to get my characters from Point A to Point B!” And that’s… it. The sum total of thought put into the middle: just get from Point A to Point B.

But that’s not how human beings–and characters written by human beings–work. We’re not linear; we’re messy. We don’t take the right path every time. We backtrack. We get distracted. We’re often juggling more than one problem at once. We avoid conflict like the plague.

Reducing the middle of your story to a vehicle for getting characters from Point A to Point B denies them–and your readers–crucial opportunities for humanization, crucial opportunities to add depth and meaning to their plot, and in general limits realism and makes characters feel one-dimensional. If you’ve ever sat through a middle where you just didn’t emotionally engage with the characters at all, it’s probably because that middle was more focused on getting characters to the big climax than on allowing them to be “real” people or live for a second outside of the story’s single main conflict.

Okay, all well and good for me to say this, but how do you fix it?

Rethink your rising action. Even in the most basic and brief of plots (i.e. vignettes or short stories), rising action is never a single straight line from Point A to Point B. If you want your middle to feel realistic and engaging, let it reflect the behaviors and thought processes that real humans experience:

Mad MS Paint skills.

If you want your middle to be more than a stale Point A -> Point B, then fill it things that make your characters human: small, unexpected challenges. Chances to overcome lower-stakes conflict to learn new skills and enforce character growth. Fill in details of their life with flashbacks and side moments that help us readers better visualize and empathize with them. Let them make mistakes. Let them struggle to find the right way forward. Let them think about things other than the main plot absolutely 24/7.

It is true that events needs to ramp up as the story progress–the conflict needs to get more and more personal, more and more “threatening” or at least important to the main character (and therefore the readers)–but instead of throwing all your chips down on one massive climax, build in some smaller scale conflict moments throughout the “middle,” some tiny climaxes along the way, each one helping your character learn something new about themself, others, the world around them, yes, even the main plot…

Except when writing the shortest of short stories, just like real life, your plot should (usually) never present just ONE challenge to its protagonist. Every major event in our human lives is a complex, interconnected network of prior experiences and growth, trial and error, emotional baggage and interplay between people. That’s what good middles are full of. If you’re struggling to figure out what to put in your story’s middle, it’s probably because you’re so fixated on “Point A -> Point B” that you haven’t given enough thought to the complex journey in between. Don’t let your set-in-stone plans for the story’s “end” distract and limit you or your characters!

This is already really long, but I did say there were two possible problems with middles, so:

2. The climax happens prematurely. Don’t look at me, I didn’t pick the term.

Oftentimes a story seems to wander and lose focus before reaching its big climax, because of rising action that lacks depth and pizzazz. But the opposite problem can also occur: it’s possible for the rising action to be way too short, resulting in a climax that comes too early–closer to the geographical middle of the book–leaving a ton of space for falling action… But the author had nothing good to put there.

If you’ve ever seen a movie or read a book where there was an awesome, moving, incredible scene in the middle, and then it just seems to drag on and on before finally petering out with a whimper instead of bang, what’s going on is that the author jumped to the climax too early, with nothing solid or meaningful to fill in the gaps afterward. As a result, there are a bunch of included “here’s what happened after everyone went home” scenes, often with very little emotional pay-out, leaving readers wondering why the story is still… going… on… (And it’s usually still going on because the author had some epilogue idea in mind and realized they had to fill the gaps between the climax and the epilogue, see Problem #1 again.)

While it is possible to write stories where the main explosion of the conflict occurs in the dead-middle of the book/story (hell, you can even write stories where the major climax occurs FIRST), doing this requires you to shift the goalposts–it’s no longer a “character grows and, in time, overcomes main conflict and gets a happy ending;” instead, it’s “these characters experienced an intense conflict… now here’s how they handle and cope with what comes after.” When the climax happens earlier than “the end,” the focus of the story has to shift to really examining the aftermath, the implications and effects of the climax. Unless this shift occurs and the story becomes one of hurting, healing, and reflection after a massive conflict/upheaval, then we end up with a meandering second act that never packs the punch readers really want as the story winds down.

So like… don’t do this unless you really know what you’re doing, I guess? (Or you’re willing to fail until you figure it out, that works too…)

tl;dr: My tips for writing a good middle are:

1. Plan out several smaller scale moments of conflict, several “mini” climaxes/challenges for your main character to overcome as the story progresses. These smaller scale climaxes are excellent moments for your characters to learn new skills, gain more knowledge, or grow as people, which will then help build up to the major climax. Use these smaller scale “high points” to keep the middle feeling action-packed while also preventing the story from feeling like the characters are just robots marching from Point A to Point B.

2. When trying to plan out mini conflicts, think about A) what skills, traits, knowledge, etc. your character NEEDS to learn/develop in order to ultimately overcome the main conflict. What are some realistic and interesting ways for your character to gain these skills/knowledge/emotional growth, etc.? and B) In what ways can you involve other characters in this? These miniature moments of challenge and struggle are EXCELLENT places for clashes and connections between characters to grow and deepen.

3. Remember that characters are generally written by humans and should act like humans (seriously, even fantasy characters need to have a bit of humanization to them, or your readers won’t be able to care about their stories), so unless you REALLY have no spare space in your story, plan for mistakes, backtracking, misunderstandings, distractions, flashbacks, side plots, etc. Let your characters live and breathe in the middle–don’t mindlessly force them on a linear path towards your goal for them. LET THEM LIVE, GOD.

4. Unless you intentionally are writing a story about aftermath, recovery, or how people handle a traumatic experience, save the major climax for near the end of the story. Don’t put the moment of highest emotion and struggle and meaning in the dead middle of your book and leave yourself with five more chapters to fill and nothing but epilogue content to fill them with. Don’t be fooled by the pyramid–the climax in most stories comes in the last few chapters!

Phew, I think that about covers it. Hopefully this is what you were looking for.

#writing advice #writing #how to write middles #writing middles #plot structures #echo answers asks #eventually

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tact-and-impulse · 4 years ago

Text

behind the scenes

I was so busy, but this blog is 5 years old! To commemorate, I’ll share notes and thoughts on some of the stuff I’ve written, like a behind the scenes look. Also, I’ll do anything to not think about my apartment right now.

Eating Together, Drinking Alone

Originally, Hiko was going to be responsible for some of the foreigner killings, but I thought this was too close to Kenshin’s past and it made more sense for his backstory that no one could personally be blamed. It’s easier to blame a specific person, something less abstract, and a different kind of personality would result from that trajectory. For Hiko, who removes himself from the world, the world itself had to be at fault. A natural disaster seemed to fit.

I expanded on Tae’s personality, since I think what we see in canon is her customer service face. It’s the nicest, most self-effacing version of oneself. She’s still pleasant of course, but she’s also brave and lively and that’s the side I wanted to showcase more. Not drastically different from her public face, but a different face regardless.

I never intended for Hiko and Tae to kiss. Sorry! Part of it was that a lot of period dramas don’t necessarily have kissing, and part of it was while I was writing it, I wasn’t really thinking of them together in a physical sense. I was more focused on their emotional connection and actually getting Tae to fall for him. Also, with how intensely private Hiko is, any intimate scenes would be fade-to-black.

I fully believe that kids aren’t a requisite for a happy ending, and I hint that Tae would probably have fertility struggles anyway because her sister and mom did. However! If they did have a kid together in an AU, I imagine it’d be a daughter who’s ambitious and confident and the epitome of “hi I’m here to ruin everything”.

The line “You’re not business, Sekihara” caught me by surprise when I was rereading earlier this year, because I don’t remember writing that? But it’s so swoon-worthy? Damn, good job, past me.

In the epilogue, when Keita mentions “Aoshi and the girls”, that was supposed to be a setup for a work about the kids. So, Aoshi and Misao have three daughters, who are rowdy and energetic and exactly what their dad deserves lmao. They’re a bit on the younger end, closer in age to Keita and Sumire. Their names were Narumi, Ruriko, and Sorano!

The Master and Her Pet

The master of the other dojo in the tournament, Ishii, makes a cameo in At Arm’s Length, in one of Koshijiro’s teenage flashbacks!

From what I recall, the alcohol that Sano sent them is sombai, which is a strong liquor with herbs. I’ve never had it, I just read descriptions of the taste. It seemed to be suitable because I imagine he’d be in the part of the world it comes from, and since it’s a rice based liquor, it would be palatable to them.

One of the reviews thought that Hitomi is pregnant but she’s not. Tbh she’s down to smash any time, but Kazumasa would never have sex before marriage. Also, it’s funny that while the guys are in the parlor, having a deep conversation about what it means to be a good husband, the girls are upstairs talking about the logistics of 69′ing.

With These Hands

Things may seem off in regards to Kaoru’s residency, but that’s because I used the Japanese version, which is different than here in America, and because I was younger then, so I didn’t know as much about the process. I’ll probably rewrite and fix things around when I have time!

I kinda threw Soujiro under the bus, but I wanted to use him as a stand-in for what someone told me. Over the years, I’ve also realized that while it may be true, I’ve been more receptive to the same advice when it comes from a woman, because it’s a matter of firsthand experience. Otherwise, it just sounds like the person is contributing to the problem, despite their intentions.

There’s an in-story reason why Kenshin is so forward towards Kaoru, and it’s not necessarily romantic (at first), but yeah, it’s on purpose!

At Arm’s Length

To be honest, I don’t put a lot of stock in Freudian psychology, but it’s not coincidental that some of Koshijiro’s personality is similar to Kenshin’s. They’re both introspective, protective, idealistic, peace-loving. It’s the kind of personality that would believe in Kamiya Kasshin and its success.

Hayashi rice was a thing around this time, and the wine in it would have been off-putting to Koshijiro.

I wanted to explore why Koshijiro would fight for an end to the shogunate’s oppression, and the logical conclusion was that his mom was a commoner. Also, it made sense for his name. Miyo had just turned 20 when she had Koshijiro, and Keiichiro was in his 30s. I do have an idea for an omake about how they met, once the main story is done.

I’ve dropped some hints but Kyoko has lupus. When I was first starting the story, I didn’t really have a good idea on what her affliction was, but as I learned more, it really fit what I wanted for her (chronic, fatiguing, possibly explaining why Kaoru’s an only child, and eventually fatal at a young age in historical times).

Kyoko fell for Koshijiro when he said he wouldn’t forget her name. She’s used to being shut away and isolated, so that little reassurance meant a great deal to her. It was a crush that deepened when he got the books for her, and she cried a lot when he had to leave.

Kyoko’s parents are supposed to be a contrast to Koshijiro’s. Her parents have fallen out of love and now hardly tolerate the other’s presence, but aren’t able to separate without harming Kyoko in some way (though their staying together makes her tense too). Meanwhile, Miyo and Keiichiro can’t physically be with each other, but they’re still immensely fond of and attracted to the other. Koshijiro is just awkward around them because he doesn’t know how to deal.

I’ve written the last line already, like in 2017? So, yeah, there’s no way I’m dropping this story.

Life’s Blood and Burning Sunsets

Akane’s cousin in the WWII AU was intended to be Kagari. RIP.

I was originally going to write a spinoff about Aya, as an Inspector investigating Akane’s sudden disappearance and finding out that Kougami was her dad, but it looks like canon is going in a different (less angsty for the OTP) direction and I’m on board! Aya’s name is written as “truth”, though I imagine it’s a popular name for her generation, except written as “color”. Also unintentional, but I didn’t realize until recently that her name has the A from Akane and the -ya from Shinya. Lol.

Storm Clouds of a Faraway Sky

In Chapter 3, the rice riots really were a thing! The chaotic atmosphere fit the riots from Season 1, so it made sense to set the story in that specific year.

I stayed up until 2 am to write the last prompt and man, I don’t regret it. I still reread it now and then.

Puzzle

Originally, my gut reaction to this scene was “They’re married! They’re married!” But logically, that’s probably not the case. This was to just reconcile the two lines of thought. Having Arata as our narrator made sense because he’s an outsider, he doesn’t really know either of them, so he’s working from the ground up. And of course, there’s room to speculate.

Stouthearted

I don’t know how many people will catch this, but the way I write Tomoyo for most of the story is that she’s essentially wearing a mask. More specifically, the mask of Satoru. In my mind, she’s internalized him so well and for so long, it’s difficult even for her to drop it. Her true personality is very straightforward and direct. It comes out in little moments like when she’s crying at night, or the scene when she says “I didn’t like it when Shinya started, and I still don’t.” I was going to reveal this via a flashback when she met with Professor Saiga at some point, and he notices this, which instigates her strong dislike of him. But I couldn’t find a way to naturally put it in. Maybe as a separate oneshot someday?

#personal #writing #rurouni kenshin #psycho pass

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