#i think its funny but it also provides what i think its a dynamic between oshus and bellum that has a lot of potential

[on-a-lucky-tide]

I ken she isn't a character you typically focus on, but my curiosity is biting ma baws so I may as well ask just in case.

What do you think of the dynamic between Kate and John? And possibly the dynamic between her and Nikolai. Apologies, I ken there's about a bawhair of dialogue to work with on Kate and Nik but you're smart and I'd trust that if you do have an answer, then it'd intrigue me.

If you don't, fair enough, I completely get why. I'm just, to my core, a nosey bugger. And I fear an obvious one because Christ, the way I type isn't subtle and it really fucks the anonymity bit of this, I just cannae be fucked asking on my main blog.

I think their dynamic is pretty great but obviously complicated by the fact they're working for, and loyal to, different nations. Until very recently, UK and US geopolitics has been pretty aligned. I think John and Kate, if they existed today, would be struggling like fuck with how the rest of the world is turning its back on the US. All of Kate's avenues of information are being cut, MI5 and MI6 view the US as a liability, etc.

But, anyways, in fiction! First meeting and I think Kate probably thought "aw an upstart baby", because Baby Price with his shaven chin and serious eyes probably looked comical to someone who had a twelve year headstart on him. And then he proved himself to be a truly formidable operator, she realised she needed to build a strong link; he was clearly brilliantly intelligent and also gay as fuck ("aw repressed gay murder kitten").

It started off as a relationship of necessity. Then they shared a whiskey and a smoke after a particularly grizzly op, and it snowballed into actual friendship. John did wacky shit like use a gorilla costume as a decoy, and wasn't afraid to bend, and sometimes completely break, the rules. She liked that. He's smart, witty, funny, and so is she. If he was a woman, he'd be her wife. Luckily, she found someone just as good, but without John's temper and fixation on duty (read: someone healthier), so he gets "best friend" instead.

It's still characterised by their roles though. Sometimes Kate has to keep things from John and she hates it. But it's just the way it is. She hates it when their mission objectives don't align, she hates it when she can't provide him all the intel because she just doesn't know, and the fact that he'll go in anyway... Sometimes she wants to choke him with her bare hands. She'll take his growls and his snarls when he's frustrated because she knows it's coming from a place of deeply seated duty, an honour code that pushes him constantly forwards.

John is loyal to Laswell as much as you can be to a foreign agent; again, there are just some things he needs to keep to himself. He'll go in and risk his neck to save her arse. He respects her highly, would follow her into the maw of hell if needed. Over the years, he's started to see her and her wife as part of his extended family. I think he's probably slept on their couch while injured a few times. I wrote "Kicked Into Touch" initially because I wanted to write that domestic time between them. John values Laswell's opinion of him and he enjoys sharing hobbies/time with her outside of work. He's been to BBQs, the occasional family function; she'll likely officiate his wedding to Nikolai.

Speaking of Nik, I think Laswell adores him and him her, even though he finds her exasperating. "Why do you want to go there you crazy woman, what is--fine." He doesn't understand the American mind, probably finds it more than occasionally frustrating, but he knows Laswell is good and just, working within a straight jacket as best she can. She's not your standard, cookie cutter capitalist. She finds him eccentric but brilliant. She knows she can count on him to achieve the impossible in most situations; acquiring specific weapons, flying into hostile territory, accessing the inaccessible meetings and gangs. Nik is one of her greatest assets.

It was Laswell that gave MI6 the idea to use John to get Nik to turn. She had known Nik for a while by that point as a potential informant but her guys had failed to entice him over. Their offers just weren't hitting the mark; he didn't trust them. She had enough intel to know he was gay, and in an exceptionally vulnerable situation, so she had to play it carefully. Honeypotting him outright was cruel and it would only damage the working relationship later on. She needed someone that sat in the niche of hot and interesting, but not a blatant appeal to his prick.

She told MI6 to put Baby Blue himself right in Nik's path; intense, honest, brave and handsome in a unique, roguish kind of way. Laswell knew the way John spoke, the way he carried himself, his expressive face, would hook their Russian in. So when Price turned to Nik in the bar and said, "Come work with me, Nikolai. We'll change the world", Nik damn well believed him.

[artbyblastweave]

So to me, an understated aspect of Watchmen is that it deconstructs supervillainy. Without the need for a rotating rogues gallery in the name of endless serialization, wannabe supervillains end up dead, imprisoned, sticking to common profitable crimes, or going straight like Moloch. I think this a missing aspect of other attempts to deconstruct the genre like Marshall Law or the Boys, because if there isn't a threat on the level of the Legion of Doom or Darkseid, then superheroes are just a solution in search of a problem, and if there are supervillains, then the superheroes need to get their shit together. This was also a problem with the League of Extraordinary Gentleman, were told about much of a threat superheroes are, but all they do is lounge around to be marketed, while the League goes out and tackles issues that a superhero could actually help with, such as the aliens from War of the Worlds, actual authoritarians like Big Brother, or even the antichrist.

Hard agree with at least the parts pertaining to Watchmen. Moloch's quivering little "Oh God, I spent the 70s in jail." is such an effective refutation of such a huge number of tropes at once, and hits above its weight in contributing to the sense that Watchmen proper is set well after the party has wound down, so to speak. I really wish that it had made it into any of the adaptations.

My endorsement as this pertains to Marshall Law and The Boys is much more tentative. Marshall Law is simply on my to-read list. The Boys is almost entirely about the idea that superheroes are just a solution in search of a problem, but also doesn't commit to an actual in-universe angle on what supervillains are, or whether they exist at all, in a way that severely limits it's ability to say anything about anything at all; they go from a real issue to which superheroes are framed as a bad solution, to controlled opposition stage-managed by Vought, and it's not a clean transition; as a comic it's concerned with getting in a lot of (decently funny) shots at the meta-editorial level at the expense of being a well-realized world. The show is meaningfully better about this, because the for-profit cultural elevation of "heroes" without a clear-cut exigence is both analogous to several dynamics in contemporary American culture and reflects the cultural idea of the superhero as shaped by the MCU.

As far as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen goes- I only ever got around to the first two volumes. But the entire point of those first two volumes is that the conflicts between heroes and villains are in fact just different groups of monstrous shitheads working at cross-purposes- as is the nature of Victorian great-game politics. The twist at the end of the first volume is that Fu Manchu, while evil, isn't actually meaningfully worse than the people who sic the quote-unquote "heroes" on him- but he is foreign, and thus easier to paint as a legitimate target.

Then, in volume two, individual heroism very pointedly plays a very limited role in the defeat of the Martians. They're driven off Mars to earth in the first place after years of warfare with a guerilla coalition of several other fictional Martian species of note- led but not defined by the efforts of John Carter and Gullivar, and it's ultimately a lukewarm, unsatisfying victory. The League's involvement in the Martian situation actively causes setbacks at first because it puts The Invisible Man in a position to sell out the entire defensive strategy to save his own hide. Nemo is only able to provide an effective stalling action because he's assisted by his sizable crew. Hyde is the only one of the group who gets to do a traditional singular superhero moment, and he's motivated to do it entirely by his overwhelming desire to kill stuff over anything intrinsically heroic, and he dies doing it. And the tide is ultimately turned by black-ops germ warfare perpetuated by the English government, ultimately bringing the entire conflict down to the level of two packs of imperialists taking swings at each other with countless innocents caught in the crossfire.

(Man, I forgot how much I liked Nemo in these, by the way. Had to quickly reread both volumes in order to make sure I wasn't going to be talking out my ass, so thank you for motivating that. What a cool guy.)

[ominousgradient]

please give us the full rant 🤲

My Race to the Edge hottakes (this gonna be a tad long so strap in):

Take the twins for example: Both of them care for their respective sibling, they are codependent really, but what relationship do they have to the other team members, never mind what other relationship do they have that you could call a *friendship*? I'd say Hiccup is mostly annoyed by their antics, a feeling he also has for Snotlout but their feelings for one another are a lot more complex, whereas his opinion of the twins is pretty straightforward, their feelings for Hiccup just vary depending on what joke the episode is going for at the time. I couldn't tell you anything about the twins and Fishlegs relationship because there’s just not really anything there and Astrid generally dislikes them for their behavior. The one actually clearly established dynamic they have is with Snotlout, and it perplexes me that people so often read it as a friendship. Snotlout thinks of them as stupid and beneath him, i cannot think of a single time outside of the Tufflout bromance ep where he had a nice thing to say about either of the two, when Tuff faked his death Snotlout seemed to believe that he had actually died and he wasn't bothered at all. The twins on the other hand see him as a useful idiot for their scemes, they couldn't care less if he dropped dead either and put in him mortal danger on multiple occasions just for the hell of it. What binds them together is not so much a friendship as it is their shared rambunctious attitude and dislike of authority.

1. The riders really aren't that good of friends, if you can call them friends at all. Were you to draw a diagramm of their relationships with eachother, a lot of them either have no close established connection or feel active animosity towards one another.

This doesn’t count for only them ofc: what established friendship is there between Fishlegs and Astrid? Can the relationship between Snotlout and Fishlegs or him and Astrid really reasonably be called a friendship? Sure people can create headcanons and whatnot but if you look at what's provided by the canon, they’re just not that close

2. I don't have any strong feelings on Heather, i just think it's funny that she kind of reads like an edgy DeviantArt Astrid recolor. Oh Astrid fights with a battle axe? Well Heather actually crafted one herself, and it's a cool changeable twinblade. Astrid has a spike shooting, super fast dragon with fire so hot it's tinted blue? Well Heathers dragon can do all that BUT her dragon is even faster AND it's spikes are even sharper AND its fire is all blue actually AND it's made out of metal. The whole construction of her outfit with the single braid, metal shoulderpads and skirt with metal elements is extremely similar to Astrids design. I feel like they could have that be a plot point actually, that Astrid in particular was a huge inspiration to her. You can see it as intentional parallels ofc but it’s so on the nose that it becomes kinda funny, at least to me (also the dragon eye lens on her belt plot point was incredibly stupid)

3. Speaking of Astrid, and this is the take that is most likely to get people mad at me, i do not like her. Like at all. When i was younger i thought i just couldn't stand her because she was mean to Snotlout and i liked Snotlout but as i grew up i realized there was more to it that just that. To me she's emblematic of a trend in writing: (usually male) writers set out to write a "strong female character in a effort to create good female representation, but because their idea of a strong character is a toxicly masculine tough guy, they just slap those characteristics on a female character and call it a day. Said character is then admired by the rest of the cast because that's how to author sees her, even though she's kind of an asshole.

That’s Astrid to me. I don't find the way she's presented as being in the right for being rude to everyone but a select very few people charming, i don't find the miriad of moments where she wins an argument with violence and it's presented a girlboss moment cool. Keep in mind i don't take an issue with any character, fem or not, being rude or violent, it's how the narrative and the other characters act towards her that make me dislike this.

I also find it bizarre that people defend her behavior by saying that she's a competent person under pressure, as if that justifies being a dick. I can very easily see a version of her that i'd like, an Astrid that's allowed to be in the wrong, that's allowed to be flawed, an Astrid that's largely the same and just not treated like she’s infallible by the marrative. I that's kind of what we get in the first movie and the shorts imo and i do like in those. The way the later movies turn Astrid into a neutered version of herself that purely exists to hype up Hiccup is deeply offputting to me however

4. I'm not a big fan of the twins either, i liked them a little more in the first movie and RoB/DoB but their brand of humor in rtte just doesn't do it for me

5. Snotlouts crush on Thor Bonecrusher is one giant gay joke and and both Astrid and Hiccup find it funny and bizarre because it's a gay crush. They don't react like that when Fishlegs and Snotlout fight over Ruffnut, we only see Astrid be annoyed and weirded out by it but not her finding it actively hilarous. "Well it's funny because it's so over the top" whenever Astrid sees Snotlout crush on/flirt with women she reacts with annoyance/disgust, the ONE TIME it's a guy it's suddenly very funny. I'm not saying this to condemn her or Hiccup, it's moreso to point out that the way this entire plotline was handled was just kinda bizarre and fucked up.

On a character level i actually think Astrid being homophobic kinda works, for lack of a better term. She's very much a person who works within and benefits from the status quo. People like to talk about how Snotlouts world was thrown upside down after the first movie because the standards for what makes a good viking changed but by all metrics he never really managed to match those standards anyways (unlike Astrid, we never actually see him being a good warrior in the first movie and judging by RoB/Dob, he seems to have been generally disliked in the village for a while). Astrid however did manage to meet those expectations. And she continues to afterwards. She's an excellent warrior, strong and assertive. Her being a women would make life harder for her but we never she her face any gendered discrimination, she thrives in the role of the ideal viking. So her holding some normative believes tied to the status quo in which she thrives makes sense to me

6. This is a big one and it will take a bit for ne to explain: I don't think Snotlout's a sexist. Now, first off I should clarify, I'm not just saying this because I don't want a character that I love to be a misoginist. I think flaws, especially grave ones, make characters more interesting and some of my all time faves have some extremely warped views on women. I say this because of the way his supposed sexism is presented. I'd argue that the primary function Snotlouts obnoxious flirting serves is to be an example of what not to do and to make over characters, mainly Hiccup, look better in comparison.

In this franchise female affection is given as a reward to male characters, not necessarily because there’s chemistry between the two. In the Thawfest episode Hiccup gets a kiss from Astrid after doing what she asked him to by letting Snotlout win. There was no romantic tension between them here, there wasn't anything romantic about what he did either. He did the right thing, he gets a reward. Same with Snotlout and Minden: he does the right thing by encouraging her so he gets a kiss. Neither one of them expresses any romantic interest in the other before or after this, Snotlout looks put off the kiss it more than anything, it’s just the thing that happens when you're nice to a girl. That’s the point of Heathers fling with Fishlegs as well. Not to step on any Heathlegs shippers toes here but they don't really have any chemistry. Their episode underlines my point however: Snotlout spends the whole time being jealous and Astrid explains to him that Heather probably likes guys like Fishlegs, guys who are nice. Which is a good quality yes, but it’s not really solid grounds for a relationship. We don't get to see what they like about eachother bejond that, and we don't need to either, because that's not the point. The point is that Fishlegs is a nice guy, so he gets to date a pretty girl.

Snotlouts behavior exists as the counterbalance to that point: if ur mean and pushy = no gf. On the face of it that's a fine lesson to teach in a kids show. The problem is that Snotlouts flirting is so unrealistic and detached from the rest of his character that it fails to send any meaningful message. The way he talks when he's flirting has nothing to do with the way real people flirt or the way Snotlout acts otherwise. It's a weird mix of one-liners and purple pros is more reminiscent of 80s movie villians than real life. He still flirts with Astrid, despite getting his shit kicked in for YEARS and openly being afraid of her at this point. It's very interesting that he never talks to Thor Bonecrusher that way, when he has such an obvious crush on him. The reason for that in my opinion is that the TB crush serves as a gay joke, whereas his other crushes serve as a negative example. Put in a scenario where he's romantically interested in someone and doesn't have to fullfill his role as an inverted moral compass, Snotlout doesn't do his weird flirting. He still fails of course, the argument isn't that he should be getting more tail, he just doesn't turn into a parody of himself for a brief physical gag.

Another problem is that the way he acts is incongruous with how he sees women. The reason why men ignore womens boundaries and don't take no for an awnser is because they see them as lesser, as unworthy of their respect. That’s not the case for Snotlout though. We never see him express that he thinks of women as less competent, more fragile or less intelligent (i think he calls Astrids and Ruffnuts figures "dragon-esque" once during the first movie but one comment calling some women unattractive doesn't really equate to being a misoginist that has so little respect for women that he bothers the same one for years even though she says no everytime). He oversteps Astrids boundaries but he has no doubt in her abilities, it’s the symptom without the cause.

Even if we were to take Snotlout at face value as a misoginist, where does that come from? Misoginistic men aren't outliers, they're byproducts of a sexist culture. But the writers clearly don't think of Berk that way, Hiccup even says so when Throk comes to take Ruffnut (i'll add here that Hiccup is usually presented as being in the right unless him being wrong is explicitly adressed in the plot but i digress). Astrid faces no discrimination whatsoever as a female warrior and receives no pushback when leading a team full of men. In fact Spitelout, the inofficial source of most of Snotlouts harmful beliefs, has no problem whatsoever with having a women less than half his age as his superior.

Now, there is no doubt that Berk is a sexist society, women are litteraly barred from becoming chief, but it’s interesting that it seemingly not thought of and never adressed as such. That would make Snotlouts sexism not a product of his enviroment or of his upbringing but an exception, a singular weirdo, who thinks of women as competent equals but also sometimes has a switch flip in his brain that makes him pester them in increasingly ridiculous ways.

I'd actually argue that the single most sexist thing Snotlout does is that he stops flirting with Astrid as soon as her and Hiccup are dating. Because that implies that her baundaries are only to be respected once another man has claimed her. But the reason was most likely that him flirting with the mcs now canon girlfriend would generate too much comflict, whereas him hitting on her badly before they're a couple and failing just makes Hiccup look good in comparison.

Honestly if Snotlout was a proper sexist and we saw him grappling with- and overcoming that belief Sokka style that would have made for an engaging plotline. Snotlouts' Angels was probably intended to be just that but it failed. Snotlout acts entitled around the Wingmaidens (and yes, him saying that Astrid and Ruffnut should serve him like they do is a sexist statement), but he pretty much always acts entitled. He doesn’t really learn any lesson about women or his own behavior, he just prattfalls all over their island for 20 minutes and then says sorry to Astrid at the end

7. Speaking of the Wingmaidens i find it incredibly funny that 1: One of the only factions containing poc characters (none of them with any lines ofc) are implied to be cannibals, and that 2: they're never actually shown to NOT be cannibals. Like yes, the implication is that they lie to Snotlout to scare him after being a shitty guest, but they never resolve that misgiving. At the end of the episode the gang is feasting with a group of people who threatened to eat one of them, which he told them about, and as far as we know they just never cleared that up.

Also if they weren’t gonna eat Snotlout, what was their plan for him? To just keep this man imprisoned indefinitely for the crime of being an annoying little shit, on your all women island? Either send him away or kill him and in that case you might as well just eat him tbh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. The music score annoys me. It's not bad necessarily but every scene, no matter how trivial, has a whole orchestra playing in the background and it just gets on my nerves after a while

9. Finally, i cannot take Viggo seriously. Everything about him just feels like the parts of better villians were hastily stiched together and all i can see are the seams. The chess game is incredibly corny, the pretentious way he talks and the way he walks with his arms crossed behind his back, it all comes across as so deeply unserious that he feels more like a larper to me, rather than an organic part of this world, never mind an actually intimidating villian

thank you for the ask, it's still crazy to me that anyone outside of my friend circle would listen to me talk about Snotlout and rtte in general and i appreciate all of the questions and suggestions, even if i can't get to them all in a timely manner <3

If you've read this far you're super cool and i love you, thanks for listening to me ramble for a bit. Even though i have a lot to critique for rtte i still look back on it quite fondly and it gave me my favorite iteration of my all time favorite character so i'll always be grateful for that

Also to you anon: I'm so sorry that i got back to you this late, i typed this all out in a haze and then put off finishing it once i saw just how much i wrote 😭

[bitchslapblastoids]

interesting but predictable how some of the inherent uncanny valley strangeness of bringing something that exists in the chronically online space into the real world can manifest. I’ve noticed this at all the other tours of theirs as well - some people can have a hard time separating internet behaviors from irl behaviors, and the sudden merging of these compartmentalized ways of being (online vs offline) can be hard to navigate.

I think it can also make people uncomfortable to see their comedic silly billie faves being serious, and there’s a dissonance to seeing them, these characters who live on our screens, along with the audience around you who are typically just avatars and usernames shitposting in lowercase, all suddenly in the same physical room. And suddenly that often completely disparate, scattered, semi-anonymous community needs to adapt to social mores and group norms in a new social context. It’s taking a community with its own set of rules that were designed for and in response to a digital landscape and plonking it into a completely alien environment. And yeah, we’re all humans who exist in public outside of our internet lives, but it’s different when that happens but you’re still in the context of the phandom.

Which I think is what leads to things like shouting out rly profane, out of pocket things during the quieter moments of their shows. because if you comment something like that online, you won’t rly be interrupting anything. you might be ignored, you might get some laughs, maybe you’ll get a notice bc haha unhinged right. Or like treating an evacuation drill as a lol pass the tea yas mommy daniel moment instead of an oh we’re actually here in real life moment.

I went back to my tatinof review bc I remembered writing this - “someone behind me kept screaming at them to "GET NAKED" (particularly during silences in the 7 second challenge) to which everyone in my area responded with claps and laughter.” During my second TIT show, there were people around me who wolf whistled and shouted “kinky” and “ayo ok freaky” during totally inappropriate moments. I remember during Dan’s quieter bits of WAD people could not seem to just stay silent. (I have suffered complete amnesia when it comes to ii so I can’t speak to any part of that experience lol.) after the preshow and during intermission at tit, I heard separate people at separate times making a range of critical comments about Dan and Phil’s bodies in ways that were downright shocking and not how I hope they’d typically feel comfortable speaking about other humans.

I think on the whole, phannies are so lovely and kind to one another. I feel deep gratitude for this community. And I know this isn’t just a phandom thing; I think how we treat one another in public spaces has generally really eroded, and concert etiquette has become abysmally poor. But phandom, as always, is a little unique, because of the sense of mutual understanding and the co-created dynamic between us and d&p. It dissolves the boundaries, so when Dan tells you to shut up, your online brain tells you that’s just a chance to be funny with your fave. When you have a chance to be heard, your online brain provides a memey shitpost joke and your irl self shouts it out even though that ain’t the move in a theatre performance unless invited to do so.

No real conclusion here, just some observations about the rly unique dynamic this all creates!

[tetrahedrals]

My brain has been buzzing over the similarities between the locked tomb and Severance (Grief! Body Sharing! Experimental Brain Surgery!) for the last two weeks, and while I could ramble on about it at length, I want to focus on one specific instance that I found really illuminating. 

In this Vox article there is a quote from Tamsyn Muir about how in HTN: “you are hopefully slapped in the face first thing with just how ferociously Harrow hates herself, and the violence with which she does.”

And I really think that is the major subtext  here for Mark, Helena, and Dylan as well**. They hate themselves ferociously, so much so that before the viewer even meets them they have already consented to an act of self-mutilation, a violence they’ve committed against themselves as punishment for their perceived failures and shortcomings.

Dylan is there to atone for his failure to provide for his family. Helena desperately wants to cast off and repudiate all the parts of herself that are unacceptable to her father. Mark has essentially been ground down to a nub by the immense weight of his own grief and severance lifts that burden just enough for him to carry out the half-hearted charade of a normal life. At the same time, the thought that any part of him could actually be happy while his wife is dead is intolerable. In season one when Petey tells him that he carries the hurt within himself “down there” on the Severed Floor as well, he just doesn’t know what it is, its not a wake up call for Mark Scout to quit his job because subconsciously he believes that he should be suffering down there too. 

Contrast that with the 2nd episode of season 2, when Milchick sits him down with the obligatory pineapple and tells him that actually, his innie is doing fantastic. Not only is he happy, being funny down there with all his great friends, but also he’s found love. That to me is really the moment that seals Mark S’s fate- the moment where reintegration becomes inevitable. Mark Scout hates himself too much to let himself be happy. (Look at how viciously he self-sabotages his brief romance with Alexa!) That a part of him could have forgotten his wife and found love with someone else is an unforgivable offense. But it’s not enough just to quit his job at Lumon and have Mark S vanish painlessly from existence- he has to contaminate and corrupt him by pouring the poison of his own misery back down his innie’s throat. 

**(Outie-Irving is still very much a cipher to me at this point in the season, and while I am excited to learn more about him and his motives I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely mesmerized by the absolutely unhinged dynamic unfolding between him and Burt right now. Watching John Turturro shift awkwardly at the dinner table as Christopher Walken casually cracks jokes about his days as a ‘scoundrel’ while undressing him with ravenous war-criminal bedroom eyes is simply God-tier television, folks!!)

[frostyclove]

Starting a 13th Doc rewatch in honor of sunclair so i can write it accurately since ive only ever seen it all once. i will be obnoxiously high (because why not) one post per episode i think?? sorted by reblogs? that seems like a plan. hopefully 3 a day. as a prerequisite ; my opinion of the 13th doctor is essentially '10th doctor but more color' and i do generally think i like her more than 10. dan > ryan > graham > yaz - its nothing against yaz its entirely chibnall just being really solid at writing endearing old men; its his biggest writing strength. we shall see if any of this changes with the rewatch :) I write a lot. sorry in advance on the length

With that, onto The Woman Who Fell To Earth !

yall can never make me hate ryan the intro is actually so good

i, personally, do not think doctor who should look that pretty. the sky should not be that crisp i feel like i am looking at a microsoft computer picture thing. too pristine. but objectively absolutely stunning absolutely gorgeous. between the framing and the lighting and the color grade and how it looks on the costumes - the show looks very nice.

dynamics!! character building is already off to a great start and it was unpaused for like 3 seconds. also the way it cuts to the other shots - that was very pretty. again very film. but objectively very pretty.

i should note here that i should have done some homework and watched the 5th doctor era before this - for some reason i have an idea that it must be chibnalls biggest classic inspiration but ive never seen it so i cant provide citations for that. but its likely a thing i'll say as it goes on

lol just tosses the bike now okay - very nice characterization. but i myself am stuck worried thats gonna whack somebody on the way down

also like techincally is them siting on the rocks not considered character building like theyre all fucking crazy adventurous people. like adore them but omg thats scary as hell and theyre just chillin - perfect for the doctor !

well thats a completely different forest.

that is such a torchwood style moment and honestly there is a bit of a torchwood feel to all of 13s era and i do really enjoy that.

now i am american so i must say yaz's uniform looks utterly fake because in my mind the real one is the welsh one from torchwood. i know its a country or more specific of a difference. but the welsh one is the real one to me.

i know theres dicourse about the yaz of it all here. i dont remember what it is though. so ill say - im reading this as yaz first handling the thing, while also like very much having to fake the confidence in order to do it. like shes not comfy in it yet, but she can and she will. and then secondly her boss being a bit of prick. but like hes a cop why would i be mad about them having a cop act like a cop (a prick). idk.

ryan is incredibly funny and charismatic in this scene, yaz is less so but thats also a character point again its giving awkward and im enjoying that from her. also they both kinda go flat when they realize they know each other - so im fairly certain that was an intentional character choice as well. theyre like, acting like its a reunion. very natural to reality.

oh i strongly disliked the camera placement on that scene though

train! okay now the perfection of the shot looks better now because there enough shadow to make up for the lack of pixel lines. contrast is apparently a skill not being taught

disappointed in graham but we certainly are learning about the two of them and their personalities. in action no less!

lol not graham being immediately then whacked by the most possibly violent crash in the circumstances

well that just got absolutely horrifying maybe they are teaching contrast i see the plan now

alright - the music is very different. its not bad. its actually really good. its just really different. i feel as though im watching a 2015 creepypasta video. like i associate it with the deepest parts of fictional fear, but its also like, doctor who and the start of the episode so its almost out of place. although it is very torchwood!

lightning worms? i dont remember the villain being lightning worms

omg jodi looks so good wtf i forgot how good she looked in this ep why didnt we keep this wig

i cannot see. what is going on with this section

i love her "stay put" girlie you just showed up why would they do that also i think she just fully assumed they were already her companions there - 12 regenerated to clara and strax after all.

very monologue but practical and i think it works and ads that always begged for by fandom aspect of 'domesticness' assuming i even understand it (not sure i do i just see people complaining about its lack all the time idk what theyre on about tbh)

i love how like almost planned the doctor is. its like beat by beat performative its perfect. just the right amount of dramatic flair

if this is the only episode her bottom lashes have mascara then a fashion crime has been committed

chat im trying to be casual here but im actually in love with jodi whittaker wtf i forgot how much i did just love her embodying the character. like this outfit why couldnt we keep the coattttt

lolll they think shes absolutely bonkers i love it shes adorable

shes such a goof 'can we have the lights and sirens' babes what do you think ?

not doctor brain then translating for everyone else frankly thats improvement !! we love to see little growth moments between doctors. internalize those clara cards!

not the lesson on the importance of community hes trying to do the thing hes trying

shes literally glowing <3

'yeah i guess so' how can you NOT like ryan oh wait his poor phone

YOURE ALL MEAN TO THE GOOFBALL FOR WHY. BE NICE TO THE GOOFBALL. omg ryan get behind me ur getting the wally treatment welcome to the team

graham what the fuck not you too

TINKER FAIRY DOCTOR TINKER FAIRY DOCTOR

i love the doctor speech paired up with set dressings fitting for a serial killer lair. thats a beautiful touch

lol its actually so funny to think about earth being a proxy war location given how many proxy wars we have like honestly yeah uk or the us should kinda bear the brunt of those (obvs none actually should but its fiction guys its called ~dramatic irony~)

so sincerely what foundation is jodi wearing in this its amazing

the drunk guy was so unnecessary and yet also so funny

like the camera shouldnt be sooo good that i can clearly tell styrofoam when i see it. poor costume departments everywhere yall deserve better conditions (joking guys it just makes it annoying and difficult its not like a full on work hazard i know)

im gonna need some good fic recommendations i think. i kinda forgot how susceptible i am to big eyes as if thats not like the defining characteristic of my type omg the doctor absorbed clara's tricks

ooooh its a game i wonder if itll tie into any of the stuff from this season somehow/eventually idk just seeing the double game of it all

im so so sorry guys she just looks so much like kate beckett and i just realized this and now i also am thinking about her and now im just very distracted im certain the plot is plotting along but outside of the tim ice blue guy being a cheating loser theres not much plot going on for me to miss

talks a big game but then just lets them have it doctor why are you like this

this is why you be careful. because he is special. he is valued. because he is the trophy. for an alien species. be careful out there/j

every character death will be humanized. im noticing that is a recurring thing

i do think they were going for leaving the options open for a ryan yaz something and omg am i glad they did not but this part does feel like it was specifically for the just in case they did

ngl i hate the crane of it all. interesting for like a writing prompt but i do not enjoy it i dont think

you know i have some thoughts on graham right now and they arent good one

youtubing how to crane omg ryan the icon

okay i take it back jodi looks hot as hell on the crane its all worth it for that shot wow

this guy is honestly quite adorable ; reminds me of whittaker from the pitt funnily enough. sad hes probs gonna die

fucking ridiculous the doctor is what the fuck why are we doing crane parkour

yeah now you know how some of the companions felt doctor you do a lot of running and youre usually very tall

im not gonna talk about the one thing. im just not. i dont know. i just sad.

'sorting out fair play in the universe' awwww and then the giggle thats kinda cute actually a nice little thru line

so im not gonna talk about that either i have no postable thoughts about that its certainly organic looking

oh the sad is now well thats rude the music is very good that was icky i am tearing up

can someone please give ryan a hug omg

still wanna have a really long chat with the costume dept . why did we land on that , exactly?

also the best part of that is the earrings and i dont even think they kept those

not kicking them out to space omg silly ass cliffhanger

okay that took me three hours and i really enjoyed it and i held back on commentary omg that was kinda a mess on my end but on the whole 8.5 i think, really solid episode. i'll do more tomorrow :)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01 - Adrift? The Island of Adventure! / And So It Begins....

Right off the bat, we can feel the tonal difference between how the two shows want to present themselves. The Japanese version opens with narration provided to us by a grim and stone-faced narrator, while in the English version, Tai delivers the exposition himself in a light-hearted and goofy tone.

The Japanese narrator explains to us in a bit more detail precisely what is happening throughout the world. Drought has struck the paddy fields of southeast Asia, heavy rains are flooding the Middle East, and the U.S. is suffering from freezing temperatures.

Tai has similar dreary info to drop on us. He tries to keep it light because that's the tone the dub is going for, but his version's... a little different. In fact, hilariously, Tai's version is much worse.

The way he tells it, the whole rainforest has dried up and oceans have risen to flood "other areas like chocolate sauce". The freezing also is no longer in the U.S.; It's "cities which are normally blazing hot", not contained to any specific region. Holy shit.

So, yeah. Either way, the world's being fucked sideways right now by climate catastrophe, but it's ironically being fucked harder in the lighter and goofier English dub.

With that out of the way, we met our cast of kids - With the English Tai getting in a funny joke, claiming to be "working on my multiplication tables" while we clearly see him snoozing in a tree.

Each character comes with their own special introduction slide to give us some basic information on them. For the Japanese version, the narrator coldly lists them off by name, while their information blurb tells us what grade they're in.

This gives us a general understanding of how old each kid is, relative to one another, which is kind of important for understanding their group dynamic down the road.

6th Grade: Jou 5th Grade: Taichi, Sora, and Yamato 4th Grade: Koushiro and Mimi 2nd Grade: Takeru

The dub omits that particular information and instead gives us some basic information on what Tai thinks of each character.

Sora: "She's okay, for a girl!" Matt: "Too cool; Just look at that haircut!" Izzy: "He should have gone to computer camp." Mimi: "I'll bet you can guess her favorite color on the first try." T.K.: "Matt's dopey little brother." Joe: "Don't ever scare him; He'd probably wet his pants."

For most of the character names, it's pretty obvious which name connects to which. Izzy's the odd man out, as it's an abbreviation for Koushiro's family name Izumi.

The omission of the characters' ages from the dub is something that I think hurts it; It's not super clear, watching the show in English, that Joe's supposed to be the oldest kid by a year or two, or that Mimi's one of the youngest in the cast. However, this is important context for driving some of the plot points that the show has in store for them.

As the kids are struck by a freak blizzard, neither version really stops to explain this but the kids who will be our protagonists get separated from the rest of the campers. In both versions, we just see a group of counselors ushering kids into tents, and then Taichi opens this door once it stops.

I think the Japanese version was trusting its audience to understand from context where they are. Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Jou, Koushiro, Mimi, and Takeru have all taken shelter from the blizzard inside a nearby Shinto shrine.

This is why, when the aurora suddenly arrives and transports them across worlds, no other campers are taken with them. They're in an isolated location away from the rest of the group.

Jou even has a line expressing that he wants to return to the others, to clarify that these seven children are presently alone.

The English version offers no less information than the Japanese. Well, it offers a little less; That one context-clarifying line from Jou is replaced by Joe saying "I was worried I'd catch a summer cold but this is even worse!"

However, more importantly, we don't have Shinto shrines here. So the context isn't quite as evident to a kid watching on TV in the 90's. I always thought they were just in some kind of cabin at camp.

As the kids stare in awe at the sudden arrival of an aurora that's about to ruin the next several months of their lives, Jou again urges everyone to return to adult supervision pronto. This time Yamato agrees with him, pointing out that they could get sick if they stay out here.

Joe and Matt, on the other hand, have different concerns. In the dub, it's Joe that worries they're all going to get sick if they stay out here. This time, Matt disagrees, insisting that they can't miss a sight like this. That they are all alone in the wilderness with no adult supervision is not a concern for Joe at all, apparently.

Koushiro also points out that auroras aren't supposed to happen in Japan, so this is weird. The dub is trying to localize for an American audience, so Izzy's a bit more descriptive here. He calls this out as the Aurora Borealis specifically but says that's supposed to happen in Alaska. "We're way too far south."

Then the Aurora strikes, delivering their Digivices and whisking the kids away on a magical adventure of violence, terror, and coming to terms with the reality of death. YAAAAAAAAAY

So it begins! Taichi is the first we see meet his Digimon partner. This is Koromon. English Koromon explains that his name means "Brave Little Warrior". This is a bald-faced lie.

Like many Baby and Child stage Digimon, his name is based on an onomatopoeia; Specifically, Koromon is named for the sound of a round object rolling around. "Korokorokorokoro". I think the dub version of the character was embarrassed to admit that. :P

Koushiro's partner Mochimon is next. The subtitle here says Motimon but you can clearly hear Mochimon. His name is based on the sound of a spongey goop extending and retracting. Mochimochimochi.

Once these two are introduced, the dub goes in on trying to deliver information to the audience. This place is called the Digi-World, and Izzy speculates that the Digimon are the Digivices themselves, transformed into physical lifeforms.

None of this is in the original; This is a quiet moment as Taichi takes in the magnitude of their isolating predicament. The only information offered is that this is a place called File Island; the word "File" is said in English.

That they've Isekai'd into another world entirely is not something they know as of yet. At this point in time, the possibility exists that maybe we got washed out to sea somehow but we're still somewhere near Japan.

When Taichi tries to scout out what's around them, our central antagonist for this episode arrives: Kuwagamon, an Adult-stage Digimon named for a particular species of stag beetle: Nokogiri-kuwagata.

The first altercation with Kuwagamon goes terribly, forcing Taichi and Koushiro to take cover inside a special program. As Mochimon explains, they're inside a hologram of a tree which will conceal them from Kuwagamon.

The English Motimon offers the less helpful explanation, "It's a Hiding Tree, silly!" That'll do it. All I need to know, thanks.

Once Kuwagamon's gone, we meet up with Sora and our next Partner Digimon.

Pyocomon, named for the sound of bouncing. Pyocopyocopyoco! The dub cuts off the P and calls her Yokomon.

Immediately followed by Takeru's partner Tokomon, named for the sound of trotting around. Tokotokotokotoko.

And Yamato's partner Tsunomon. This one isn't an onomatopoeia; Rather, "tsuno" is the Japanese word for "horn". He's Hornmon. You can probably guess why.

Following that, we have Pukamon, named for the sound of floating or hovering. "Pukapukapuka", though the dub calls him Bukamon with a hard B sound.

We cut to commercial break and then come back to a completely redundant second introduction. Each Digimon takes turns going around and saying their names, and then Tai introduces each of the human characters and tells us which grade they're in; The same information from those slides earlier.

I think the localizers realized how unnecessary this is because they use this time to waffle instead. Rather than intros, the Digimon just say things like "We're super cute!" "And loyal!" Tai, however, once again misses an opportunity to establish the relative ages of the characters and just reintroduces all of the humans by name.

Wait, but aren't we missing someone? As if on cue, Mimi comes screaming out of the woods with her Partner Digimon at her side.

Tanemon, which translates in English to "Seedmon". However, like Tsunomon, her name remains Tanemon in the dub. Mimi isn't screaming because of Tanemon, however; She's being hunted by Kuwagamon.

I should note that the dub characters are extremely rude about Mimi's absence. Sora calls her "the girl with the funny hat" to which Tai replies, in the most eye-rolling and disdainful voice possible, "Now now, her name is Mimi." You can hear him sneering.

Then Izzy chimes in and, in a weirdly bitter tone, suggest she's "picking flowers" or "going on a nature hike". The fuck crawled up y'all's butts and died? This girl has done nothing.

The dub, however, does get in a fantastic line when Kuwagamon attacks again.

As the kids cower in a clearing from Kuwagamon's renewed assault, Joe cries out, "My mom is going to want a complete and total refund!" XD I love that. It manages to land a joke without killing the tension in the process.

Cornered on the edge of a cliff, the partners are forced to fight Kuwagamon.

It does not go well. Real quick, who do you think wins in a fight: An experienced lumberjack vs. several toddlers?

What a lovely start to an adventure. We have no idea where we are or why, and the strange magical creatures who showed up to protect us have all been beaten within an inch of their life by what, for all intents and purposes at this time, just appears to be Random Encounter wildlife.

We're gonna die out here.

With their backs against the wall, Kuwagamon renews the assault once more and the Baby Digimon are forced to break free from their worried kids and fight once more.

The dub tries really hard to downplay the peril these kids are in right now. For instance, when Taichi asks Koromon why he attacked Kuwagamon so recklessly, Koromon uses what little strength he has to state that he needs to protect Taichi. Dub Koromon just says he wanted to show off and look cool.

Similarly, as Kuwagamon comes tromping out of the woods, Taichi expresses hopeless fear, and Koromon then insists that that Digimon must fight. Dub Tai instead says, "Get ready to run!" only for Koromon to argue that he wants to fight instead. Like. They're standing on the edge of a cliff. There is nowhere to run to. The dub's manufacturing retreat options to make fighting a personal choice rather than a survival necessity.

But now the bonds they've formed with their kids are strong enough for the first in what's going to become a major metaphysic for this series: Evolution.

The dub calls it Digivolution, possibly to distinguish it from evolution in Pokemon which was airing alongside this show, but in Japanese it's just "shinka" meaning evolution. As each Digimon evolves, there's a stock quote format that they express in both versions.

In English, it's "Koromon, digivolve to: Agumon!"

In Japanese, it's "Koromon SHINKAAAAAAAA!!! Agumon!"

I admit, ever since the first time I watched this in subs, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the bloodcurdling battle roar of "SHINKAAAAAAA!!!" every time they evolve in Japanese.

While Kuwagamon gets dogpiled by Child-stage Digimon as the Digimon theme song blazes in the background, let's take a moment to go over each of their new names.

Agumon: "Aguaguagu". The sound of biting. Gabumon: A type of puppet used in Kabuki theater. Piyomon: "Piyopiyopiyopiyo". The sound of tweeting. Tentomon: Tentoumushi, a type of ladybug. Gomamon: Gomafu azarashi, a type of seal. Palmon: A play on "palm", a kind of tree. Patamon: "Patapatapatapata", the sound of flapping wings.

The English version replaces the roaring Digimon theme song with some generic fight music.

With Kuwagamon successfully fended off, the vibe of this scene is pure tension-relieving jubilation. The dub slides in Izzy saying, "They made vaporware out of him," and goddammit, that got me. XD The important thing is that Kuwagamon is gone and everyone is safe forev--

Oh, never mind. Everyone fucks off a cliff and probably dies and that's where we leave off episode 1. This sequence features possibly the funniest "Easing Up on the Peril" edit in this entire episode. As Kuwagamon slams his pincers into the edge of the cliff side to send them hurtling to their doom, the English version splices in random still frames of the kids looking tough to show this is no big deal and they can handle themselves in this mess!

Izzy standing there like "GRRR I'm a big strong American boy and they build us TOUGH over here! Me and mah gun can TAKE gravity!"

Before ending on the exact same shot of everyone falling to their doom anyway.

Either way, this is where the episode leaves off. The kids have been transported to this mysterious location. They have no idea where they are, how they got here, or why. They were terrorized around the forest, and now they're all falling to their doom.

This sets the stage for what this adventure is going to be like. This is not a magical journey of whimsey and effortless victories. These children are in extreme peril and nobody is coming to save them.

Man, File Island sucks. I'm with English Joe. If I was one of these kids' parents, I'd be demanding a refund too. Worst camping trip ever.

[vesperaominosum]

Also it’s telling how you just ignore all the proof, denial is the river in Egypt. Leo n chose Ashley and they drove into the sunset together, he was ready to die for her.

i was honestly ignoring all those (eight?? seven?) asks about eagleone bc i was confused and under the impression someone just mismatched usernames or something bc there’s no eagleone discourse anywhere on my blog lmao

but i just realized im the lucky recipient as a result of joking around with @galaxy-fleur ab ppl obsessing with what’s canon and what’s not where i said this

and tbh i’m still not interested in exploring this shipping wars narrative. nevertheless, at least now i know it was meant for me and i won’t ignore it completely. instead, let me kindly share some perspective that might help you with enjoying things a bit more

resident evil is not a jane austen novel, it’s a game about corruption. to simplify its philosophy, corruption is at the core of everything that drives the plot, characters are just there to make it happen. the story is about the human race and it’s physical and mental limits in the face of nature, everything about the franchise is a borderline new project with just the basal principles staying intact, to drive the message through playable characters. it’s a different media format. some characters get rewritten, some don’t even have a solid backstory (most lmao), but they all serve a purpose.

there’s a reason why leon as a character is so popular, in a story about corruption, a man who is marginally incorruptible on a personal level finds himself in a corrupted environment and it’s a big question of what happens to a person like that. to fight any sort of corruption, one must be corrupted to a degree, […] and if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you type of situation (RE in general is deliberately nietzschesque). and if you don’t fight it, you become a part of it and then you’re also corrupted by the vassal law lmao. he’s not interesting because of his backstory (lmao), he’s not interesting because of his design (the only thing that stays is a fuckass haircut anyway), he’s not even interesting because of his personality. he’s interesting first and foremost because of this juxtaposition and then he’s carefully crafted into a COOL action hero.

all the relationships and storylines are just basically the main point of him gazing into an abyss and all other elements are built around it to make it look cool. in the OG RE4 ashley is a stereotypical bratty teenager (aged up) that has to be saved for this reason, to make him look cool. he had that older brother to a disney tv show character type of swag. makes jokes, saves her, but has enough cool points for being unreachable bc of all that swag the fuckass haircut must provide. he’s deliberately being set to save a presidents daughter like a knight to be cool as hell and to be seen in action with a young girl visually to make everyone think about him as a sexy hot super cool dude. to put a picture in the brain, but not the actual thing. it works. remake is rewritten masterfully to maintain the swag but make it less campy and makes him care more, i love original ashley though, she was never annoying to me idk why people are still pressed

so about shipping in general. liking characters is about liking characters and what their path represents. liking ships is about liking a dynamic between two people. you don’t even have to like both characters individually to like a ship. and its okay to not like a ship if you like two characters. it’s a study of connection.

idek why you assume i don’t like eagleone as a concept like i never said that, you honor, put the stones DOWN. i said it’s funny y’all obsess with canonizing shit that also isn’t canon just like the rest of ships some ppl enjoy. in the remake ashley is obviously more of a character and i love her to bits, with all that the outline doesn’t change, she’s still there to aid the general story. just like the rest though. why i personally do not primarily enjoy “eagleone” as something on a physical level is because it takes away all the cool points leon gets for the set up. the dynamic is very off-putting to me. he’s hired by her father to get her home safe, finds her in a very altered state, earns her trust and she’s depended on him to survive. for him to fold here is very unattractive to me and once again defeats the very outline of his character which is standing strong in the face of corruption (at that point). the “why wouldn’t he wife her up” comment also made cackle bc WHO would even let him anywhere NEAR her please, she’s the presidents daughter and he’s a governments lap dog like let’s be so fr for a minute bruh talking about canon

so yeah to me PERSONALLY it looks nice and i love it as an idea and i love the dynamic that IS there, i think it was masterfully crafted and JUST RIGHT, but if it actually happened (like you say) that would just kinda kill it for me, instant groomer allegations. and i know and i love that there’s no scandalous age gap, this makes the conscious choice to care about ashley the person so much more meaningful. to me, personally, that would be very unattractive and damaging to the character to take advantage of the situation and mess with a daughter of a man who pays you to keep her safe, like damn,, sleazy .. but kinda hot though

can be hot in theory but only because it’s out of character like the idea is hot bc the character is hot but the character is hot bc that’s out of character if you catch my drift. or like if you make it about him indirectly saying fuck the government and fuck the president i see potential in that but like that’s FAR from the nice romance story you like so im gonna keep it to myself but like there’s ways to explore anything i swear, like if its mutual pining that’s explored with a happy ending it can be also be top notch.. im LISTENING

but yeah it literally doesn’t matter how i feel about your take on what’s canon and what’s not and how i feel about it regardless because my opinion doesn’t matter !! this is what i want you to take away from all this yapping is that it literally doesn’t matter what other people think or say!! the characters are yours to enjoy!! the dynamic between them is yours to enjoy!! i’m so serious rn!

it breaks my heart that you care about what others think, if you like the dynamic it’s yours to like!! and if you don’t like it next week it’s okay and if you like it again the week after it’s also okay!! damn i like the made up dynamic between wesker and kennedy !! do you think i give a shit about anything? i think jill valentine would take great care of stitch from lilo and stitch, like babygirl, concepts are there for you to play with them, not to aggravate and upset you unless you’re into that then me too tf

i loved reading your takes on eagleone i think it’s really sweet that this dynamic is so dear to you and it rocks!! you’re amazing for caring about them and thank you for sharing, i wish it wasn’t so aggressive but nonetheless!! i haven’t slept in two days again btw this is my third day with no sleep idk what im talking about at this point

but idc about the aggression and what’s right or wrong and i DO care about your feelings about any characters from anywhere, share more i guess just don’t mistake me for someone who’s gonna compare evidence when it comes to liking a dynamic, my evidence is: i like to think about it and to me it tracks idgaf i’m a monsterfucker btw

[therumpus]

Mini Interview with Jami Attenberg

By Denise S. Robbins

Jami Attenberg’s A Reason to See You Again (Ecco Press, 2024) is funny and quick-moving with a strong emotional core that explores what it really means to be family, through thick and thin. The novel revolves around the complicated family dynamics of a mother and her two daughters as they grow up and live through the cultural and technological changes throughout the 20th century, moving deftly between the thoughts of the characters in surprising ways. It’s wide-ranging, delving into various women’s relationships with work—or the absence of it. 

When she’s not writing books, she manages the highly popular Substack newsletter Craft Talk and its yearly challenge, “one thousand words of summer,” where she motivates thousands of subscribers to write a thousand words a day for ten days straight. 

We spoke over Zoom about her writing process and how this latest book fits in with her life’s work.

***

The Rumpus: A Reason to See You Again is your tenth published book. That’s a lot of books! Is there something you're trying to accomplish that you haven't in your earlier works?

Jami Attenberg: I wanted the book to cover more time. My last few novels were much more compact. Then when I wrote my memoir, I enjoyed how it spanned so many years and so many cities. It gave the story the chance to breathe. So, I wanted to apply that to the novel. I was also interested in having family members be separate from each other as opposed to being intimate and involved in each other’s lives. They were more spread out and spaced out. It’s also possible this desire to span more time and space came as a response to that particular claustrophobic feeling I had in the pandemic.

Rumpus: What seeded the idea behind this novel? 

Attenberg: I actually wrote about this in my newsletter [Craft Talk]. During the pandemic, I was looking at a lot of vintage clothes on Etsy and kept seeing these white puffy shirts. I started thinking about a woman wearing it and being somebody's cool aunt. Generally, characters show me the way into a book. And so, the cool aunt, Shelly Cohen, was the first character for me. I pictured her at a kitchen counter in the suburbs talking to her family, with all of them leading different lives, interested in each other but also always a little annoyed with each other.

Rumpus: Does that dynamic have any resemblance to reality? How much of yourself is in this book and these characters and their relationships?

Attenberg: None of these characters are like anybody that I know, really. But they’re adjacent to people I know. They feel like they live in a neighborhood I’ve lived in before. Or maybe they’re a third cousin. Someone you met once and feels familiar, even if you can’t say exactly who they are. 

Rumpus: How do you find the central core of a story with multiple main characters? What are they all hovering around? 

Attenberg: The way time moves forward in this book is the core, and how the characters are impacted by time. Time is both the structure and the thrust. For example, the way they communicate at the beginning of the book has changed by the end of it, often expressed in terms of technological advancements. And those kinds of changes are ones that can only emerge specifically over the passage of years or decades of time.

Rumpus: So, technology changes relationships in this book. But you could say it just provides your main characters with new ways of ignoring each other. 

Attenberg: There’s one scene near the end of the book where two characters are driving in a car and a third one calls them on a cellphone. And they really don’t want to talk to this person, but there’s no way of ultimately avoiding it: we live in an era where you can track people’s locations all the time. It’s vastly different than earlier in the book, when it’s Nancy’s twenty-first birthday and she desperately wants to talk to her family, and she has to leave her house, walk down to the corner payphone, put money in it to make a long-distance call, and hope that somebody's there and picks up at this specific moment in time. In a way that phone call is so much more meaningful. But their communication still has meaning at the end of the book, when they finally do break through to each other. 

Rumpus: A lot of important life events in this story aren’t actually in the book but are referenced offscreen or obliquely. How did you decide what to put in the story versus what to reference offscreen?

Attenberg: These people are not confrontational until it’s too late. They’re trying to figure out how to exist with a problem without actually dealing with it. So, these things feel far away to the reader because they feel far away to the characters. They don’t like dealing with things head on. But there are still feelings that are very much present. 

These things trigger other issues down the line, though. If you don’t deal with something in the moment, eventually it’s still going to show up. One of my characters doesn’t tell another character something very important, and when the other finds out, she is furious with her. It impacts their relationship forever. By choosing to avoid conflict, she created another conflict in the process. And a lie by omission is still a lie, and that’s certainly a plot point. 

Rumpus: I also wanted to highlight one particular line: “He thought it would be easier to explain themselves to the world if they lived in the same place, when actually they only had to explain themselves to themselves and no one else.” It feels like the heart of this story.

Attenberg: I wouldn’t say that line is the heart of the book, but it’s a touchstone line, one I hope people highlight on their Kindles, ha. The characters in this novel grew up during a certain time and place where they felt like there was a path for them with specific milestones they had to achieve to please the world in a certain kind of way. I think most people understand now that we don’t have to stay on that conventional path, that we don’t have to abide by anyone else’s rules. I think the characters in the book are happiest when they figure that out. Even if it takes a long time. 

Rumpus: On top of writing novels, you also run Craft Talk and the yearly “one thousand words of summer” challenge, with daily letters of encouragement from various authors. Does this community enliven your own novel writing? 

Attenberg: It keeps me on track. And every year there’s a letter from one of the contributing writers that hits the right chord and comes at the right time. That’s the beauty of these letters of writing advice. You never know when you’re going to need it. This year, that letter came from Jennine Capó Crucet. It was about writing from a place where you know you can throw it all away. So that’s what I did. I gave myself permission to just write something I could throw away. Then I loved everything I wrote, and now I’ve written thirty thousand words this summer, the new beginning of the book, and it's great. I definitely feel the accountability. Every year. We're doing it together. It's equalizing.

Rumpus: Even somebody who's written ten books needs that accountability sometimes.

Attenberg: People need it, and it works. It really works. But also, you don't need it. We can write all the time on our own. But during one thousand words of summer, it feels like a friend is there with me. 

Rumpus: So, you’re working on another novel now. How many more novels do you have inside you?

Attenberg: I’m not planning to stop writing. Will my next novels get published? Who knows. Does it matter? Probably not. How many books do I have in me? A million. I’m in my fifties now. I’ve slowed down a bit but know more of what I want and can look back at what I’ve done. And I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. 

[ridgystasis]

Now that the official trailer is out and we’ve gotten the final bit of promotional material, I wanted to write out some thoughts and concerns regarding the Devil May Cry Netflix show. Namely, one main concern that kept coming up the more we saw. A lot is happening. In this show. Like all the time. Enemies pulled from all the games, references sprinkled everywhere. 3-Dante has a hat, like that one time! It’s overwhelming, a bit. The biggest red flag was the recent trailer, which presented a plot spread across so many locations and moments that I struggled to piece it together. 

If you look at the DMC games and most of the franchise’s external media, what you realize is that almost every DMC plot is incredibly basic. V puts it into words in DMCV—“A powerful demon is about to resurrect, and we need your help Dante.” Substitute in some variety of “unite the human and demon worlds” and there you go. This is further reinforced by the fact that DMC’s antagonists* are incredibly basic. All of them are some variation of “true evil”—they all just want power to have it, and that’s that. It is important to say, though, that this simplicity isn’t a flaw. Rather, it’s actually a really important component in the presentation of DMC’s story. These uncomplicated plots provide the necessary foundation for the heart of DMC’s complexity—its characters.

I think anyone that’s engaged with the franchise would agree that DMC is not really about demon resurrection, but rather the relationships with those you love, especially those you consider your family. And these relationships are presented in interesting ways, with difficult dynamics being exacerbated by characters struggling with their own traumas and maladaptive coping strategies. This is where the asterisk comes in—it’s not a coincidence that the DMC antagonist with the most intricate characterization is also the one who is most involved in this overarching story and arguably acts as its central antagonist. DMC allows itself to be simultaneously over-the-top yet subtle. It doesn’t have the need to spell out everything due to a trust in its players to read between the lines.

I don’t think that the DMC Netflix Show doesn’t trust its watchers. Quite the opposite, actually. Its seeming complexity, the constant referencing without any real intent, even the showrunners’ relentless fan engagement communicates that it doesn’t trust itself. It doesn’t believe that it can “capture the magic”, and so it constantly wants to get ahead of its viewer and give them what it believes they want to earn their approval. But like! DMC shouldn’t ever be like this! Just like its larger-than-life characters, DMC is always confident in itself. Sure, not everyone will like it and some might find it cringe, but the franchise never compromises for these people. It will always be unabashedly, ridiculously itself, and the story invites anyone who wants to come along for the ride. 

Some extra thoughts in this paragraph, but it has spoilers for a scene in the show as well as the DMC3 manga so skip if not interested. Basically, that last shot with Vergil seems to be part of a scene previously shown off last October. In that scene, Vergil shows up (as seen in the trailer). Dante is shocked, shouting that Vergil is supposed to be dead, and we flashback to the night that Eva died and the twins lost their home. After the flashback, it's shown that it wasn’t Vergil, but actually a shapeshifter. Pretty simple. The scene tells you Dante’s feelings, gives you the reasoning behind them, and then continues onward. Compare this to how the DMC3 manga handles this “reunion” (this scene is also the moment that Dante is talking about when he tells Vergil in DMC3 that it’s been a year since they last met, for those who haven’t read the manga). 

Like they immediately start snarking at each other! Pretty similar to their first scene together in DMC3. Their dynamic is funny in this way, since they’re both super larger-than-life there’s never any sort of normal communication that you would expect, it just immediately jumps to shooting the shit. The manga also had a previous scene before this reunion where Dante believes he sees Vergil and he just stands there, stunned.

Whereas the scenes in the manga simultaneously communicate information to you and show off the characters’ dynamic through subtle ways, the show just tells you what you need to know straightforwardly and moves along. The show isn’t out yet though, so I’ll save my judgment for when the full context is shown but yeah. Feels different, I guess. Maybe that's not a bad thing? Guess we'll have to see.

[theinyshlobster]

project hail mary by andy weir [review]

read from august 20th - august 23rd

review:

beware - (slight) spoilers ahead

i did not expect to like this that much?? i did not expect this book to go how it went either!!!!! now i’m just gonna say up front - the only reason this isn’t a 5-star is because there was a LOTTTTT of space jargon. the book tries its best to explain it so i at least had some idea but…. i’m sorry by the end i was lost with how much jargon there was. not only was there insane science technical terms but made up concepts???? my brain short circuited it couldn’t keep up. even if i had no idea wtf was going on usually i could excuse that, but i will say when there were paragraphs of jargon by the end i just started skimming because i knew i would just be wasting my own time and hating every second of it. sue me. other than that? this book was PERFECTION. i get why this guy had his book made into an award winning movie. ngl this needs to be made into one too. idk how they’d make rocky but honestly i don’t care! grace was so funny and quippy. he did lose a bit of this by the middle, but tbh at that point based on the personality established i had grown to love him without his funny bone rearing its head every sentence so i wasn’t mad. i loved his flashbacks appearing in progression, especially his dynamic with stratter. now - i gotta spotlight my boy rocky. ROCKY!!!!!!! i started crying over him because i actually just loved him so much. i won’t lie i did have to google illustrations of what the actual fuck he looked like cuz i actually could not imagine it at all. yes i am an avid fantasy & sci-fi reader with slight aphantasia and what? but after i got over that slight hump (i’m so serious i googled a drawing of him literally when his physical description was given so… this didn’t take long) i ADORED rocky. he’s my homeboy. i actually started panicking because i thought rocky sabotaged the ship at the end. i was FREAKING OUT!!!! thankfully he didn’t or i would’ve been PISSED. he was so quirky and made up for grace’s lack of funny one liners later. the world building here also needs a great pat on the back. i mean i imagine the brain behind a blockbuster space movie would be great at world building…. and i would be correct in thinking that. everything down to the hypothetical(?) aliens & planets & situations felt so realistic that i actually forgot this book wasn’t sci-fi and was real. like if i went to space i would see a rocky. i saw on the news tokyo had 100mm of rain in an hour and my brain went “oh yeah that makes sense based on what the prediction surrounding astrophage’s effect on earth” and i had to pause. and realise. oh wait that’s not even real. it’s just raining a lot because of global warming and…. idk rain. not an alien parasite(?). even tho i had no actual idea what was happening on the logistical/technical side of things, from the dumbed down versions of events provided, it felt entirely realistic!!!!! i was so locked in reading this. can u tell seeing i read this in like 3 days as well. the relationship between rocky & grace ate so bad. god and the ending too?????? ugh impeccable. no notes. chefs kiss. i had such a fun time reading this. anyways omw to add the martian to my letterboxd watch list 🫡

[laraismissing]

I love your world building for creeps so much ( especially your OCS) I kinda wonder what the dynamics are between Lorraine,robin and Juliet since I assume they live together, do they all just awkwardly eat dinner together 😭 and any Tony headcanons, I just see him being edited to good luck babe constantly 💀

aaa tysm!! it always feels nice when someone compliments my ocs 🥺

So actually, funny enough, they don’t live together anymore.

Im still trying to figure out if Id like robin to live in a shelter, or live with will and jack. idk, shes still kinda in development within the world building wise?? that sounded so stupid but its 2am and im tired so i ain’t fixing it.

however, lorraine lives in a house in the slums. with her grandfather, brother, and five children.

Xander(10), Hunter+Silas(9), Salem(7), and Juliet(4).

they have a very chaotic family. think of white trash but just in a weird cultish kind of way-?? idk, lorraine is absolutely ridiculous and i love her. she adores her children and they are very much provided for and taken care of.

Gerald (lorraine’s grandfather) works as an underground doctor, and shares a building with forenzik. landlord couldn’t decide on who to lease it to, so they share the rent. each side belongs to one of them.

lawrence (lorraine’s younger brother) works with his grandfather, side by side.

and then lorraine’s .. well, a dancer, stripper, hunter, collector, other stuff. this woman does so much work it’s ridiculous. very chaotic family.

also honestly, i haven’t really added anything for tony. however, his parents are both beezlebub and mammon. he’s their son. that’s like.. the only new thing about him 😭. idk what else to say about him as of now.

[territorialufo]

i give in can you tell me about that little iphone binch

YESS YES I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE LITTLE IPHONE BINCH !!!!!!!!! this is literally just rambling im so sorry. There's a lot of text blocks in the beginning but the end has more pics and silly stuff 

Also ii spoilers but its hard to talk abt mephone without getting into the recent stuff so whatever 

Under cut cause this got. Really long. whoops

Context/background of II/mephone 

“Inanimate Insanity” (ii) is a web animation originally released in 2011, considered the second “major” object show after BFDI. btw an object show is a genre of web series that features anthropomorphized inanimate objects competing for some kind of prize. I am NOT the right person to ask about object shows cause the only one ive ever been invested in to this extent is ii and theres SOO many other ones out there LMAO. Ok sorry i sounded like a bot for a second there JUST PROVIDING CONTEXT!! Inanimate Insanity’s structure is kind of interesting because it starts out as a silly comedy in s1 and most of s2 before descending into a really drama heavy storyline, with tension caused both by mephone’s past haunting him and conflict between the contestants themselves. Then suddenly s2 goes on a four year hiatus and animationepic (main youtube channel) launches s3 with new characters and artstyle, seemingly completely ditching the plot they had in s2??? IM NOT GONNA GET TOO INTO ALL THAT but it all works out timeline wise so its chill the tone switch was just rly funny at the time 😭😭😭 

ANYWAYYYY mephone. Mephone4. Mister phone. Four. The one and only four. MeFon! MePhone4 (parodying the IPhone4) is the de facto host of the in-universe reality show “Inanimate Insanity”!! As the host, he has speaking lines in nearly every episode which is super awesome and epic for mephone4 enjoyers (me). His initial vibe was inspired by Chris McClean from TDI, and was even voiced by Christian Potenza in the first episode before being switched to Mark Katz, who is the father of the creator of II, Adam Katz, which is also pretty cool i think. Since Mark Katz is a grown ass dude, mephone just has. The same voice for like the entire series SHDHF everyone else’s voices are changing and stuff as the creators got older but mephone just sounds like a middle aged man for all of it 😭I love it tho this isn’t a criticism!!! As the years go by it gets more and more expressive :) s1 is. rough. considering it was made by a bunch of kids, its very much a product of its time lol

Lore/character 

Ok lore time cause the thing w mephone is most of his backstory was kind of just hinted at (or implied with the existence of Apple irl). Like in s1 there was the introduction of mephone4s and 5, but otherwise, not much (as far as I can remember. I watched s1 when i was a kid so its been a while lmao). Then there was s2e8 where the contestants go to headquarters and we meet steve cobs (yes, like steve jobs), who’s his creator and dad?? Again some hints are dropped but nothing concrete about their relationship. And then BOOM. SEASON 2 EPISODE 13. “Mine Your Own Business” was my fave II ep for sooo long (idk what my fave is now tbh) cause THE MEPHONE LORE DROP??????? IT WAS CRAZY and also the ending of the episode with fan’s monologue and the soundtrack “shell of a fan” is my fave in the show ANYWAY ANYWAY so begins the remembering of the Horrors. 

He was “born” in Meeple Headquarters, and PLEASE KNOW THAT HE WAS BORN AN ADULT OH MY GOD there are some clowns who think hes literally 14 years old bc thats how old the iphone4 is USE YOUR BRAIN USE YOUR BRAIN AAAAA right so he basically knows nothing about the world, confined to headquarters until his eventual escape. Cobs and mephone have a pretty interesting dynamic, where cobs has most of the power. The way Cobs praises mephone but later shoots him down is so AUHGHGHGH. It’s an oppressive environment he's living in, only expected to do assigned tasks and shamed for any genuine interests, while having the pressure to impress his creator on his shoulders at the threat of being discarded. Mephone grows to hate and fear cobs, but at the same time, cobs is the only person whos known him since the beginning.

The way literally every problem mephone has can be traced back to his origin/how he was raised is so crazy. Like even before the s2e16 twist, it was extremely prevalent??? There are a bunch of analysis posts that explain it way better than I could but MANNNN for a show that the crew started when they were literally 13, they were able to tie things together pretty well, i think! 

It’s been pretty obvious since s2e13 that hosting Inanimate Insanity is just one big escapist fantasy for mephone, one where he is free to do as he pleases while ignoring all the trauma he sustained in “childhood”. Cause it’s implied he escaped Meeple, deleted his bad memories, and then started s1 right after. I mean, it makes sense, since outside of the cold, mechanical nature of Meeple, the only warmth he got was from his enjoyment of reality tv shows. If s1 is an amnesia mephone, and s2 is a spiraling mephone, then I’d describe s3 as “escapism but worse” mephone. It doesn’t ever get as gloomy as s2, but s3 has steady background reminders of “hey guys remember mephone is running away from all his problems right now!!” until it all comes to head in the finale. Some ppl dislike how mephone-centric the show’s gotten, but honestly idgaf more for me

I do want to say that he is very flawed, though. Esp near the beginning, he is really fucking rude and does not respect his contestants at all and frequently belittles them and puts them in mortal danger. he tends to view them and everything that happens to them through the lens of “its just part of the show!!!!”. He tends to brush off everyone’s problems, no matter how serious, even when he’s the one that caused them.

His reality show host personality is all a very big facade to cover up how he feels about the past (thus further submerging him in the fantasy of Inanimate Insanity). Like previous users have mentioned, this is likely due to the fact that he had no one to learn HOW to be empathetic/kind from besides reality television (which is known to be exaggerated for drama) and cobs (who is his abuser) But I famously do enjoy characters who are kind of dickheads, the confidence being a mask is like a tasty bonus to me.

The dichotomy between his arrogant host exterior and paranoid/anxious interior is really interesting and fun to watch. Compared to his relatively sweet/naive beginning personality, it’s wild to see just how much he’s changed since then because of everything that’s happened.  His relationships with the rest of the characters is also interesting, cause despite being their host, he isn’t very close with a lot of them. Other than maybe Bot, who I believe he feels kinship with since they're both robots who freed themselves from the expectations of others. Same with Mepad, since they’re both from Meeple. 

He’s a robot, but in an emotional/psychological sense, is basically a normal person/object (person is synonymous with object in this case). He feels like a person despite being an AI. which makes cobs a lot worse imo, he mistreats all his creations, but at least the other newer mephones are barely “feeling” at all, unlike 4.

Basically, 

Cobs: i have engineered a machine that is functionally a person

Everyone: you fucked up a perfectly good phone is what you did. Look at him. He’s got ptsd. 

Not to get too into ii16/17, but they basically recontextualized the entire series and made what we initially thought about mephone’s escapist tendencies and origins a million times worse. Bro was so tormented he subconsciously made his OCs come to life 😭😭😭all while projecting all his issues onto them??? Psychologically sound individual activities. Additionally, the way he was created is also. Terrible. Cobs basically invaded an alien planet, kidnapped an alien kid, and then presumably used its energy to create mephone4. Outer space colonization? In MY object show? yes!

Ok now im just gonna talk about random stuff i like about him  

His powers are so cool.,.,,. Esp as a foil to cobs/mephonex, who could represent destruction, he represents creation with his generation ability. Also something abt using his powers for non violent reasons when his creation was built upon violence uhh idk. And I think the screen turning green and the sound effect is very satisfying dlsjkfg. Oh and the fact that he canonically had to practice to get better at it? In the flashbacks he’s shown having trouble generating even a simple tree, and now he can make pretty much anything with minimal effort. 

Also MeLife, which allows him to bring contestants back from the dead, is an ability unique to him, which is super cool!!

He can create portals as well and this is never explained. He can just suddenly do it KDLJFGH this kind of renders Mepad’s teleportation ability useless but it's still fun. 

I like when he uses his face as an actual screen :)

Something something robot related stuff

He is not waterproof and will malfunction or even die when wet

His speaking function can be disabled by other people

Glitches while talking sometimes!! Delightful 

Something that gets overlooked often I think is the s1 finale, where mephone4S (mephone4's brother) basically killed himself to save mephone4 by downgrading his own OS. Technically, mephone isn’t even in his original body anymore, he’s inhabiting his brother’s. Fun!

this is unrelated but he got shot in the face with a gun once. there havent been any guns since unfortunately

Get yoinked idiot 

In conclusion, 

I heart him and im sad ii is gonna be ending soon thx for reading

[yellowocaballero]

What are your tips on writing things that are both comedic and hard-hitting? Your style reminds me of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams in that sense, and I was wondering if you had any specific ways of hitting that balance of wit and feeling

No pressure to answer btw :)

Hello! My good friend @lazuliquetzal made an excellent post on this, so check it out! I can't phrase it better than she did.

To say something additional: a part of it is not an actual tip and it is the fact that I am just like this. It is just the way I talk. I'm an extremely obnoxious person IRL whose dialogue is half jokes.

This is something I've talked about several times before but I can't find the posts on my Tumblr. But there is a difference between a comedy and jokes. A comedy is in the structure of a story - how it's paced, the sequence and type of action, the character dynamics, and the internal logic of the story. In a comedy you either have a more straightforward style or you figure out how to make the narration itself funny and phrase things in a funny way. A joke is a joke. I use jokes in dramatic stories to cut melodrama and give a palate cleanser, to provide rapport between two characters, to humanize and personalize the setting, and because life is inherently just a little funny. We laugh every day. Things don't feel realistic to me if people never do little funny things or crack dumb little jokes. But similarly, comedies don't feel real either if there's no pathos or genuine depth to the characters - if the characters don't feel like people we know, or if we can't identify them in real life.

The best tips are the one LazuliQuetzal gave tbh. There is a time and a place for humor, and if it's badly placed then it can be super awkward. Balancing wit and feeling is just a matter of figuring out the right pacing, story beats, and uhhh that 'up/down' feeling in a story outline? A comedy is a specific type of story, and learning how to write a comedy is just as much of a skill as learning how to write a drama. Pterry used comedy as social commentary and Adams followed an artistic style of absurdism that has its own social commentary in an extremely British and 1980s way. I think, if your characters in comedies are designed as actual people with coherent internal logic and depth and not just joke machines, then the pathos comes. The jokes come too.

Not a great answer :(. I get this Q a lot and it's always so hard to give a good answer. It's partly just your own natural sense. It's partly skill-building and learning how to write a comedy. It's partly having your finger on the pulse of pacing and story beats, which is an intuitive understanding which is only gained with experience. The drama is in the natural character pathos, not justifying the comedy. Also, I'm biased, but I don't think comedy needs to be in a story for a reason and you don't have to wax philosophical on Tumblr.edu about why comedy in fiction saves the universe. Fiction is entertainment and jokes entertain effectively. That's really it.

[owlhead650]

hello noctor. you’re a very lovely amazing person. make sure to take time to relax even with uni going on. drink water, have a snack. much love from all the meteors

Thank you very much Meteors. I do love drinking water and I send much love in return. I like being your friend it's fun. Anyway it's been a year since I created my first oc, Asopo. He's the way in which I involved myself in the pokemon rebornverse oc culture. He's a large part of the means I used that led to me meeting you so this definitely matters to me. I do feel great attachment to this character I made. Here's a short story where I explore the dynamic between him and Melia and Erin from Pokemon Rejuvenation. This short story is about 3036 words long.

Also here's an epic versus sprite of Asopo created by aloepias on the Overseers discord server. Also @pokefangamebrainrot made an adorable portrait of him. Look.

I do love his expression in this. I find Mud Splash cute and funny too.

Pokemon Rejuvenation - Asopo's Letter

Asopo stared at the holographic file. It was filled with information about spells and how to make them. He and Melia needed to make one. They weren’t proud of it, so they had to keep their visits to zeight a secret. Even though basically all their friends already knew they were doing ‘something’ each night. Zeight was very quiet, he thought it was too much sometimes. Other times he thought it was perfect, it was peaceful. 

He looked away from the file and into the starlight abyss. Zeight had its own sky which seemed to be in perpetual cloudless night, yet if he fell off the platforms he’d land in this sparkly purple liquid. Maybe he should try swimming in it sometime. Or would that even be possible? Everything about Zeight was non-physical, mental instead. Maybe the water wasn’t even real. It provided only a nice aesthetic, as well as clarity about which way was down. Where was Melia?

It had been a little while since he last looked at her. He checked and she was just staring at a different file nearby. She’d been so quiet. As quiet as himself.

“Melia.” Melia flinched before turning around. He spoke very softly but seemingly any noise was surprising after hours of silence. Had it been hours? Time in zeight is weird. How did it feel for Melia to be here three months?

“Oh, hey Asopo. Is something wrong?” In general? Many things are.

“I want to talk to you about something important.” He realised that the statement might have sounded a bit intimidating.

“...Of course, you can tell me about anything.” Melia was kind. Sometimes she made Asopo feel warm, a lot of the time she made him worried and scared for her. Things just kept happening to her. “Can we sit down for this?” He looked at a bench he asked Mom Nancy to place which overlooked Zeight's expansive horizon. Melia went to it and sat down.

Asopo sat with her. He didn’t say anything right away. Even though he had promised this was about something, Melia waited. He was content to watch the waves with her. Even if no words were said, looking with someone else made the view feel even better. 

Waves.

Stars.

Light.

Darkness.

Warmth.

Company.

Peace.

“...Melia.” He said. “Asopo.” She said.

“Melia, I need to admit something embarrassing.” He knew she’d understand, he knew that she’d be as kind and patient when it came to this as anyone could be. It was still hard to say, even in somewhere as private as Zeight.

“Only if you’re comfortable. I’ll listen if you want.” Melia promised. She was beginning to get very curious though. There’s something exciting and cathartic about being confided in.

“What would you think if…” He trailed off. He wasn’t able to say anything else for a minute. 

“It’s alright. You aren’t forced to say anything you don’t want to.”

But he DID want to. He needed to. Asopo decided to approach the topic in a different way.

“How does it feel to love someone in the way that makes you want to date them?” His cheeks burned, but at least he said it.

“H-huh???” This was the last question Melia expected. “I… what makes you ask that??”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know why you asked?”

“No, I do know why I asked. I just don’t know the answer.” Being misunderstood was one part of talking that stressed him out.

“Well, I suppose you know it when you feel it? When I… when I realised I had feelings for Venam, I guess I just knew what the feelings meant? I suppose it can’t be taken for granted that you’d know. Lots of things about romance and dating and socialising in general aren’t taught to us. It’s just assumed that we’ll figure it out ourselves. Asopo… do you have a crush or something?” Melia felt like giggling, there was something about these sensitive topics that felt amusing and exciting in a weird way.

“Don’t call it that! This is about someone I love very much, but I don’t understand it. I don’t know what to make of my own feelings.” The word ‘crush’ definitely distressed him. It came with all sorts of expectations he didn’t like. Why was everyone limited to words that can be misunderstood? Why can’t Asopo just show people what’s in his heart?

“...Oh no, I’m really sorry Asopo. I really am, I shouldn’t of said that.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I wasn’t making fun of you I promise. I would never, ever, mock you for anything.”

“It’s fine.” He looked at her for the first time since this conversation began. “I’m feeling something for Erin that feels really similar to friendship, but what I want from it is different. I love her just like I love you and Ren and Venam and Aelita and Amber… But I want to touch her more. I’ve noticed I want to hug her even more than my other friends or pokemon. I see her hand and sometimes I want to hold onto it. When I do touch it, like when we pick something up at the same time or I pass something to her, or just anytime that’s incidental or practical, I really enjoy it. I want to hold it even longer…” Asopo trailed off again. This last part was the most embarrassing, but he wanted to get it off his chest. He felt Melia giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Her hand was sort of hanging off him. 

“Melia… I like how Erin smells.” He looked at her but turned away again after just a moment of eye contact. It was a lot to admit.

“It’s okay Asopo. There’s nothing wrong with feeling that.”

“But it’s confusing. I’m not in love with her, it feels too similar to friendship to be anything romantic. Romance feels intense, doesn’t it?” This was the hardest part. The biggest reason why Asopo kept it to himself for so long is because he doesn’t know how to describe it accurately, and the last thing he wants is for Erin to misunderstand it.

“Yeah, it’s really exciting when your feelings get reciprocated. But it’s intense too. Sometimes it’s too much, actually.” Melia thought about the time she had with Venam. But she was going through a lot of hardships. She couldn’t be a good partner to her while dealing with all that.

“I’m going to write a letter. Then I’m going to hand it to her and stand in front of her while she reads it. Do you think she’d like that?”

“Well if what you feel is hard to explain then taking the time to write it down in a way that makes sense to you could help. I think it would be important to say it to her too though. Saying it is hard, but it’s meaningful. It might feel good to say it.” Melia tried to make her advice sound like gentle suggestions. She didn’t want him to feel any pressure. It surprised her, to learn this about him. Asopo rarely said what he was thinking.

“I know Erin is busy with a lot of things, we all are, but I’ll try to get a word with her later today. How would she react if I asked her to speak in private?”

“I know that Erin really trusts you. I know she respects the need to leave some things unsaid, or for privacy. Go tell her.” By now Melia had taken her hand off of Asopo’s shoulder. The embarrassment had worn off and he didn’t want to hide his face anymore.

Asopo got up and looked at Melia. She was still sitting, from where she was she could see the starlight reflecting off Asopo’s hair.

“Melia. You’re one of the most important people in my life. I don’t think any amount of words could adequately explain how much our friendship means to me.” For some reason this wasn’t embarrassing to say. Melia grinned. She looked so pretty when she was happy.

“I would have to say the same Asopo. Without you I don’t think I’d still be here. Now go give Erin your adorable letter explaining your complicated, wonderful feelings to her.”

Asopo exited Zeight and entered the league HQ.

He found Erin in the lab reading a book on banishing curses and similar ailments inflicted by dangerous exposure to ghost types. She was sitting on a couch in the corner. Asopo sat next to her and waited for her to say something to him. He stared at her face. She had dark grey eyes, like Melia’s. He always loved the black bow and the white hair. She used to wear a white top that exposed her shoulders and this short black skirt, but these days she wears a long sleeved black shirt with white trousers and a coat.

The strange thing about Asopo’s relationship with attraction is that even though he was fully asexual, he still found girls pretty. Someone’s appearance is never really a factor in whether or not he ends up liking them or talking to them, but he still enjoys looking at beautiful people. It’s not the same as thinking another boy looks cool, so for the longest time Asopo assumed that this must be what people meant by being attracted to someone else based on beauty. He had since realised that isn’t true.

Erin looked up from her book. “Hey, Asopo. You have that look on your face. Did you want to ask something?”

“...Yes. But can we talk somewhere private?” He looked at the Sashila scientists at work. “This is personal.” Erin was interested by this. “That sounds very serious but I understand. Come on then.” She stood up. So did Asopo. She was taller than him by an entire head. They went to find a quiet room where no one would be listening in. Asopo was in a calm state of mind but he could hear his heartbeat. There was definitely some tension now that he was here, but it wouldn’t be hard. Discussing it with Melia and writing that letter had prepared him.

“So let’s hear it, Asopo. What did you want to say to me?”

“Read this.” He handed it to her.

“Oh? A letter? Why did we need privacy just so you could give me a letter? Or are the contents of the letter important? Should I read it right away? Is it something you’d struggle to say?” She read him like a book. Asopo was very confident in his own wit, but she was probably smarter than him.

“Yes.”

“Okay then. I will read it now.” Erin opened the envelope and pulled out the folded up paper without tearing any of it. It was written in blue pen with large uneven letters. 

To Erin,

I love you very much and I really cherish our friendship. I want you to know that the way in which I love you is a bit different to normal friendship, I think I feel something else too. For a little while I wondered if I was attracted to you romantically or sexually, but I know I’m not. I’m fully asexual. I think you’re one of the prettiest and most fashionable girls I’ve ever met but I don’t think that’s why I feel the way I do. 

The few times we hugged, I enjoyed it even more than I do with other friends. I want to hold your hand and in general I seem to enjoy physical contact with you more so than with other people. I honestly don’t know if there’s a word for what I’m feeling. It’s similar to friendship but I’ve never thought about how my other friends have a warm smell or gentle warm hands. I never ever want to make you feel uncomfortable, if any of these things are creepy then I’m deeply sorry and you’ll never hear of it again. I just want you to know that you’re one of the most important people in my life and I don’t want to ever go too long without seeing you or speaking with you. 

I consider you very smart, strong and kind. I always enjoy listening to your takes or comments on basically everything. I admire how confident you always are and how you’re always able to say what you mean.

When this journey ends and we’re all free to live a life where we aren’t in danger from anything then I want to continue being one of the friends you see every day. I love you very much Erin, I want to spend even more time with you and I hope that would make you happy.

From Asopo.

Erin finished reading the letter. She folded it up neatly and tucked it back into the envelope before pocketing it. The whole time she was reading it her expression didn’t really change. She finished it in just over a minute. “Asopo.” Here it was. The moment of truth. What does Erin think of his feelings? “Do you have any idea how lovely this is?” Erin asked with a very as a matter of fact tone.

“...Do you like it?” 

“Do I like it? Asopo I’m really glad you told me all this. For years I used to think there was something wrong with me. I didn’t have many friends growing up and many people treated me like I didn’t belong. When I never had any crushes on anyone, when I never wanted to be kissed or when the very concept of sex and marriage seemed repulsive to me, I thought I was broken. Do you know what changed?” 

Asopo thought about the question seriously, not treating it like the rhetorical question it was meant to be.

“Did you learn something new that changed your outlook?”

“Correct, actually. I learnt that being incapable of wanting the things that I was expected to want is not some defect, it’s normal. There are all sorts of people like that. I read it in a book and then it clicked. That made me feel much better about myself. The problem remains that I need to live with the challenges this state of being brings.”

“Which challenges?” Asopo asked. He had some idea but he wasn’t sure what specific issue she might have been referring to.

“Well not being able to want certain kinds of relationships makes you unable to have them. It seems that most people have a clear idea about where the boundaries between friendship and romance are set. There’s even the notion that if you have a close bond with some non-family member then it needs to be one of those two. The challenge for people like us is that we won’t really be able to have life-long partners. If you want something like that with someone then it’s sort of assumed you need to get married or at least be in love.” So far Asopo was delighted with how the conversation had developed. Just listening to Erin explain her reasoning contented him.

“Asopo, I won’t pretend we just found the solution to that. I also won’t say I’m fully sure that I feel the exact same way you do, but I am interested. You’re important to me, I value you. It made me happy to read about how much you care. And to clarify-” She put her hands on his shoulders, gripping them. “I never. Ever. Found you creepy. I know the bit about liking my smell is mortifying, but I respect honesty. I think I’ll hide this letter away somewhere safe, there’s no need for anyone else to know about it.”

“Melia knows.” Asopo interjected.

“I, what? Did you show Melia the letter?” Erin asked with a hint of frustration.

“No. I just told her I would be giving you one. It was hard to tell you, I admitted the embarrassing parts to her as practice for now. She was very understanding.” He thought about her smile. Melia was happy that someone she loved could trust her.

“Well I guess that’s okay then. If you want to spend more time with me that badly, then how about you help me with something? I want to find another book about medical science used to combat extreme conditions similar to genesis syndrome. I also need to find a book on crafting signature moves, it’s advanced stuff so I think you should read through it until you find the section on dark moves. I know you’re an expert on battling so finding that info should be well within your skillset. Will you come with me?”

This was another part that Asopo loved about Erin. She was so cunning. So efficient and logical in the best way. She wants to spend time with him but she’s also using the situation to her advantage and getting him to help her with work. He was delighted to help someone like her.

“Let’s be reading buddies.” Asopo said with dry humour.

“Yes. Let’s. Now would you like to give hand holding a try? Or actually before we go maybe a hug would be nice.”

“Yes please.” He smiled at her.

“Alright. Bring it in.” Erin opened her arms and put them around him. Asopo wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed. Due to their height difference Asopo ended up resting his head against her chest. Erin was resting her chin on his hair. Erin’s body was firm and warm against him. “Friend Erin.” Asopo said softly. Erin heard him and chuckled. “Yeah, friend Asopo. This is nice.”

They held it like that for a while. Eventually they had enough. “We have a Braivery taxi to catch. The landing stop isn’t far but would you like to take that hand holding idea for a spin?” Erin considered that just because Asopo said he wanted it in the letter, that wouldn’t mean he’s guaranteed to want it right away just because she did.

“Yes. Let’s walk through the sand together so we can find the bird.”

“Great idea.” Erin reached out and offered her left hand. He gripped it and she led the way.

So how was the short story? Did you find it cute? Cringe? Both? Either way I really like the idea of Asopo and Erin being together like this. It was one of the earliest ideas I had for him but I didn't do anything with it until now. Thanks to whoever reads this far, thanks to those who like my ocs and double thanks to anyone who ever made content for Asopo or my other characters. I really appreciate it. As of the time I'm writing this it's getting late. I've really enjoyed Asopo's first oc birthday it was fun to talk about ocs today.

[samuell2]

Late Chrysanthemums (AKA Snooze City)

I looked through some blog posts from my classmates after I watched this movie, and yeah, it seems like I'm not alone in thinking this movie was sort of boring. It was basically a documentary of 4 bitter ex-geishas bumming around and being broke, reminiscing on better days. What a bummer, man.

I guess the main problem with this movie is that no one is really likeable. Okin is the de facto antagonist, collecting money from the older gals. I suppose we're supposed to feel sympathy for her because of the murder-suicide incident in her past, but she just fits too easily into the hatebale loanshark stereotype. But it's hard to feel sympathy for the other ladies, too. They gamble, lay around and bear grudges like some nursing home ladies. I know that sounds pretty harsh-- again, I know these ladies have gone through hard times-- but there's just not much sympathy here. It almost feels deserved when Okin's lover just comes back to her to get a loan.

I did write down some cool things about this film, though. Kiyoshi being compensated by an older woman is a neat dynamic, and there's some weird undertones in the relationship between him and his mother, Tamae. It was kind of funny when one of the characters (Tomi, I think -- the gambler) talked about how she used to get drunk and ride men around. (Is this a thing in Japan? I remember Tanizaki's Naomi also talking about this). It was interesting to see a deaf-mute character in Okin's maid. It was funny watching Tomi look in the mirror and compare herself to her daughter with a goofy face. Its also cool how few scene transitions there are, and how the events all take place very close together.

There could be a message about the war and its effect on society here. I know the chrysanthemum is the imperial crest of Japan, which could give the title a double meaning, referring to both older women and the withered Japanese empire. Okin, I believe, also makes an interesting comment about "the war changing everything" despite grudges related to performance and favors as geisha coloring the women's relationship even in the post-war. But frankly, the film just offers so little theme to chew on, unless I missed something.

There's no character arcs here. No one gets better. Okin caps off the film buying property, still obsessed with money. Maybe this a commentary on the degradation of family values in post-war Japan (two children disobeying their parents, and one often failing to provide), but if it is, its sort of a boring one.

:(