#it undercuts the whole premise

[flameraven]

Was reading a period* arranged marriage story and had to give up because it was just TOO historically inaccurate.

(*Which period was unclear. I think they were aiming for Victorian but it was so vague it could've been any time from 1800-1915ish)

Like, I am all for hand waving historical accuracy for a good story, especially if you want a queer romance or just don't want to deal with period racism. Bridgerton does this and while I think there are some issues with their approach, overall it works and it's clearly very appealing to a lot of folks.

No, the thing that really got me about this story was that the character was said to be quite wealthy, but lived in a relatively small house with no servants. There was mention of a cook who came in one or two days a week. That is where my suspension of disbelief just gave up.

Because like, even if you're going to ignore the social aspect of this wealthy person not having servants and the gossip that would create, even a small household, without the benefit of modern appliances, involves an enormous amount of labor to keep up. You need servants. Not just A Cook, but a cook and several kitchen maids to assist her to do the hard labor and menial tasks, because you can't just pop into the kitchen and cook something up quickly. There's no just turning the stove or the oven on, you have to build a fire and manage to to get the right temperature and keep it even. Household heating, too. You need people to clean and also to manage fires or your house is going to be freezing. Someone needs to change out the linens and also help you dress! A lady's maid or valet weren't just for prestige, the styles of the time meant you genuinely needed help getting in and out of clothing.

Also the characters' ideas about consent and levels of sex education were all jarringly modern. Again, I don't mind some of this but on top of all the other stuff it was too much.

Overall the story felt like it was a modern setting where people were wearing period fashions. And if you're not going to engage with any of the details of the period... why are you even writing period fiction?

[comicaurora]

In the latest trope talk you used Odo as part of your examples. I think You've talked about Star Trek: The Next Generation before but not Deep Space Nine and I just had some questions about what you thought about the show.

What did you most/least enjoy about the series?

What did you think of DS9's syndicated episodes compared to contemporary trek's (TNG, VOY) episodic nature?

How do you feel about the Dominion storyline as a whole? Did you feel like it went against Star Trek's utopian future?

Which characters stood out to you the most/had the most engaging development?

What do you think gagh tastes like?

Any other thoughts about the series?

Oh man, DS9.

I have this very consistent pattern of thinking that the star trek I have most recently watched is the best star trek. When I watched TNG it was the best because of its standout episodes that let Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner show off. Then when I watched Voyager it was the best because Janeway was incredible and 7 of 9's arc was a beautiful iteration on the "inhuman character explores humanity" star trek trope. Then when I got to DS9 I was like "Oh, so this is what actually good Star Trek looks like." I do think I'm actually right this time, though.

I think they really took advantage of how different the core premise of the show was from previous Star Treks. Because the setting was very consistent, the episodic variations on the formula weren't dedicated to seeking out Weird New Shit, but to focusing on the characters and their dynamics with one another. Correspondingly I think the best thing in the show is the character writing and how everyone's arcs are built up. This was something I think they were building towards with the previous series; TNG would occasionally have character-focused episodes, but for the most part everybody on the ship operated like a well-oiled machine, inputting the Weird Thing Of The Week and outputting a solution. Voyager destabilized the formula by yeeting the heroes halfway across the galaxy and well outside the safe confines of federation space, so you got a lot more opportunities for drama caused by limited supplies or existential despair, and a lot more character-driven conundrums without clean or flawless solutions. DS9 is kind of the apotheosis of this shift away from "seek out new life and new civilizations, boldly go etc etc" because instead of our heroes briefly interacting with Bajor and then fucking off into the end credits, they're sitting right on top of a planet undergoing tumultuous social restructuring after the end of a long and horrible military occupation, and they're there for 7 seasons. Because they aren't following an adventure-of-the-week formula, absolutely everything they do has consequences they have to deal with later down the line, and that lends itself very well to longform character arcs.

I liked the Dominion storyline well enough, and I think the existence of an evil space empire to fight doesn't preclude the Federation being a utopia. Utopias are internally perfect systems, not worlds that have absolutely no conflict. I think the part of DS9 that does undercut the utopia is the whole thing with Section 31, but I think that's part of a very intentional move on the writers' part to highlight that Section 31 is not as necessary as they think they are, and that doing all this stuff unethically is a moral concession and a shortcut that demeans the principles of the Federation. That's part of why I like that they serve as a nemesis to Doctor Bashir, who has very personal reasons to despise the idea of taking the easy way out.

Character-wise, I have very predictable favs. Jadzia Dax is fascinating to me, and I love the way they play with her past lives and centuries of experience to create this very layered character packed with plothooks. Also I have very simple tastes, and "woman fills narrative Man Role trope and nobody is weird about it" is an itch I so rarely get scratched despite how not complicated it is. Jadzia gets to be a swashbuckling romantic hero with a tragic starcrossed lover; she gets to be a wise yet cheerful mentor to Captain Sisko; she gets to be a noble warrior honoring debts from a lifetime ago. And I adore how her dynamic with Sisko plays out over the seasons - another completely uncomplicated trope I so rarely get to enjoy, male and female leads who are profoundly ride-or-die for one another and have absolutely no interest in making out. I am still so mad about how Jadzia gets iced, but that doesn't mean I don't like Ezri, and there is something very beautiful about how when she gets Dax'd and her existence becomes an absolute mess of confusion and conflicting memories and she doesn't even know who she is anymore, her single point of stability is Sisko.

That said, Garak is probably my overall fav. The man is an absolute drama hound and since he's not technically main cast it's a rare treat to get him focused on. He is so much fun on a rewatch when you can see exactly when and how he's lying and when he's telling the truth in a way that everyone thinks is lying, and what I think is most interesting about him is how absolutely everybody else on the station has him figured out. There's this "I know he knows I know they know" loop underlying almost every interaction. Everyone knows he's a spy, he knows everyone knows, and they're all just vibing anyway. It's like his entire character is built on telling the truth in a way that sounds like a lie, to the point where it always manages to surprise people when he does something absolutely ruthless. He's been saying he's a bad guy the whole time! People seem to keep forgetting!

Also, fun fact, the very first chunk of DS9 I caught was the back half of the episode "The Wire", and when I was mentioning this to my dad, I was like "yeah I don't remember their names but these two guys seemed extremely married-" and he immediately went "oh, Garak and the doctor?" so that's very telling I think

[fsaxjack]

I know I'm not the first person to say this, especially since I played the games because of Jacob Geller's video, but I really, really love BJ Blazkowicz as a character and the Machine Games Wolfenstein series as a whole.

Not a lot of devs would be brave enough to have a Polish-American Jew (albeit seemingly non-practicing) be their main character. They even make him a blond-haired-blue-eyed badass who any Nazi not in the know mistakes for a perfect Aryan - a demonstration of just how asinine Nazi beliefs really are.

He's a kind, gentle, loving man who adores his wife and daughters, he never lets his pride get in the way of the mission and goal, and he truly tries his best to be a true ally of the revolution, accepting orders without complaint or hesitation and showing respect to the diverse groups that the Nazis oppress. He's vulnerable, human, and gives everything he has to the causes he cares about.

But he extends none of this kindness to Nazis - unless someone's disavowed the ideology outright, he will gladly slit Aryan throats without a second thought. His sheer hatred of their ideology, of their footsoldiers, leaders and hate, wakes him from a vegetative state to slaughter an entire platoon of the Wehrmacht, perfectly ready to continue World War II where he left off!

On the same note, not a lot of devs would demonstrate that White America in the 40s-50s was more than willing to accept the Nazi worldview, even as their conquerors treat them like backwards hicks and turn minorities into second-class citizens at best and outright slaves or corpses at worse

For that matter, there's certainly something cathartic about having a black man thoroughly lecture BJ on how the American ideal he fights for has never been a real ideology, the high-minded ideals tainted from day 1 - the Nazis borrowed American frameworks for racial segregation and marginalization to construct their own atop its foundations after all.

The games aren't perfect - there's one particular death that feels a bit fridge-y, Max feels a bit mishandled at points (kinda evokes the idea of, uh, I've heard it described as r-word strength) even if I do appreciate that those familiar with his needs do what they can to respect his sensory needs and triggers, and something about a Jewish mystical secret society who devised crazy advanced technology doesn't sit fully right with me (it makes sense thematically - the Nazis steal that technology to help them conquer the world, basically acknowledging that the Nazis and their ridiculous ideology wasn't realistically going to win without a big leg-up, but it still feels a bit iffy). But it's a rare treat to have a game that acknowledges why the Nazis were and are truly reprehensible, idiotic, and doomed to fail in one way or another, and that despite their belief otherwise, white America is not so above those noxious beliefs...

Watch Jacob Geller's video - "Judaism and Whiteness in Wolfenstein." It's a fantastic breakdown of a lot of these ideas and outlines what Jacob - being a Jewish man himself - would like to see in the next game.

I have some similar feelings about the mod TNO: Last Days of Europe - I find the premise of the mod really interesting: basically, it gives the Axis plot armor right up until they win the war and bring the remaining powers to the negotiating table, and shows just how unstable they would be once that plot armor is taken away and the absurd ego projects of a bunch of self-important genocidal druggies start blowing up in their faces. It acknowledges the horrors of the Nazi regime, of their use of slavery and genocide and war profiteering/looting, and demonstrates that these are not sustainable in any way. But the inherent jingoism of the HOI4 foundation does undercut the message at times, IMO - I've seen people on Youtube fight tooth and nail to actually conquer the world during that one Germany path even though you're supposed to hit a wall where expanding any further will start a nuclear war, but not expanding any further will collapse your economy.

[zamjd]

ClockWork Mekas Reference sheet

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH OMG THIS TOOK AN UNHOLY AMOUNT OF TIME TO FINISH

I want to clarify They have the same body!

I redesigned it a little .w.

Also now that I have posted this I will open my asks about these guys (hooray noises)

heres some notes undercut

The main Inspiration for the design

It's one of the old design for the Suppression Specialist Meka

As for the whole "how do they transform" stuff, it's similar to how Furina does it except the colors switching to moon will have the Ousia arkhe alignment splash while switching to Sun will have Pneuma arkhe alignment splash (They still follow the whole lights off is moon and lights on is sun)

Edit 8:04 GTM+8:

Also height reference if Furina was 156.2 cm (aka fem traveler height i think)

Edit 9:12 GMT+8:

I should probably explain their current status so yall could get the general idea. They are entertainer bots in the opera epiclese and does theater performance as well as being Jesters, their rep varies from person. Some people find him entertaining and unique and would often praise them while some just finds him straight up annoying and wonder why they have a personality like that. But everyone agrees that they are the most diligent when it comes to keeping the opera clean and neat, it's technically their home and can't leave premises without the survey of someone trusted by Furina or the Cheif Justice.

I think that will be some of the details I'll send out now I need to do my other ref ajkdjakksks

[thatscarletflycatcher]

It's really interesting to compare The Nanny and Frasier as shows, because they started airing roughly at the same time (The Nanny starting just a year later), but today I was thinking specially about the dance episodes of Frasier 3x13/The Nanny 2x15, because both spin around the trope of the Dance Of Romance (have no idea if this is the name, but you get what I mean), and follow roughly the same line: Niles/Fran has a dance to attend, there's a motive of spite/self esteem involved in having a partner for that dance, and when their dates snub them, their love interest comes to the rescue.

But then how that is treated thematically is so very different! Maxwell has to be coaxed by British Niles into offering himself, but when Eric Estrada shows up, he does feel jealous*, indicating he does have an interest in Fran, even if he might not acknowledge it to himself. Daphne volunteers freely to teach Niles to dance, but the whole thing hangs on her being oblivious to his interest in her, and on her being thoroughly disinterested in him: she doesn't feel the slightest personal conflict over kissing Niles in front of everyone despite her being in a relationship with Joe. That's how extremely uninterested in Niles she is at this point.**

For the record, I don't think the writers of Frasier are failing at writing romance here, because I'm unsure they wanted to write it at all. There IS a lot of sense in the idea of Niles being so lost inside his own head and his attraction for Daphne, that he would believe that she would just adore him, while in reality they barely know each other. In The Nanny, the rescue is thoroughly and unequivocally romantic, and it does hinge specifically on Maxwell knowing Fran and knowing how and why this event is important to her. It responds to personal knowledge and interest in her as a person, her wishes and fears. Even at his most oblivious -when Fran is anxious about spending her life caring for his kids and retiring to loneliness and poverty in old age- he tries to offer a considerate and kind solution (like, yeah, the rich 90s and all that, but he's buying her a condo! Who of us wouldn't want a "free" condo!). Meanwhile at this point Niles' gestures of "generosity" towards Daphne have been... hmmm, that time he kept paying her fake dividends so he would get kisses from her (which Fraser calls out as Disney grade prostitution), and that time his nosebleed-of-truth forced him to undo his jealous defamation of Joe. I cannot remember any other, but my memory is not what it used to be.

The Nanny undercuts the romantic scene by having Fran's dress malfunction, and both her and Maxwell having to leave the premises in an awkward manner because of it. It cuts, but it doesn't take away from the gesture or the romance of what happened. In Frasier, the episode ends with Niles taking the card of the woman who offered to go out with him. If he cannot have Daphne then he can have someone else and it will be fine.

IDK. Maybe it'll get better later on! But I'm just pondering along as I watch, and trying to make a bit of an autopsy of the writers' process as they made the seasons. So far it does seem to me they were from the beginning very reluctant/uninterested in treating romance in general, not just with Niles' character, but with everyone.

*I don't remember Maxwell ever attempting to sabotage Fran's relationships, even if he seems chagrined by them; he does seem to understand that if he doesn't make a move himself, then he has no right to interfere or complain. Yeah, Niles' sabotage of Daphne dating Joe really bugged me XD

**Speaking of, I know this was the 90s, and I know I live in an echo chamber, but boy is this series extremely casual about cheating. Mind you, there are other things where I strongly feel the intent of the treatment is irony, but that doesn't seem the case with cheating in particular. Again, maybe I'm just so super out of touch and so much on Tumblr, but I think general attitudes towards cheating have become more censorious in our own time. People seem to tolerate it less nowadays. If that is the case, it'd be really interesting to know what caused it.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Sorry, some more, "Not mean just rude" thoughts, but like, I honestly can' tell if Adrien in this context would be bothered by any of Chloe's behavior before getting like, enough experience with none mean people to start making connections.

Making Mylene cry?

Well everyone was getting frustrated, Nino was borderline yelling already & its not like it was an unfair question. It was inelegant and crudely put "Hey!", so it didn't help the situation but it wasn't mean, just confused.

Destroying Rose's gift?

Audrey does that to her own daughter &let's be real here, Gabriel 100% does not let most fan gifts anywhere near Adrien. It was blunt, Nathalie would have just taken it & tossed it out when no one was looking, but it was not cruel right?

Stealing Marinette's design?

While Gabriel's ego is too big to take ideas form others, he 100% uses his connections to stay ahead of the curve, as well as to undercut or sabotage his rivals, so again, that's just business. Adrien might not do it but that's cos he (Allegedly) hasn't needed to & doesn't really care about modeling.

Embarrassing Kim with is bungled confession?

Entire game shows and TV hosts seem to base their whole premise on lying to humiliate people or just being assholes to make them upset for ratings & otherwise rubbing people's noses into the dirt to make the losses sting. Adrien doesn't cos he was raised to be well mannered but its not like he or the rest of class don't watch those shows, so again, not mean.

The only thing he might consider out of pocket may be locking Juleka in the bathroom.

Mostly because its more physical than he's likely used to outside of groupies where the physical side is done in self defense and cos if there was like, a fire Juleka could have been trapped in there.

But even then (Waves and vaguely) Kinda fifty fifty, he might still see it as normal cutthroat behavior. Or I could see him getting Chloe to apologize for that one.

yeah exactly!

[okkos-ferrum]

Unorganized helluva boss apology tour rant cuz I think I'm going crazy

Disclaimer, cuz I know helluva fans can get defensive: A lot of this is probably my subjective opinion. I'll state my tldr as my actual objective piece of criticism, but otherwise my gripes throughout this could be based on my tastes and expectations. I genuinely don't want to take away anyone's enjoyment of this show nor hate on anyone involved, so if u just want to enjoy helluva, totally skip this :]

I think I'll actually have to give my hot take here and criticize this episode, because everyone has given way too much praise for an episode I think - in the long run - hurts the show

Im not gonna even bother organizing my thoughts I'm just gonna rant, but to start, i think the decision to start the ep right after full moon chronologically wasn't the best move. The full moon episode cliffhanger was an impactful scene and a dramatic way to start the rift between stolas and blitzo. It's where the dam of two-ish seasons finally breaks, where to me, stolas and blitzo have already said everything needed to be said, at least at the emotional maturity they currently are at. Any changes in said conversation about their relationship would require growth from both separately in order to foster a healthy discussion.

So to undercut that tension by IMMIEDTLY having blitzo somehow wiggle his way back into stolas's private property to have both double down on their stance diminishes the weight new moon's finale had. The conversation, while it does add further clarity, feels repetitive and emotionally taxing to watch, because the show has literally zero scenes of either of them reflecting on the previous night. So it's just them starting up the same fight with the same talking points we already know.

Yeah, maybe it is in character for blitzo to demand a conversation after new moon, but it shouldn't have been the path the show took. It should've allowed the story to stew in the feelings brought out in new moon, both in a narrative and meta sense by taking a break from stolatiz.

Cuz honestly I'm a bit drained of it atm. The show sells itself on the premise of blitzo being a "boss" (a hell of a bos-) and him working with imp. But all of s2 has had this obsession with stolatiz ever since the popularity of ozzie's (for good reason that episode was amazing and one of my personal favs still).

Just abt half the eps in s2 carry an emotional weight around the stolitz relationship. (where s1 has stolitz is make out sessions and the occasional threat to their life, s2 takes it up to actual life or death situations and full backstories) . This increased tension and focus draws away from the intial episodic format to become a more serialized (and imo) melodrama abt the status of the stolitz relationship. Rather than concern itself over any of the imp characters and their emotions, helluva has made all of its emotional beats and stakes throughtout the whole season relate to stoltiz in some way (or it's parallel with fizz and Ozzie in ep 7).

To return back to the ep, I also take issue with its writing of verosika. I will admit that this could be subjective, as my partner, who loves verosika and was worried abt her writing going into the ep, enjoyed how the ep integrated her. But idk, I think it is so lame that an ep like full moon, which is marketed to be abt stolitz, is fine wasting its time writing the cherubs for 90% of the episode, while can't bother making verosika a larger character in her own ep.

Like she's a SINGER, but no she's back up for STOLAS'S SONG this ep. And it's not stolas's hasn't had the chance to sing love ballads before, he's got plenty. But no, the host of the party can't even be a duet to stolas, she's gotta be back up. Like it couldve been a way stronger connection between these two if they sang a duet, rather than the show AGAIN prioritizing verbalizing stolas's emotions again.

We get a full flashback to blitzo's relationship with both fizz and stolas, but nothing on his other significant relationship??? Just a line or two of how it went down and that's it??

Side tangent: It gets on my nerves how so many people are realizing now that verosika is not a bad person. Like it's clear from even in her intro ep in s1 ep 3 she's angry rightfully for how blitzo screwed her over. But now that she actually is being nice and forgiving to stolas and blitzo respectively, now she has earned the fandom's respect??? Like the amt of comments of "Oh wow, verosika isn't a villain, she's an anatognist" drives me insane

Like to me, this ep should've stepped away from stolas directly, and focus on blitzo and verosika. Have blitzo go back to ignoring his feelings by jumping back head first into business, now with the asmodeous crystal. Then bump into verosika somehow. However it may happen, verosika and blitzo, either angrily or calmly, reflect on their own past relationship at the end, which might have blitzo making a realization of how he is repeating his past mistakes. Use the episodic format to slowly allow blitzo to mature so the next time he meets stolas, he won't just double down like he did in the beginning of the ep.

I think, personally, the decision to have verosika host the anti blitzo party diminishes her as a character. It chooses to again define her by how blitzo hurt her, rather than touching on the other underdeveloped parts of her character. She has shown to be very petty yes, but to go through all this effort seems too much, since she is a pop star and should have better things to do.

Maybe explore how she, a succubus, who is meant to have primarily sexual relationships, goes abt on her day to day as a celebrity who went to rehab. Or her relationship with maybe knowing barbie. Or the other ways to explore the set ups for her in ep 3. But no, she plays second fiddle to her second focus ep for the stoltiz drama. But yeah sure, let's have full moon be abt the cherubs.

On a final and likely my most pettiest point, this ep made me cringe a lot. I'm sorry, this is very subjective of me, but I need to say it. So much of this ep felt like fanfic. Always hammering in how "he's a prince and you're an imp" kind of deal. Stolas getting overly drunk after taking a swig of one drink to have blitzo handle him being drunk. The million puppy dog eyes by blitzo, like it felt too pitying. The rushed pacing felt like a result of this indulgent kind of writing, where it priotizes creating the cute shipping scenes before thinking about the actual plot and its effect later on. Again, just my taste tho

Alright I think I ranted enough but ...

Tl;dr: Apology tour messes up the pacing and focus of the show by continously centering itself around the stolitz drama rather than allowing time to reflect by themselves

[hockeyisforthegays]

did you read 264 and 265 chapter's of jjk? if so what are you thoughts? you don't have to answer i'm just curious about what you think because i feel like you have really unique observations

(love you writing, thank you in advance if you end up answering)

oh shit anon let me write you an essay. and by essay i mean a disjointed series of long ass bulletpoints. also im gonna be focusing mostly on 265 because as my friends put it i am "ceo of itadori yuuji" or the proprietor of the "itadori cinematic universe" so you could say. that i am biased

okay. one. as an overall thing. i wish that for pretty much everything . that they would just lean into it more. theres a lot of concepts im into but everything lately seems to be presented without exploration or followup. like im about to analyze this to shit but i feel like im gluing meat to a skeleton. help me out here gege

FOR EXAMPLE yuuji's ultimatum to sukuna. i wish. i wish there was more here. like in theory this is really cool to me. yuuji says You Choose Whether I Eat You Or Kill You. Will You Live With Me? Or Will You Die Alone?

I lay my Body down as a Sacrifice

but more so as a Prison

but most of all as a Mercy

the first to my Friend, the second to my Curse, and the third to the Person i hope is buried deep down inside that evil.

aaaaand then this is kinda undercut by sukuna's reaction to me. not that i need him to go full on mahito quaking rabbit ass on us tbc. but the stubborn non-engagement with the premise just makes me roll my eyes and groan. i wish gege had found a way to let this reveal SOME new or unexplored aspect of sukuna's character? one chink in the armour. one stray thought that we wouldn't expect to hear from him. something. something to latch onto.

this may be unreasonable also given that gege is writing in literally a different language but i hope we find our way somehow to the double meaning of the phrase "flesh and blood" btw. like. sukuna is yuuji's uncle and they shared a body. yuuji is trying to make sukuna come back to that body. theres something there i swear it.

sukuna, come home. we're family. you're my flesh and blood.

(while beating his ass)

like make it scary. god PLEASE put some metamorphosis stank on it. gimme that I Am You flavourrrrr

okay now also. yuuji's domain. i want to talk about yuuji's domain so bad. one thing i noticed was that he doesn't name it. at first i was pretty disappointed because im a weirdo and i love their weird word salad names, i love that e.g. fushiguro and mahito just bust out full poems on i guess instinct when they use their domains for the first time!! so the fact that yuuji didn't get one felt at first like he was being... slighted by the convention almost? but.

this is again a thing i think could have been cool if leaned into, in a few ways. ive just been having these ideas about how yuuji's domain is different from other domains, one of those ways being in its lack of a name.

first of all from a character perspective - yuuji's whole persona in battle is like warpath, tunnel vision, beat your ass shit, so it does kinda make sense that his domain would be just as no muss no fuss just get it the fuck done, in a way. once again. lean into this!!

but also, i started thinking about what we saw with characters like gojo and sukuna, and the idea of jujutsu as the art of elision. when those characters wanted to juice their big moves, they reverted rituals that included vocal incantations. that exact word salad shit. i started thinking - those word salad domain names are like, that, you know? maybe this is explicit and i just missed it somewhere. or i forgor. but perhaps invoking a domain's name makes it more powerful, or easier to establish, or something

(i so much dont want to reread to figure this out. RIP)

if this is the case, yuuji not using a domain name would say a darn something about his power huh???

LEAN INTO THIS. LIKE SUKUNA COMMENT ON IT FOR FUCK SAKE i know you are allergic to acknolwedging your nephew but its for the AUDIENCE'S SAKE NOT YOURS

gege i am fucking inventing lore for you to make it cooler. why wont you. come back here

but anyway. what IS yuuji's domain and what does it do. he learned from kusakabe, so it's at least somewhat akin to a simple domain, but we also know yuuji's body holds the memory of malevolent shrine - does that have any influence on how the domain turned out? it seems pretty... big, for lack of a better way of describing a mental projection. no other simple domain really HAD projections. are there no techniques imbued in it? what about vows, like sukuna with his whatever barrier bullshit? yuuji's forces sukuna back into the yuukuna body. why? how? we've seen how domains can make its targets abide by rules, what rule is this? sukuna also acts nonviolently for as long as yuuji strings him through illusory sendai, and i dont know if this is a choice by sukuna (which idk whether i do or do not understand as a character choice at this point) or if it's enforced by the domain somehow.

(I feel like, these things either need to be More or even Less clear. like i understand just enough to have burning questions. if this were more obtuse and symbolic, i would probably be content to ride the vibes, actually. BUT IM NOT. ANSWER ME GEGE. YOU'VE TOLD ME SO MUCH LORE I DONT CARE ABOUT!!! WHAT OF MY SON!)

anyway closing thoughts wrt 266 you may be able to tell from my Fucking Fanfiction but i have literally been waiting for yuuji's own fingers to become cursed objects for EVER. i was imagining scenarios while watching season 1. im crazy stupid about it. i hope i hope i hope this finger shakes out into something WORTHWHILE. and sorry again this is entirely yuuji centred my only thoughts about the characters who were in 264 is the frustration of the way they got sidelined so carelessly RIP

[disastergenius]

I keep seeing arguments that Bell's Hells at the end of the campaign are still largely powerless in the world, have no privileges (at least not on the scale of the other parties), and are not trusted to handle the problems of their own campaign and are instead pushed aside in favor of letting previous PCs fix things. And that is odd, since that argument is simply not supported by the text of the campaign (nor on a meta level).

For all that Bell's Hells starts as nobodies, the side characters in someone else's stories, the could-have-easily-been-NPCs, this isn't a distinction that BHs hold as a party. This is quite literally the premise of most TTRPG parties, we can see that with the previous CR parties. It's cool to see at the beginning of the campaign while they find their footing as a group, but at some point that becomes untrue as they gain power. And Bell's Hells never quite seems to grasp that they are no longer the underdogs, or at least that the power gain has given them true influence in the world.

For what it's worth, Dorian while estranged from his parents/the Silken Squall still comes from a position of privilege, Orym was a guard to the Voice of the Tempest, Ashton has a beacon in their head, Imogen is tied to Ruidus with a mother in high command in the opposing force, Fearne has a good relationship with the Fate Stitcher, Laudna has a previously known evil necromancer granting her power, FCG is an aeormaton. Again, this is pretty common for a DnD party to have mysterious backstories and strange ties to be explored within the campaign, those are plot hooks! But it does not make them unique among the other CR parties nor dnd parties in general, and saying that they were uniquely disadvantaged or started from worse places really doesn't hold up. They are on par with the previous parties, and the only difference that they hold is a Doylist one that ties them to previous campaigns and thus alters the audience perception, but this doesn't undercut them on a Watsonian level.

The idea that they have essentially "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps" is also not supported. They acquire a rich and highly skilled patron by Episode 2 (Estheross) who supports them through most of the early campaign. While he later dies (rip to mentors, statistically unlikely to survive stories) he still gifts them an entire airship while they are Level 7, granting them the ability to travel far and easily while still relatively low-level. They have Ira on their side, and despite how tenuous that relationship is, this is still a relatively high-powered entity that they encounter early. They invoke the idea of Nana Morri early on as a potential avenue for help, and Planerider Ryn takes interest in them early as well through Hondir as part of the Grim Verity.

There are a few arguments floating about regarding the gathering of information during this campaign, specifically that it was gatekept and difficult. In contrast to M9 that had access to Cobalt Soul libraries, information was more difficult to attain during this campaign comparatively, but not in the understanding of a DnD campaign. Investigation checks exist, and gathering of information from shadowy hidden sources and secret societies is the stuff that DnD (and fantasy as a whole) have been built on, so this doesn't stand out as something that should have been a problem from that perspective. Instead it is Bell's Hells as characters that show little interest in pursuing that information via those means (high int parties are a boon in this regard).

Similarly, the artifacts they acquire at low level are destroyed via character choices (with some meddling from the DM). The gnarlrock is never followed up with after Delilah absorbs it, so we never found out what it did. Ashton shatters the green lens thing so we never figure out what it's use is either (and from the way it went, it might have been important?)

They have Keyleth on speed-dial to try and resurrect Laudna, and when she can't, she calls in the rest of Vox Machina, so Bell's Hells have now gained recognition of very powerful people who are willing to help them then and offer help later. Powerful aid in Whitestone is not something that previous parties ever would have been able to call in (easy example: part of why Molly couldn't be resurrected).

While it is still very much under the radar, they are tasked with destroying one of the Malleus keys by Planerider Ryn. They are later tasked with helping at the Tishtan site by Beau and Caleb, who we also know wield influence in the world (via the Cobalt Soul, though I think this is still considered relatively under the radar as well given the way we see them working in M9 Reunited and EotRS). Trusting BHs with such a mission while not knowing them is instilling quite a bit of trust in them as a group (Watsonian explanation), so to say that they hold no recognized power at this point is laughable.

Fearne and Ashton acquire the Titan Shards. They gain the funnel harness to siphon extra magical items into in exchange for feats. Imogen and Laudna continue to feed into strange forces to gain power. Power gained never seems to register for BHs, instead they stagnate and believe they have limited ability to affect change.

Bell's Hells are tasked with doing Ruidus reconnaissance by a war counsel that includes many of Exandria's most powerful. This really undercuts the argument that they are not trusted to handle important tasks. This is Exandria's first real contact with the red moon, and they are trusting BH to go in and report back while not actively causing more issues.

I know a lot of the BHs defenders really hate him, but Essek being the M9 emissary and taking them to Aeor where we know there are many interesting things to explore is another indicator that they are trusted by M9. This connection also becomes important later.

Once back from the moon, BH are once again privy to several war counsels with an even larger number of Exandrian leaders in Vasselheim (the Exandrian UN if you will). They are granted time to speak on their experiences and weigh in on what they believe should be done. Largely, their suggested plans are accepted and adapted. At this point, Bell's Hells have comparable notoriety to Vox Machina in C1. Notably, M9 are not even present for these counsels and are vouched for by Allura and the Kryn, and most of the leaders don't seem to know who they are (truly the heroes no one knows). Bell's Hells are then given the task of taking down Ludinus, who has been the face of the villainy in Exandria (as the orchestrator of this plan) and the campaign. This is a huge task for Bell's Hells to be entrusted with; VM is basically running interference and M9 is taking down a side villain organization, BH is being given the ultimate task. This does lean a bit Doylist in the sense that this is their campaign, what else were they going to do, but on a Watsonian level, for the Exandrian leaders, this is the ultimate end result: to take down Ludinus and stop whatever other plans he and the Ruby Vanguard have.

Bell's Hells naturally draw the attention of the gods, given that it is their fates that they are deciding. They are offered many perspectives and notably not immediately smote down in the way that some party members thought might happen. This is comparable again to C1's many interactions with the gods.

Here is where it really gets fun: the finale to C3 and the trilogy of long-form campaigns. Bell's Hells are the ultimate deciders of the fate of Exandria when they decide to take in Predathos and hold counsel with the gods. At this point, the idea that they have no power is absurd. Bell's Hells isn't shy about showing that off either as they march back into Vasselheim and demand an audience with the gods while telling everyone else to fuck off because they now hold the power to call the shots. And they get their way because of it! The second they are challenged they are shown to be the ones holding all the cards (ie the threat of Predathos).

In invoking powerful people, Bell's Hells are the ones who actively call out help from both Pike, Caleb, and finally Essek when trying to revive Ashton, which has reverberating consequences for Essek (and Caleb and the rest of M9 with the Kryn), but are never addressed by BHs. This has a more Doylist answer where the cast simply needed someone to intervene and Essek was the closest after Pike and Caleb couldn't; the alternative is letting Ashton die, and they rightfully aren't willing to let him go that easily. But it requires that they ask for help, and it is not a DM deus ex machina that saves them, but characters they also control, so this push of responsibility is their decision that they could have simply not taken.

After they resolve Predathos, the idea that they are pushed aside to let previous PCs who are privileged (in ways other than the ways that BHs are not) fix everything is simply untrue. Bell's Hells go to advocate for the Ruidus citizens coming to Exandria, which is the current most pressing issue that they can speak to, given that they do not care about the followers of the gods handling the resulting fallout and BHs are not leaders in Exandria and thus will not be directly involved in the task of having to rebuild on this scale. This fits within their contexts as characters and place in the world, it does not show them as being unimportant in ways that diminish them at the end of their campaign. They will not be seeking out the gods in their mortal forms, they will at best be acting as emissaries as relations form between Ruidus and Exandria, and even then, we see them do this in a very limited capacity (if at all). Laudna and Imogen help the immigrating Ruidians for an indeterminate amount of time and then settle down in their cottage. Bell's Hells as a whole are more interested in taking a break, which is fair and well-deserved, but does live in stark contrast to the way that previous parties realized there was an endless amount of work to still be done at the end of their respective campaigns.

Bell's Hells end the campaign with their power sets largely intact and go back into the world holding that same level of power, like the parties before them.

In comparison to the other campaigns, they end on a relatively similar level to the Mighty Nein, as people who may have some level of power that can be used (and open-ended enough to leave room for their return and for fans to fill in the gaps to their hearts' content).

They go back to their lives and settle down in many respects, or at least what passes as settling down for former adventurers. The characters actively choose not to pursue anything related to the rebuilding of Exandria with the gods no longer behind the Divine Gate. Laudna and Imogen helping with the Ruidian immigrants for an unspecified amount of time before settling down away from that, and after that, the closest we get is Orym remaining as a Tempest Blade before deciding to leave that, and Fearne starting to take lessons with Nana Morri which positions her to have a powerful role in the future (again, knocking the argument that they end with no power either).

The members of Bell's Hells did not pursue power and influence at the end of the campaign, and if they wanted to, I'm sure there would have been space for them to do so. But the lack of political/worldly influence at the end of the campaign is purely the decisions of the players, not because they were pushed aside by other PCs. Bell's Hells gains through the campaign grant them the same level of privilege and power that the other campaigns essentially ended on, and trying to position them as diminished or lessened during or at the end of the campaign is not supported by the show.

[progwords]

What was it about the finale to The Good Place that didn't sit right with you?

I thought it was a little rushed in the last few episodes where they re-engineered the entire afterlife in only two episodes, but that was just a pacing issue for me. You're the first person I've seen who said they actually disliked the content.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'm really the first you've seen? Dang, kinda figured this was a more common perspective. Okay, I'll take a crack at explaining it!

The re-engineering of the afterlife as a concept is kinda neat for me, but the END of the afterlife is where my wife and I started to hate it. "Oh you've done everything there is to do in eternity, so now can stop existing in peace". Who would ever do that, and why is it being presented as the inevitable enlightened choice?!

The whole show felt like it twisted around this idea at the last second and it makes it so hard for me to look back on that show with any fondness when the point about letting go undercuts the entire premise OF an afterlife for this thing! It kinda read like "Assisted Suicide For the Whole Family!" as this grand solution to grief and personal suffering and it is so so so so fucked up.

I don't need to have an existential crisis when trying to laugh, at least not this kind!

[zarekthelordofthefries]

I think Dot And Bubble kinda sucks. There's individual parts I like in concept, I see why it works for people, but it's way less than the sum of its parts, it doesn't come together well.

I like the idea of the ending. It's taking a big swing at big themes, the last scene is genuinely pretty chilling, and it's set up well through little moments throughout the rest of the episode.

But god does it fall flat to have the episode switch to a big discussion on racism after 50 minutes of "it's because you be on that samn phone."

I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt, like "oh this recontextualizes it, maybe the Bubble isn't about social media per se, it's a metaphor for the racist social bubble the characters keep themselves in," but...I really don't think that holds up to scrutiny. It is absolutely a you be on that phone episode. It's what most of the comedy of the episode stems from. Lindy can't WALK without her phone telling her where to go. It's not subtle.

At first I thought they were doing interesting things with Lindy being flawed but sympathetic. Like, when she first sees the monsters and tries to go back to work and ignore it because she's terrified, I thought they were like...saying something there. Like she uses distraction by social media as a shield from The Horrors, as we all do sometimes. But as the episode goes on it became more and more clear we aren't supposed to sympathize with Lindy. She is a bad person in a completely unambiguous way. Which I think really undercuts the tragedy of the ending! Like, why should I be sad about the Doctor being unable to save these racists if their racism really Is their defining trait as people? If they're swlfish and stupid and have no other qualities as people? You can't play the ending for tragedy when I WANT them to get eaten by the slugs.

I saw someone say part of the idea is that the Dot grows to hate them BECAUSE they're racist, but that isn't supported at all by the events. It hates them because they be on that phone. It thinks they're vapid and annoying like we're supposed to. Why would it even think they're racist? They're ALL WHITE. What opportunities does the Dot have to see them being racist if they live in a completely racially segregated community where all their media engagement is with each other?

And it sucks because I like the idea of this premise! I like the idea of an episode where the Doctor is trying to save people who don't want him, specifically, to save them, because they're racist. You can do things with that! You can explore that, have commentary on it! Have the Doctor struggle with it! But to just shove that theme into the last five minutes of a shitty Black Mirror episode, just have it swing in at the end and not even give the Doctor DIALOGUE to react to it, just him laughing and screaming in exasperation (great performance by Ncuti Gatwa to be clear), it's like...the scene works fine in isolation, it is emotionally affecting, but you could have done so much more with it. I want the episode to actually be ABOUT racism, not be about how nobody talks to each other in person anymore read a book you damn kids oh and also racism is a brain poison byeeee.

All that and also the episode is so badly paced. They agonize over the twist that the slugs are killing them alphabetically for SO LONG and it's NOT INTERESTING. If it's unintentional it's bad writing. If it's an intentional choice to make Lindy seem as stupid and annoying as possible for needing it explained to her over and over, it's still bad writing because they've been making jokes about that the whole time already, and it's not even interesting characterization that contributes to her story.

So yeah. Saw people predict this one would be the first stinker of the season and they were right but not for reasons I could have possibly predicted. Dot and Bubble reminds me of Kerblam in that it is fascinatingly bad. I want to dissect it in a laboratory.

[sumarak]

S4 of Camp Camp was a mixed bag for me because I like the premise of "Keep the Change" but not the execution. What the episode does is really good, but I don't like the episode itself. Anyway, I wanna talk about the whole "people can change for the worse and for the better" message.

Max changing for the better/being kind and David changing for the worse/being shitty has been set up since S2 - specifically in "Bonjour Bonquisha." For example:

Max being caring but doing it out of selfish reasons appears here for the first time as the plot revolves around Max inspiring the other campers to do something nice for David because he cannot stand him when he's miserable. This is later paralleled by the conflict Max has in S4, "Time Capsules," where he only helps Gwen to make himself feel better. Both have selfish motivation, but the difference is that the first attempt was genuine, while in the second he was forcing himself to be nice. More on this later.

David ends the episode by punching Jacob out of jealousy in front of the entire diner.

So both have previously established episodes that put their character progression into perspective. But an interesting thing about Max is that he is very much capable of care it's just that he doesn't recognize it as such. Max has several episodes where he saves/helps David and/or the camp (the two often overlap) for example: Order of the Sparrow, Bonjour Bonquisha, The Fun-Raiser, Dial M for Jasper, Cameron Campbell the Camp Campbell Camper, Camp Corp and Arrival of the Torso Takers. He also has plenty of episodes where the central plot revolves around comforting/or showing concern for Nikki: Camp Cool Kidz (trying to convince her Ered is using her), Anti-Social Network, Eggs Benefits, etc. He also stands up for Neil in "Culture Day" and learns how to be more genuine and kind to everyone in "Camp Corp". There's also the example of him learning to be nicer to Dolf in "Candy Kingpin". And all of that is before S4 in which he realizes how much he has changed and starts making an active effort to be better.

you'll notice that it gradually happens more often, but the one throughline is that even when he acts compassionate or caring, it is undercut by him using shady methods, complaining, or there being something that's in it for him. Like using David's credit card, getting people to beat up the councilors, asking for something in return (usually more dessert). But there are some examples of legit soft kindness like famously in Parents Day but also in "Dial M For Jasper" where after a remorseful look they decide it's better to lie to David and let him be content and happy rather than distress him further. And while he does complain or use shady methods, most if not all of these episodes demonstrate that he is capable of caring for and being kind to the people around him on his own accord.

now remember how earlier I said that in "Time Capsules," Max's attempts at being nice aren't genuine like in earlier episodes despite the two having the same premise? this is where that comes in: that ep is the first time he seeks character development rather than it happening TO him. In the time capsule, he struggles with the idea that he will never be happy or change for the better. the thing is, Max doesn't have to worry about if he's becoming a kinder person because he's already been doing kind things. he doesn't realize how naturally that development has happened and how genuine he can be.

like WHY save david in arrival of the torso takers? he does it because he wants to. he doesn't realize that all of the change he's gone through so far has not been directly intentional but it HAS been genuine. and all the care he exhibits from people doesn't need to be forced out of him because he's already proven he has a capacity for it multiple times.

like he cares abot people in his own flawed way thats often undercut by his little shit personality. its like he doesn't realise he cares for them while hes doing it. like why try to cheer david up? just. because. because he's annoying if he doesnt do it. why try to make nikki feel better? because it's dumb when she's panicking over platypus eggs. like he does care for people but its never an overt attempt to be kind, he just does it naturally. which is why "Time Capsule" wasn't genuine.

It's better to be genuine and flawed than to attempt to masquerade niceness as kindness. I've said it before but Max isn't meant to be nice. He is learning to be kind.

[lesbianboyfriend]

kay faraday is my sweetie pie beloved however i fear she will never be able to live up to her potential in aa canon due to their emphasis on law > morality…even when the law is recognized as unjust, characters are expected to work within it it to change that or else they are Bad. they do challenge this a couple times and make a few allowances but ultimately return to it time and time again. which is why despite kay being the great thief yatagarasu she’s never been allowed to actually steal anything (even though her stealing is to expose injustice) and had the whole thing about “finding her own path” instead of “following her father’s.” because there’s no way to let kay actually be the yatagarasu (illegal!) without also implicating edgeworth, gumshoe, badd, ema, courtney, sebastian, etc. as she was so forthcoming with that identity…and the game is just not equipped to handle all of that lmao. so the yatagarasu becomes symbolic of her commitment to the truth, but through legal means which just kind of undercuts the entire premise. sad!!!!! tldr let kay steal things :((

[cartoon-buffoon]

Random thought that's probably unoriginal but hay it's 4 AM and I've been thinking about this for awhile. Ever find it funny the comparison between Oswald's and Mickey's relationship with Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks'? It's a funny parallel that doesn't get talked about much largely because people seem to forget Ub Iwerks (ironic). WARNING: RANT!

Wanna note this rant is by a person who hasn't properly played Epic Mickey 1, 2, and 2.5 (power of illusion) so sorry if I get some stuff wrong yet I know the premise and key story points. Anyways:

For those who don't know Ub Iwerks was longtime friend of Walt Disney and basically the man who would lead the Walt Disney Studios into being what it is today Ub's technical influence on the animations shouldn't be dismissed at all. The man is responsible for some of the most iconic stuff in Disney history like the colors of Dumbo's "Pink Elephants" musical number, a photography technique for the rain in Bambi, creation of a specialized Xerox machine allowing for drawings to go directly onto cels for 101 dalmatians, and he himself earned an Oscar for his efforts in bringing the mix of 2D and live action together in Mary Poppins. He even directed and worked on while going went uncredited for his creation of the wartime shorts that saved Disney Studios during WW2. From there Ub went back to working on SFX after the war and was responsible for a lot of technical magicry behind Disneyland. Oh he also was responsible for some technical stuff behind Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" where he won another Oscar. So ya know the man had clear innovative talent. Despite this work Ub was a humble man and the only real reason why we know of most of his influence and his history with Walt is because of his grand daughter's own creation of a documentary involving him. Arguably Ub is the real creator of Mickey Mouse although that debate isn't what I wanna talk about and I'm neutral on the subject regarding it. What I wanna talk about is how Ub was always there from the very beginning, he and Walt were together way before Disney was the thing it is today and to get it there they bankrupted 3 different companies before finally making it big. Despite this Ub is mostly forgotten, his input on the legacy of Disney Studios being treated as nothing more than a footnote despite his feats. Ub stayed in the background being the hard working man and animator while Walt was a director and charismatic face. Ub did win two Oscars yet now and days he's severely undercutted and even forgotten despite making most of the original cartoons (dude made Plane Crazy aka Mickey's first cartoon in garage on a nothing budget FFS) and being one of the major catalyst for animation as we know it today.

One person gets all the credit and is the face of a company while the other who helped create it is usually left forgotten and only really known by a certain group of people who are more invested in history. Sound familiar? Of course Oswald isn't as important to Disney as Ub was (sorry Ozzie) yet I still find the parallel really cool and thematically fitting. In Epic Mickey there is a statue that parodies the famous one of Mickey and Walt holding hands, yet Oswald made it about himself instead with him replacing Mickey. This no doubt shows bitterness and resentment and the plot of Epic Mickey features the two eventually making up after it all. Not after ya know after Oswald gets mad and releases the blot and all that after rightfully getting pissed knowing his world was put in danger and his wife was basically killed by Mickey. Everything works out in the end thankfully and in the second game the two are on much better terms of course, in the first game Oswald also does make an attempt to be nice to Mickey because it's what Ortensia would of wanted.

Despite them reconnecting and acting as brothers I still feel like Oswald would hold some sorta grudge. If not for the fame stealing thing at least for the whole "you ruined my world and turned my wife to stone" thing. Oswald is petty enough to make faces at Mickey behind his back, no way is the rabbit THAT mature to forgive Mickey 100% for everything. Still, I feel like the only real way Oswald could ever get over the fact that Mickey took his spot as the mascot and face of Disney is by learning about Ub and his input. This is a neat little head canon I have that Oswald would embrace Ub as his creator instead of Walt. There would be something so fitting if Oswald learned he had two dads and his creation was a joint effort and actively learning about Ub and his contributions to Disney. I feel like instead of yearning for the attention his brother has he'd take a page out of Ub's book, he'd sit in the background and let the fame and popularity go to another despite the fact that there would be no popularity without him.

I made this rant because I was too lazy to draw this but: the idea of Oswald making a statue featuring him holding Ub Iwerks' hand as opposed to Walt's is such a cool and cute idea to me. It would not only show Oswald's acceptance of not being in the spotlight yet it would also honor the legacy of another who was "forgotten".

Anyways rant over, I'm excited for Epic Mickey rebrushed and can't wait to experience it and I probably need to sleep for classes i got later.

[a-iya]

Hiii ＼(ﾟ∀ﾟ)／

Sooo what do you think about the Haikyuu! Movie without knowing anime? 😀

(I'm sending this ask to discuss our impressions in the comments (and recommend this series a bit haha)

Have a nice day ♡

hiiii!! i didn't realize this was going to become a full-on essay so 💀 apologies in advance for the long-windedness. i don't blame you if you don't feel like reading all the way through lmao (there is a tl;dr at the end if that's the case)

my sister actually got into haikyuu after S1 (pretty much a decade ago at this point 😭) so i've at least known about it and understood the gist of it for a while now. i myself didn't get into anime until a few years ago though! so i've been slowly building up my watch catalog. normally i like funny animes so haikyuu definitely fits the criteria, but due to the fact that 1) it's a sports anime 2) i have very little interest in sports and 3) there would be a LOT of episodes to catch up on, it's just been sitting in my to-watch list for years lmaooo

as i started to follow more people on tumblr, i also started to see more haikyuu content, so i recognized some characters just by their appearance (hinata [obviously], but also kenma, kageyama, and atsumu miya [the guy with the undercut, who i don't remember seeing in the movie]). but anyway, my sister had been saying she wanted to watch the movie once it came out. and over the weekend, i happened to see a lot of people posting about going to watch the movie so i told her we should go! and so we did!

the movie was so hilarious and i thoroughly enjoyed watching!! the rivalry between the 2 teams was sooo funny. i knew i was going to like the movie, but it did end up being a little bit fast-paced for me cause i basically dived in with like. 0.4 background,,,, like ya girl was strUGgLinG trying to keep up. but that's no one's fault but my own 😔 i was kind of hoping it'd be like the demon slayer mugen train movie (which is actually what got me into anime! but that's besides the point). where the premise would be simple enough that you wouldn't need that much context before watching. i knew the movie would basically be just one really long volleyball game so i figured it would be fine... alas, i was wrong 😭 i don't know the rules of the game or any of the characters/their positions so it was all i could do to just watch and try to understand everything as it was happening ;-;

another thing i wanna mention is that now that i've long since graduated from my "beginner weeb" phase and become a full-on weeb, i'm familiar with a lot of voices and voice actors so it's difficult for me to see new characters and their voice actors (that i already know from somewhere else) as one entity 🤔 i'm not sure if that makes a lot of sense ><

for example: the whole time we were watching the movie, i felt like kenma sounded a lot like yuki kaji (who voices shoto [mha] and eren [aot])?? but also didn't at the same time. it was bothering me the whole 2 hours but i looked it up after it was over and i was right 😩

i also immediately recognized kuro as gojo [jjk]/hawks [mha]/greed [fma]; so kuro wasn't even kuro to me, he was just a volleyball au gojo with a completely different look 😭 i feel like that kind of gets in the way of my viewing experience personally, because i couldn't pause and think about where i know this voice from (like i usually do when i start a new anime). but it bOThERs mE because it's like on the tip of my tongue and my mind caNnOT rEST until i confirm my suspicions 😩

anyway, going in, the only people i knew about were like. hinata and kageyama... and it was surface-level knowledge at best. but i've seen kenma around enough where i recognized his character design so i thought i might like him. and he ended up being super cute!! i loved him, but i also really loved kuro (he is very handsome 🥰) and the tall glasses guy from karasuno. he was funny as fuck. but i'm definitely interested in watching the show to see what other lovable goofs the story has to offer. i'm always on the hunt for more blorbos

tl;dr basically i loved the movie, i thought it was really funny; now i have to actually watch the show so i can really enjoy the experience the movie had to offer. the production was honestly great. my sister wants me to get caught up so we can watch it again while it's still in theaters lmao. we'll have to see about that... the first 2 seasons are 25 eps each and then there are at least a few more seasons (even if they are less eps) after that 💀 when i got into mha last year, i was able to blast through 6 seasons within a week,,, but that costed me 3 full days worth of binge-watching and several work nights to catch up 😩 idk if i can do that again

thank you for the ask and interacting with me 🥺🫶 i know your day just started so i hope it goes well!! have a nice rest of the week also <3

[dwreader]

Can I ask what has made you think the season isn’t Louis/armand/claudia centred? I know the fandom is annoying but I’ve yet to see anything to convince me that the actual show itself isn’t going to be completely centred around them. Daniel is just a part of their modern day narrative, he has to have some character exploration or there’s no point to him/ no vehicle for the interview to take place. Lestat is just a part of the past narrative, I think the flashbacks are mostly going to be about Armands past with the theatre which involves Lestat and Nicki, Armand needs to be fleshed out a bit as a character cause I doubt we’ll get to a TVA season. I just haven’t seen anything yet that makes me think it’s Daniel/Lestat’s story they’re just a part of the overall story. Idk I’m just hopeful I guess but I don’t see why we’re doom posting before we know what we’re actually gonna get, unless there’s something you’ve seen in particular?

I think the interview happening because of a daniel lost memories arc completely undercuts the story as being louis's no matter how much or little screentime they actually devote to it. I don't rly think there's going to be a lot of screentime on young daniel just based on how little the actor was there (even nicki's actor was on in prague way longer) but the central question of the season/second half of the book being what happened to claudia and does louis know turning into what's been erased from daniel's mind completely changes the show's centrality. It's not necessarily that daniel is suddenly going to be the main lead which he's obviously not but what the show deems an impactful reveal does affect how we view the importance of the characters and relationships. And to me throwing in a whole amnesia storyline about the white guy 100% takes away from the premise of the interview altogether. Its very very jarring when in the book daniel was entirely irrelevant to loumand but in the show suddenly he's the main figure in the room... very deliberate choice and kind of screams they have no confidence in loumand carrying the show on their own.

As for the Lestat/Nicki/Marius/etc flashbacks, I just think it's not relevant to the Louis + Claudia arc in the book at all? and you'd never in a million years see a Lestat-centric TVL season be shoehorned with random bits of Louis or Claudia backstory that occur w/o Lestat even there and have little to no relevance to the main plot. In fact, you probably could've dropped some TVL bits in s1 since it's clear Louis does know about Nicki already in NOLA but the show doesn't go there cause it doesn't feel the need to (as Lestat is already a co-lead in s1 and has a lot of screentime as is). But I think once they were given the OK to make the book into 2 seasons they realized the second half was going to be almost entirely louis-armand-claudia with only a brief lestat appearance at the end... and yeah. If they really have the confidence that the show would get multiple seasons then why try to cram so much later book stuff into this season? Supposedly AMC wants 10 seasons and like theoretically you'll have plenty of time for all this when Louis's main arc is over so why are you doing this now when he actually does have a story left to tell? Or do they think if they don't sprinkle this shit now, most of their book loyalists will bolt since they don't care about non-white characters without a white person tether.