#it's conflicting because i appreciate the value of a stories not always ending with the good guys winning or whatever

[girl-drink-drunk]

putting the horror couples who didn't survive together in the coffee shop au so they can be happy and safe

[spireofdeceit]

i don't really get simpatico but i would love to understand it more bc its such a big part of transformers now. if you're willing, you can do that big post on simpatico here?? if you wanna??? i'd really appreciate the help 🥺👉👈

The thing with Simpatico is that i didn't exactly Get it at first too, most of my exposure was through fan content and reading the thing i was just Yeah it Makes Sense people ship this, but then it kind of bestowed on me more how these two people are just two parts fitting together perfectly in a way they wouldn't with others, and it's not even inherently Romantic to me, even if i see them as very much in love and conjunxed post MTMTE/LL story.

Their relationship is quite silly in the context at first. Brainstorm's profile calls him a conflicted Perceptor fanboy. The only thing we get, up to this point, is his Annoyance with how his genius is overshadowed by Perceptor. While Perceptor doesn't seem to give him his time of day at all, more concerned with his work and what Rodimus wants from him than what Brainstorm is up to.

It's honestly just my personal interpretation of either characters, but Perceptor is finally allowed to fullly get back to science again, he's not expected to be holding his sniper rifle (even though he was never expected to! He had himself believe that holding a weapon will make him of more value!), while Brainstorm is there with his own super secret super important agenda.

Brainstorm is, apparently, an MTO, while we don't know what for, but MTOs have a very sad track record and usually have a lot of baggage as they're usually "born" and then kicked into the heat of battle, barely having any chance to learn who they are, just what they're for. Yet Brainstorm has never killed anyone - and despite that, he's still LIED about being an MTO.

Here they're talking about the concept of Constructed Cold, but there were TWO waves of them - pre-war and post-war. What Brainstorm is talking about he was not even born to witness yet.

They're both people who, one way or the other, "defying" what they are. It's a common theme with tf ships for me, but in case with this, it's Perceptor believing that he has to be more, and at the point of MTMTE, perhaps, not feeling entirely whole, and Brainstorm WANTING to be someone He actually Wants to Be.

Brainstorm feels threatened when his intellect is belittled by people calling Perceptor the genius. Brainstorm is quite egotistical and selfish, but it all ends up being just a facade, just as much Perceptor's cold and perfect exterior he cultivated throughout years during the war, of someone he thought his side needed.

Up until Brainstorm's time travel shenanigans, we saw them interacting sometimes, and a lot of the time, it was Brainstorm trying to impress Perceptor somehow, or just being himself that draws attention of Percy nevertheless.

And then we see Percy smiling the most he's ever smiled throughout the comic, calling Brainstorm a genius himself, impressed by the intricate work of Brainstorm.

Perceptor gets up to clap for Brainstorm at his trial, and i think it's the moment that sold Perceptor for his respect to Brainstorm. Everything he ever knew about Brainstorm - the careless egotistical and cowardly scientist - turned out to be nothing but means to an end, making way to a dedicated, caring, kind and brilliant person into his mind.

I think their finale just says it all regarding these two, honestly.

"I always wanted recognition for what I am."

"Me too."

Brainstorm spent his life on science and to be recognized. He didn't hide the fact he's an MTO just because. He wants to be seen for his achievements. Perceptor's war trauma had him feel useless to his comrades, who's "purpose", who's Genius, was ultimately the thing people saw in him, brushing off his personal achievements, maybe even the fact he could be more, his person, the way he feels Brainstorm could understand, too.

They're simpatico for a reason, and its just one of them, but pretty crucial and at the very core of why they're so compatible.

While i understand simply thinking of them as "science duo" they're so so much more than that.

[emeraldspiral]

I have probably already written a post like this before but it has most likely been lost to the broken tumblr search abyss, so;

Chammy Wamboo sequel story where she comes back and uses her Eldrich Friendship Powers to force Zim and Dib to be friends since they refused to cooperate the first time around.

At first they find that being friends actually makes them happy and they start to think maybe Chammy was right all along. But it becomes a problem when the friendship puts them in conflict with their ambitions. Zim still wants to conquer the earth and impress his Tallest, and fears that there will be consequences if he doesn't, but finds himself unable to pull the trigger on his latest evil scheme because he doesn't want to hurt or betray Dib. Dib meanwhile, still wants to be vindicated for identifying Zim as an alien, but can't expose him without ruining his life, so he's in the same position.

Ultimately, befitting their nature as Tragic Characters, they choose their ambitions over each other. They decide to use the friendship Chammy forced on them to unite them in the cause of bringing her down to undo the spell she has them under, relieving them of their feelings for each other and bringing an end to their respective dilemmas. They both claim to be happy to go back to having an uncomplicated rivalry. But of course, they can never go back. No matter how much they insist they feel nothing but disdain for one another, part of them will always miss the time they were friends and wonder if it was a mistake to throw it away in pursuit of approval from people who will never give it to them.

Sometime later they do eventually realize that Chammy was right. Her mistake was just trying to force the issue before they were ready. They needed to come to accept that their respective pursuits toward what they thought would bring them happiness were futile and give them up on their own before they could appreciate the true value of the friendship Chammy wanted them to have.

[troius]

I just want to say a few things before you get to the end. First up, it's been a pleasure to read your thoughts on the series; like any fan, you have your own unique interpretations and it's always good to read how fans see certain scenes. It's also been fantastic to see fellow fans respond to your posts adding on to what you've written, again bringing your thoughts out more and generating discussion.

Also, seeing your thoughts has made me appreciate scenes and characters I never thought I would -- Yamamoto for instance, who would've thought?! They've also reminded me of why I fell in love with the series as much as I did, from the artwork to the themes to the incredible bonds between the characters. You've reminded me that BLEACH has it's flaws that can sometimes take you out of the story, but when it hits, it 100% HITS! It's a manga that's about the bonds we form, how they can help us overcome challenges and be a source of light in our lives. It's about the ways we overcome grief and the fear of death, whether it's literally fighting your way through it or slowly coming to a state of acceptance as time goes on. It's about the 'hearts' of people, about what they look like and how they're shared between those you choose. I could go on and on, but then this would become an essay and we'd be here all day.

All of this is to say, thank you for choosing to create a Tumblr account and deciding to read the series and give your thoughts along the way. I can't believe you've finally reached the end, it almost feels like I'm saying goodbye to the manga again!! I don't think I'm the only one here who sees you as a big and valued part of the community on here, so I hope you'll be sticking around! :)

Thank you so much Rays! Response under the cut because it went long.

This won't surprise you, but I too have grown in my appreciation for the series over the course of the uh three years that I've run this blog. Bleach has character concepts I've never seen elsewhere. It has moments of storytelling brilliance. It has truly, phenomenally astonishing art.

But more than anything else, I, like you, am impressed by the heart. For a story that's largely about the afterlife, Bleach is shockingly humanistic, locating virtue not in any system of belief, in any group or faction in the various conflicts that provide the setting for the manga, but in people. All people, whether they're our extremely relatable teenage protagonist and his friends, the occasionally sketchy adults in his life, or the various adversaries ranging from evil monsters to supernatural samurai to a regular-ass gang to a foreign apocalypse cult. Bleach never, not once, lets the viewer fall into the comfortable childish space of believing that there's good people and bad people in the world.

There's just people. Sometimes these people want to do bad things, like execute their sisters, or kidnap your girlfriend, or isolate you from your family, or destroy the entire world. Bleach doesn't flinch away from that either. But it (again, very humanistically) locates those bad actions not in the individual human beings, but in our relationships with one another through the systems and structures we've created to organize ourselves.

And yet in the face of the idea that humans do their worst work through other people, that's also where Bleach locates its greatest virtue. Alone, we're nothing. It's the bonds that we have with others that are what make life worth living, that are the source of everything good in this world. And navigating that dynamic, between spiritual bonds and structural shackles...that's really what adult life is all about, isn't it?

Anyhow, my adult life has been greatly enriched by all of you on here. But I'll take the chance to thank you specifically Rays, for being such a source of joy. Your positivity and passion are the sort of thing that makes a humble blogger want to come back for more, and I've deeply enjoyed hearing all of your thoughts, not just on my liveblog, but through your own posts and writing. I'll be sticking around for sure.

[peridouu]

“why do we slumber?” - post honkai star rail 2.2 story analysis

HELLO HI HI HI!! my name is aster, and i normally don’t make analysis posts, actually, but penacony’s 2.2 story was so interesting to me that i had to make a post, in particular about order vs. harmony and what we can take away from this message. this is a short analysis but if i ever have anything to add i’ll reblog it!

i’m an artist in many forms, and the music motifs in particular stood out to me during the boss fight, so that’s what i’ll be focusing on, as being an artist in these trying times can be very strenuous 😭 likes and reblogs always appreciated!

please take this whole analysis with ten cups of salt, i ended up skipping a lot of the dialogue in this quest b/c i spaced out really badly, so if i interpreted anything wrong, lmk please!

without further ado, let’s begin!

(spoilers for hsr 2.2 trailblaze quests below the cut)

i. Harmony vs. Order (wait, what’s the difference?)

just to make it clear, i wanted to talk about the differences between Xipe and Ena. i don’t remember if they talked about this in the quest! so i’m going to yap!

Harmony by definition is notes arranged to sound nice in chords. When applied as a path, the “notes” are people, and the “sound” is humanity creating connections and peace between one another. The harmonious interactions between people, if you will.

Order achieves mainly the same thing, and is why it was eventually assimilated into Harmony, but the biggest difference in my eyes is how the “harmony” is achieved. With Harmony, it’s organic connections. People getting along of their own will and agency. This is kind of reflected in how Robin previously did outreach to other planets, almost like a religious missionary - serving others and spreading the word of her own accord. 

The harmony achieved by order, however, feels more constricted. When you interact with the NPCs who are already in the order’s dreamscape, their state is always “Satisfied”, but they’re robotic and soulless, almost. The “Harmonious Choir” boss wields a baton, the tool conductors use to command music ensembles. Herta describes Ena as “a control freak.” The Order is all managed by one entity, and in Penacony’s case, Sunday. But even so, Sunday and Robin were raised by the Order. It’s a cycle. 

And even though both essentially achieve the same thing, one of them feels much more righteous and moral in our anime protagonist eyes, and spoiler alert: it’s not the Order. Why?

ii. Sunday’s Philosophy (and how it pertains to artists)

Sunday’s whole reasoning as to why he wants to trap the universe in a dream is b/c he believes it’s less painful than the real world. Robin and the trailblaze believe people should have the choice to live in reality. Their conflict is still an extension of Order vs. Harmony. Free will vs. One safe option. The bird in the cage.

Set the bird free, where it will inevitably die, or nurture it in a confined cage? If you’re like me, when I got asked this question during the gameshow, I was very very very conflicted. I asked March, Himeko, and Firefly for their opinions and still didn’t have a complete answer. I ended up picking “Set the bird free” because, well, Trailblazer is essentially an anime protagonist, and that’s what my idealist heart wanted to pick, but….

I still pondered that question for a long time after.

“Why does life slumber?” is the question that we are asked throughout the quest, but it is only at the end of the fight that we have an answer:

Sunday: Why does life slumber?

(Trailblazer): Because... someday...

(Trailblazer): We will wake from our dreams!

And aside from protagonist reasons, I’ve come up with an interpretation of this response that makes sense, at least in my mind. It’s still important to indulge in our fantasies and dream, but eventually we have to wake up and make the choice to get out of bed, make the choice to continue forward, and that holds more value than hiding from our problems in the Dreamscape. And this is also an extension of Order vs. Harmony, and the reason why Xipe triumphed over Ena. 

but taking it from an artist’s perspective: 

As someone who creates art, it’s always our goal to make art as perfect as possible. We want our works to be as good as they can be, perfect like the Dreamscape. Obviously, that’s not possible, and it’s always discouraging to not create at the caliber you want. But art is meant to be imperfect, and I’ll talk about that in the next segment. 

iii. Penacony’s First and Last Disharmony

When Robin brings her song and the Astral Express into the boss fight, Welt says this: “Penacony’s first, and last, disharmony.” (fun fact, this was the quote that basically prompted this whole analysis! thanks welt!!) Robin’s voice is absolutely beautiful, so why is it referred to as “disharmony”?!?!?!?!?

First, the goals of the Trailblazers (and everyone else on their side, whom i’m collectively calling trailblazers) is to destroy the Dreamscape and let everyone return to reality. This means that everyone who was blissfully ignoring their problems suddenly has to awake from their dreams and face their issues head-on instead of ignoring them, disrupting the “harmony” Sunday created.

Music will always be imperfect in the hands of humans, and it’s exactly why music is able to connect with people, because everyone can see parts of themselves and their humanity in the music. It’s something powerful that so many people can connect with, just like how Robin has so many fans across the universe, and just like the Harmony itself. 

If you’ve ever played an instrument and you’ve taken lessons, your teacher will likely make you listen to the piece you’re playing. the more advanced the piece (concertos, etc) the more recordings there will probably be. Even when just comparing 2 performances, there are already so many differences, but they’re both the same piece, and both recordings are probably really good. Different interpretations, but both contribute to the piece you play. 

Especially as we live in a time of AI where computers are creating more and more “art” it’s important to know that humanity will always reign supreme over soulless works. Because AI art might look pretty and might sound passable, but it will never carry the soul and meaning of human work, and that is the most important thing. Because when people create music, they put parts of themselves into it.

TL;DR: Art is imperfect and human and that’s what makes it so valuable, and that’s why Harmony will always triumph. 

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I really really hope I don't end up coming off as rude in this, but I found your account from the Hades tag (the game--which I suppose I don't really have the same negative feelings for, both because I'm neither greek nor religious and thus am very disjointed from the frustrations expressed ) and seeing as the designs were the main talking point (I know I'm oversimplifying her I'm so sorry if this comes off as rude) I was curious as to what would be a respectful depiction of Greek mythology. Greek mythology has always been something I enjoyed reading about, but knowing that a lot of my exposure to it has been heavily westernize one way or another, I was wondering if I could ask for I guess more insight? I might not share the same feelings (due to again having grown up unreligious and thus trying to compare how I might feel if my own chinese mythology was given the hades treatment isn't exactly far becaue to me they really are just kinda like prompts in my mind--though I'm not sure how wrong it is for me to think like that) I do wish to understand it because your culture religion and mythology isn't a prop. It deserves the same respect every other culture/religion has/is getting. sorry for the lengthy ask, but it's perspectives like you're I want to hear more about though I've struggled to really open up to them because often time the discussions felt hostile (that said I am conflict adverse so this is probably a me problem.). On a final side note (and this is definitely where I am about to sound really stupid/bigoted but I really have to ask because my conscious will not leave me alone about it) but would it be ignorant for a person such as myself to find enjoyment from a game such as Hades less because of it's mythological roots though they are a factor and more for the story it's decided to tell (for what is honestly when I really do think about it) using the greek mythology "props"? Like enjoying it seperate from the source material?

Hello and apologies for taking so long to answer! Two consecutive hours where I exist undisturbed is very rare in my life during this period, so please, again, forgive me for replying a month later. 💜💜💜

A second anon question I got about the same issue:

I appreciate both of you for asking. Identifying the problem in the context of your situation, and what you don't know is a great step forward (and I am very sorry I wasn't able to respond to you earlier). For those who don't know, this blog, despite the salty content, is all about peaceful discussion and understanding.

I think answering the first anon ask will also cover the first. Let me start with one point and elaborate on the rest:

"On a final side note (and this is definitely where I am about to sound really stupid/bigoted but I really have to ask because my conscious will not leave me alone about it) but would it be ignorant for a person such as myself to find enjoyment from a game such as Hades less because of its mythological roots though they are a factor and more for the story it's decided to tell (for what is honestly when I really do think about it) using the greek mythology "props"? Like enjoying it separate from the source material?"

Neither I nor any other (sane) Greek would like to police people in a way of stopping their enjoyment of media. Like other Greeks, I have also played Hades and liked it. I believe we can enjoy the present media and still advocate for better media in the future. We can all be more aware, and push for gods and heroes to be treated like the cultural figures they are, and not as products of late-stage western capitalism.

Greek gods and heroes cannot be separated from their culture and still be the same since they no longer carry their stories or embody the same values. (This goes for every cultural figure.) What would be the point of Heracles if your only exposure to him was that "he is an ancient strong guy who kills monsters"? There is a whole story to him beyond that, what makes him "Heracles", a hero that Greeks hold as a symbol even in our days. Without his story, he's no different than an average modern American superhero.

To the first anon: If you were to explain any Chinese hero or deity to me, you would still need to explain all the "surrounding" elements, like the world domains, the monsters, what is "respectful" and what is "not respectful" to do within the context of the Chinese culture. You wouldn't just drop the figure in question and expect me to understand everything, right? And for this reason, I don't think it would be fair to this figure and the Chinese audiences to just drop this figure separated from Chinese culture in a super American setting. As you suspected, it would leave a bad taste in the mouth of religious and non-religious people who know this figure.

There is some effort from Western media to incorporate these elements into their stories but it's done superficially through the classic Americanized lens. This doesn't allow the audience to feel these values and stories within a different context. The producers will do anything so (mainly Western) audiences don't feel alienated by exploring a foreign culture - but this entirely misses the point of exploring a foreign ancient culture.

I don't want to be entirely absolute here and say that no modernized depiction of these figures is good. It was even a fresh take a few years ago but now the market is so saturated with this presentation that even the audience who "loves Greek myth" is only exposed to this, and misses all the nuances of the ancient Greek context.

To its credit, the Hades game incorporated some ancient elements successfully (the gods offering their favor and getting vengeful when ignored, or having their own "human-like" interactions without getting reduced to the presentation of "petty humans"). This is more than what most westernized media has achieved but I still feel we only got crumbs compared to what we could have.

For me and some other Greeks, the game would be considerably elevated by the use of actual Greek culture, in addition to its cool story. By "actual Greek culture" I mean ways of interaction, clothes (not just the standard white chiton), music, etc. It looks like most western media fears that the Greek gods inside their culture will be "too foreign" for their audiences, which treats the audiences as if they're dumb and frustrates the already tired Greeks because god forbid we ever are "too foreign", "too unapproachable" to rich/western foreigners.

As always, depictions of heroes and gods from other cultures should be kept. The very recent phenomenon of westerners just deciding to "re-paint" the Greek gods Nordic pale or West African dark - according to their social sensitivities of the time - is a decision they took alone and without any consultation of Greeks. It's a decision that treats the Greek gods like props, as well, precisely because people of the original culture were never asked, and they are negative about this type of change. This decision was taken with the same brass the western colonizers used these same figures to set harmful standards for the colonized peoples and other nations they deemed "lesser", like the Greeks of their time themselves.

As we are not expected to change Maori, Chinese and Congolese gods' appearance (symbols, clothing, phenotype (or "race" as it is in some countries)) same goes for Greek gods. We grant all gods this standard because we recognize that they're - among other things - symbols of the overwhelming majority of the indigenous people of their land. Many USians mistakenly equate Greeks with the Western colonizers and the US culture, a thought that feeds their ownership attitude which I've spoken about many times in the past and i won't elaborate further on, for the sake of your sanity xD

Finally, if one struggles to place the Greek gods in the context of an actual religion, I think it would help them to read ancient hymns for the Greek gods (which are widely available online, in English at least) so they can see firsthand the veneration they were/are worth to their worshippers. Reading plays like the Bacchae or Alcestis, or parts of the Iliad and the Odyssey where the gods are present will show the magnanimity of the gods within the religion.

I'd also encourage them to recall examples of being present when their family or friends expressed veneration towards a deity (be it the God of Abrahamic religions, the Chinese pantheon, the Hindu pantheon, and so on) and try to imagine the same veneration towards the Greek gods. Studying Greek Orthodoxy is another way to understand this veneration. Since many ancient Greek elements remain in our Christianity, in it one can find many of the old type of respect. (Saint veneration replaced the deities' worship, the Greek type of offering worship, prayer to a home altar with offerings, road altars, funerary customs and processions, etc). If one is already familiar with Christianity this study would be a good middle step, in my opinion.

Having the context for each Greek myth figure one uses can be challenging but big studios should be able to hire specialists and offer proper representation. "They want the pie whole and the dog full", as we say here; they want quick profit with the least possible effort. They know that if they just name-drop some stuff western audiences will believe they have done deep research because previous media never invited them to engage deeply with the Greek heritage.

No culture is "uncomplex" and "easy to learn". Ancient Greek culture, like all, needs significant study to fully grasp. People should not expect to know it all after one Wikipedia reading. There's always more to learn and more context to be understood. The good news is that if you speak English and have an internet connection, translations and analyses of ancient Greek texts are super accessible to you.

It shouldn't be expected from all people to become experts but if one "loves Greek mythology" and their knowledge is PJO level, I am sorry but this person doesn't really know what they "love". A decent amount of study, at one's own pace, will enrich and deepen engagement with the Greek myths. Once you gain more knowledge, you understand why it's needed.

For the second anon's question, "What would be a proper representation of a Greek god", I have mostly answered it in the above paragraphs, but I would also like to add something culture-wise. Since the Greek gods in the media can exist in various eras, one should not divorce them from the Greek element. The Greek gods are an expression of the ancient Greek collective, therefore it wouldn't make sense for them to have lost all touch with Greek ways of thought and attitude. If they were Americans, they wouldn't be WASPs, or Native Americans or Black Americans. They would be more like First Gen Greek Americans. They would love (to a healthy degree) and mention their culture because that's where they came from and that's what they represent.

[wlwvampirism]

Everything I Read in 2024

2024 ends tomorrow and it simultaneously feels like this year went by in the blink of an eye and like it went on forever. After not reading consistently for about five or six years, this was the year I pushed myself into getting back into my old hobby and I think that drastically improved my entire year. Motivating myself into reading motivated me into improving other aspects of my life, and while I still have a lot of work to do on myself (there always will be), I'm pretty happy of the progress I made this year and of the person I'm becoming. I'm usually blinded by negativity towards myself, but for once I look back and say, "I did good. I did good." Now here's every book I read in 2024. (Be warned that this post got away from me and it got a bit long.)

Carmilla by J. Sheridan le Fanu -- Read in February of 2024 -- 4 stars

This book was haunting, Carmilla's death stuck with me, and I can attest to the fact that those women are, in fact, pretty gay. This book reminded me of my love for reading.

2. Salem's Lot by Stephen King -- Read from Feb. - April of 2024 -- 5 stars

This book was a gift from a former teacher of mine, so there's sentimental value to it. I definitely wouldn't have picked this up on my own and I was convinced for like the first half of it that I would hate it. I didn't hate it. I like it quite a lot, in fact. Stephen King is the King of horror for a reason, and I definitely felt that while reading this, I think the way the horror was built up in this book was masterful. I think that if I were to read it now, I probably wouldn't have given it five stars, but evidently, I think I needed to read this book when I did to motivate me to keep reading more books.

3. Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart by GennaRose Nethercott -- Read in April of 2024 -- 4 stars

My first short story collection, ever and it made me appreciate short stories and made me want to read more short story collections. All of the stories in this book were, to put it simply, strange as fuck and I liked that about it. They didn't always make sense, but I appreciated the absurdity of them for what it was. Not every short story in this collection was a winner, but I had fun.

4. Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell -- Read in May of 2024 -- 3 stars

I randomly came across this book in a bookshop and I had to get it because the concept just sounded so fun and interesting. The beginning was good, but the book kind of lost me towards the end. I really did not like the plot twist, and it held me back from fully enjoying the book, that being said, I don't think this book was bad and there was a lot about it that I liked, including some parts of the ending. I'm looking forward to seeing whatever else John Wiswell has in store.

5. Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake -- Read from May - June of 2024 -- 2 stars

My first romance novel! Unfortunately, I disliked pretty much every character in this book, I found the romance between Clare and Delilah to be lacking, and it felt like every single conflict in the book was miscommunication. I am not one of those people that's like "EW!! Miscommunication! Miscommunication is automatically stupid, and it automatically ruins a book!" but I didn't like the fact that every. single. conflict could be boiled down to, "There's been a misunderstanding." Also, felt like a lot of character and relationship development got cramped into the last sixty pages. I am not writing the romance genre off entirely, though, and I do want to explore more books in it. I could go on about things I didn't like this book, but I won't. One thing I want to point out that I liked was those scenes of Delilah bonding with Ruby, Clare's daughter.

6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll -- Read from May - Sep. of 2024 -- 4 stars.

I've always enjoyed the story of Alice in Wonderland, but I've never actually read it with my own two eyes. I wanted to remedy that this year and I ended up buying a copy of it. I really liked both stories, but I think I prefer Through the Looking Glass over Wonderland. These stories were very absurd and confusing, which meant that my imagination ran wild while reading them and I interpreted a lot of things to relate back to my own life. I did end up really liking them, but they definitely are more of an experience than a cohesive story.

Sidenote: I really want to watch the Alice in Wonderland ballet now, I've seen clips of it, and it looks amazingly choreographed.

7. Han's Christian Andersen Fairytales by the man himself -- Read from Sep. - Oct. of 2024 -- 4 stars.

Like with Alice, I've always enjoyed Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales. Unlike with Alice, growing up, I used to own a copy of Andersen's fairytales, and I did actually read them, but then the book went missing a while ago and this year I finally decided to buy another copy. I had fun with the collection; some stories I liked more than others. Going into this my favorite story was The Steadfast Tin Soldier but after reading these as an adult, I think my favorite story is now The Snow Queen. I think reading these re-connected me with my childhood and it was just nice to re-experience some of the stories and experience others for the first time.

8. Sula by Toni Morrison -- Read from Sep. - Oct. of 2024 -- 5 stars.

This book was originally assigned reading for my ENC 1102 class, but I never got around to it then because I was majorly depressed and really struggling academically. After I improved, I decided to actually give Sula a try, because why not. Well, I loved it. Toni Morrison is an amazing writer, everything in this book was written vividly and with emotion imbued into every single word. When I read this book, I did not feel like I was reading, I felt like I was opening a window directly into another moment in time. It's a short book but it has so much to it, and I would love to re-read it in the future and see what else I can gain from it. I'm actually glad that I didn't read it when I was supposed to, because I do not think I would have appreciated it nearly enough then the way I did when I actually got to it.

9. Frightful Folklore of North America: Illustrated Folk Horror From Greenland to the Panama Canal by Mike Bass -- Read in Nov. of 2024 -- 3.5 stars.

A short and easy read, this was something I read when I was bored in order to pass the time. The best part of this book is hands down the creative illustrations, and that's the primary reason I would recommend this book to anyone. I loved that Cuban folklore was included, I love the idea of non-Cubans reading this book and learning a little bit about Cuban folklore, and wider Latin American folklore in general. This book also got me interested in folklore and folk horror, and I want to do further reading into that in the future. However, this book was not without flaw, and it could have used some more proof-reading sessions, especially from people that are from the countries and tribes being talked about.

10. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- Read from Sep. - Nov. -- 5 stars.

I loved reading these stories and I especially loved the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, and I especially adored their friendship. Reading this collection was some of the most fun I had this year and I'm a little sad I finished it, but I'm looking forward to reading everything else in the series that I haven't yet (which is a lot).

11. My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix -- Read from October - November -- 4 stars.

The penultimate book. This one took me by surprise by how much I ended up liking it and being invested in it. Naturally, the thing I found most compelling about this book was the friendship between Gretchen and Abby. This book had a slow build-up, and it felt a little frustrating at times, but getting to that exorcism made it all the worth it and I loved it, and I teared up and it was great.

12. Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H. -- Read in December -- 5 stars.

I'm not normally interested in memoirs, so this book was the biggest step out of comfort zone in this entire year. Maybe this is a recency bias, but this is my favorite book of this entire year. When I first read this book, I was at some of the lowest that I've been this entire year. Reading this book woke me up from that. This book was comforting in some ways, but it was also a call to action in others. This book made me reflect on myself and in all the ways that I could improve, all the work that I need to do on myself. Hijab Butch Blues talks about a lot of important and heavy topics like misogyny, racism, islamophobia, homophobia (things that Lamya H. experienced firsthand, over and over), but it also talks about finding your community and finding yourself, amongst other things. And though those aspects of positivity and optimism does not mean that the ugly parts of society cease to exist, it does give us a reason to keep fighting so that the people that come after us can live in a world that's a little better than the world we lived through.

It's a really good book and I highly recommend it.

And that's every book I read this year. I feel like this year was more about me finding my footing as a reader than anything else, and I'm excited to go into the next year feeling surer of myself.

[richincolor]

Title: Asking for a Friend Author: Kara H.L. Chen Genres: Contemporary, Romance Pages: 336 Publisher: Quill Tree Books Review Copy: eARC provided by publisher Availability: Available now Summary: Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:

1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.

2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.

When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

Review: [Note: ASKING FOR A FRIEND includes several difficult familial issues, including parental death, disowning a child for a pregnancy out of wedlock, parents who probably ought to get divorced but don’t because of social expectations, conflicts between parents and children over school/career expectations, and additional threats of being disowned.]

It’s always a delight when you get a romance that hits all the right notes for you. ASKING FOR A FRIEND is one of those for me, thanks to a mix of a couple with real conflicts, family and community strife, and lovely moments of genuine connection. Juliana and Garrett are engaging characters in their own rights, and their reunion after an abrupt end of their childhood friendship had me rooting for them both. (Yes, even when they fought!) Their optimistic vs cynical takes on romance in their joint dating advice column were a lot of fun, too.

There is a lot going on in ASKING FOR A FRIEND beyond the central romance, but author Kara H.L. Chen interweaves the various subplots skillfully so that even though some things aren’t neatly wrapped up in a bow at the end (or even happily), nothing feels like it was abandoned midway through. I really enjoyed how much development characters outside the main couple got, particularly Juliana’s parents (even though her father has been dead for several years—no small feat!). Juliana and Garrett’s Taiwanese American community also felt well-explored and lived-in thanks to the interpersonal and intracommunity conflicts that played out in different ways throughout the book.

I appreciated that Juliana’s subplots with her family weren’t always resolved in ways that I initially assumed they would be. Grief, social expectations, and your parents’ dreams for you can complicate your view of yourself and your future. Juliana had to confront a lot of painful parts of herself in ASKING FOR A FRIEND, and her journey in establishing her own values and dreams was all the stronger for it. Even when she made what I felt were frustrating decisions, I understood why she chose the way she did and was ultimately pleased by where her character ended up. I also enjoyed Garret’s character arc and position in the story as one of the people who helped Juliana confront her own beliefs about the world as well as her role and future in it.

Recommendation: Get it now if you’re looking for a contemporary romance to wrap up the summer. ASKING FOR A FRIEND has a heartfelt romance at its center, which is complicated by conflicts between our romantic leads and within their families and community. There are a lot of great things going on in this book, and I’m looking forward to whatever author Kara H.L. Chen comes out with next.

Extras: Author Corner| Interview with Kara H.L. Chen

Q&A: Kara H.L. Chen, Author of ‘Asking for a Friend’

Living In Between, a guest post by Kara H. L. Chen

[cosmicjoke]

I am so glad anon asks are open again. I love talking to you and think you’re a great person but I am shy sometimes :(. Anyway I wanted to know your opinion on Armin. I think he’s a great character and he doesn’t get talked about a lot. Levi put his faith in him when giving him the serum and that was such an important part of Armin’s journey, I wonder if deep down he ever thought about Levi’s choice considering he probably really looked up to him as a leader/captain.

Hi there, and thank you so much for your kind words! That means a lot to me.

I love Armin, honestly. He's truly a great character, and highly complex.

I think his role in Levi's decision during the RtS arc gets severely overlooked and dismissed, usually with the intent to make it seem as if Levi cared more about Erwin than anyone else. But Armin plays a significant role in Levi's choice, which I actually wrote about here, if you're interested:

Basically, I think Armin was always meant to encompass this role in the story of hope. He symbolizes in many ways the hope of humanity, the possibility of a world without conflict, either internal or external. Like his conversation in the Paths with Zeke, he speaks about not needing to see any great purpose or object in life in order to also see the value in it and the value in being alive. Just being here, in and of itself, life's mere existence, should be enough to advocate its worth to anyone and the importance of preserving it. It shouldn't have to mean anything more than what it is to justify fighting for it.

Armin never really wants for anything to the point that it detracts from his happiness. He has dreams, but he's willing to forego those dreams and accept the possibility that they won't come true, too. And Armin's dream is a simple one. He wants to see the ocean. He doesn't want to change anything, he just wants to explore what's already there. There's a real sense of innocence and purity to Armin. He's extremely accepting and nonjudgmental. The world is what it is and he's okay with that.

Not that Armin doesn't have flaws or doesn't make mistakes. Speaking with one of my mutuals recently, they explained to me how while Armin was able to give up his dreams, the one thing he wasn't really able to give up on was Eren, and it's that failure on Armin's part that leads directly to the Rumbling happening. Because he consciously refused to accept that Eren intended to do harm or that his intentions were bad, he convinces everyone else to aid in getting Eren and Zeke to make contact. They actually fight to get Eren and Zeke together, because Armin couldn't accept that Eren was a bad person.

So he isn't able to accept everything the way it is wholesale. He's not perfect. He accepted the world for what it was, but he couldn't, at least until the end, accept Eren for what he was. In the end, though, Armin DOES accept Eren for what he is, and he still loves him, despite it all. That's true friendship, I suppose.

Anyway, yeah, those are just some thoughts off the top of my head, as a general assessment of Armin. He deserves more appreciation, that's for sure. He's vital to understanding so many themes of AoT itself.

[cfr749]

What do you think of Chenford breakup reasons? Just to add drama and indicate the honeymoon phase of their relationship ended. I felt they've been building to it since the season started. Or It's season 6, and some contract are up, and they want to have options if necessary. I mean, look at other characters' arcs, too.

Hi anon,

Thanks for the ask!

I know there are a lot of theories on this, but, from my perspective, I think it was 100% a creative storytelling decision, and though I wasn't expecting a breakup, it also didn't feel like it came from out of nowhere for me.

We saw cracks in their relationship very early on with how they both approached resolving the chain of command issues and then obviously began to move into the UC conflict. I do think there was a clear through line in terms of building up to this since the beginning of the season, though of course it could have been clearer.

This is pure speculation, but for me this season so far has stylistically felt very much like Alexi taking back the reins after stepping away to work on other projects the last few seasons. These versions of Tim and Lucy feel very much like who the characters were in Seasons 1-2.

And, IMO, the emotional intensity this season is very reflective of the types of things we've seen for storylines he was more heavily involved with previously (Tim & Isabel, John's S1 shooting, DOD, Tim's dad SL, etc.).

I know people also have mixed feelings about Tim's backstory, but for me this also felt like a character-driven storytelling decision vs. something that was inserted solely to break Chenford up (though of course that was also a major driver).

Learning why Tim felt so much guilt and shame over what happened in Mosul made his backstory click into place for me. I imagine that Tim found his place in the army -- he found something he was good at, that he was valued and appreciated for. He was promoted quickly up the ranks, and for someone with his background, it must have felt like all of the validation and affirmation he was desperate for, but never received as a child. And when Ray going rogue threatened that-- the one thing in the world he had that finally made him feel worthy -- I can absolutely understand the desperation and panic Tim must have felt to prevent having that ripped away from him.

We know that Tim is a good person. I have zero doubt that making the decision that led to his two squad mates died destroyed him and all of the beliefs he had about who he was. I have zero doubt that it took everything he had to crawl out of that pit of despair and try to keep going. He shoved it into a box because he had to in order to survive. And then suddenly, years later, with no warning, he was forced to confront the one thing he's never been able to face about himself.

I have always said all I've ever wanted for Chenford (and Lucy and Tim as individuals) was a good character-driven story, told with intention, so even though I'm actually incredibly sad over the breakup, I'll be okay if that is what we get moving forward.

[whatistheworldreading]

Previous Submissions (Jan - March 2024)

📖 Title: "The Midnight Library" 📖 Author: Matt Haig 📖 Genre: Fiction, Fantasy 📖 About: The story follows Nora Seed, who, faced with the possibility of many regrets in her life, discovers a library between life and death. Each book in this library represents a different life she could have lived. 📖 Personal Enjoyment: Absolutely loved it! The exploration of life choices and the concept of infinite possibilities was thought-provoking. 📖 Rating: 4.5/5 🌍 Country: India ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title:  Aphrodite & the Duke 📖 Author: J.J McAvoy 📖 Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance 📖 Rating: 4/5 📖 Review: I have never been one to fancy historical fiction. Quite frankly I was always one to run from it! But after watching Queen Charlotte on Netflix I wanted more. I must have spoken a lot about the series because I was gifted this book. Which was difficult to get into in the beginning due to the way in which they spoke translated to the pages. The book takes place in the regency era where Titles, wealth and marrying into the right family matters.  I rated this 4 out of 5 not biased from it’s similarity to Queen Charlotte but because  how it highlighted how women were valued, how sometimes true love is not enough in the eyes of family.  The book left me appreciative of how far we have come now. And without giving it away the conflict in the story was well written in my opinion.  🌍 Country: Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: The Neighbor Favor 📖 Author: Kristina Forest 📖 Genre:Romantic Comedy 📖 Rating: 5/5 📖 Review: Loved it! If someone made a fan fiction of Slowly I swear this book would be it. My rating is 5/5….pretty high of a rating right? But I mean who doesn’t want to hear about what happens when a woman on one side of the world sends an email out to a guy  on the other side of the world innocently and ends up growing feelings for him.  But that’s all I am going to say. It was a page turner for me. The author has a free flowing writing style so this book could easy be finished in a day (if you are just sitting around watching paint dry haha) or at least within a week tops!  🌍 Country: Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: El aire que nos faltó 📖 Author: Magdalena Salazar 📖 Genre: Fiction 📖 Rating: 5/5 📖 Review: This is a book with few pages. It is structured in chapters where you can to look differents versions of each characters about the situations  that occurs in their family life. The point of union of characters is the younger daugther with disability, probably brain palsy, and how her disability does affects to his brother's life and the relationship of her parents along the years, besides you will know the perspective of hers too. This book has a plot that you can read quickly and it is interesting. In my opinion this book merits five stars🌍 Country: Chile ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: The Stranger 📖 Author: Albert Camus 📖 Genre: Philosophical Fiction, Crime Fiction 📖 Rating: unrated 📖 Review:I associate it with this instrumental beat:

The moment I listen to it, I feel like I'm teleported back into that book and I feel the character Meursault walking next to me and starting doing his things, his numbness and lack of feelings until he's sentenced to death. I almost feel his dried mouth in the heath at his mother's funeral. I can hear him sigh thinking of his girlfriend ...and so on.  🌍 Country: Slovakia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: Heaven and Earth 📖 Author: Paolo Giordano 📖 Genre: 📖 Rating: 📖 Review:This novel has 2 main characters: Bern and Teresa, that we follow since they were kids until late in life. It's a very complex novel where you have to understand more what it's not said than what is written. And they devoured the sky so much..... that the sky fell on them, to express myself metaphorically without giving away any spoilers. Anyway, I have in my mind the perfect songs for both characters. For Bern: 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid and for Teresa: 'Power' by Isaac Danielson.  🌍 Country:Slovakia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: "The Widow Queen" 📖 Author: Elżbieta Cherezińska 📖 Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy 📖 About: The story based on true historical events. The young girl, daughter of great duke of Poland, marries the king of Sweden as a part of alliance with the north vikings warriors. Very soon she builds a strong position on the court and after death of her husband she faces a choice to marry a king of Denmark or bring war upon her people. This is a story about an extraordinary woman, whom we meet not only from the perspective of Polish history but also medieval Europe. Sigrid the Bold was the daughter of Mieszko I and the sister of Bolesław I the Brave. However, she made history primarily as the Queen of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, as well as the mother of the King of England. 📖 Personal Enjoyment: It was amazing to learn about history of medieval Europe and found out that one of the most powerful person of that time was a woman from Poland. 📖 Rating: 4.5/5 🌍 Country: Poland

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: "The Silent Patient" 📖 Author: Alex Michaelides 📖 Genre: Psychological Thriller 📖 About: The story revolves around Alicia Berenson, a painter who is accused of murdering her husband and then stops speaking. The narrative unfolds as a psychotherapist tries to unravel the mystery behind her silence. 📖 Personal Enjoyment: Gripping and full of unexpected twists. The exploration of mental health and the complexities of human emotions kept me hooked from start to finish. 📖 Rating: 4.8/5 🌍 Country: India -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

📖 Title: The Woman In Me 📖 Author: Britney Spears  📖 Genre: Biography 📖 Rating: 5/5 📖 Review: It’s rare that I read a biography of a musician..muchless a popstar. I didn’t read this because I am a Millennial and grew up with Britney’s music. I didn’t read it because I am just into pop culture. I read it because I wanted to really understand her conservatorship and felt that something was off with her. Low and behold I was right. At the end of the day if you strip away a persons status, title, money, material things…they are just a human being…with feelings. With a life that they deserve to have a say in. To the world she was Britney Spears but behind closed doors she was treated so unfairly by people that loved her. People that she trusted, and each one of us has people we love and trust who we hope would not betray us. What she went through could and has happened and still happens to people to this very second. She shed a lot of light on what many people under conservatorships go through and how much power the conservator actually has over ones life. To me this is a complete 5/5 because it is raw, it is real, and it can be resonated with by many.   🌍 Country: Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 Title: The Gift 📖 Author: Edith Eger 📖 Genre:  📖 Rating: 📖 Review: It is a story (autobiography) of a woman who survived the holocaust. It is inspiring for me and really put a lot of things in perspective 🌍 Country: Philippines -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[thatseventiesbitch]

https://www.tumblr.com/hydesjackiespuddinpop/713176942582611968/sleepover-saturday

Tell me about your otp.

Thanks for the ask! Love chatting about my OTP.

Eric and Donna are my favorite couple from Point Place, Wisconsin. They've been together since they were seventeen years old, but have been best friends and next door neighbors since they were young kids. They had a baby shortly after the That '70s Show series finale, and when we caught up to them in That '90s Show they were still happily married and raising their daughter Leia together in Chicago. Happily ever after 💕

I love Eric and Donna so much because they are clearly (to me 😅) soulmates. They found each other so early in life and built such a strong foundation of best friendship before they ever even started dating - they know all the good stuff and all the not-so-good stuff about each other and have always been 20 steps away from each other their entire lives. Finding your 'person' so young and getting to love them for your entire lives is such a rare love story, and something about the intimacy of that really resonates with me.

Eric and Donna have this infectious playful chemistry that is fun to watch (and write), and a deep sense of love and respect for each other that is underneath all of their interactions. They were both figuring out how to be in a relationship during the show's run, and I found their misadventures to be both relatable and extremely sweet. Watching them bloom from a tentative first kiss on the car after a concert to being parents of a teenager of their own has been such a wild, but rewarding, ride.

Eric and Donna also bring out the best in each other. They balance each other out. Donna helps Eric take risks, try new things. She gives the usually tentative, scrawny neighbor boy the courage to jump (and a soft space to land if he falls), she challenges his traditional thinking, and pushes him to be more ambitious and less lazy. Eric, on the other hand, is Donna's stability. He's there for her in a way no one else is, even during their break-up, showing that his love for Donna transcends romance. He can always make her feel better (and would break his back to make her break a smile 🎶) and Donna feels unconditionally accepted by him. It's clear to me from their brief appearance in That '90s Show that this same dynamic exists in their parenting partnership. All these decades later, and they're still leaning on each other and inspiring growth and change in each other.

And lastly I appreciate the care that the showrunners gave Eric and Donna's relationship - it was the heart of the show, in their eyes - and that their relationship developed and faced hurdles and drama without the inclusion of contrived storylines like cheating, unplanned pregnancy (well, until 1980 at least *lol*) or love triangles. Instead their conflict came from natural arising differences in their personalities and values, but at the end of the day Eric and Donna both always prioritized their relationship with one another, which is something too precious to both of them to ever lose.

[mirageofadesert]

Rating cdramas I watched as a newbie pt.4

!!Spoiler Warning!!

Mysterious Lotus Casebook 7+1/10 

Acting: 8/10 World-building: 6/10 Production: 6/10 Storytelling: 6/10 Re-watch Value: 8/10  Pacing: 9/10 Bonus: +1 for the absence of a major romantic plot line!

Focusing on the character growth and the dynamic between the three male leads, the show is a joy to watch from start to finish. The pacing contributes to this, by building up new arcs of suspense every couple of episodes that find satisfying release, even through some story elements are a bit over the top at times. The plot is very continent and shouldn't be taken too serious at times. It relies on very convenient coincidences or magical mechanism to make the character look smart and capable. However, since the show is carried by the interpersonal relationship and secrets between the cast, the many plot holes and overly convenient twist and turns didn't bother me that much. I really liked the show, because it's more on the comedic side and doesn't really have a major romance - which is always a plus for me.

---

Love Like The Galaxy 6/10

Acting: 8/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 9/10 Storytelling: 6/10 Re-watch Value: 5/10  Pacing: 5/10 Bonus: For making engineering a special interest of the FL

I started to watch the shows based on the recommendation of a friend - and If it wasn't for her, I might have dropped it. The good things first: I really appreciated the acting from the whole cast, the characters were interesting and the story well done.  I did like the love story, it felt mature  and realistic and not overly trope-y. While I think she would have been better suited for her first finance, they did manage to make the love between the two leads feel realistic later on. My favorite relationship dynamic was between the empress, the emperor and his consort. I also loved Cheng Shaoshang parent's and brother.

As someone who isn't the biggest  fan of romances it  was refreshing to see their story about shared life goals, duty to family and country, rather than a conflict about one's true love. However, it was a bit to convoluted with too many side characters and story elements, that all repeated the same motive of women bickering. This led to me losing track of who is who and who hate who because of what. In the end, when the final villains were revealed I had no idea who they were and why there wanted revenge again. I think the drama would have been even better, if they had a stronger meta plot and less episodes. I think the biggest weakness is the lack of suspense in each episodes.

My unpopular take is, that I don't get Zhao Lusi appeal. In the first part of the show I kept wondering why that man was interested in this child. It got a bit better later on, but she failed to awe me with her performance. And it's not even that her acting wasn't good or the chemistry was lacking ... it's hard to pinpoint what thews me off, but after Hidden Love and now this, I think I will avoid her going forwards.

---

Princess Silver 7/10

Acting: 9/10 World-building: 8/10 Production: 7/10 Story-telling: 8/10 Re-watch Value: 8/10  Pacing: 6/10 Bonus: for the final twist that made my cry my eyes out

I wrote a separate review about this show, which you can find here:

This is part 4 of on ongoing series. However, I'm starting to wonder when I no longer will be able to call myself a newbie? I'm stating to recognize supporting actors, sets and filming locations now. I understand certain terms in Chinese and have a better understanding of reoccurring plot points and world elements, from sects, to court culture and consort marriage. I'm not sure which show I'm going to start next, so it will probably be a while, before I post some reviews again!

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.150 thoughts

[I Said ‘War’, huh, Good God, Y’all]

So last week I said that I figured Billy was going to be the next threat, but in retrospect that was pretty dumb of me: Creed’s CO literally just showed up to tell him he was leaving his men to die, and I didn’t even try to think of any justification for why he’d be there?? Well, I did, but my best guess at the time was that he killed the previous Undecrease to force the ability onto Creed and justify abandoning him, but the truth is far worse and much more entertaining - he’s not abandoning him, he’s PERSONALLY LEADING THE CHARGE TO KILL CREED AND HIS MEN

As it turns out, Creed’s squad was basically just a scouting team that was always meant to be killed because of their knowledge of Disc, as presumably the circle is meant to be kept small and whatever team is being allowed to retrieve it and live is more valuable I suppose

This also makes Creed’s tragedy a bit clearer: it wasn’t just that his men were abandoned, it’s that he was explicitly betrayed last time around. I figured being left behind meant that Creed lost to Billy, but Billy’s employers betrayed him too and both of their squads got wiped out, leaving only Billy, Creed and Tella alive to team up and seek revenge. The only question now is how Billy’s Unfair activated and how it made this already terrible situation any worse. My guess is that Billy and Creed got into a shootout with undecreasing ammo then ended up taking out their employers together

Either that or Billy took Disc in that moment and fought them off himself, with Unfair being a separate issue. Whatever happened, I’m getting the feeling that the reason the Union ended up with Disc in Loop 100 is because Billy personally gave it to Juiz as a show of good faith, as clearly neither Creed’s country nor Billy’s employers got it in the end

Creed’s recruitment was also a bit faster than I expected, but while Tozuka only ever really tells the story one event at a time, there’s usually smaller interlocking parts, and this is no exception: showing Creed that his men are safe while his country betrays him gives him ample reason to justify his recruitment while also transitioning perfectly into him fighting back against his country

Come to think of it, Rip once told us that Creed’s goal is to establish his own country. Obviously we don’t know what that would entail, but being betrayed by your homeland seems like the perfect inspiration for an idea like that. I wonder if the idea is to create something like Outer Heaven from Metal Gear, where soldiers’ lives are valued. That said, Creed seems to explicitly want to decrease the number of wars in the world (he’d really enjoy Cipher Academy, I think), so unlike Big Boss who wants to keep the world at war so that soldiers are always needed and appreciated, Creed would probably aim for something more ambitious: becoming such an overwhelming military power that no one would dare oppose him or engage in petty squabbles...Actually, I guess that makes him Ozymandias from Watchmen more than Big Boss, huh? Though I’m just putting words in his mouth right now, so let’s not jump to any conclusions right now

[Note: Whoopsie, misremembered Rip’s dialogue, thank you to @wickedsick for pointing it out: Creed’s goal wasn’t to establish a country, it was to “take control of nations.” This implies that he wanted to take over the world, which still makes sense contextually; if he’s running the show, he doesn’t have to worry about higher-ups stabbing him in the back. The end goal is likely still to stop wars, just now instead of being a deterrent like I thought, he’d literally be the one in control of whether or not conflicts can even happen at all]

It also doesn’t seem like he’s going to go down that path in this loop anyway, now that he’s working for Fuuko and not Billy; remember, Under’s structure was upheld exclusively by mutual interest rather than a unified goal, and Billy’s goal of defeating God necessitated putting together a strong military force, which of course interested Creed. Here, though, Creed’s men have been momentarily saved and he has the ability to put an end to the fight that threatens them, and once that’s over he likely won’t have a home to return to, so he’ll join Fuuko who wants to make a home for him. Just like Void and Sean, Creed is going to learn to actually consider Fuuko his friend and feel loyalty for her cause, and this time his squad will be with him to back him up

Symbolically, the first step for differentiating between Creed 100 and Creed 101 is the belt of rubber bullets that Fuuko designed for him: he’s gone from being a ruthless killing machine who would even kill children for his goals to a hero in the war on God who won’t kill needlessly. Sure, rubber bullets deal a ton of damage in the real world, often bad enough that they make you wish you were dead, but A) they’re fighting soldiers who are trying to kill them so this is definitely more merciful, and B) it’s fiction, they might be special rubber bullets with different properties than real ones, so everyone will be fine anyway. The real world implications of rubber bullets is not relevant, the point is that Creed is no longer killing anyone

Also I love that Isshin 12 is holding Creed up on his shoulders, which I suppose might also be a symbol of how Creed is no longer a lone soldier working for someone else out of convenience, but rather a team member who relies on the help of others. “If you’re gonna master your ability, you oughta complete the process on your own. Gettin’ weak help from a weak Negator ain’t gonna be enough...” That’s what Creed said to Top and Chikara in the Spring battle, but not only was he beaten by Fuuko with the help of Sean, likely the weakest Negator in the entire series, but now he’s getting help from Isshin, a strictly supportive Negator. Sure, he’s also getting help from Yusai, who can KNOCK DOWN TREES WITH THE AIR PRESSURE OF HER SHEATHED SWORD (what a woman), and the enemies are being pinned by Void’s Unavoidable, but if anything that just strengthens my point: Creed is now officially a part of a team, and he’s better off for it

Moving back in time a little, Billy finds Tella still panicking, his cheeks most definitely torn and bleeding from his futile attempts to scream. Billy calms him down and is able to overcome Untell by listening to Tella’s heartbeat and feeling the changes in his body temperature, which is just about the gayest god damn thing I’ve ever seen. Can you imagine being a human lie detector but the method requires you get all up ons the other person? And the relief Tella clearly feels hearing Billy’s voice and knowing that Billy will understand him even if he can’t talk. That’s romance if I’ve ever seen it, and we’re on chapter 150 of Undead Unluck, the schmaltziest Jump manga I’ve ever read. You can’t tell me they’ve never explored each other’s bodies 

The main issue I have with Billy already determining that the Union are the good guys in this scenario is that it means there are no Negators for him to use Unfair with, unless he pulls the same thing he did on Top and Chikara during Ragnarok and starts talking shit to everyone else to get their powers, but I’m not sure he’d even know to do that. Creed seems like an easy one since they’re already enemies, and Sean’s enough of a wimp that he wouldn’t take much convincing, but the rest are a little tougher. “Billy shot Haruka in the last Loop” would certainly work on Isshin 12, but to what end? Unbreakable is only good for builders and crafters, not really for a soldier. Unseen would be really cool for Billy to have, though, since he’s blind and literally wouldn’t be affected by Unseen’s drawback, though I guess the question is whether he’d be able to turn it off; is the activation “closing one’s eyes” or “not being able to see”? I expect we’ll find out

Also it just occurred to me that this is a new Billy, not Billy 100; either Billy did not retain Unruin long enough to survive Ragnarok, or Ruin’s an idiot and Unruin doesn’t actually allow one to make it to the next loop as he thought. Billy did imply that might be the case when he noted that the Union had never faced Ruin in a previous loop, but it’s also possible that Ruin just got himself killed in other interesting ways previously. We still don’t know the mechanics of Unruin, so there’s lots of ways it could go, but unless there are two Billy’s running around now, I think it’s safe to say that Billy 100 did in fact die

A few small notes to round off the chapter:

CONTINUITY ERROR IN THE CHAT!!! Ch.147, we see Tella’s back multiple times and he doesn’t have a ponytail, but he VERY CLEARLY has a ponytail in this chapter, which we also saw briefly in ch.145. During 147, I thought maybe I’d misseen something in 145, but this chapter confirms that Tella does, in fact, have a ponytail. Phew, puts my mind at rest

Once again, Ichico’s soul just pops out of her body when she sees Disc, so I guess that’s just her thing now; her soul leaves her body whenever she’s shocked. That said, the expression on her body and on her soul are completely different, but I think we can take the soul’s expression to be how she really feels: she and Nico are both super excited about this rad flying saucer

Yusai stopped to take a drink after her attack succeeded, and now that she’s seeing Disc, she’s trying to take her gourd out of her mouth, but because of Undraw, it’s stuck and she’s just pulling on her lips, which is honestly just a really funny image

Sean is cowering with Yusai, which makes me wonder if he had already gone to her side earlier. I hope they’ll have some kind of dynamic going forward, but I also don’t want them to be TopxIsshin 2.0 since Yusai already got married and had kids in Loop 100 and I don’t want whoever that guy is to get cucked and lose his kids, that just seems cruel

The paneling for the Union here is just really good: Void, Yusai and Sean are standing atop the Unbreakable shields, so they’re positioned highest in the panels; Creed is slightly lower, sitting on the very tall Isshin 12′s shoulders, so they’re a bit lower than Void and positioned below Yusai, but still higher than Ichico and Nico, who are standing on the ground in the third panel. It’s subtle, but it helps you understand where everyone is in the space, and I always appreciate that kind of thing

It looks like the entrance to Disc is under a little temple on top of it, though I wonder if that’s the cockpit or just the door; I kind of wish we could have seen Fuuko and Gina enter it and explore a little, but that doesn’t seem too important right now. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of it later, but I could also see it being relegated to an omake. Actually, I’d like to see the schematics of the Union’s base at some point too now that I think of it

It’s pretty fitting that Gina is helping Fuuko pilot Disc since they were introduced together in the previous loop, though I’m not sure she’s totally relevant to it aside from that. Aside from Gina keeping Fuuko safe from gunfire on the way, I wonder if there’s any greater significance to Gina being present for this particular event?

We just made a big show about Creed using nonlethals against enemy soldiers, how the hell is Fuuko going to use Disc without KILLING EVERYONE??? I get the feeling she’s not just going to be able to scare the military off with recon lasers

As always, this was a great chapter, and I’m so excited to see what’s coming. Disc had a great showing in the fight with Gina, but it was so short, and definitely could have been used in the Season battles, so I’m glad it’s getting an opportunity to shine again! That said, I’m kind of expecting this to be a bad news situation; things have been going really well for the Union so far, I don’t think there’s been a single hiccup so far, so I won’t be surprised if there’s a drop coming

Whether it happens next week with Billy or Ruin or someone stealing Disc from under Fuuko’s feet or a few chapters from now in the interim while we’re waiting for the 2010s Negators to awaken, I’ll continue waiting for the next installment with bated breath! And rumor has it that we might be getting some news about the anime on the 25th, so keep an eye out for that too~

[ataraxiasflame]

HotD Thoughts:

Though I’ve enjoyed parts the first two episodes of season 2 (Tom Glynn-Carney and Emma D’arcy are absolutely killing it), I have still felt generally underwhelmed by many choices that were made and I think it really comes down to a clash of the original source material vs the narrative perspective that the show has taken.

One of the reasons I love the book is because of the varying perspectives and biases that influence all the events and the ability to enjoy all the characters since you get contrasting perspectives of everyone. I had really hoped that the show was going to keep that essence from the book, and that we would see a more balanced portrayal of both sides of this family, but after the first 2 episodes, it’s clear that it has rather gone the route of good (TB) vs bad (TG), and that most of the changes have been done in favour of TB.

I’ve said before that I don’t mind changes to a show if they are done to enhance the characters and the plot, but personally, I feel like the changes that are being made are mostly in service of making TB look better, rather than enhancing the actually scenes or characters that are being changed.

Because many of the changes that have been made have had significantly more negative responses so far (which was 100% the intention of the showrunners). For instance:

• I actually didn’t mind the way B&C played out (without Maelor and the element of choice) and I think Phia was phenomenal in this scene, but ending this scene with Alicent & Criston Cole completely overshadowed the horror of what Helaena and Jahaerys suffered, and it instantly breaks the temporary sympathy you have for TG (the online reactions calling them hypocrites and blaming THEM speaks volumes to what most people reacted to in that scene).

• Another example is the Aemond brothel scene. This scene makes sense on paper. There’s no denying that his character has clear issues with regards to his mother, that he is dealing with guilt regarding Luke’s death and clearly has no one to turn to, so Aemond seeking comfort, even if he has to pay for it, does not shock anyone. But there are so many ways this scene could have been portrayed differently where the emphasis would have been on his inner conflict, his own trauma etc, but instead the showrunners (as with B&C) didn’t want sympathy for TG to be the forefront of this scene…so instead they made the scene jarring and uncomfortable through the positioning/filming angles of Aemond and by including the shot of the milk. (Again, the online bodyshaming reactions and comparisons of Ewan Mitchell to Voldemort speaks volumes for what the showrunners wanted people to remember of that scene.) The real essence of the scene should be about what drives this character into the arms of this specific person and how this might/will influence his role in the war, but instead it became about the ‘Homelander vibes’. Don’t tell me that wasn’t intentional.

• Unfortunately I have also seen some leaks for episode 3 and 4 which I’m honestly hoping were fake, but given that they make sense after what we’ve seen in episode 1 and 2, it wouldn’t shock me. They do confirm my point though that many changes are not being done to the benefit of the source material but rather to the benefit of TB and the desire for gratuitous shock value.

What it comes down to is this: as someone who really enjoyed the book, I don’t believe I will truly enjoy this show as much as I originally had hoped because the showrunners have taken the source material and are ‘making it their own story’. And that’s fine. Hoping that a show will stay true to the book is not unreasonable but it’s also fair to be somewhat underwhelmed when great source material is changed and the changes don’t quite hit the same.

And you know what, the author said something similar only a few weeks ago.

Will I still watch? Probably. I know there is a lot that I’m not going to enjoy, but I will always appreciate (and in many cases, prefer) the characters the way the were written in the book, despite the incredible acting we’ve seen from the actors.

[locustheologicus]

"And you get this straight shitkicker, don't you go mistaking me for some whole other body. You got your brains in your dick if you think we're just gonna fade away. We're gonna be here till this thing's finished."

- Gene Hackmen (Agent Anderson) Mississippi Burning.

This is a line from the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning. It is an old movie about the killing of 3 civil rights activists in Mississippi in the early 1960's. It is a powerful story that is still worth raising every now and then.

I am raising this quote right now because I find Gene Hackmen's character, agent Anderson, very meaningful for me as I consider how to respond to these times. Anderson is an FBI agent who is involved with Agent Ward (William DeFoe) in finding the whereabouts of the three missing civil rights workers in Mississippi. As they unpack the levels of systemic racism and discrimination, they become aware of the challenge they face in promoting racial justice.

Agent Anderson depicts the type of person who is willing to stretch the rules in order to achieve righteousness. This has always been a model for me as I look to promote what is right and just no matter what the cost. The ends justify the means is very much in play with Agent Anderson. Eventually, Agent Ward agrees to Anderson's methods.

As I get older (FYI, I am now 51 yrs old), I feel conflicted as my zeal for social justice gets tempered with faith and hope. It is a struggle to do what is right, but the lessons that many of us learn are that there is a limit where our own ideological pursuits could destroy our character. Our Catholic faith tradition does not permit us to cross these lines. The Star Wars series "Andor" does an excellent job exploring this, and I offered a post based on this lesson.

But in the face of emerging social injustices, I feel that we need to morally reflect on our role in balancing justice/righteousness with faith/hope. I feel that the young can be supported in their pursuit of social justice, and we, the elders, can mentor them in this process. Our own experience and wisdom can bring balance and steady their own perspective while bringing a dose of humility and gratitude as needed. But in the end I think we will need to continue making a firm prophetic stance on social issues where the youth can appreciate that there are social values that must be protected and respected. There will be times when we have to grab the shitkicker by the balls and lay out a basis for what us right and just. I still feel all warm and fuzzy when I see Agent Anderson take the stance that he is forced to take against the KKK as he confronts them in their own "social club."

In reading the 8th century prophets, the psalms, and even Jesus' engagement with the Syrophoenician woman, I have appreciated the different ways the prophetic message may need to be communicated. These messages are often strong, at time they need to sting. On a few occasions, the message may need to crass and thought-provoking. All this is with the intention of educating the community. But as Agent Anderson demonstrates, there may even be times when the prophetic message needs to give way to prophetic action. When the cause forces us to act and prophetically evangelize through our actions.

One way I will continue being prophetic is by offering messages that remind folks that certain issues are not acceptable. We do have a tradition of prophetic action, which we should never forget. If the Conservative Confederates feel empowered by their own cultural self-interest, to say "the south will rise again," then perhaps the Progressive Unionist should also feel emboldened enough to prophetically declare that "the north will never die." This t-shirt is the latest way that I can continue promoting social justice and raise the memory of our prophetic action.